ELIANA.“What the actual hell was that about?” As soon as the doors closed, I leaned my back against it. Looking it up my Grandma, she was almost just as surprised as she was puzzled. My face scrunched up in intense worry, especially when Carys started banging on the door again.I fastened my body to hold firm against the hinges but her banging became more and more incessant and powerful. I was confused. “What’s going on?” Nana asked, wheeling her chair to face the stairs.“Go find Elijah, and make…” Carys banged. “Make sure he’s safe” I wasn’t sure what exactly the witch wanted from me but I needed to make sure that my son was safe before anything else. One hit through the door caused a piece of wood to fall to the ground and as Nana made her way up the stairs, Carys was finally able to burst through.I fell to the ground with my hands as a tornado of winds broke through the door. And when I looked up at Carys, her eyes had turned pitch black. Her feet no longer grazed the ground an
ELIANA.I gazed down at Elijah, laying him to sleep for the second time that night. My fingers swept through his hair and a sigh escaped my lips. I pulled towards the door, knowing as soon as I stepped out, I’d run into Denver and his million questions. I knew he'd have even more. I saw his eyes and how he looked at Elijah when he walked across him.When he hugged me.And they were full of questions and calculations in his head. It may have been silent at that moment but the unsaid words between us were deafening. I tore my eyes from him, taking Elijah upstairs.I could only dodge Denver for so long and even at that moment when I stood with my hands against the door, I didn’t even know what I was going to tell him. My heart was pounding against its sternum and my mind was racing with a million thoughts.I pulled the door open. There he was, leaning against the wall across the corridor. His eyes instantly met mine and the tension was palpable. “I don’t…I don’t even know what to say”
ELIANA. “I don't…I don't understand”“My Grandfather died in the Great Fire and it was an accident. Nana told me they figured out it was something electrical in the temple…” “Well did it ever occur to you that the only people that died in there were werewolves?” Denver asked me and I gulped down a hard lump.“Oakland’s filled with Werewolves” I denied and he scoffed. “It wasn’t an electrical fire, Eliana. Neither was it an accident. My mother died in that fire and it was because of Aurora and ultimately because of me.” He said and it struck a chord in my chest, hearing him talk about the first woman he loved.I didn’t even think Denver had it in him love.Maybe it was because of Aurora, maybe she was the one who changed him. I lifted my eyes to him as he began.“The Witches and the Werewolves never mixed. For centuries, we both hated ourselves and were mortal enemies” I’d only read that in books. I, for one never thought that witches existed until Carys showed up.“Why?” I asked. “W
ELIANA.I had voices coming from the basement even before I pushed open the door. It was the next morning so my guess was that Carys was finally awake and while my Nana tendered to Elijah, I climbed down into the basement. Unlike the upstairs, there were no windows here so it was quite dark, besides the candle light that flickered in the corner of the room.“What are you doing?!” His voice reverberated the walls as I thrusted myself forward. “Denver!” I called unto him. He threw a look over his shoulders. “You’re awake,” He noted.“You said we were going to take it easy on her. We’ve already established the fact that Carys was compelled to come down here. We have to get her to trust us.” I whispered beneath my breath, hearing her groans and grunts coming from behind.“Screw trust” Denver cussed, tearing himself closer to where Carys was.She stood in the center of the basement but her arms were tied to each wall on the opposite side. Her bruised face fell to the ground on which her f
ELIANA.I sat on the living room chair, still reeling in the aftermath of everything that had just happened before me. It was hard to not get shaken up, and even harder to watch Denver wrap Cary’s pale lifeless body up into a bag. He dragged it up the basement and across the room until he got outside.A tear dropped down my cheek when my Nana inched closer to me.“I didn’t want her to die” There was a crack in my voice and a nod which she gave back to me. “I know” Nana whispered. “She didn’t have to. Her only offense was being compelled.”“She was trying to kill you” My Grandma seared through her lips. Denver had said exactly those words to me. He even had to scream it into my ears repeatedly for it to register in my brain. That, and the whole curse thing was just a lot to unpack.“It was either you or her…” Denver had fastened his grip around my wrist. I remember how I quivered earlier, letting my eyes on Cary’s body across the cold basement floor with a stick that went into her bac
ELIANA.I looked at my reflection in the mirror as I combed through my hair and it was then I heard a knock on my door. I didn't have to turn around to see my Grandmother come in. She folded her arms across her chest and her eyes bore enough worry for the both of us.It was an hour to midnight now. Denver and I should have already been on our way. I realized that I got up. It was hard to move my legs inside of deep-blue resplendent ball gown Nana had given me. She said it belonged to my mother.No wonder her eyes grew moist when I finally turned back to her."You look just like her" There was a crack in her voice. I faced the mirror again, the corner of my lips curling into a faint smile. My hands soothed the corset that hugged around my torso tightly. The gown was elegant and meticulously crafted and I was surprised it was even my size in the first place. But it was perfect.Especially for tonight.And the comfort from my Grandma's words seemed to be all I needed at that moment. "Don
ELIANA.The moment we pulled over was when the clock struck twelve. I stepped out, but not without my glittery black mask over my eyes and it was at that moment, that the wind breezed into me the reality of tonight.I turned to Denver whose charcoal black mask fitted perfectly over the bridge of his nose and Ivan went with a grey color. We assembled amid the whole Pack, their hundred bodies the perfect camouflage. “Are you ready to do this?” Ivan asked. I leaned forward because I could barely even hear him. “Are you ready to do this?!” He said louder. “I should be asking you that!” I replied him. From here, we were supposed to split. The plan was for Denver and I to stay together up until it was time for Jaxon to make his announcement before we took on him.While Ivan was supposed to head up to the chamber to get my Dad when everyone else had come down. He was supposed to get him, take him to the car and drive him back to the cabin before bringing the car back. Denver and I ought to
ELIANA.More than an hour had passed since I last heard from both Denver and Ivan and it’s safe to say that my anxiety had piqued the moment when I dialed his number, only to be sent straight to voicemail. The Ball had been going on nonstop, and so did the music and the dancing.With every second that passed, the people had started to get more and more bored. They’d retired to the bar in sections, the only reason they stayed was because of Jaxon’s orders and his supposed announcement.Jaxon, who we hadn’t even seen since the beginning. But while I may have lost sight of him, there was Sienna at the corner of the room, who was gawking at me since we ran into each other. She may not have been able to do something with this many people around but she decided to not take her eyes off me as well. Through the night, she said. She had kept her words up till now. It was a good thing, I’d like her to be there when I finally confronted Jaxon. To see the expressions across both their faces wou