Marked by the Moon, Bound by Blood

Chapter 9

The warriors dragged me out of the shack. Outside, dawn was breaking. The first rays of sun were peeking through the trees. But for me, the world just felt darker. I was dragged along the trail toward the center of the pack settlement.

All along the way, I saw pack members coming out of their homes. They stared at me with looks of disgust and fear. A few kids hid behind their parents' legs. I felt like a dangerous circus animal.

"Look at that, her eyes are still a little purple," someone whispered.

"The elders should have just burned her last night."

I could only stay silent. Their words cut through me like a knife. I never asked for this. A few days ago, I was just a regular student busy with campus life. Now, I was seen as a threat to an entire species.

We reached the main building. This time, I wasn't taken to the old basement cell. I was brought to a small stone building separate from the main house. It had no windows, just a tiny ventilation hole at the top. The iron door was massive and heavy.

They shoved me into the room, which only had a straw mat and a bucket of water. They took off the silver chains, but slammed the iron door shut with a deafening clang.

Clang!

I fell face-first onto the mat. My body felt absolutely wrecked. The sting from the silver chains was still there, leaving dark red circles around my wrists.

"How did it come to this..." I sobbed quietly.

I touched my neck. The mark was still there, pulsing slowly. I felt something older and stronger sleeping in my blood. Something that woke up and almost made me do horrific things.

I sat leaning against the damp stone wall. I tried to remember the details of the fight. My movements were so precise. I could see the weak points on those warriors' bodies. That’s not a skill a human learns overnight.

"Who the hell am I?" I asked the darkness.

Suddenly, I heard a whisper from the ventilation hole above.

"Misha? Are you in there?"

It was Luna’s voice. I stood up immediately and tried to look up, even though the hole was way too high.

"Luna! Yes, I’m here! Help me!" I said, pleading.

"Shh! Be quiet! I’m not supposed to be here. The guard is tight," Luna whispered.

"Luna, how's Anderson? Is he okay?" I asked with genuine worry.

There was a brief silence before Luna answered.

"He’s still not fully conscious. His wound is infected with some weird energy from your claws. Wilfredo said if he doesn't get better soon, the elders are going to carry out your execution this afternoon," Luna explained.

My eyes went wide. "This afternoon? But they said three days!"

"The situation changed, Misha. You’ve proven you can't control the monster inside you. They see you as an Alpha-killer. They aren't waiting three more days," Luna’s voice sounded really sad.

I slumped back to the floor. My hope vanished instantly. I was going to die in this strange place as a monster in everyone's eyes.

"Luna, please tell Anderson... I'm sorry. I really wasn't myself when I did it," I said, fighting back tears.

"I’ll try to tell him if I can get into his room. But I have to go now before another warrior sees me," Luna said.

"Wait, Luna! Is there any way I can prove I’m not a monster?" I asked quickly.

Luna went quiet for a long time. I could hear her breathing from above.

"There’s only one way, Misha. You have to show that you can master that energy, not be mastered by it. But I don't even know how to do that myself," Luna whispered before her voice finally faded into silence.

I was alone again. I stared at my palms in the dim light from the vent. I tried to focus my mind on that purple energy. I didn't want to be afraid of it anymore. I had to make it part of me if I wanted to survive.

"Come on... come out..." I muttered.

I tried to call the energy with my emotions. I pictured the anger and fear I felt. Slowly, a faint purple light started to appear at my fingertips. It felt warm, not burning like it had last night.

"Good... keep going..."

Suddenly, the iron cell door was kicked open again.

Brak!

A massive warrior walked in, carrying a drawn silver sword. His face was full of hatred.

"Get up, anomaly! Your time is up!" the man barked.

I stood up, wary. "What do you mean? Luna said this afternoon!"

"The elders changed their minds. They want this over with before there are more victims. Get out now!" The man grabbed my cloak and dragged me out roughly.

I was brought back to the center clearing of the settlement. There, a large wooden stake had been driven into the ground. Piles of dry wood and hay surrounded it. I knew exactly what that place was for.

"You're crazy! This is murder!" I screamed, struggling.

"This is justice for our kind!" the warrior shot back.

He tied my body to the wooden stake with even more silver chains. The pain was ten times worse than before. I felt every nerve scream from the heat of the silver metal.

The whole pack gathered in a circle. Wilfredo stood in the front row, looking heavy-hearted. The scarred elder stepped into the center of the field carrying a blazing torch.

"Misha of the unknown race. You have harmed our Alpha and threatened the safety of this pack. By this, we sentence you to be burned to ashes!" the elder proclaimed.

He started to lower his torch toward the pile of wood at my feet.

"Stop!" a raspy shout came from the direction of the main house.

Everyone turned. Anderson stood at the doorway of the main house. He looked incredibly weak, walking with a wooden cane and leaning on Luna. His bandages were still wet with blood, but his eyes were fixed on the elder.

"What the hell are you doing to my mate?" Anderson growled.