Death's Serenity (Sequel to Luna's Revenge)

Cold Nights

A stag ran frantically through the forest, jumping over the fallen logs and leaping over dead shrubs. All it wanted to do was to outrun the danger that chased after it.

However, at that exact moment, a large, onyx wolf jumped out from the shadows in front of the stag and the poor prey did not have an escape as the wolf latched its canines to the stag's throat, killing it in an instant as another wolf, the brown one which had been chasing the stag in the first place, slowed its pace as the stag fell and the onyx wolf stopped to meet his eyes.

"This is the biggest kill we have made in a week. We need to ration the takes."

The brown wolf heard him in his head loud and clear as the two of them proceeded to feast upon the fallen animal until they had to force themselves to stop.

♚♚♚

Valerio and Adrian had been trudging through the woodlands, marshes, and meadows, never stopping once since the day they escaped from a burning Escalara, two weeks ago.

The two of them had rushed to the tulip mansion, only to weight for hours until they realized that Ophelia was not coming back. And what was even more terrifying was what happened afterwards.

For the last two days, the two only exchanged words when they were in their wolf forms and attempting to hunt down preys. Valerio still hadn't told Adrian that they were mates and Adrian grew more and more confused about the things he felt when he was around the raven haired boy.

At the moment, Adrian sat with his back against a tree as he watched Valerio building a fire so that they could cook something to eat.

For the last one week, Valerio had been silent, obviously reeling with what had happened at Escalara and then at the tulip mansion later on.

Initially, Adrian had kept his distance and had tried to make things easy for the fallen Alpha, however, lately he had been feeling the undeniable urge to comfort the man because giving Valerio space had been a bad idea.

Mustering up courage, Adrian sat up straight, "can I help you with anything?" He asked hesitantly.

Valerio stopped in his actions as he turned his head to the side but still didn't fully face him before shaking his head, "no, I'm almost done." He answered gruffly, continuing to blow air into the light spark that erupted between the smaller twigs as he watched the smoke flickering and then, a flame.

He sat back for a moment, watching the bigger logs getting engulfed by the flames until he opened the crate which had the last few preserved bits of the stag they had killed three days ago.

"At least let me cook." Adrian suggested, "you need rest." He whispered, afraid to upset Valerio further.

Valerio froze for a moment until he turned around to face his mate with hooded, unreadable eyes. "What are you trying to do?" He asked suspiciously.

Adrian tried to ignore the way his intense gaze was making his heart flip in his chest before he gulped, "I'm worried." He answered honestly, "I'm worried about you since we started running."

Valerio felt his words tugging at his heart in a melancholic manner as he looked away before running his hands down his face. "There's nothing to be worried about." He mumbled dejectedly, "I'm perfectly okay."

At that, Adrian scoffed, "yeah, sure, as if I can't see that what happened has been killing you." He muttered.

Rage shot through Valerio's eyes as he listened to those words and Adrian instantly regretted what he said. However, just when he felt that Valerio was about to scream at him, or perhaps let out his anger, he turned around without a word and continued preparing their food.

Adrian sighed, throwing his hands in the air before he slumped his shoulders back against the tree, watching Valerio work.

Valerio knew why Adrian was so worried about him. He understood his concern. However, there was nothing left to talk about anymore. What they found at the tulip mansion can never be undone, no matter how much he wanted to change the course of things....

"She should have been here by now." Valerio mumbled, standing beside Adrian in front of the tulip fields as the night fell all around them.

It had been hours since they had arrived in this place and Ophelia still wasn't here with Jenna and neither of the men could get themselves to stop worrying.

"She must have been caught up in something, I'm sure that she will make her way here soon. Ophelia doesn't welch on promises." Adrian stated, looking towards Valerio with nothing but concern shining in his eyes.

Valerio did not reply but he could feel Adrian checking up on him from time to time.

Adrian had been in his room, about to make his way to find Ophelia when Valerio had found him and told him that their city was being ransacked. And after a lot of reassurances that Ophelia would be safe soon enough, Valerio had finally gotten him to leave the city with him.

The two had shifted into their wolf forms, Valerio had helped Adrian shift and then, they had raced all the way here, only to realize that Aleksander wasn't on the premises.

Valerio assumed that his father must have gone for some errands but it had been hours and there wasn't a sign of Aleksander or Ophelia, for that matter.

"What if something happened to her?" Valerio whispered, his eyes filled with fear and worry as he looked at Adrian.

Adrian understood what he felt. Ophelia was his friend for only a few months and he was so protective over her, and for Valerio, Ophelia had been a part of his life since they were children. He couldn't even imagine what Valerio was going through.

However, seeing him in that state, he couldn't help but feel the deep urge to comfort him.

He hesitantly took a step towards the king of wolves as he placed his hand on his shoulder.

Valerio turned to look at him in susprise and found Adrian give him a small smile.

"She'll be okay." He whispered, "we both know how resilient she is. She would come back and she wouldn't want you to worry yourself so much."

He gently squeezed Valerio's shoulder making the man's heart race in his chest, almost feeling the urge to reveal the true nature of the bond between them.

He couldn't resist the urge to hold Adrian any longer. He wanted him to know what they truly were.

He wanted the entire world to know.

And so, he took in a deep breath, "Adrian, there's something that you need to know..." He stated, turning to stand right in front of him.

Adrian dropped his hand from his shoulder and nodded his head, "tell me." He stated before raising his finger, "no, hold on, you need to sit down for a moment and I'll bring you some water because you look like your stress is going to burst all the veins in your forehead."

And then he dragged Valerio all the way to the porch swing and sat him down. "But—" Valerio tried to speak but Adrian was already rushing inside. "The kitchen is in the left side hall!" Valerio yelled from after him, once he didn't stop.

"I'll find it!"

Valerio almost chuckled, shaking his head at Adrian's antics. He didn't know the last time he had ever felt so deeply about someone. For him, everything that Adrian did or said was important and remarkable. He was utterly taken by the man with chocolate brown eyes and it was only a matter of a few more moments before he would reveal this to Adrian too.

In the midst of all these events, he wanted Adrian to know that he would never be left alone.

Never again.

However, right at that moment, Valerio heard Adrian returning and he looked up with a huge grin on his face but when he saw Adrian looking at him with a horrified expression, his happiness was warped once again.

"What's wrong?" He asked standing up, checking to see if there were any visible injuries on his mate.

Adrian breathed deeply, as if he had ran all the way back, "there is a dead man behind the kitchen counter."

The dead man had been Aleksander, killed in cold blood by a bullet in his brain, shot just a few moments before the two had arrived at the tulip mansion.

After finding his father's body, Valerio had crumbled onto the ground, his soul shattering at the sight as his tears sprung free and Adrian tried to comfort him but nothing worked.

And within a few moments, they heard explosions happening near them and they realized that their lives had been in danger by whoever killed Aleksander.

That was when the two mates had felt the greatest urge to protect each other as they escaped death by shifting into their wolves and beginning to run away, without turning back.

And now, Adrian watched as Valerio ate his food only for the sake of keeping himself strong, just in case he needed to fight.

They hadn't spoken about what they saw and had only worked together to survive in foreign wildernesses.

"We will have to put out the fire." Valerio stated, once they got finished with their food and Adrian nodded his head as he picked up a small canister filled with water and chucked it at the fire in front of them, succumbing their surroundings into darkness.

"Sleep." Valerio demanded from him, "I'll take the first watch."

Adrian wanted to protest, he wanted to remind him that he needed rest more, but he didn't know how to say those things without making it seem like he was commanding him.

And so, he sighed and nodded his head before laying down on the cot that they had stolen from the tulip mansion before leaving, along with a few other necessary things to survive.

The night was exceptionally cold as Adrian curled into himself and closed his eyes, bringing his knees to his chest.

Sleep didn't come easy to him, but he could feel someone placing a warm piece of clothing over his body and once his shivering stopped, he could finally sleep peacefully.

Valerio sat beside where he slept, watching his face look so peaceful under the mellow light from the moon as he rubbed his arms to keep himself warm.

The thin linen shirt he wore did nothing to keep the cold at bay, especially considering that he had placed his coat over Adrian's body to keep him warm.

In the sounds of the night and insects, he allowed his mind to wander over the possibility of what might have happened if Adrian had given him the chance to reveal the truth about their bond.

He thought about where Ophelia was and who killed his father and what enemy had attacked Escalara.

He knew that if he had been alone, he would have gone back to look for his best friend and to save his city. However, he didn't want to put Adrian in harm's way because the thought of anything happening to the boy sleeping beside him, caused his heart to c***k.

He didn't know when, but his body succumbed to sleep. His exhaustion was finally taking over as he involuntarily allowed his eyes to rest for a moment.

It was after a few hours that Adrian woke up to the sound of someone's ragged breathing as he looked up and saw Valerio curled up against the tree trunk, shivering in the cold.

His eyes widened as he realized that Valerio's coat was on him and he instantly got up and put the fabric around Valerio's shivering body.

The night was exceptionally cold and Adrian watched with impatience and let out a defeated breath when he realized that Valerio was not getting warm.

And then, he shook his head and instantly lied down behind Valerio, wrapping his arm around his torso and entwining their legs together as he held the young Alpha in his arms while he shivered and hoped that his body heat would be enough to keep him warm.

Once he didn't feel another chill passing through Valerio's body, he closed his eyes again, pulling the raven-haired boy closer to his chest as both of them slept, wound in each other's arms.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello, my lovelies!! How are you all today? I hope that you are enjoying this book and if you loved Luna's Revenge then please go and vote on it so that it can be promoted in the Stary 3rd Anniversary. Thanks a ton!!

I love you all.

Don't forget to comment your views.

With Love, Devu.