I stood there for a moment in the crisp night air, wondering what in the actual hell just happened.
Then the images started flooding into my head, his words, the kiss. I realized then and there I never told him. I never said what I came here to say, that I don't love Blaze, I love him.
God, I was so stupid, I let myself get carried away by my hormones like a teenager.
I needed to look for him. I needed to tell him the truth.
Also, what did he mean by not being enough for me? What the hell was that about?
I always knew Harlan hated himself, probably because of the abuse he endured from his horrible father, but I wonder if that is what fuels that sort of senseless thought.
Whatever the answer was, I needed to talk to him, needed to explain. So I once again followed his scent. This time it was easier, for some reason, it was like after that kiss my feelings for him were heightened.
I ran as I tracked him and I could feel he was close. I took a turn following a path I wasn't very familiar with and as I saw a tail I got excited.
"Harlan!" I said and immediately knew something was wrong as the creature turned around with its orange eyes glowing like headlights and growling fiercely. Eyes I'd seen before.
I remembered it now.
____
The memories started flooding in like a tide trying to take me over. I remembered when Everest showed up at the hospital with a referral I can safely assume was fake.
I remember he was charming and kind but there was always something about him, something that felt wrong.
He'd always ask too many questions, always too interested in me. I was flattered because he was attractive, but I never took it further.
One day he'd said, "I know a friend that is looking to open a private clinic in Miracle, he's looking for someone with your area of expertise and I took the liberty of recommending you."
I remember being surprised "I am quite comfortable with my job here, though I appreciate you taking me into consideration."
"You don't have to take it, just promise you will think about it, my friend will be calling you."
His "friend" did call me and made an offer I couldn't refuse. I thought about it for a week and thought nothing was holding me here since my grandmother died. This could be the fresh start I was needing.
But it wasn't. Because when I showed up at the address he gave me I was attacked from behind, by someone with glowing orange eyes.
That man brutally attacked me and left me in the woods to die.
____
The second it took me to react because of the flashback cost me greatly as I barely had time to scream as it lunged at me.
I could not physically stop him, not in a human form. I wasn't strong enough and I couldn't run anymore.
I managed to kick him off before he ripped out my neck and scrambled to get up right before another tackled me from behind, two others biting my Achilles tendons so I couldn't run.
It was an orchestrated attack, there were too many, I couldn't run, and I could barely fight as one of them bit me on the shoulder to drag me away.
The pain was blinding, someone was screaming, it could have been me, but as the attacks kept coming I lost consciousness. Calling for help in my mind, screaming for him.
____
Harlan felt her fear before he heard her piercing scream and he cursed himself for leaving her alone in the middle of the woods. If she wasn't okay this was his fault, he knew how bad the situation was and he still left her there because he wasn't thinking.
Now that the mating bond was there he could easily feel her presence, feel her pain, and it was excruciating. He ran there as fast as he could, but by the time he got there, there was only blood and her mangled body on the floor.
She was severely wounded and unconscious, her clothes were torn and she had a pretty severe injury on her heels and legs. She was losing a lot of blood but she had so many cuts he wasn't sure where it was coming from.
"Diana!" he ran to her, nearly stumbling as he knelt and picked her body off of the ground. He'd seen this sight before, seen her like this once.
But this was worse. They left her thinking she was dead, they left her dying twice now, and either time he hadn't been able to save her.
"Please," he begged, to whom, he wasn't sure. But as tears streamed down his cheeks he felt like dying because that is what she was doing. "Please wake up." He held her close and applied pressure to the wound on her inner thigh because it wouldn't stop bleeding.
She had lost a lot of blood. He'd killed enough people to know this was bad, extremely bad.
"Harlan," she said softly, opening her eyes with difficulty. "I was looking for you," she said with a beautiful smile. He was so surprised he couldn't even breathe.
"Diana, please don't waste your strength, I'll take you back to Callum and--"
She looked up at the sky "I won't survive you moving me," she said "And to be honest, I'm not even sure I want to" She kept staring at the sky so Harlan looked up and saw the start of the eclipse.
He cursed under his breath as he looked back to her "You'll be fine, you'll be okay" he swore again. "We just need to take you to Blaze so he can mark you and--"
"I don't want Blaze to mark me," she said, weakly, closing her eyes.
There was so much going on it took him a second to process that information "What? Why?"
"Because I don't love him," she whispered and smiled weakly "I love you."
Suddenly the world was brighter, the air was fresher, and suddenly he felt like he had everything he'd ever wanted.
"I don't care if you're my mate or not, I want it to be you, I want to be with you" She tried opening her eyes but he could feel her lose consciousness.
He didn't hesitate for a second as he moved to bite her but she stopped him, placing a hand on his chest. "What are you doing?" he asked, panicking.
"Don't" she said weakly "You're supposed to only bite your mate, I'm not--"
"You are," Harlan said, crying again but he didn't care. He was crying because he had everything and she was slipping through his fingers- Fuck, how could she be so stubborn? "You are my mate and I love you and I want to spend forever with you," he said quickly but she didn't take her hand away, she thought he was lying.
"Dammit Diana!" he said frustrated "Please, let me, let me save your life!"
"No, not if you're only doing it to save me--"
"Diana I'm not lying!" He said exasperated "I've known you were my mate from the moment I saw you, I've always known but that kiss was the proof, that electric feeling was it, that was the mating bond!" Fuck he loved her so much but how could she be so stubborn? "I love you and I have loved you from the moment you talked back to me and told me to let go of you. So I was petty and dropped you on the floor.
"I have loved you since you came to check on me that night when I was screaming, I love you because I've never met someone more infuriating than you. I love you because you are so much smarter than me yet you are just as stubborn. I love the way you smile, the way you look at me, the way you help others without thinking. I love you, and I swear to God you are going to kill us both if you don't let me mark you right now. Because I can't think of a world where, after meeting you, I can live knowing you aren't here anymore" he looked at her face, she had a smile so bright his heart hurt.
"I love you too" she whispered, finally removing her hand from his chest.
He hated he had to do this now when she was hurt. But this would save her life in more than one way "It's going to hurt" he whispered in her ear but she nodded, preparing herself.
He did it as quickly as he could, sinking his teeth into the caramel skin of that place where the shoulder meets the neck. He thought this would be the most painless way to do it.
Like ripping a bandaid.
She gasped and he immediately pulled off, the mark healing instantly. He didn't know if that meant it worked, normally it would but the rest of her wounds weren't healing.
He cursed under his breath again. Did he do it wrong?
He looked at the sky, the eclipse was almost over, he was panicking, freaking the fuck out because she wouldn't stop bleeding. What was happening? He was so confused and she was smiling, why was she smiling?
"Harlan," she said calmly, lacing a hand on his cheek. "I love you, even if it doesn't work out, even if die now--" How did she know it didn't work? Was it because of the look on his face?
"Stop" he whispered, tears running down his cheek as he cradled her body and put pressure on her wounds. "Please stop." This couldn't be happening, he couldn't be losing her--
"I'm sorry I didn't say it before, I'm sorry we are out of time," she continued and he kept crying, crumbling. She was going to survive, right? Because the moon goddess wouldn't be this cruel, because no one would be this cruel.
"If you die I die with you, don't say those things" he choked out and she looked at him with so much love. What he was saying was true, he couldn't live in a world where his mate had died, almost no one could.
"If I die live on happily" she smiled "Do that for me" Her eyes were fluttering closed, slowly speaking slurred like she was falling asleep.
"Diana, please," he said, shaking her gently, stroking her cheek. "Di, please."
And with all that was left of her she said "I love you." And his heart broke into a million pieces.
This had to be a nightmare, this couldn't be happening. He kept waiting, waiting to wake up. Because this had to be a nightmare where he finally got everything he wanted but didn't deserve, and then, because of him she died.
He kept waiting.
Those were the last words she said as the short reunion the sun had with the moon ended.
The eclipse was over, and no matter how much Harlan shook her and checked her pulse, she was dead.