His Lost Moon

Chapter 3 - Never expected

Accalia POV

"Accalia, are you coming?" Nova's voice came from a distance, startling me.

"Yeah, I am coming!" I yelled back, pulling my legs out of the water and picking up the bunny that I had caught. "I'll be right there." My gaze fell upon some sort of cave when I turned around, and I became distracted by my new find.

I went closer and hovered at the entrance of a cave. I wondered where it would go and if it would be safe to live inside.

Should I share my discovery with Nova?

After all, it was only me and her; the rest of our group had died, been captured, or found their mates.

An uncontrollable shiver ran down my spine, thinking of the word mate.

I didn't want one. That would go against everything I was standing for at the moment. Having a mate would only set me back and slow me down; he would get in my way and influence my cause.

I don't need any distractions now... I was so close to finding him... I could smell it in the air and feel it nipping at my cold bones.

"Accalia?" Nova called again. "What is taking so long? Are you alright?"

I sighed.

"Coming," I answered. I will have to come back and explore it later tonight.

I was more interested in knowing what secrets the cave might keep than returning to our small camp. The cave might give us much-needed sanctuary against the upcoming winter.

I sighed.

I could always go home.

My father might be happy to see me. I shook my head to clear that thought from my mind—going rogue was the only way I was capable of finding Dustin.

My heart suddenly pinches in my chest, thinking of my two younger brothers, Gavin and Gerald, back home.

They must be lonely and worried.

I come from a very high-status and peaceful pack, the Blue Moon Pack, allocated in the north and bordered next to the Royal Pack.

I was from a strong Alpha bloodline—fighters who would give their lives to defend the Royal Pack and its own.

My father, Alpha Greg, was part of the Royal Council, and he was the head of the Royal Warriors.

I have been trained from a very young age to defend myself and my pack, and we were seen as one of the strongest packs in existence.

I was liked and loved once before, treated like a princess, and everyone adored me.

All that changed the day Dean died, and I gave up pack life.

It was hard enough that my mother was taken from me during a rogue attack days after my youngest brother was born, protecting him. Now my twin was ripped from this world as well, and ironically, both perpetrators had gone unpunished.

I knew what I needed to do.

I needed to avenge my brother's death...

I need to find and make him suffer the way he made me, my family, and my pack suffer the loss of their future Alpha...

I knew my father would feel broken, losing his daughter soon after his eldest son's death, but I knew he would understand when I returned. I will make him understand with proof.

Being a rogue was hard, but it did have its perks.

It gave me the freedom to do whatever I wanted, take whatever I wanted, and, well, kill whoever I wanted.

But it had its disadvantages as well.

We never knew where our next meal would come from or where we would sleep. That excludes the dangers that come from outside the safety of a pack.

In a pack, everyone works as a team, fighting as one man to protect the pack. Being a rogue, it was everyone for himself...

"Calia..?" Nova called again, her worried voice sounding closer than before.

"I am coming!" I yelled, and I sped up my pace.

I turned around and headed back, finding Nova pushing through a thick bush.

"What's keeping you? I'm getting nervous being so open," she said, shivering.

I lifted my hand, holding the bunny, showing her we wouldn't sleep hungry tonight.

"I found food," I said, smiling at her.

We started to walk towards our small camp.

We didn't have much, but it was enough to keep us warm and dry.

The cave might give us a better sanctuary if it was safe.

"It is starting to get colder by the day," Nova said, starting the fire.

Winter was approaching, and what we had left wouldn't be enough to survive throughout the winter. It has become harder and harder to scavenge food and day-to-day things.

Our clothes were ripped and thin, and our blankets looked like old rags with holes in them.

A breath escaped my lips as I recalled the days when my tummy was full and my body was warm.

I might be able to go back home, and my father would accept me with open arms, but it wouldn't bring my brother back, and it wouldn't solve the ache in my chest.

My brother, my twin... I couldn't explain how much I miss him.

My heart pinched thinking of him, but I didn't show my sadness. Instead, I let my mind wander down memory lane, and a small smile followed on the corner of my lips.

Dean was my hero, my savior, and my confidante... I miss him dearly, and the aching emptiness inside me is growing bigger and bigger each day.

"Are you done removing the fur from the bunny?" Nova asked, and I turned my gaze to her. Her medium brown hair was dirty and was hanging in strings around her face. Even though she needed a bath urgently, her crystal-clear blue eyes looked like a frozen iceberg. She was beautiful, even though she was thin and malnourished.

I guess we both look like that—just a bag of bones covered in a layer of skin.

I started to pull the skin from the bunny.

The bunny's fur was warm and soft under my hands, and it reminded me of the days when my long blond hair felt that soft. Now my hair is dirty and covered in grass and debris. I hadn't taken a proper bath in so long.

"Here you go," I handed the bunny to her, impelled with a stick to roast over the fire.

"Thanks," she said, placing the stick over the fire, excitement visible on her dirty face. She was happy to have had a decent meal tonight.

"Calia?"

"Mmm?" I answered, lost in thought.

"Do you think we will find some decent shelter soon?" Nova asked.

I lifted my head and looked at the girl. She looked worried.

"I mean, I don't think I could sleep like this much longer," she said, rubbing her arms. "Kia can't keep our body heated up long enough... I might freeze to death soon."

We had been sleeping in our wolf form to fend against the cold, and it was only autumn. She was right; even Lidia couldn't keep me warm enough at night.

"We'll start searching for a warmer place first thing tomorrow morning," I promised.

I waited until Nova fell asleep before I got myself ready to leave.

I quickly checked to ensure that Nova was warm and comfortable and pulled the blanket over her, then added some logs to the campfire.

She should be warm and safe until my return.

I made sure to listen to our surroundings for the last couple of hours, ensuring I couldn't hear any threats; otherwise, I wouldn't have taken my leave and I would have stayed.

I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper out of my old ragged bag and scribbled a quick note stating that I couldn't sleep and went out hunting. I knew she wouldn't be worried, should she wake up. It was a constant thing I did, hunting at night.

I gave her a quick last glance, making sure she was warm enough, and took off toward the river.

I saw Nova as a sister I never had. Growing up with only boys around me never gave me the ability to have female conversations before. I lost out dearly on that part when my mother suddenly died.

I sighed, knowing that Beta Julia tried her best to stand in as a substitute mother, but we never became as close as I was with my mom. I just couldn’t have a very deep conversation with her about boys and girlie stuff. She did teach me to be a great Luna, though. Everything I knew about how to run a pack, she taught me. I was only five years old when she took me under her wing.

My mind raced towards Nova. She has always been a shy but warm person. She has been there for me in more ways than any person in my life has ever been.

Nova never told me the reason why she was a rogue, and I never cared to ask. I guess she felt the same when I never shared why I went rogue.

We both just accepted the fact that we had a past and didn't want to talk about it.

We met around a year and a half ago at the borders of the Gray Claw Pack. Well, I found her in critical condition.

The group I ran with was about to scavenge the pack for food when my attention was drawn to whimpering just a few meters from where we stood and about to cross the border.

For some unknown reason, I couldn’t ignore the cry, and I took a look, finding her curled up, shaking violently, and crying.

It took me weeks to get her to say a word, believing that she wasn't capable of it.

The only scar that was left from the events, and still noticeable from that time, was that Nova is a bit jumpy around ranked wolves, yet as shy as she was, she didn't let anyone walk all over her.

I came to a stop at the edge of the cliff and overlooked the navy-colored landscape that stretched before me.

The mountains here stretched high and far, and the moon was now at its peak, lighting up the sky.

The view was spectacular, and I couldn't help but appreciate it.

For some reason unknown, these mountains gave me a feeling of uneasiness, and my stomach pulled in a knot and a shiver ran down my back.

I wasn't scared, just worried.

Something around here was unholy, and I shivered, knowing that I didn't know what it was.

Something here was dangerous, and I couldn't protect myself against something I couldn't see or smell.

Something here was lying deep below, and the mountains were keeping it prisoner in its ice-cold stone claws.

I could feel it move below me, and I could sense it like a breath of wind around me.

I haven't trained properly for some time, and physically, I have lost a lot of muscle and strength.

I am a lot weaker than I used to be, but that will change as soon as I can find a decent place to live and be able to do proper training.

I hope that the cave will provide us with the freedom to do so.

I needed to get myself fit and strong again, not only to defend myself against attacks; I needed to get strong enough to take revenge.

Revenge was still my main reason for leaving my pack, and I will succeed and avenge my twin's death.

My eyes caught the glow of the full moon, and a smile appeared on my lips. The moon looked so proud and happy tonight in the dark sky.

Nights like these always gave me a sense of safety and love from Mother Moon. Her moon's rays were sending soft kisses and hugs to remind me that I was once loved.

The walk down to the river didn't take me that long. I knew where I was going, and the rumbling of water was soon heard.

When I reached the river, I stopped, searching for the log I crossed earlier today to go to the other side.

I didn't want to get all wet in the middle of the night; the autumn breeze was chilly and cold.

A smile reached my lips when I spotted the log from earlier and made my way toward it.

I didn't hesitate when I reached it, and I walked over it with ease.

When I felt the coldness and dampness of the sand underneath my feet as I stepped off the log, excitement started to rise in me.

I took a quick whiff of my surroundings, searching for anything out of the ordinary. I didn’t want anyone to see or find me. It would jeopardize our safety if we decided to stay here.

When I couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary, I turned around and made my way toward the cave.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as excitement started to build up in me again.

I didn't hover and started to remove the overgrowth and debris as quickly as I could from the cave's entrance.

I was surprised to find that the size of the cave's entrance wasn't as big as I had hoped.

Outside, the mouth of the entrance was wide, but as I went deeper into the cave, it became narrower and narrower until I found a small entrance that seemed like a hole in the wall. It was covered by all sorts of symbols and scripting around it.

I unconsciously dragged my hands over the writings, removing the sand that invaded the letter's space and unintentionally measuring the opening to see if I would be able to fit.

I could see and feel the letters underneath my fingers, but I had no clue what they meant.

"It doesn't look like a warning..." I whispered out loud before I let out a breath of frustration, knowing that I would have to get on my knees and crawl the rest of the way to see where it would end.

Getting dirty wasn't on my to-do list for tonight and would raise questions when I returned to camp, but at least I could make up a story...

The problem was that I wasn't too fond of dark and narrow places.

"Lidia," I called my wolf, who was quietly sitting and observing my every move.

I was hoping that she would be able to do the crawling part.

"Would you be able to fit in?" I asked.

"I don't think so," she said, rolling her eyes at me. She did not enjoy getting dirty and dusting her fur.

I weighed my options but soon gave in, knowing that my curiosity had won this round.

"Fine," I sighed, got onto my knees, and started crawling into the hole.

What I saw next, I never expected to find...

****