Lunaria (A Soulmark Series Finale), page 40
"We need to head northeast."
I stand. Jax gestures for me to lead the way, and I do, keeping my pace quick. I slant a glance at Jax as he brings up the rear. His cloak of smoke isn't nearly as large as it was a minute before. Still, it hovers and billows behind him.
"Oh!" I stop abruptly and turn to face him. "Do not, under any circumstance, make contact with the trees," I warn. "The Stormrows have done something to them. They’ve turned them into weapons.” I gulp, gaze dropping to the snowy ground. “It’s killing the forest too. That’s why Celosia and Alekos ran off. If the tree is destroyed, we have no way home."
Jax grimaces as I return my gaze to him. A forceful wind knocks him a step forward. "I'm quite aware of the tree's shocking behavior,” he huffs. “I learned the hard way not long ago."
"Me too."
Jax sighs, muttering something under his breath as my teeth rattle together. He starts to unbutton his coat.
"Don't bother," I insist, "If I wish to fly..." He gives me his scarf and gloves instead, doing his best to offer me some form of warmth.
Jax clears his throat as we continue our journey. He keeps step with me at my side. "I don't mean to offend, gorgeous, but can't you use another tree? You and your friends really shouldn't be out here."
I fold my arms over my chest. "We can't; it's the only viable option for us because of its connection with the crystal."
He scowls, but Jax says nothing more. Striding on, we remain wary of our environment and the fierce noises echoing from all around as we trek deeper into the forest. Worry gnaws at my gut. I can't help but think Adrian should have reached us by now. Just as I ready to press into our connection, Jax tackles me to the ground.
I land with a groan, Jax's body half draped over me.
"Don't move," he whispers in a rough breath next to my temple.
My blood runs cold as his shadow cloak envelops us. I gasp. It's as if a dense gauze hangs over us. I have trouble seeing past it with the forest already as dark as it is and dawn still hours away. Minutes pass by as we strain to listen to our surroundings. After a time, Jax rises, his knees cracking as he does. The mystical cloak retreats behind Jax once more. I shiver from the cold as I stand.
"Jax, are you—"
He smiles, catching onto my tone with ease. "I'm fine, gorgeous. Tired, and a great deal of sore, but there’s nothing to worry over."
"Jax—"
His expression changes, the muscles about his mouth tightening before I am roughly pulled down again. I slam into the ground just as painfully as before, Jax's panting breath at my ear as we are once more cloaked inside his ethereal shadow. Though I cannot see well past the gauzy cloak of his magic, inside its depths, I can see clearly.
Discomfort rides the tense line of Jax's jaw. A smear of blood stains his inner ear. My hand raises of its own accord to wipe it away. He stiffens at the touch but does not turn to meet my gaze.
"You are hurt," I murmur.
A rueful smile drags up his lips, and only then does he turn his attention to me. My hand curls back to my chest.
"You should see the other guy," he whispers back, a dark sparkle in his hazel eye. I swallow, hearing now what brought us to the ground. Crunching snow... from multiple sets of feet.
"Can they hear us?"
He shakes his head at my whispered words. "We're in a state of distortion."
"What do we do?"
"Wait them out.” The rueful smile he keeps drops a fraction. “I won't lie, gorgeous, the odds aren't particularly in our favor at the moment."
I go quiet and still, but a tear drops from each eye that I cannot hold back. I reach out to Adrian through our bond but receive no response in kind. Be strong. Be brave.
"But with your powers and mine combined..."
Jax catches my distraught gaze and holds it. His hazel eye conveys the emotion his features will not. Cynicism turns to cunning the longer he holds my eyes.
"Never count out the wild card, gorgeous." We share a grin seconds before something snaps a few feet away. Our eyes widen, and a great, booming voice shouts some spell.
There is a flash of brilliant yellow and then... Jax's back bows as he releases a blood-curdling scream. I shriek as well, the shadowy cloak around us vanishing. There is no time to retaliate.
A sharp pain cracks against the back of my head, and a blackness far greater than the night steals my vision.
Chapter 20
There's a buzzing in my left ear. A muted vibrato of noise trickles in my other.
And my back… a groan leaves me, unwillingly. There is an ache that stabs between my shoulder blades.
With a feeble flutter of my eyelashes, I inspect the space around me. Cold, wet snow surrounds me and soaks through what little layers I wear. A coarse shiver runs over my aching flesh as I realize Adrian’s hat and Jax’s gloves and scarf have been taken from me. I suck in a lungful of frigid air. I don't know how long I’ve been unconscious for, nor how exactly I came to be so. Fuzzy images gather in my mind.
Sorcerers.
They'd found us.
I gasp, fully awake, and struggle to right myself. With each passing second, the buzzing in my left ear wanes, but the dull vibrato does not. I gulp and weakly cradle my right ear, massaging it.
There are several voices to muddle through, all vehement and loud. Many pairs of legs occupy the area ahead, all in wide-set stances. Snarling sounds from too close. I flinch, eyes desperately seeking out the source and finding it several yards away. Panic lodges itself inside my heart as I look away from the fighting ahead.
The snarling continues.
At least none of them have noticed me yet, which means there is a chance for me to escape. I hiss, shifting my hands below my chest and pushing myself up.
My mind is congested and throbbing as I attempt to communicate with Adrian. Help. Help. Help. My desperation plays on repeat, but I can't discern if my plea reaches him. I peer around in a daze, battling nausea as I sit upright. Where do I run? Feeble sunlight illuminates the forest—
"Ugh!"
I release a guttural cry as a foot batters into my stomach. I pitch over onto my side, then roll to my back as I labor for air. A second lower cry curdles from my mouth as my arms wrap around my middle. In the distance, another savage bout of snarling erupts.
"She's awake!" Someone shouts.
A hand takes me roughly by my hair and drags me to my feet in a shockingly swift movement. I don't fight the hand tangled in my hair, too busy gagging on the sickness that threatens to spill forth. Goosebumps ripple across my body as a faint breeze winds through the forest.
"Bring her to me."
I'm shoved forward, but primal self-preservation makes me dig my feet into the ground. I know that voice. A new bout of panic surges inside of me. I claw ruthlessly at my captor's clutches and frantically flap my wings.
"Filthy bitch," my captor snaps.
A second set of cruel hands grab me. The pair work together to drag me forward by my armpits. With little protest, I stumble along. Panic and pain surpass all other emotions as I’m thrust into Noah's arms, and then it is numbing fear.
"Did you miss me, Lunaria?" Noah asks, his nose brushing along my jaw until his breath fans my temple. "I missed you."
I let out a strangled, helpless cry as his teeth nip my ear lobe. Noah's sharpened canines draw blood. He pulls away with a coarse laugh and tosses his head back to release a victorious howl. Noah spins me around and braces an arm around my front while his other hand clamps around my neck.
"I was hoping to see you again. When the news came that you'd been captured, I took the throats of three Adolphus traitors in my joy." Noah buries his face against my neck. The sticky residue of blood chaffs my skin at the contact. I still, breath held captive in my lungs. "Unfortunately, the Stormrow's handling of you was a touch... aggressive. I wanted you to bear witness to the full scope of our victory, from start to finish, but I'll just have to settle for you catching the end."
"Let go of me!" I scream. My demand is ragged.
Noah's brash laughter makes me squirm. He tightens his hold in response. "You're mine now, fairy. I already took care of your friend. You missed the show by just a few minutes, I'm afraid."
The hand at my neck forces my head up, and as he swings us around I spot Jax's prone body. A pitiful utterance escapes me at the sight.
"Not so powerful now, is he?"
Tears slide down my face, leaving icy trails in their wake and making my lashes stick together. "You bastard," I seethe. All around Jax's body are bright patches of red. His cane lies just out of reach from his outstretched hand. No visible movement ushers from his body. "No," I whisper, eyes trained upon my friend. “No!”
The brittle scream of my despair sinks me further into Noah's chokehold.
"You didn't think we'd let him live, did you? He killed seven of his old clan, and two of my wolves. The least we could do in return was make sure it hurt as much as possible when we finally took him out. I'd say I admired his spirit,"—Noah's dark chuckle grazes my cheek—"but I'm not one to speak ill against the dead with such a blatant lie."
"You bastard!" I screech. My head pounds as nausea threatens to get the better of me. Noah laughs, deep and loudly, drawing every Wselfwulf eye upon us.
"Now, now. No more name calling. I'm already upset with you for leaving me. You made quite the mess of my camp."
Fingers dig into the column of my neck without mercy. I choke on what little air is permitted to me, and with my arms bound down by the cage of his own, I can do little to escape this slow death. Mind whirling and body aching, black spots soon appear before my eyes. The withering distress of my intraflora lessens with each inch gained by the darkness.
"Apologize," he demands and relaxes his grip a fraction.
"Sor—ry."
"Louder."
"Sor—ry."
My apology is no louder than the last, but it is enough for Noah. His cruel hand releases me. My breath comes in shallow gasps accompanied by hacking coughs. Dimly I register Noah’s breath coasting by my ear.
"Settle down, now," he commands with soft intensity.
I shiver from both disgust and fear, my body plagued with goosebumps.
A strangled snarl sounds nearby, unlike the others I hear. I attempt to swivel my head in its direction, but I'm halted by Noah's severe hold.
"Uh-uh," Noah reprimands, fingers constricting. "If you want a glimpse at your lover, you'll have to be much nicer than that."
The taste of vomit sits spoiled at the back of my tongue. Noah's arm, wrapped snug around my rib cage, moves.
Any energy I possess tilts into rapid decline and—
"Look and see," Noah hisses, turning us again to face the source of the guttural noise. His fingers assert their pressure once more, hooking high to compel my attention directly at Adrian.
At my rokama.
Adrian is in his animalistic form. His midnight fur bristled. Blood paints his muzzle. My eyes widen as I survey the number of fallen around him. I swallow and meet his eyes. They burn as bright as starlight.
Something inside me hardens at the sight of him laid out on the ground. Several boots and bodies are atop him, keeping him down. My jaw clenches at the sight. I count four men pinning him and a sorcerer nearby with his wand pointed at Adrian’s head. As rage simmers low in my gut, an unexpected curl of affection dampens my anger. My eyes lock on Adrian’s.
Immediately, our connection opens and the shower of emotion I receive makes me quiver. It is more than just affection Adrian sends me, it is hope and love and strength. Tears cascade down my cheeks as he supplies me with the courage I need to withstand Noah’s cruel treatment… and patience. I spare Adrian a questioning look, trying to understand why the last impression of patience is imprinted so thoroughly in our bond.
And then I realize; four men and one sorcerer are not enough to hold down my heart’s content.
My eyebrows knit together. Adrian is more than capable of taking them out. The bodies that litter the ground around him are proof enough. So why allow them this victory? What is he waiting for?
Patience.
The message reads clearly in his molten gaze. Again, I quake, eyes shifting to the forest floor as I dip my chin in a subtle nod. My pulse doubles its speed. Another few seconds drag on as I try to reign in my reaction and keep the Wselfwulfs unaware.
There is hope for us yet.
The spark of confidence falters as Noah jerks us around. I grunt at the rough handling, but my caustic reply gets lodged in my throat at the sight presented to me. Ahead of us, mere yards away, gleaming in the dawn's light is a prism of color that stretches from frozen earth to high above. My heart skips a beat at the sight of the crystal’s border in full working order.
Aunt Mo did it.
“Tell me,” Noah breathes into my ear, “how is this loathsome border back?”
My lips seal tightly together as I crane my head away from him. It does not deter the lycan. Noah drags his nose along the column of my neck, inhaling deeply along the way. “Answer me,” Noah commands.
I offer nothing, holding myself as stiff as possible within his clutches as I gaze beyond the shimmering surface of the crystal’s border and at the dozens of lycans and witches on the other side. It is the Adolphus pack and the coven. A fresh wave of relief hits me as my eyes rake over them, stopping when they reach Xander. He stands front and center of the group, his naked body telling the story of today’s battle in cuts and deep bruises. Xander holds himself tall as he glares at Noah with murderous intent.
"Well?" Noah probes, his arms constricting around me.
Pulse thudding in my ears, I answer him. "Go fuck yourself," I say, in a voice both husky and hoarse.
The air falls flat around us. All remnants of commotion come to a standstill at my remark. Everyone is waiting for the fallout. Including me. I prepare myself mentally for Noah's outrage with seconds to spare before I'm thrown to the ground.
I land near the border. Power simmers from the iridescent wall that is both threatening and familiar. I groan—
"Argh!"
My face contorts as my breath careens out of my body. Noah's kick lands with surprising accuracy against the very bruise dealt to me before and—
"Ugh!"
An angry hand snatches me up by the roots of my hair and yanks until I am on my knees. My hands claw Noah's wrist.
He slaps me across the face.
The force of his blow is dizzying. No—it's far more than that. The earth teeters uneasily under me like some ship stranded in a savage sea. Adrian’s anger is a storm inside of me. His vicious snarls fill the air as I pant for breath. Though his anger is a force of nature to be reckoned with, still he presses me for patience within our bond. A frustrated sob escapes me as I endure the wrath of Noah’s bruised ego.
"Tell me how they resurrected it," Noah commands, the alpha in his voice bearing down on me.
My tender scalp throbs at the tight leash of his fingers. When I say nothing, he forces my head back and glares down at me with his golden eyes. Courage, I tell myself, grasping onto the anchor of support that Adrian pushes into our connection.
"I know you know how it was done," Noah growls, the sound of his voice so malicious that my chin wobbles with fright. "I know you're involved in some way— that you're connected to it."
Noah's eyes drift momentarily across enemy lines, taking stock of what the Wselfwulfs and Stormrows are to face. I watch as a throbbing vein appears near his temple and his jaw clenches. A second later, Noah sniffs and wipes at his nose with his arm. Then he smirks and looks down at me. My body goes rigid, hands stalling in their efforts to remove his purchase.
"Be a good girl and tell me."
The patronizing tone makes my gut twist, and as I glare back at him, Noah chortles. I scan him briefly, taking in the bruises, bites, and scratches that adorn his naked body. My eyes pass over the deeper gnashes he sports a second time. I may be able to use them to my advantage, if I can strike out fast enough—
Noah grabs my chin and forces our eyes to meet. "Tell me!"
I spit in his face.
It's a mistake. Unbound fury ushers from his vibrating form almost instantaneously. Almost. But for a fraction of a moment, disbelief and gall reflect back at me in the widened set of his golden eyes and parted lips before fury takes hold.
A surge of pride reaches me through the bond right before Noah’s hand clamps around my throat with frightening speed. Noah stares down at me with pure malevolence that turns my blood cold, and then he begins to lift me.
My snow-soaked boots toe the ground in a desperate attempt for freedom while my hands grapple at his wrist seeking leverage to alleviate his constriction. I fail. I sputter and wheeze, legs kicking out in self-defense but Noah just smirks, the tips of his canines showing.
“Pathetic,” he says with a sneer, earning the raucous cheer of his packmates.
Inside me, something snaps. Or perhaps it is within Adrian—or in both of us.
With a desperate cry, I swipe for Noah’s face with my nails. He jerks away, but to no avail. He curses as my hand fastens around his bloodied ear and yanks. Wings flapping erratically behind me, I relieve some of the pressure of his choke hold and kick out at his stomach.
Noah drops me with a snarl, stumbling back as he clutches the reopened wound on his stomach. And then, as Aunt Lydia would say, all hell breaks loose.
Spells fly through the air, crisscrossing overhead and swerving toward their targets from both sides of the border.
The loud clap of firearms reverberates through the air.
But what snares my attention is my rokama warrior.
Adrian rises with a roar, bucking off the men who caged him and attacking without mercy. I watch in a daze, one hand atop my aching lungs as I drop to my knees and the other anchoring to the frozen earth.
The first lycan is dispatched by the brutal efficiency of Adrian’s jaws, the man’s panicked screams ending swiftly. The next falls from a slash of Adrian’s claws. The lycan stumbling back with a look of horror etched across his face before succumbing to unconsciousness.
