We slide out of the car with grace, our movements fluid and enchanting, and the valet driver takes our car to the parking lot. It is time for us to bring the life to the party.
The only thing is that right now, I feel dead. Without Ella's aroma and my usual confidence, everything seems dark.
And Asher... I don't even know what to think about him.
I wave away all doubt as I reach the fifteenth floor from the stairway, trying to focus at the matter at hand. The feisty wolves are right beyond the glass doors already, waiting for me. Jake shoots me a sympathetic look as I reach forward to grasp the handle.
"You're dead," are the last words I hear before doom strikes.
A plethora of lovely ladies crowd around me instantly, something I have grown to handle. Many new faces are around, made-up into oblivion. I instantly smile, trying desperately to veil the sudden discomfort underneath. I used to be right at home under these admiring gazes, but now they scare me as if I am a deer caught in the headlights.
A red-sequined dress clinging to a truly magnificent body slides my way, home to a nasty minx with deep chocolate eyes and voluptuous, plump red lips. "I've been waiting for you," she says coaxingly, parting the women like they were the Red Sea, and then pulling me into a heartfelt embrace.
"I told you not to hug me when I'm not yours! You know the rules," I tell Meryl angrily, and she laughs.
"But Nico... when I see you surrounded by those truly pitiful girls, I just have to save you," she purrs like a kitten, pulling at my arm. I frown. "Is tonight auction night? For I am going to make you mine again," she adds.
"About that..." I trail off as she tugs ferociously on my hand, pulling me into the shadows. Her body is pressed against mine as we are suddenly in a corner, annoying me more than alluring me like she hoped.
"How 'bout I buy you for life?" she offers a simpering grin, "I could offer a couple million."
"You ask me that every time I come to Moonlight," I complain. She stares at me intently, as if she is seeing me in a whole different light.
"Are you okay, Nico?" she asks worriedly, putting a soft hand to my forehead. "You just seem... different. More tired than usual."
"Actually, I am tired," I admit, surprised that Meryl can be so perceptive. "I have an announcement to make." I shrug away from her, heading back to my rich, adoring fans with increasing terror. Doom is upon me.
"Everybody, gather round!" I quickly call, causing the crowd to thicken. Meryl forces herself to the front, watching me suspiciously. Wes gives me a thumbs up as I speak. "I am retiring from the bachelor auctions today," I emit the dreaded words, causing anger to ripple within the group. Shouts erupt through the room, every person staring at me with sad, and somewhat furious eyes. Meryl is starting to cry, tears flooding like crystals down her porcelain cheeks.
"Why, Nico?" she asks, flinging herself onto me. With carefully hidden disgust, I pluck her off of me and put her back with the rest of them.
"Because..." I look to the sky, tinted with dark purple hues. There, hidden in the shadows of the night, is a perfect full moon, shining like the sun. It is so beautiful, making me try to remember the last time we had such a spectacular moon. Why would Asher want to miss out on a wonderful night like this?
Suddenly, the pieces come together in my head, making a whole. Fear fills my thoughts, blocking all else.
Tonight is the perfect night for an Awakening.
Everything is forgotten as I scrunch my nose slightly, wanting the slightest bit of a scent. Just to let me know how she is doing.
"Nico?" the clamoring of voices, seemingly faraway even though they are truly very close, reaches my ear. I ignore them completely; finally snatching the bit of fragrance I have desired so.
Tinged with fear and distraught, the one scent eliminates my doubts once and for all. Ella has disobeyed me. Asher has betrayed me. She has, or will be Awakened.
Anger pollutes my blood, fury in my features. "I have to go," I nearly snarl, trying to race away from them before I morph. Wes and Yi see the beast in my eyes with fright, trying to hold the girls back. However, one girl breaks from the crowd, running in her red sequins over to me as I push the elevator button. I tap my shoe impatiently. Elevators are another thing I hate.
"Nico?!" Meryl calls, clinging to me like glue. I impatiently try to push her away.
"Not now, Meryl." I can't hold back much longer. The anger is changing me, working through my system, eliminating all.
"Tell me what's going on," she demands, staring at me angrily.
"You want to know?" I ask sarcastically, completely lost now to the devil boiling inside. "Fine then."
Knowing how crazy I am, I morph into a werewolf directly in front of her, knowing exactly what is going to happen next.
There is a blood curdling scream as I race into the stairwell. Elevators are crap. They never get you where you want to be on time.
I zoom, my figure a blur, down the stairs, out the door, and into the street. My legs are pounding so hard that I can barely breathe. It is only a matter of seconds before I'm out of the city, and into our territory. I am traveling unbelievably fast, faster than I ever thought I could run.
Just a few more seconds, the scent growing irresistibly stronger and repugnant from the terror, and I am in the bushes right before a small hill. Two figures are standing at the top, one short, and the other majestically tall. The moon is huge behind them, clear as can be, casting pure white light upon them.
"What I just gave you was an injection of Spier blood," Asher informs the short girl as she stands awkwardly beside him. Traces of red in her hair can be plainly seen, her frown faintly evident.
"Asher, I don't feel so good," her relaxing voice, tinged with pain and anguish, speaks as she falls onto the ground. Asher immediately bends to be by her side, concern in his movements.
"There will be two hours of this, and then it will be all better. Don't worry, I'm here for you," he practically begs, taking her hand and holding it close. I feel a spike of jealousy at the way he is pulling it so near to his heart.
When the first scream rips through the night, Ella writhing on the green grass, I jump up from my hiding place, anger forgotten. "Ella!" I yell, racing over to her. I almost trip over the rocks and stones, introducing a quality most unlike me. I am never clumsy.
Asher stares at me, horrified, as I check her pulse. She is screaming almost constantly now, bent in horrific pain. "Is this normal, Asher?!" I demand, my voice uncannily high. All my anger begins to focus on the man that coerced her into agreeing to do this.
She stops yelling as quickly as she started, now convulsing as if she is having a seizure. Her face betrays pain, tears running down her face in rivers. My tears soon join hers, making a puddle in the ground.
"We will know soon," Asher speaks finally, and I look up as if noticing him for the first time. Pure hate is in my features, and combined with a deadly inward beast to match. He is a walking corpse.
I pull back my fist and punch him in the stomach with a mild version of my Earthquake Punch, causing him to stagger back. Soon he will probably be coughing up blood... one of the aftereffects of my hate-filled hits.
"I hate you!" I say angrily, tears flowing profusely. I feel like a mess. Everything is falling apart. I know her movements are normal for a Seer being converted, but I am still afraid. She can still die.
I stagger back by her side as another scream rips through the air, wanting desperately to snatch her into my arms. Whispers of agony are in the air, enough so I can sense it, just beyond my abilities to change the hurt. The tears are coating her face now like a mask, running down her neck, her cheeks soaked.
I wrinkle my nose as her smell turns black, repelling even. Asher staggers back a little also, noticing the skunk-like stench she now carries.
Suddenly, her eyes glaze over, and she is completely still. My blood runs cold.
"You know you have killed her," I look steely into his large green eyes, "she's going to be
gone forever." I turn away and hold my head close to her heart. Only the faintest whisper of a heartbeat remains.
The soft forest air turns cold, causing goose bumps to rise on my skin. What can I do? I have never felt so helpless.
My mate soon will be dead.
I could tell from the minute that I met Ella that she was special, so the reality of her imminent death hits me a lot harder than it originally would. She had a past with Shifters. Although she tried to hide it, she also possessed a caring heart and desired to help others however she could. In a small corner of my mind, I thought Ella would never fail. That there was no chance of her dying through an Awakening. I'm sure Asher believed this about her as well.
And here she is, before me, taking her last breaths.
I know it is truly too late for anything now, but I cannot help myself from trying to think of a way to save her. I try to think of any healing properties, such as plants or medicine, that we possessed at the mansion.
"Is there anything we can do?" I ask Asher desperately. I grab Ella's hand as I ask him, and alarm enters me when I realize her fingers are as cold as ice. It feels as if I am touching a corpse.
"We can wait." Asher looks away, obviously torn by the sight before him and the possibility of having Ella arise as a Spier, no matter how little the chances.
"Don't lie to me, Asher. Her Awakening is failing! It is obvious to us both."
"It's not over yet," he protests shakily. It is easy to tell that he is starting to think otherwise.
"I'm not kidding Asher. Tell me what I can do. We need to save her." My voice turns deadly, and Asher grows pale. A few minutes pass, filled with silence and anxiety.
"Nico, I'm so... I'm so sorry."
True despair takes over, leaving nothing to tame my insanity.
I must do something. I have to do something... it can't end like this.
I take my pocket knife and slice my finger slightly. I can't bring myself to cut her, so I just hold it over her mouth, which is slightly open. When the first drop of my blood touches her lips, she shivers, almost gagging.
Asher just stares at her and then me, dumbfounded. "You idiot!" He bitingly whispers, his words like poison.
"Is she going to live, Asher?" I ask bitterly, "have you ever heard of something like this before?"
I can't think. I can't breathe. I can't live without her. Somehow, I must keep her with me.
His words rip through the silence, condemning her. "Never."
It is only my tears now, racing down my skin like liquid fire, burning where it touches. Ella is still unmoving, her eyes closed. Her skin is like an assortment of bruises, fading in and out. Her hair is thickening, growing straighter past her back at an alarming speed. Somehow, she is growing taller, her legs lengthening. Why is this happening? Werewolf blood is what enhances the person's looks, not the Spier blood.
Does this mean that this crazy scheme is working?
We watch her in silence as she starts mild convulsions again, all the while her appearance changing rapidly. How can she have both symptoms? She can't convert into both a werewolf and a Spier. That will surely destroy her.
I lean back in the grass next to her, touching her fingers. Ella's fingernails are sprouting from short stubs into a perfect size, and then stopping abruptly. I haven't cut my fingernails in thirty-seven years.
I can't bear much more of this. It is eating at me, tearing me apart. The ground is wet behind my head… not that I care. It is probably just my tears, dancing across my face like an unnecessary amount of sweat. Asher just stands there, frozen. He is clueless, I can tell. No words amount to how angry I am at him.
I am reduced to nothing because of her, and indirectly, Asher himself.
She is finally still, after about twenty more agonizing minutes of these convulsions and morphing. Her chest is moving, breathing. It is a little bit different from the first time, for this time she is only sleeping. It is a wonder she has made it this far. My mate is strong.
I wait endlessly for anything from her... for a response, a touch, or even a glance.
Still there is nothing.
It has been around an hour and a half of pure and utter torture for us both, and the clock ticks towards the eventual two. It might take longer because of the effect of the werewolf blood. I don't know anything, and that is what's killing me.
The minutes tick by as I bend my head into the grass, utterly defeated. I was stupid to think I could change anything with a few drops of werewolf blood. The result... is still unknown, and leaning precariously towards the outcome I desperately do not want. I probably guaranteed her death, adding some blood like that... why am I so stupid? Why couldn't these doubts have occurred BEFORE I applied the blood?
"Nico," Asher’s voice, soft and smooth, lingers over me. I barely notice as a soft, delicate hand deposits itself on my head, smoothing my azure hair.
And then suddenly I realize whose hand that actually is.
I lift my head, catching Ella's hand as it falls towards the ground. Squeezing it tightly, I use my hearing to listen to her heartbeats, starting back weakly, and then turning stronger with surprising force. Her eyes are still unopened, but a little smile is on the corner of her mouth. It is then that I give myself away to peace and the assurance she is so graciously giving me. Everything will be just fine.
No matter what happens, Ella will be with me.
Loved by Death
~ Ella ~
Scalding hot, unfamiliar blood is racing through my veins.
This is not the first time I have wished for death, but this time, the desire is much, much stronger. Every breath I take allows icy cold air to enter my lungs, freezing my insides and battling the heat that is enveloping me. I experience the extreme burning, then the excruciating cold. I am bathed in excruciating agony, every second pure torture.
Thinking is impossible, hurt being the only emotion consuming my mind.
My tears are like little ice pellets, dripping down my cheeks as I writhe about. Once again, an all-too-familiar sense of doom impends upon me, entering through the fire and ice. I am a lost cause. Death is here waiting once again. Why does he seem to want me so badly?
Then, a splash of a soothing substance hits my tongue, slipping down my throat like melted chocolate. All tranquility it brings vanquishes, exploding in my stomach like fireworks, only accenting my suffering. What sort of medicine is this? It only makes things worse.
Just let it take me.
Let me succumb to the darkness.
But a warm, deliciously strong body refuses to release its hold on my skin, two strong hands latching onto my consciousness like suction cups. I desperately try to sink into the dark depths, temporarily forgetting everything. What do I really have to return to? Not true love, a family, or even friendship. An infatuated werewolf doesn't count, by the way, although a sharp feeling stabs my stomach at the thought.
Do I really want to leave him? Is deserting him what I really want?
The forbidden question is now entertained by my delirious mind, and I am unable to avoid it. Do I love him?
My heart pumping, I begin to regain my vigor after only thinking about him. His perfect, statuesque face dances in my memory, his sparkling emerald eyes peering in my thoughts. Everything about him ripples with strength and masculinity. A blush almost forces itself to my cheeks when I realize I am relishing the image.
I quickly stuff my attraction and desire back into the corner of my mind, avoiding the disarming question at hand. I have only been with Nico for a couple of days, yet he is affecting me so much... but it must be the effect of mating. I can't be in love, when only a short time before I had never even talked to a guy. Even though he is so enchantingly handsome, distracting me even in this state, I couldn't have let myself fade away to this alien emotion. I couldn't have already given in, after barely waging a fight.
For some strange reason, I feel myself begin to lighten. The heat and heart-wrenching cold recedes, and an almost pleasu
rable experience snakes into my chest. My limbs feel weak and elastic-like, almost like they have just been stretched, my face likewise. It is like the relief you experience after a workout, weariness coupled with a raw satisfaction. The hands wrapped around me release, and I can feel a gaze searing my skin. Worry is emanating off the person, surrounding me like a blanket. At least somebody cares about me.
Not quite thinking straight, my hand reaches up to calm the creature, man or beast, to lift the burden they are carrying. As I touch a head of hair, my hand nearly shrieks in delight at the pure luxury I am fingering. It is the smoothest hair I have ever felt, long and slightly wispy. Instantly, I realize who this person has to be.
Maybe it won't be so bad to live a little bit longer. I hate to admit it, but he has already morphed into someone I will want live for.
***
I wake to the sweet sound of birds chirping in the breeze.
My eyes slowly adjust to the blinding light streaming through the window, my breathing deep and relaxed. Consciousness returns to me, and with it, remembrance. Last night, I almost died. Maybe I'm actually dead now, and don't realize it.
Is this heaven?
I shrug off the velvety covers, slipping my feet from the mattress to the cold, hard floor. My surroundings are exactly like the room the pack had given me, with a beautiful view of the forestry and wildlife. Maybe I am a ghost, forbidden to enter the afterlife because I attempted to gain immortality.
Padding to the doorway, I gaze at the hallway, a mirror image of the one at the place I am hesitant to call "home". Haziness fills my vision, and I stumble along the walls in a random direction. I needed to find somebody. Anybody.
To tell me where the crap I am.
Unintelligible whispers are floating about, voices pounding. My head is reeling with strange sounds and thoughts, screams and laughter. My feet, however, continue on its unknown path, curiosity in each step. For some reason, I feel very different, and as I look down at my feet, questions fill me. Why are they so far away? Why are they a little bit bigger than I remembered?
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