Chapter 3

Ashton

It was supposed to be a simple patrol. The cold wind blew against my skin, and the strange silence of Blackmoor was so scary that it felt deafening. No one and nothing had dared to live here since Elira's died. Not until I saw it.

There was an instant change in the air as my breath caught in recognition at that exact movement. I felt a kick from within my chest. And with that, I didn't stop to think about what it meant or why I felt it. I didn’t speak. I ran instead.

I ran towards the center of the disturbance, with mud splashing beneath my boots. And as I got closer, my lungs seemed to shrink. It was strange and unbelievable. The forest, this forest which had been a dead and cursed place was glowing. Not just with the light, but with more. A feeling of something ancient and an emotion I hadn't felt in years.

She was on the floor when I got to her and my knees knocked with the ground when I got to her side. My arms shooked as I drew her in, holding her waterlogged body against my breast. I choked on my breath as I trembled in her damp hair.

“Elira,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “Elira—goddess, you’re back.” My arms tightened around her as her wolf whimpered inside me, scared.

And then I heard her whimper. Except Elira wouldn't sound like that. It wasn't her voice. Wasn't even her scent.

My chest tightened as a sharp pain tore just beneath my breastbone. My fingers shook as I brushed her wet curls away from her face, while my eyes roamed her face and my fingers withdrew a little.

No.

No.

This wasn’t Elira.

I groaned and grabbed for my side. She wasn’t Elira and she would never be Elira. I shook my head in disbelief whispering to myself, “She's gone. She’s dead and she’s not coming back.”

I clinged to the dirt with my hands when I took a deep breath and muttered. “Damn it,” I growled. “Son of a— Ashton, what the hell was going through your fucking head? ”

Why did I allow myself to slip like that?

How could I have given myself even an ounce of hope?

You fucking idiot I cursed myself. Hope was weakness and that same hope was what killed Elira. I glanced back at the girl, as her lips remained open, still quivering.

Was she one of them?

Had they sent her?

I felt a storm of chill roll down my spine as I glared at her with my hands clenched. “Who are you? Where the fuck are they,” I asked quietly and coldly. “What do you want from me?”

She blinked her eyes slowly, her lashes were wet while her mouth struggled to move a little but there was no sound. “Who sent you?” I asked again, louder now. “What trick is this?”

Still nothing she said nothing, except blinking as she remained looking dazed, soft and helpless. I wanted to turn away. My first instinct was to drop her right where she stood. But something didn't feel right.

And that was when I looked up around. “hold on let me get up” And then I saw it— I mean, really saw it.

The trees.

They were standing tall looking green and vibrant. Those were the same trees that had stayed dry and lifeless for the last four years. They hadn’t been like this since…

Since Elira.

I lifted my eyes and then I saw it. A faint glow above her. A symbol. A stain I had long erased from my memory, one I thought would never come back. It was the same mark that had glowed over Elira as she drew in her last breath. A red dragon with a half moon tail.

“th—oh,” I said quietly, taking a slight step back. “That’s not possible…”

But it was there. And as clear as daylight.

“What are you?” I asked more to myself than to her. She rolled uneasily but did not answer. Her eyes were too cloudy and her body looked too weak. She looked like someone who had simply been consumed and then thrown up by the forest.

I crouched lower still, feeling warry.

This had to be the moon goddess. It looked so much like her signature move. “She looks like her, she smells like her… and you leave this mark?” I said brushing a hand across my face “Of all the ways to mock me…” I scoffed to myself.

“I ought to kill you,” I said under my breath to the girl. “Right here. Imagine returning you back to your sender above.” But I didn’t.

The goddess had placed something inside that broken body, somewhere. Something familiar and something forbidden. Or perhaps, that was her true punishment. Or maybe I was not to fall in love again. Perhaps I needed to see a different one die.

“Fuck you, No.” I thought to myself half aloud, shaking my head as anger simmered low in my chest. “Not this time.” She moved once more, barely raising her head.

And the more I looked at her, the more I hated her for being here. For having that mark. For awakening something that had been dead and long buried with Elira. I clenched my jaw.

“Let the Moon Goddess think I'll let her do this to me again,” I murmured bitterly, “she'd have another thing coming.” And with that, I got to my feet, and gazed down at the girl.

I would use her.

I didn’t care what she was. I didn't care what blood she or the violet eyes posessed, and I certainly didn't give a flying fuck about any broken past. If my path to revenge had been sent by the Moon Goddess, then so be it.

“You wished to place a greater pain on me,”I lamented in my thoughts. With my arms folded and my heart cold, I stood over her. She was fading.

Despite the cursed mark pulsing faintly over her, she was too weak. Her breaths were shallow, and inconsistent. I watched as her fingers twitched, as if her soul was attempting to run away from death.

And I knew the least that could be done at that moment. I hated that I thought about it at first but then there was no other way. It was obvious that she would not make it through the night, not here and definitely not in Blackmoor. Not that there was anything keeping her from surviving in any, unless she gave herself a reason to stick around. The answer turned out to be my mark, and nothing but it.

The bond.

A bond I said long ago would never be forged. I fell on my knee next to her and stared at her for a moment. Her skin was cool and rain slick. Her lips were blue. But I caught the slight, sudden fear in her eyes when she met mine.

Good.

I needed to her scared and not all trusting. “Do you want me to bite them again,” I said dryly.I caught the glimpse of confusion as she furrowed her brows weakly.

I leaned in closer. “If I don’t, you’ll die. The magic here—it rejects outsiders. This forest this land it only take those who aren't their own. And right now, you aren't one.” She blinked once more, as she let out another shallow breath.

“I’m not offering,” I added. “I’m telling you.” I wanted to see her crumble. I craved the sight of her pleading for me not to. And I wanted her to cry so I could remember the reason I no longer gave a shit.

But instead, she frowned. And then slowly, her lips parted. “Do it,” she rasped. I stiffened at her reply.

“What?” She swallowed hard then struggled to lift herself with shaky elbows, before ultimately breaking and falling again.

“I said do it,” she repeated. “Mark me.”

I stared at her.

I'd only said that to see her shrink. I used use that to break her spirit a little further in order to remind her that she was nothing but my pawn. Instead of that, she was offering herself to me willingly. She looked into my eyes and I catch a sight of fire behind hers too.

“Just…finish it,” she murmered. “I dont want to die.” “Not here. Not yet.” I remained silent. This wasn’t what I expected. She should’ve cried. She should’ve begged. Instead, she gave me permission. And that pissed me off.

I inched closer, letting the monster inside of me surface. I pushed her sticky hair off to the side as my breath fanned over her neck. She drew back, but not far enough away to break my hold. I grinned as I heard the pulse beneath her skin throbbed wildly.

"Until you do what I want.. you are now under my authority. "

“I don’t care,” she breathed.

Foolish girl.

I opened my mouth, as the tips of my fangs popped. I bit into her neck which was hot and smooth under my teeth, when I promised myself.

I will not love you.

You are not Elira.

You are not my salvation.

For the Moon Goddess made Her mistake, and through you I will outsmart her.

Sweet, and strange blood filled my mouth and whatever this blood was laced with made a headache explode in my brain for a second—but I ignored it. I licked the spot to close the mark, as I pulled away from her lips.

It was done.

She was mine.

And I would have burned her to the ground before the goddess realises it.