1 Week Later

The camp was in disarray.

The moment they had been awoken by the loud call of Ju-long at the crack of dawn, they had been on their feet. Worry riddled faces, speaking in hushed whispers as they prepped the camp for the return of the warriors. The sombre atmosphere was a clear signal that things had not gone as well as they had planned.

Ju-long, the resident Alpha had received a distress call last night, they had told him to ready the bays. Who exactly had contacted him she wasn't quite sure but he had responded as if fire had been licking at his feet.

They had been up before the sun had ascended across the skyline and they would be up until it descended if need be. There would be no rest until they were home and even then the work would only really begin.

Tension was in the air as the camp got ready to tend to their mates, the medical bay was prepped and the children were taken to the pool under the watchful sight of some of the mateless wolves. They would remain for a while before they would be taken to the furthest part of the camp for lessons. Anything to keep their little insightful minds off of what was happening around them.

They were playing a waiting game now. Time ticking and the sun descending as they waited with abated breath for the horror story that they would see. Jana wanted to panic, she wanted to cry for the horror that they would surely face this day but as the Luna she couldn't.

She had to be strong, even when these people before her were crumbling on the inside. She had to hold onto hope. Hope that Simeon was okay and that none of her pack would have to experience that soul crushing loss.

She couldn't loose anyone else. Loosing Jeremy had been hard enough, his death had been abrupt and horrific. His body had been covered by a sheet as she had demanded to see him. She had to see to believe and she had seen.

His face had barely been recognisable, half of it smashed to mush. Nothing but bone and flesh. His plummet to his death had been horrific and heartbreaking to live with. It had taken her months to close her eyes and see anything other than his ruined face and even longer to move on from his death.

She didn't want any of these people to have to experience that unbearable pain, yet she knew that this was the life they lived.

Every wolf here had accepted this. They had created a pack, a home around this type of lifestyle and when their mates went a way they lived that bleak existence. They created a community that did more than survive when their mates were gone to war, they thrived.

These wolves were strong, not physically like their counterparts but mentally. They had a strength that was unfathomable. Every night the fear of their mates lives hanged over their heads and instead of being inconsolable, they straightened their backs and continued fighting.

They raised their children, hunted and most importantly supported each other. Women helped widowers with raising their children, there was nothing that one woman couldn't do that another wouldn't help with.

They were intelligent and resourceful. Some females cooked whilst others practiced medicine under the three main doctors. Others worked in the armoury, they followed leads and inputted data from the large comms devices. Each device alerted them to attacks that had taken place across the country and the females would chart this in hopes that they could pinpoint one of the many hundred bases that the Resentiam occupied.

This camp was more than she had ever thought it was. Each persons role was just as important as the other, their was no superior. Even Alpha Ju-long, who stayed behind, did not pride himself in being above them. They all carried and helped each other and in times like this, instead of wallowing in the despair that suffocated the air they breathed, they kept moving.

They came together and supported each other. Though they were coined as rogues or lone wolfs by the Alpha council and the Wolfen Brethren, these wolves were so much more. They were like the packs of old. They lived how their nature dictated they should.

It was a harsh life but to be a part of this community was a blessing. They provided for each other and if any mate was to become a widower they would not be alone. The mate and their children would be cared for because there was a fountain of love in this camp. It had taken Jana a while to see this. To be accepted into this circle but now that she was, she was determined to do right by them.

"How much longer?" prodded Jana, her question gaining the attention of very female in the room. Though many refused to look up from the tasks they were doing, she knew their ears were straining to hear the Alpha's reply.

"A few hours at most, they are back in the region" his eyes never leaving the screen of his device, fingers flying and typing at buttons. A low hum leaving his mouth as a red image popped up on his screen. Tapping it again some indecipherable words came up and his brows furrowed. His teeth sinking into his lips as his hand moved vigorously over the screen. A frustrated growl rumbling in his stomach.

Alpha Ju-long was different to every other Alpha she had ever met, he was quiet and introverted. He led with a quiet respect, one that came with his aura of wisdom. He looked young, younger than most werewolves but behind his slanted eyes spoke years of knowledge.

"What are you doing?" her head leaning over his shoulder as she tried to peer at his device. The letters and numbers were complete gibberish, continusouly shifting and altering as he clicked on the letters.

"Each truck has a tracker installed but to stop any random person from finding their coordinates it has been encrypted." Jana slowly nodded her head, his words ruminating in her mind until she fully understood his words. Confusion filled her eyes but she prompted him to continue talking.

"I'm trying to decipher it but its quite difficult." His fingers plucking at his lip, as he stilled his tapping on the screen. His small dark eyes remained on the screen as he breathed steadily. His pupils remaining still, not one blink of his lashes as he watched the code shift from one number to another.

Huffing a deep sigh in annoyance she stood in silence, waiting for the Alpha to make some move but all he did was stare at the continuously shifting code."Well who made it, surely they can figure it out."

"Yes well I made it and it's not that simple. I created a long encryption that would self-encode." He replied dryly.

Her teeth grinding together and hands clenching, she peered up at the completely oblivious male. "What?"

Breathing heavily through his nose he removed his eyes from the screen to look at Jana, her lip worried between her teeth. "Once someone tries to locate their coordinates the code will constantly change itself every few seconds, making it virtually impossible to track them."

The idea of a self-encoding code seemed complexly genius and dumb at the same time. Of course it was smart because it safeguarded their warriors locations but it was also a hindrance. Ju-long had spent most of the morning and gods know how long during the night trying to encrypt this code but still no luck.

"Don't worry I'm nearly done." His tone blasé as he began tapping back on the screen, this time his fingers moving impossibly faster. A clicking noise resounded from the device causing his hands to slap harder on the screen. Dancing about as her eyes moved erratically trying to follow his hands.

"I don't even want to know how." Her words a quiet huff under her breath.

"Good, it would be too time consuming to explain and we don't have time because-" the machine blinked a green colour and his head lifted from the screen, "-they are here."

The wailing of females filled her ears informing her the they were in fact here. Running from the tent and joining the head of moving people she caught sight of some of the males being carried away on stretchers.

Their bodies bodied and scarred, the white and dark red of guts and bones peaking through torn open skin. The cloying smell of smoke and burnt flesh filled her nose as more and more severely wounded males were carried past her.

Limbs hung loose, barely attached to the body as males dragged themselves to the infirmary. More and more wounded and barely conscious people flowing past her, her mind a foggy cloud as she stopped moving. Her eyes taking in the carnage around her, she could not move. Her heart in her throat as tears trailed down her eyes.

Carrina's white scarf entered her vision, mouth moving as she spoke intelligible words. When Jana only blinked in time to the white static that filled her ears, the female shook her shoulder forcing the haze to evaporate from her mind. Sound reinterred her mind as she caught the trailing of Carinna's sentence over the loud shouts of distress.

"Th me," head bobbing as she disappeared into the crowd. Her white scarf leading the way as Jana began moving, her feet carrying her without her minds consent. Men and women lined her path, crying, sobbing and hugging. glimpsing over each horrific and heart wrenching sight until it became touch for her soul to carry.

Dark thoughts of all the possible outcomes blackened her mind. The bond still felt alive but it was weaker, quieter, wounded. Her feet stumbled to a stop at the small vibration of pain that filtered through her body, her soul spasming through her limbs.

Clutching her heart, she kept moving through the crowded area. Sight blurry with tears, she somehow made it to the entrance to the camp. The sight before her caused her heart to stutter.

Her soul lurched from her body, carrying her to where she needed to be.

"Simeon" she gasped, dropping to the floor as she kneeled before him. her arms wrapping around his bloody and weary shoulders like a second skin.

The metallic smell of blood and the tsench of his body odour clung to her nostrils. the smells so strong she could almost taste it but it was the best smell she had ever scented because it was simeon. he was dirty and blood but he was alive.

"Just about" he grouched replying to her spoken thoughts. The humour in his voice causing her to break out into sobs.

She hadn't known she cared that much about him but the sight of him alive had confirmed that she did. The bond had melded them together and now she would always care if this male was okay. Just the thought of the wounds he had surely suffered caused her soul to wither and twist. If she had lost him this day, she wouldn't know how to cope. How to move forward. Though there was no love, there was something between them that she could not ignore. That made it impossible for her to not care.

His bloody face sunk into her hair as he hushed her against her temple, murmuring along her skin as he clutched her warm body in his arms. Her closed, wet lids dripped into his chest but neither cared. They needed the comfort of each other's arms.

Her tears gushed from her like a raging tempest and her soul hummed, the warmth of feeling him there was like nothing she had ever felt. She felt whole, complete. She was tranquil even in the eye of the storm that was their life. That would perhaps always be her life now.

"I missed you too, pójdźka," he whispered into her skin, the word resonating in her heart. "Missed you so much." Sniffling into his skin she buried her head deeper, eyes clenching tighter as she just listened to the sound of his beating heart. The sound calming her, relaxing her body to a lull.

"Gods, you smell good," inhaling her hair he moved his head further down the side of her face. Her lids fluttered open as her brown orbs met his darker ones. Her breath hitched in her throat and her heart rate skyrocketed. Heat pooled between her thighs and her eyes dilated with lust.

Sighing a deep breath he inhaled the smell of her desire, eyes rolling as a growl rumbled in his chest. Mouth dry and body shaking, she really looked at him. His pale white face was smeared in black and red, his wounds beginning to scab over as the blood dried. Grit and dirt hid the features she had begun to care for in his absence.

Leaning further away from him, she quickly perused over his body. His top was torn to shreds, blood turning the green top black in places. His body favoured one foot over the other and on a further look, she could see the torn flesh that peaked through the ripped trouser leg. His arms felt wet around her back telling her that he was still bleeding.

"Lets get you to the infirmary," she murmured.

"Scared I'm gonna die in your arms" he chuckled humorously but she could not find the humour in the situation. Her lip wobbled and her eyes flared in annoyance and fear.

"Don't joke like that," she growled, pushing on his shoulder before snatching her hand back at his he gasp of pain. Tears pooled in her eyes as she bit on her lip to stop the tears, "sorry" she cried, burying her head back into his chest.

His hand stroked along her head as he held her tighter to him, hands shifting down to her back as he continued comforting her. "Shh, its okay. I'm sorry it wasn't funny."

"No, no. It's me, I'm just emotional. I didn't think I cared that much." She sniffled wiping at her tears.

He grimaced at her words, trying not to take offence but she knew he had. It would hurt to hear that your mate hadn't cared for you until they had noticed you were wounded but he brushed it away "Seeing a bleeding mate will definitely make you care."

Indeed it had. Seeing Simeon as he was, had spoken to her deepest fears. It had given her a glimpse of what it would be like without him. It was not something she ever hoped to live through.

She moved from the shelter his arms provided and lightly held his arm "Let me help you to the medical bay" she pleaded even as he shook his head in denial.

"I'm fine" he grunted clearly exhibiting that he wasn't fine.

"No you aren't. Simeon, just please." She was begging this male to see medical help but he refused, as if the pain he was surely going through was nothing.

"I have things to do, but-" his hand raising as he stopped her from interrupting his words "-but as soon as I am done securing the prisoners, I will let you personally see to me. Tak?"

His eyes widened in shock as she growled one of the few words Zosia had taught her in Polish "Nie." Her arms folding across her chest as she dared him to argue with her.

"Did you just say no?" His mouth hanging wide as he refused to believe he heard her correctly. It was a small word but it was still a word that she had gone out of her way to learn in his language.

"Tak, oczywiście" she was grinning now. Proud that even if her pronunciation wasn't correct, she had remembered some of the simpler terms little Zosia had taught her.

Simeon was clearly proud of her too because he abruptly kissed her. It was quick and fast but it heated her skin and left her lips tingling. Aching for more.

"Just for that, i'll let you have your way." He hummed placing his thick arm over her shoulder as he leaned heavily on her, taking the pressure off his wounded leg. Body dragging as she made sure to take small and slow steps to lessen the pain he was too proud to mention.

Tonight would be a long night but she was glad that Simeon was still breathing, glad that he would be alright.

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Oczywiście - Of course.