His Shadow Luna

Chapter 4. Shadows

Elene wrapped her arms around screaming Morgan, spinning mid-air to position her own body as a shield against the impending collision. Flames licked at their backs as they tumbled towards the unforgiving forest below. The roar of a second explosion fading into the rush of wind.

The helicopters blew up one after another before Elene hit the first thick tree branch, losing air from her lungs and shifting her attention to her own survival.

She clenched Morgan tighter as they hit another branch and then a couple more. Clothes torn, bruises formed, leaves scattered — until they finally reached the dense bed of undergrowth that mercifully cushioned their descent.

Sprawled atop the forest floor, Elene sucked in her first sharp breath, feeling how Bia started her healing.

"Morgan—" she called, her voice unusually hoarse.

"I'm — fine," the girl groaned, and Elene realised she was still holding her. Probably tighter than was necessary.

"Thank you, Fenrir," the Princess whispered a quick prayer and let go.

Morgan carefully pushed off her, scanning her saviour and gulping when she saw all the fresh cuts Elene got while shielding her.

"You saved me," she whispered, guilt in her voice.

"You are welcome." The Princess tried to smile through pain, knowing the child probably needed to see she was fine for reassurance.

"Are you okay?" The girl bit her lip, scrambling to her feet.

"Been better, but I'll survive." Elene stood up as well, quickly assessing herself.

Do you hear anything? She asked Bia.

I don't think anyone else survived. Her wolf confirmed the heartbreaking truth, but a few people are closing in on us. They are too fast to be injured.

"F*ck!" the Princess swore, and Morgan looked at her with her big green eyes.

"What is it?"

"We need to move," Elene said, grasping the girl's hand. I think assassins are after us."

"Assassins?" Morgan stuttered.

"Don't worry. I will not let them hurt you," Elene murmured, though her breath came in ragged gasps. "Just hold on."

They began to run as fast as they could. The thickets clawed at their skin as they barrelled through the woods.

Two wolves, two in human form, Bia informed her of what she could sense.

That's not that bad. Elene was happy to hear this.

They definitely called for backup. Bia did not let her relax. You have minutes to turn this all around.

Elene tensed, hectically thinking of what she could do. The grim realisation sunk in as she looked at the girl again — Morgan's life was definitely the priority right now. Not only was she innocent, but she could save millions of lives by preventing the war.

Kai and Savvy would be sad if Elene died, but that would be about it.

Returning to the East wasn't an option. The desert was merciless, and she still needed to figure out if she could trust King Devoss. After all, he was the only one who knew about the direction of her flight. Going deeper into the South would be a suicide. They were clearly warned about them.

"Right," the Princess smiled, finally making her decision. "Morgan, I need you to listen to me carefully."

"Okay," the girl nodded, determination on her face.

"We chose our route carefully today," Elene said. Although we are in the Southern territories, this is very close to the Northern and Western Lycan Kingdoms' borders, respectively. You will only be safe in one of them right now. We need to do everything to get you there."

Morgan pursed her rosy lips, not liking how that sounded.

"Same as you, right?" She furrowed her red brows.

"Sure." Elene did not find it in herself to tell her the truth. "But to increase our chances, we will have to separate. You will go first, and I will catch up with you later."

The corners of Morgan's lips tilted downward. At such a young age, she had already been through too much to believe such evident lies.

"I want you to listen to me," Elene went on. "You are not fighting anyone. Your only task is to run. You do everything I say, when I say it. Got it?"

"Yeah…"

"Good."

The Princess pointed at the nearby tree. "Do you see where the moss grows on the trunks? It faces the North, so use it to guide you because this is exactly where you need to get by the end. Either the North or the West. Away from the South and the East."

"Okay—" Morgan did not sound so sure anymore.

"Listen," Elene brushed her palm over the girl's cheek. "You've been through a lot and survived. You will survive this too. You are a fighter. I knew it the moment I saw you back in that room."

Their eyes locked, and Elene tried to look as confident as possible.

"I will be right behind you, okay?" She smiled. "Now, take off that uniform and give it to me. We need to make them work harder, searching for us."

To her credit, Morgan obeyed with no complaints.

"Did you have your first shift yet?"

"Yes," the girl answered quietly. "My wolf is not very big, though."

"That's because you are still a pup," Elene reassured her. "But wolf's legs are still faster than your human ones. Now, shift."

Morgan hesitated, but Elene couldn't waste any more of their time. She tore the maid's dress, gesturing for the teen to speed up her transformation.

She tried not to look, knowing the process was probably painful for the girl. It took wolves years to perfect the shifting and make it last seconds instead of painful minutes.

Soon, a little red wolf stood before her, and Elene nodded in approval, trying not to be distracted by how adorable the creature looked.

"You are small indeed," she smirked. "But that's a good thing now. It will be harder to spot you."

The Princess lowered to the ground and took a fistful of mud, rubbing it into Morgan's fur. The little beast growled, and it made the princess chuckle.

"We are making you invisible, remember?" She tried to cover her in the dirt as much as possible. "This will kill your scent and give them other directions to pursue. Be good."

She tore the rest of Morgan's maid's dress and threw a few pieces between the branches of a nearby bush.

"Now, listen to my directions carefully," Elene told the girl, who looked at her with heavy eyes. "I can sense that there is a small river down the hill. You get to it and go with the flow for a few miles. Paws in water at all times. If you see anything in the air above you — hide. Then, use the moss and head for the North. Run until you cross the border. Be smart. Remember your end goal."

The wolf whimpered. She clearly did not want to go alone.

Elene ignored the sentiment and took a necklace off her neck, followed by her belt.

"This is a northern star royal seal," she explained, wrapping the chain around the belt and using it as a collar for the little wolf. "When you cross the border, ask for asylum and show this. Then, demand to speak to King Gideon or King Kai. They will listen to you if they see this. Tell them everything that happened. You can trust both of them."

The wolf let out another sad sound again, but this time, branches crackled right next to them, alerting them of intruders.

"Go!" Elene commanded.

Morgan hesitated, and the Princess exhaled heavily, knowing she had no choice. Mustering all her strength, she used her Alpha tone, "Go! Do everything I told you! Don't stop until you are safe!"

Luckily, it was enough for the teen to sprint in the right direction.

Elene watched her for a few seconds before noticing a shadow in the bushes. She decided not to wait and charged at them first, her sharp claws finding the neck of the assassin before he could block them.

One done, three to go, Bia praised her, but Elene did not have time to enjoy it. She started running, too, choosing the opposite direction and leaving little pieces of fabric everywhere she could to mess with the one hunting them.

She needed to stall them, do anything to divert their attention from one little red wolf.

Once again, she thought of how great it would have been if she had been blessed with a special power like others. Something like this would have come in handy now.

Don't forget that you are a royal lycan, Bia reminded her. We still have the best card up our sleeve.

True, she agreed and shifted because the two wolves were already closing in on her, their scents dangerously close.

Bia charged for the nearby hills, hoping to lead the assassins in the wrong direction as far away as possible. She wanted them to tell their backup where to concentrate, their attention on her rather than Morgan.

However, the race ended abruptly and sooner than she had hoped when she found herself at the end of a steep cliff.

If we jump, we die, Bia informed her.

Then we fight. Elene was determined. Time to stretch that royal lycan form, don't you think?

About time. Her companion agreed. If anyone helps us walk out of this battle alive, it would be that beast.

Two wolves finally caught up, snarling at her. They took their positions like experts, cutting her off from the only possible exit.

As if she was going anywhere.

Elene waited for them to get closer. She did not want them to run away, either. A part of her was enjoying the moment because the two assassins sent to kill a child had no idea they were the prey in this game.

Her bones cracked as the muscles on them tripled their size, and her whole body elongated into a tall, menacing form before the enemy realised what was going on. She stood on two feet, towering over them both. The poor things never realised they were against a royal lycan, not just a regular northern warrior.

Now, it was too late for them.

She tore the head of the bigger one in mere seconds and then, in one swift move, ended the second wolf by snapping his spine.

She could feel the beast inside her gloating, happy with the victory, but Bia was still there as the voice of reason.

Careful, she warned. It's not over yet.

Right, Elene agreed, inhaling the air with her nostrils. Someone else was watching her.

Elene snarled loudly, her patience wearing thin.

Is it me, or did it just get darker here? Bia asked.

Now that she mentioned that, Elene realised that too. Darkness enveloped her so much she could barely see the lines of the forest anymore.

"A Princess!" A female voice sounded at a distance and she charged in that direction, only to find it empty. "Can't say I’ve killed a princess before!"

A giggle echoed around her.

"There is a first time for everything," the mystery woman said. You did so well, Princess Elene. They really did think you died in that helicopter and were clearing the woods to erase traces of what really happened. You could have pulled this off and escaped if I hadn't transferred here today."

Elene tried to follow the sound, diving into the shadows again finding no one behind them. Suddenly the darkness formed into a sharp blade pierced her in the stomach.

She stumbled. This was so unexpected… In that form… she couldn't have been wounded that easily.

Another shadow blade formed out of nowhere and stabbed her back. Then one more and one more, followed by many.

We need to run! Bia was panicking.

She is a shadow wielder! Elene spat blood. One of the Changed ones!

A wave of disbelief and regret washed over her. How cruel was her fate to give her such a revelation? This was clearly a divine gift, which meant the woman had most likely taken part in the same battle as Elene had. Only,Elene did not receive any special powers from it, but some cruel assassin had. Why was this happening? Weren't the gods supposed to take care of good mortals? Elene sure knew she wasn't perfect, but she couldn't possibly be worse than a murderer!

"My name is Aconite." The woman finally emerged from the shadows, knowing that her opponent was properly weakened by now.

Elene steadied her breath, carefully planning her next move. All she needed was to get through all the shadows.

Easier said than done, Bia admitted regretfully.

"Running's futile, Princess," Aconite taunted, her voice laced with malice as darkness danced around her fingers. "I always finish the hunt."

"I'm not prey to be toyed with," the northerner retorted, shifting back to her human form. The shift helped to accelerate the healing process, but she still could barely stand, which caused the assassin to stretch her lips into a smirk. She thought she had already won.

"We'll see about that." The assassin laughed, the sound devoid of any joy.

The darkness surged forward like a living thing, hungry and all-consuming. Elene leapt aside, evading the first swipe but feeling the chill of shadow graze her skin. It clung like frost on winter leaves, trying to seep into her very bones.

Bia snarled in her mind. Fight back! Don't let this witch drown you in her night!

Elene darted at her opponent, Aconite's laughter echoing around her as she dissolved into darkness again, and more sharp tendrils reached out for her. Elene's movements were precise and calculated to confuse and misdirect, but the assassin seemed unfazed by her attempts. For her, it was nothing more than a funny game.

Partially, Elene loved that the woman underestimated her, but at the same time, it was incredibly annoying.

She knew how to play games too, so she paused momentarily, knowing it would be too tempting for someone like Aconite not to tease her more. She closed her eyes, trying to sense the warmth of her body instead of looking for it with her sight.

And when she felt it, Elene struck! Her long, sharp claws slicing across the assassin's face.

Aconite stumbled back, a hand flying to her face to feel warm blood trickling down from her fresh wounds.

The shadows dissipated, and Elene was finally able to see her at last. Three long lines ran over her left eye.

"You are going to regret this, princess!" she promised, and immediately, thorny vines made of shadows entwined around Elene's legs, arms and waist, pinning her to the ground so she could not move.

The Princess struggled in vain as the woman towered over her, a twisted grin splitting her face.

"I wanted to let you die easily as a sign of my respect, but you had to ruin it for yourself," she informed her. "Let's make it more fun then. First of all, an eye for an eye."

One of the tendrils turned into a sharp dagger again and slowly grazed over Elene's cheek. Almost gently, but with a menacing promise.

"I wish I had a mirror," Aconite smiled, wiping the blood from the wounds she received from the Princess and then licking each finger clean. "I would like to repay you in full, after all."

The blade pressed harder, and Elene winced when it made the first cut. It was deliberately slow. Deep enough to hurt like hell. Not deep enough to kill her.

The second came straight through the eye, the pain so intolerable that Elene howled instead of screaming, a guttural sound leaving her restricted body.

"Pretty little princess is not so pretty anymore," the assassin smirked and came closer, slowly lowering herself on top of Elene, straddling her. "I bet you love your beautiful face. Dying this ugly will be sad for someone as shallow as you."

"Speaking for yourself?" Elene seethed, finally taking a good look at her opponent with her still good eye. "Don't worry, in my humble opinion, the scar only makes you look better!"

Aconite's face twisted. She had the most beautiful full figure and quite long, shiny blonde hair, but overall wasn't strikingly beautiful. She had her poise, but Elene realised she hit her where it probably hurt the most, judging by her reaction.

"What," the Princess smirked, "Daddy didn't tell you that you were beautiful when he said good night?"

“B*tch!” Aconite growled, growing a claw and slicing the third scar so roughly Elene lost the ability to scream. She could feel it reaching her bones.

If only she was blessed like the others. If only Fenrir took pity on her, too… Gave her powers like Aconite's…

"Time to die, Princess." The assassin grabbed her throat and squeezed, closing the airflow.

Elene struggled against her, clawing at the woman on top of her, digging her own claws into her flesh as deep as she could. She was desperate enough in the last fight for her life.

"What the f*ck," Aconite seemed as shocked as she was. "What are you—"

She didn't get to finish the sentence because Elene saw a shadow blade poking out of the assassin's chest, both women shocked with the discovery.

Elene could feel a strand of shadows touching her swollen cheek as if to caress her. At the same time another wrapped around Aconite's neck and wrists, submitting her.

Elene could feel that. She could feel every shadow, every spec of darkness around them.

She could command them. She could touch them… and most importantly, she could wield them.

Their eyes met as the realisation sunk in for the assassin as well.

A second — and the sharp tendrils pierced Aconite's flesh at different angles, showing no signs of recognition or mercy. Blood gushed out of the helpless woman, and Elene managed to finally push her off herself, grabbing her red scarf on the way to wipe and cover herself.

The assassin was still twitching, and Elene couldn't take any chances. They were so close to the cliff that the answer was simple. Gathering up her strength, Elene pushed her body with her foot and rolled it off into the abyss.

The shadows curled around her, and she still wasn't sure what to do with them.

What just happened? She asked Bia.

A miracle, her wolf replied. So, let's not question it. We lost a lot of blood. I need to heal you as much as I can, and we need to —

The sounds of footsteps caused Elene to make a sharp turn, and shadows sharpened around her again, ready to pounce at the intruders.

"Hey, new girl!" A tall young man with bronze skin and messy, long black hair raised his hands to show he meant no harm. He was dressed in black combat clothes with massive boots with sharp metal studs. "We are on the same side. Eleventh division of the Firstborn army. Allies."

"Gods, you are messy!" A woman with short blue hair joined the other assassin. "Was that northerner that tough?"

Elene was afraid to say anything. Mostly because she wasn't sure if they were simply teasing her too before attacking.

However, a minute passed, and nothing happened.

Elene remembered, Aconite mentioned she had just transferred here. Maybe there still was some luck saved for her by the gods after all.

"Look at your face," the female assassin played with her blue locks and smirked. "So unfortunate."

She wasn't sorry at all.

"You should see the other guy." Elene tried to sense the surrounding shadows again and sent them to the pair the same way she had attacked Aconite just moments earlier.

One clean sweep, and she could run.

However, her luck had its limits. The darkness dissipated right next to their faces as a puff of black smoke.

Elene tried to contain her disappointment, but at least the two looked scared and took a few steps back.

"Are you nuts?" The woman with the blue hair yelled at her.

"So, the rumours are true. The famous Aconite is crazy indeed." The guy snorted. "Noted."

"Come on, show off!" the female threw a backpack at her. "Dress up! We are being urgently summoned back. The cleaners will arrive here shortly. The Princess is dead, and we took the samples from the crash to confirm the mutt is dead as well. Our job here is done."

Elene was still afraid to believe this was true. Did they really not know who she was?

She brushed her hand over her blood-soaked hair and realised her face was still disfigured after what Aconite did to her. And they did not know the other woman's face because they had not met before.

This was real. She still had a chance to turn all this around somehow.

"Go," she cleared her throat. "I'll be right after you."

"F*ck!" the guy said, eyes travelling up and down her wounded body, "now that I look at you, you don't look okay. What do you think, Issa?"

"Help her, and let's go!" the other assassin shook her head. "If Romero wants to see us that urgently, we are in deep s**t. And it looks like we already lost three people. We'd better bring her back."

The man walked towards Elene and roughly lifted her in his massive arms.

"Don't be shy," he muttered when she tried to protest. "You'll dress in the truck."

Elene knew she couldn't cause a scene. She had to come up with a new plan urgently.

Bia was working tirelessly, trying to heal her, but it was going slowly. They went through a lot today.

Don't heal my face, Elene warned her. Or they'll recognise me.

Wasn't planning to, Bia grunted. I have enough work here without that! We are getting weaker after — whatever it all was.

Do we wield shadows? The Princess asked her hopefully.

I— don't know. Bia admitted, and Elene respected her honesty.

A big military truck was waiting for them, and Elene tensed seeing a man in black clothes and face mask gesture for them to get to the back of the truck.

Although, maybe it was for the best. She could jump off when no one noticed… Or kill the ones who were there with her and then escape…

The train of thought broke when the guy who held her simply threw her into the back through the opening in the fabric, and she landed on the dirty floor surrounded by black, dirty boots.

At least a dozen men and women wearing identical black uniforms stared at her.

"Is that the new girl?" Someone chuckled as a few guys whistled. "Which bus ran over her?"

"I'd be careful if I were you." The guy who brought her there got inside as well. "We barely said a word to her, and her shadows almost slashed Issa."

"And you," the woman with blue hair was the last one to join them. "She made Amir p*ss his pants."

Another wave of whistles rippled, this time approving and more respectful.

Elene had no choice. She had to play the role as long as she could.

Slowly, she rose from the floor. Still underdressed and bloody, barely covered with Aconite's red scarf and with the backpack in her hands, which she now realised had spare clothes, she walked to one of the few empty seats.

Everyone seemed to already mind their own business and she quickly scanned the space.

The engine started before she pulled on a pair of black combat pants; her many cuts made it almost too painful.

After she was done with the clothes, she wrapped the scarf around her head and face to hide them completely. Then, she counted how many Southerners were accompanying her on that bizarre trip to gods knew where.

Twenty-one. There were twenty-one assassins in the back of this truck with her. She had no chance of killing them all now, not in her current state.

Just concentrate on healing, Bia suggested, and Elene had to agree. She wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

They drove for what seemed like hours, not giving the Princess a single chance to escape unnoticed. She peeked behind the truck's curtain and noticed the woods were far behind. They were entering what looked like a city now.

"That northern b*tch was an easy target." A guy next to her laughed with his friend, sharing a flask of a bad-smelling drink.

"I saw remnants of her body," another added. "Smoking hot. Literally."

A few men burst out laughing.

"The chunks I saw were!" Someone else chimed in.

Elene closed her eyes, clenching her fists hidden under the scarf and holding back the tears.

They were talking about her loyal Claire. Claire who gave her life for her protection. Claire who used to always be by her side.

Elene knew she couldn't react, couldn't give herself away.

She had to keep quiet.

Had to take all that and do nothing.

"Hey, new girl," the man from before touched her shoulder. "Did you pass out?"

"Got bored listening to all of you whining," she said, her voice laced with venom, and everyone around her got quiet.

She probably shouldn't have said that.

"Anyway, we are back. Let's go." Amir offered her a hand, but she stood up on her own and walked past him.

"No need," she said. "You will not be pretending to be tough warriors helping a weak girl after I did all the work tonight."

A part of her was still afraid it was a joke, and one of them would recognise her now. She kept her face covered, but no one seemed to pay attention anyway.

They all wore similar black outfits, and many had face masks on. In a way, it was perfect.

Bia stirred inside her, and Elene had to strengthen her control. The last thing she needed was for her wolf to fail her now. Although after a day they had, it wouldn't be surprising.

What is up with you? she hissed and a wave of unexpected emotions covered her whole. Overwhelmed, she felt like she was soaring, pulled to something... or someone.

That feeling, that sensation she had been waiting for her whole life… It was happening to her now.

"Mate," Bia whispered, and a wave of realisation pulsed through Elene.

It couldn't be.

The Moon Goddess had to be kidding.

One of these murderers couldn't have possibly been her mate.

It was too cruel! Too unfair! Too—

She was still too disoriented to understand what was happening.

"Attention!" Someone shouted, and people around her formed a line. She was shoved into it, too, by the blue-haired Issa while still trying to understand which one of these monsters was her fated one.

"It's the General," someone whispered, and Elene's head snapped to a tall figure walking towards them from a tall building that reminded her of an old cathedral. The courtyard they were in froze in respect and fear for that one person.

Forrest Romero looked so angry. Not an ounce of the carefree man she met in the East was there now.

There was a deep wrinkle between his brows as he took them all in.

"What the hell do you think you were doing out there?" He demanded angrily from the group, and for a few moments, no one dared to reply.

"Sir, we received an order from above," someone replied.

"You only take orders from me!" he snarled, and something shiny fell out of his pocket. It circled down the stone pavement and stopped when it hit Elene's boot.

Romero swore under his breath and was about to bend and pick it up when their eyes locked and now they both knew…

They were mates.