Finding Forgiveness

“If I die from being forced to take some dodgy concoction-” I began.

“Do you really think the Alpha would have told us to do it if he thought we might accidentally kill you? We’ve been trained, Luna. We know what we are doing,” he said leaning against the cubicle door and folding his arms.

There were a few minutes of silence while Alessio waited for the return of Xanthus and I planned my next escape plan.

“Do you have pups, Alessio?” I asked.

“Three,” he replied his face softening.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“How old?”

“My daughter is five, she just started school. Then I have a son who is two and another son that was born just two weeks ago,” he replied.

“What are you doing here then?!” I asked. “You should be at home with your mate!”

“I’m a soldier, Luna. I can’t have more a few days off in a row for any reason,” he said with a sigh. “My loyalty is to the Alpha.”

“What bollocks,” I stated. “How about you resign, go home to your kids, let me go and save my kid.”

“Nice try,” he said with a smile. “It is for their sake that I can’t let you get on that plan. A father away from home is better than no father at all which is what I’ll be when the Alpha is done with us if we lose you.”

“Is he really still that bad?” I asked through gritted teeth. “I thought he’d changed.”

“He has changed. But as soon as there is a matter concerning the safety of his Luna, he has no mercy on any of us,” he explained.

“I’m sorry,” I apologised. “Over the years, I must have caused a lot of problems for you and the other soldiers. Please spare me the details but I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. If one of my children was kidnapped, I’d be doing the same thing. As for the time that you went to Italy and Russia, I guess in the end you turned out to have good intentions too and then all the times you’ve been abducted, we can’t really blame you for either,” he explained.

I smiled before the restroom door opened and Xanthus came in with a shopping bag. He unloaded it to reveal a blue T-shirt that he threw in Alessio’s direction, five boxes of pills and a bottle of water.

I didn’t recognise any names of the medication. Beno.. something or other… Phenilzenthai…. you get the picture.

I watched as Xanthus crushed different quantities of the pills with a penknife he got out of his pocket and then dropped a little water on them to make it into a thick paste. He then pushed it into one of the moulds of an empty packet and squeezed out the excess water.

“We’d normally inject it but surprise surprise, needles aren’t available in airports,” he said handing Alessio the pill. “So please cooperate.”

“No, no, no,” I said shying back into the cubicle wall.

I climbed up onto the ledge again and curled myself into the corner.

“You can’t force me,” I added.

“You don’t listen to him, do you?” Xanthus said grabbing my wrist. “The Alpha told you to do as you’re told. Why don’t you listen?!”

“Xanthus,” Alessio warned deeply. “She is still your Luna.”

Judging by his grip on my wrist, he was beginning to lose patience with me.

“I’m not fucking taking your stupid pill,” I growled pulling my hand out of his grip. “How can I save my son with a million different chemicals in my system?”

Alessio used his arm to push Xanthus away from me before he knelt down and put his hands on my shoulders.

“Luna,” he began .”As a parent myself, I can sympathise with what you are going through and I completely understand why you feel that you have to do this. However, as a mate, I can also sympathise with the Alpha and I see why under no circumstances should you be allowed on that plane. Both he, your other kids and the pack can’t afford to lose you, especially to an avoidable, irrational, instinctual act. You haven’t thought this through and you haven’t even given the Alpha a chance to find another way either. He’s the most powerful man in the world, have you forgotten that? It’s okay to trust him, there is good reason to. And the harsh truth is Luna, we are here to bring you home whether you like it or not. We will stay here all week if we have to. But the longer we do, the longer the Alpha isn’t 100% focussed on getting your little boy home too. So please, let us do our job.”

He took a deep breath in and looked up at me with pleading, hopeful eyes. I paused in thought for a moment before nodding.

I couldn’t win this and he was right.

He breathed heavily out and smiled before standing up, picking up the bottle of water and handing it to me with the pill.

“Xanthus go now, we can’t all leave together in case we are recognised and someone needs to find a car. I don’t think public transport with an unconscious girl is a good idea,” Alessio said.

Xanthus nodded before disappearing out of the restroom.

“Do I have to take it?” I asked. “What if I promise to just come out easily?”

“I can’t risk it, Luna. There’s a lot at stake if I lose you. Please understand that” he replied holding the pill closer to me.

“What’s in it?” I questioned taking it out of his hand and looking a little closer.

“Benophalein, Phenilezenathen, Rynerol, Sominex and umm… powdered Wolfsbane Cannabis,” he replied. “That last one isn’t available in drugstores.”

“Wolfsbane?!” I questioned.

“Yeah, you may feel a bit shit for a few days but it’s only a small dosage. I promise,” he said. “Just take it.”

Just as I brought it closer to my lips the door to the cubicle smashed open, the lock flying across the floor.

I gasped and Alessio took the opportunity to force the pill into my mouth before covering it.

“Swallow,” he demanded before turning to whoever had just kicked open the door.

“Where’s my shirt asshole?!” a middle-aged shirtless man bellowed with a gun pointed at Alessio.

After a few moments, I realised who he was, the man Xanthus had knocked out and stolen the shirt of. I was also pretty concentrated on trying to stop the pill from dissolving in my mouth and getting Alessio’s hand off me so that I could spit it out.

“You can have this one,” Alessio said kicking one of their black uniform shirts on the floor towards him. “And why the fuck do you have a gun in an airport?”

“Why the fuck do you have a woman in the men’s bathroom?!” He asked pointing the gun closer to Alessio. “Is she your girlfriend? Kids come in here you know and-”

In one swift movement, Alessio had lurched forward and somehow ended up with the man’s gun in his own hand. In the process, he had let go of me and of course, I had spat out the pill and was in the process of climbing over the side of the cubicle.

Before he could notice, I was in the main restroom and just about reached the door back into the terminal before he could reach me.

I legged towards the check-in point as Alessio was hot on my trail.

Seconds before I reached the front desk, Xanthus appeared in front of me, blocking my path.

He grabbed my upper arm and forcefully dragged me away as Alessio joined us.

“A taxi is on its way,” he said over my head to Alessio as they marched me through the terminal.

“I.. I.. d. on’t feel so… good,” I said bringing my hand to my head. “I thin.. kk I’m going to faint.”

The room was suddenly spinning and my head felt light and fluffy.

“Did she have the pill?” Xanthus asked.