"Oh, goddess! Luna!" I heard a voice cry out. The only thing that filled my mind was happiness at that moment when someone walked in. Help had come.
I knew I couldn't expect Malik after I chased him out the way I did, but I was fine with anybody. As far as I wasn't alone, it was cool.
This time, I heard footsteps charging down the steps. People, yay!
"Iris? Iris! What wrong? What can I do?" I heard Aria's pleading voice. I tried to speak, to tell them to take me away, as far away as possible from this toxic magic. But the convulsions struck me even harder. My body shook and jerked and I chomped on my tongue even harder. At this rage, I might actually cut it off and die.
Honestly, fear gripped me. It made me feel small and incredibly vulnerable.
"What can we do? If this continues, she's going to die." Aria cried.
"Let's take her to the hospital. I'm sure doc will help," Absalom replied. His voice was laced with fear for my life. Well, that makes two of us.
"Leila, call the ambulance." He scooped me up and took me away from the bunker. I stopped seizing immediately sun touched my skin. Drawing in a large amount of air, I felt like I could finally breathe. I felt exhausted. No surprise there, my magic was working overtime to keep me alive. But even now away from the mage magic, slivers of it remained in the bloodstream, so my magic was still working to shove it away. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. Before long, darkness came over and fell into a deep slumber.
************************************
Iris.
Iris...
Iris!
My eyes widened, and I sat up. Where was I?! I did not recognize this place! First, there was nothing, then these bursts of light appeared at random. Floating in little balls. It looked like the solar system, a large expanse of darkness with light hanging around me like I was the sun keeping them in orbit. Instead of a line away from me, the lights surrounded me and kept moving. But when I looked closely, I could see images in the bursts of light that scattered when I tried to touch it. Two girls, women actually I saw the most. Was this mother? The Moon goddess? There was no confirmation, but I just knew.
But one blink and it all went away, and I was standing in that familiar temple. With the symbols and markings, the after-effects, and the smell of dark magic. I know where this was.
"Iris, did you just try to enter my head?" That sinister but commanding voice. I did not need to turn around to know who it was, but I did anyway. So that was where I was? Those were her memories?
"Mother,"
"Don't call me that, Iris. You said it yourself. I am not your mother." She sneered. Her dark eyes narrowed. "You reek. After everything I thought you, how can you still try mage magic?"
"I am not mad. I didn't try it."
"So?"
"I don't believe I owe you an explanation," I replied, and she scoffed.
"Well, why am I here then? Why have you brought me here?"
Her scarlet-colored lips pulled up into a smile. But that was the last thing I saw before I was further plunged into darkness.
*****
The light flooding into my eyes had me squinting as they fluttered open. As I got used to it, I was able to take in my surroundings. This looked like... ah, I see I was in a hospital room. What was that dream?
But before I could place any more thought, I was interrupted.
"Iris? You're awake." Aria's voice called out to me, pulling me further into consciousness.
"Aria," I called out weakly. "How long was I out?"
"About six hours. We were so scared. What in the goddess's name happened to you?" She asked as she pushed back damp stray strands of hair away from my face.
Six hours sounds about right. Groaning, I struggled to sit up. Aria stopped me, pressing a remote to lift the bed up so I could be sitting.
"How do you feel now? Are you okay? Shall I call the doctor?" She asked.
"I don't know. What did he say was wrong with me?" I asked skeptically.
"He said you were exposed to something that caused a violent allergic reaction. But he couldn't say what because he doesn't really understand you and your magic."
"Well, that's one way to put it. That doctor is a smart wolf." I gave her a weak smile.
"Where's Malik?" I asked, and by the way, her expression changed. Something was off.
"Aria?" I asked again, but before she would open her mouth and tell me I winced. A sharp pain split into my head as the voices and the raging emotion from the pack mind link filled my senses.
"What the hell is going on, Aria? What is this I am hearing?"
She stared me in the eyes and sighed. "There was another attack, Iris."
"How bad? Are people hurt? Is Malik okay? I have to-" I shifted my weight to get off the bed, but she held me down. "Let go! I need to go to him!"
Aria shook her head. "The doc said he's keeping you overnight for observation."
"Pfft, I don't need observation." I humphed. "I'm a witch for crying out loud, with a gift to heal. I'm sure I'm fine." I said as I got out of bed, snatching out the needle in my hand.
I was wrong. I was not fine.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, I collapsed and started to seize again. Great, just great.
************************************
When I opened my eyes this time I was standing in a forest. It was dark and the almost silent whistling of the wind made me feel like I was actually standing there. My eyes darted from here to there, trying to figure out where this was. That was when I heard voices. I took a step forward and realized I was barefoot when the sticks and moss and sand dug into my feet.
It didn't deter me, though. The voices got louder and louder as I approached a clearing up ahead. Bursting out of the party of trees, I walked into a clearing. And suddenly the voices I was hearing, following faded into the background as my senses were assaulted by screaming and crying and just utter chaos. Normally one would run in the opposite direction of something like that, but not me, not this time. I needed to find out where that chanting was coming from.
That determination flew out the window when I saw the scene before me. Pack wars were very common, werewolves were not only very easy to annoy but they were also very aggressive creatures. But this was pushing it too far.
There was blood, littered corpses, and fires. There were some packs that had werewolves look like actual wolves. Walking on all for legs only there were much larger. These were bloodlines that were much too diverse and distant from the original wolf. Now that I think about it, that world is my mate apparently. Anyways, because of these very limited features, they were getting mascaraed by this other pack whose wolves were two-legged.
These wolves looked crazed, and it was as if they had lost all their humanity. I felt a sharp spasm in my chest when I saw one rip into a child. It was like a river of blood was flowing right to my bare feet. Severed bodies, guts spilling out of people's torn bellies, the stench of burning corpses it was horror! Shutting my eyes and shook my head. Wake up, Iris! Wake the hell up!
The howls lost all coordination, and this wasn't even a battle anymore. This was a pure massacre. My hands flew to my mouth as bile rose to my throat and soon tears spilled out my eyes. That damned chanting! Why couldn't I make out the words?
I froze when I felt this eerie chill down my spine. I turned around and there they were, my sisters. Appearing out of thin air. They stood around a sacrifice. It was a teenage girl handing on a pole with her throat slashed. They were chanting around her bleeding body.
One glance back at the massacre on the other side. Were they doing this?!
"Stop!" I screamed, running towards them but no matter how much I ran, the distance between me and that demonic circle never changed. What spell? What spell?!
I needed to stop this, whatever they were doing! It was not okay!!!
"Are you mad? How can you use black magic on such a large scale?!" I screamed. "Stop this!"
"Why?" A voice asked behind me and I turned around and met gazes with Lily. Looking back she was still connected to the circle with her eyes shut, blood trickling out her eyes and ears as they continued to murder people in masses.
"What the hell do you mean, why? Those people are innocent and you know it. Do you want to fight? Pick on someone your own size!" I screamed.
Lily's head tilted to the side, and she smirked. "You think you are my size? Well, with that shiny new mate of yours, you might be strong enough. But don't accuse us of not playing fair when you went to the moon goddess."
"So you chose blood magic? You know the consequences," I replied, and her sinister cackle sounded like a nail scratching a ceramic plate.
"You think we are still children undergoing training? Honey, we breathe black magic like it's air."
I shook my head. "How? It's not possible."
"It is when you do it consistently. Just like poison, take it just enough to build a resistance," she shrugged. "But I would get back to your body now if I were you. Don't think we killed a person just for one pack."
My eyes widened, and I followed her line of sight. Without another word, I ran -ran like my life depended on it because it did- back into the woods. Make it in time Iris, please let me make it back in time!
"And remember!" She yelled after me. "None of this would have happened if you hadn't gotten mated to that wolf. It is all your fault, way to go, Iris! You really are a curse."
************************************
My eyes snapped open, and I sat up in an instant, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I snatched the needle out of my arm and jumped to my feet, and moved as fast as I could out of that hospital room. I did not even need the pack link to know shit was going down in the pack. I had to balance myself against the wall to get outside. When I left the floor, I was on. After struggling down the stairs, I came face to face with the action. There were wailing wolves almost everywhere. Some were unconscious while others were lethally injured. It was a mess.
"Luna!" the doctor from before exclaimed when he saw me. I am sorry I cannot remember your name, sir.
"What's happening?"
"A neighbor pack ambushed us," he explained, supporting me.
"I thought the nearest pack was like a hundred and twenty kilometers away? Do you know why? I didn't hear anything about being at odds with another pack.."
He shook his head. "That is the biggest mystery. No pack in the forty years I have been alive and as far as the stories I have been told has been bold enough to attack us." He said. "The look in their eyes..."
'As if they have lost their sanity?"
He met my gaze and nodded. "I can heal the injured wolves, so take me," I said, and he nodded.
I am so dizzy, the ground won't stop moving! How am I supposed to know which step is the right one? I sat on the floor for a second, trying to breathe, when I heard a large growl.
All night, I have been giving out magic and spells and I was just exhausted, but I couldn't even rest. Not when Malik had been fighting non-stop. I remember a spell. It requires beetroot and a lot of beetroots. This was a basic hallucination spell, but it was on such a large scale they required a sacrifice. Either way, I was still going to be fighting against black magic.
Something black? It could be brown, but the enormous thing was heading towards me and I couldn't tell- "Oh my gosh!" I shrill scream escaped my throat when the world around me shook as a gigantic body broke into the wall behind me. I heard a loud whimper before everything went silent and another back body headed towards me. So, of course, I got up to run, but you know, the ground refused to cooperate, yet I never felt that impact I expected.
Immediately he held me, I knew. Everything came into focus as I gaze into his eyes, his electric blue eyes. "Malik," I breathed, tears rolling down my cheek. My shaky hands reached up to his cheek, and I held them in my arms, ignoring the fresh stench of blood and the moisture spattered all over him.
As I held him, my fingers pushed and combed through the thick fur that decorated his snout. I shut my eyes and placed my nose against his, just breathing in his essence and the scent that would always comfort and assure me. Slowly the skin beneath my palms became less hairy and I knew he had changed back when my forehead touched his.
"You're awake," he whispered. The relief he felt bleeding into my emotions.
"I am so sorry, I am so incredibly sorry Malik."
His large palms covered the side of my face as his thumb stroked my chin. "What are you saying, Iris? It is not your fault, do not blame yourself for this!"
"Then who? They are doing this because of me!"
Because I chose to love you.
"I told you I only bring death and pain. All the wolves dying because of me," I sobbed. Soon my body felt weightless and warm. He cradled me in his arms, his head buried in my chest.
"Don't do it please, don't blame yourself for being happy. The witches did this, not you. You did not cause all those wolves to attack each other."
"I can stop it, I have to stop it." I insisted, clinging to him desperately. My vision cleared and I was able to look into his electric eyes without being confused by four other impostors.
"Iris," he said his brows furrowed.
"I have to do it, Malik. I am their Luna, I cannot watch them die like this."
He nodded, understanding how I felt at the moment. "What do you need?"