adjective ~ unable to see or lacking perception or awareness

PHOENIX

We landed ninety minutes later, and as soon as they gave me the clear to leave the plane, I ran out first. We landed somewhere south of the mountain, but my Beta had given me the directions and it was only a fifteen-minute run from this landing strip to where he lived. He claimed he was in a burnt down building and to follow his scent. I rallied the warriors.

Once all of us had our bags secure, I commanded them to shift before following me. Ares bristled, nose twitching with the unfamiliar air. We rarely came this far north, leaving the mountains for the Lycan and rogue wolves. It was too harsh a winter for most of us to stomach. Despite running hotter, we preferred to stay away.

Most of our enemies lie within the boundaries of human territory and it is within our treaty with the human rulers to protect them if it ever comes to that. Thankfully, in our three-hundred-year existence of that treaty, it had not been needed.

I snapped out of my daydream as my senses alerted me to my Beta's presence. I shifted mid-stride at the sight of him, coming to a stop in front of him and adjusting the bag on my back. He looked withered, his clothes bloodied and hanging off of him loosely. His hair was a mess and his eyes rimmed red. I growled at the thought of the torment he must be feeling, but Ares was only looking for someone to blame, so tried to keep it to myself.

"Alpha, glad you got here alright." He sighed.

I looked around the part of the forest he had called me to, taking in the quietness. I picked up the faint scent of my mate in the wind and found myself drawn to it. The warriors stayed in their wolf forms, my Beta's lips falling silent as I walked away.

Ares was tugging on my mind, taking me to a place where her scent was the strongest. I found half a deer carcass decaying on the floor, blood soaking the ground. I bent down, my fingers pressing to the earth as I inhaled her scent. My chest ached, tears burning in my eyes as I breathed it in after so long. It wasn't the same, having only her room and her things back home.

My jaw clicked with how hard I was fighting to keep it closed, and I shakily got to my feet, eyes flickering to where her scent disappeared. The crunching of fallen leaves caught my attention, and I turned to see my Beta and the brother approach me.

My Beta's eyes were wary as he bravely stared into my eyes. I watched him take me in, just as I had studied him, and he exhaled loudly.

"Alpha... I cannot smell her, but if we follow her trail, I can show you where she disappeared. Hopefully, you can pick up something." He murmured, dropping his gaze.

I nodded firmly and shifted back to my wolf. Her scent was much more potent, and Ares kept his nose to the ground as we followed it. Her paws had left a decent trail, the mud still soft from the lack of sun. I heard the many paws of my pack behind me and it only fuelled Ares on further with their support. As we broke the magic border, I growled at the shivering feeling that came with stepping inside the unguarded territory.

I was thankful the witch holding it had allowed us in. Apparently, she was an old one that my mate spoke of well. When we approached the stream of my mate's disappearance, I warned my wolves away with a sharp bark. She had travelled far from her hunt, a good mile distance. Her path had been direct, as though she knew where she was going... Or lead there by someone.

I growled as the thought penetrated my mind and shook out my fur as I jumped over the stream. My Beta was close behind me, the brother shadowing him. With my nose pressed into the earth, I followed until her scent came to an overwhelming stop by the fallen tree. With my sharper vision, I took in the four paw prints, distanced far apart as though she had been stretching forwards to scent.

My nose pressed into the wood, finding the ash seep into my nostrils. I sniffed it away, trying again to find that this was the spot where she shifted to human. Her scent was all over the trunk of the tree, large indents on the floor that showed me she had fallen to her knees before slipping to the other side of the log. I grumbled, pulling back the reins. Ares grew restless when the image of her being dragged came to mind.

My hackles raised, but I stood stoic as I stared at the last spot of her scent. She had fallen forwards, which drew my eyes upwards into the forest. My Beta was an excellent tracker, dare I say better than me sometimes, but with his wolf gone, which I would deal with later, it was down to me.

I stared dead ahead, keeping myself in the same direction she must've fallen. There was a break in the trees, fallen autumn leaves of all colours, but no tracks. I grumbled, finding no scent nearby either. Paying the others no mind, I stepped over the fallen log to get a better view of the ground. I moved some of the fallen leaves, hoping for some kind of clue or scent.

I continued in the same direction, my paws treading lightly and avoiding the direct route of where she must've gone. There was nothing for a moment, but I couldn't stop. My need to find her was growing restless, and the anxiety was clawing at my throat. I felt like I was suffocating again, that I would never find her.

My breathing felt heavy, and I gulped for breath. My wolf form struggled as Ares' sorrow grew, and I shifted to bare skin, falling onto my knees. I gasped for the air I desired, trying to force my heart to calm down. It wouldn't do me any good to fall victim to the crushing emotions I felt with the lack of the bond.

"Alpha? Find anything?"

It was the brother.

My head snapped up, my hands sliding along the earth to rest on my knees. However, as my fingers trailed through the broken leaves, they fell upon something cool and metallic but also soft and small to touch. My ears rang as I pulled the object from the grass. The metallic part of it glinted in the dull light that streamed through the trees.

My hand clenched into a fist, crumpling it into my palm as my heart pounded in my ears. I knew what it was, whose it was right away. My mate always wore a hair tie on her right wrist when her hair was down, a personal quirk of hers. I pulled my fist to my nose, inhaling deeply. My head fell back with disdain as her scent flooded my senses, but deeper, underneath it all, lay something else, something familiar.

I lay the hair tie on the broken leaves before willing my shift forwards one more time. My body ached with all the shifting, but I didn't know what I was doing, where to go. But this, this hair tie, had to be a clue.

My snout lowered and pressed into the soft fabric-covered elastic, pulling the scent of her into our lungs. I searched harder, Ares helping in tasting the fabric with the front of his lip, his tongue darting to figure it out.

I knew that scent.

I recognised it.

I lived with it for years, only this one was slightly different. Younger.

A growl tore my throat as the image of the dark-haired Raven filtered through my mind. I told it to my Beta, whose breath hitched behind me. I felt my gaze flicker between sanity and bloodlust. My body was trembling, the desire to hunt and torment my prey overwhelmed me.

I allowed this witch into my home, into my pack. I rescued her from being kidnapped and reunited her with her mother. I looked past her dodgy past, her relations with the rogues, and let her have a clean slate.

I agreed with Ares.

We would tear this forest apart until my claws sank into the soft flesh of that witch.

I snarled, drool pooling from my mouth as my back arched and tensed with the anger. It consumed me, the hold I had on my self-control slipping.

With a loud, hate-fuelled howl, I let Ares take full control.

NOVA

I didn't sleep well. My body was cold and tired and shut down not long after the enemy left. I had no concept of time, falling in and out of sleep. I was left alone, thankfully, but my hours and days became blurred. I was pretty sure I had been in here for over one day, but I did not know. I heard no footsteps down the hall, had no company as I sat here forced to urinate in the same space they made me sleep in.

The room closed in on me. Constantly in darkness, I became jumpy with every sound that came from the drain or upstairs. Whatever room was above me had little foot traffic, but when someone walked by loudly, I jolted awake in fear of another bath.

I was hungry and exhausted. Despite the amount I slept, I never felt fully rested. Darkness blurred around me, my stomach growling with hunger, mouth dry with thirst. I felt like an abandoned animal and knew that when, or if, someone came, I would have to beg at their feet. I felt sick, constantly finding myself dry heaving or throwing up bile. I could feel the stickiness of it covering me, but didn't have the heart to wipe it away. I was already sitting in my piss. What's some sick too?

I sighed, my head falling to the hard wall behind me. Every time I fell asleep, I prayed and prayed for help. I begged the Moon Goddess for some help, for anything. I begged and longed for Phoenix, for his arms to hold me and make me feel okay. All my thoughts and ideas had left me the moment I realised I was trapped in here. I felt numb.

They didn't care what condition my body was in, so they surely couldn't be after my blood.

My head swam with the thought and I bent over sideways, dry heaving bile onto the ground. I groaned with the pain, my stomach tensing and aching with every breath. I could feel ribs now, which meant I had to have been here a while. I just needed answers. I needed some company.

I felt the burning in my eyes as sadness enveloped me once more, but I was too dehydrated to cry. My eyes closed, finding the same darkness as when I was awake and I sighed with the loneliness, falling to sleep.

***

A sudden blinding light startled me out of my haze. I looked around, confused, wondering if this was the 'end' people spoke about so wonderfully. A figure filled the light, and I inhaled deeply, pulling myself up more to get a better look. My eyes burned with the sudden infiltration of light and I struggled to see who was in front of me.

Moon Goddess, is that you?

The figure stepped closer to crouch before me, and I squinted, making out long, dark hair. A pair of red lips came next, skin pale in comparison. I frowned, tilting my head weakly to get a look at my saviour.

"Oh my Nova, what have they done to you?"

That wasn't the Moon Goddess's voice... That was...

"I'm so sorry, Nova." Raven breathed.

My lips trembled, and my head dropped in shame. Her pale hands came and caressed my skin, a sharp wheeze escaping my lips as her warmth heated my flesh. I whimpered at the soft touch, leaning into it. I must've looked a mess. I overestimated my strength to stay upright when the collar around my neck tightened. Her arms caught me, pulling me into her warmth, which I so gratefully accepted.

Her chest rumbled with words I couldn't make out, but the sudden relief from my neck had me humming and sagging more into her. Her arms wrapped around my shoulders, my head pressed to her shoulder and chest. I devoured her warmth, my mind too foggy to think of anything else other than the heat.

I was suddenly removed from her warmth and lifted into the air. My eyes flew open, and I cried out in protest, nails embedding into my palms as I fought the cuffs that held them together. The voice that lead from the person holding me was deep and unrecognisable. They held me tightly as I tried to move out of their strange arms.

"Nova, it's okay. Relax." Raven cooed. "Close your eyes."

As she spoke, I felt the shimmering rush of power overtake me and my limbs fell heavy. The person carried me from the room, my body swaying with every step as light flooded my eyelids. I felt the warmth in the air grow as we ascended the staircase, and the relief I felt when I finally laid down on a bed was unmatched to the warmth a soft piece of fabric gave me.

"We cannot give you medical attention. Our orders are to only bring you here." Raven's voice cut through the darkness, her hand on my shoulder. "Sleep, Nova. Sleep and protect your body."

With my eyes still closed, I took her words easily and my mind fell numb to the world of sleep once more.

***

feeling confused?? Good 😜

Question of the Day:
When do you find yourself reading? Do you set aside a time in the day? Or is it whenever

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