Chapter 411: Ella Inside the Camp

“You, the future Queen,” Hank said, shaking his head, “asked me to be here, and already your friend Isabel is sniffing around me like I’m some kind of convict? Just because I’m human?”

“What?” I asked, confused, glancing at her. “Isabel is on our side, Hank—she wants to help humans too.”

“It’s not about what she wants, or thinks she wants,” Hank said, shaking his head and meeting my gaze. “It’s about generations of families telling wolves to keep separate from humans, to not tell them their secrets. And then there’s the very recent shock humans experienced, realizing wolves are real—and having their world destroyed by that knowledge.”

“So…” I said, frowning, “you don’t want to help? Do you want to leave?”

“No,” he said, surprised. “No, Ella, I want to help very much. I just think you need to be prepared for the reception you’ll get walking in there with fifteen wolves. Especially if, like Isabel, they have good intentions but still see humans as inherently different, at best, or dangerous and untrustworthy, at worst.”

“Isabel doesn’t think that,” I snapped, defensive.

“She certainly didn’t trust me,” Hank said, shrugging apologetically. “And again, Ella, you asked me to be here.”

I sighed, murmuring I’d talk to her. Then, something else he said registered. “Wait, fifteen?” I asked, looking over my shoulder. “Where are you getting fifteen wolves from? We only brought four guards…and Isabel.”

Hank sighed and nodded toward two black cars in the parking lot I hadn’t noticed. As I looked at them, the doors opened, and men spilled out. I groaned, realizing Sinclair had sent reinforcements.

“Okay,” I sighed, looking back at Hank. “I get your point. How do we do this?”

“I think,” he said carefully, looking at our group, “you should let me and Cora take the lead. Leave the vast majority of your people at the gate, telling them to come in only in an emergency.”

“Sinclair will flip if I go in without a guard,” I said, shaking my head.

“Two,” he said, holding up two fingers. “One for you, one for Cora. And Ella? Pick nice ones.”

I sighed, nodded, and we returned to our group.

Twenty minutes later, after much negotiation, Cora, Isabel, Hank, and I headed into the camp with three guards: Conner, Anthony, and a new one named Theo, who had a radio line to the men outside the gate and sent Roger and Sinclair text updates seemingly every ten minutes.

“You really don’t have to do that,” I said to Theo, resting a hand on his arm. “My mate is overreacting.”

Theo nodded, looking down at his phone. “Alpha Sinclair said you’d say that,” he said with chagrin. “And…he said you forgot your phone again, so this is the consequence.”

“Oh, damn it,” I murmured, scowling and pulling away my hand. “I did forget my phone, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Luna,” Theo said, smiling as he tucked his phone into his belt.

“Fine,” I sighed, turning to Hank and Cora, who were consulting with Isabel. “Okay! Let’s get started!”

Unlike last time, Isabel didn’t give a tour. When I asked why, she explained that while she’d thought it would bolster the wolves to see me, she worried it would have the opposite effect on the humans—they might see us as predatory.

“We can’t blame them,” I sighed as we headed to the children’s medical tent. “Their world has been displaced by the secret of shifter existence. Especially these humans.”

“Plus, humans are naturally wary,” Isabel said passively. “We are predators to their prey, after all.”

“Isabel,” I said, stopping and putting a hand on her arm. “Do you really think that about humans?”

Isabel’s mouth fell open, and she blushed. “Oh my goodness,” she murmured, shaking her head. “I…I just heard what I said. Forgive me, Ella. I…I grew up in a wolf household. I do understand humans and wolves to be equal, I just spent my life with wolves.”

“It’s okay,” I said, cocking my head. “I’m sure you’re not alone in that. And that plenty of humans have ideas about wolves. But…”

“No,” she said, interrupting and nodding eagerly. “I get it. I need to…spend some time thinking through those preconceived notions.” She glanced at Conner, Cora, and Hank waiting at the tent entrance. The doctors’ arms were crossed in frustration. “And I think I was…not very nice to your human friend,” she murmured. “I’m so sorry, Ella. Will you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” I said, smiling. “Your heart is in the right place, Isabel. I know we can move forward.”

Smiling, Isabel took my arm, and we joined Conner, Cora, and Hank, the guards following. Without a word, we entered the tent, and my heart sank.

“Oh my god,” I murmured, pressing my baby closer.

The tent was loud, filled with crying children and few adults. I gritted my teeth. These people needed so much help, and they weren’t getting it. This was five times worse than the Wolf Camp’s children’s medical tent.

“We have to get to work,” Cora said, her eyes angry. I nodded, as Hank strode off to start working.

“Same old plan?” I murmured, seeking guidance. She nodded and strode off, Isabel with her. One guard followed her as Conner came to my side.

“I’m with you, Luna?” he asked.

“You’re with me, Conner,” I said, nodding to Theo, who was also assigned to me. And with that, we began.

The hours passed quickly. We followed our old methods, with Cora and Hank discerning the worst cases and me attending to them first. The guards stayed to the side, letting us work. At first, they were hesitant, wary, as the humans glared and clutched their children protectively. But as they saw the relief we brought, an ease came to their expressions and postures.

After I opened my eyes and smiled at a little boy named Benny, whose breathing had been labored but was now easy, Theo looked at me in wonder and nodded eagerly. I smiled, glad he was truly on the team. Behind him, Conner grinned and gave a thumbs-up.

I stood, smiling at my guards, but Benny caught my hand.

“Hey!” he said, grinning.

“Hey,” I replied, laughing and sitting back down. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Benny said, eager to move on. “Hey, are you one of the wolf people?”

“I am,” I said, laughing.

“No, you’re not,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “You’re pretty. And so small.”

I laughed. “Wolves come in all shapes and sizes. My mate is very big. You’d believe he was a wolf. But my sister is human,” I said, pointing to Cora.

“That’s impossible,” Benny said, narrowing his eyes. “If your sister is a person, you are also a person!”

I laughed. “Not in this case,” I said, grinning. “I’m a shifter.”

“Prove it,” the little boy said, smiling, revealing a missing front tooth. “Turn into a wolf!”