4 hours until the moon is full
AVA
I woke up freezing cold and wet. At some point whilst I was unconscious, someone had pulled clothes
on me, so at least I wasn’t naked.
I could hear Elijah talking to someone near me, and decided that my best chance of survival was to
pretend to still be asleep.
“Artemis, are you okay?”
She didn’t respond.
“Artemis!” I shouted in my mind.
Fuck, why can’t I talk to Artemis?
I heard footsteps walking towards me, and felt someone kneel by my side, just before fingertips
stroked my cheek. “Soon, my dear, you will be mine,” Elijah drawled. His fingers moved to my neck,
scratching the three marks on my neck. “These will be gone, and you’ll be bonded to me. I will
control you. Together, we’ll rule Eclipse Mountain. We will reinstate the old ways, where the Lycans
hunt werewolves without retribution. Together, we’ll remake the world.”
I fought to stay still, to keep my body limp and my breathing even, even though his touch made me
want to be violently sick.
I felt another presence in my mind. It was his wolf, trying to reach Artemis. Oh, I wanted to throw up,
and he was just making it harder.
“Fuck, why can’t I talk to her wolf?” he snarled, before standing and stomping away.
I heard the telltale sound of a fist hitting flesh, followed by the unmistakable sound of knees hitting
the ground. “My… my King?” a voice whimpered.
“Why can’t I talk to or feel her wolf?”
“The drug, my King. Her wolf is unconscious, more so than the human. It will take longer to recover.”
Days?! What the fuck did he give me?!
Elijah hit whoever again. From the squelch, it was harder this time. “I need her fucking wolf, doctor,”
he growled. “I cannot mark her without her wolf.”
Too bad, I giggled to myself. I missed Artemis, but at least it wasn’t permanent and it was another
obstacle Elijah would have to fight.
“I… I’m sorry, my King. If she is as strong as you say, she should have metabolised the drug faster
than this. She should be awake.”
Fuck.
Elijah stomped back over towards me, his hand grabbing my wrist. He picked it up then dropped it
again, and I had to fight all of my instincts to remain limp. He growled, before leaning over me until I
felt his breath on my face. He pressed his disgusting lips to mine, his tongue licking my lip, looking
for a response. When he didn’t get one, he swore and pulled away.
“Wake her up, now, doctor,” he growled. “I need her and her wolf awake.”
The doctor scrambled to his feet, running across the clearing towards me. He dropped to his knees by
my side, his fingers reaching to check my pulse.
I felt him tense, he knew… fuck. He knew I was pretending. He leaned over me, like he was checking
my eyes. “This will be easier for you if you stop pretending,” he whispered. I ignored him. “If you
don’t, I’m going to have to tell him. He’ll kill me and my family if I lie.”
“I will not go easily. So tell him,” I growled, my voice barely audible.
“My King!” he shouted. “She is awake.”
“She doesn’t look very awake, doctor.”
“She’s faking, my King.”
Elijah stomped towards me, dropping to the ground by my side. The back of his hand collided with
the side of my face, and as soon as it did, I opened my eyes before bringing my knee up to hit him
right in the family jewels.
He groaned, his hands cupping his abused genitals, and I took that opportunity to run away from him,
as fast as I could. I could have moved faster if I could shift, but I still couldn’t talk to Artemis, let
alone shift.
That meant I didn’t get far before I was caught. Running through mud not long after waking up from
whatever they injected meant I really wasn’t at my best. Elijah, however, shifted and ran after me.
I screamed when his jaws teeth into my shin and I crumbled to the ground in front of him, no longer
able to stand.
The normal warmth of Artemis healing me was still there, but it wasn’t very strong. It was enough to
stop me bleeding out, but I wouldn’t be standing or fighting back anytime soon.
“Artemis, please,” I begged. “I need you. Fight, please. Fight back.” Tears streamed from my eyes
from the pain, and I didn’t even try to stop them.
Elijah stood over me again having shifted back. He bent over, picked me up, and threw me over his
shoulder, not caring that I was kicking and punching every inch of flesh that I could.
“Don’t fight, sweetheart. You were promised to me, Avelina, and you will be mine, destiny or not.”
“I’ll never be yours,” I growled, my teeth gritted against the pain in my leg.
“You don’t have a choice in the matter, sweetheart. When the moon is at its peak, I’ll remove those
marks from your neck so you wear mine instead. As soon as I’ve bitten your pretty neck, we’ll cement
our bond under the moon’s light in front of the Moon Goddess.”
“The Moon Goddess will never approve of this, Elijah.”
As if she heard me, there was a massive clap of thunder and the sky started to cloud over.
OSCAR
I jumped at the first clap of thunder, standing up and running to look out the window.
“Her lover comes through storm and flame…” I whispered. “Fuck, Callum we need to go.”
“Oscar, what are you talking about?”
“My prophecy. Her lover comes through storm and flame. Look outside.”
The clouds started to cover the sky and the combination of the sun still setting made it look like the
horizon was on fire. “We need to go, and right now. It’s time.”