Chapter 172: The Second Feeling
LILY POV
The scream cut through the morning air like a knife through quiet.
I dropped the healing herbs I’d been sorting and ran toward the sound. My feet barely hit the ground as I raced through Silver Peak’s main clearing. Other pack members were running too, their faces full of fear.
"Help! Someone help us!" The voice belonged to Maya, one of our younger moms. I could see her near the nursery, holding her three-year-old son Tommy. Blood covered his small arm.
Without thinking, I pushed through the crowd of wolves gathered around them. This was my job now - helping people when they got hurt. But as I knelt beside Tommy, something strange happened inside my chest.
It felt like a warm fire had suddenly blazed to life where my heart used to feel empty. The feeling was so strong it almost knocked me over. I had to grip the ground to stay steady.
"What happened?" I asked Maya, forcing my voice to stay calm even though this new feeling was making my hands shake.
"He was playing near the old storage shed," Maya sobbed. "A loose board fell and cut his arm. There’s so much blood!"
I looked at Tommy’s wound. It wasn’t life-threatening, but it was deep enough to need stitches. As I pressed clean cloth against the cut to stop the bleeding, that warm feeling in my chest got stronger.
Protect him. Keep him safe. This is your pack.
The thoughts came from somewhere deep inside me, just like when I’d felt love for Caleb yesterday. But this was different. This wasn’t about one guy - it was about everyone here. Maya, Tommy, the worried pack members watching us, even Luna who stood at the edge of the crowd.
They were all mine to protect.