Vilkas lowered Lunara onto the stone floor and examined her wound. The dagger remained buried in her side, and he was almost certain it was the reason her heart was still beating, although even that was fading fast. He looked at Valuxus' body and nodded toward Farkas. Without a word, Farkas nodded and took the dagger from Valuxus' remains, using it to shred the dead man's robes. Working in silence, the two brothers wrapped the strips around Lunara's torso as best they could without disturbing the dagger sticking out of the wound. When they finished, Farkas stood and went around the room, collecting the belts from the robes of the remaining bodies and shoving them into his bag. There was no rope, so those would have to do. Vilkas picked Lunara up, and she moaned as he lifted her but didn't open her eyes.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I know it hurts."
Aela and Kodlak had stood near the doorway of the room, both to prevent anyone escaping and to defend against any new arrivals. The danger had passed now, and Kodlak turned to Vilkas. "Ready to go?" He asked, getting a nod, and the four of them headed up the stairs and back to the entrance.
When they got to the entrance, Kodlak and Aela climbed out first, while Farkas tied together the belts he had collected and positioned them around Lunara. He climbed the ladder still holding the ends and handed one set to Kodlak once he was out. They lifted her out, with Vilkas close behind. Once he was out, he took her in his arms again and ran for the temple and Danica.
The temple doors burst open, startling Danica, and she glared towards the door, but her face softened when she saw Vilkas carrying Lunara's limp body. She pointed toward the examining table and he crossed the room and laid Lunara down like a sleeping child. She moaned again, and he stroked her hair, trying to calm her. Danica saw the makeshift bandages and the dagger and went to work. She had so many questions, but they could wait until later. She barked orders to the acolytes like a general commanding her troops, and in a little over an hour had Lunara's wound cleaned and closed. Danica healed her head wounds and body bruises, and when she finished, she looked up from her patient to see Vilkas pacing the floor of the temple and three other Companions who had been with him earlier seated in a corner, talking amongst themselves.
"I've done all I can do, now it's up to her. Her spirit is strong, she will be fine. She just needs time to rest and recover," she said, loud enough that everyone stopped and looked towards her. "Please, go back to your lives and I will send word the moment she wakes," she said.
Farkas, Kodlak, and Aela stood to leave. Vilkas had stopped pacing and stood next to Lunara. He reached out and took one of her hands, making no move to leave her. Kodlak nodded to the other two to go on and they took their leave. He watched Vilkas for a few minutes, then crossed the room and put his hand on the younger man's shoulder.
"You heard the priestess, she'll be alright. We need to see the Jarl and let him know what's happened. Come," he said in a tone of a father speaking to a child. Vilkas' shoulders slumped, and his ebony hair fell over his eyes as he lowered his head. He gave her hand a squeeze and then nodded to Kodlak and the two of them left the temple, headed towards Dragonsreach where Farkas and Aela waited. The two approached them as they entered the door to Dragonsreach and the four of them made their way up the steps to where the Jarl waited for an update.
Kodlak and Vilkas filled in the events that took place after the guards had told them where to find the Syndicate hideout. Farkas filled in some extra details while Aela remained silent. The Jarl looked thoughtful, but said nothing when they finished their story. The four of them gave each other a 'what now?' look, shrugging.
"This is excellent news. Please see Proventus about your reward for taking care of this threat against my people." Jarl Balgruuf said after an interminable silence, and before Vilkas could ask about Lunara's sentence the Jarl spoke again.
"I will pardon the girl. Obviously, she did not commit a murder, only defense of her own life. Where is she anyway? I would have thought she'd be here to hear this herself,' he said.
"She was—injured during the fight, my Jarl, and is under Danica's care and still unconscious. She took a dagger to her side and lost consciousness before we got her to the temple," Vilkas said. "But, she killed the leader of the Syndicate herself before she went down. She threw a dagger and buried it in his eye," he said, his lips forming a slight smile as he remembered seeing the accuracy with which her dagger had hit its target. Very few people in all of Skyrim had that ability. He snapped back to the present when the Jarl chuckled.
"She seems to be a fiery one, that's for sure. I want to meet her when she wakes up. Now, I have one question for you, son," Balgruuf said. "Why are you still standing here talking to me when you wish to be at the temple? Get out of here, your people will take care of the reward." He nodded towards the door. Vilkas glanced at Kodlak, who just shrugged. He grinned and ran down the stairs and through the door of Dragonsreach all the way back to the temple.
His entrance was quieter this time as he slipped through the doors and took a seat by the table Lunara laid on. Danica had covered her with furs after she had finished to keep her warm. Vilkas reached for her hand, small and cool against his large, warm one. He willed her to wake up, but she didn't move. If it guaranteed she'd open her eyes, he'd push his own life force into her, but no amount of wishing made it so. Instead, he laid his head on one arm on the side of the table and, still holding her hand in his, fell asleep.
Danica walked through the kitchen doors into the main hall of the temple. One acolyte pointed toward Lunara, and the sleeping human form hunched over the side of the table. Danica smiled and waved the acolyte away. The last time Lunara had been here healing, she'd always woken him and sent him back to Jorrvaskr. He would go, reappearing a few hours later pretending to have rested, but Danica knew full well he hadn't. She didn't know what he'd been doing during those times, but she could tell by looking at the shadows under his eyes it wasn't sleeping. Danica shook her head and walked to the sleeping quarters. She took a cloak off a hook on the wall and went back to the main hall, throwing it over Vilkas' sleeping form and checking Lunara over. Her bleeding had stopped, and she showed no signs of poisoning. Yes, she will be fine. She smiled to herself and went about her temple duties.
Vilkas woke to fingers moving in his hair. He laid still for a moment, his eyes adjusting to the darkness and quiet of the temple. The moons were full, and rays of moonlight filtered through the stained glass on the roof of the temple and bathed Lunara in soft white light. He panicked. The moons were full?! He'd forgotten amongst all the chaos. He looked around, trying to decide how to get out of the temple and away fast enough before the transformation started. He thought he could make it to the underforge with no one seeing him this time of night. Standing up, he realized—there was no urgency, no feeling of imminent danger that the wolf would break free at any moment. The wolf was... sleeping? He didn't understand what was happening or why, he didn't have to move from this spot, which was fine with him. Lunara hadn't woken up, but her fingers continued their movements in his hair. He lifted his head to look at her, taking her hand in his again. A cloud crossed the moon, casting her face in shadows. He marveled at how her bone structure was both delicate and strong. Just like her.
Lunara let out a soft groan and coughed. She opened her eyes for a moment and closed them again. He stared at her, not knowing whether to call for Danica. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Hey, you," she whispered. She tightened her fingers in his, and he grinned at her.
"Hey, you," he said back, stroking her hair with his free hand.
She smiled and closed her eyes again. Her mouth felt like it was full of tundra cotton and her head hurt. Not as much as it did before, she thought, but still tender. She squeezed his hand again and tried to sit up. He stood up, and she felt his arm across her shoulders, supporting her as she did so. His other hand never let go of hers. She held the furs to her chest, still naked from her captivity. She chuckled at her modesty, considering Vilkas must have been the one to carry her naked body through the streets of Whiterun to the temple. Vilkas let go of her and took off the cloak that Danica had put over him and draped it around Lunara's shoulders. She turned and let her feet dangle off the edge of the bed. He stood in front of her, helping her to rearrange her covering. She smiled up at him and he looked down at her, each getting lost in the other's eyes.
Without thinking, he cupped her face in his hands, calloused thumbs stroking her cheekbones. He bent his head and kissed her, and Lunara stiffened in surprise. No one had ever kissed her before. Valuxus made her do a lot of things when he held her captive the first time, but he had never kissed her. Unsure what she should do, she relaxed and followed his lead. She buried her fingers in his hair and kissed him back. The kiss was gentle at first, growing more urgent as the seconds passed. When she thought she'd never be able to breathe again, he broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers, struggling to catch his own breath.
"I have to go," he whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. Her hair smelled of Lavender, and he inhaled to remember the scent. She untangled her fingers from his hair and dropped her hands to her lap. He pulled away then, and her gaze dropped to her hands, confused. Had she done something wrong? She didn't think so, but it wouldn't have been the first time. Her thoughts were all running together in a complete mess when she felt his fingers lifting her chin.
"Don't think so much," he whispered. "I'll be back soon." He planted another kiss on her forehead and headed toward the exit. His hand was on the door latch when he heard, "please stay safe, I can't lose anyone else." She had whispered the thought, thinking he couldn't hear her. Guilt washed over him as he looked over his shoulder at her. She looked beautiful and very fragile sitting there in the moonlight. What in Oblivion was he doing leaving her like this? He was being a coward, and he knew it, but he couldn't tell her why he had to leave. Kissing her had done so many things to him, the biggest of which was waking his wolf, who now demanded its freedom. The other things he'd have to sort out later.
He opened the door and stepped out into the crisp night air. He went up the stairs toward Jorrvaskr and took a hard left toward the underforge. His transformation had already begun by the time the rock door fell into place behind him. He ran through the underforge tunnel out into the moonlit plains of Whiterun.