DANCE IN THE MOONLIGHT

Rock Bottom

Valeria woke up in the c***k of dawn, even before the sun had risen, irritated by the insistent ringing of the bell and the knocking at the door. In her grogginess, in a house where the electricity hadn't been restored yet, she barely managed to light the gas lamp. When she reached the door quickly, she didn't expect to see Elara.

"Elara? What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Valeria was stunned.

"I came for you to transform me." Elara was looking at Valeria with absolute determination.

"What are you talking about?" Valeria was still in shock.

Elara hurried inside. Seeing Lucian enter the living room with a confused and sleepy look, she didn't bother hiding her smile as she turned to her friend.

"I thought you were coming to visit your mother."

"I am!"

Once Valeria lit the other gas lamps and brightened the room, she immediately settled into one of the armchairs. As Elara threw herself onto the sofa, Lucian was still looking at them sleepily.

"Does he have the ability to sleep while standing up?" Elara looked at Lucian's face mockingly.

Valeria rolled her eyes. "Lucian, please go wash your face."

"Do wolves have things like that too? I thought they didn't really sleep," Elara spoke with great interest.

"The ones who don't sleep are vampires. They aren't human, but I am both human and wolf." Lucian didn't forget to speak as he walked away.

"Why are you here, Elara? Why aren't you at school?"

"I'm going to France. But I wanted to try my luck with you before I go."

"Where did this France thing come from? What luck, what is happening? Elara, will you explain properly?"

After checking if Lucian was around, Elara sat in the armchair next to Valeria.

"I made an offer to Fenrik." Seeing Valeria's curious gaze, she continued. "I told him that if he accepts, we will live happily together, and if he doesn't, I’ll go to France."

"And what is this offer?"

"The offer to turn me into a wolf."

"WHAT?!" Valeria and Lucian shouted at the same time.

"Don't be ridiculous, Elara! You can't possibly want such a thing?!" Valeria spoke in amazement.

"That's what Fenrik said too. I came to you thinking maybe you could do it. Since you don't accept either, I'm leaving." Elara slowly stood up.

"Elara, stop, please." Valeria pulled her back down. "I don't understand why you want such a thing?"

"It's quite simple, isn't it? I want to be bonded to him too. Maybe we won't be immortal, but I want to live long years with him, under the same conditions."

"Fenrik cannot do such a thing," Lucian spoke in a calm tone.

"Why can't he?"

"He was exiled from the pack. Only an Alpha can turn you, but Fenrik wouldn't allow it."

"Why wouldn't he?" Elara looked at Lucian with pleading eyes.

"Because the Alpha could use you against Fenrik. You are together now, but back then, he could separate you. And if you defied him, the punishment would be death." He took a deep breath. "Besides, you can't just do it because you want to bond with him. Wolves cannot choose who they bond with; what if you bond with someone else?"

Elara shrank back into her seat. She felt helpless and hopeless. Valeria took her hand, stroking it in her palm.

"Still... it's not impossible for you to transform."

With these words from Lucian, Elara looked at him with eyes full of hope and immediately went to his side.

"I'll do whatever needs to be done!" She bit her lip tentatively. "I’ll live only with Fenrik so I don't bond with anyone else!"

Lucian locked his eyes on Valeria. "You don't need to do anything, Elara... Valeria can do it."

Valeria’s eyes widened like saucers. "What will I do?"

"You can transform her."

This time, Elara sat next to Valeria with pleading and hopeful eyes. "Please?"

"But I can't do such a thing!"

"You can, you can!" Elara was trying to convince her.

"But first, you all must have breakfast."

All heads turned to Mrs. Rowan. Elara looked at Valeria worriedly, wondering if she had heard.

"And no matter how much of an Alpha Valeria is, she needs to bring out her power completely. Right now, she can't even fight."

Elara directed her startled eyes to her friend's mother. Her mother stood at the living room door with her arms crossed.

"Are you...?"

"I know, and I am one of you..." Mrs. Rowan interrupted Elara’s words with a sweet smile.

Elara's surprise grew even more. They all moved to the breakfast table together. They were eating breakfast in silence.

"Is there someone you want to bond with, Elara? I might have overheard your conversation a little bit."

Elara nodded with a shy smile. "Fenrik... he is bonded to me."

Mrs. Rowan nodded with an expression of understanding.

"And is it true that you’re going to leave and go away?"

Elara nodded again.

"Are you aware that this will kill him?"

Upon Mrs. Rowan’s words, Lucian’s eyes found Valeria. Elara, on the other hand, was looking at Mrs. Rowan with fear.

"Will it... k-kill him?"

"Didn't he tell you anything about bonding?"

"He did, but..." But he had never mentioned the possibility of dying. Elara looked silently at the plate in front of her.

Lucian was watching Valeria, but she didn't look at him at all. He knew she was holding herself back from doing so.

Mrs. Rowan continued to speak. "A wolf bonded to you becomes you, Elara. He hears what you think. He feels everything you feel, everything. But no matter what, he cannot stay away from you."

Valeria was becoming increasingly suspicious with what she heard. Lucian couldn't hear her thoughts, but he was constantly saying her life was his life.

"Your life becomes his life now. If he stays away from you, he loses himself first, and then he can't bear it and dies."

The moment Lucian cornered her came to Valeria’s mind. She still remembered his eyes. That day, he had said he would turn into a monster. She continued to listen to her mother.

"If he gets jealous of you, you wouldn't even want to see his rage. And your body heat is a source of power for him."

Valeria couldn't take it anymore; she raised her head and looked at Lucian. At that moment, all sounds were cut off for her. She heard neither her mother’s nor Elara’s voice.

She felt her heart beating so hard it might burst out of its place. Lucian’s eyes...

He was looking at her in such a way that Valeria felt she was getting lost in those vast eyes.

Her gaze drifted to his lips. She saw those lips slowly curve to the side. This time she felt her heart stop and not beat. Was she breathing? She didn't know. She only knew the beauty of those smiling lips and that she wanted to touch them desperately. The smile grew larger. This time she looked at his pearly white teeth with admiration. She wanted to look away, but this time she was met by the dimple on his cheek.

It wasn't large, but Valeria wanted to touch even that.

With the fork pricked into her hand, she was finally able to pull her eyes away from Lucian. Elara was saying something to her, but she still couldn't hear.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Huh? Yes, what were you saying?" Valeria felt like she had come out of a trance. How long had she been like this?

"I’m saying I gave up on going. Gather your strength as soon as possible and transform me, okay?!" Elara was trying to convince her.

Valeria nodded and turned back to her plate.

"Why are you so wonderful, Valeria?"

"What?"

When Valeria raised her head in surprise, her mother and Elara were giving her puzzled looks.

"What 'what'?" Elara asked.

"Didn't you just say something?" Valeria's eyes were wide.

"Of course I didn't; are you hearing voices from the beyond?"

Valeria shook her head, and just as she was about to turn back, she heard the voice again.

'I said it. Lucian.' Valeria looked at him. But Lucian was busy eating cheese. 'From now on, you will always hear me. Does this sound familiar to you from somewhere?'

Valeria saw a slight smile on Lucian’s face.

It was as if a bolt of lightning had hit Valeria’s head. She was hearing Lucian's thoughts.

Was she... bonded to him?

Lucian finally raised his head, looked at her, and offered her an even more beautiful smile.

Valeria understood now, and she knew she was about to hit rock bottom.