"My dad?" I asked frantically, turning all my attention the the guard.

"It's a young female," he stated, pointing out into the forest. "I suggest you come and take a look Alpha."

Logan nodded, stepping out of the house and walking past me, giving Theo a look of fury.

"You!" exclaimed the guard, marching up to Theo and grabbing him by the shoulder. "We've been looking for you!"

Logan turned to look at us, his eyes flickering to my pleading ones for a split second before he sighed, shaking his head. "Leave him, he's not a threat. Just show me the girl."

The guard raised his eyebrows, puzzled, but followed Logan's orders and stepped away from Theo, leading Logan towards the forest.

I waited a few seconds before following, hoping Logan wasn't going to object, but he seemed too intent on the situation to even notice Theo and I trailing behind him.

"What if it's dangerous?" whispered Theo, grabbing my hand and pulling me to a stop.

I shook my head, smiling. "Theo, it'll be fine. We can keep our distance; I just really want to see how Logan handles this."

Theo nodded, gently nudging me forward. "Okay, but we keep our distance. I wouldn't be able to face your Dad knowing I arrived here and instantly got you killed."

I rolled my eyes, continuing to stealthily follow Logan and the guard through the busy village, turning the corner towards the forest. "So my father sent you here to babysit me?"

"No, he wanted me to come and talk to you and just check you were doing alright, but I told him I was coming here for me, not him. I didn't like the way things were left, and I needed to talk to you."

"About what exactly?" I asked, scanning the forest for Logan's form.

"My mother called me last night. She said she wants me to come back and she misses me."

I turned to Theo, my brows furrowed. "You're leaving?"

The thought of Theo leaving to go back to his old pack struck a cord in my heart, and it physically hurt. Theo was a close friend of mine and I didn't want this to be our goodbye. I didn't want him to leave, knowing I would probably not see him again.

"I don't want to go back yet, but James' pack is small and you were the only good thing about it, but now you're gone. I feel like I don't really have a purpose there anymore Eliza."

Theo dropped his gaze, avoiding eye contact.

I sighed, running my hands through my chestnut brown hair in frustration. I didn't want to lose Theo as a friend. Our friendship had only just started; it couldn't be over already. "We'll figure something out."

Theo gave me a sad smile, nodding slightly, and I turned, feeling a wave of sadness wash over me. I pushed the feelings aside, making my way through the forest, following the distant sound of Logan's voice.

I had guessed he probably knew I was there, but he didn't seem bothered at all. He seemed to be ignoring me in front of his pack members, not wanting to cause a scene.

Theo and I turned the corner, stumbling through the forest as it became more and more dense, letting us know we were reaching the border, but just as I was about to step around a large oak tree, I smashed into a hard chest.

I looked up to see Logan, shaking his head at me as he held onto my arms, steadying me. "Why are you following me?"

"I want to see what's going on too," I stated, trying to peer around his large form.

"I don't want you leaving the territory if this girl is injured. It could mean there's something dangerous out there."

Logan voice was quiet, trying to keep the argument between us so nobody could hear.

"Don't you think I should be involved in things like this Logan?" I said quietly, raising my eyebrows as I walked past him, but he grabbed my arm, pulling me to a halt.

"Stop. You can stay here and watch from a distance, but do not leave the territory," ordered Logan, turning and walking round the large oak tree.

A peered around the tree to see a young girl on the floor, curled up in a fetal position, wailing out in pain. I gasped at the blood soaked grass as she screamed, trying to lash out at anyone that came near her.

She was surrounded, and probably felt very threatened. I could see the look of pure fear in her baby blue eyes as they flickered from one guard to another.

Logan urged everyone to step back, and he crouched down next to the girl, studying her injuries.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

"No! Get away from me! Don't hurt me!" the young girl wailed, attempting to drag herself across the ground, away from the bundle of men looking down at her.

I could tell she was in immense pain, and the large gaping wounds scattered all over her body were seeping copious amounts of blood.

"She needs a pack doctor now!" I yelled, running out from behind the oak tree, making my way over to the young girl.

Logan glared at me, his hazel eyes turning a stormy grey colour. "What the hell are you doing?" he growled.

"Eliza, come back!" ordered Theo angrily, stepping out from behind the tree.

I ignored both of them, crouching down next to the young girl, looking deep into her eyes. "You're going to be okay. We're going to help you."

The young girl gazed up at me, tears leaking from her eyes and sliding down her mud and blood covered cheeks.

"She needs your pack doctor. We need to carry her," I exclaimed, looking over at the guards questionably, who were all giving me confused and astonished looks.

"She's not coming into my territory," stated Logan, shaking his head.

"Are you kidding?" asked Theo, making his way over to us. "Man, she's dying."

"We don't just let people into our territory. It's risky," said Logan, glaring at Theo who was smiling at him cockily.

"Theo is right, Logan. She'll be dead if we don't help her. Come on, does she really look like a threat?" I asked with pleading eyes, looking down at the young girl who had now stopped trying to scramble away.

Logan squinted, staring at me, running his hands through his dark hair. "Fine. Bring her to the pack doctor."

The guards all nodded, carefully hoisting the girl up, making sure not to touch any of her large open wounds.

She squealed as she was lifted into the air, but I gave her a smile, nodding at her, signalling to her that it was okay for her to trust these men.

I watched as the guards quickly disappeared into the thick shrubs and nettles, making their way back to the pack, but before I could take a step forwards, Logan grabbed my arm, pulling me back. "What the hell was that?"

Theo growled, stepping forward, clearly not liking Logan's tone. I placed my hand on Theo's chest, nudging him back, letting him know it was okay.

"She was dying Logan," I stated expressionless.

"You can't just do that Eliza. My guards are now going to be wondering what that was about. They'll start asking questions."

Logan ran his hand down his face, sighing.

"Why can't your pack know about Eliza? Are you really that embarrassed of her?" sneered Theo.

Logan took a threatening step forward, glaring into Theo's emerald eyes. "Don't start kid."

"Stop it. Let's just go back," I said, pushing my way past both of them and making my way through the forest. I ignored the presence of both of them behind me, not wanting to cause anymore arguments. No matter what I tried to do, it seemed to just always be wrong.

I couldn't do anything without judgement and it was really starting to get to me.

As I stumbled my way over logs and small ditches, I could hear Logan's and Theo's voices behind me, and I instantly knew they were talking about me.

Was this going to be how I remembered Theo?

It was all so much simpler when Logan and I didn't speak.

I loved spending every second of my day with Theo; he made me happy again, but Logan was my mate, and no matter what happened, I was always going to be drawn to him.

I wasn't too sure how I felt about him just yet; it was very up and down, but I knew I didn't want him out of my life. I wanted to get to know him and I felt like I finally was.

I shook my head, wiping the thoughts away as I exited the forest, waiting on the treeline for Logan and Theo who were close behind.

"Where did they take her?" I asked Logan once he emerged from the trees.

"The pack hospital. This way."

We strolled through the village and I gazed over at Theo to see him in complete awe. The paths were bustling and multiple stalls were set up with people selling food, clothes and supplies.

Blossom trees decorated every corner and lanterns hung from them, twinkling, even in the daylight. I could tell Theo was amazed at how beautiful and put together everything was here, and I was yet to get used to it myself.

As we turned the corner, I noticed a large white building, decorated with multiple red crosses. It was huge and was nothing compared to the tiny one bedroom building we used back in our pack as a hospital.

However, I knew there were plenty more wolves here that required medical attention; everything needed to be extravagant.

The double doors slid open as we made our way inside. It was surprisingly quiet and the sound of mellow music echoed through my ears, saving us from awkward silence.

"Eliza, I need to talk to you," stated Logan, opening the door to a consultation room, holding it open for me.

"I'll just wait here I guess," said Theo awkwardly as he took a seat at reception, raising his eyebrows at me.

I nodded at him, entering the room, gulping nervously at the thought of what Logan was about to say.

Logan sighed, closing the door quietly behind him, pressing his back up against it and shaking his head at me.

"What?" I mumbled, not liking the way Logan was analysing me.

"Eliza, I thought we were going to try and keep this quiet. If you do things like that, people are going to start to suspect."

"Well when someone's life is in the balance, I don't really think about things like that," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You need to think about the bigger picture. I know you don't want people to die, but you don't know that girl. You can't put everything at risk just because of someone else," growled Logan, taking a step closer to me.

"Why can't you tell your pack though? Surely them knowing isn't a problem?" I asked.

Logan nodded. "You're right, but this pack is big. News spreads fast. If I'm going to be hosting another Whipping, I want everything to be as believable as possible, and if my own pack believe I'm doing it because I don't have a mate, it'll make it far more convincing."

"Nothing secret will get into the wrong hands. Plus, you said yourself you're not staying here full time, you're going back to your own pack, and we spoke about how my pack won't be happy with their Luna doing that."

I nodded. "I get it, but you haven't exactly told people why I'm here. They're going to wonder why you've just allowed some girl to move in for a while."

"I know, I'm still trying to figure out what to say about that."

I dropped my gaze, analysing the floor, letting my mind wander. "You could always let Theo stay."

"What?" asked Logan, his jaw tensing slightly, making it appear even more prominent.

"Well, if you want a story, you could just say Theo and I are mates and we're new to the pack. Then, after the Whipping you can come clean to your pack."

Logan growled at my idea, clearly not liking it. "Why would I let Theo stay here?"

"It would keep male wolves away from me. If they think I have a mate, they won't come near me."

I knew I was only saying this because I wanted Theo to stay. I didn't want Theo to return to James' pack and then decide he wanted to go home to his real pack because him and I had fallen out.

Plus, I knew the idea of male wolves thinking I was already mated would ease Logan's mind.

Logan's pack would certainly be confused when I volunteered for the Whipping for my own pack, thinking that Theo was my mate and we were joining the Dark Moon pack together.

But, I knew it would all be cleared up rather quickly once Logan was left with no choice but to stop The Whipping yet again and announce that he had actually found his mate.

Logan sighed. "I don't like it, but fine. It seems like the best option right now. Theo better not start acting like you're actually his mate though."

I shook my head, chuckling. "He won't."

"Well, if you're going to pretend to be someone else's mate, there's something I need to do first."

I didn't have time to react before Logan made his way over to me, grabbed my chin and pressed his lips to mine.

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