Chasing His Betrayed Luna

AURELIA

No. No. No.

Jessica shouldn't have revealed herself so that she could poke the bear. I could have handled Larisa and distracted her long enough for Jessica to arrive with help. She should have gone in search of help. Heck! We needed help.

Larisa had a gun... not just any gun. A gun with silver bullets and one of those bullets could end Jessica's life and mine... and Kyle's. Still, Jessica wore her pride like a second skin... like I hadn't been shot by Larisa's men who I failed to perceive until I crashed on my knees.

This was one of the countless times I wished I could access Jessica's mind like a pack member but spending almost six years in Black Fur Pack wasn't enough to make me an official member-

"You've got guts," Larisa mumbled, disbelief loud in her voice.

Rather than keep her mouth shut, Jessica snorted, her footsteps sounding closer by the second, "What can I say?" She paused just as she stopped beside me, holding Larisa's gaze without flinching, "I'm not a spineless wimp."

Saying Larisa was pissed would be the understatement of the century. She pulled the cold tip of the gun off my head, pointing it at Jessica who remained calm while my son was yanked along with her.

My heart broke and I cried for my son. Since the second Larisa brought him out of nowhere, I wanted nothing more than to tear him away from her and hold him in my bosom. Gosh, I have missed him. Kyle seemed weak, malnourished, and in pain... in a crazy amount of pain. I could just tell that the pain I was feeling right now couldn't compare to the one eating my son away yet Larisa didn't release him as she hissed at Jessica, "Initially, I thought you would be alive to bury your supposed to be Luna but I see you have a death wish."

Of course, Jessica responded without hesitation but my mind was too foggy to comprehend her responses or the next set of words that Larisa spat her way. Pain took over my senses when I tried to push myself off the floor. Kneeling before Larisa made me look pathetic and defeated but despite my attempts to stand, my knee remained glued to the forest floor and my blood soaked the floor beneath my bleeding thigh.

While Jessica and Larisa bantered, I cursed myself for ripping out one of the arrows even though I did that to keep Jessica safe but now, I realized that I had compromised my chances of saving Kyle before my poor baby collapsed. I cried internally, "Please, Ina. I need you."

But again, Inara was quiet. She has been since I felt the tips of the arrows pricking my skin and tearing it to dig deeper into me. Inara's silence and my dizzy state were evidence that the arrows had introduced poison into my system. I couldn't tell what kind of poison and I could only hope that it wasn't the kind that would take my life right before my son's eyes.

"Come on, Inaka. Jessica is clearly

distracting Larisa with her crazy methods. I need you to heal me. We need to save Kyle. We can't let Larisa's silly games stop us from saving Kyle, Ina." I whimpered, closing my ears to Larisa's and

Jessica's words completely.

I search deep within me to find Inara with my eyes on my son's fragile frame. Once again, I felt alone. I recalled the days I didn't have a wolf within me. What if I never get Inara back? What if- Oh, dear goddess. Please don't let this happen- "Are you kidding me? You seriously think Larisa's tactics can vanquish me?" My moment of self-pity was interrupted by the serene voice of my wolf.

I gasped out loud as the wound on my bleeding thigh stung, sharp pain spreading through my body. It was as if a force was sucking life out of me yet I managed to voice my relief to Inara, "Thank goddess you a-are ok-okay..."

"I was mute because I had to focus

on stopping the poison from spreading through your body and I did that within a few seconds but since I couldn't find a less obvious path to expel it from your body until you created one by yanking one of the arrows and opening a path for me." As soon as Inara finished explaining, I felt my mind becoming less foggy.

"The poison is out of my system?" I asked, unable to believe how fast my wolf worked.

"Yes," Inara answered. "To avoid suspicions, I won't seal off the wound and neither will I encourage you to remove the other arrows but I'll help you endure the pain till Kyle is saved and Larisa is struck dead."

Inara's voice drastically became

hostile as she stared at Larisa through my eyes. I wasn't surprised to see Jessica was still arguing with Larisa as if she was the one holding a gun. Unlike Larisa who was lost in the banter, Jessica was still very conscious of the surroundings, and she sent me a signal I didn't understand before pushing Larisa off the hill with these words, "I bet you don't even know how to use the gun. From what I can tell, that's your daddy's gun."

"Is she trying to get herself killed?" I thought to myself but I soon understood her signal when she fooled Larisa into turning her back to me.

Inara confirmed Jessica's intentions by saying, "No, she is creating an opportunity for you to take Kyle and that's what we are going to do!"

Immediately, I put pressure on my legs, rising without alerting Larisa. Of course, I felt pain but I clenched my teeth and held back the miserable groan that threatened to burst out from the depth of my soul.

As she promised, Inara helped me endure the pain by shoving it into a mental box and locking it in. Quietly, I drifted closer to Larisa, steadying myself with the intention of knocking both Kyle and the gun out of her grasp by hitting her shoulders simultaneously. However, I failed to foresee the way I'd react after I successfully weakened Larisa's left shoulder and saw Kyle falling. In short, I forget the second shoulder.

"You bitch!" Larisa yelled in pain as I rushed to save Kyle's body from hitting the hard floor of the forest, forgetting that Larisa was still holding the gun.

As Kyle's body fell safely into my arms, Larisa pulled the trigger. The booming sound had me folding my body around Kyle and my back cried in protest, blood trickling down my spine.

Screaming, Larisa fired again and I could only cry out as Jessica's body fell backward and perhaps, lifelessly...

"No!" I screamed, forgetting the burning pain in my back. "Jessica!"