I Thought She's My Luna

CHAPTER 4

Jessica

It was freezing, and my body felt heavy. Opening my eyes was impossible to do too. I tried hard to lift my eyelids, but their weight was like rocks.

"Try harder, Jessica. Try harder," a distant voice said.

Struggling, I managed to open my eyes and was able to see a slit of light, an orange glow, to be exact. It was coming from one place. The light was moving up and down but remained at the same distance.

I closed my eyes again, and when I tried to open them again, they opened up widely, and I got a clear vision of what was in front of me—a fireplace.

My eyes wandered around the shelter I was in. The structure looked like a brick cottage with a small dining table on the side and a withered door on the other.

Where am I?

Suddenly, I swung my feet down the cold floor as the horrid scene played in my head.

I tried to stand up, but my legs couldn't carry me.

"s**t!" I grunted as I plummeted back to the couch. The sound created by the impact of my body on the couch was followed by heavy footsteps.

Catching my attention, my head pivoted toward the origin of the sound.

"You're awake." Claudia came out from an opening near the dining area carrying a small basin.

She sat beside me. "How are you feeling?"

"Where am I? Where's Mom and Dad? Where's Rachel?" I inquired.

"You're in my house," she replied.

Mom said they would meet me at Claudia's house, but why are they not here yet?

"I must go back, Claudia. I need to help my pack." I pushed myself up, but my lower extremities kept failing me.

"What the hell is wrong with these..." I clenched my fist and hammered my legs, "...fucking legs!" I fumed.

"Forgive me, Jessica. I had to give you something to stop you from running away," she sincerely apologized.

"But my parents and my pack. They... they need me," I stammered as tears threatened to fall.

"Jessica..."

"Please, Claudia," I cut her off, looking straight into her eyes. "Please, give me something that will make this weakness go away. Let me help them," I pleaded.

Claudia turned her head away and took a deep breath. Then she looked at me again.

"I promised your mom to keep you safe... I will go," she volunteered, but that's not enough for me. Nothing could appease my disturbed heart unless I'd go there myself and fight alongside my pack.

"I can handle myself. I'm trained to lead a pack. I'm an ALPHA," I emphasized.

"And I promised to protect my pack until my last breath," I continued.

"I'm sorry, Jessica, but what I'm doing right now is for your own good."

"My own good?" My heart started pounding harshly against my chest. "My own good?!" I repeated and pointed at the door. "My parents and my people are out there, fighting that maniacal alpha and his minions, and here I am sitting in this f*****g house for my own good?! To save my own alpha ass?!" I couldn't control the words coming out of my mouth. I've never been this angry in my life. I felt useless, incompetent, and most of all, unworthy.

Worse, I was starting to hate Mom for overprotecting me. What she did was a cowardly move. She made me look like a coward!

Claudia stood up. "I'm going back to the pack house, and I'm going to bring your parents," she said, striding toward the door.

"Wait!"

Claudia continued opening the door. "I'll be back," she uttered and slammed the door behind her.

"Damn it!" I growled.

Since my legs weren't strong enough to carry me, I decided to drag my body using my upper body strength.

"How could you do this to me, Mom? This is not fair!" I whinged as I continued to crawl like a worm on the floor going to the door.

Luckily, the house wasn't big, so I immediately reached the door.

I reached for the knob and pulled myself up to my knees. I had to cling to the doorknob to keep my balance, and once I turned it open, I rolled to the side to give the door space to open wider.

A cool breeze entered the house, making my body shiver.

I looked down at myself. My once beautiful dress was torn, soiled with mud, and not enough to keep me warm on this cold night.

I need my wolf!

"Pretty wolf?" I tried reaching out to her again.

"Where are you, pretty wolf?" I asked again, but there was no response.

What happened to her? Did I shut her down completely? Impossible!

"I'm on my own," I told myself while returning to the ground on my tummy.

I saw nothing but trees when I scanned the surroundings with my eyes.

Where the hell am I?

Without knowing exactly where to go, I began dragging myself again.

Following my instinct, I kept going and going even though the rough ground was grazing my skin.

Nothing could stop me from fulfilling my duty.

Finally, I reached a clearing. I looked to my left, then to my right.

I noticed dark clouds covering one area on the eastern side. That must be our pack house.

Determined, I carried on with my journey in the same direction where the smoke was coming from.

However, the stinging pain in my arms and legs was becoming bothersome, forcing me to crawl to the nearest tree I could find to rest.

The moment my back touched the tree trunk, exhaustion shrouded me.

I raised my arms to check on my wounds. My fair skin was smeared with a red hue, and I smelled like metal.

My hands dropped on my side. I couldn't find more strength to continue.

"Dad... Mom..." I sobbed helplessly under the refuge of the tree as I stared at the smoke tainting the beautiful night sky.

I looked up at the sky right in front of me. The moon was shining bright. It seemed like the moon goddess was keeping me company.

My body was tired. The only thing I could do was to weep over my parents and pack. I had no idea what happened to them, especially after that explosion.

"Please keep them safe," I told the moon, hoping the moon goddess was listening.

The night became more depressing as it reached its depth, and the feeling of loneliness overpowered my emotions.

I closed my eyes to totally embrace the sadness devouring me. I kept them close until I heard a distant sound, which gave me hope.

Footsteps!

My eyes snapped open, and I took a lungful of breath to catch any familiar scent.

"I can't catch anything!" Panic engulfed me when the image of Collin flashed in my head.

I better get out of here!

The adrenaline rush must have given me enough power to crawl again, but with the speed of a turtle, I would definitely get caught.

Instead of going back to Claudia's house, I pulled myself into the bushes.

"Almost there," I murmured, a few feet from my hiding place.

"Here we go," I gave all the strength left in me for that final pull to enter the bushes, but a weight on my back stopped me.

I felt sweat trace a line on the side of my face, and before I could turn around to check who was on my back, a hand covered my mouth. The weight pressing on my body became heavier as the person leaned closer and whispered,

"Shh... Don't move, or else you'll die."