The Forsaken Luna

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Elliot

I have been walking for so long my feet have gone numb. It is already dark. The sky is a pitch black color, the moon almost completely full. Mackenzie is awake in my arms. I know because her breathing is faster than it would be if she would be asleep. My arms hurt from carrying her the whole day, but I don't put her down. I don't think I can open my hands and let go of her figure, that is pressed completely against my own.

My shoes are soaked from the snow. I don't feel the cold anymore, but the night is getting colder. I'm scared that Mackenzie is going to get cold. She is only in my sweater and her body is weak and tired, because of the full moon and the torture she had to withstand.

"El." Her lips brush against my neck as she speaks. My wolf growls in delight at the feeling of her lips on my skin. The nearing full moon has a better grip on me than I thought. My wolf is going to try and take control of me if she keeps on speaking against my neck.

Mackenzie lifts her head up from my shoulder. Her nose brushes against my jawline as she turns to look at me. I can see her dull blue eyes from the corner of my eye. Her skin is pale and her face seems more sunken than before the kidnapping.

"El." She calls to me again. I turn my eyes to look at her, but that is all she gets from me. She knows I'm listening to her. She knows that I'm tired. She knows that I am still walking because I don't think I can stop. If I stop, I am going to break and I can't stop walking. I can't stop holding her so close to me.

"You need to rest." Kenzie tells me. Her fingers brush against the hair on the nape of my neck and I feel the hairs on my arms stand up. I look away from her and ahead of myself again. I only see trees. Trees and snow. The pitch black night is cloaking the woods we've been walking in for the whole day now.

"It's okay." Her lips brush against my cheek and I feel how one of her hands slips over my naked shoulder. It snakes up my neck and cups my cheek. Her hand is so cold. It's freezing cold against my skin. "Stop walking, El." My fingers dig into her plush skin when she tells me this. I can't stop.

Mackenzie doesn't seem bothered by the way I grip her tightly. She leans her forehead against my jawline. Her hair brushes against my neck and her scent, the smell of roses and honey, takes over. The calming aura she emits makes the grip I have on her loosen. My footsteps slow down until I completely halt, in the middle of the snowy woods. My muscles ache and I stare at the dark woods in front of us.

"You need to rest." My mate tells me. I close my eyes and clench my jaw. The muscles in my jaw move against her. They make her look up at me again. I can feel her eyes watching me.

"We're safe now." She tells me, her fingers brushing against my cheek. "We're not safe." The first words I have spoken ever since I killed Lora. My voice is hoarse, like I haven't been using it for years now. I swallow harshly and open my eyes. Mackenzie's soft hand turns my head to the side, so I have to look at her. Our eyes meet and I see this softness in her eyes. The blue in her eyes calms me down and I sigh through my nose.

"We're safe, because of you." She tells me, her thumb brushing against my cheek. The pad of her thumb scratches against the stubble that started to grow on my face. I watch Mackenzie. She keeps eye contact with me, until I give into her. My shoulders slouch slightly and I let my head fall against her forehead. I close my eyes and breathe her scent in, letting it calm me down a little more.

"Fine." I give in. I nod against her forehead, before I pick up my head. I glance around the dark woods, but there is no place we could actually go to. All I can see is snow and the trees. I move again, heading over to one of the trees. I keep Mackenzie in my arms, as I kick away as much of the snow as I possibly can.