Chapter 217 An Answer

They scrambled to their feet and turned to hurry up the hill.

Fiona broke Ashleigh’s hold, tossing her to the side. Fiona grabbed one of Ashleigh’s fallen karambits, throwing it at the fleeing wolves. Ashleigh moved faster, knocking the karambit off its trajectory and sending it into the bushes.

She let out a soft cry as the blade sliced her palm.

“You should have taken the opportunity they gave you to get away while you could. What a waste!” Fiona shouted as she readied her club and charged at Ashleigh.

“What’s the point of getting myself to safety if I’m leaving my pack behind!?” Ashleigh shouted back, preparing herself to defend.

Fiona smiled and increased her attack, coming at Ashleigh with a strength she hadn’t shown before. She brought her weapon down against Ashleigh’s body, hitting the places she already knew were bruised and injured.

Ashleigh was pressured down to her knee. She glanced back; the others were almost there. Just a few more feet, and they would be inside the safe zone and away from danger.

Fiona caught her glance. She growled and shifted, shoving Ashleigh down against the dirt as she did so.

She charged at the two women at the border of the safe zone. Shoving her head between them, she separated them. One fell to the ground, while the other stumbled but made it inside the safe area.

Fiona turned her body to stand between the remaining woman and the safe zone.

“Go!” Ashleigh shouted as she ran towards Fiona. She shifted midair and caught Fiona on the leg. She dragged her back and then tossed her down the hill. It wasn’t far, but it was enough for Ashleigh to take a new defensive position.

Fiona snarled and dove at Ashleigh’s leg, biting her aggressively. Ashleigh let out a whimper but held her ground.

The woman that stood at the border of the safe zone watched carefully. Ashleigh kept her position, no matter how many times Fiona bit or dove at her. She held strong. Keeping her own body between Fiona and the woman.

The woman took a shaky step forward and shifted into her wolf. She howled as loud and as strong as she could.

Ashleigh was focused on keeping Fiona locked in place, she didn’t hear the howl, and she didn’t hear the ones that followed..

Fiona dove at her, catching her shoulder with powerful jaws. Ashleigh felt the crunch of her bones.

She let out a pained whimper as she fell to the ground, shifting back into her human form. Fiona stood over her. Ashleigh felt woozy from the blood loss and tired from the fight.

Fiona stared down at her; she wiped the blood from her mouth as she took deep breaths.

She got down on her knees, placing one on either side of Ashleigh, preventing her from moving. Fiona put her hand over Ashleigh’s throat, applying just enough pressure to make the black seeping into Ashleigh’s vision move slightly faster.

“Do you yiel–”

Fiona’s words were interrupted by a wolf tackling her to the dirt.

Ashleigh had no chance to react before she felt herself being dragged backward, her head rolled to the side, and she saw a tan wolf had grabbed the collar of her shirt and was pulling her in the direction of the safe zone. It was the wolf that had first let her and Abe walk past without concern.

Ashleigh managed to lift her head enough to look back to where Fiona had been.

She watched in shock as at least six different wolves were jumping at Fiona, biting and clawing.

The wolf tugged at her collar; her vision was fading, but she saw the green light surrounding her as she was dragged into the safe zone.

***

When Ashleigh woke, she was in a hospital bed.

“She’s waking up,” came the familiar voice of Galen.

He appeared before her with a soft smile.

“Welcome back,” he said.

“Hey…” Ashleigh replied softly, still feeling groggy. “What happened?”

“Well, from what I understand,” he said. “You won.”

He smiled and pulled a small item from his pocket. Pulling on it made a loud popping sound, sending paper and glitter flying over Ashleigh’s blanket.

She turned and looked up at him. He looked back with a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Bell said you would enjoy that….”

Ashleigh chuckled.

“I might have if I was a little more awake,” she smiled.

Galen nodded.

“Wait, so I won the game?” Ashleigh asked.

“Yes,” came another voice. “You did.”

Ashleigh lifted her head to see Fiona sitting in a chair across the room.”

“Fiona?”

“Why are you surprised?” Fiona asked. “I am Luna, I was running your game, and I will be your mother-in-law soon enough. So why wouldn’t I be at your bedside when you are in the hospital, especially when Caleb isn’t here.”

“I guess that is true,” Ashleigh said.

“The doctor said you’ll be fine,” Galen said. “No simulators for a few weeks, though. Your shoulder got roughed up pretty badly.”

Galen looked back at Fiona.

“I play to win,” she shrugged.

“What about the others?” Ashleigh asked, remembering Abe and the two women that had helped her.

“There were no other serious injuries,” Galen replied. “Everyone else was seen to by the medics on site.”

Ashleigh nodded. Then looked at Fiona.

“Did I really win?” she asked.

“Yes,” Fiona nodded, then leaned forward in her chair. “But do you know how you won?”

Ashleigh thought back to the last bits of the game she could remember, the wolf dragging her up the hill, the others piling on Fiona. Abe.

“The others…” Ashleigh said. “They held you back, and one of them pulled me into the safe zone.”

Fiona nodded.

Galen looked between them.

“Since I can see that you are doing alright, I will give you two some privacy,” Galen said. “I need to make sure Caleb’s alright and doesn’t hear about this from someone else.”

“Why wouldn’t he be alright?” Ashleigh asked, sitting up in her bed suddenly.

“I would also like that answer,” Fiona smiled.

Galen chuckled and then brought his phone to his ear.

“Hello? Yes, this is Galen… an emergency? I’ll be right there!”

He shrugged his shoulders and then quickly left the room.

“I’ll find him later and get an answer,” Fiona smiled, looking back at Ashleigh. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, just a little sore.”

Fiona nodded.

“So,” Ashleigh said. “I guess it was kind of an empty victory.”

Fiona tilted her head and looked carefully at Ashleigh.

“Why is that?” she asked.

“Because I didn’t win on my own,” Ashleigh replied.

Fiona smiled.

“I never said you had to.”

Ashleigh narrowed her eyes. She looked at Fiona, trying to understand what she meant.

“Actually, there are many ways to win that game,” Fiona continued. “But there is one in particular that very few have ever found.”

“What’s that?”

Fiona reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

“You remember that each wolf was given a role or a task? Something they alone knew?”

Ashleigh nodded her head.

“They are each given one or the other, a role or a task,” Fiona continued. “But there is one role that has an optional task.”

“Ok…” Ashleigh said, unsure what Fiona was getting at.

“This was the task given to the woman that came for you, the one that called the others and then dragged you across the finish line.”

Ashleigh took the paper and opened it. Her eyes widened at what she read. She heard a voice, two voices, calling out to her from memory.

‘Close…. rather than like you, they should respect you and trust you.’

Corrine’s words to Ashleigh had been advice.

‘…in Summer, we are all parts of a whole. No one of us can do it all. So instead, we all do it as one… if you want to be their Luna… then think of them and what they need.’

But Fiona’s had been an answer.

“Read it out loud,” Fiona said.

“Role: Alpha of a Peaceful Pack. Optional Task: Abandon the peace for a worthy Luna.”