The ground is soft underneath my feet, the scent of freshly cut grass teasing my nose. As I walk along, the warble of birds fills my ears. A soft breeze plays with my hair. It's peaceful.

I stop.

Where am I?

I look around but can't place my surroundings. Another step and my left foot sinks ankle-deep into a lake that stretches for miles in front of me.

With a frown, I squat down and stare at the water. The image reflecting off the smooth surface drives me back. I squeeze my eyes shut to fight the rising tears.

"I'm sorry." Stretching out my hand, I hover over the face of my wild. I'd love to touch her, but I'm scared she'll dissolve into nothing if I disturb water.

She gazes back with sorrowful eyes.

Pain.

But also understanding.

Acceptance.

Her snout reaches out of the pond and nudges my hand.

Telling me that she forgives me for my choice.

My heart breaks all over again.

I miss her so much.

A few tears roll down my cheeks. "I wish I could take my promise back."

My heart has always belonged to the moon; no blood oath will ever change that.

A sudden breeze lifts me off my feet, carries me, weightless. I float toward the bright sun and my effort to reach out to drag my wild with me fails. Her face blends with the sparkling water surface underneath until the lake is reduced to a little blue dot in a sea of green.

I don't want to leave her.

I struggle against the wind that sustains me without any effort, like a hand rocking me back and forth in the cradle of life.

It's not my time.

Even though I have no idea who or what put the thought into my head, I know it's the truth.

Moon and sun will be joined.

The perfect balance of nature and power.

I'll be the tool of the gods.

My bones break with a loud crack, skin stretching over my extending ribcage, claws pop up from underneath my fingernails. The sensation of my wild fills the empty void in my soul. She fuses with my other half, embracing the powers of the moon and the sun. A newly found strength rushes through my veins. Twirling, I break through the clouds, the gods looking down on me.

Mother and father combined, bestowing me the strength of day and night.

I howl and bark, the cold air frosting in front of my snout.

And then, without warning, I fall. Faster and faster. The lake surrounded by the meadow flies toward me. Its waters are dark and menacing. I whimper. When the waves reach up to grab me, coldness engulfs me. The air squeezes from my lungs. I sink deeper and deeper into the abyss; the bright light hovering over the surface melts into gray.

Vicious laughter.

Marush, I'm coming for you.

My brain scrambles. Something isn't right, but I can't put my finger on it. Just as my breath fails me, I'm released from the freezing grip of the lake.

Soft grass underneath my paws.

I'm back in the clearing. Kendrick, in his skins, is backing away from me. Confusion is edged in his features.

"Nadja?"

I turn my head in the direction of the voice. Marush blinks at me. His eyes soften, and for a long beat, the pain of his existence crushes every fiber of my bones. He stretches out his hand. "Nadja, is that you?"

His Achilles heel, the weakness to his powers, spills out in the open. The love for my mother. The one thing that had given his broken soul a way to mend—and which destroyed his very core in the end.

His eyes cloud over. As he strokes through my fur, I ignite. Blazing, my wolf stands as a fireball in the night. Her light tosses the figures around her is an eerie light.

"I'm sorry." As Marush's lips form the words, the torment in his eyes is stifling. "I'm sorry I killed them."

A small shadow rises from behind him. Tessa, surrounded by the forces of the pentagon. Metal has given her a protective suit, wood, earth, and water combined provide a cloud that lifts her up in the air. Floating, she clutches the dagger tightly in her hand. Its blade glows with red-hot fieriness.

I hold my breath. The moment of truth. Will she be able to prevail or will Marush spin around and reduce her to nothing?

He is frozen. His gaze is locked on me.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The words are repeated. Over and over.

The wind feeds the flames around me, keeping Marush under their spell. Tessa is so close that she almost nicks his skin. She raises her arm, her hand shaking, her face streaked with rivers of tears. One more breath and she delivers the fatal blow. The dagger pierces him right below his left shoulder blade.

As time comes to a standstill, Marush awakes from his trance. He stares at Tessa with wide eyes. His knees buckle. Blood spills from his mouth. Wheezing, he falls on his side. As his life essence seeps into the grass, the wind picks up. The earth rumbles and the trees around us bend, as if bowing one final time to a great force of nature.

"You win, Mother." The words are muffled by his dying breath.

Cackling laughter surrounds him. It's viciousness sends a shudder down my spine.

You were a foul, Marush.

I shake my head to silence the cruel voice of the spirit.

When the light extinguishes in Marush's eyes, silence squeezes the world in its grip. My legs give way underneath me. I fall, just as the flames die on my fur. Even though every breath still hurts like hell in my expanding chest, the wounds from the knives have mended. Only dried blood sticks to my fur.

"Raelyn." Kendrick is by my side. "Are you okay?"

I nod, stretching back into my skins.

"Your wolf, she is back," he whispers.

I search inside me, satisfied by her warmth pulsing in harmony with my heartbeat. My head hums with the events of the last minutes. I try to make sense of it all.

Did I die?

And how did I return?

And who was that voice in the end?

My gaze travels to Tessa; her small body is curled to a ball on the ground. Nothing at all reflects in her features.

Andrenior pops up next to her. "You need to take the dagger and carve the sign of the pentagon into your wrist to claim your place as a Sentinel."

She stares at him as if trying to absorb his words. Slowly and with great effort, she rises to her feet. Her whole body trembles and she is slow to close the gap between herself and Marush's still frame. With even greater effort, she pulls the dagger out of his back.

Hesitation. Her gaze flicks from Andrenior to me, then to Delsandra.

Her mother nods. "You know what you have to do, child."

Tessa's eyes lock with mine. "I'm sorry."

She raises the dagger, but instead of carving the Sentinel sign into her skin, she rams the blade right into the center of her chest.

"Tessa, no!" I leap forward, falling on my knees just in time to catch her. I press my hands to her chest, but her blood seeps through my fingers and into her shirt. "Andrenior, do something."

"I can't. A stab from the Na Miodóg is fatal. There's nothing anyone can do for her."

"Oh, Tessa, why did you do this?" I cradle her in my arms. Like a cruel sting, Marush's words ring in my ears.

They will reward you for your bravery with death.

He knew all along. What else was he right about?

Tessa shivers in my arms, the coldness consuming her. I want to hold on to the fading light in her eyes.

Delsandra drops next to her daughter and presses a kiss on Tessa's forehead. "You did great and we are very proud. I'm sorry it had to end this way."

I stare at her. She's Tessa's mom. "How can you be okay with this?"

"She is the daughter of two Sentinels and her strength would've exceeded Marush's powers as soon as she reached maturity. In that moment, she would've become a danger to the balance of nature. Beings like her are not meant to exist."

I shake my head—I don't buy this one bit. "She's nothing like Marush."

"It's not a risk we could take, Raelyn."

I clutch Tessa closer to my chest and shake her small frame to keep her awake. "Please, stay with me."

It's to no avail; the claws of death have a firm grip on her. As the last sparks of life drift away, her spirit detaches from her fragile body. Her smile is sad and she whispers a final good-bye. Gideon is waiting for her by the tree line. He reaches for her hand and together, they cross into the afterlife. With my next breath, the veil of death seals off our worlds.

Kendrick helps me to my feet. I glance around. So much carnage and devastation; something that is expected in any war but still hurts me to the core.

Delsandra mumbles into her balled fist, then lets the words escape. Magnified, the wind carries them to even the remotest part of the forest.

"Warlocks and werewolves, go home. There'll no longer be war between us. Let's celebrate peace and prosperity as the balance of nature is restored."

I wait for relief that never comes. The lunar eclipse ignites the night sky; the red moon moans the fallen. But I can't shake that there is more. A shadow creeps in from the darkness that doesn't belong here.

More cackling laughter.

Kendrick pulls me into his arms. "Are you okay?"

"It's sad that so many lives were lost."

"I'm just so thankful you weren't one of them." He nuzzles his nose in my hair, inhaling deeply. "I still can't believe you are here. I was convinced I lost you. And your wolf. How did you get her back?"

It was the Moon Goddess, rests at the tip of my tongue, but I swallow down the words. It's like a secret pact between us that should never be revealed.

I look up at the moon again; this time, she smiles down on me. Tranquility fills my heart. One leap is all I need to turn back into my wild. I shake my fur. Kendrick's wolf takes the lead and we chase through the underbrush.

Away from the slaughter.

Away from the blood.

Away from the dread of death.

We run for hours until my legs buckle underneath me. Panting, I snuggle against Kendrick; the warmth emitting from his wolf is overwhelming. He licks me all over, rubbing his sent into me, his snarls expressing his desire. Even though my body is beat, my wolf is indulging in the attention and affection. She wants to mend the hole left in Kendrick's heart that was caused by her departure. I let nature take its course and allow them to play. When he mounts me, his wolf is overly gentle and indulges in the act. Not even five minutes later, Kendrick is curled up next to me, snoring.

I stare up at the sky, fully content for the first time since I learned about my warlock powers. Above me, the moon melts with the early rays of the red morning sun. Goddess and God combined—just as they are within me—and my true mate is by my side.

~~~~

© Sally Mason 2018

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