Hope

The sharp pain in my stomach steals my breath from my lungs. The panic in my body turns to sheer terror, my heart beating erratically as I fail to catch my breath.

'Connor?!' I mind link over and over again with no response. Kade tries to keep me behind him, but I sneak around him and out the front door. It only takes me a moment to recognize Connor's still form laying in a heap on the blood soaked ground as Draven and Dean peel rogue after rogue off of him.

"Connor!" I scream not paying attention to Kade as he shifts and takes down two rogues in the matter of seconds.

I run to Connor as two more rogues nip and claw at his body.

"NO!" I cry and reach my hand out to him.

The wolves suddenly fly off of his body, landing in lifeless heaps ten feet away. I have no idea what just happened, but I don't have time to linger. I see a rogue coming at Kade from behind. He doesn't see the wolf, his eyes trained on me.

"Kade!" I scream pointing towards the rogue behind him. He turns, but not in time to avoid the other wolf. It scrapes its paw against his face, but Kade makes no indication he's hurt. It's as if the paw slid off his face, the claws making no connection. He looks at me confused, but turns back around to dispose of the rogue quickly. I turn and run to Connor, covering his lifeless form with my own body, pouring every ounce of healing energy into him. I feel my hands heat almost painfully as I wait for some form of movement, any indication that he will be ok.

The sounds of the battle diminish into silence around me. I look up to see the fighting has finished, the rogues have been killed and pack members stand watching me anxiously.

Watching their Luna try to save their Alpha.

I redouble my efforts, using all of my strength and pushing it into his body. I feel my strength begin to wane and then suddenly, I hear the steady thumping of his heart within his chest. Relief floods me, but I don't let up. I move my hands around his body, healing cuts and abrasions as I go. He begins to flinch, the first few signs of life cause tears to prick my eyes. Connor's body begins to ripple and reform back into his human form. He is laying on his stomach, face turned towards me. He lets out a deep, pained moan and I choke back a sob.

I never thought I'd be so grateful to see him in pain.

My strength is fading quickly, but I can't stop until he's fully healed.

Until he's whole.

"Come on, baby. Wake up." I plead with him quietly. He thrashes at the sound of my voice and his eyes flutter open.

"Hope!" He calls out desperately, his eyes frantically searching.

"I'm here, baby. I'm right here." I say weakly as the effort of healing him mixed with the relief of seeing him alive causes me to slump in exhaustion. He pushes into a sitting position and grabs around my waist, pulling me into his lap.

Tears flood my face, trailing down his naked chest as he soothes me.

"Shhh... sweetheart it's ok. I'm here and everything is going to be fine." He says with such resolve I almost believe him.

Almost.

"I need to tell you things, stóirín. Important things. But not here. I need you to breathe and relax. We have warriors who need healed." He says quietly and I nod, clinging to him as if scared he will disappear if I let go.

"I was so scared." I admit meeting his brilliant green eyes. He looks pained and wipes tears from my face.

"I know. And I'm sorry. But it had to happen. Come on. Let's get our men healed so we can talk." He says and his calm demeanor confuses me.

The guy almost died.

I nod as he helps me to stand and slips on a pair of shorts. He lifts me and carries me to the pack hospital where I make a round and heal every one that needs me. My body is limp by the end, totally spent from the emotions and efforts of the day. I had never expended so much healing power at one time and I couldn't even bare my own weight on my legs.

Luckily Connor was there to carry me.

'I'll always carry you, stóirín.' He links me with a grin.

The thought made me smile and I looked up at him, running my hand along the course lines of his jaw relishing the bits of stubble that tickled my fingertips. He looks down on me with adoring his eyes, his smile warm and wide as he leans down to press his lips to mine.

"You're incredible, stóirín. More than you even know." He mutters pressing a kiss against my forehead. I want to ask him what he means, why he seems so calm and what he wants to talk about, but the gentle swaying of his arms as he walks lulls me into a state of connectedness.

I rest my head against his chest, nuzzling my nose into his warm skin, inhaling his scent. His chest rumbles, enjoying my closeness. The vibrations soothe me and my eyelids become too heavy. I close them and succumb to the fretful sleep calling me.

I don't know how much later it is when I stir awake the events of the day come pouring down on me and I jerk awake.

"Relax, sweet girl. I've got you, everything's fine." Connor coos and I open my eyes to see we're laying in our bed, me tucked into his side.

"What happened, Connor? Are you ok?" I ask frantically, my eyes roaming his body looking for any injuries.

"I'm fine, baby. You healed me. And you're good at what you do." He says with a smug smile making my lips twitch.

"I'll explain everything." He says tightening his arms around me. "But first I need to know, did anything strange happen while I was hurt?" He asks searching my eyes for something.

My brows furrow as I think back to the battle, me trying to get to him, and I nod.

"Yes. Some rogues were on top of you. You were unconscious. I reached for you and the rogues flew off your body. They were dead before they hit the ground. Then Kade was being attacked. A rogue slashed his face but it's like the hit rolled right off. Not a scratch. It was crazy." I said looking up at him and he breathes an obvious sigh of relief.

"Oh good. So it wasn't a dream." He murmurs kissing my forehead.

The slight touch sets my skin on fire and I'm so grateful he's ok, I don't stop myself from pushing up and gripping his lips with my own, pouring my emotions into a sloppy, sexy kiss. He growls making me open my mouth so he can slip his velvety tongue against mine. I move to straddle him, grinding down on his growing length, wanting nothing more than to feel as one with my mate. He pulls away reluctantly and rests his forehead with mine, breathing heavily trying to catch his breath. My own chest heaves as I try to fill my lungs with oxygen, enjoying the puffy redness of his freshly kissed lips. He smiles as he reads my thoughts and I shudder at the moisture that smirk creates between my legs.

"We'll get to that, stóirín. But first we need to talk." He says. I humph my disappointment, making him chuckle, and pull back to look at his beautiful face, cupping his cheeks in my hands and running my thumbs along his strong jaw.

"OK, what do we need to talk about?" I ask. He sighs heavily, tightening his grip on my hips. He looks away as if considering his next words carefully, before looking back into my eyes, his green meeting my blue.

"Well." He says before smiling nervously. "I met the Moon Goddess." I chuckle and shake my head, smacking his shoulder playfully.

"Yeah, sure and Elvis is my bestie." I say sardonically and Connor shakes his head before giving me a firm look.

"No Hope. I did. I really met the Moon Goddess." I search our bond and find nothing but honesty from him. I gasp at the realization, my eyes widening as he stares at me.

"Well." I say nervously as my heart beat kicks up a couple of notches and my palms slick with sweat. "This oughta be good."