The One He Claimed by Cooper novel Chapter 107

Chapter 107: Brooklyn’s Role
Brooklyn
When Luna Sophie asked for volunteers to come out of the safe rooms, I was one of many who raised my hand. I’m tired of standing by and letting others fight for me. I need to be strong and while I know I have only been sparring for just over a week, I’ve been practicing in my spare time and Cas has been helping me. He may not be a warrior, but he’s always participated in warrior training, so he’s strong and knowledgeable of how to fight.
As Luna Sophie ends the meeting, she makes eye contact with me and gestures for me to wait a moment. I can feel tears p**g at my eyes. I already know what she’s going to say. She doesn’t feel like I’m strong enough to fight.
I wait as others ask her and Beta Kinsley questions before she finally moves to me. I watch as Beta Lucas finds Beta Kinsley and pulls her aside. I’m guessing he isn’t any happier than Alpha Hunter about his mate being outside a safe room during this fight. I’m willing to give up my spot so one of them can be in the room, but I know Luna Sophie is about to tell me no.
“Brooklyn, I saw you raise your hand before, volunteering to come out of the safe rooms…” she begins.
“Luna, I know I’m not the strongest fighter, or even much of a fighter, but please, I want to fight for this pack who has done so much for me. Please don’t make me go into a safe room.”
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She smiles at me and takes my hand in hers. “There are two reasons that I want you in a safe room, Brooklyn, and neither of them is because I don’t think you’re strong enough to fight for this pack. Hear me out, and then we can decide together, okay?”
I nod, now unsure of what she’s going to say.
“The first reason that I want you in a safe room is because I know we’re going to need you when the fighting is done. The warriors have done nothing but sing your praises since the last battle when you stitched so many of them up. We’ll need that again after this war, probably more so. You can’t help out in the hospital if you yourself are recovering from injuries.”
I notice she doesn’t say ‘if you’re dead’ which makes me think that she means what she’s saying.
“We’re going to need you, Brooklyn. Everyone has a role to play in this pack, and yours seems to have become assisting in the pack hospital. That’s where you’re most effective and that’s where I want you when this is done. Don’t think I’m asking that because it will be easy. If you thought you worked hard during the last battle, it will most likely be worse this time and we have to consider that we’ll have even more individuals who lose mates.”
I hadn’t thought of that, but she’s right. Last time, they were so short staffed that they were thrilled for my help.
“And the second reason is that I’d like to ask you to be the Lead in a safe room. You’re the only one in this pack who has ever shot a gun. If these wolves get past our first two lines of defense, I want you to be our third. I want you to stand in that safe room, in front of the pups, the infirm, and the pregnant she- wolves, and I want you to fight to protect them,” she says.
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Brooklyn’s Role
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I’m shocked. She’s truly not asking me to sit safely inside the room and wait, she’s asking me to be a third line of defense, to protect those in the safe room, and then to be ready to help those injured in the battle.
“Will you do that for me, Brooklyn? Will you do that for the pack?”
“Yes, Luna. I will.”
“Thank you, Brooklyn. I knew I could count on you. I’ll have Kinsley tell you which room you’re assigned to. I’ll need you here today to meet the new individuals coming in because you’ll be responsible for closing and locking the door Brooklyn. That means that if the attacking wolves breach the packhouse and the safe rooms become compromised, you may have to close the doors without everyone inside. That’s part of the responsibility that I’m putting on your shoulders and it’s a heavy one. Those of us on the outside will be pushing stragglers into safe rooms, but ultimately, you are the one that will have to decide when to close and lock your safe room door.”
I realize just how much responsibility Luna Sophie is giving me. It’s not that I thought it would be easy, but I didn’t realize that I might have to decide to lock someone out.
“I won’t let you down, Luna.”
“I know you won’t, Brooklyn. I wouldn’t ask this of you if I didn’t you could handle it.”
I nod and she squeezes my hand, turning to go talk to whoever else she needs to talk to in order to make sure we’re all ready for this war.
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I look around and I see Cas leaning against a doorframe, waiting for me. I walk up to him, and he pulls me into a hug, not saying a word.
I wrap my arms around him, feeling safe in his embrace. He and I have been working very close together at the hospital. I’ve
gotten used to having him around, to having him close. We’re still taking things very slowly, but I know that I don’t want to lose him:
“You’re not going to be in a safe room, are you?” I ask him.
“No,” he answers quietly, his face buried in my hair.
“You know you don’t have to stay here. You can leave…”
“Not without you, I can’t,” he says, pulling away enough to look me in the eye. “I told you; I’ve waited a very long time to find you. I’m not giving that up and leaving you here to fight without me.”
I reach my hand up to stroke his face. He closes his eyes, leaning into my touch, something that I love. When he opens his eyes, he slowly leans forward, watching me to make sure I don’t flinch away. But I don’t. I want to feel his lips on mine, want to feel connected to this man who is showing me what love and kindness were meant to look like.
When he pulls away from our kiss, he leans his forehead on mine.
“Will you stay with me tonight? I’m not asking you to have sex with me, I know you’re not ready yet. I just want to hold you, to have you in my arms as long as possible before this war comes to us,” he says.
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“I would like that,” I say, knowing that I’ll feel safe in his arms. Most nights, I have nightmares and find myself searching for him anyway, needing to feel his arms around me so that I can feel safe. This way, I’ll just start where I always seem to end up most days.
“Let’s get some breakfast, we have a lot to prepare in the hospital before the war comes,” he says, taking my hand and leading me into the dining hall.
“And I have to be here when the new people come from the other pack, so I can make sure they know what safe room they are assigned to, and I know who to look for in my safe room.”
I see my mother sitting on Brutus lap, talking quietly. As I look around, I realize the room is much quieter than normal, people, families, having quiet conversations about what’s to come.
As I look around, I realize that not all of these people will survive, but I also know that Cas and I will do everything in our power to make sure that they do.