I was prepared for a long fight. It had taken all my wits and skill to beat him a year earlier. But I hadn’t counted on the primal alpha rage. I avoided his first attack, took a hold of his head, twisted, and pulled. It separated from his body in a tearing, snapping sound. My wolf roared again, this time in victory. The next second I was on my knees in front of Amie. Someone had released the silver shackles around her arms and legs, and she was smiling at me with tears in her eyes.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” I asked. My hands went over her body—her arms, her legs—gently checking her out, looking for injuries.

“I’m fine. I’m okay,” she told me over and over again. When I was sure she was okay, I pulled her face down and kissed her. I poured all my emotions into the kiss: my fear, anger, relief, and love. She responded with just as much desperation. We pulled apart for lack of air. I stood up and lifted her into my arms.

“Thank you,” I said to James, who had stood to the side the moment I had rushed to get to Amie. I knew he had been the one who made sure she was freed.

“Anytime,” he said with a nod. I turned around and saw Elder, more or less covered in blood. The sight stunned me.

“You’re okay, sis?” he asked, as if he didn’t have blood dripping from his light brown hair.

“I am. Thank you for coming. Are you okay?” Amie asked him back.

“Never been better.” I made a mental note not to piss either the brother nor the sister off. We all walked out of the room, leaving the cleaning for the council. I had one goal: get Amie to our room. She had put her head on my shoulder, and both my wolf and I took comfort in her closeness. As we stepped out of the elevator on the top floor, the head of the council and a woman I had never seen before stood waiting. I growled and got a poke in my chest from Amie.

“Sorry about that, head councilman. Emotions are running high,” Amie told him. I snorted.

“No need, Luna. I’m happy to see you’re safe, and judging by the state of your mate, the culprit has been dealt with,” he said. Amie smiled a tired smile.

“He has, and his former Beta,” she told him. He nodded.

“This is Healer Aria. I thought she could be of help to check you and the pup,” the man said.

“Thank you. That is very kind of you. We would happily accept her help. Right, Finn?” Amie asked, looking pointedly at me. I didn’t want a stranger near Amie. I didn’t want her in our room. But it did make sense to have Amie and the pup checked out, and it would take us time to get home.

“Yes,” I reluctantly said. I got another poke from Amie. “Thank you,” I added.

“Don’t mention it. I will wait out here,” the head of the council said. I unlocked the door and walked inside with Amie, the healer trailing behind. I put Amie down on the couch.

“May I?” Aria asked. I grunted and stood a little to the side, holding Amie’s hand. The healer examined her and hooked a monitor to her belly. A steady, whooshing sound was heard. “You are doing fine. I can’t see any lasting effects from whatever was used on you. You have no scent; I'm not sure why, and if it will fade or not. I’ll look into it. Otherwise you, and the pup, are healthy and strong. I would advise you to rest. Take a shower and then head to bed. Stay there for at least a day. You can go use the bathroom, but no more. After that, you are free to move around as usual. Let your body tell you when you need to rest,” Aria told us.

“Thank you,” Amie said, and I grunted. “I’m sorry, he usually has quite good manners.” The healer smiled and excused herself. I was torn. I didn’t want to leave Amie, but I did want to make sure the healer was gone and lock the door. I gave in to my need to keep us safe and made sure we were alone and locked in. When I turned around, Amie had stood up.

“What are you doing!?” I asked. She looked at me like I was insane.

“I’m following the healer’s orders. I thought you would like me not arguing.”

“I do,” I said as I walked up to her. “But you shouldn’t be walking around,” I added as I lifted her into my arms. She smiled at me and looked like she was about to kiss my cheek, but scrunched her nose.

“We both need a shower. We might as well take one together. I’m suspecting my brother will check in on us sooner rather than later,” she said. As I liked the first part of her plan, I headed for the bathroom.

“Can’t we just pretend not to be home?” I asked. She laughed, and it warmed my heart.

“No, we can’t. I think it would cause more problems. Now put me down. I need to undress. I suggest we put the clothes in the sink for now and then throw them out.” As I gently placed Amie down, I got a look at myself in the mirror and almost took a step away from the image. I understood why she hadn’t kissed me. I was not as blood-covered as Elder had been, but I wasn’t far off. A light spray of red covered most of my upper body, with splashes in places. Yeah, my clothes were a lost cause, I agreed. We stripped naked and stepped into the shower. It was our third go at it, and this time we turned on the right sprays on the second go. I washed off quickly and then spent a long time washing every inch of Amie’s skin. I wanted any trace of my brother off her, and I could check for injuries as I went. The longer we spent in the shower, the more I noticed Amie’s scent returning. I pulled her to me and nuzzled my nose into her neck. She giggled as I took in her scent.

“You smell like you again,” I told her. I felt her hands roaming over my back.

“That’s nice,” she said. “Thank you for coming to get me,” she then said, leaning her forehead against my shoulder.

“There was never any other option, Red.”

“I’m sorry you had to kill your brother.”

“I’m not. He wasn’t my brother any longer,” I said, and I meant it.

“What should we do about your mother?” Amie asked.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I want her in our pack.” It was hard for me to say the words, but a big part of me believed she could have prevented a lot of the suffering if she had stood up to my brother.

“We can make sure one of our allies takes her in and gives her a good life,” Amie told me. I hummed. I knew our time alone would soon be over. Amie had been right in thinking her brother wouldn’t stay away, and I suspected some of our closest allies would drop by as well. We dried off and put on some comfortable clothes. I made sure Amie was comfortable in bed and sent a message to Jake that he should get the top tier ready for a meeting. There was a knock on the door. I kissed Amie’s forehead and went to open it. It was Elder and the head of the council.

“Is it okay if we see her?” Elder asked.

“Sure,” I agreed. I was on my best behavior, as both Elder and James had been of great help during Amie’s rescue.

“Sis, looking better,” he said as he walked into the bedroom.

“Elder. I can say the same. Red really isn’t your color; leave that to Mom and me,” she told him, and they both laughed.

“Luna, you look better, and I noticed you have got your scent back,” the head of the council said as we followed Elder into the bedroom. He had taken a seat on the edge of the bed, holding his sister’s hand.

“Thank you. I feel better, and whatever was blocking my scent washed away in the shower,” Amie told him. I wanted to push Elder off the bed and take his seat, but I didn’t think Amie would be impressed by it. Instead, I walked up and stood next to the nightstand.

“Have you found something?” I asked the older wolf. He nodded.