"They had battled and bloodied one another, they had kept secrets, broken hearts, lied, betrayed, exiled, they had walked away, said goodbye and sworn it was forever, and somehow, every time, they had mended, they had forgiven, they had survived. Some mistakes could never be fixed - some, but not all. Some people can't be driven away, no matter how hard you try. Some friendships won't break."
-Robin Wasserman (Seven Deadly Sins)
Galaxy By: Jayden Bartels
I woke to tidal wave of rage and pain burning through my defenses and flooding my mind. The alluring power she battled sucked me in, causing my vision to blur and sharpen, my hearing to expand. Slightly muted conversation from the next room now sounded like I was standing in a roaring crowd. Elizabeth's voice surrounded me, each syllable filled with deep insatiable emotion. As I scrambled from the bed, I called on my wolf, gritting my teeth against the waves of agony as my body shattered into shards of bone, muscle, and flesh, before carefully knitting back together in a new shape. Fully shifted, I could feel Elizabeth's awareness shift to me, her consciousness tentatively brushing against mine. I was relieved that she was not hurt, though I doubted anything could actually hurt her, she was so strong and powerful. My nails clicked across the hardwood floor as I trotted into the living room, the furniture looking decidedly smaller in this body. An alluringly sweet scent filled my nose as I inhaled, air whistling from my nostrils. My ears flattened as the woman came into view, though on the inside I was slightly awed.
She was........eerily identical to Natasha, Elizabeth's other sister, with just as impossibly long waist length red hair. However, her eyes were drastically different, such a deep shade of blue with an inner ring of silver, contrasting rather strangely with the darkness of her pupil. Her body was taunt with muscle but also a healthy amount of feminine curves, blended together to form a body made to seduce. I huffed and glanced away, taking in my mate and her tense form. Her beauty was unsurpassed. Despite the circumstances, a wolfy purr began in my chest as I gazed adoringly at Elizabeth. Her jaw flexed at the sight of me, a faint warning passing through my mind. She'd clothed herself in a loose black tee and dark grey sweats, her long hair tied up in a messy bun. The only cosmetics on her face consisted of her enraged expression, though it softened ever so slightly when landing on me.
"Oooooh you got a puppy!" Camille cooed, grinning wickedly, her long lashes casting shadows over her sharp cheekbones. I flattened my ears in an obvious display of offense, lifting my lip in a show of teeth. But she was unconcerned and merely grinned back, her ivory fangs flashing in the light of day. Elizabeth's voice alone was lethal as she issued the threat, but what truly startled me was the vigor in which she spoke.
"If you value your life I suggest you keep your distance." She threatened in a low hiss, wood splintering under her fingertips.
Camille raised an amused brow. "Testy, testy." She tsked disapprovingly, brazenly stepping past Elizabeth and into the room, ignoring the warning growl I issued at her approach. She ignored my warnings and knelt in front of me, those alien eyes peering curiously into my own. A strange sense of calm overcame me just then, like a fog had filled my brain. My bones ached with the need to abandon my lupine form for human skin. "Come now love," She cooed. "I'm sure you're much more comfortable in your human form. I've heard a lot about you and I'd very much like to meet the woman beneath the fur." I couldn't focus on anything but her voice and the strange hypnotic way it pulled me in.
"Camille." Elizabeth warned in a clipped tone, releasing the poor doorframe and stepping forward. "You have three seconds to move away from her or so help me..."
Rolling her eyes, the redhead stood, breaking the compulsion on my mind. "Relax, I am merely curious. I mean, Elijah told me the stories but I had to see it for myself."
Shaking my head, I stepped back, my instincts taking over as I realized she had tried to meddle with my mind in order to get me to do what she wanted. It was a sickeningly human feeling, the vulnerability of being at one's mercy. The world blurred out of focus as I scrambled back, my body splintering, wavering between human and beast. For half a second I felt stuck in between the two forms, my body flooding with inescapable fear. But before I could panic, the last of my fur finally faded into skin. I shook with fear, nearly hyperventilating on the floor. I could barely make out the sounds of their shouting and a struggle, the sound of metal rattling before everything fell suddenly silent. I flinched as she reached for me, but it didn't stop her from wrapping me in a blanket and hoisting me into her arms. Visions assaulted my mind, memories of harsh panting filled my ears, sticky blood coating my paws, and the delicious way my powerful jaws crunched through bone and sinew.
My wolf's memories.
Laying me down, my vision refocused and I came to the shocking realization that Camille was now tied up on the floor, her wrists and ankles locked in a pair of silver manacles. A long chain extending from each of the four cuffs blended into one, was now looped through a previously hidden ring in the floor, usually covered by the rug. Elizabeth knelt in front of me, brushing my hair back from my face, her cool fingers felt heavenly against my flushed skin. "Are you ok?" Her voiced softened with concern.
"It gets harder each time, doesn't it?" Camille interrupted, obviously listening in on our conversation. "The shifts slow down, your blood thickening like tar, your bones as delicate as glass....am I close?" Her eyes glowed with seriousness.
"Shut up, Camille." Elizabeth snapped, lowering her head and blowing out a long and slow breath as she worked to calm herself.
"Hey," I soothed, running my knuckles tiredly along her jaw. "I'm okay. It just took a little extra time." I assured, glancing at Camille in reluctant curiosity. "Your friend is just a loud mouth." I sneered, knowing that had I been in my wolf form I would've wrinkled my lip up into a snarl. Infuriatingly, the woman simply laughed, throwing her head back.
"Oh I like you." She winked.
"She's not my friend." Elizabeth set her jaw at my sharp look. "She's my sister." I wasn't very shocked since I had practically put the pieces together already, but confirming it created a whole mess of confusion in my mind.
"So there's," I paused to count off the siblings I knew of; Camille, Natasha, Ezekiel, Elizabeth, and Elijah. I knew that Elizabeth was the eldest of six siblings, and Ezekiel the second child, with Elijah as the youngest brother. So where did that leave the twins? And where did their hair color originate from? "Five of you." I finished slowly.
Camille's chains clinked together as she clapped. "Very good." I glowered at her condescending tone, feeling slightly petty.
"Funny how I'm the dog yet you're the one in chains." I smirked over Elizabeth's shoulder, watching her eyes narrow.
"Enough." Elizabeth pinched the bridge of her nose as she interrupted our banter while she sat herself beside me on the couch, placing my feet in her lap and resting her arm on the back, her other hand preoccupied with rubbing soothing circles across the skin of my calf. "Camille, why are you here?"
"Elijah sought me out. Said he needed me to locate a girl, a rather high up mother's shit list, girl. And you know me, I may be "tied down" for eternity but I'm not one to resist a challenge." A grin worked her mouth and for a split second I could see every little similarity her and Elizabeth shared. "Anyway, apparently it causes quite a strife when the King's heir goes missing. Quite frankly I was surprised Elijah hadn't found you already, though he did say you'd want to tear his throat out. Care to elaborate as to why that is? I'm sure it has something to do with your lovely little scelta here." Elizabeth tensed beside me, her fingers digging into the upholstery. I knew it was dangerous to mention our bond, but I couldn't resist taking the bait.
I had to know what she knew of it.
"What do you know of our bond?" I asked curiously.
That strange silver ring surrounding the inner circle of her pupil dilated as she focused on me. "I know that it is more or less the same bond that I share with my scelto." Her ruby red lips formed a soft o as she popped off the phrase. I couldn't stop the gasp that fled my mouth, an unexpected rush of joy fluttering like butterflies in my stomach at the thought of not being alone in this journey. It sounded silly when I thought about it now, but I had never considered that there would be more of us. I remembered my Aunt Vienna and frowned.
"She was likely never a true mate to Xavier." Elizabeth spoke grimly, using our bond. "I believe she was only using him for her own gain, to get closer to you." It was unsettling and I couldn't help but feel terribly for Xavier. Vienna has stolen decades from his life, and probably never even loved him. How someone could be so cold hearted to keep up a charade like that for as long as she did was baffling to me.
"Where is your mate?" I blurted, immediately regretting doing so as the silver of Camille's eyes suddenly flashed iridescently, a clear sign of a warning.
"Ask her." Her long hair pooled on the floor in a river of red as she tipped her head towards Elizabeth. "Go on Lizzy, tell your innocent little mate what you did to the love of my life." The air hummed with power, sliding across my skin like liquid, yet I was still dry. It was unsettling.
Elizabeth's face was blank as she bluntly stared at her seething sister. "You know what he did to me. I couldn't let him continue to roam the earth." Camille's eyes began to water, her face contorting into an expression of pure anguish. A shiver slid down my spine at the monotone way she spoke and the secrets her voice held. The slow hum in the air began to strengthen and I jumped as a lightbulb suddenly exploded, and another not long after. "You better stop that shit right now Cami, or so help me I will do to you what I did to Michael." The third lightbulb shattered from in the bathroom, but she seemed to calm a little, rolling her eyes.
With an exaggerated sigh, Elizabeth placed her hand on my knee, meeting my gaze carefully. "I did not kill him, but I didn't exactly give him the best chances at survival either."
"What did you do?" I bit my lip in nervous anticipation. A sinister gleam flashed across her eyes just then, her full lips parting in a lazy grin, her fingertips sliding under my shirt, caressing my back and the raised scars there. Goosebumps erupted across my skin at the gleeful and flippant manner she confessed to her evil deed. I knew then that whatever this Michael had done, he had to have actually done it to deserve such a fate.
"I dropped him in the middle of the ocean."
Lizzy ain't the least bit sorry 😂😏 enjoy!