01. The Night The Stars Died

June 12th, 1923 – Yellow Moon Pack

ERIN.

"Faster, Erin...go faster. I'm about to cum," Magnus commanded, his voice hushed and quivering as sensations of pleasure washed over him.

I followed his request, biting my lower lip and taking deeper breaths as I increased the pace of my movements.

"Fuck, Magnus! I don't want it to end," I let out a moan as I took him in deeper, feeling his length reaching further depths and filling me up.

I felt his hand grip my waist, guiding my movements as my hips gyrated faster and harder with each passing moment. My hands moved to his chest, feeling his heartbeat race under my touch.

We were both lost in pleasure, our bodies in a needful dance of movement and desire. I was lost in the sensation of every inch of him inside me, craving more with each passing second.

Magnus' hands on my waist, guiding me into deeper movements, heightened my pleasure and drove me further into climax.

The sound of his breaths echoed around me, his pleasure growing until it was almost unbearable. I pushed on, eagerly chasing my own release.

Our movements began to become chaotic as we pushed harder and harder towards the edge.

Finally, our bodies collided in an explosive release of pure ecstasy, the intensity of the moment consuming us both.

We lay there, entwined in each other's arms, completely spent, breathing heavily.

"I love you, Erin," Magnus said, drawing me closer as he placed a kiss on my forehead.

I shut my eyes, snuggling further into his embrace.

How do I go from yelling his name and telling him to stop hitting me, to yelling his name and telling him not to stop?

-:-

The stars were dead.

It was a phrase I used to say when I was a little girl whenever the night sky was void of stars because of an incoming rainfall.

I was on the balcony, staring out into the bare night horizon as I leaned over the railings.

Tonight, the shining stars were dead, and likewise, I died within the very moment Alpha Magnus, the man I loved with all my heart, first laid his hands on me. . .

It is tradition to spend the full moon with your family and loved ones. Magnus and I discovered we were mates nine months ago, and ever since then, my parents make me spend every full moon celebration with him.

A full moon takes place every three months, meaning last night was the third time Magnus raised his hands on me...

The sound of footsteps gradually creaking on every step of the stairs jolted me out of my thoughts.

My nerves awakened in startling fear as I recognized whose footsteps they were. And then, I heard the balcony door handle turn open slowly.

The moment his hands moved around my neck, my breath hitched in fright as every hair on my skin stood on end.

Goosebumps littered my skin as flashbacks of what had happened last night replayed itself in my headspace like a horror movie. It was him again.

Ironically, it was just a necklace - a lavender-colored diamond necklace. He was clasping it around my neck.

It took a moment for me to digest the fact that he wasn't going to hurt me and just wanted to give me a necklace. And when it did, a fair amount of my paranoia faded.

"I got this for you, my princess. It is an amulet made out of real diamond. It brings good charm and tidings," Magnus said to me after he had put the necklace on.

I was backing him, but I could tell he said that with a smile. He kissed my cheek and I felt my stomach churn at the contact, then he trailed kisses down my neck slowly.

Despite how unsettling his lips on my skin were, I didn't stop him. Tears formed in my eyes because my heart was cracking at the seams.

Did he forget that he gave me a black eye last night? Or was he acting oblivious, brushing off what he had done to me last night under the carpets?

I blinked my tears back, "Why, Magnus?"

My question obviously caught him off guard because he stopped kissing me and remained silent for a moment before he answered, "You deserve this. You are my priceless angel. I love you, Erin."

I reflexively sucked in a breath at his last statement and heard it resound itself in my mind sourly, it did nothing but add salt to my wounds.

"You're not saying anything, my love? Do you not like my gift?" He sounded downcast and seemed even more sad as I still remained silent.

He started to stroke my hair-raven coloured, wavy and glossy in appeal-gathering the length in his hands and gently running his hands through it.

I looked down at my chest, seeing the diamond pendant basking in the moonlight. I immediately sensed that it was spiritual as I felt magical energy radiating from it. It was an amulet.

I have had this gift right from birth, I could instantly sense spiritual elements around me and sometimes it led to me seeing visions of the future...

I clutched the diamond in my hand and shut my eyes, the three painful nights worth of memories came gushing in like a wild wave and I couldn't stop myself from reliving them again.

All those nights where his eyes flashed red, how he raised his hand on me and forced himself into me, all my unheard screams and countless tears.

It's honestly puzzling how one can go from giving you a black eye to giving you a priceless necklace the next day...

I let out an exasperated exhale as I tore myself from the haunting thoughts and swung around to face him.

"You don't remember. . .do you now, Magnus?" There was a hitching break in my voice, and that was when the incoming tears began to sting my eyes as my lips quavered.

When I said that reality instantly smacked him on the face and that was when he seemed to have remembered everything.

His shoulders slacked in defeat,."D-did it happen again, Erin? Did I hit you?" You could hear the guilt and hurt that accompanied his tone, you could hear how sorry he was.

Magnus was a monster, just that he doesn't know about it and can't control it. Every now and then, he goes feral and lets out anger like a ferocious bull.

They say he's possessed, they say it's his Alpha Wolf that suddenly fills him up with the uncontrollable urge and makes him go into rage.

Whichever it was, he couldn't stop it whenever it overcame him and he would hurt whoever was in sight, sometimes kill them.

The irony is that after the strong anger wears off, he would never be able to remember what he had done during that time.

Yesterday, I received a beating from him. And this is just one, out of many. Many shrinks, witch doctors and healers have tried to help him, but a solution never came up.

My silence had served as an affirmative answer and I could tell Magnus was devastated by it.

"I'm so sorry Erin, you know I can never hurt you intentionally. I never knew about it, please forgive, I beg your earnest forgiveness." Alpha Magnus immediately pleaded.

His hands reached for mine and clutched it softly and I looked up at him, our gaze meeting. I could see all the raw emotions expressed in his eyes- guilt, pain, pity and a cry for forgiveness.

It wasn't his fault. It's never his fault.

He sighed and wrapped his arms around me in a hug and placed a peck on my head, patting my back. "I'm sorry, Erin. I beg you." He whispered into my ears. His voice sounded slithery, like he was on the verge of tears too.

Apologies again, just like the previous times. The sad part about this was that there would be a next time, another time when he would raise his hands on me, another time where he would hurt me, molest me, abuse me.

There would be another time where he would forget everything he had done to me the previous night and apologize, only to do it all over again.

"I just cannot control myself, Erin. I don't want to hurt you. I never do. I can't intentionally raise my hand on the woman I love, with my whole heart. Please, do forgive me, my sweetheart. I love you." He soothed, his hands going up and down my back in gentle strokes as he spoke.

This was another time when he would beg and I would have no option than to forgive. . .and try to forget.

"I love you too, Magnus." I replied, hugging him tighter. My soft sobs and sniffles filled the air, mixing in with the tranquil breeze that blew tonight.

However, deep in my broken heart, a ball of uncertainty thrived, betraying my words.

Did I actually love Alpha Magnus?

-:-

I was in my room, standing in front of the mirror as I alternated between staring at the black-eye Magnus had given me and the amulet gift of love he had also given me.

The irony could not be lost to me, seeing that they both contradicted each other.

I was pondering deeply over my relationship with Magnus and everything in-between. That was when I heard a knock on my door.

"Greetings, my princess." It was a maid.

I won't let her in; doing so would give her something to gossip about with the rest of her colleagues. The princess's new black eye and how the Alpha abuses her.

"You can't come in now, why are you here?" I replied, hoping my voice hadn't sounded too much like I've been crying for two hours.

"It's a message for you, my princess. You have been invited to a ball hosted by Alpha Axel. All the eligible and prestigious young women around the territory have been invited, he is seeking a mate."

Immediately that certain name was mentioned, the space around me turned black and I was instantly transported into a different realm from reality.

It was a familiar state, the subconscious place in my mind where I could see my visions in a trance. And in that moment, I immediately sensed a bad omen concerning this Alpha Axel!

In three days time, Alpha Axel was going to die a strange death...