Embraced By the Blood Moon

Chapter Twenty Six

Serenity’s POV

“Quinn! Quinn, wake up!” My words came out in great sobs, and my hands had begun to shake the moment Quinn's heart stopped. I looked up with blurred vision, “Jace, we have to save him.”

Jace kneeled beside me, his hands shaking in fear, “I…I don’t know what to do.”

Gretta placed her hand on Quinn’s leg and patted it. “Come on, little man. Enough with the jokes. It’s time to get up.” Tears began to pour from her eyes. “Please get up, " she cried.

I looked down at Quinn’s blood-covered body as I held him close, my hands soaked in his blood. “I…I have to stop the bleeding.” I said as I pulled my hoodie off and began to tear it into pieces. I began to wrap his lacerations that were so deep you could see his exposed broken bones and shredded organs. I bit my lip, trying to stifle my sobs as I continued to wrap my torn hoodie gently over his wounds.

‘Ren! What if we used the phoenix blood?’ Artemis suggested.

“Yes,” I shouted, grasping at my chest where the vile should have been. “It’s gone,” I cried.

‘That is because it slipped off us when battling the creature that the triplets transformed into. I happened to see it falling and placed it in your pocket.’ Artemis said with a tone of hope in her voice.

I pulled the vile from my pocket and fumbled with the lid when someone shouted, “Look out!”

I looked up to see a beautiful vampire with raven black hair highlighted with completely white bangs. Her stormy gray eyes looked me in the eyes as she leaped for me. I braced myself for the impact of being tackled when she protectively wrapped her arms around me, and a red hue surrounded us.

A hiss of pain came from the vampire as she unwrapped herself from me. I stared at her in confusion as Jace and James shifted and began growling at the woman when I noticed a crimson veil surrounding us.

When there came a loud chuckle from behind us, “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” The blond vampire said as he licked fresh blood from the tips of his fingers. “Came to still a mutt and found a traitor.” A crooked smile rested on his face, and he tapped with his knuckle on the crimson veil as he continued, “Tell me, Melean, are these mutts really worth saving? They’re all going to die in the end, anyway. So why bother?”

A huff escaped her lips, and she shook her head, “You go ahead and serve that creepy, dusty, old skeleton all you want, Adrian. As for me, I am done walking on eggshells for a King I never believed in.”

Adrian’s eyes darkened in anger, “Zack, Zero, Zion…Take down her shield.” He said as a confident smile spread over his face.

“With pleasure,” the triplets said in unison as they morphed again into the massive, terrifying creature from earlier.

“Huh, I knew I was right about you, Adrian,” Melean said as she pulled a small metal object from her pocket.

“What are you talking about,” Adrian asked as the triplets began to pound on the barrier.

“You’re the vampire equivalent of a participation trophy.” Melean provoked him.

“You little piece of sh…” Adrian angrily began when Melean continued her insults.

“And Chase over there,” She pointed towards the black-haired vampire. “In standing of your group, well, he is like the gray sprinkle on your rainbow cupcake.” She said with a large grin as she did spirit fingers and then mumbled under her breath through clenched teeth,” Come on, just a little bit closer.” Her mumbling was so quiet that I barely heard her, even though I was beside her.

When they were close enough, Melean took a deep breath and blew into the metal object she had pulled from her pocket. The most high-pitched ear-shattering sound rang out, causing me to crumple over in agony as I crushed my hand to my ears. I felt a warm, thick liquid spill from my ear area as I tightly closed my eyes, praying that the torture would stop.

There was a swift gust of wind, and then something hit the ground with a thud, “Just what the heck do you think you are doing?” Jace asked as I looked in his direction.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know that she…” She paused and looked over at me, “I swear I would never intentionally hurt her.”

Jace and Melean continued their conversation as I realized what I had done, “No,” I whispered as I looked at the cracked, leaking vile of phoenix blood in my bloody glass-shredded hand. I looked at the ground next to where I held Quinn's lifeless body, and there in the dirt and ash was nearly half of the phoenix blood that had mixed with my blood. I looked back at the mangled vile; there was barely over half left, “Please work,” I whispered as I placed the bottle of phoenix blood on Quinn’s cold, gray, breathless lips. Parting his lips, I tilted his head back and poured the blood down his throat.

As the seconds ticked by and nothing happened, I bit my bottom lip, and tears again filled my eyes. I cradled Quinn close, my cheek pressed against his cheek as my tears wet his cheeks, and I whispered, “Come back, please come back.”

As my hand fell upon Quinn’s cold, breathless chest, I felt a warmth build beneath my hand. I turned my head towards Quinn’s chest as a soft light began to glow beneath him. Hugging him close, I turned him slightly around to find his vast lacerations starting to heal from the warm light that had begun to shine within him. I stared in awe as his damaged organs started to mend, his broken, shattered bones repaired, his torn muscles rebuilt themselves, and finally, his skin closed, leaving behind no trace of the wound that had taken his life. A loud gasp escaped Quinn’s pale lip. He looked at me with a weak smile and said in a labored tone, “You just couldn’t let me have my hero moment, could ya?”

Greyson’s POV

The closer the day of my coronation got, the more my excitement grew. Not because I wanted to be King but because I could hardly wait to meet my mate face to face. I was happily working on the coronation preparations when a massive wave of grief washed over me. I tightly clasped my chest as the sadness grew.

‘What is happening to our mate? Why is she experiencing such grief?’ Koal asked.

I shook my head and whispered, “I don’t know.”

‘I swear if Rick-a is the cause of Ren’s misery, then I will not show her any mercy.’

***

The day of my coronation arrived, and both Koal and I were nervous beyond belief that the coronation ceremony had passed before we realized what had happened. I sat on the throne, greeting all of the Alphas, Betas, and their families as I searched all within the banquet Hall.

I sat up straight on my throne, and a massive grin touched my expression when the Silver Moon Pack was announced. However, my smile quickly faded when only two representatives were proclaimed, and neither was my mate.

A tall blonde in an elegant blue gown gracefully bowed before me as all my excitement was replaced by annoyance. My mother, realizing my irritation, said, “You may raise your head, child, and explain why only two of you represent the third-largest pack in the North American territory here.” Her voice came out dry and unemotional.

The blonde raised her head, “I am the Luna of the Silver Moon Pack, and the reason why my plans changed at the last moment, and there are only two of us, is because three days ago, there was an incident where six of our pack members were attacked by vampires, and our Alpha Derrick’s Beta’s younger brother was severely injured. His injuries led to him being in a coma, which he still has not awakened from. Since the attack was from an elite assassin team sent directly to our pack to abduct one of our members, Alpha Derrick thought it would be best to stay behind and protect our pack. So I was sent in their stead and brought my little sister, Erica.”

I tightly clenched my teeth and clung onto the armrest of my throne; the wood beneath my grip began to splinter from my grasp as Rick-a bowed before me. Raising her head slightly, she batted her makeup-caked eyes at me and said, “It’s an honor to meet you again, your majesty.”

“How…” I began to speak up when my mother interjected again, placing her gentle hand on mine.

“May I ask who the pack member was that the vampires were trying to abduct?” Mother asked as she glanced at me from the corner of her eye as if telling me to calm myself.

“The member that they were trying to abduct was Beta Jace’s adopted sister, Serenity,” Luna Emily said with an obvious irritation in her tone.

Both my mother’s breath and mine hitched at the mention of my mate's name. I quickly stood up only to be halted by my mother’s firm grasp, “You can’t; this is your coronation.”

I looked at my parents with pleading eyes, “But…”

I began to plead when my father cut me off, “Go, I’ll finish things up here.” He confidently stated. My mother released my hand, and I raced from the banquet hall. I entered the trees just outside our castle and shifted into my massive ebony black lycan from my formal wear, completely shredded.