??A Howl In The Night??
?She’s mine?
?Chapter 31?
?To Rise Like A Phoenix?
?I feel nothing. I am nothing. ?
The voices build up inside of me until they are overwhelming, beating like the ceaseless echo of a drum. There is no worth to my soul. I should just die now and let God condemn me forevermore.
I can feel the heat rushing to my face as these words cross my mind, the redness swallowing my cheeks. There is no lucidity to these words, no reason whatsoever. I doubt that I could ever explain these logical fallacies.
All I know is that these thoughts cannot be true. There is nothing that words can do to bring me down. The wickedness must end now. No weaknesses will be accepted.
A sound erupts to my right, and a battle immediately begins.
My eyes flicker open, and the harsh sights berate me like the side of a sharp sword. Immediately I jump to my feet as focus returns, trying to survey my potential opponent. Surely it knows that it would not be able to catch me off guard. Though I suppose if it thought it could, this underestimation would serve as an advantage.
I look at the unfamiliar creature before me, a small girl who looks barely over the age of five. My eyes narrow at this strange development. What wily tricks enemies try to play… donning disguises that would make me hesitant to strike.
Quickly I reach to my belt, grasping for a sword or weapon of some kind. To my dismay, nothing is there besides air. Alarm only enters my mind for a second, and then I race towards a tall and intimidating tree to rip off a weighty branch. This will have to do.
The creature tries to say something, but I refuse to let any words slip out of its tiny mouth. I leap forward as it forms the words, covering her mouth with my hands. Terror dances across her eyes as she stills with my movement, seemingly stunned with shock.
What petty tricks. Does she really think that I will fall for a gimmick like that? Vulnerability is only a façade, manipulated by the strong and embraced by the weak.
With lightning-quick movements, I raise my tree branch slightly above her and hit the top of her head lightly. With a body like this, only a tap should be enough to knock the creature out until I decide what to do with it.
Of course I am right, as the eyes of the child slip to a close almost immediately. Only now do I allow myself a smile, pleased with the manner in which I handled this incident.
The smile vanishes as a larger man appears from the cluster of trees a few feet away. He looks at me, and then the girl, his startling green eyes widening in shock.
“Mona, what have you done?”
What in the name of…
“Who are you?” I put my hands in the air, trying to gain some time. Slowly I stand up, stepping over the little girl. “How do you know my name?” I try not to let fright and confusion dictate my thoughts. Survival comes first.
He steps into the sunlight with one graceful, sweeping movement. The first thing I notice is his sparkling blue hair, almost blinding me in the sunlight. Strange recollections start to hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Do you not recognize me?” He asks, and I can sense hurt in his voice. Strangely, I do, no matter how much that surprises me. Memory after memory resurfaces with a speed that unnerves me.
“Xavier.” The word leaves my mouth, leaving me surprised and confused. How did I know that? How did I know him?
The man tries to form his next words, and fails. After a few seconds, he tries again.
“Mona, why did you knock out Danae?”
I start backing away immediately. Now more memories are coming back, and I don’t like the things I remember. Danae. My only friend that is a woman, and she isn’t even human. What the crap have I become? Surely all of these bizarre memories are not real.
“Speak to me,” he says, his voice commanding and prompting an immediate response. I start to reply, then immediately stop myself. I do not need to answer to this man.
I abruptly turn on my heel and run as fast as I can. Trying to stay calm, I think over this matter as I bolt through trees and underbrush. What could Xavier possibly want with me? How can I escape this unfamiliar monster with a name that I somehow know?
Darting to the side as I feel footsteps behind me, I know immediately that running is pointless. He can track my scent like a hound dog and if he caught up to me this quickly; he must also be much faster.
“Mona!” He calls, to no response. He may kill me now, but he is not getting anything out of me. Within seconds he is right behind me, his breath brushing against the back of my neck.
I don’t acknowledge him even as he stops me, putting his arms around my torso with a speed and strength that surprises me. It is only when he picks me up that I begin to get extremely annoyed. “Put me down,” I say calmly, trying to mask my irritation. “You have no right to be treating me like this. Just leave me alone. You don’t know me.”
“I think I do, considering that you are my mate. I think I know almost all of you.” A handsome smile appears on his face as his sinewy arms tighten around me, keeping me in place. Humiliation finally breaks through my wall of steel, and I can feel my face turning cherry red. I know what he is talking about.
“Sc.rew this. Sc.rew you.” I mutter under my breath, trying to banish these terrible thoughts from my head. However, at his snarky words, I cannot forget the recollection of his lips as they had danced across my body.
So this was the man that had turned me into a weakling.
* * *
“She refuses to accept that I am her mate,” Xavier explains to another annoyingly handsome man with slanted eyes, “she is completely different than before.”
“Well, I mean, they did perform the Sharuken ritual on her,” his companion replies… Yi, I think his name is.
“The old hag never finished! I think.” He protests rather feebly.
“I honestly don’t understand why you had to tie her up. Surely she is not that dumb to think she can escape from us, weird amnesia problem or not.”
“You don’t understand, Yi. She is acting cr@zy.”
“I doubt it. More than likely, you are the one who is acting cr@zy.”
“Oh yeah? Well, you go talk to her then,” Xavier huffs with a note of frustration.
“I think I will.”
The willowy werewolf stands up and saunters over to me, smiling wildly. I feel the urge to punch him in the face, but I can’t do anything with these bonds that are so tight that they nearly cut my skin. “Hey, Mona. What’s up?”
“Nothing much, Yi. Just minding my own business.” I do not smile or frown. It is best not to let anything slip.
“So… uh…” He looks disconcerted by my response, a little confused. “You say you aren’t mates with Xavier?”
“Yes.” Honestly, that is the only thing I don’t really understand out of all of this. This mate business. I don’t understand this nonsense coming out of their mouth. Yes, I willingly allowed myself to be kssed by him and to let myself fall for his antics, but mates? I’m not even sure I know what that means. This Sharuken stuff is confusing me as well.
“I think I can prove that you are mates with him,” Yi smiles comfortingly. Not that I need to be comforted. I need a way out of this mess.
“Shoot.”
“Could you show us your neck?”
Now I know these perverts are insane.
“Good idea, Yi!” Xavier said loudly, “I didn’t think of that.”
“That’s because you are dumb, Xavier.” Yi replies, deadpan. He turns his attention back to me. “There should be a mating mark, there near your neck. Do you remember when you tried to kill yourself in the forest?”
“Yes. That was a moment of temporary weakness. Don’t expect anything shameful like that from me again.”
The two both look at me as if I have said something weird. “Uh, okay.” Yi speaks first, rather dubiously. “Well, Xavier saved you and mated with you that night.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about. He just saved me, and that was it.” I am surprised at the way I am able to stay so cool and collected, considering that these captors of mine are making such untrue accusations.
“Just show us your neck,” Yi demands exasperatingly. “Please.”
Annoyingly I tug down the neckline of my rugged t-shirt, showing a small expanse of white skin. I haven’t always had creamy and smooth skin, but no blemishes have been on this body of mine since I became a Spier. “See? You guys are insane.”
Yi turns away, looking at Xavier with a shrug. “I guess they really did pull it off.”
A dark shadow crosses Xavier’s face. He looks away.
“Mind letting me out of these bonds anytime soon?” I ask them slowly, “I don’t really deserve to be treated like a criminal.” Of course, the two both ignore me.
Thanks a lot.
A small figure enters my vision, coming towards me from the edge of the clearing. “Mona, you gave me quite the shiner,” she laughs. It is a beautiful laugh, full of femininity and self-assurance. Blue and black marks her forehead with an intensity that causes me to gasp.
“But I only tapped your forehead.. I don’t understand how…”
“I think you underestimate your strength, Mona. It felt like a freight train was being dropped on my head. Lucky for you, you didn’t get to see the bloody wounds before they healed a few hours ago. It was bad.”
I suppose I didn’t really spend much time examining the effects of my attack before Xavier distracted me.
“I apologize,” I say awkwardly, looking off to the side and narrowing my eyes. For some reason, I feel strange and uncomfortable. I know these people, but they have become strangers.
And most of all, my past self has become a stranger to me. These memories simply don’t make sense. How could I let myself become so vulnerable? How pitiful of a life have I been living up until this point?
Xavier stands up, glances at me solemnly, and walks away. I feel a shameful tug at my heart.
“I understand that you probably don’t know how to react right now,” Danae begins, “even though I don’t understand the particulars of your internal struggle.” I roll my eyes, though secretly interested. “My advice to you would be to always go with your heart. No matter what.”
“Thanks,” I smile sardonically, then laugh for the first time since I have become… different. “I will keep that in mind.”
She turns without smiling, walking away back into the forest. I look around at the area, seeing the tall trees and dark gray skies. The smell of sulfur is barely prevalent, and the ground is covered in dark vines and dirt. It is if I am just now truly noticing my surroundings.
“Hey guys? Uh… where are we?”
“We were hoping you could answer that,” Xavier says in response, and my blood runs cold.
Suddenly, the air chills my heart and the alien emotion of fear c@resses my form, whispering into my ear. My body begins to shake uncontrollably.
And then everything went black.
I know this feeling. I know it more than anyone.
“Everyone! Out of the way!” I yell, then furiously bend my head to my bindings. There is no way I can get out of these bone breaking ropes without some sort of sharp object. And it is getting closer by the minute.
As the cold embraces me with an intensity that is overwhelming, I suddenly am drawn to thoughts of a lance, elegant and strong with a sharp, pointy end. Almost instantaneously, my muscles clench, and the bonds fall like water from my shivering skin.
And the beautiful lance is in my hand.
I lose myself in my instinct, my eyes grow hard and I take a step backwards. My senses seem to be heightened and my reasoning has evaporated. They are so close.
Ghoulish creatures appear from the trees into the clearing, slowly moving towards me. In a flash, Xavier runs in front of me, shielding me from them. “Mona, please let me handle this,” he pleads, and his warm body in front of mine sends chills through mine. My breath becomes even shorter as I realize that I am affected by this strange act. This is impossible. I… can’t accept this.
“Out of the way, Xavier,” I impatiently push him, and he seems to be so stunned that he almost falls to the ground beside me. Trying not to waste time, I run towards the Shifters, one word echoing through my mind. One word that seems to drain me, but seems to be instinct in that it possesses me entirely.
I lift my lance and throw with precision. Almost instantaneously it pierces two of the Shifters, and a horrible cry consumes the air. I am almost frozen from the chills that sound sends through my body. It is the cry of pain, of heartache… of pure terror.
I must stay strong. I cannot let this affect me.
I throw the lance again and again, and the small group of Shifters decrease in number with each attempt. Each new cry seems to join the collective, increasing in intensity and power. However, I never stop, and a few seconds later the last Shifter is hit. They are gone now.
They can’t hurt me.
I turn and look behind my shoulder, where Xavier is standing, staring at me like I was a stranger. Yi’s expression is similar. Hastily my eyes snap away from them, away from the incredulity in their expression. I only did what was necessary. I only wanted for them to leave me alone.
I raise a hand to my face, and only then do I notice the flood of tears.
* * *
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