Facing the hospital again brought my insecurities to the surface, no matter how much I told myself I was over it, the trembling of my hands proved otherwise.

This time is different, my wolf told me, trying to calm me down. Almec is with us.

Upon hearing his name, I instinctively turned around, looking for my husband.

A shy smile grew on my face, he went with me just as he had promised, arranging his other commitments so he could be by my side for my second test.

He looked as unfazed as ever, sometimes I wished I could take part of his strength, just a pinch would be more than enough for me.

"Everything's fine?" Almec asked me, tilting his head towards me. "You've been looking at my face for at least five minutes."

I shook my head. "It's nothing, I was just wondering how you can be so strong. I can't stop shaking and you seem calmer than ever."

"I learned to pretend to be calm over the years, it is easier to accomplish my tasks when others think nothing affects me," Almec confessed. He brought his hand under my chin and lifted my face until our eyes met. "You got this. To be honest, I think you are better qualified to visit the wounded than I am."

"That's not true, you're their alpha, they'll surely be happy about your visit."

Almec brushed his thumb against my jaw. "It's true that they respect me but they are still afraid of me. You, on the other hand, are full of compassion and are as warm as the sun. I'm sure just seeing you will brighten their day."

"You're making it sound like I'm some kind of goddess," I said, hitting his chest softly.

"Maybe you are." He smiled at me and pecked my lips. "My own goddess, sent to save my life."

"For the Moon Goddess, stop it. I think working so hard burned out your neurons."

Almec laughed and kissed my forehead before letting me go.

"Let's get inside, they must be waiting for us." He put his hand against my back to guide me. "They must especially be waiting for you, my goddess."

"I said stop," I whined, hiding my face in my hands in embarrassment.

"Why? I like it, I should make it your new nickname."

Almec did not stop bothering me until we reached the hospitalization area. His ridiculous statements made me forget about my nerves about entering the hospital and instead of feeling like I was going to faint, I spent the whole way laughing.

"You tricked me," I whispered to him, smiling.

Almec winked at me and patted my back before moving his hand away from me. "I don't know what you're talking about, I was sincerely flattering you. Now can't I point out my wife's qualities?"

I would have followed the playful banter if it weren't for our presence drawing too much attention. Murmurs of surprise surrounded us and the gazes of families and hospital staff followed us every step.

"Who are we going to visit?" I asked Almec, while my nerves were crawling up my legs again.

"A group of bandits attacked our territory close to the north border, the group of warriors I sent to stop them mostly ended up wounded," Almec explained to me, leading me down the hallway. "It is our duty to visit them to see how they are and in the process, I can ask them exactly what happened."

"Aren't attacks on our borders increasing lately?" I asked him, in a whisper.

"That's exactly what worries me," Almec confessed, stopping in front of one of the doors. "The first two warriors are here, Patrick and Carmine, they were in charge of the operation."

"Carmine? The warrior who accompanied me and Faustina to the lake?"

"The one and only," Almec answered me, opening the door.

The two men were awake, joking with each other as if nothing had happened. Their laughter was louder than the sound of the television that seemed forgotten even though the movie was still running.

"Alpha," Patrick greeted Almec, sitting up. He looked away from him to me and waved timidly with his hand that wasn't in a cast. "Are you here for the interrogation?"

"I wanted to see how you're doing," Almec replied, standing in front of the two beds. "And I also have some questions."

"Whatever you have to ask, ask him, my head needs a rest," Carmine said, pointing to the large bandage on his shaved head.

It was strange to see him like this after having met his long blonde hair.

"Why don't you tell us how your injuries are first?" I asked them, standing next to Almec.

"We're fine, nothing to worry about," Patrick answered with a smile. "I just have some cuts and my left hand is broken as you can see."

"It looks worse than it is." Carmine leaned his body against the back of his bed. "The only thing that hurts me is that they had to shave my hair."

"Small injuries in exchange for a job done." Patrick patted the cast. "And now with the visit of our luna we will surely heal faster."

"I told you they would be happier to see you," Almec whispered to me. "Were you able to catch them all?"

"Not a single one could escape," Carmine replied. "Although to be honest it wasn't a group that seemed to have much combat experience. The only thing that complicated us was their numbers."

"Bandits with no combat experience?" Almec crossed his arms.

"It also seemed strange to me, they usually know how to defend themselves, otherwise it is dangerous to be stealing at the borders," Patrick said. "Also, from what the people who live in the area told us, they only saw them steal once."

"It's like they did it to get our attention," Carmine added.

"Were you able to get any information out of them?" Almec asked.

"Nothing, they insisted on their story of poor people who steal to survive," Patrick said. "We left them with Geldra in jail, maybe she managed to make them talk."

It was already beginning, the fight for the territories that General Ziebler had warned me about. Almec preferred not to inform me of all the pack's problems to avoid worrying me, but even so, I knew that the other packs were surrounding us, waiting for the right moment to attack.

One battle ended and another appeared without even letting us recover. Was it too much to ask to live without fear of losing my loved ones?

Even having to face the members of the pack in the tests caused me less fear than knowing that another war was coming.

"I'll talk to her later," Almec told them. "That's all for today, unless you need something from me, there are more people waiting for us."

"You can go," Patrick told him, grinning. "But I'm afraid I need the company of my luna to heal better."

"Don't even joke about that," Almec warned him, grabbing his shoulder, although his tone of voice wasn't serious at all.

"Don't speak so loudly, Patrick, your mate could hear you from the next room," Carmine told him, raising an eyebrow.

Patrick started laughing and patted the hand that Almec had on his shoulder. "If Tina asks you, I didn't say anything."

"You should have thought about it before trying to flirt with my mate." Almec patted him on the shoulder before letting him go.

The two men were still laughing when Almec and I left the room. The atmosphere was so different from when we entered the hospital, it was like the veil of problems that covered me had been lifted for a moment, letting me breathe.

Or at least that's how I felt until I looked up at Almec.

He looked tense, not a single bit of the joy he had shown in the room left in his body. With his fists pressed against his sides and his gaze of despair fixed on the ground, Almec seemed to be fighting against his feelings.

"What's going on?" I asked him, cupping his face.

Almec just closed his eyes instead of answering me.

"Please talk to me," I said softly, caressing his cheeks with my thumbs. "Does it have to do with the attacks on our borders? Are you worried?"

"Not worried. I'm furious."

Almec opened his eyes and for a second I got lost in the intensity of its red color.

That intense tone came to light only once: when the Lycan woke up.

"Everything is fine," I told him, resting my forehead against his. "Just take a deep breath."

Almec closed his fists against my shirt, squeezing the fabric tightly. Instead of calming down, his breathing became unstable, preventing him from speaking.

"You're going to be okay," I whispered, concentrating on the flow of my energy.

It took a few minutes to spread the sense of calm through Almec, his anger battled against my power with force until I finally managed to contain it.

The red in Almec's eyes disappeared and his hands released my shirt, moving to settle on my back.

"I'm sorry." It was the first thing Almec said to me as he rested his face against my head. He placed a kiss on my hair and straightened, releasing me. "Please tell me no one saw me."

"They didn't, this hallway has been very quiet for a while." I smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "Now that I think about it, it's a little strange."

As if the universe had answered my question, a wave of screams reached the hallway. Almec and I looked at each other in surprise before approaching the windows to look for the source of the noise.

"That explains it all," Almec muttered, watching the fight happening in the street.

From the third floor it was not possible to distinguish the people very well, but it was clear that a young man was fighting against a group of at least five people. I was struck by the ease with which he defended himself against his attackers, he was probably one of the warriors.

I was about to ask Almec if we should intervene to stop them when the young man turned in our direction and raised his head.

"Isn't that Romeo?" I asked. "You know, the Moon Guardians member."

"Fuck, you're right," Almec said before running off.

I followed him as fast as I could, although the difference in height and agility between us prevented me from reaching his side.

We left the hospital and Almec accelerated his steps, leaving me behind. I shouted his name to stop him, knowing that nothing good could happen if Almec acted out of anger, especially when his Lycan had almost awakened.

"What's going on here?" Almec shouted, stopping the fight.

I couldn't see his face but judging from how tense the muscles in his back looked, Almec must have been furious.

"Alpha, what brings you here?" Romeo asked, releasing the man he had by the shirt.

"I'm here to find out what all this fuss is about," Almec replied, approaching him.

I ran towards Almec as discreetly as I could to not arouse any suspicion. Without saying anything I stood next to him and brushed my shoulder against his arm.

"Sorry, alpha." One of the men involved in the fight reacted first, lowering his head in a bow. "This young man insulted one of our children when he accidentally hit him with a ball."

"Not only did he insult him, he also pushed him and threw him to the ground," another man added.

"Those kids should know how to respect their superiors," Romeo said, fixing his shirt. "I'm the future beta of Moon Guardians, he doesn't even have the right to speak to me."

"I don't care how things work in your pack." Almec looked down at Romeo. "You don't fight with children here regardless of the reason, and I hope it's clear to you that your rank doesn't matter as long as you're in my territory."

"A beta is a beta no matter where he is," Romeo said, stepping on the toe of Almec's sneaker. "But I accept your rules because unlike your people I am civilized."

The tension was so much that I thought I would have to intervene to prevent my husband from ripping Romeo apart, however, Almec clenched his jaw and took two steps back.

"I'll let you go for today but I don't want to hear about you starting fights in my pack again."

Romeo smirked at the men he was fighting.

"Whatever you say, alpha." He walked past Almec, hitting him with his arm. "If you don't want to see more fights in your pack, perhaps it would be more convenient for you to accept our proposal quickly."