Merciless Luna

Chapter 6

*Raj’s POV*

 I had no idea on what just happened. The moment I saw Arkyn, this broad man, with such dark hair, but his eyes, his icy blue eyes. I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the clarity. His voice, so deep, dark, yet held a hint of gentleness I did not expect from someone so tall and strong looking. I felt my heart was racing when I extended my hand, but I did not expect to feel a buzz, as if my hand was going numb from touching him. It felt odd, and for some reason I had a bad feeling over it. I hailed a cab and quickly got in, giving the directions and sitting back.

 I looked at the moon and noticed it was halfway to its highest peak. “s**t” I whispered, realizing I was going to be late to see mother. I don’t know why that felt so bad, until I suddenly started to feel off. It felt as if a buzz was ringing in my ears, and my vision was getting blurry. I winced and held my head; a headache was starting to loom. I haven't’ had a headache this bad in years. I was maybe sixteen when it was the worse, and tonight it felt like it was going to be just as bad. ‘Oh please let me hurry home’ I thought to myself. Maybe mother has some medicine to help ease the pain for the night, if she’s not mad at me for being late.

 The 2 hours almost felt like 4 with the throbbing in my head. I paid the fare and got out of the car, stumbling a bit as my vision was a little skewed. I heard the door slam open and I looked, seeing my mother staring at me in horror as she ran to me and grabbed my arm. “You’re late! It’s too dangerous to be out this late! We have to hurry” she was blabbering. Why was it dangerous? Nothing was making sense at the moment. “My head feels like its splitting apart mom” I managed to get out. She managed to get me inside into the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets, pulling a small purple vial. “Here... drink this. It will help with the headache. It’ll make you drowsy, but by morning you’ll be back to your old self” I grabbed the vial and opened it, sniffing the contents. I was about to place it to my lips before I heard a hiss. I jolted my head, looking around for the noise. My mother was looking at me worriedly, urging to hurry up and take the medicine.

 ‘Don’t do it!’ I heard. “What...” I stammered, looking around in paranoia. ‘You take that and I'll be put into slumber again! Drop it! Don’t let her lock me up again’ I clenched my jaw as I heard the voice. It was coming from within me? Could...could it be my wolf? ‘Who are you?’ I replied mentally. ‘I’m you. I’m your other half that has been caged for so long. Feel me...you know we are one Rajeira’ my eyes stared at the vial, my ears ringing. My mother was shouting something, I think. I looked up as she was trying to push my arm to drink the vial.

 “You have to hurry honey! Please! It’s for your own good!” she pleaded. I furrowed my brows, unsure on what to do. I finally could hear my wolf! Why would mother want her to slumber? “Why?” I asked her. “Mom...what is this?” I questioned. “There’s no time. Drink it now” she ordered. I took a few steps back, shaking my head. “No! You’re hiding something. I won’t take it!” I shouted, slamming the vial on the floor. Just then, the cottage was surrounded by howls. One, two, three, too many howls at once. My heart was racing faster as my mom pulled me beside her, looking at the windows. “It’s too late. Rajeira, stay close to me” she whispered, her eyes hardening as she took what looked like a fighting position. “Mother?” I questioned, and just then, I heard the windows shattering as shadows made their way to our home. My eyes widen at the horror I was about to witness that night.

 *Arkyn’s POV*

 As soon as she left. I grabbed my jacket and stormed after her. “Colton! Maya! Now!” I ordered. Colton and Maya looked at each other, but quickly flanked me as we headed outside. I caught her entering the cab and cursed under my breath. “We’re following her! I don’t care how far she goes. Something doesn’t feel right” I ordered as I got into my SUV. There was no need to drive a fancy car...this was supposed to be a diplomatic meeting. Yet I ended up finding my mate! What bitter luck is this that now I’m doing the one thing I said I would refuse to do, go after her. Colton got on the passenger side and Maya sat behind him, buckling herself as I slammed my foot on the gas and sped out of there like a bat out of hell. I followed the cab intently, making sure to keep a distance to not alert them that I was following them.

 “Boss...why are we following her?” Colton asked, looking at me from the corner of his eye. “Finding out why she’s been living here her whole life and nobody knew about this. This could potentially be a danger to our pack you understand that? How come nobody knew she existed” I demanded. Colton swallowed hard, not sure how to answer. “We don’t know Alpha. This is the outskirts of our territory. There isn’t much in guards and surveillance as this is mostly human territory” Maya replied softly. I knew she was right, and I knew it wasn’t their fault. But the fact this woman was here, and I never met her, never sensed her...never felt the pull to find her, was making me miserable and guilt stricken.

I couldn’t shake this nagging feeling. There was something about her tonight, and I’m not sure if the Moon is influencing our thoughts and actions. But I felt that I needed to be there, stop her, pull her away from wherever she was heading to. Suddenly the cab turned right and I saw a cottage in the distance. I parked the car near the entrance, and turned off the lights to avoid any suspicion. Colton and Maya were looking at me and then at the cottage, wondering what the hell was going on. Then I see her, stumbling out of the cab. I took my seatbelt off, ready to jump out of the car to help her, until I saw the door open and a much older version of Rajeira run off and grab her.

 "You’re late! It’s too dangerous to be out this late! We have to hurry” I heard her mother shout at her. What was she late for? What was going on? I waited for them to enter the cottage before stepping out of the car. Her scent, it was so intoxicating. It was getting too strong and almost unbearable. Her scent was also making Colton and Maya nervous as they looked at me. “Something’s wrong Alpha” Maya said worriedly. “Do you know anything about her Maya?”

 Maya nodded as she looked at the cottage. “She hasn’t shifted yet, she hasn’t found her mate, and she hasn’t connected with her wolf yet. Today she turned 18” she looked at me, concern written all over her face. “I don’t know why, but I promised her I was going to find out if any other wolves had this issue before.” I nodded to her, knowing that this issue would need to be researched ASAP if I wanted to help her.

 Just then I heard her screaming “No! You’re hiding something. I won’t take it!”. “Let's go” I told Colton and Maya as we started speed walking up the trail to her cottage. I stopped them in their tracks as suddenly this repulsive smell hit me in the face. It was a smell of wet dog mixed with rotting carcass and then the howling began.

 “Rogues” shouted Colton. “Maya, get back to the SUV and call for backup on any wolves in this vicinity now! Colton Come with me” I ordered. Both nodded and went their respective ways. Colton and I ran up the rest of the trail until suddenly the door was slammed open and Rajeira stumbled back, her eyes widen in shock as tears were streaming down her face.

 “Mo..ther...” she stammered as she tumbled back, holding her stomach. Blood started seeping through her hands and I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. My eyes widen in shock at what I just saw. In an instant I moved, grabbing Rajeira before she collapsed. She looked up, her eyes brimming with tears. “You?” she managed to whisper before her eyes rolled to the back of her head. “Raj!” I shouted, shaking her slightly. Anger began to consume me as her face looked paler than usual. It felt as if my soul was being ripped out as I looked up towards her mother. She looked at me, her expression seeming to understand what was happening between us.

 “Go. Take her as far away from here as possible. She will survive if she’s with you” her mother stated. Her eyes shifted from side the side and I felt as if we were being surrounded. “It’s not safe here for her anymore” she turned around, ready to close the door before she hesitated. “She’s my world…tell her…I love her, and that I’m sorry it had to be this way.” I could see the pain in her eyes. Did she just hurt her own daughter to save her?

 “I don’t understand” I replied back. She smiled sadly, turning away again. “One day it will be clear. I couldn’t stop her change this time. Her wolf has awakened…and I was too late. I have to delay them. So go! Take her now!” she ordered before slamming the door shut. There were too many unanswered questions. Did she just say Raj’s wolf finally appeared? Why was she trying to contain it? I didn’t have the time to sit here and question her. If Raj just obtained her wolf, then her healing abilities were not fully manifested, and at this rate she could potentially die.

 “Alpha!” Colton’s shout brought me out of my thoughts as I turned to him. “We have to go. There’s too many and there isn’t any backup for miles” he warned. I nodded, shifting Rajeira until I was carrying her, her head lolled to the side. “You will make it” I whispered to her as I quickly made my way to the SUV. More howls pierced the night, and the sound of growling and fighting could be heard in the cottage. I got into the backseat of the car and closed the door just in time to see a silver wolf being thrown out of the window. It whimpered, shaking its head as it snarled, limping backwards. The wolf was large, but looked weakened and frail. Just then four more wolves appeared in varying colors, all larger than this silver wolf. The silver wolf let out a melancholic howl, before readying for a fight and dashing towards the other four. That’s when I realized it was Raj’s mother fighting a losing battle against the rogues. Maya quickly shifted gears and slammed her foot on the gas, driving in reverse. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the battle. And just like that, a sharp yelp echoed in the air as the silver wolf stumbled and collapsed to the ground, its breathing ragged and shallow. I knew, that at that moment, Rajeira’s mother has been killed. Maya sped the SUV in sharp turn, turning the vehicle back in the direction we came from.

 “Dammit Maya you’re going to get us killed” I snapped. Maya furrowed her brows, concentrating on the road. “We have to get out of here as fast as possible before those rogues catch our scents. We can’t afford them following us to the pack” Maya responded. She was right of course, as my beta’s mate, her input was of as much value as Colton’s. After what felt like hours of driving, we felt safe enough to not have been followed and turned into the pack grounds. Rajeira’s complexion wasn’t looking any better as the gates came before us. Maya was honking the horn, trying to get the gate opened quicker. I mind-linked the guard, ordering him to open the gate for us. As the gates ascended I took the opportunity to mind-link the pack doctor, advising him we had an injured she-wolf that had just awakened, and was not healing properly.

 “Maya to the pack hospital” I ordered. “Way ahead of you boss” she replied, turning down the road to head to the hospital’s direction. I looked down at Rajeira, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. How would I be able to face her and tell her that her mother died on her birthday?