The Prophecy Luna

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Let go, Louis," I said, pulling my hand from his grip. He had forcefully carried me back to my house with Jackson running next to us. Jackson had stayed on the shadow of the forest as he remained in his wolf form.

As soon as Louis put me down in front of the door, I made a dash back to the direction where we came from. But, of course, Louis was much faster than me. He gripped my wrist and stopped me from going a step further.

"I said let go, Louis!" I sobbed. "Harry... and Liam! I need to know if they're safe."

"Elle, please, we need to get inside. It's not safe out there," Louis determinedly said.

"No! Let go, Louis!" I repeated, struggling from his grip.

But Louis didn't let go. He even started dragging me back and I mustered all my strength to remove his grip from my wrist.

"Hey!" I heard someone shout.

I looked over and saw Zayn looking furious as he ran towards us.

"Shit!" Louis muttered as he tried to pull me faster.

"Let go, Louis!" I said, not caring anymore. I just really wanted to go back and make sure Harry and everyone else were safe. The fear and dread I felt in the presence of the stranger only made my want to stop Harry and the rest of them from pursuing them.

Zayn reached us in no time and he pulled my hand free from Louis' grip, catching Louis by surprise. Zayn gently held my hand and pulled me behind him.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Zayn angrily shouted at Louis.

"Any other time I'd humor you, but fuck off, kid," Louis said. "This is none of your business."

"She's my business, so why don't you fuck off," Zayn retorted. "She doesn't want to go with you."

I wanted to run and go back to the forest but Zayn was clutching my hand. I turned towards the forest and Louis was immediately in front of me.

"Come on, Elle, we need to get inside," Louis said, taking my other hand. It was the injured one and I flinched when Louis suddenly grabbed it.

Louis let go immediately when he felt me flinched and looked at me apologetically.

Zayn let go of my other hand and grabbed the wrist of my injured hand, raising it for all to see. Blood had seeped through the bandage and the cut I made was outlined.

"What the fuck? Who did this to you, Elle?" Zayn exclaimed, getting angrier.

"It's no-nothing, I-it was an accident," I stammered.

"Fucking bullshit, Elle!" Zayn turned his glare to Louis. "Did you fucking do this?"

Louis just rolled his eyes at him, "She just said she accidentally cut herself. Why don't you go back home, kid? Elle needs to get inside and rest."

Zayn pushed him away and, once again, shielded me from Louis' reach, "She obviously doesn't want to go with you."

Louis frowned, "You don't know anything about what she wants. Why don't you go leave us alone?"

"Stop it!" I cried. "Louis, I am not going inside."

I turned towards the forest, where I knew Jackson was watching and listening, "I'm not going inside until he comes back! Tell him that!"

"Elle, come on, you're tired. You need to rest," Louis insisted but he didn't step closer.

"No," I insisted, tears still streaming down my face. "I'm not going inside."

If Zayn was puzzled about this whole ordeal, he didn't show it. He was busy inspecting my hand and probably the rest of me for any more cuts, I guess.

I heard Louis sigh, "At least stay by the porch then."

I shook my head and kept my eyes trained on the tree line, willing Harry and the rest of them to walk out of it.

"He's not gonna be happy about this," I heard Louis mutter.

I knew he was talking about Zayn being here with me. But I didn't care. Zayn was probably the only thing that's keeping Louis from dragging me back inside the house. I wasn't going to push Zayn away if that meant I could stay out here.

I suddenly felt warmth surround me as Zayn had removed his leather jacket and placed it around my shoulders. I felt a sense of déjà vu, remembering how Harry did the same when we went to the club.

I paused. Why did I go to that club that night, anyway?

I shook my head. It didn't matter right now. What mattered was that Harry and everyone else returned safely.

"What's going on, Elle?" Zayn finally asked.

"I'm just... I'm waiting for someone..." I explained, my eyes still trained at the forest line.

I could feel Zayn's stare boring a hole at the side of my face.

"Did you get into a fight with him?" Zayn asked, his voice bitter and angry.

"No... no, of course not," I answered. From my peripheral vision, I could see Louis standing still close to me, except his right foot kept tapping impatiently while he also stared at the forest line.

"Maybe Louis is right. Maybe you should go inside," Zayn said, taking my shaking hands to his and gently rubbing back some warmth on them. I didn't realize I was shaking from the cold. Or maybe I was shaking with fear. I didn't know anymore.

I shook my head.

Zayn sighed, "You're still so stubborn."

I looked at Zayn, "Still?"

"You've been like that ever since I met you," Zayn said as he raised my hands to his mouth to breathe warm air onto them before rubbing them again. "You even made me break a couple of your grandmother's dishes back when we just met."

"I... did?" I asked.

Zayn sadly smiled at me, his eyes staring straight to mine.

Before I could say anything again, I heard the rustle of leaves. My eyes immediately snapped back towards the forest, just in time to see Harry emerging from it. I did a quick scan on him to check for any wounds. I didn't see any, thank god.

Before I could stop myself, I tore my hands away from Zayn's and ran towards Harry. The jacket fell to the ground as I did so.

The moment I was close enough to him, I wrapped my arms around Harry and he did the same.

"Are you okay? Where are the others? Liam?" I murmured all in one breathe.

Harry's arms tightened around my waist, "I'm fine. We're all fine. Everyone else is on their way back the pack house. Liam's running the perimeter with Klaus."

I released a relieved sigh, hugging Harry closer. I was so happy they were all right.

"As much as I want to stay like this, Sweetheart, it's not safe out here. We should go inside," Harry suggested after a few seconds.

I nodded, finally removing my arms around him. I looked at him once again, to make sure he was really all right. Once I was satisfied, I finally turned back towards the house and Harry placed an arm around my shoulder and we walked back to my house. Louis was already holding the door open while Zayn was standing where I left him, looking at us without any emotion on his face. He was clutching the jacket I dropped on his hands.

I started to explain to Harry but he cut me off, "It's fine."

I stopped walking when we were three steps away in front of Zayn. Harry did too, his arm still tightly around my shoulder.

"Thank you," I said.

I saw pain crossed his eyes for a second, "Anything for you, Elle."

I felt Harry clutch my shoulder tighter before he gently pushed me forward to start walking again. We were by the door when I briefly glanced back. I saw Zayn's dejected shoulders turn as he also turned to look at me. But the door closed even before our eyes could meet.