She had barely spoken since returning to Summer a month ago. Every day she saw doctors and nurses, and she went through treatment for the burns that covered her stomach. There had been one surgery that had been done quickly and without issue.
Bell, Galen, and Fiona had all come to see her at various times. For the first two weeks, they were refused. But eventually, they were allowed into her room. Still, she didn’t have much to say, barely responding to their questions.
The only interest she showed was when Bell updated her on the others in Moonguard.
Myka’s wounds left deep scars along his arms but did not affect his overall health or body. The infection that the doctors had been worried about with Sadie’s wounds never managed to take hold, and in the end, not even a scar was left behind. Ashleigh was relieved to hear that Sadie was able to go home with Myka and Peter.
Stefan spent the first week under heavy sedation. He was healing, but the pain was still quite intense for his small body. However, once they had gotten past the more intensive treatments, he had been able to wake up and spend most of the day with minor pain.
It took two full weeks for Stefan to recover enough to go home. He would have scars across his back, shoulders, and chest, but he would fully recover.
When Bell told Ashleigh that Stefan would be sleeping in his own bed that night, Ashleigh cried. And while she quickly sent Bell away, it was still the first sign of a positive change Bell had witnessed in her since the end of the war.
But, after hearing that all the others had recovered, Ashleigh got quiet again. No matter what Bell tried to talk with her about, she hardly responded or showed interest.
Any mention of Caleb led to her stating how tired she was and pulling her blankets over her body until Bell would leave the room.
There was only one other topic that Ashleigh showed any interest in. One that she had brought up at least once a week in the month she had been in treatment.
“Has there been any news on the scout?” Ashleigh asked.
Bell had been cleaning up the tools used to treat Ashleigh’s wounds. Then, at Ashleigh’s question, she stopped what she was doing. She closed her eyes and swallowed.
Ashleigh had asked a few days ago about the scout. She usually only asked once every few weeks, so Bell was surprised by the question.
At the time Ashleigh had asked before, there had been no word. Now, unfortunately, there had been a change. One that Bell knew Ashleigh would not receive well.
Ashleigh sat up in her bed. She was zipping up the light jacket that she wore to cover the bandages that covered her midsection.
Bell sighed. She turned around to face Ashleigh, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Axel and Galen have both called their search parties home,” she said.
Ashleigh’s eyes widened momentarily as she clenched her jaw and quickly turned away.
“Did they find him?” she asked quietly.
Bell took a deep breath. She moved closer. She lowered her arms and held on to the bar at the end of the bed.
“Moonguard has only gotten worse since you were there,” she said. “Neither search party was able to get very far past the lake. No one made it to the village at all.”
Ashleigh listened quietly.
“Those new creatures are all over the mountain,” Bell continued. “Luckily, the teams were already expecting them, so no serious injuries were reported. Still, they have tried for two weeks to break through without any luck.”
“Has he sent any message? Any signals?” Ashleigh asked, looking back at Bell.
Bell shook her head.
“They have scouts watching from a distance for any signals throughout the territory, there haven’t been any, and it’s assumed that he lost his radio at some point,” she replied. “Honestly, Ash, there hasn’t even been smoke from a fire. So as far as anyone can tell, the only people in Moonguard are searching for him.”
Ashleigh lowered her eyes. She took short breaths through her nose. Bell could see the way her jaw clenched reflexively. Finally, after a few silent moments, Ashleigh took a deep breath and scoffed.
“Then it’s assumed he’s dead?” she sighed.
Bell pursed her lips between her teeth. She squeezed her hands around the bar at the foot of the bed.
“Ash…” she whispered.
Ashleigh laid down, pulling the blankets up over her shoulder. Bell let out a sigh.
“I’m tired,” Ashleigh said.
Bell swallowed, then she nodded and turned back to her task.
“I’ll finish cleaning these and let you get some rest,” she said.
Ashleigh did not reply.
After cleaning the tools and putting them away, Bell looked back at Ashleigh again. She then left the room, knowing there would be no point remaining.
A little while later, Galen lifted his head as the door to his office opened. He gave a gentle smile as Bell entered the room.
“Any luck?” he asked, sitting back in his chair as she walked around his desk.
Bell grabbed the arm of his chair and turned him away from the desk. She then sat down on his lap and laid her head against his shoulder with a sigh.
Galen wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
“Guess not,” he whispered sadly.
“I don’t know how to help her,” Bell whispered, a tear falling from her eye. “I know she is hurting, and I don’t know how to help.”
“I know,” he said, rubbing her back.
Bell’s tears continued to fall, and then she let out an irritated scoff.
“I had to tell her about the search parties being called back,” she said. “It was not what she wanted to hear.”
Galen clenched his jaw. It had been a difficult decision. Neither he nor Axel wanted to leave a man missing, but the risk to the wolves searching for him had become too great.
They all knew the likelihood of the scout still being alive was almost non-existent. Ultimately, they had to make the best decision for the most people. A recovery team would be sent to Moonguard for his body when it was safe.
In this, Galen understood how Ashleigh felt. She needed to know if he was alive or dead. It was the only way she would know if her decision had cost someone their life.
But stats and figures were not proof. Until his body was found, she couldn’t know the true cost of her lie. He suspected that not knowing one way or the other was causing her more pain than what had happened at the lake.
Galen sighed, knowing that Caleb would have had the same reaction. A wave of sorrow fell over him, and Galen hugged Bell closely.
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