adjective ~ relating to or prompted by instinct; apparently unconscious or automatic

NOVA

My head turned, and I took in the sight of them with fresh eyes. Charlie was naked and covered with blood, but I recognised most of it to be someone else's. There was a wound on his thigh and all across his left torso, but they were healing. It was only as I grew closer that I recognised the blood to be Calida's.

My eyes dropped to hers, finding her barely awake on the ground. I swallowed down the lump in my throat as I caught sight of her. Her entire entrails were outside her body, her torso ripped to shreds and chest collapsed. Her thighs and hands were torn; I think she was even missing a finger.

I shifted without thinking, gasping as my pain overwhelmed me. I felt wet and sticky as I fell to my knees beside my friend, but I didn't care. Shaking my head clear of the pain, I turned to hover over her.

"Calida..." I breathed, teary.

She wearily blinked, her eyes hardly staying open. Her lips moved, but nothing came out. Her once tan skin was pale and ashy, and her lips were pale. She didn't have long. The only thing keeping her going was pure adrenaline and stubbornness.

"Charlie, she's dying!" I squeaked.

"Nova..." He whined, staring at his mate. "What do I do? What do I do?"

I shook my head, overwhelmed, as I tried to force her body back together. It only succeeded in blooding my hands and my side screamed in protest with every harsh breath. Phoenix hovered behind me, murmuring my name. I swallowed down bile, noticing a sharp pain in my jaw.

Only one idea came to mind; one that saved Phoenix so long ago.

"You... You have to claim her, Charlie. It could save her."

His eyes widened as he finally looked up at me. I tensed at his gaunt expression, recognising the horror in his face. His eyes were dark and bruised, his lower lip wobbling with emotion.

"I can't!" He insisted, shaking his head. "I told her I would never do that!"

"Charlie, if you don't, she is going to die!"

He was shaking as he looked back down at her. His face was crippled with agony and, with a pained whine, he placed his palms on her shoulders. He squeezed the skin, unsure of his next move, but then turned her head. It fell to the side with no effort, a low exhale escaping her chest. I could hear her heart slowing down, knowing her time was near.

"I'm so sorry." Charlie sobbed.

I looked away as he sank his teeth into her neck, a whimper bubbling in his throat as he claimed her. When he pulled away, I looked back, watching the bite. It continued to bleed, even after he licked it clean. At the realisation it wasn't healing, Charlie tore open his palm and forced it to her lips.

"Calida, please." He begged.

His blood filled her mouth, but she was unconscious, the blood pooling from her mouth onto the ground. His head dropped, and he removed his hand to land a broken sob into her throat.

I felt frozen, as though this entire scenario wasn't real. Calida lay in literal pieces, dying before my very eyes, and there was nothing we could do.

'There's something.' Cel breathed.

I blinked, staring down at where my hand clutched my friend's. I wasn't sure what Celimene meant, but the desperation for my dying friend outweighed it all. As Charlie continued to try to cover her with his own blood, my mind raced for answers.

There was a way.

There was always a way.

My back tensed as I came to a conclusion.

I had no choice.

I was gifted for a reason. The goddess and my mother gave me this gift; a gift of knowledge and life. It lay dormant, unused and uncertain in my soul. But it was there. I just... I just...

Had to trust my wolf.

"Charlie." I breathed, securing a bloodied hand on his shoulder.

His blood-shot eyes and red stained chin stared weakly back at me. I swallowed down the bile, feeling the new rush of purpose.

"Let me take over."

"No, I have to! She can't die!" He whimpered. "I can't lose her."

"You won't." I shook my head.

I knew he wouldn't.

I was here.

"You don't know that!" He wailed.

"I do." I promised him. "I am the luna, Charlie. Listen to me."

His face contorted with confusion, and I sensed the uncertainty of my mate.

"Nova..." Phoenix mumbled. "What are you doing?"

Closing off all my links, I stared down at Calida. Charlie's mark was still bloodied on her neck, seeping fresh life onto the summery grass. There was so much blood, I had to bite back the urge to vomit.

But I had to save Calida. There had to be a reason I heard her pain, otherwise I wouldn't be one of the first here. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been in my life. Everything may happen for a reason, but my friend's death was not on these cards. Not tonight.

My entire body buzzed, moving on its own accord. I took hold of Calida's head in my hands, feel the cold harshness of death within my palms. My mind surged, desperately trying to send me into a vision that I was quick to shake off.

I had the power, not my gift.

My gift was me, and I was my gift. I had to give in to the strangeness within me. I had to let it overcome me whilst grasping onto my soul with my bare hands.

I breathed in, accepting my wolf's strength and powers. My mind emptied as I held Calida's head between my hands. With every deep breath, I felt my body warm. It emerged from my chest, tickling its way down my limbs and up my spine like goosebumps. My mind felt hazy, lively with an unusual sensation as I spoke.

My eyes slipped closed as I welcomed the vulnerability, and let my soul speak for itself.

"I call upon the Goddess to aid me." I began. "I seek your strength, and your health. Time is of the essence, and I need this more than ever. My friend is dying and I do not know what to do..."

Almost immediately, I felt like I had an answer. I didn't need to ask. I didn't need her health and strength.

I knew what to do.

I knew all along, and this rush of knowing overwhelmed me.

Within me, I felt it.

I feel it.

Untapped, raw, and so primal.

I took it within my grasp, enveloping the strength of my ancestors and the goddess herself in my palm. It shot down my arms and straight into my heart. I gasped, my head falling backward as my entire body burned.

I knew what I had to do now.

As the heat burned within me, my body and mind drifted. Without another thought, I sank my canines into Calida's throat. The taste of her blood was faint, and I felt no pulse beneath my gums. I dug them deeper until the entire length of my teeth were in her skin. The moment her blood pooled across my tongue, I felt my body hum. A radiant heat, a bright light overwhelmed me, and I had no choice but to give in to my gift.

Through closed eyelids, I watched Calida's life flicker. It happened in successions, moving so swiftly I couldn't keep up. Calida was a sweet child playing in the woods, playing with the frogs in the pond. Then there was a darkness, where Calida felt sorrow and loss, gazing at the faces of a man with distinct similarities to her as she was driven away in a vehicle.

The scene shifted, but the darkness remained. Calida was older, staring at herself in the mirror and poking her cheeks with a frown. She was wondering why she didn't shift, and why the girl at pack school hit her. Then, Calida was a teenager, sitting beneath a tree, appearing asleep. Wolves came, taking her away. Mud, silver, cages, huts, pain. Blood. So much blood and pain.

Calida was an adult woman with bruised eyes and red cheeks as she stared at a puddle on the ground. Her tan hand moved, splashing away her reflection before she walked off. A man grabbed her by the arm, dragging her into his cut with harsh words. Calida accepted her punishment, blaming her non-existent wolf.

Calida escaping in the night, desperate to free the women in the cages.

Calida failing.

Calida being punished.

Pain.

Rain.

Blood.

Tears.

Me.

I saw myself.

My dark wolf creeping through the woods as I desperately tried to save the women. Calida watched me from within her cabin. I didn't even know...

Then Phoenix came, his beast ripping apart the man who claimed Calida within the trees. It shifted to me within the hands of Steven, and I winced as it skipped to the part where his head fell from his body. Calida cringed, hiding away from the violence.

Calida was on the way to our pack, uncertain and wary. Untrusting. Adrenaline fuelled her blood, making my body buzz with fear.

Anxiety.

Loss of hope.

Uselessness.

Useless.

Calida wasn't useless.

Her images distorted, the darkness overwhelming them, slowly brightening as the past year flickered like pages of a book. Me, Molly, Rose, Phoenix, Sean, and then Charlie. His entire face lit up with a grin, his mouth moving as he excitedly discussed something with her. The surrounding colours were white and pink, a bright yellow around his head. He was happy, and so was she. My chest felt full, and whole, even as it skipped to the part after they mated and he held her in his hands.

I didn't shy away from her life, didn't shake my head at what she witnessed.

Even as the colours turned dark again, and she stood screaming at him from outside of the car.

Even as she walked away on her own and he drove off in a tantrum.

Even as the clouds rumbled, and the rain begged to end it all.

As wolves stalked her, and she cursed at them to go away. But they didn't listen, and despite her best efforts at running, they pulled her to the ground. It tore at her chest, dragging its claws down her arms as she screamed. She kicked and writhed, landing a hit on its jaw and scramble to her feet. But then another came, and the pain that washed over me made me want to throw up as it tore into her stomach.

I felt the wetness of her blood and the pain of her tears. I felt the sorrow in her chest as she witnessed Charlie's beast tear the rogue from her body. She dragged herself to the tree, using the last of her resources to call his name.

She knew she was dying.

She reached for him, remorseful, as he sustained countless injuries. His beast was frantic, acting on pure instinct as he wanted to get to his mate.

Calida's arm dropped to her side, a wheeze of pain escaping her as she refused to stare down at her body. She couldn't move her legs or focus on her feet.

Then I came, my beast tearing off the head of the other rogues. She weakly whimpered for help before a warm hand wrapped around her face and pulled her attention sideways.

Her chest filled with sorrow as she stared at the dull glow of Charlie. His once vibrant pink and yellows had dulled to a deep red and black. It was turning grey, and with a soft sigh, she wished him happiness before her mind closed.

And then I stood there, waiting for the next image. But my gift did not give me one, instead leaving me on the sidelines as I waited.

What was I waiting for?

I could feel the anticipation, feel it waiting for me.

What did it want?

Calida's watery eyes shimmered through my haze as she stared at herself in the puddles of our pack land. A constant thought as she glared down at herself after receiving the news of her health.

Useless. Unworthy.

She wasn't useless. She was my friend, my beta female.

Calida couldn't die. I won't let her.

The anticipation suddenly vanished, and a wave of acceptance washed over me that had my heart expand. My head reared, a sharp gasp escaping me as I fought for breath. I was half shifted, that much I could tell. My senses were sharper, and everything had a dark haze. I extended my claws much like my teeth, and I felt my heart racing in my chest.

Moving upon instinct, I stared at the four wounds on her throat before tearing into my palm. Much like Charlie, I pressed my bloodied palm to the wound.

"Vivifica." I mumbled, dropping my chin.

My body pulsed, thumping with the deep, incarnate desire to keep going. I felt it tingle down my arm, the warmth of my skin heating Calida's neck. Everything around me was silent, my body too in-tune to what I was doing.

I moved to her face next, focusing my attention on the paleness of her skin. With soft, steady movements, I brushed a bloodied finger down her forehead and nose before raising my hand above her. Mere inches from her mouth, I squeezed a drop onto her lips.

"Vivere, Calida." I muttered, closing my eyes.

The sky rumbled above us, the faint splattering of rain hitting my head. It was cold yet soft on my naked skin, but my body was warm, and accepted the blessing with a soft sigh.

Opening my eyes, I pressed my bloodied hand to her chest. My other moved to seal her mouth, covering her nose and lips with my palm. My body vibrated, my wolf grumbling within my chest as we sought for a heartbeat.

"Accipere et respirare, Calida." I whispered. "Please."

Silence.

It echoed around my head, bouncing from the trees and raindrops. The burning heat within my body travelled, begging Calida's body to accept. But I waited, and I waited, hoping that she heard my plea.

And then, as though the goddess herself blessed a miracle, I felt the dull thump of her heart beneath my hand.