by Liza James
“It’s always been you, Luna,” he says as he bites my lip and releases it. “Even before, when I didn’t know you.” His lips collide with mine again in a possessive mark to my skin. “Even after, when I tried to deny it and push you away.”
His words send waves of warmth burning through my body with a delicious flood of desire and devotion. I feel our potent energy pooling around us as I let my fingers trace patterns across his chest. It’s heavy and dense and I don’t quite understand it, but I let the air bathe us both in its effect. My mind wanders back to his words earlier, about Nathanial attempting to bond me first.
“Why couldn’t Nathanial bond to me?” I ask, thankful that he couldn’t but curious to know why as well.
“That’s what we need to discuss. There is a reason, but it’s a long story. We can talk about it later when we get back to the house,” he explains, and I look into his forest green eyes for any signs of deceit. I don’t find them, so I relinquish the pursuit of my answer and let him roll back as I rest my head against his chest.
“All right,” I whisper and instantly the exhaustion of the last several weeks catches up to me. I have Elijah, finally and entirely. My body is satisfied and while I’m still hungry for more of him, I’m relaxed in the nearness of him and open acceptance of our bond.
“We’ll rest, but only for only a little while. I think Nathanial and Stella can keep themselves busy out there.” He yawns and pulls me tighter against his body. I naturally mold myself to him, every one of his hard lines matching my softer ones perfectly. Another reminder of how he genuinely feels like the other half of me that’s been missing my entire life. Two pieces of a puzzle finally fitting together and creating the final image of power and beauty.
I let my eyes fall closed as I surrender to sleep, my hand clasped tightly around the side of Elijah’s neck while his rests greedily on my thigh.
I slowly blink my eyes open as I try to remember where I am. The carpeted floor is hard beneath me, but my body is entwined around heavy, hot limbs and I instantly know it’s Elijah. I can feel his presence in every part of my body. It’s a welcome feeling and I relish in the moment briefly before trying to slowly pull myself away from him.
The lights to the room behind us have turned on and a couple has taken their place on the circular bed in the middle. I can hear them, which is what woke me from my sleep, but Elijah seems to have no problem sleeping through her heated moans and his masculine grunts.
Hell, he even slapped her ass and Elijah still hasn’t moved a muscle. I laugh, realizing how heavy of a sleeper he is. But I shift away from him and quickly search the floor for my dress. I find it tossed a few feet away and swiftly pull it over my head so that I can go look for Stella before waking Elijah. If I can get everyone together, then we can all head out soon. I don’t think we’ve been asleep long, probably only forty-five minutes or so.
My eyes glance to the floor as the small white pill Camden gave me catches my attention. I reach for it, holding it up in front of my face before sliding back in my dress against my chest. I need to tell Elijah about it, I doubt we’ll use it now. But when we talk later about why I couldn’t bond to Nathanial, we can cover this base as well.
Strangely enough, I don’t feel any sort of anxiety over my relationship with Elijah moving forward. I’m connected to him, on so many different levels now that it seems we’ve completely merged. Our bodies, minds, and souls belong to each other in a catastrophe of power and destruction. I love it. I crave it. I’m no longer afraid of it.
I slowly open the door and sneak out without waking Elijah. I’ll be back to him in a few moments after I find Stella. I hurry down the hall, unsure of what direction I need to go but try to follow the music and voices I hear drifting in from the main club.
I take a series of turns down the dark hallways, surprisingly not passing another person until I’m relatively certain I’m getting to closer to the crowd. A couple stumbles past me, two women who are clearly drunk and giggling as they hurry down the hall. I consider asking them which way to turn next but ultimately decide against it, not wanting to interrupt their fun.
Instantly, a large hand snakes around my shoulder and slams over my mouth as I’m yanked back against a hard chest. Hot lips brush against my ear as stiff hairs tickle the side of my face.
“Are you lost, little Luna?” Camden’s quiet voice fills my ears as my heart races against my chest.
“Jesus, Camden. You scared the shit out of me,” I say after pulling his hand from my mouth. I turn around quickly so that I can see him. His hair is down, a sweaty matted mess as it clings to his skin. His eyes are wide, frantic and slightly bloodshot as he looks me over. “Hey, are you okay?” I ask, lifting a hand to rest on his shoulder. Confusion races through me, and suddenly every muscle in my body tenses in preventative alert.
“I’m great, baby. I was wondering when you were going to come and find me,” he says as he dips his head forward and brushes his nose down the length of my cheek. I take a step back, placing my hand on his chest so that I can put a little space between us.
“Camden, listen—” I start, but suddenly I’m thrown back against the wall as he pushes his body roughly against my own.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. But we don’t have time. See, I thought this was going to go a little differently. I assumed Elijah would be so furious with you—” he pauses, trailing his tongue across the skin of my throat. “—coming against my fingers that you’d feel your only option was to take the fucking pill.” His hand darts forward and crams down the front of my dress as he plucks the little baggie from where he knew it would be. I try to push against him, but his other hand comes forward to bind my wrists together while he tears the bag open with his teeth.
“No, Camden. I’m not taking it. I don’t—” But I fall silent as he puts the pill in his own mouth and then crashes his lips against mine. I fight against him but his tongue pushes and invades my mouth while he shoves the pill as far back as he can reach. He bites my tongue and lip while I yelp until I’m gasping for air and have no choice but to pull away and swallow without choking.
Luna. Where are you?
Elijah’s voice breaks through my mind but I’m too frantic to respond. I swallowed the goddamn pill and I don’t even know where I am.
“What the hell, Camden!” I shout, trying to shove him backwards. His heavy hands grip my waist as he turns me around and slams be back against the wall. My chest and face are crushed against the black paint.
LUNA.
I don’t know. It’s my only response, because I’m trying to fight against Camden and sort through the mess I’ve suddenly found myself in. I have no idea where I am, or how to explain it to him, but I know the bond will cut out at any moment if everything Camden claimed is true.
“Fuck, you’re so sweet. Always so sweet against my body,” he says as his lips press against my ear again. “Good for one thing, baby girl. Only one fucking thing.” Instantly, terror and memories come flooding back at the same time the blood bond goes black. Completely dark. I don’t feel anything. No presence. No indication of Elijah even being alive. No vague notion of where he is within the vicinity. Nothing. Even when I was blocked from the bond earlier, I at least knew Elijah was around. I could feel the thin wire that connected us even if there weren’t any emotions or energy flowing through it.
Six hours. I can handle this. Six hours and the bond will be back, and I will be able to communicate with Elijah. I just need to handle Camden for that long.
It happened in an instant. The quickest, loudest and yet all too silent separation I had ever felt. It was barely noticeable and left my blood screaming and searching for her.
LUNA.
I shout again, out loud and through the blood bond that I no longer feel. I lift myself off the ground and race out the door while I’m still yanking my jeans back up my thighs. Every single door I pass I throw open, shouting her name and stalking the halls. But I have no inclination of where she is. I h
ave no idea if she’s alive, no clue if she’s hurt.
I have nothing.
It wasn’t painful in the same way my break from Amelia was. No, this was far worse. It’s a silent killer of toxic poison that tore us away from each other without anyone’s consent.
“Luna,” I yell through the halls as I feel my pockets for my phone in order to call her. I try. She doesn’t answer. So, I move to Nathanial next, urging him to pick up and pray that he has somehow seen Luna.
“Elijah,” his voice is hoarse, and music blasts around him through the speaker.
“Where the hell are you?” I shout over the line.
“The bar. You?” he asks dryly.
“I can’t find Luna. I need your help,” my voice cracks in fear and I hate the betrayal, but I need him.
“What do you mean you can’t find her? Use the bond and—”
“Yeah, I fucking get that, I can’t fucking find her Nathanial. It’s gone.” I grit through clenched teeth as I finally break into the main area of the club and hastily move towards the bar until I spot my brother. I hang up the phone without waiting for an answer as I come up to stand with him.
“How is it gone, Elijah?” Nathanial asks as he meets me immediately and rests a reassuring grasp on my shoulder.
“I don’t know. I don’t fucking know. But I can’t feel anything, it’s gone. Like someone cut it off without breaking it. Like something’s blocking it from—” Immediately, Camden’s promise comes back to my mind, reminding me of what he told us he was creating. “Call Camden. Find out where he is,” I say quickly as my eyes start scanning the crowd for him as well.
“Fuck, do you think it’s the pill he was making?” he asks, pulling out his phone and lifting it to his ear.
“I know it is. We need to find him.” I begin moving through the crowd, working my way back to the front of the club while Nathanial follows behind me.
“He didn’t answer. Shit, I need to get Stella. I’ll meet you at the Jeep,” he calls out before veering off and looking for Luna’s sister. I’ll fucking leave them if I have to, but I head outside and scan the streets for any sign of Luna and Camden.
Rage builds inside of me at the thought that he might have her, but I don’t understand why he would want her, other than some sort of sick obsession. I don’t know his motives for pulling a stunt like this.
Stella and Nathanial race out of the club and rush up to the Jeep as we all jump inside. I throw Nathanial the keys so that I can focus on finding Luna.
“Where the hell is my sister?” Stella shouts frantically from the back seat.
“With Camden, I think.” I drop my head into my hands and close my eyes, pushing outwards with the bond that I logically know still exists, but is absolutely invisible to me.
Where are you, Luna?
“No, Camden wouldn’t make her take the pill if she didn’t want to do it,” she refutes and rage boils in my chest at the underlying assumption.
“She didn’t take it willingly, I can fucking promise you that,” I say, trying to ignore her comment. It tugs at my mind though, making me wonder if she actually did take it on purpose.
No, she wouldn’t do that. Not after tonight.
“Elijah, you need to focus. Feel it out even if you don’t know it’s there. Focus on your blood, on her blood. You know the bond exists, it’s just hidden from you right now.”
I lean back in the seat, and drop my arm over my eyes, blocking out any streetlights or distractions as I try to focus on everything Nathanial instructed. I search and search, begging for the slightest sign of her location or the tiniest whisper that she’s still alive.
But I come up with nothing, again and again over the next several hours while we drive around aimlessly searching for my Fated.
I’m counting down every single minute until we hit six hours. Thankfully, we’re fucking close. I’m pretty sure I’ve got twenty-three minutes left before this pill should dissipate and I can tell Elijah where I am.
Which is ironic, because I actually have no fucking idea. My head throbs, a bloody mess in the back after Camden smashed me against the cement outside the club and knocked me out briefly. He threw me in the back of a white Escalade—where I caught a glimpse of the clock when I woke—and I’ve been here ever since we left.
We’ve been driving, and I vaguely felt us slow to a stop for several minutes while someone else climbed inside the vehicle. But no one has said a word, and I’m afraid to sneak a second look and let them know I’m awake. I’d rather wait out the next twenty minutes and have a moment to talk to Elijah without any of them realizing it.
I continue counting down, always trying to reach out and feel the bond ahead of time, in case Camden’s calculations were incorrect and it shorts out sooner than he planned. God, I hope for that. But I also worry that things could spin the other way, and it lasts longer than the potential six hours. I push that thought to the back of my mind though, refusing to let that fear fester.
Camden’s words flow through my thoughts again, “Good for one thing, baby girl. Only one fucking thing.” An icy shiver races up my spine as they connect to another horrible part of my past. I’d like to believe that there’s no way Camden could have been there that night, been a part of the four men who attacked me. But I also thought it would be impossible for Elijah to have any connection to that night either and it turned out he had been searching for me.
My mind spins and twists with all of this new information, connecting so many different people to various parts of my life that I’ve tried to forget. Who the hell were my parents anyway? That this was the life I was born into, that they felt the need to abandon me and Stella when we were just babies.
I don’t fucking get it.
“I’m telling you, they’re Fated.” Camden’s quiet voice suddenly breaks through the silence and I hold in a breath while I try to listen.
Fated? Elijah and I?
“We don’t know that for sure yet,” a female voice responds. One I’m unfortunately too familiar with. Amelia must have been the person he picked up earlier.
“He all but screamed it at me when we were training, trust me.” Camden sounds annoyed. I can imagine his jaw is tense as he angrily forces the words out of his mouth.
“Fine, then we kill her. Elijah will be nothing without her,” Amelia says casually, like this conversation is nothing but a nuisance.
“You’re letting your emotions for Elijah cloud your judgement. If we’re going to kill one, we need to take out the other.” He pauses before a low laugh ripples from his throat. “Or kill Elijah and give me Luna.”
Fear courses through me at the realization that either myself or Elijah might not make it out of this alive. I need to warn him, but the bond is still internally blocked.
“Find someone else to play with, Camden. If they are Fated, Elijah will find her, and we’ll know for sure. At that point, we will decide which course of action to take.” Amelia’s voice becomes slightly more tense, frustration fills the space around us, and I have a feeling it’s due to Camden’s clear disapproval.
“What does Danner think?” he pushes her, and I feel the vehicle take a swift turn to the left.
“Danner is not the fucking King. And you would do well to remember who rules over this fucking race.” Her voice turns icy and cold as she suddenly loses her temper. Camden immediately falls silent at the harsh rebuke.
My heart rate picks up several notches as the vehicle comes to a stop. Before Amelia and Camden step out, he quietly speaks up one last time. “You’re right. I apologize, I serve you and you alone, Amelia.”
She doesn’t offer him a response, or even an acknowledgement to his apology. Instead, she simply instructs him on what to do next. “Take Luna to the tree. Get her ready, and I will meet you shortly.”
I listen as both doors open and shut loudly. I scramble to prop myself up against the back of the seat so that I can immediately kick either of them back with my legs. My chest heaves with each pass
ing second as I wait to hear the click of the back-door unlatching.
I race through my mind again, quickly reaching out in search of Elijah before my situation becomes more chaotic. But there’s nothing, and I know we’re past the six-hour threshold. A hesitant fear builds in my stomach at the thought that maybe I won’t be able to reach him in the midst of this.
The definitive click of the door lock sounds in the tense air and I pull my legs back towards my chest. As soon as the latch lifts enough for me shoot forward, I launch my feet into Camden’s groin, and he stumbles backwards on a growl.
“What the fuck, Luna,” he says with a laugh as I dart out of the back of the vehicle, but he’s far too quick and launches his fist into my hair, gripping and yanking me backwards against him. “It’s a good thing that I’ve been the one training you over the last several weeks. I know exactly what to expect.” His teeth graze my ear as he shoves me forward and I fall to the ground where gravel scrapes into my palms.
I glance up, quickly trying to determine where I am. But we’re surrounded by unfamiliar scenery. Tall, thick trees and a mix of grass and gravel are layered in the darkness of the night. The only light provided is from the glossy moon. Stars are scattered above, and I have the strangest sense of finding comfort in them. Finding contentment in the fact that at least some of the stories I heard as a kid, of Angels above, are partly true.
But it’s the Fallen who have captivated my attention now. A warring race of incredible creatures. Some who have taken the worst of me and others who have brought out the best. Yet I’ve found myself in the middle of their battle, another piece of collateral damage in their wicked game.
Camden shifts forward and begins dragging me down the dirt path ahead of us. He’s taking me further into the demonically shaded woods, dark with uncertainties and hidden sins. No one will be able to find me in there and anything Camden does will be easily buried under the depths of the night.
