Yikes! Hopefully Ella can learn to control her emotions. What do you all think so far?
VANESSA Two witches appear at my door each with an indifferent look on their face. None of the witches that visit me ever smile and they constantly look down upon me. I am unsure how long I have been in this cell, but I know that it has been at least a week. Once again I reach within, trying to search for my inner lycan but she is still no where to be found. The wards that protect this place must suppress all supernatural powers. “I demand an audience with whomever is in charge here,” I state with my shoulders held back and my head held high. “Well,” one of the witches says slyly. “Today is your lucky day. The High Witch is finally willing to see you after Lilith’s little mistake.” She snaps her fingers and the witch beside her turns to mist and appears impossibly fast at my side, stabbing me in the arm with a needle. “Thank you Aella,” the witch says as she dismisses the witch that injected me. “Aella is truly a wonder,” she says turning her attention back to me. “She
EREBUS I spent the night staring at Ella lying naked in my arms. Brushing her dark locks away from her face I watch her as she frowns in her sleep. I fear which Ella she will be when she wakes. Will she be the sweet and carefree Ella or will she be the vindictive Ella from last night. Nuzzling my nose into her neck I inhale deeply. Now that the ruins have disappeared from her body her scent is so much stronger than before, much more addicting. Unable to stop myself I run my tongue over my mark on her neck and she moans loudly in her sleep. Running my hands up her sides I let the sparks of the mate bond slowly wake her up. Her eyes flutter open and she gives me a shy grin. I let out a sigh of relief, this is my Ella. Stretching her arms widely to the sides she smiles at me as the scent of her arousal fills the air. Pinning her beneath my body I begin to trail kisses up and down her neck. Her hips buck under my own begging for me to take her. Lining up the head of my co
ELLA Vanessa is laying in the hospital bed crying out in pain in her sleep. The blisters on her face have begun to spread down her neck and onto her chest and arms. The only place that is clear of lesions is where I ran my fingers along her skin outside of the gates. I hadn’t meant to try and cure her in that moment, but my emotions took over like they did last night. I can feel my power burning under my skin, like an itch that needs to be scratched. In the moments where I feel pity for Vanessa, I can feel it surge forward and I have to call it back like and unruly child. Erebus has ordered that none of the pack doctors go near Vanessa for fear that her condition is contagious. He tried to command that I too stay away from her, but I only rolled my eyes in irritation. It is my fault that she is in this position to begin with. But what I don’t understand is why did they take Vanessa? Why not take someone that is close to me like when they took Alec? It makes no sense. Grac
ELLA Grace looks at me with a worried look on her face. “Ella,” she begins, “What if you become sick as well and I cannot save you?” “Then I guess Vanessa will finally get Erebus to herself,” I say half joking. “I know I will be okay. But…” I pause for a moment looking down at Vanessa and the thought of ending up like her makes me shutter. “If I am not okay. Tell Erebus to move on. Tell him to find his second chance mate.” “He will kill me if I let you do this,” Grace swallows hard. “He won’t,” I assure her. “He knows how stubborn I am. Now lock the door.” Grace clicks the lock on the door and gives me a small nod. Pulling a chair next to Vanessa I gaze down at her sleeping peacefully with the aid of morphine. Her breaths are becoming more and more shallow with each passing moment, and I know that she doesn’t have long. Opening the mind link with Erebus I can feel his unease through the bond. “I love you,” I tell him through the link. “This choice was mine and mine
EREBUS Helplessly I hold my Little Vixen in my arms and watch as the lesions spread from her hands, up her arms, and onto her rest of her body. Her sweet scent of vanilla is being overpowered by the smell of rotting flesh. Her face is almost unrecognizable as the blisters mar her beautiful face. Her eyes flutter open and shut as she tries to regain consciousness. I have never felt more helpless in my whole life. Not even when my father was being murdered by Hunters right before my eyes. A giant tear falls from my eyes and lands on Ella’s beautiful face. I am losing her. I can feel the bond between us begin to weaken. The sound of delicate sobs from behind me catches my attention and I see Grace on her knees praying to the Moon Goddess. She is begging for Selene to save her once again. Holding Ella close to my chest I recite the same prayer that I have every time my mate has fallen ill. “Please Goddess, please Selene. Don’t take her from me. I know I don’t deserve her, b
Erebus places little kisses all over my face. The stubble that is on his chin tickles as it rubs against my face causing me to burst into giggles. Lifting my chin with two of his fingers he captures my lips under his own. His tongue traces the seam of my lips begging for entry. Opening my lips slightly he plunges his tongue into my mouth. The kiss is urgent and desperate. The feelings of fear and the relief come bursting through the bond. Erebus wraps his hand in my hair bending my head back slightly granting himself better access. A cough from the other side of the room reminds us that we aren’t alone. Untangling his hand from my hair he places a final peck on my lips and leaves me blushing with embarrassment on the hospital bed. Pushing my arms under my body I try to move my legs into a more comfortable position, and they won’t budge. My eyes fly open wide and panic over comes my mind. I try to block my emotions from flowing through the mate bond, but I am too late. Er
LUCIAN*Night of Winter Solstice Ball* Standing in front of my mirror I fiddle with my tie. Looking at my reflection I groan loudly because it is crooked again. As pitiful as it may sound, I’ve never had to tie my own tie before. Mother had always done it for me, but she is currently giving me the cold shoulder since I told her that my mate is male. My mind thinks back to earlier this morning when I decided to drop the news on her and I cringe at the memory. *Flashback* “Your mate is not male,” she says simply, “and even if he is, you will reject him and choose a nice female lycan.” She speaks as if the matter is already settled in her mind and mine. “I won’t,” I growl at her. “Emmett is my second chance mate, and I will not lose him like I did Alec.” “Your brother will never accept you,” she spits at me. “You and your mate will be banned from the city.” “Lucky for me,” I scream back at her, “you know nothing about Erebus. He already knows and has accepted me for who
ELLA “Luna, you are pregnant,” the doctor whispers for the second time next to my ear as I stare off into space in shock. “That’s not…” my face begins to heat, and I feel dizzy. “That’s not possible.”“Luna…” the doctor’s voice sounds like it is in a tunnel far away. “Luna, I think you should lie back.”I try to shake the dizziness from my head as I attempt to get to my feet. “No, no…” I whisper loudly. “I have to find Erebus. There must be some mistake.” My knees buckle under my weight and the doctor lunges forward to catch me. “Your Highness, Lucian,” the doctor yells out and I see Lucian burst through the doors to my bedroom just before my eyes flutter into darkness. EREBUS I sneak out before the sun rises in the sky leaving my Little Vixen sleeping peacefully. Lucian is waiting outside of my bedroom door to sit with Ella for the day. Without her being able to walk properly her safety is at the forefront of my mind. Boris’s voice hand rand through my head, waking me
ELLA Laying in the hospital bed I hold two tiny babies to my chest and watch their chests rise and fall with each breath that they take. Faris was born first, he came into the world screaming with his eyes wide open. One blue and one green, just like his father. Keena came quickly after her brother, not wanting to be left behind. She has a full head of dark hair and greenish blue eyes. Keena is much smaller than her brother, but we knew that would probably be the case. Faris’s scent of cedar is already strong indicating that he will probably have a wolf or a lycan. Keena on the other hand, her scent of roses is barely distinguishable next to Faris. I tried not to cry when the doctors told us not to get our hopes up that she would have a wolf or a lycan because the odds are low. Still as I stare down at them tears prickle at the corners of my eyes. Tears of both happiness that they are here and healthy but sadness because we do not know what the future will hold. Looking o
ELLA*Four Months Later* The warm summer air hits my round face as soon as I open the door of Emmett’s Jeep. I try to peer down over my large stomach to see the ground before I roll out of the vehicle, but all I can see is the bright pink shirt that covers my pregnant belly. “Emmett,” I yell knowing that I will need help maneuvering myself out of the Jeep. “Right here, Luna,” he says as he offers me his hand. I scoot to the edge of the seat and slowly lower myself to the ground. I can see Emmett smirking out of the corner of my eyes and I turn my head to give him a sharp glare. My bare feet hit the soft grass outside of the cabin and I wiggle my toes against the wet dew that had settled on the blades over night. “Ella… Luna…” Emmett corrects himself. “Where are your shoes?” He asks me with an air of frustration in his voice. “In your Jeep,” I say with a smirk on my face. “I meant why aren’t they on your feet?” He groans as he heads back to the Jeep to grab my shoes
ELLA*Two months later* The paper hospital gown itches and crinkles against my skin as I fidget in my seat. No matter how I turn my body I cannot seem to get comfortable. Anxiety pulses through my chest as I wait for the doctor to come in. Erebus, on the other hand, is sitting calmly off to the side flipping through the pages of a pregnancy book. “You aren’t nervous at all?” I growl at his relaxed demeaner. Erebus shrugs his shoulders and continues to flip through the pages of the book in front of him. “You are getting bigger by the day and we both have felt it kick. What is there to be nervous over?” “The fact that it could be human for one…” I pause as I realize what he just said. “What do you mean I am getting bigger by the day?” I can’t help the anger that is rising in my voice. “You can’t possibly be angry with me for saying that you are getting bigger,” Erebus pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. “You are pregnant. You are supposed to get bigger.” “But
ELLA Erebus swings the door heavy door to the dungeons open and the smell of mold and urine hangs heavy in the air. Murmurs of chanting fill my ears as I descend down the stairs, but it abruptly stops when I reach the bottom. Giving my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light I look at the cells that line the walls. Almost everyone one of them is full. During the battle I had only noticed the seven witches on the council, but it appears that there were many more fighting on their side. As I reach the first cell I frown at the sight that is before me. A young woman with jet black hair is crouched on the ground like a caged animal ready to attack at any moment. Her body shakes with fear as I look down on her. I try to remember what Grace and Sister Jasper both said, to look with my heart. Closing my eyes I let out a deep breath clearing my mind. We I reopen my eyes the young woman is staring at me curiously. A bright blue aura surrounds her body. I attempt to look into he
ELLA After the battle the wind no longer blows in strongly from the North. The Sisters of Wisdom have been put in chains and led off to the cells below the Royal Mansion in Lycan City. I watch silently as the those that are injured are helped to their feet. There is no line between lycan and hunter at this moment. Everyone is on the same team. “You did an impossible thing tonight.” Someone says as they silently approach me from the side. I turn and see Sister Jasper watching as a lycan carries an injured hunter through the woods back to hospital in Lycan City. “What was that?” I ask not taking my eyes off of my warriors. “You brought together two enemies to fight for the future of all of our kind,” Sister Jasper says, and I cannot help but notice how her eyes flicker to the amulet that now sits in the hollow of my neck. “The Sisters of Wisdom did not give us much of a choice,” I say in no more than a whisper.“The lives that they took from us can never be replaced.” I r
ELLA Everyone watches in silent reverie as Grace’s ashes dance on the wind as they climb higher and higher into the sky. It is as if they are jumping from one cloud to the other as she makes her way up to the heavens above. It would have been a beautiful sight if I was not so damn sad. Looking down to my left I see that Lilith is nothing more than ash now as well. I resist the urge to kick her ashes into the mud and snow. Walter grabs ahold of my shoulders and pulls me away from what remains of Lilith’s body. “She would want to be with her,” he mumbles. “That’s what Grace would have wanted,” he clears his throat as he speaks trying to hide the sobs that threaten to escape him. I look up into his brown eyes that are filled with tears, and I know that he is right. Grace and Lilith spent centuries at each other’s sides. Puckering my lips once again I blow a gentle breeze over the ashes that were once Lilith and send them into the heavens so she can be with Grace. Huge tear
ELLA A blistering cold wind blows in from the North as we approach the outskirts of Lycan City. Wrapping my coat tightly around my ever growing belly I try to maintain some type of warmth on this cold night. All I can think about as we approach the Wolf’s Den is the defeated look on Grace’s face as I stared at her through Lilith’s eyes. Off in the distance I can see a cloaked figure waiting in the darkness and I know that she is waiting for me. Holding up my hands, I gesture for those that are walking behind me to stop but none of them do. Taking a deep sigh I place a barrier between the cloaked figure and the group of hunters and lycan warriors. Stepping through the barrier I turn back to Erebus who is banging against the invisible barrier trying to break through. “Let me through, Ella,” he yells threatening. “No,” I say in no more than a whisper. “This fight is mine and mine alone.” “You cannot win this alone,” Erebus’s voice sounds panicked as he and the hunters and t
ELLA The pages of the spell book glitter and shine as I flip through them like they have never done before. Gently I turn the pages one by one, mumbling the names of the spells as I pass them by. “Summoning Spell… Tracking Spell…” The symbols on the page morph and transform into readable words before my eyes. Running my fingers over the page a long, thin, blonde strand of hair catches under my fingers. Between my forefinger and my thumb I grasp ahold of the strand of hair and hold it up to the light. The blonde shimmers slightly in the dim light of the library. I have only seen hair this color twice before. “Please belong to Lilith,” I mumble to myself. Just then a knock on the wall behind me startles me. I quickly place the hair back between the pages of the book and slam the cover shut. “What was that?” Erebus asks curiously as he lays his head on my shoulder and wraps his arms around my waist. I sigh to myself before I answer. “It is a strand of hair that I found o
ELLA The tension in the room is so thick that it could be cut with a knife. The Hunter’s Clan sits on one side of the room glaring at the Lycan Royal Guard that is sitting on the other side. Erebus, Walter, Lucian, Emmett, and I all sit in the center of the room, none of us knowing who should speak first. Finally one of the hunters clears his throat and stands up from the corner of the room. “Are we all just going to sit around and stare at one another or are we going to talk about the problem with this witch coven?” His voice quivers as he speaks, and his hands are clinched at his sides to keep him from shaking. Erebus nods at the hunter who quickly takes his seat. “He is right,” Erebus says a little too loudly. “The Sisters of Wisdom have gone too far attacking innocent werewolves and lycans.” Erebus begins to explain. “They need to be stopped.” “It isn’t just your kind that is being attacked,” one of the other hunters stands up. He is a large burly man with a long bea