Don't Poke the Luna (Xena and Ryder)

Xena's POV

Logan and Ryder turned to stare at me with shock written across their faces. Ryder quickly moved to sit on the edge of my hospital bed, his voice trembling as he spoke: "William just got out of surgery. He's out of danger now."

I nodded slightly. He looked like he wanted to say more, but the words seemed to catch in his throat. Logan had already settled into the chair on the other side of the bed. Both of them watched me expectantly, waiting for me to speak first.

I cleared my throat, the sound harsh in the quic. "Tell me everything you

Logan visibly relaxed, relief flooding his features. "We

2 ved

did."

the rear assault, but Wiley still discovered us. He came at Wiley's factory from both sides. Ryder created a distraction at the front entrance while I led

with a swarm of drones and a group of warriors. We won, though it was brutal. We lost three warriors. His expression grew somber as he looked toward Ryder. "Unfortunately, Wiley escaped before we could capture him."

pulling back awkwardly. He sat in an uncomfortable position on the bed's edge, his voice Ryder looked at me, reaching out as if to take my hand befor slowly working through the words: "I was drawing Wiley's attention at the front gate, but their machine gun fire combined with the drone attacks was overwhelming. Just when we were preparing for our final assault, the drones suddenly retreated. We launched another attack after that, killed all the

rescue you..." Ryder's voice caught, and 1 felt my heart sink in response. enemies at the front entrance, and then Novak and I prepared to

Part of me wanted to comfort him, but another part remained numb, lacking the emotional energy to console my mate, Ryder took a shaky breath and continued, trying to keep his voice steady: "The others went to support Logan. I witnessed you and Wiley falling from the building. In that moment, my heart shattered completely. I was terrified of losing you. Our pack's medical helicopter would take thirty minutes to arrive, but fortunately, there was a hospital nearby." I managed to force a small smile.

Logan asked, "What about Tatum? How did he die? We found him in a dark room inside the building."

The terrible memories associated with Tatum made me frown, though I felt strangely detached from the emotional impact. I answered in a calm voice: "Tatum wanted to fuck me, threatening to kill Tom and William if I refused. When Tatum was most relaxed, I killed him and ripped out his heart." Both Ryder and Logan looked simultaneously furious and shocked.

"FUCK, those two FUCKING ASSHOLE. I wish I could have killed them myself," Ryder roared angrily.

blood." His rage didn't infect me, but I still wanted to change the subject: "Wiley wanted me to join them, to help his stupid son rule the packs together. But I suspect they really wanted unlimited access to my blood serum. That might be why they didn't knock me unconscious before drawing my

"Blood serum?" Ryder and Logan asked almost simultaneously.

I nodded slightly. "Yes, they developed some kind of super soldier serum that enhances ordinary warriors' combat abilities. It requires both Alpha and Luna blood serum."

Ryder and Logan still had their mouths agape, clearly processing this information. Their synchronized expressions were almost comical, and I couldn't help but laugh softly.

Logan seemed surprised by my reaction. "So Wiley was playing Frankenstein?" he joked.

Ryder added through gritted teeth, "Then we should have burned him alive." "What about Tom? Did you find his body?" I asked Logan.

Logan seemed confused by the topic change. He blinked and said, "We found him. I've already had someone bring his body back to the pack."

I nodded, my mind working through what else I needed to understand. "What about Jericho? Did you find him?" I asked Ryder.noveldrama

Ryder answered, "We found him in the dungeon. We haven't interrogated him yet. Do you want to see him now?" My eyes lit up. "Yes, he's important. I need

to know the truth about many things."

Ryder and Logan looked like they had many questions, but they held back. "I'll bring him here now, Ryder said, running out the door.

After Ryder left, the room fell into silence. Logan looked at me with concern. "X, how are you feeling?"

forced another small smile, I'm fine, don't worry about me, bro.

He replied, "If you feel uncomfortable

I knew what he was going to say next, and I was afraid to hear those words. I feared they might awaken the vulnerability in my heart, so I quickly interrupted. "What are your plans moving forward?"

"Eliminate Wiley's remaining forces, root them out completely, and seize all his assets,” Logan said seriously, his eyes growing sharp.

I nodded. "What about his territory?"

"Install a puppet who'll obey us, or split it in half-one half for you, one half for me," Logan answered seriously.

I was

startled, sensing Logan's ambition as an Alpha for the first time.

"He's here, Logan's voice came from the doorway. I looked toward the entrance and saw a bearded, long-haired, gaunt middle-aged man in tattered clothes standing there.

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