MOONLIGHT: NEW VERSION

NINE

Luca woke up the following day. It is Saturday, and he gets out of bed to prepare for the day. As he yawns and stretches out the kinks in his body, he looks over at his mate lying in her bed and sees she is the same as yesterday. Luca smiles at the sight of her and cannot believe that she is finally here with him, but not in the way he imagined they would be meeting the way that they did. He did not want to see that again in his life ever again. He kisses her on the forehead after walking over to her bed and whispers into her ear while caressing her pale cheek, "Good morning, Sweetheart; l hope you get better soon", he says. Luca then turns around, gathers his clothes, and heads towards the bathroom to shower and change. When he is done and comes out of the bathroom, he sees that someone has left a plate of bacon, eggs, hash browns and sausages, plus a steaming hot cup of coffee on the table. Luca sits down and starts to eat his breakfast. As he eats, Dr Mancini enters the room and checks on Rosa. He notices that Luca is eating his breakfast and asks, "Good morning, Luca, l hope you slept well?" he asks. Luca replies before putting another forkful of food in his mouth.

"Good morning, Cristian, and yes, l did under the circumstances. Do you know who left the plate of food for me?" he inquired. Cristian replied, "Yes, l do. It was one of the kitchen staff here who thought that you might like to have something to eat, so she brought you a plate", he answered. Luca replied, "Okay, can you thank her for me please? I would appreciate it," he asked the doctor, who replied, "Yes, of course, l can," he said back to him. Luca thanked him and then asked, "Cristian, is there a phone that l can use? l need to call Elder Gabriel and update him of the situation. Arianna knows about it," he added he asks. Cristian replied, "Yes, of course, you can use the phone in my office now if you like?" he asked. Luca then said back to the doctor, "Thanks, Cristian, l will. l just need someone to stay with Rosa", he said back. Cristian then said to him, "I can stay with her while you go and call the Elder if you like. Besides, l need to check up on her anyway", he said back to him. Luca then says, "Okay, thanks; where do l go?" he asked the doctor. Cristian replied, "Turn right, and it's on the left-hand side and four doors down, and l will wait here until you come back, and l will check on Rosa while you're speaking to the Elder," he tells him. Luca answered, saying, "Okay, thanks for the directions, and l will go and call him now," he said back to the doctor. Cristian replied, "No worries," he said to Luca as he left the room to find the doctor's office. After locating the office, he enters the room and closes the door for privacy while calling the Elder's number. The phone rings three times before the Elder himself answers it. "Hello, this is Elder Gabriel Lombardi speaking. How may l help you?" he inquires. Luca answered, "Hello Gabriel, it's Luca calling," he said into the phone. Gabriel replies, "Luca, this is an unexpected call," said to the Alpha "But l was going to call you anyway because l found some information about your mate, so l was going to come and see you instead of talking over the phone where it is more private," the Elder told him. Luca then replies, "Okay, that's good because we have found out something as well, and l need you here because it also concerns you, too," he said to him. Gabriel then answers curiously. "Me, why? What's happened?" he asked. Luca replies, "Um, like you said, it's better to talk more in private, but l need to show you something in person," he said to the Elder. "Are you able to come here?" he asked. Gabriel said to him, "Yes, l can; l will be there within the hour", he replied. Luca tells him, "That's good to hear. l will get someone to set up one of the guest's bedrooms for you in case you would like to stay a bit longer," he informs the Elder. Gabriel replied, "Thanks, Luca; l would appreciate that", he said back. Luca then replies to the Elder, "No worries and l will get Stefano to escort you to me when you arrive and settle in," he tells the Elder. "We have a lot to discuss," he says to him. The Elder replies, "Alright, l will be there soon", he tells the Alpha. Luca answered him back by saying, "Okay, see you soon," he replied. They both hung up the phone, and Luca returned to Rosa's room. Luca re-entered the room and saw Cristian sitting at the table and writing his notes on Rosa's chart. He informs the doctor that the Elder will be arriving within the hour and to let Arianna know because she will notify the Elder of Rosa's medical side of the situation. The doctor told him, "Yes, l know, and l know how you feel. I was the same with Arianna; I was waiting to meet her. I waited for three years before I found her, and they were excruciating with the waiting. When l finally found her, l was relieved and happy when those three years ended" he tells him, " The waiting will go quicker as long as you keep yourself busy by doing things" he continues with "Doing this, the time will go quicker and before you know it she will be awake. The waiting will be over before you know it," he says. Luca replies, saying, "Thanks, Cristian. l needed to hear that," he tells him. The doctor replies, "No worries, Luca", as he finishes writing his notes into her chart. "Arianna or I will come by later to check up on her again or when the Elder comes," he informed the Alpha. Luca replied, "Alright, and thanks for the pep talk", he said back. Cristian replies as he leaves the room "No worries, Luca," he says. Cristian left the room. Luca sighed and then linked with Stefan, saying, "Stefano, it's Luca." Stefano replies, "Good morning, Alpha. How did you sleep, and how is our Luna Rosa this morning?" he inquires. Luca answers, "Good morning Stefano, l slept well as can be expected under the circumstances, and Luna is doing well too," he replied. Stefano asks Luca, "That's good to hear about the Luna. What can l do for you?" he asks. Luca replies, "I just wanted to let you know that l called Elder Gabriel earlier this morning, but l didn't reveal anything about what happened. He has found out something about Rosa and us. He will be here within the hour, and l need someone to prepare one of the guest bedrooms for him," he explained to his Beta. Stefano tells Luca, "The room is already ready for the Elder. It was done last night. It's the one three doors down on the right-hand side from your room," he informs his best friend. Luca replies, "Okay, thanks for that and for letting me know. Please bring him over here after he has arrived and settled in?" he asks. Stefano replies, "Of course, Alpha l will" he replies to him, "Is there anything else that you need?" he inquires. Luca replies, "No, not at the moment.I still have a bit of paperwork to complete. How is the training going.?" he asks. Stefano tells Luca, "The training is going well, and everyone is improving as they go, according to Giovanni and Lorenzo; in fact, it's nearly time for the morning training session as we speak," he informed his Alpha. Luca replies to him, saying, "Alright, l will let you get back to it then. l will talk and see you later," he said back to his Beta. Stefano tells Luca, "Yes, Alpha will do," he replies. They disconnect the link between them. Luca sat down at the table and started on the paperwork. Forty-five minutes later, he received a nudge in the link. Luca answers it. "Yes, this is Alpha Luca; what is it?" he asks the person trying to link with him. "Alpha, Stefano just wanted to let you know that Elder Gabriel is here and asking for you. Shall I bring him over?" Luca replies, "Yes, please, Stefano, I'm in her room, and thanks", he replies. Stefano says, "No worries, Alpha, we will be there in a few minutes," he tells him. Luca answers him back, "Okay, see the both of you soon" he answers back and breaks off the link. A few minutes later, Luca heard voices from Stefano and Gabriel. He hears the Elder asking Stefano, "Why are we here at the hospital?" he inquires to the Beta. Luca comes out of Rosa's room and answers his question by saying, "Because I'm here, Gabrie,l", he informs the Elder. The Elder then turns around at the sound of hearing Luca's voice and sees Luca then asks, "Why, what's happened?" Luca answers him with, "Please follow me, and you will understand why you are here" he started to explain to the Elder as they entered through the door and into the room. Luca walks towards the bed, with Gabriel following behind him. Gabriel sees someone lying in the bed and attached to some medical equipment. Luca asks Stefano, "Could you please get the doctors for me and come back here?" Stefano says to Luca, "Yes, Alpha," he replies as he leaves the room. When Luca replies, "Thank you, Stefano," he replies. Stefano replies, "No worries, Alpha," as he walks out the door. Luca then focuses on the Elder looking at the person in the bed and asks him, "Luca, who is this? Please don't tell me who l think it is?" he asks in a sad voice after thinking about who this person could be. Luca sadly informs him, "Gabriel, please let me introduce you to my mate, Miss Rosa Romano," as he tells the Elder who she is. Gabriel gasps as Luca says that and asks him in a shocked voice, "What happened to her?" he inquires and as he is saying this, both the doctors and Stefano re-enter the room. Luca sadly retells him what happened to her. Hearing footsteps coming into the room, Gabriel turns around and sees the two doctors approaching him. The man then introduces himself to him: "Hello, my name is Doctor Cristian Mancini, and this is my mate and partner, Doctor Arianna Greco- Mancini", as they shake his hand. "We are so sorry to have to meet you this way," they told him. Gabriel answers, "Yes, me too. May l ask about her injuries?" Arianna speaks up, "Yes, of course, you can, Sir,'' as she apprises him of her injuries. "It could have been much worse,'' Arianna explained to him. "How?" Gabriel asked her. "Well, she had a backpack that protected her back from getting hurt. Otherwise, it could not have been perfect, and she might not have survived. It's an absolute miracle she is still alive," she said to him and added, "She is kept under sedation for the pain while she is healing. Still, we are also following the instructions in a letter from her late father, Antonio Romanetti, that she has been on scent blockers since she was thirteen, and it could take up to a month or more for her wolf to come to the surface," she explained to the Elder. Gabriel looks surprised at Luca and the two doctors, "What letter and from Antonio Romanetti, l don't understand?" Luca then speaks, "Yes, a couple of the pack members that l asked to go to her place and get some things for Rosa and brought them over had found some letters sealed in envelopes addressed to my father or you, Rosa, Rosa and her mate and myself," he said to the Elder. Gabriel was shocked at this news but asked, "What did the letter say?" Luca replied, "Here, read it for yourself," as he handed over the letter to him. Gabriel takes the letter and starts to read it. "Well, that explains everything about what l found out about her and her family because what l found out includes your family as well as their deaths," he tells Luca sadly. Luca looks at Gabriel and asks him tremblingly, "Ho?w" He questions the Elder. Gabriel tells him, "The others might as well stay and hear this as well,'' he said to Luca. The Alpha replies, "That's fine with me, so what did you find out?" The Elder tells them, "You better get seated now before you fall after what I'm about to tell you, especially you, Luca," he informs them. They all looked at the Elder and sat down. Gabriel then explained what he had found out about Rosa's family. "Where to start?" he wondered. Luca asks him, "What did you mean 'that explains everything' after reading the letter for me?" Gabriel sighed and said, "Okay, I will begin from there", and then he started to explain, "It was the mention of them taking the scent blockers to be safe from wild wolves and others of our kind" he began to say then he continues "And the accidents that involve your family and also involves her family as well, they are all connected" he revealed to them. Luca asks him, "How?" to the Elder. Gabriel continues the conversation. "Both of your families were involved in the same accident with the other car driver that night, but we thought that they were human and not werewolves at that time," he told them. Luca then figured it out. "It was the scent blockers they were taking. No one could scent a wolf's scent on the remains," he said to the Elder. Gabriel wasn't surprised that Luca had worked it out. "Yes, it was because of the scent blockers they were taking, and because of them, sadly, we lost not only eight pack members but two families as well," he informs them. Luca then asks the question, "But was it an accident?" The Elder replies, "Yes, it was an accident caused by a drunk driver. He died on the way to the hospital but not before having a blood test done. He was way over the limit and should not have been driving," he tells them. Luca then asked, "Was there anything else?" Gabriel continues with what he discovered about Rosa's family: "Yes, there is more; Rosa thinks that her family is buried in Italy, and the graves that she found are memorials, is that right?" Luca replies, "Yes, that's right," he said to the Elder. Gabriel answers, "It's not true. She had found her family's graves, and there is no memorial for them back in Italy. The reason for that is l found out that the old Alpha was also Rosa's grandfather from their original pack under the name of Luna Crescendo, which is translated to Cresent Moon," he explained. Stefano then asks, "What happened for them to come here?" Gabriel answers by saying, "Mario Romanetti had a falling out with his father, who was the Alpha at the time, Pietro Romanetti, on how he treated the pack. Instead of stepping down like he should have done, Mario challenged him. He lost the fight and was banished along with his mate Marina. They haven't spoken to each other since then. I also learned that " Pietro had died from a heart attack two years after they were banished, and there was no heir to take over," he tells them.