Page 74 of My Only Luna

Seeing her like this, I can’t breathe. The pain in my chest is too much and I press a fist to it trying to breathe. Why hadn’t I been there for her? Why did she have to go through this?

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” I whisper to the child who cannot hear me as she continues to writhe and tremble on the cold, hard floor, whimpering in pain. Tears trickle down her cheeks as she tries to breathe. “Fuck, I’m sorry.” My voice breaks, unable to hold back my own tears. All I can do is watch her suffer.

“…lijah! Elijah!”

My eyes fly open, my heart thudding in my chest, looking at Scarlett through blurred eyes in the dim light of the first rays of dawn that peek through the crack in the curtains. I suddenly look her over, my heart hammering, and I bolt upright, running my hands down her arms.

She’s ok. She’s here. She’s safe.

Concern floods her face as she cups mine. “Elijah… are you okay? Your eyes…” Her heart thuds with concern as I struggle to rein in my emotions: fear, anger, pain.

I open my mouth to reply, but nothing comes out and I pull her into my arms tightly, pressing her head into my chest. I’m unable to remove the image of that little bloodied girl from my mind.

I take ragged breaths, trying to tell myself he can’t hurt her anymore. But he has already hurt her way too fucking much. I stroke her hair, realising I had been able to smell the taste of metal and blood.

And I could do nothing.

“How did you survive it all?” My voice is barely above a hoarse whisper as I hold her close, wanting to shield her from everything. She stiffens in my arms, her heart thumping.

“What? You… shit…” She pulls away and I realise she’sputting it all together. “My nightmare… you… I’m sorry.”

I gently shift her body so I can cup her face. Guilt. She’s feeling guilty because I had to see that.

“Hey, hey, don’t think like that, and don’t you ever feel guilty,” I murmur softly before my voice becomes a menacing snarl. “That bastard is going to fucking die, and I swear I’m going to put him through hell.” She doesn’t say anything, but I can see she’s conflicted. “Hey, I’m fine.”

I’m going to treat her so fucking good because this woman deserves the fucking world and more after what she’s been through. She wraps her arms around my waist as I slowly lay back, taking a deep breath as I hold her close.

“I’m sorry you had to witness that,” she whispers. I kiss the top of her head, rolling on my side and pulling her completely against me.

“Like I said, don’t ever apologise,” I say, placing another kiss on her cheek. She has nothing to apologise for.

Inhaling her scent, which now holds a little of mine, I try to calm my raging emotions. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. I’m sorry I woke you,” I murmur, unable to string a better sentence together. Wait, am I sorry? Was she suffering this and would she continue to see it if I didn’t disturb her? The thought makes me sick.

She nods, but I can still sense her hesitance as she rests her head against my chest, my arm underneath her head, unable to remove those images from my mind.

Scarlett

I wish I could somehowblock him from seeing those horrible memories, because that one wasn’t even the worst, there are so many that are a hundred times worse. If this affected him this much, then what about those that still makemewant to throw up?

I wasn’t able to sleep, allowing him to fall back asleep. I am too scared that another nightmare might haunt him, so I stay awake despite how tired I feel. Only when his phone rings in the morning and he wakes up do I let myself catch a quick nap, telling him to shower first. I promise myself I won’t let him carry my burden for me. He doesn’t deserve that.

It is much later, and we are about to head back. A lot of our pack members have found mates and Elijah is organising exactly who is returning and who is going straight to their mate’s packs. The only female not to go with her mate is Angela.

Liam and Fiona did not find their mates. The other wolves were shocked to find out Elijah and I were mated, and some were even more surprised we didn’t reject each other. I walk over to Angela, who is bidding Cassandra farewell. She’s reserved and keeps her distance.

“I can come with you to your pack, I could stay at a hotel or-”

“No! No, you shouldn’t come to my pack,” Angela says.

“Oh. Ok.” Although Cassandra acts like she’s completely fine about it, I know she’s hurt.

“Well, I better get going then… bye.” She looks at Angela, making a small step forward when Angela steps back.

“Goodbye.” She smiles at her, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Cassandra gives me a smile before she turns and walks off.

“Hey, are you okay?” I ask Angela. A smile crosses her face,but I know her better than that.

“Of course I am!” she says, tossing her hair. She looks at my neck, seeing my mark, and a genuine smile crosses her face. “That mark is gorgeous!”

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