CHAPTER THREE

On my arrival home, I was met with deafening silence, just the atmosphere I wanted to come home to. I needed room to think about what happened at the pack house. Everything was spinning fast out of my grip and I was only given the option of tears.

Maybe it was true what they thought of me. Maybe I was really the weak one, incapable of leading alongside the alpha. The previous Luna before her passing was a firm and rigid wolf who, although not cruel, was wise to the last letter of the word.

Here I was, feeling humiliated and quite the opposite. How the hell did I think I was going to be Luna to Rylan? I looked feeble and breakable, very easy on the eyes with brown hair that mirrored the natural hues of my irises.

"What were you thinking, Neilla? That you could be Luna?" I muttered out loud, slapping a hand on my forehead. I sighed, folding the dress Mana borrowed me back in her drawer and retiring to my room. I threw on a much more plain gown made with cotton, it was the oldest dress I had and couldn't discard. Somehow, it brought me the comfort I sought.

I tossed and turned on my bed, mulling over my actions and wondering if I was too harsh with Rylan, wondering if what he said was a test of my capabilities as a soon-to-be Luna and if I'd failed. Different thoughts sought refuge in my head and I welcomed them all.

Before I realized it, I was lulled into a numbing sleep where I fell into a nightmare. In that nightmare, I was going to be crowned Luna but as soon as the crown was raised above my head, I found myself watching another get crowned in my stead. Rylan kissed the stranger's fingers and they held hands ever so sweetly. Her eyes glowed a sickly red color and her skin a ghastly white.

Together, they banished me from the pack lands with a powerful gust of wind whooshing out of their outstretched fingers. I woke with a start.

I brushed a hand over my face, realizing that a sheen of fine sweat had gathered on my forehead and neck. As I repositioned my body for another round of sleep, a sound like a low moan filtered into my ears. My eyes jerked open and I sat still, fully at alert.

The sound came again and I tossed away the covers, cautiously tracing the it. It led me down the short hallway and right in front of Mana Sylveon's bedroom. I quickly turned away, her warning baring like an alarm in my brain.

'Never interrupt my sleep or walk into my room in the middle of the night despite whatever happens. If I don't call you in, you ignore and continue on your way.'

It was quite an odd instruction, however, I had to obey her. She was the only one kind enough to adopt me since my parents threw me away to rot. Anything she said was final. I turned back to walk into my room but the moanings grew persistent. I concluded it couldn't be one of pleasure since there was no sight of her lover staying over like other nights. She sounded like she was in pain.

Once more, my feet stopped in front of her door to reaffirm if she was in safe hands. Curiosity gnawed at my chest, trembling fingers touched the doorknob to turn and push. The door gave way without resistance -she hadn't bolted it- and I walked in, carefully treading the floorboards to avoid creaking sounds.

There she laid in the middle of the bed, writhing in her sleep with her facial features contorted in pain. She was fighting something I couldn't see. Something like an invisible force, I realized. One of her foot shot out from under the covers and I jumped out of the way in fright, my hands covering my mouth to prevent sounds from betraying me.

She quietened in a little while, her face relaxing peacefully as she slept. Filled with wonder, I approached the bed cautiously, staring at her face.

She was glowing. Mana Sylveon was glowing and I had no clue what the cause was. I had no experience on what it meant.

My fingers, of their own volition, hovered in front of her face against my better judgement, itching to feel, itching to discover what her face glow meant. I was beyond intrigued, all traces of sleep snatched from my eyes.

I didn't see it coming. The next thing I felt was a burning sensation on my other wrist. It happened as quick as lightning as I had no time to duck out of the way. She held one of my wrist in a painful grip, strong enough to break my bones if I wasn't a wolf. My lips were pressed together, a determined effort not to make a sound while my other fingers, in a desperate reflex action, fought to pry her off me.

In her gentle subtle ways, I never imagined her to be in possession of such degree of strength. I watched in terror as the glow spread to her neck, down her arms, creeping into my skin. No matter how much I pulled, my hand seemed to be permanently stuck and the only possible solution available was if my hand was forcefully torn out of my shoulder.

The glow was fast spreading like a contagious virus, spreading up to my neck and my lower chin. I was terrified for my life. I should've ignored the sounds coming from her and tuned out her voice.

'That's what happens to half-baked Lunas', A voice in my head taunted.

She mumbled words that blew past my ear like a strangled whisper, setting my insides in an unending churn. She murmured the same words again and again, over and over with increasing speed, like a chant. Her body slowly levitated off the bed and my skin matched hers, bathed in the same glow.

My skin felt as though it was set ablaze as I still struggled to be cut from whatever cord that bound us both. Her eyes opened and in them were the purest of whites, not a shadow of her irises in them. She rotated her head in my direction, her hot white gaze burning into me as she opened her lips.

"Neilla."

It was nothing more than a low murmur but my whole being came alive from the electrocution that zapped through my skin. I was burning up, my skin searing with pain at the flames that licked me, flames invisible to my eyes. Still, her iron grip didn't lessen.

I ground my teeth in agony, my muscles contracting as the pain spread on my skin.

"Neilla." She whispered again and my body grew numb. I dropped to the ground with a thud as she finally let go. The last thing I captured was Mana Sylveon transformed into a more beautiful woman with light around her. I laid on the floor almost lifeless as the flames consumed me once more.