Moonlit Waters: His Mermaid Luna

Chapter 9: A Storm

WEEKS LATER

CALISTA

I paced up and down, my paws echoing throughout the room, causing my mother and sister to exchange worried glances before my mother spoke, her voice gentle but firm.

“Calista, please sit down. You are making things worse by standing by the door like that." But I couldn’t sit down. My anxiety wouldn’t let me. My father had been with the search team every day for the past three days, and I had been waiting for him by the door every day since he started.

He wouldn’t answer his mind-link anymore, and this frustrated me to no end. I wanted to be updated every second of every hour.

It had been over a month since the search began, and there had been no results. Last week, divers began their search, assuming the plane had drowned, but they found no wreckage.

“Why won’t he let me get through to him?” Even though I knew the answer, I asked, turning to my mother. My father had stopped responding to my links because I kept asking all day and wouldn't stop.

But I couldn’t help myself. I had prayed and begged the gods, as well as worshiped in the sacred temple, and I had run out of options. Who knew who my family would give my hand to next?

Lykos’s mother and sister came two weeks ago and they were also a mess. They talked about his cousins, who, according to rumors, had heard about Lykos’s disappearance and were coming for the pack.

The tension and worry were almost overwhelming, and I blamed myself and my family for not checking to see if the storm would return, despite knowing how severe it got in these parts.

The storm that hit Lykos and his pack members on their way here did not reach us, so we did not think it was that bad or that it would return. However, I felt we should have warned them.

My mother approached and wrapped her arms around me, drawing me into a tight hug. But the sound of footsteps approaching jolted us from our embrace. My mother, who had bent down to hug me, stood up as I dashed to the door.

Just as I arrived, it opened and my father walked in. “What happened? Did you find them?” I asked, standing in front of him, my heart pounding in my chest as I prayed for a miracle. But he knelt at my level with a solemn expression in his eyes, and I felt myself tremble as my mother and sister stood beside me, their faces etched with worry.

"We found their wreckage at the bottom of the sea," he said, and my heart raced with terror, a lump forming in my throat. "I am sorry, sweetheart, but with this revelation, it has been concluded that they drowned, and the search has been called off," he continued, his voice heavy with sadness, and a sob tore through my throat, spilling out in a painful whine since I was in my wolf form, and my father pulled me into a tight hug, his own pain clear in his embrace.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Lykos is gone.”

AUTHOR’S POV

Scavenger birds flocked around Lykos' wolf form, their beady eyes filled with both curiosity and hunger. They had been watching and waiting, but their wait was over. They could not wait any longer, so they began stalking him.

He had been lying in the same spot for weeks, his once-majestic body now a pitiful, emaciated form, barely recognizable as the strong wolf he once was. In a delirious state, Lykos drifted in and out of consciousness, his mind a jumble of fevered dreams and harsh reality.

Something inside him snapped after he discovered Argon, Felix, and the elders' bodies. He ran around the island like a mad wolf, desperately looking for a way home—a way to civilization—somewhere free of endless water and sand.

However, every path he took and every cliff he climbed took him back to the same spot. It was as if the island was cursed, a cruel trap with no way out.

Regardless of how far or fast he ran, he always returned to where he started, and the realization that he was truly trapped here drove him to despair.

When he realized there was no way out, he returned to where Argon and the rest of his family lay. In a final, desperate act, he jumped off the cliff, hoping that the fall would end his suffering. But it didn’t.

He survived the fall, and now he lay next to his packmates' bones, which had been picked clean by the scavengers.

The tall grass around him had grown wild and thick, completely covering his prone form. The weather had changed several times over the previous weeks, leaving its imprint on his deteriorating body.

His fur, once black and shiny, had become dull and matted, caked with mud and dirt. His once-strong legs were thin and weak, barely capable of supporting him. His eyes, once filled with determination and strength, were now hollow and lifeless.

He drifted in and out of consciousness, convinced that this was it, that he would die and join his packmates in whatever afterlife awaited them. But each time he came to, he found himself still alive, his suffering prolonged by some cruel twist of fate.

The scavenger birds, growing impatient, inched closer and closer, their calls filling the air with an unsettling chorus.

The temperature dropped at night, causing him to shiver uncontrollably, his thin fur providing little protection from the cold. The weather seemed to mock him, shifting from one extreme to the next, never allowing him to rest, even as the gods denied his request.

His surroundings were horrible. The bones of his fallen packmates lay scattered around him, and the air was thick with decay; the once-fresh scents of the forest and sea had become tainted by death and rot.

The scavengers, unable to wait any longer, began to feast on Lykos' battered flesh. Their claws and teeth dug into his body, sending jolts of pain through his core. His eyes snapped open, the agony forcing him back into a cruel reality.

However, he was too frail to stand and too broken to fight. He closed his eyes again, hoping to succumb to the numbness of oblivion. However, the pain would not let him play dead.

His eyes opened again, meeting the sight of his tormentors attempting more bites, and silent tears, stubborn and relentless, escaped his eyes, tracing paths down his gaunt cheeks.

His eyes fluttered shut once more, but then he heard it: a voice. This time, when he opened his eyes, he saw Felix. Felix, in his human form, was sitting on a boulder not far away, sharpening a stick with a rock.

“What are you doing?” Felix asked, his tone playful and familiar, but even in his delirious state, Lykos knew Felix was dead. So his eyes fluttered shut again, but then he felt something—a hand running through his fur—and his eyes opened involuntarily, gazing into Felix's hazel eyes.

“Wake up,” Felix whispered, a sadness now in his eyes and Lykos attempted to connect with him through mind link, to beg him to please just end his suffering and take him, but he couldn’t get through and just as his eyes fluttered close once more, a bolt of lightning struck right in front of him, sending his eyes wide open again.

The scavengers scattered, startled by the sudden sound of thunder. Suddenly, the sun disappeared, covered by dark clouds, and the heavens cracked open. Rain pelted down, carrying hailstones that smashed into Lykos's battered form like newly spawned demons from hell's depths.

The scavengers fled for cover, their hopes and dreams of feasting on the injured wolf dashed. However, stubbornness prevailed, and he lay there in a final act of defiance, ignoring the massive hailstones.

Perhaps the hailstones were a summon to the great hall since he had been ready to go with Argon and the elders, but the scavengers had obviously failed.

However, it quickly became clear that he could not answer that call because, despite having given up and accepted death, he found himself raising his head for the first time since collapsing there, unable to withstand the relentless assault that threatened to crack his skull open.

The rain seemed to intensify, pounding harder against him, and blood began to trickle down his head, jolting him out of his suicide haze. Before he knew it, he was on all fours, attempting to follow the scavengers and seek refuge, but his legs were weak, and he kept falling, each attempt more painful than the previous.

It took him a while, but he finally made it under some trees, leaving the grass crimson where he lay. He had used up all of his strength by the time he reached the large trees for shelter. He collapsed, unable to move further, and the sound of falling rain, combined with the harsh patter of hailstones, lulled him into unconsciousness.

OCEANA

There was a knock on my door, and I looked up to find my mother standing there with a gentle smile. “Hey, I’m going to the market. Do you want to come?” She asked, smiling, and I sighed and reminded her, "I am not allowed to leave the house, remember?"

She sat down beside me, taking my hand in hers as she reassured me by squeezing it. It had been more than a month since I had been confined to my home while the guards searched for the dogs and humans.

My mother explained that the guards had finished their search. After scouring the whole island, they came up empty-handed. I was perplexed by this since I knew the dog had survived. But then something clicked in my brain, implying that maybe the dog died from the poisoning later and that maybe the sea had taken him away, and my heart began to tense with compassion for the poor animal.

"Your father and the guards think that the humans may have been eaten by sharks after they drowned on the other side of the barrier. They didn’t search that area,” she said. "Your father led the guards to the barrier, and they threw the wreckage on the other side so that any remaining humans would believe their fellow humans had drowned and leave the sea before crossing the magical boundary."

"So there is no longer a threat, and you can leave the house. Your father still doesn't want you going to the surface, but you're no longer grounded," she added, her smile widening, and I nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. “I’d love to go with you to the market,” I said. I was dying to get out.

I did not waste any time, and we headed out. During my time grounded, I did a lot of thinking and realized that my parents were only trying to protect me, so I stopped being upset with them.

Yes, I felt sorry for the dogs, but my parents knew better, as Nerissa reminded me. It had only been a week since she had left, but I already missed her. I’d see her again in six months when she returned for my wedding, and it was going to be the longest six months of my life.

The kingdom she was married into was right next to Dorian's kingdom, so once I moved, we would see each other all the time, which was the one thing I was most excited about.

The sight of bustling stalls and merchants going about their business jolted me out of my reverie as my mother and I arrived at the market, and the scenery filled me with excitement. The vibrant colors and sounds were a welcome change after spending so much time at home.

My mother and I browsed the various stalls, each offering something unique, and tried various types of seaweed wraps, their flavors bursting in my mouth. There were also stalls selling beautiful shells and coral jewelry, which sparkled in the filtered sunlight that shone through the water.

We stopped next to beautiful flowing fabrics, and my mother held up a piece of iridescent cloth, draping it over me with a proud smile. "This would look beautiful on you," she said, and I could not help but agree. I wanted the most beautiful dresses for when I had legs.

We continued through the market, purchasing fresh seafood and exotic fruits. The vendors greeted us warmly and gave us a few of the items as gifts. Everyone adored my mother and always showered her with gifts.

We eventually got what we wanted, and it was time to go home. I felt a sense of contentment. The market trip had been exactly what I needed to lift my spirits; it left me feeling incredibly refreshed, and I decided to put the incident with the dogs behind me.

“What do you feel like for dinner?” Mother asked, taking my hand in hers, and I leaned my head against her shoulder as our house came into view. But, just as I opened my mouth to respond, an abrupt darkness descended around us, causing us to pause and look up in confusion.

It was as if something had obscured the sun, making the waters dark, and we exchanged concerned looks as we saw my father emerge from our house, along with other merpeople who had noticed the strange phenomenon.

"What is going on?" my mother asked, her voice tinged with worry, and my father responded gravely, "It is a storm."

A storm? We had never seen a storm since the boundary separated us from the outside world. As the realization set in, gasps of fear echoed throughout the crowd, and then our eyes widened as what appeared to be fiery blades cut through the water, illuminating the darkness with an eerie light.

Panic surged through me as my father ordered the guards to sound the siren, panic in his voice, before directing the women and children inside.

The piercing sound cut through the water, signaling danger. The women and children scattered, fleeing to their homes, while my father ordered the guards to bring their armor and head to the surface.

“What is happening?” My voice trembled as I turned to face my father, and his next words sent a shiver down my spine.

“The boundary has fallen.”