Chapter 53: The Moonlight Drop Leaf
1270 Words
Elena's POV
The forest was a little too quiet for comfort.
My bare feet pressed into the cold dirt as I shifted again, my bones cracking and stretching back into my human form. The moon was high, its light reflecting over the leaves of the trees like a looking glass. But no matter how often I ran or how hard I trained, I couldn’t outrun the nightmares.
They haunted me.
A woman whispering... showing me things I couldn’t understand. Fires everywhere. Blood. My mother is screaming. Wolves howling. A book with pages that bled when I touched them.
The healer had warned me before he died and told me about the Book of Shadows and its connection to my dreams.
He said it was the only thing that could help make sense of what was happening to me. That the secret was older than our kind, and knowing it came with a price.
I didn’t care anymore.
I stopped in the middle of the clearing, my chest rising and falling somewhat steadily. Rage boiled in my stomach, burning me from the inside out.
"MAKE IT STOP!" I screamed into the night sky, my voice breaking.
I shifted again, claws replacing my fingers, my fur tearing through my skin. My muscles snapped and grew, and I was back on four legs in seconds. I slashed a tree. Then another. Again. Then again. Until bark flew and my blood mixed with the dirt on the ground.
I was panting when I heard it.
Laughter.
It was soft and sounded old, like someone who had too much to drink and wasn’t scared of anything anymore.
I turned, teeth bared.
An old woman sat on a fallen branch like she was a log of wood. Her hair was blood red, a color uncommon to werewolves, and her eyes sparkled. She was clearly enjoying the show.
“Don’t stop now,” she said. “I was rather enjoying your rage showcase.”
I growled and shifted back to my human form, stumbling as I clutched my side. “Who are you?”
She smiled. "I’ve been called many things, little one. But for you, I’m the answer to all your problems."
“What are you doing here?” I asked, stepping closer. “Are you following me?"
She vanished. "Huh?”
Just like that.
And then reappeared right in front of me.
I stumbled back. “What the hell—”
She extended a wrinkled hand towards me. In her palm was a leaf. Not just any leaf. It glowed under the moonlight like it had been kissed by the stars.
“This is a Moonlight Drop,” she said softly. “These only fall when the moon kisses them goodnight. They hold power, especially for those tormented by dreams.”
I blinked. All this sounded too convenient. “Why should I trust you? What if you're lying?”
She tilted her head. “Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
Then, just like before, she disappeared into the night air, leaving only the leaf behind, floating in mid-air like it chose me.
My hand trembled as I caught it. It felt warm. I could feel it… calling to me.
What if she was lying? What if this killed me?
Or what if it didn’t? What if it actually stops the bad dreams?
I stared at it for a long time, then whispered, “Screw it.”
And I ate it.
I could feel it. The darkness was swallowing me whole.
*******
Ryker’s POV
I felt it.
Something wasn’t right.
I shifted mid-run, paws pounding the forest floor as I followed her scent. My chest ached, not from the run, but from the fear.
She was too far from the palace. She shouldn’t have come out here alone.
The trees parted, and then I saw her.
“Elena!”
She was lying still, her body twisted unnaturally on the ground. Her eyes were closed, lips pale.
I shifted back instantly, not even caring about the pain ripping through my own bones that came with shifting. “Elena! No, no, no—”
I cradled her against my chest, my heart racing. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay. Come on…”
She wasn’t breathing.
“Elena—come on!” I shouted, my voice breaking with each shout.
Then, a rush of pain was felt at my right shoulder.
“AHH!” I roared as an arrow pierced me. I dropped low. I had a bloody shoulder. I was in pain.
But I didn’t let go of her, I didn't let go of Elena.
I turned slowly, searching the trees with my eyes.
They were everywhere.
Rogue wolves. Ten of them—no, twenty, at least. All from a rival pack, the same ones that sent that letter.
One stepped forward from the shadows. He held a bow, still aiming for me. His face was calm. Cold. Expressionless.
“Our alpha sends his regards,” the man said. “We’ll be at the palace in four days... for your daughter’s hand.”
“You’re out of your god damn mind,” I growled, holding Elena tighter.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” the man replied, then stepped forward and yanked my head back by my hair.
With one brutal hit, he slammed his fist into my nose. Blood gushed out, flowing into my eyes.
“You tell your pack,” the man said darkly. “We’re coming. And we’re taking the princess with us. Dead... or alive.”
He laughed and motioned for the others to disappear into the shadows.
I spat blood and managed to push myself up. My entire body screamed in pain, but that didn’t stop me. I lifted Elena onto my back and ran.
I reached the palace gates just as Lucy rushed out in a panic.
“RYKER?!”
“Help!” I shouted. “She’s not breathing! We need to get her to the hospital—NOW!”
********
Later that night...
I paced at the hospital room, my shoulder bandaged but still bleeding through.
Lucy sat beside the bed, tears in her eyes as she stroked Elena’s hair. “They said... she’s in a coma.”
“She’s strong,” I said, trying to comfort my wife. “She’ll fight. She has to.”
Lucy turned to me, her voice shaking. “What do we do now?”
“They said they’ll be back in four days,” I said bitterly. “They plan on taking her back with them.”
“No,” Lucy said, standing. “That’s not happening. You hear me? I mean, we’ve fought wars before, right? We can win this one.”
I looked at her, tired and broken. “We were much younger then. I’m not the same, Lucy. I can’t fight like I used to.”
She reached for my face, holding it in both hands. “You don’t have to do this alone.”
I turned back to Elena. “The doctor said there’s nothing more they can do… but maybe… just maybe… a healer could help. ”
Lucy’s expression shifted. She already knew where I was going, and she didn't like it. “Ryker…”
“It’s our only chance, Lucy,” I said.
She hesitated, then nodded slowly. “Okay.”
She pulled out her phone and dialed quickly.
“Eli,” she said into the phone. “Put Ray on the line.”
I stood over Elena, brushing her hair from her face. “Hold on, Elena. Just hold on.”
- Writer
