Guardians of Magic

XI. Full Moon

Her chest is painfully contracting and it’s hard for her to breath. She didn’t know how long she was under water but glad she survived or rather, glad that she was saved. Her savior is looking intently at her, and his misty green eyes shows relief. She pushed her arm up to touch his face, but her fingers froze mid-air when she noticed something dark passed behind his eyes.

The quick transition of his eye color happened in a mere second, but Brianna is pretty sure, she clearly saw his jaw clenched and he swallowed hard. His eyes that once show relief was now replaced by pain. They were focused not on her face, but on her neck. He stared at it longingly and with obvious hunger. She no longer knew who this man is. This is not the Alden she knew.

She tense and felt her hands shaking. Her previously contracting heart now beats faster, raging to break free from her rib cage. Brianna almost forgot that she was dip under water for a long time and her clothes are still drench wet. She’s cold and the soft wind makes her shiver, and partly because she’s frightened.

Alden’s hand slowly trailed her invisible veins from her chest and moved up to the pulsing veins in her neck. “Don’t,” she begged, unsure if sound actually come out from her trembling lips. He had just saved her, right? Will he just suck the life out of her? Alden once said that she wouldn’t pass for a tasty meal. “I trust you.” She uttered and felt the hot liquid started to streak down her cheeks. Did she just cry? “You’re my friend,” she continued. Trying to shake the sense out of him, to the extent of her capacity at the moment.

 For a second, just a second, she thought she succeeded but it didn’t last long. Alden grasps her neck and squeezed it tight. Her hands automatically clamped over his’, trying to stop him from strangling her. His grip is nothing compare to the pain of losing air under water. This time, it is sinfully and unforgivably taken out from her. He leaned his head slowly towards her neck and Brianna once again shivered, feeling Alden’s breath caressing her skin.

She tried to fight him but her strength is nothing to him. She’s just like an ant trying to tickle a mighty horse. She kept on throwing punches, aiming for his eyes but she can’t even land a single fist. He’s damn pinning her hard on the ground and Brianna swears he’ll pay for it the second she finds the chance to break free.

The excruciating pain made her shut her eyes and prayed for something that might distract him. As fast as she had prayed for it, comes the answer.

Something has pushed Alden aside and they keep on wrestling, trying to defeat each other. The moment Alden’s hand left her throat, Brianna rapidly breathes to regain the lost air in her system. She puts a hand on her chest to calm herself and tried to focus. Her back still slammed on the wet ground and she was surprised when a figure suddenly appeared on top of her.

“Christian? What are you doing in here?”

“I’m about to ask you the same question, Brianna.” He said sternly. He helped her up and supports her head when she wavered from the sudden dizziness.

“Thank you.” She weakly uttered. “I don’t understand all of this. Am I still dreaming?”

Instead of answering her, Christian simply pinched her arm.

“Ouch!” she exclaimed.

“You shouldn’t be here, you know. Its full moon today and you’re supposed to be in your room at this hour.” He scolded stiffly.

“What does the full moon has to do with this?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. He suddenly throw his arms around her, shadowing her defensively. At first, she thought that Christian’s hugging her but soon realized that he was just shielding her from the attack behind them. They were shoved aside and Christian’s back hit the trunk of the old oak tree badly. He irked from the sudden pain, and his body weakly dropped on the ground.