CHAINS OF MOONFIRE
1057 Words
AURORAS POV
When the light faded, I was no longer on two feet, and a low growl vibrated from my chest as I lifted my head. The world looked sharper, clearer. The scents of blood, smoke, and dust were more vivid and pronounced, almost overwhelming.
I looked down at my paws. White as snow. Glowing faintly under the crescent moonlight.
Gasps filled the air and my gaze followed, settling on Colt, his expression was unreadable, giving off nothing.
The world spun again as another wolf charged from the side and before I could think, I lunged, my beast’s senses had taken over.
I tore through him, claws slashing, fangs ripping into fur and flesh. The scent of blood filled my nose. I heard Colt calling out something but it was faint, I couldn't hear, I was completely drowned by the primal urge to protect, to destroy, to survive.
Two more wolves came. I met them head-on, a faint glow sparking from my fur as I fought. The air crackled with blood and dust; each movement I took felt both foreign and familiar, as if my body knew exactly how to move.
Between the chaos, one of the lycans had struck Colt down, and something inside me snapped again.
I roared, no, howled, and the ground trembled as I darted to Colt’s side, snarling and attacking anyone who dared move closer when suddenly, something caught me off guard.
A sudden blur of motion, an arrow made of silver struck the ground, missing barely by an inch beside me, and another one was shot right after, this time, piercing through my flesh with a deep dig.
I snarled at the shockwave of pain that knocked me off balance. My ears rang, my vision blurred. Pain rippled through my body but along with it, came a sting, something sharper than an arrow, it felt worse.
Poison, the arrow must've been laced with poison, and oh great heavens it hurt so bad.
"Aurora!!" I heard Colt scream
I staggered to my feet, but my limbs trembled, another arrow hit, sending tides of pain through me, i hit the ground hard, and didn’t move.
“Retreat.... retreat!!"
The sound of the other witches echoed as more wolves appeared, ready to attack.
Colt, successfully warding off the wolf in front of him, ran to me and grabbed me, or rather, he tried to. His hands met fur instead of skin, his eyes wide with horror at the blood stains.
“Aurora, listen to me. You have to get u...."
An explosion tore through the night, a spell cast from none other than Leo who was now openly attacking the witches—a betrayal no one had expected.
“We have to go! Now!”
One of the witches shouted from behind but Colt hesitated, torn between their orders and me.
A spell circle was already being formed by the witch, a teleportation portal swirling open like a pool of light.
“I’m not leaving her!” Colt yelled but hands were quick to grab him, dragging him backward.
"She isn't one of us!"
They seethed. I could see my father being dragged as they chanted, opening the portal faster as more wolves neared.
“Let go of me .... Aurora!!” Colt’s voice broke as he struggled against them but they held him tight.
I tried to push myself up, an attempt to reach him, but silver chains whipped out from the dark, wrapping around my legs and neck. My body hit the dirt hard, pain ripping through my body. The silver burned into my skin, its poison seeping through.
Colt’s eyes locked with mine, desperate and raw.
“I’ll be back for you!” he swore, voice shaking desperately. “Do you hear me? I’ll come back!”
And then, he was gone, together with the rest. The portal closed with a flash of white.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
I tried to move again, but the silver ate into me, forcing a pained whimper from my throat. My vision dimmed, the surroundings fading off into nothingness as I fell unconscious.
×××. . .
LUCIAN'S POV
"No Lucian, you need rest ..""
I heard Kai's agitating voice grating against my skull like a blade dragging across stone.
I could hear the concern in his tone, but it only made me angrier. His hands pressed against my shoulder, trying to ease me back onto the bed, but I shrugged him off with a low growl.
“Lucian....” he called again, his words fading under the weight of my glare.
"You're still unstable, you need to heal, you can't j....."
"Get out of my way Kai"
The words tore out of me, sharper than claws. My patience, what little I had, was gone. Rage appeared to be my constant companion these days, waiting for the smallest reason to strike.
Kai’s lips parted, as though to argue again, but one look at my face told him better not to.
I rose from the bed, the soft sheets sliding down my bare torso. My skin was marked with fresh scars, lines that hadn’t yet healed from the last rampage from my curse.
My entire body ached, but pain was something I’d long since learned to live with.
The air in the room was thick with the scent of herbs and medicine, Rigor’s healing ointments still clung to the space, the scent sharp and annoying.
Kai stood in front of me, his shoulders tense.
“Lucian, you’re not well yet. If you push yourself again so soon, it’ll....”
“Tell me again,..." I cut him off, my tone low and dangerous.
“...everything that happened, from the beginning.”
At my order, he hesitated, clearly debating whether it was wise to fuel my fury, but he must’ve realized I wouldn’t permit him to stay quiet, his jaw tightened, and he spoke.
“There was an attack last night. A group of witches made it past the outer border.”
His eyes darted to mine, warily as he continued.
"They reached the main entrance of the packhouse before our guards intercepted them.”
I exhaled slowly, the weight of his words sinking into me like poison.
Witches, the mere thought of them sent my blood boiling.
“How?” I asked coldly.
- Writer
