The Secrets of the Panther
Chapter 111

DALE

I watch as my best friend collapses beside his mate.

“DADDY,” screams Allie.

I quickly take action. “Get Allie to the hospital; she needs to be checked over,” I say to Lena, who comes straight to my side. I can feel her worry about her friend. But Lena pulls Allie into her arms and walks back towards the pack house.

I can hear Allie's pleas for her to return to be with her parents; I close my eyes.

I lost my father and maybe my sister and best friend in this war.

Someone touches my arm, pulling me back from my grief. I can’t grieve now; I must ensure everyone is safe and counted on.

I opened my eyes and stared back towards my sister Kacey; she had tears as she looked between Blake and Izzy.

“They’re alive,” I say to her. “We need to get them to the hospital.” She nods but doesn’t move.

“Kacey,” I say to her, making her look back at me. “We need to get everyone back to the pack house or the hospital,” I said. “We need to replace everyone.”

Kacey takes a deep breath in and out. Charley places her hand on her shoulder. “Come on, let’s get Izzy to the hospital,” she says. Emotions also strangle her voice, but she is trying to help.

Kacey nods as a few guards approach us with stretchers for Izzy and Blake. They place them on the stretchers and lift them.

I get up simultaneously and walk behind them, watching as my friend and his mate are injured.

I follow, but I notice the Alpha and Luna staring at something, a body. I know who it was. It didn’t get burned in the fire.

I walk over to them but stop before the body and the Alpha.

A look of sympathy was written on his face; Luna was comforting him. The Alpha lost his best friend tonight, but I lost my father. “I’m so sorry, Dale,” he says with emotion. “He wanted to help and save Allie,” I say as I stare at him. “He was the only one that could get through the barrier.”

The Alpha nods. “True, he was a true fighter,” he says.

I looked down at my father’s body; his eyes were open. His throat had a clean slate that witch slit open from side to side.

The Luna bends down and places her figures over his eyes, placing them on his eyelids and closing them. She looks at me. “He looks like he is sleeping,” she says softly.

I think my face must have said something else. I can hear someone approaching us and glance up to see Alice.

Alice looked worried, but I could see more bodies approaching us. “What’s wrong?” I ask her.

Alice’s eyes were on my dad, but she looked at me. The worry was there. “I can’t replace my parents,” she says. “They had the kids, but that vampire had them. I don’t know where they were,” she says.

I was about to say something, but a little voice came to the other side. “I know where they are.” I looked at the young boy, and his face was white.

“Can you show me?” Alice asks. He nods, and they walk towards the forest, but I call out. “Alice, wait, I will come with you,” I say.

“Me too,” says a gruff voice.

I looked to see Drake. He was standing a few feet away from the Alpha and Luna. They stare at him with a blank expression on their faces.

I nod to him. “Okay,” I say.

I had no more fight in me to question anything anymore. We needed to replace Kat and Todd. We follow the boy and Alice towards the forest.

We walk together.

Drake used to bother with Blake and me when we were younger. We were all good friends before all the crap happened with his father.

A question came to my mind, and I wanted to know. I would have asked Blake, but he’s unconscious. “Why did you change sides?” I ask as I turn to look at Drake.

He was staring ahead. “I found out that Elder Johnson made a potion to control me. He made me forget my mate. He told me my mate was dead, but he held her in a safe house with vampires and werewolves,” he said and looked at me. “I know I did wrong, but I knew Izzy would kill them.”

I sigh. “I guess you will want to talk to Blake when he wakes up,” I ask him as I look ahead.

Drake said nothing, but I could feel his eyes on me.

The boy and Alice are walking ahead in silence.

Drake was about to say something, but a foul smell came from the front of us. I looked at Drake, who was staring at me.

We both move faster and overtake the boy and Alice. But we come to the scene, which makes Alice fall to her knees by my side with a shriek. I can’t help but glance at the boy; he places his hand on her shoulder when he gets to her side.

I walk forward and stare at the sight.

There was blood everywhere, but there were just two bodies. I glance at Drake, and I point to the man’s body. He looks at the body but reflects at me. He knows what he has to do, and he nods in agreement.

No words were said, just the forest’s silence and its noises.

We both walk over to the bodies and kneel. I could tell I was kneeling by Kat.

I glance at Drake, and he stares back at me. He shakes his head, and a sob leaves Alice’s mouth. I looked at Kat and placed my two fingers on her neck; there was a lot of blood on the floor. The vampire must have bitten her and drunk some of her blood. I feel her neck and listen carefully.

I can feel something. I listened, and there it was again. She had a heartbeat, but it was weak.

I glance up at Drake. “She’s alive,” I say.

Drake walks over to me and checks as well. He nods and looks at Alice. “We need to take her now to the hospital,” he says. “I will take her; I can carry her there.”

I look at Alice as she nods.

No words come out.

Drake picks Kat and carries her, and he walks fast.

I got up and walked over to Alice; she was staring at the body.

“Paul, you need to come here,” I say as I open the mind link to him. “Todd is dead, but Kat is alive, barely.”

“Shit,” he says, “Where’s Alice?”

“I’m with her. I will stay till you come,” I say, closing down the mind link.

I place my hand out to Alice, which she takes. I pull her up and pull her into a hug, and she sobs. I can feel her tears on my shoulder.

I look down to see the young boy staring at Todd’s body. “I liked him; he was funny,” he says as he looks up at me. “He protected Allie and me.”

I smiled; I knew he would. He loved Allie like she was his own.

After a few moments, Paul comes into view with three other men.

Our eyes met; I nodded and pulled away from Alice.

Paul comes to her and wraps her in his arms.

I needed to get to the hospital; I needed my mate.

I turn to head back, but I glance at the boy. “Do you want to come with me?” I ask him, “You can get checked out, and I know Allie will need her friend.”

I place my hand out for him to take, which he does.

We both walk back to the pack house in silence.

“Alpha,” I say as I open another mind link.

“Dale, Drake just brought Kat into the hospital,” he says. “How’s Todd?”

“He’s dead; Alice and Paul are bringing his body back with a few others helping,” I say.

“Crap, we lost some good people today,” he says, sadness sweeping in.

“I’m coming to the pack hospital,” I say.

I glance down at the little boy.

He stares ahead.

“I will see you soon,” says Alpha Derek. He closes the mind link down.

As the pack hospital gets closer, we walk back through the forest. There are loads of people running in and out of there.

I stop, and the boy comes to a stop too.

I looked towards the entrance, and there, staring back at me, was Lena; she searched the grounds, but once her eyes found mine, I could see her sigh. We were locked onto each other, and her eyes were full of sadness and concern.

I glance down at the boy. “You can stay with me till we know what’s going on,” I tell him.

The boy looks up and nods.

“What’s your name?” I ask him.

“Archer,” he says. I stare back at him. “Well, Archer, let’s see Allie.” He nods, and we turn to face the hospital.

We both start walking towards the hospital, but Lena runs towards me before I get to the steps. She wraps her arms around me as I let go of Archer’s hand. I lean into her neck and breathe in her scent.

It instantly calms me down.

I move away slightly. “How are they?” I ask.

Lena looks up at me, a tear escaping from the corner of her eye. “Blake has burns on his back; he’s still unconscious,” she says. “Allie is fine. All the blood on her was from others, and I don’t know about Izzy.”

I nod.

I glance down, “This is Archer; he is staying with us while we wait to replace out about everyone,” I say to her as she looks at Archer. “He’s Allie’s friend.”

Lena bends down and places her hand on his. “I think Allie could do with a friend right now.”

He nods.

Lena moves and grabs my hand. “I think we all should wait to replace out what’s going on,” she says.

I say nothing but nod.

We all head up the steps and straight into the hospital. I glance around and look towards the waiting room.

Everyone was in there waiting. We have a long wait, and now we must wait to see what happens.

The only thing on everyone’s mind is the ones in the hospital, but one thing hits me: the war was over, and we have won. But at what cost?

I sit next to my sister, and Lena sits on my other side.

Archer sits next to Allie, who is with Anita and Alpha Dawson.

Drake walks in, covered in blood. He looks at me but looks towards the woman sitting on her own. He walks over and sits beside her, wrapping her in his arms.

I look at the entrance door, waiting for someone to come in to tell me if my sister is alive or dead.