Blood Moon: Lunar Eclipse

Ariella

I forcefully peeled my eyes open once I heard Aleksi sobbing uncontrollably, screaming out Sephora’s name.

The scene before me made me boil with frenzied rage, an itch that suddenly gave me a slow stream of endless energy. My newfound anger and anguish gave me a sort of strength I never knew I possessed as my head started to lift on its own, followed by my arms, then my body, until I was kneeling on the ground. My lungs hyperventilated, and the wound in my side became non-existent as I saw the half-torn lifeless body of Sephora.

My last blood-living relative.

My body shook, and my hands curled into tight fists as I released an earth-shattering cry that seemed to amplify my continuous boiling turmoil.

I wanted the one responsible. The person who had already made me lose so much and could make me lose so much more if I didn’t put a stop to him.

Fenrir, the one labelled as father.

I faced him and rose from the ground as I saw red-hot rage. His face contorted from one of satisfaction to one of anger.

“You should be dead!” his wrinkled cheeks deepened as he scorned.

I didn’t want to talk.

I wanted retribution.

It felt like another force was controlling me. I was a bomb about to detonate unless I focused.

So I did.

I focused on my rage.

My hate.

My grief.

My senses sharpened, and my claws extended.

My body was illuminated with fiery whisps of light, and my hair seemed to glow more radiant than before.

My once-depleted energy had replenished. I had no idea what kind of toll it would take on my body, but right now, I couldn’t care. My only goal was to rid the world of the maniac standing before me.

“This ends now,” I spoke in a voice not quite my own as I stalked before Fenrir.

He started backing up, frantically turning his head to the sides to catch the attention of his pack for help.

I sensed a wolf charging at my sides, but before it could touch me, I extended my hand and forged an orb of fire magic that shot straight through, leaving a gaping hole in his chest.

Another approached, then another, until I walked down an aisle filled with fallen enemy wolves.

Fenrir’s back pushed against a tree. He tried to flee, but I lurched forward, gripping him around his throat and securing him as my claws pierced his skin.

His screams were shrill; his desperate pleas and wild thrashing did nothing to deter me.

“Ple…lease,” he cried.

My body was charged with so much energy that my skin took the effect of scalding magma. I could see the steam emanating from his throat as raw marks of pink faded into the skin around his flesh.

I squeezed and stared deeply into his eyes as I watched his essence drain.

“I never break a promise” were the last words that sounded until his body grew limp and his eyes rolled until white was all that could be seen.

I released his throat, and his form fell to the floor with a gratifying thud.

I turned to see all the wolves of the Shadow Pack had stopped the fight. All eyes turned to me.

I had just killed their Alpha, so now it was up to me to decide their fate.

“For those who wish to join the Blood Moon pack, there will be a series of tests to complete so we know you are worthy, honourable and loyal. If this is the path you choose, I order you to retreat back to the Shadow pack, inform everyone that your Alpha is dead, and await further instructions.

“For those of you who do not, now is your time to leave. If I so much as scent you 5 miles from the border of my pack, I will kill you. That is a promise.”

With that, everyone dispersed, leaving a snail trail of blood in their stead.

The pack grounds were cleared, and the casualties were slim based on what I could see.

Yet, people still died. Families lost fathers, mothers, daughters and sons. Mates had lost their other half, their life partner. That could never change.

I heard a heartbroken wail from beside me. I turned, seeing Sephora on the ground, cradled in Aleksi’s arms.

I had never seen him cry. I never even thought he knew what the definition of emotion was.

I felt my burning hatred immediately dissipate. My body was weak and frail. I had passed my limits, almost draining my body dry.

I lost my footing until solid arms clamped around me. Sparks immediately encased my skin, sending me into a sort of lull.

Logan was naked, having just shifted from his wolf form; his eyes held great sadness for the fallen members and his friend.

Logan knew what I wanted to do as he helped me walk towards Sephora, my legs buckling on the way.

The stream of tears shrouded my cheeks. Something felt lodged in my throat.

I spent 2 months with Sephora, and in that time, I had come to know who she was as a person.

I had come to love her as my family. The one who had the last connection to my birth mother was gone.

I fell to my knees on her other side, Logan followed suit. I stroked her cold forehead with my hand as I lay a gentle kiss.

By now, everyone had gathered around; all my loved ones watched as the scene unfolded.

My brothers stood beside me; their bodies were slashed with cuts and bruises. At least I knew they were alive, but I couldn’t say that about everyone as cries started to sound from around us. The cries for loved ones lost.

We sat there, mourning the losses of our fallen comrades, until the sun came up. Until a new challenge arose.

3 Days later.

Aleksi

The ceremony was beautiful. Sephora, along with the ones we lost in battle, had handmade coffins that were engraved with messages from loved ones.

The cemetery seemed smaller. More compact.

Ariella placed a solitary blue rose atop Sephora’s casket before it was lowered into the ground beside her sister.

I know what Sephora meant when she told me there was another.

I had another destined mate.

How she knew was beyond me, but I trusted her.

Even still, I didn’t care for another. I wanted my Sephora back. I wish I had come to know the real her. I wanted to know her little quirks, I wanted to become irritated from bad habits, I wanted to have arguments and snuggle together at night.

Maybe I would find my second chance mate in the future and care for them just the same. However, right now, I only cared for one.

And I would never see her again.

Ariella

I placed a blue rose atop Sephora’s grave before placing a red one on my mother’s. I had changed her headstone to her true name: Freya Caldwell, a loving mother and sister. The stone was a marble white with outlines of gold, the same as Sephora’s.

I may not have known her, but the memories she shared with me were enough to show me how much of a caring sister, devoted mother and fighter she was.

I stood beside Logan. I watched as my aunt was lowered to the ground. My final tears trickled down my cheeks.

I began walking away until I saw my mother, father and brothers in the throng of people who had come to pay their respects. I ran forward, gripping the first one I saw, and the rest of my family followed.

Blood or not, they were still my family. I loved them no less.

I said my goodbyes and walked back with Logan. We hardly spent any time together these last three days. We had so much to deal with in the aftermath of the war.

For starters, I immediately began organising the funeral. I wanted it to happen as soon as possible, and it did. The preparations kept me busy until I finally collapsed from exhaustion at the end of the day. When I wasn’t doing that, I was helping as much as I could at the Pack Hospital. We had many casualties, most with a few minor injuries, but others suffered a lot more than most.

Logan had to visit the Shadow pack. He didn’t have space to allow the ones who wished to join the Blood Moon pack to move in immediately. So instead, Ethan was to reside there, as acting Alpha, until enough homes were built for them to move in.

Ethan and a few dozen warriors were closely monitoring the ones who stayed.

The ones who refused to join us were allowed to leave. They had 12 hours until we would start hunting them down if they were within a certain radius of us.

Trinity was more welcoming than when I had left. Noah was much better; his skin was back to its usual smoothness as the burns were completely healed over. After the war, Noah had taken over as acting Zeta. Aleksi had just lost his mate; he needed time to grieve. Logan had taken on some responsibility from Noah to ease him into his role, but he was better at it than I gave him credit for.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t feel like it,” Logan spoke, breaking me from my thoughts.

Thanks to Fenrir, Logan was still weary of the Wolfsbane in my system. However, Clara said that the power inside me became so potent that it burned the remaining poison infecting my blood.

My powers practically saved me.

“I do. I promised Clara I would help where I could at the pack hospital. She has enough to deal with.

“Besides, I am the Luna. It is my duty to help wherever I can.”

Logan released a tender sigh. “Fine, but I am going with you.”

We walked in comfortable silence until we reached the hospital. Denzel was helping the best he could as he had little medical knowledge. Instead, he worked in the kitchens, providing meals for patients and their families. We let him use the pack house as the kitchens were much more sustainable to feed hundreds of mouths.

I walked inside to see an exhausted Clara inside a room in the hospital. She ushered me over as she was changing a patient’s dressing.

“Can you take a drip to 105 and grab some fresh blankets from storage,” she hurriedly spoke.

“Sure,” Clara had shown me how to change a drip a few days ago. I was not well-versed in the medical field, so I helped with the smaller tasks when I wasn’t planning the funerals.

I took the drip that contained healing herbs to counteract things such as silver and Wolfsbane. Clara made it herself; her expertise was essential to the pack, and we couldn’t be more grateful to her.

Logan plucked a few sheets from storage and followed behind me.

I entered the familiar room as Caroline sat on the seat beside Angus. He had been stabbed with a silver blade laced with Wolfsbane by one of the Shadow pack members. He was one of the many severe cases, but he was doing much better.

“You seem a lot better,” I spoke with a small smile.

Caroline began removing the blankets from Angus as Logan placed the new ones at the bottom of the bed.

“It still feels like I’m being stabbed from the inside out when I move, but only with a little dagger,” Angus joked.

“Thank you, Ariella, and you too, Alpha,” Caroline smiled, encasing me in one of her warm hugs. I refused to be called Luna by one of my childhood friends, but Logan was a different story. I understood why he had to retain the title of Alpha, especially when out in public.

Caroline pulled back, gazing deeply into my eyes, “How are you doing?”

Caroline didn’t come to the funeral. I told her not to, to which she first stubbornly protested. She has too much going on to worry about me. From Angus being in hospital to the tiny life growing inside of her, I didn’t want to stress her out more than she already is.

Oh yeah, Caroline found out she was 3 months pregnant shortly after I left.

No one noticed the tiny bump on her stomach, but she had grown much larger since I had last seen her.

“Have you eaten today?” she asked with judgy eyes.

“No,” Logan answered for me, a proud look on his face as he knew I could not resist Caroline.

She rolled her eyes and headed towards the tray of food covered by a foiled dish.

“Here, you can have this,” she pointed towards a steaming hot plate of cottage pie.

I licked my lips, not even realising how hungry I was. The last few days, my diet consisted of the odd fruit here and there and some cheese toasties.

“Hey, that’s mine,” Angus playfully pouted.

“We can get you another,” Caroline dismissed with a smile.

“Fine, but first, I need to change the drip,” I replied.

I did as Clara had asked me to, disposing of the old pouch into the bin labelled waste. As I willingly sat down, I inhaled the smell of freshly cut vegetables and creamy mash, my mouth already drooling at the sides. As I went to take my first bite, I scented a dead carcass as I peered down at the cooked beef at the base. The intense aversion made me gag; my spoon hit the plate with a loud clang as I rushed towards the bathroom, needing to expel whatever was in my stomach.

I wretched the little food I consumed earlier that day. Logan soothingly rubbed my back as Caroline watched from the doorway, completely dumbfounded.

“Are you ok?” Logan asked the second I was finished.

“Get that meat away from me; it smells rotten,” I spoke, holding my nose.

Caroline placed the foil dish over the plate. The smell faded quickly.

“The meat?” Logan questioned.

“Yeah, tell Denzel he’s a shit chef for serving something so out of date,” I replied disgustingly.

“Ariella, the meat was fine…” Caroline quizzed, her eyebrows drawn together until her face lit up as though she had a light bulb moment.

“What’s with the face?” Angus questioned, also confused.

“Have you taken a test?” Caroline asked.

“Why would I…

“Oh shit.”