#2 When the Moon Turns Red

Evie

I had no idea how long I had been in this cell. The vampire, Gabriel, never came back to see me. In fact, I never saw anybody. They came and went silently, delivering stale bread and water that tasted like the inside of a tin can twice a day. It was freezing in the dungeon and I had no blankets or warm clothing. I had on the same gray tank top and blue joggers I was wearing when they took me. My hair was greasy and falling out of the braid I had put it in….I don’t know how many days ago now.

I couldn’t even stand up at this point. I was slumped in a ball on the floor in the corner of the cell. I could hardly lift my head when I heard a noise for, what felt like, the first time since forever. A shadowy figure appeared in front of the cell door with an electric lantern in its hand. I blinked against the harsh light, my eyes burning from the constant darkness.

“This is a good look for you.” The shadowy figure belonged to a male with a weasley voice. He stepped closer to the cage and I recoiled at what I saw.

“Much better than the spirited thing I saw at Blood Moon.” Russell Winters sneered at me.

“You did this?” I croaked out, my throat raw and coarse. My voice only made Russell grin wider.

“I orchestrated your capture, yes. It would seem you’ve made some big enemies for such a tiny thing.”

“What do you want?” I muttered.

“Absolutely nothing from you,” He scoffed like the idea of me having anything of value to him was ridiculous,

“But, I need Alpha Noah out of the way of my pack. Your capture and death will give me that.”

“Blood Moon will never follow you!” I cried out.

“They will when their Alpha and Luna are dead and vampires are knocking on their door.” He chuckled, clearly proud of his plan.

“What about Toby?” I asked, crawling across the cell and using the bars of the door to pull myself off the ground.

“He’s just as pathetic as his son. His alliance only ensured he wouldn’t get in my way and served as a distraction.” I realized then that Noah was right to believe his father. Toby had no idea vampires were involved or that Russell had planned to endanger Blood Moon.

“Noah will never give up.” I narrowed my eyes at him through the bars. I knew I was far from threatening but I also knew Noah wouldn’t give up on me so I couldn’t give up either.

“Oh, I’m counting on it. Each day that you’re gone, he grows weaker and weaker. You wouldn’t recognize your big bad Alpha now. Do you have any idea how long you’ve been here?” Russell asked as he looked me up and down.

“No.” I admitted.

“Ten days.” I gasped at his confession. A tear fell down my cheek, but I wasn’t crying for me, I was crying for Noah.

Suddenly, Russell reached into the cell and grabbed my arm. I cried out, struggling against his grip. He pushed the gate open and I realized he had unlocked my cell at some point. As he walked towards me, I stumbled backwards, trying to avoid him. I backed myself up against the wall, with nowhere else to go. Russell’s face was inches from mine,

“What does Noah see in you?” His breath made me gag as it brushed against my cheek. I said nothing. Russell gripped my arm tighter and yanked it away from my body, holding it out to my side. He was observing my shoulder which was bare thanks to my spaghetti straps.

“It’s good to know that you’ve never forgotten about me.” Russell sneered, admiring the claw marks he left on my shoulder.

“Shall we see where these scars lead?” I winced at the tone of his voice and the look in his black eyes.

He removed the spaghetti strap of my shirt and I knew I had to do something. I slammed my knee into his groin. Russell stumbled back for a moment but was quick to recover. He struck my face with the back of his hand, throwing me against the cement wall. I called out in pain and felt my lip, coming away with a droplet of blood.

“How dare you speak out against an Alpha!” Russell’s voice boomed through the dungeon.

Russell grabbed a hold of my forearms and shoved me against the wall. He used one hand to rip my tank top apart. I whimpered as it fluttered to the ground and was eternally grateful that I was wearing a sports bra. Russell licked his lips as he observed his claw marks that swept across my chest. A low growl escaped his throat and I saw his wolf flash in his eyes.

I felt a sudden fire bubble in my chest and I knew my eyes were swirling like before when I yelled at Toby in the dungeon. I had no idea what this Luna voice was all about, but I had to try something. While Russell was distracted by looking at my chest, I put both my hands on his chest and shoved him as hard as I could.

“No!” I screamed as loud as I could, my voice slipping from something I recognized to a viscous growl. Russell stumbled backwards, unable to catch himself, he fell down on his backside,

“Leave me alone!” I yelled again, standing over top of him with my arms crossed over my exposed chest,

“Submit!” I ordered.

“Y…y…yes Luna.” The words that spilled out of his mouth shocked me so much that I almost forgot to move.

I quickly ran past him and out of the cell. I looked around the dungeon and noticed that it was covered in pale, pasty looking figures I could only assume were vampires. They were all standing tall and stiff just like Dexter and Tatum had been in Blood Moon’s dungeon. I wasn’t going to question it, instead I started running down the space between the cells. I had no idea where I was going, but I knew I had to go somewhere.

I couldn’t see anything in the darkness. Russell seemed to have the only light in the basement and I was too much of a dummy to pick it up. In the velvet darkness, I managed to run face first into the end of the hallway. I groaned and fell backwards, running my hands on the surface in front of me. I stumbled on what felt like an old fashioned door hinge. I yanked on it and pushed the door with the strength I had left. I fell out the door and landed on soft grass.

I looked up at the full moon and used its light to inspect my surroundings. All around me was the bayou. I looked in the direction from which I came and stared up at the medieval castle that towered over me.

“Quick! Run towards the bayou. Your pack is out there.” A female voice startled me. I jumped away from it defensively.

“It’s okay. I’m Gena.” The female vampire held up her hands, showing me that she meant no harm.

“You’re Greyson’s mate.” I mumbled.

“I am. I’m sorry for my part in this. I don’t think your Beta will ever forgive my involvement, but I regret it deeply. I will do what I can to keep you safe.” Gena’s voice was genuine and I chose to trust her, no matter how naive that made me.

She pointed towards the bayou and I ran away from the castle as quickly as possible. Then, out of nowhere, came the most beautiful sound I had ever heard; howling. I knew, without a doubt, that those wolves belonged to my pack. Gena had been right. I turned on my heels and started running towards the sound. I burst through the treeline and stood face to face with a group of wolves.

Five large, multi-colored wolves skidded to a stop in front of me. They started to whine and circle me, nipping at my heels. One of them trotted behind a tree and came back as a man. I averted my eyes from his nakedness, staring at the space above him.

“Luna,” he placed his fist over his heart,

“I’m Cole, Luna, it’s so good to see you.”

“Where’s Noah?” I asked.

“We’ve mindlinked him, he’s on his way. He shouldn’t be long.” Cole told me just as the wolves in front of me started growling. They pounced in front of me, baring their teeth. I gasped and turned around to see a group of vampires glaring at me with cherry-red eyes.

I heard Cole shift behind me and nudged me out of the way with his huge head. I was standing behind the five werewolves who were facing off with a group of vampires who outnumbered them. I was consumed with fear, fear for my wolves and fear for myself. I clenched my hands into fists and reached down inside myself again,

“No!” I yelled again, causing the wolves in front of me to hang their heads and whimper,

“Leave, now!” I ordered the vampires, staring straight into their beady eyes. They hissed at me but disappeared in a blur. The wolves turned to face me and I saw curiosity in their black eyes.

A noise came from behind me and I spun around, ready to face whatever threat was next. Instead, I came face to face with the largest wolf in the pack. He had chocolate brown fur and glittering black eyes. I wrapped my arms around Remi’s neck and buried my face in his fur. He whimpered and yipped against me.

Remi took a step back and shifted into Noah. Noah dropped to his knees, his arms wrapping around my waist as he rested his head against my stomach.

One of the other wolves shifted and brought a blanket with him. He wrapped it around Noah’s shoulders, but he didn’t seem to notice. I felt my stomach getting wet as Noah cried freely. I ran my hands through his hair and cooed,

“It’s okay Noah, I’m okay. I love you.” I repeated, holding him close to me. We were surrounded by wolves who had their backs to us.

“Luna, take my shirt.” The man who had brought Noah a blanket pulled off his shirt and offered it to me. It was then that Noah looked up and seemed to notice that I was shirtless for the first time. He growled and I quickly pulled the shirt over my head.

“Why don’t you have a shirt?” Noah asked between his teeth.

“I’m fine, let’s talk about it later.” I urged him, holding his face in my hands. Noah stood up and gently touched my face. I winced, remembering my bruised and bloody lip.

“Who did this?” His eyes were the darkest I had ever seen them, his voice coming out as a growl.

“Russell.” I squeaked.

“I will kill him.” Noah said,

“Ferris, take the Luna back to the packhouse.” Noah said to the man who gave me his shirt.

“No, I’m not leaving you!” I cried, gripping Noah’s arm so tightly I felt my nails digging into his skin.

“Alpha, you should know that the Luna was able to command the vampires.” The wolf, Cole, shifted again.

“What?” Noah asked, looking at me. I shrugged,

“I guess I have a Luna voice or something?” I said nonchalantly. Noah looked at the first group of wolves who protected me and they all nodded their furry heads.

“Luna’s can’t normally control vampires with their command voice, Evie.” Noah explained.

“Toby said that it wasn’t normal for Luna’s to even use their command voice before the official ceremony.” Whatever that means. Noah growled at his father’s name,

“We’re going to talk about this later. For now, I need you to be safe while I deal with Russell and the Vampire King.” Noah grabbed my face and, for a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. Instead, he just rested his forehead against mine.

“I’m going with you or you’re leaving with me.” I told him. Noah looked taken aback,

“You’re trying to Luna voice me?” He asked, almost amused.

“I’m not doing it on purpose!” I yelled defensively. Noah couldn’t smile but a short, lifeless laugh escaped his mouth. I noticed for the first time how run down and defeated Noah looked. He had purple bags under his beautiful eyes, wrinkles on his perfect face, and his usually warm skin was pale and ghostly.

“I can’t think about anything but your safety and murdering Russell right now, Evie. I can’t stand myself right now because I let you get captured. I need to do this and I need for you to be under guard at the packhouse.” Noah was begging me. I was afraid he was going to get on his knees again, so I quickly agreed.

“Please, hurry.” I urged him. He grabbed my face again and nodded sharply.

“Noah!” I called as he turned away,

“I love you.” I said. Noah smiled slightly but his eyes continued to frown,

“I love you too, Evie.” I was disappointed that Noah hadn’t kissed me nor did he use his usual pet names. The look on his face broke my heart into a million tiny pieces.

“Wait!” I yelled at him again,

“The vampire princess, Gena, she helped me escape. She’s Greyson’s mate, she wants to be with him.” I told Noah. I wasn’t sure if he was listening to me, but he nodded anyway before running off.