Blood Moon: Lunar Eclipse
Ch22 - Disappearing Pack

Ariella

Before we could question any further, Aleksi fell to one knee, hunched over, and held his arm. We watched in disbelief as the mark of submission entwined Aleksi’s upper arm, perfectly discontinuing at his elbow.

Aleksi was a Submissive? Sephora the Dominant.

It was almost laughable, considering his broad and abnormally muscular size, coupled with his role as Zeta. I doubt anyone thought for a second that Aleksi would be a sub.

Sephora

No No NO!

This can’t be happening!

I never thought I would be mated to a wolf.

What if he turned out to be like Fenrir, controlling and twisted? Then I saw the Submission mark encase his arm.

Was I the Dominant?

I still needed a moment to think. After everything my sister went through, I can’t just trust him completely. My whole life has been spent looking for Ariella; I never even contemplated a partner was in the cards for me.

Aleksi stood from his knelt form. His body inched closer to mine, his eyes trained on my lips. My breath grew heavy, my body tingled in excitement, and the mating pull became almost impossible to ignore.

“Your mates?” Ariella squealed to the side.

That was all it took to break me from my trance as I managed to step a few paces back.

“I…I need time,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose in perplexity.

Aleksi released a sigh as though he was trying to hold back.

“I have lived without you for 37 years. A little more time wouldn’t hurt.” I glanced into his eyes. They held a softness I had never seen another man hold before.

I trusted him. I trusted that he would wait.

“We need to go,” I gestured towards Ariella and climbed into the passenger seat so fast I almost tripped over my own two feet.

Ariella and Logan shared a passionate kiss, which I broke by vigorously bibbing the car’s horn. With one final glance at her mate, Ariella sped off into the night.

I tried to hold my composure and look straight ahead, but my body had a mind of its own as I peered back, only to see Aleksi standing in the centre of the road, his eyes locked onto mine. His expression conveyed a mix of joy and sorrow. I felt my heart ache for him, just scarcely, until we turned the corner, and he vanished from sight.

Ariella

“Soooo…” I began.

Since learning Sephora and Aleksi were mates, she hadn’t uttered a single word other than telling me which roads to turn onto.

“You’re just going to sit there and act like nothing happened?

“You ran from your mate.” I lifted my eyebrow in disbelief.

“I don’t know what to say,” she replied softly. “And I didn’t run. I didn’t have time to stay and chat.”

“Five minutes wouldn’t have killed you,” I replied.

“I don’t know how to feel. I witnessed how Fenrir was with my sister.”

“Aleksi is not like that. Think of him as an oversized, fluffy teddy bear. Unless you threaten him or his pack, then he turns into a fluffy teddy bear overstuffed with rocks,” I grinned, trying to enlighten the mood.

“I would rather not talk about it. I need time to process everything,” Sephora answered.

I could tell this was a lot for her to take in. I was always told I would be mated, yet I was still apprehensive. Sephora was tossed a stroke of luck. It wasn’t common for other species to be mated, so I could completely understand where she was coming from.

We finally reached a small cottage in the middle of absolutely nowhere after a few hours of driving. I pulled out my phone to see if there was any phone signal.

“I wouldn’t bother,” Sephora said, “there’s no signal around here for miles.”

“How will I know if everything’s ok back home?” I asked, slightly unsettled.

Sephora approached me and placed her hands on either side of my arms. “Right now, you need to focus on yourself. You cannot afford to have a distraction. The quicker we get your powers under control, the sooner you can go home.

“Come, it’s late. Training will start at sunrise,” Sephora declared as she made her way inside the cottage.

As I trailed behind, dragging my suitcase along the rocky path, my eyes were met with a picturesque sight. A quaint cottage lay ahead of us, nestled within the lush greenery of the forest. Although nothing grandiose, it exuded a warm, cosy vibe that could rival any luxurious getaway. The verdant leaves of the trees created a natural canopy, shielding us from the bright blue sky above.

As I continued, I noticed the rugged stone steps leading up to the modest abode. Once inside, I was greeted with a simplistic yet charming interior comprising of two snug bedrooms, a tidy bathroom, and a quaint kitchen. The kitchen boasted a small fireplace, casting a comforting glow amid the biting winter chill outside.

“What is this place?” I asked, searching around for anything of interest.

“Just one of my few private homes. I need to travel a lot, so having safe houses scattered around is handy. The smaller and more isolated, the better.”

I walked to my room, which was smaller than the walk-in wardrobe in my bedroom. Not that I was complaining; I was glad I hadn’t bought a lot of stuff with me.

The second the sun peeked through the window, a loud knock on my door left me feeling groggy.

“Rise and shine Ariella, your training starts in 30.”

I forced my fatigued body out of bed, quickly dressed and followed the scent of eggs and bacon. Sephora had a plate ready for me, along with herbal tea, which I was hesitant to take.

“It’s to help with your emotional state. It somewhat numbs your emotions to ensure your powers don’t destroy everything within a 5-mile radius.”

I sipped, tasting the overpowering freshness of the mint.

“Why control my emotions?” I asked.

“Right now, your powers are only activated when you experience strong emotions; the stronger the feeling, the more perilous the outburst if you don’t know how to regulate it.”

I goggled at the light green tea, watching the water stand even. “I felt my birth mother’s emotions when I saw her memories. It was like I was her; everything she felt, I did…”

“That’s what made your powers spiral at the cemetery?” she asked gently.

“Yeah,” I lifted my head, catching Sephora’s sad gaze. “I felt so much hate towards Fenrir, as though everything he did, he did it to me and not Freya.”

“We will get you through this. Nothing like what happened will happen again after I’m done with you,” Sephora reassured. I believed her. I trusted her.

I finished the rest of my tea and then followed her outside. We walked about 15 minutes from the cottage until we reached an isolated green field. No living creature was in sight, which made me slightly more at ease, knowing nothing was around to hurt me.

“So, what’s your power?” I asked.

“There are four main elements that we can bend to our will, depending on what gift we were born with: Fire, water, earth and air. Mine is water.

“Fire is known as the deadliest, especially when untamed, thus the most powerful of the four elements,” she answered.

“Four main elements? There’s more?”

“Yes, on rare occasions, witches may be granted an extra gift; however, those gifts usually come with their own consequences when used. For example, I was granted the gift of foresight. But for every time I use it, my lifespan shortens, so I try not to.”

“Do I…” I began.

“Most likely not, it’s very rare indeed. However, you were born on the night of the Lunar Eclipse. In our culture, it means good luck to be born on such a night. It signifies great potential.”

“Yeah, I replace that hard to believe,” I responded, unconvinced. “So, what’s my first lesson?”

Sephora smirked, eerily, I must add.

“I want you to focus on one emotion, one particular feeling that stands out to all the rest. I want you to imagine it as being a physical entity; reach out and hold onto it.”

“Isn’t that a bad thing?” I doubtingly asked.

“To learn control, you need to feel what it’s like to be completely helpless. Then, slowly but surely, you will replace a way to take hold and create it your own, bending it to your will.

“Most witches have their whole life to practice, but you have had 21 years of ignorant bliss, so it will be much messier than most in the beginning.”

I took a deep breath, digging to replace that one emotion that stood out more than the rest. I found it and amplified it. I felt my skin burn a red hot, my muscles filled with tension, and my skin danced with those familiar red and orange flames.

Then I lost control…

Sephora called it a day after my fifth detonation. I felt no closer to gaining control, but she assured me it was normal.

“How did you manage to get past the border undetected?” I asked, simply out of pure interest.

“It was easy. There is a combination of herbal plants that can help mask a scent. Many have a time limit, but it gave me just enough time to enter without alerting the guards,” she answered proudly.

“You know, a normal person would have just asked for a meeting instead of walking in unannounced,” I replied.

“Would you have let me in if I had?” I began to answer until she continued. “Besides, I had spent almost 21 years searching for you. I wasn’t about to wait any longer.”

“You weren’t exactly a welcomed guest,” I said, answering her first question, “especially considering you threatened my pack,” I spoke.

She halted her steps and turned towards me, her expression a mix of seriousness and sadness. “How else would I have got you to listen to me? You deserved to know the truth about who you really are, and after so many years, I got to see you again. Reunite with the last member of my bloodline.”

She took a deep breath as I remained silent, unsure how to respond.

“You look so much like her, and that same spark I see in you was more than present in her too; it’s uncanny,” she spoke, her voice quiet and a sad smile planted on her lips.

“It’s late, and we have an early start tomorrow,” she sputtered as a way to brush off the emotions that began to surface and continued on her way.

Two months later

“Hold it…” Sephora encouraged. “Just a little longer.”

I was back in the same field I had been visiting the last two months. The past vibrant pasture may have been half-scorched, but it wasn’t for nothing. My powers had grown immeasurably since I came here, and the control I now had was something I never fathomed I could achieve.

But the road wasn’t easy. The early mornings and late nights, my body’s constant tenderness, and the vexation every time I was close to grasping an ounce of control, only to see it instantly diminish.

I stopped taking the herbal tea a few weeks ago. I didn’t realise how much it numbed my emotions; it was like I had hit reset on any control I thought I had.

Right now, my veins were shades of a blinding sunset, similar to tiny slithers of molten lava snaking under my skin. My skin was releasing windy whisps of red and slight flickers of gold. My usual Amber eyes were lit as though I was staring directly into a prospering fire.

Sephora had been teaching me to unleash my powers to the maximum, then reeling them back in. The unleashing part was easy, the reeling… not so much.

My eyes were closed as I focused on my breathing. I imagined the physical flames dimming in my mind; my muscles eased as I slowly felt the magic flowing through my veins lose its intensity.

The next thing I heard was a small applause. As I opened my eyes, my hands had returned to their normal complexion, and the luminous whisps had disappeared. A Cheshire smile spread across my face.

“I did it!” I couldn’t contain my elation. “I can go back now, right?”

“No, this is just the beginning. You need to be able to harness your magic like that more than once to know that you are truly ready,” she replied.

“I think it’s safe to say I can at least go home once or twice a week,” I hopefully requested.

I hadn’t seen Logan in two months. My wolf has never been this restless. Being away from your mate for this long was far from natural.

That aside, I hadn’t felt so sexually frustrated in my life! I felt the constant need to pleasure myself, and the more I did, the more I became in need of something more...

I needed Logan even just for one day. I wanted to hold him, have his scent encase me, taste his possessive lips on mine and stare into his rare, light grey eyes hinting with turquoise. I missed the shooting sparks that travelled through me whenever we touched. I missed my mate, and so did my wolf.

Sephora released a reluctant sigh. “Fine, we can go back once a week. But that is all. You may think your powers are under control, but until I can be sure, we need to continue with your training. Even the slightest doubts could have detrimental effects.”

“I know. But I feel much more in control now. If I ever feel like it’s becoming too much, I promise you I will come straight back.”

Sephora eyed me intensely before finally giving me a response.

“I suppose we better get packing then,” Sephora motioned towards the cottage. I happily followed.

Finally, I was about to see Logan, but also my family. Especially Noah, I hadn’t seen or heard from him since the incident with my powers. I still felt guilty. I never got to apologise to him properly.

I felt my wolf growing agitated, bouncing in the back of my mind as we approached the pack border. I may have driven the car a little faster than considered safe, but you couldn’t blame me. I missed Logan.

The mate bond was driving me crazy!

“Have you thought about what you will say to Aleksi?” I had mentioned the mating bond thing to Sephora a few times, but she brushed it off or deflected it every time.

“I don’t know…” was her short answer.

“Having a mate isn’t as bad as it seems. What my mother went through was unfortunate. Her mate was a slimy dirtbag whom she had the misfortune of meeting.

“But mates share something special. They are your other half, an equal, chosen by the goddess herself.” I almost rolled my eyes at how sensitive I sounded, but I knew Sephora needed to hear it; she should at least give Aleksi a chance.

Sephora seemed lost in thought as she stared silently out the window. We reached the dirt road that led towards the pack border. A few moments later I felt a light feeling wash over me.

We passed through the border.

The sky was dark; the sun had just rested its final rays for the day.

The drive down the narrow road was silent.

Disconcertingly silent…

“Where is everyone?” I uttered quietly. No one was around, and the border was unattended. I thought I would have encountered at least one patrol by now.

I continued driving past the village of houses. The empty parks, usually buzzing with children, and the mass green fields, typically bursting with training sessions, were desolate.

“Something not right,” Sephora cautioned as her sights vigilantly scanned the environment.

“Stop off here,” she pointed to a small break in the forest. I didn’t question her; I knew something wasn’t right.

We both exited the cars, lightly closing the doors behind us.

Sephora breathed in the air as though searching for something.

‘Logan…’ I mind-linked.

But nothing…

I kept trying my mate, but once I heard nothing in return, I tried Hailey, Ethan, and even my parents. But the link was deathly silent.

My stomach churned with a sense of unease; my instincts were on high alert.

Something’s not right…

Where is my pack?