The Vengeful Luna

Unconditional

Aeolian's POV:

When her hand touches my cheek, it's like I've been blessed. The warmth of her skin, the subtle scent of vanilla and peaches wraps itself around me and, for the first time in forever, I feel at peace. It could have been a hallucination. It could have been my brain trying to give me comfort in my last moments. It could have been a mere dream. It did not matter. Against all the weakness that my body honed right now, she brought warmth and comfort. Enough comfort for my body to finally give in to the tiredness, starvation and thirst. It had been days since I was left here to die. To dry and rot like a raisin, under the scoring sun, under the cold moonlight. No food, no water, and no matter how much i tried to break the chain holding me, it was always the same. Pain and more pain. More wounds added to my already wounded body. But now she was here and I was at peace.

When my legs gave in, I expected to hit the ground, because I did not trust my eyes or any of my senses with the vision I was having. But, her arms wrapped around me and she buckled under my weight. My knees don't touch the ground, but she slowly kneels with me, holding me in her arms, my face buried in her shoulder, my eyes closed, as I drink in her scent and savor the warmth that has been gifted to me right now. I was cold,so very cold, tired, hungry, thirsty, weak and frail, and I was ashamed of all of that.

"Aeolian- " the way she speaks my name makes a shiver run down to the base of my spine and I try to get a grip of myself and look at her. But I can't.

"Elanor- " my voice is hoarse and dry and it actually hurts to speak.

She tenses, her grip tightening on me and I sigh. Relief. It washes all over my body again. It's her. It's truly her. She's here and I am not alone anymore. Wait...

If she was here.. then she was going to be trapped too! That monster of a man wanted her here. Wanted her for himself. wanted to torment and hold her here as some sort of prised possession! She had to run! I had to tell her this was most likely some sort of evil plan he had come up with to trap her!

"Ela- yu- h've- " But my words slum as I try to speak and nothing intelligible comes out of my mouth but low huffs and puffs and her hand brushes my hair back.

"It's alright. We're getting you home tonight..." she whispers, and I feel as if I betrayed her by making her coming here.

But then, I realized. We ? Who we? What we?

Her hands reach to the collar around my neck. I tried to push her. She was going to hurt herself. The wolfsbane! No!

But her hands literally rip away the metal collar and she drops it on the ground as if it were nothing.

I'm left speechless, not as if I had much to say until now. But then, I remember. Wolfsbane was not a poison for the likes of her. It only hurt me and my kind, and she was not even remotely close to me. How did I ended up being paired with her, was a mystery. A cruel joke pulled by the gods maybe, or maybe it was a blessing? Or maybe it was the best decision, because I could truly not love another but her. My lovely Elanor.

Before I can reach up and touch her face, she pulls me up with her and as she stands, she seems to struggle to hold me. I feel ashamed for not being able to drag my own weight, but before I can even try to, someone else is on my other side and I feel the cold grip going around my back, while I'm supported. The smell of death and cigars is strong. Cassimir. I stare at him with hazy and foggy eyes, and he seemed to smirk at me.

"You'll thank me later. " he whispered , the smirk slowly vanishing. "For now , we need to get out of this place. "

With them on each side of my body, we made it out of the clearance of the forest, and into the forest, hiding within its safety. If we could call this hiding, they would find us easily. In front of us a familiar wolf stands, and I feel dread wash over me as i stare into those green eyes that pin me with such adoration I should not be worthy of.

"Marina-" i hiss in a croaky voice and she seemed to perk up at the sound of her name.

My trustworthy beta was here too. Stepping all over her principles of not working with vampires, here to save me. here to lend a hand to my mate, to my friend. All this makes me think that my pairing to Elanor might not have been a mistake. Maybe it was the blessing our world needed to bring us together.

"We need to get out of here before it's too late. " Cassimir is the first one to dare speak again, his voice low and threatening.

He was not wrong, but I could not run.

As if reading my mind, the man simply pulls me on his back.

"I'll not hear a word about this.. ." he hisses under his breath as he makes sure his grip is fern and he starts running.

I'm not sure where we were going. But the wind that whips against my face because of the speed, makes me feel alive again. Behind us, I could hear the other two ladies following us, trying to erase our tracks.

Good luck trying to erase my stench. I think and suddenly become very self concious.

The man carrying me had the same sensitive nose I did, and yet, he did not complain. He didn't complain a bit, as I'm sure I was not pleasing to be around right now. Something in me stirs with a sense of wonder and grace. Was this true friendship? Was this selfless and unconditional love and care?

Heartwarming... but as heartwarming as it was, I feel myself slip away. My eyes close and my senses dull. I'm fighting sleep. I'm fighting my own tiredness for long enough to lose track of time, to lose track of myself and my own thoughts.

I'm back to my senses only when I'm set down. My eyes snap open and I hiss at the powerful white light that invades my senses, and I cover my eyes with my arm.

"I'm so sorry... " Elanor's voice echoes through the small chamber we're in and she hurries to turn off the lights. "Is this better? " she asks when she comes back and slowly pulls my arm from over my eyes and peers down at me with a worried look.

The room was dark, but I could make out a few shapes. A bathroom. Of course, I needed to wash, but was I able to do so? I could try-

I slowly tried to sit up, but her small hands pushed my back down.

"It's okay. I'm here to help. " she whispers and sits on the edge of the tub. She doesn't bother to pull the shirt off of my body. she simply tears it off and tosses it into the garbage can before doing the same with my raggedy clothes. I'm not even sure what I was wearing. I could have been totally naked in the forest and I honestly would have had no memory of it right now.

I see her grimace as she lays eyes on my naked body and I want to push her away so she doesn't see it. That she doesn't see the wounds, the bruises, the cuts, the infected wounds that I've given up on taking care of. I was a disgusting mess. I was one big pile of dirt, stench and pain, but she says nothing. She does not comment on any of it. She doesn't comment on my stench either, she doesn't comment on my long dirty hair. she starts the water and takes a rag and starts gently scrubbing the dirt off of me. Her touches are soothing. Her intention is none other but to care for me and I feel more than blessed to have someone to do this for me. Someone to love me unconditionally. Enough to see me like this and still love me.

I'm not sure how much time we spend in the bathroom while she's cleaning me. I keep passing out every now and then and wake up with a gasp. And every time, she's gentle enough to reassure me it's her and she is just trying to help me. That she was not there to hurt me or harm me in any way.

Plenty of time later, I woke up dry. There's mild pressure in more points of my body and the room is dark and warm. Where am I? As I come to my senses and push myself up, a hand stops me from doing so any further.

"You're supposed to rest. " A cold, distant voice speaks to me and I feel as if I'm suddenly wide awake.

I look at my side and I'm not sure I can make up who it is. the frame is too large to be Elanor. And it's not a man either, because the voice is too soft and much too womanly. their hair is cut short, to shoulder level and right now it seems to be pinned in a short tail at the nape of their neck.

"Where is Elanor? " I ask, my voice raw, my throat hurting, still dry, sending me in a cough fit.

"Idiot.. " the voice muffles and I feel the rim of a glass of water being pressed at my lips.

I take it from them and drink in a frenzy, only to get more coughing when the water goes the wrong way.

"f*****g idiot.. " she speaks again and now I understand it's Marina and none other.