As soon as I stepped out of the pack house, the wind caressed my skin. Pushing my hair to my face. I sucked in the air greedily, tucking the loose and free strands swaying around my face behind my ear. The pack was outside. They were all standing, looking as I walked past them to the border.
News certainly travels fast around here. I saw Leonard standing at the very end, his eyes begging me to stay. I gave him a weak smile. He nodded, baring his neck in submission. Amongst them all, I would miss him the most.
Liar.
My wolf snarled. It broke my heart, it really did. But I just had to do this for my sake and his. My mate.
I stopped walking at the border; I turned around to look at the place that had caused me so many emotions. Emotions I never had the privilege to feel. I looked at Aria. She smiled at me, encouraging me just as she promised.
We held our hands and left.
************************************
The drums sounded like heartbeats. The air rested heavily, surrounding me with a weight I didn't want to bare, and I found it hard to breathe. Tension thick as steel, the heat did nothing to stop my shivering. Oh, goddess. He was really serious about making me his Luna. They adorned me like a lamb to the slaughter. My heart was thumbing in sync with the drums. Aria was not where in sight. I followed quietly, racking and searching my brain for something, anything. The darkness was thick as a fog, with the fire in the middle like a flower growing out of rocks. After a few brief moments, I reached the middle. There were howls and cheers. The wolves were excited and pleased. I'd have to admit to myself, that I was a nice catch.
The stupid Alpha stood, smiling. He offered me his hands. I refused. He grabbed my elbow and pulled me to him.
"Look over there," he pointed to the edge clearing. Aria! That son of a bitch. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to her now, would you?" I relaxed in his arms.
Then the ceremony started. I was panicking. It would come at the time when he would need to mark me. I couldn't let that happen. But the only way I could get out of here and still save Aria was to use magic. And I promised, vowed even. It took a lot to seal the dam of magic swirling in me. If I broke it now, there would be no going back. The prophecy will be true. But if I don't? I would be mated to this big hunk of stupidity here. I guess I could survive this, Luna. I should have been able to.
At least it's better for everybody else. Me, Aria, the witches. The biggest stab in the moon goddess' face. She wouldn't be able to win this one. It was time. I barred my neck for him to mark. Yet I curled in repulsion at the thought of his teeth in my neck.
I let the tears that threatened to fall drop. This was it. My life was over. Basically, his head dipped for the bite, but he stopped at my ear.
"So you were all bark and no bite, eventually. I knew I would break you." As if on instinct, my eyes went white. I was no longer in front of a fire, with a pack of animal skin-wearing wolves. No Alpha, no Aria, no drums, not a single sound, nothing. I knew what this was, it was a trance. I guess it irked my subconscious. This was a sort of escape, just for a while. I could stay here for years, but barely seconds would pass in the real world.
Everywhere was black. Silent. Only the sound of my feet in the shallow expanse of water filled this domain. My breathing was serene. I walked. If I could find a solution here, I might be able to save both Aria and me. Then I heard it. Loud, clear, and accurate.
"Such a weak target. I would make her kneel before me. With her abilities, I would be the most powerful alpha in the world." I recognized the voice. It was the stupid Alpha. This wasn't a trance. I was in his head, hearing his thoughts. "Immediately after this, I'm going to ride that tight ass of hers, pouring my seed into her. Until she's sore and I won't even stop." Okay, awkward. This guy is a creep. "I can't wait to dispose of the redhead. I'll have no use for her after this night" WTH!!!
As soon as I heard that, I forced myself back to reality. His lips trailed my neck, lightly I grabbed the skin they had me wearing almost ripping it. In sheer disgust. He was going to kill Aria. That was it. Fuck me or that stupid prophecy. I pushed him off me and screamed. The dam broke, but it was a small hole, yet magic flooded my brain with such intensity. I tried to maintain control. I was furious. My eyes must have turned a dark shade of blue because of the way his eyes widened.
"Are you so dumb?" He snarled.
"No, but you are. You stupid weirdo." He reached for me. I jumped through the fire to the other side, being the mad daredevil I was. Now I had him just where I needed him. The fire exploded, causing droplets everywhere. Little baby fires, like fireworks, flew through the skies, landing everywhere. Only these sparks were anything but beautiful. They were intent on chaos. The next thing I know, the Alpha is screaming on the floor, clutching his eyes. There is chaos everywhere.
I didn't look back as I broke into a sprint. Aria took down the two wolves that held her, thanks to my distraction. It was the two foolish teenagers from earlier. They were no match for her, I met her in the woods.
"What the hell was that?" she asked, panting. I shrugged. "I'm glad it happened though, we would never have escaped otherwise".
She threw me some clothes. "Put that on quickly. We need to keep. Moving, they'll be tracking us," I nodded and changed quickly. And we ran into the darkness as fast as we could.
************************************
We walked further away from the pack as I walked further into the woods. My muscles became heavier and my breathing became ragged. I lagged behind.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"I-I can't breathe," I wheezed. My hands fell on jagged flesh when I clutched my neck as I fell to the floor. I thought it was something on me and tried to rub it away until...
"Is that a hickey?"
"If you can't leave on your own or you come back, you submit to me?"
"That s-son of a b-bitch," I gasped for air. Aria's eyes widened when she saw my neck. He marked me!
A lot of questions danced around in my head as I slowly lost consciousness.
"Iris, I'll have to take you back." can she? I'm a lot heavier than her. I struggled to stay awake.
"Just" pant, "go" pant, "get" pant "some help!" I shut my eyes tightly as I squeezed out the two words. Clutching my chest in desperation. She sprinted in the direction we came from. We had already given the pack half a day's distance. I leaned back against a tree, struggling to stay awake. It was so painful, gasping for air. Makes you wonder how simple, how insignificant the only thing that differentiates the dead from the living. Right now, I didn't know which I was. My head felt so fuzzy I barely felt alive. The air that I took for granted pushed me farther away from life. I could feel the breeze that hugged my frame and kissed my skin ever so lightly. Taunting me, I'm right here, but you can't have me. My chest constricted, and I bent over in pain. Wheezing.
"Is that her?" A voice came from nearby. I was overjoyed. Could Aria have been that fast? But it's impossible, that can't be right. The joy was short-lived, replaced by agony. And was that fear? Oh no, I'm never afraid, am I? The voices pulled closer, and I looked up. The little air I didn't have stopped coming in. I felt as if I was drowning in the air itself.
"My oh my, what do we have here?" I know that voice. How can I forget? I stared into the face of my past. Only this time, it seemed blind.
"Alpha stupid?" Me and my big mouth. He grabbed my throat and growled. Great, just what I needed. I clasped my hands around him, struggling against his immense strength.
He looked just like the day I last saw him, well it was only like what? Six months ago. Just one thing was unique. Wait, was he blind? Oh, oh, goddess.
"You still have that foul mouth," he spat. I was still lacking air. Can these people not block the pipe ways that are already not getting any air?
I would have smiled, but nothing was funny to me, even at this moment. I felt lightheaded and weak. Air! You foolish air! Why have thou refused to grace my lungs with thy presence?
"I finally got you now, you're going to pay for this," he used his other hand to point to his eyes.
"If you're r-rea-lly b-blind h-how can y-you ev-even see m-me?"
"My wolf's eyes fool" he left my neck as I began to pass out. Expecting me to gasp for air and recover. I didn't. The last thing I heard before it all became black was "take her."
Damn was I screwed.