The Vengeful Luna

In the clearing

Marina's POV

I am tired. Mentally and emotionally drained. I don't know if there is any ending to this endless suffering. Ever since Aeolian has been missing, it feels as if a chunk of me has vanished. Simply vanished. Despite our history, despite our attempt at being mates, it did not work. but that did not dim away my feelings for him. He was a great man. A great leader. A great lover too, but now, he was my alpha. And with him gone, everything seemed to collapse. His mate was not doing any better, she was wasting away as well, but the fierceness she fought to find him was refreshing. Not today though. Her and the other i***t have been bickering like two fools and my frustration was being pushed over the limits. I don't know how much of this I can take and right as I'm about to snap at them when we stop, I feel it.

Every alpha and his beta have a special link. not even remotely close to a mite link, but a link nonetheless. And now, i feel it igniting every nerve in my body, electrifying and asking me to come to the rescue. As the two vampires argue again, I slowly make my way in the direction I feel the magnetism. It's strange. It's like following a silverline. It's there. You can't see it. You can only feel it. And every bit of my being feels it. It's there. It's here. He's near.

Before I know it, i'm running. My paws dig in the wet soil and send moss flying everywhere as I catch a strong familiar scent. He's near!

How Elanor can't feel it, I'm not sure-

But as I think this, the corner of my eyes catch something run past me and I realize it's elanor. she dodges trees more skillfully than me, being smaller and s**t, but I feel a bit stubborn and I sapped up trying to catch up with her. but she stops abruptly and I almost hit a tree trying to stop as well, when a clearing comes into view. The forest stops abruptly and we both know this is not normal. the clearing is man made. There's little grass and the soil has been dug recently. they pulled the trees right out with their roots too. Who did such things?! We both stop at the edge of the cleanly cut forest and look around with tension brewing within. This was not right... this was not right!

But in all this shithole, something gets our attention. a sillouhette, standing somewhere in the darkness, under the clear sky. It's not facing us. it's not aware we are there and that makes me shiver. so open. so vulnerable. a trap! it can't be anything else, but a trap!

but Elanor doesn't register it as one and she's suddenly running straight for the figure. Before I can jump in and stop her, she's already launching herself at the figure and the other seems to simply accept it. her arms wrap around them and for a moment, they seem to struggle. Elanor pulls away and slips in front of them and it strikes me too.

Aeolian.

***

Elanor's POV

The clearing makes me feel exposed. Makes me feel as if I should not be here. I should not have found it. But it's here. I'm here and somewhere in it, someone else is here. They sit down, on the ground, their back to us, and I wonder if they know we're here. My eyes narrow and I breathe in, waiting for it. an attack. it must be. It must be- but then it hits me. As the breeze brushes against my face. I feel it. something I've only felt in my dreams lately.

The warm and woody scent of him. of my mate... of Aeolian. I don't care. I don't care if this is a trap or not! Before i can register it, I'm running. I'm running straight towards him, and to my utter surprise, he is not moving. I launch myself at him and my arms wrap around him from behind. he tenses and he's ready to grab me and toss em away, but I move fast, under his arm and grab his face.

"It's me! It's Elanor!" I speak fast, my eyes frenetically searching his face.

He's tired, his eyes scan me almost in slow motion and his brows draw together. He doesn't understand if i'm here or it's another dream and suddenly his eyes swell with tears, when my warmth is registered.

"Elanor..." he whispers, his voice hoarse and dry and suddenly he slums into my arms, as if he had just found comfort for the first time in his life.

My hands let go of his face and I find myself supporting him. He's not as heavy as I remember, and as I hold him, I realize he's so skinny i can feel all of his bones. My mate...