Lily
Running was easier the second time.With their home on the cusp of the densest part of the pine forest, Lily turned tail and ducked out of the cabin. Memories of Atticus swarmed unbidden through her mind, blurring with images so fresh they felt unstable, not yet fully formed; Elijah’s face hardened, his grey eyes turning green. It was not the truth that hurt her so – it was the lies he had told along the way.
Lily raced into the undergrowth, hardly feeling the harsh scrapes of writhing thorns as they dug into her exposed skin. Blood pounded in her temples. The pines swallowed the evening sunlight, casting her into dappled shadow.
Elijah was half faelen.
Chest heaving, Lily shuddered to a halt and vomited. She fell to her knees, wicked branches scratching her face. New scars to add to the ones she had collected in Blood M
ElijahGrey eyes hardened, turning dark as they surveyed the damage to his warm, familiar kitchen. He focused on the blackened counters, on the charred table. He focused on anything he could to keep the pain at bay.Just like Leahne, Lily had seen him for what he truly was and left.Without thinking, Elijah swept from his cabin. He couldn’t stand seeing what he had done. The evening sun heated his back and shoulders as he marched across his territory. He did not deserve such gentle caresses as afforded to him by the sun. He was a creature of fire; to revel in it after today made tears spring to his eyes. He could barely see by the time he reached the one place he knew he would find solace.Elijah had been here twice before.“No one will ever love you as I did,” Leahne swore in his ear, beckoning him down towards the riv
LilyThe wolf stared at her. A long, ropey tongue slithered out of its jaws and licked its lips. Lily held her breath.It was bigger than any wolf she’d ever seen – bigger even than Elijah, an Alpha. Auburn fur shone like blood in the moonlight. Slowly, with oozing arrogance, its lips pulled back from its teeth into a sadistic, canine grin.Lily took a tiny step backwards. She kept her eyes on the werewolf, her heart thundering in her chest. Blood raced past her ears, and every sound, every crunch of the undergrowth beneath her shifting weight, was magnified.An owl flapped its wings. Lily took another timid step away from the wolf. Still it did not move; it remained where it stood, though its glossy black eyes were locked on hers. Tremors shuddered across her skin, raising the hair on the back of Lily’s neck.Another s
Elijah“I came as fast as I could.” Nirmana spoke between ragged breaths. “I came to find you in the pack house, Alpha, but you weren’t in your office, or the meeting rooms, or anywhere–“Face flushing bright red, she cut herself off. “My apologies, Alpha.” She bowed.“Thank you for finding me so promptly.” Elijah squeezed her arm and stood. Waves of fear crashed over his head. “Please, Nirmana, would you gather my Beta, Gamma, and…” he thought quickly, chewing on his cheek as he considered which members of his pack would be most useful. “I’ll need six Warrior Wolves: Haile, Conall, Valens, Jared, Nethia, and Lafey.” He selected a mixture of older, more experienced warriors, and younger, brawny wolves.“Of course, Alpha.” Nirmana bowed again. “I
LilyLily’s hands shook in Morvand’s too-hot grasp. “I’ll come with you,” she said again, eyeing her father.He screamed behind the hand that covered his mouth. Hot tears left streaks down his cheeks in the wake of the dirt that plastered his skin. The moonlight made him pale, waxy, and made his familiar brown eyes gleam where the light caught his as yet unshed tears.Lily’s heart broke at the sight of him. This was the only way. She tried to communicate that to him, shouting the words in her mind and staring desperately into his eyes. Whether or not he understood she did not know.The wolf – Affande – circled her, jaws dripping with saliva. Lily repressed the urge to shudder as his Morvand’s warm breath caressed her exposed neck.“As you wish,” purred the handsome one. He
AtticusNo matter how many times Atticus told himself that his move on the Sea Pine pack was tactical, and for the benefit of Blood Moon, there was a kernel of truth nestled somewhere deep within him that would not remain quiet.That kernel was the reason he had distanced himself from his parents, Ralphin, and Trove. He felt their judgement in waves whenever he was near to him, and Atticus could have sworn that their eyes followed him around their encampment whenever they stopped to rest.They needed food. They needed a show of strength. But, above all, Atticus needed Lily.He spent his nights curled up atop his bedroll, hardly noticing the way he shivered as his thoughts swirled within his skull. He imagined what his life would have been like had he not rejected her, and the pain of that imagined reality only served to send him spiralling further.&n
ElijahElijah closed his fist around Lily’s garnet ring. It gave him strength; his own had depleted, seeping away with every passing hour that she was gone. He had not eaten or slept since Ieun had entered the room, his fate, his downfall, held like a bomb in the palm of his hand.With one day until the full moon, Elijah had a plan.“There have been no further reports of Red Ripper near our borders or territory,” said Caslein, sliding one of his rings up and down his finger. “As impossible as it sounds, they seem to have just disappeared.”“Taking Lily with them,” said Elijah, staring desolately out of the window.“You need to snap out if it.” Ithia took his hand, closing her fingers around his white-knuckled fist. “Self-loathing and regret won’t bring her back.”
Atticus“Two?”“Two of our wolves?”The chorus rose quickly, spreading through his pack like wildfire. Everywhere Atticus looked people were turning to their friends and family, their neighbours, ensuring that everyone they’d seen moments before was still beside them.But it was Alvaro’s words that cut through the crowd noise. “Calling off the attack?” he asked, stepping to the front of the amassed wolves. “After all we have been through the get to this point?”How dare his father make him look a fool in front of his pack?Atticus held up a single hand. In an instant, silence swelled.“Alpha? Which two?” asked Siras.Everyone nodded; some whispered, “Who’s missing?” to
LilyWithout her mother’s garnet ring adorning her finger, Lily’s hands felt oddly empty. The urge to twist the ring surged through her, and she found herself picking at her cuticles as she stared unblinkingly at her father.“I–“ she began, only to cut herself off. Lily shook her head.“No, Lily.” Her father took an uncertain step towards her.She closed the last of the distance between them and pulled him into a hug. “Dad,” she murmured, pressing her face into his neck. “I’m so sorry.”“I’m sorry, too.” He patted her back awkwardly. “I failed you.”“I failed you,” she said, words morphing and twisting around a sob. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “I had to leave, but I should never have left wi
LilyLily stared down at the letter, a tiny smile tugging at her lips. There had been something nagging at her, ever since the battle, and at last she understood what it was.Lily,Or I suppose I should refer to you by your proper title. Luna Lily,I always knew you would grow to be a completely insufferable pack leader. We last met at the Great Battle, as it is already being termed – and, really, should we not wait until longer than a few months have passed before we name things with such grandiose titles? – but you did not seem to recognise me. If I were another, I may have been hurt by that. Then again, you never were very good at seeing through my disguises.Therefore, I have decided to be blunt. I have lost everything. My home and my people are gone. I took that Alpha wolf you had a soft spot for, Atticus, to bargain with Blood Moon. To no avail, might I add. He was more irksome than he was useful, so he has been deposited back in his rightful home. The issue is this: I have no
ElijahElijah stared up into Lily’s beautiful face. “Elijah?” she breathed. He gazed at her, feeling like he was staring straight into the sun. Her warmth enveloped him, bringing heat into his frozen limbs. Elijah flexed his fingers and toes, waiting for the dark to swallow him once more.But it did not. He waited and waited, his heart in his throat, but nothing happened. He took a breath, then another. And life went on. His life went on.“I’m alive?” he whispered, raising his bloodied hands to the morning sun. “I think so?” Lily laughed; it broke, becoming a sob. Gently, he was lowered to the ground. They fell into each other, their hands clutching desperately, their bodies pressed flush. Elijah dropped his forehead against Lily’s, just breathing for a moment, relishing in the way his chest hollowed and filled with air. “You’re alive,” she whispered, pulling back to stare at him with wonder swimming in her eyes. “How? I saw you. I,” a hiccup cut her off, and more tears filled h
Lily“Lily?” her dad murmured, his strong hand settling on her trembling shoulder. “Lils, we can’t stay here. We need to go home.”Sunlight fell in slanted beams through the trees, casting everything in a strange, gold-green light. Elijah looked more faelen than he ever had before, his skin pallid, his pointed ears sticking out of his long hair. She swallowed hard. Her face was dry and stiff with tears and her throat ached from screaming. And her heart lay in tatters on the ground beside him.“I won’t leave him,” she rasped, bowing over his too-still body and clutching at his torn clothes. “I can’t.”He sighed, the sound twisted and broken. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s all right. You don’t have to leave him. I won’t either.”She turned to look at her father with fresh tears beading along the dark sweep of her lashes. “You won’t leave me?”“Never again,” he swore. The lump in her throat grew too large for her to speak, but she nodded, her lips quivering. Silent sobs overcame her for
AtticusNeither Ralphin nor Trove spoke to Atticus as they went to face the Blood Moon pack. They kept sharing long glances, only looking away when Atticus tried to catch their eyes.The battle was already diminishing as they joined it. With the magic of Red Ripper gone, the wolves were shifting back into their human forms as the moon set. They had no leaders, no plan, and the Blood Moon pack were fresh and uninjured. Atticus barely had to think as he fell into the easy routine of fighting, punching and scraping and kicking. This part had always come to him with ease. It was other things he struggled with. Other things – like Lily. He slammed his fist into the jaw of a weedy, speckled wolf. Huh, he thought, it was no wonder that one had wanted to join Red Ripper and use their magical hoo-hah to get ahead. It didn’t stand a chance against a real wolf like him. He gripped its throat, squeezed, and something snapped deep within it. He dropped it to the ground, a sneer tugging at his mo
LilyNo.Lily could not think beyond that single word. This couldn’t be happening. She’d waited so long to see Elijah again, and now…No.She shoved out of Atticus’s arms, rage burning through her. “You,” she snarled, slamming her fists into his chest. His unharmed chest, which had been healed by Elijah. “You did this.”He looked at her blankly. “Of course I did. I did it for us, Lily. You would never have been truly happy with me while Alpha – Alpha Elijah lived. He was basically dead already.” He inspected his nails, wrinkling his nose as he picked out a sliver of dried blood.A sob built in her throat. She tore away from him and fell to her knees beside Elijah, gripping his ripped shirt in her fists and bowing her head over his. Her tears fell onto his face, blurring her vision so she couldn’t even see the man she loved. “Come back to me,” she rasped again, her whole body shaking with need.Warm hands pressed in on her. She recognised the touch of Elijah’s Beta, Ithia, and her own
ElijahElijah fought through the darkness, every step excruciating. His burns seared his flesh, but he was alive. For now.His heart thrashed. The sounds of battle raged ahead, howls and choked off screams and the dull thumps of bodies smacking the ground. It was messy, undignified, and Elijah had never longed to be a part of something so badly.Because Lily had to be there. Everything in him was screaming that she was, even though the thick, pulsating magic cloying the air was throwing off the power of their mate bond. He could not pin her down – but still he knew.At last he reached the clearing. The remnants of magic hung heavy in the cool night air, sparking at his touch as he stepped through the boundary they’d made and through the ring of trees. He paused, sucking in heavy breaths, leaning heavily on a trunk as he tried to pick out Lily amongst the mass of wolves.Bile rose in his throat. Bodies were piled up everywhere, ringing the clearing, bloody and mutilated. He realised wi
AtticusAtticus relished every racing beat of his heart. He was alive, more alive than he had ever felt, and each solid pound of it meant that he was still there. Still fighting.Still fighting for her.When he’d seen that arrogant, too-pretty-for-his-own-good, so-called Alpha kiss Lily, he’d seen red. He’d let that bright, burning red edging his vision become a prediction of the future: Apollo would bleed for all that he’d done. But this fight was no normal fight. Atticus was strong, brutally so, but Apollo never seemed to tire or lag. He had no weaknesses that Atticus could take advantage of, no faltering glances or too-slow reactions. He was on top form, all of the time, and Atticus’s energy was starting to wane.He whipped his head around, searching through the crowd for his Beta or Gamma. They were lost to the writhing sea of bodies, part of the blur of dark fur and bloody teeth surrounding him, packed tight in all directions. His pride kept him from asking them for help. Apoll
LilyA howl shattered the clearing. It tore apart the chants, reverberating through each of the elements swirling through the darkness.The blade froze a hair’s breadth above Lily’s chest. She let out a ragged breath, though her eyes remained fixed on the glint of the blade. It shimmered in the moonlight, trembling in Peverton’s shaky grip.“Potentia grym,” he muttered, shaking his head. Then, again, louder, he said: “Potentia grym!” and raised the blade anew. Before he could slam it down into her chest, though, a huge black wolf smashed into him. Lily gasped, twitching away from the blade as it fell. It caught her foreleg, slicing down towards her paw, her blood dripping down onto the earth before she could tear away.The wolf towered over her on her altar, its fur alight with all four elements. The ends of its black fur were tinged red by the flames; air made its hair sway; ivy coiled up its legs; water slicked down its back. A loud sizzling noise drew her attention away. Her bloo
ElijahThe brush of the magic skittering over the veil was cool to the touch. Elijah dipped his fingertips into it, a shiver running down his spine and raising the tiny hairs prickling down his forearms. A sense of foreboding washed over him as he stepped through, his foot landing solidly in Red Ripper’s territory.The entry point of this veil was different to the last one he’d come through. Darkness ebbed and flowed like a river in the far wood, but Elijah turned away from it. He had one goal to focus on: find the cells. Once he’d managed that unnoticed, he could worry about the incessant scratching at the back of his mind and the oppressive weight of magic hanging thick in the night air.Ducking low, Elijah picked his way towards a flickering light in the distance. He’d drawn out a scribbled map of the territory, as it was in his memory, but whether that was accurate to the reality he’d witnessed or if the Red Ripper wolves had changed the pack’s layout since then, he had no idea. I