Lunar Rising

Burning Ink

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SORRY FOR THE SHORT CHAPTER. I KNOW THE LAST ONE WAS A BIT SHORT TOO.

I HOPE THE PLOT IS COMING ALONG SMOOTH. I HAVE A PLAN DON'T WORRY!!!

I HAVE NOT SEEN MANY LIKES OR COMMENTS LATELY. DO YOU GUYS LIKE IT AT ALL? OR IS IT A JUNKER?

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I sat in Luka's 'newly renovated' study. Everything was torn to shreds and he roamed the room trying to tidy things up. I starred at him bewildered, wondering what processed him to destroy this room.

He awkwardly ran his fingers through his messy hair, as if trying to find an explanation to give me that wouldn't make him sound crazy. He scoffed, looking down while shrugging simultaneously.

"I got mad."

I almost laughed. I stifled the giggle that tried to escape my throat.

"Well that is obvious." I said in a mocking tone.

I made my way to his desk, jumping up on to the edge of it. Luka scooped glass into a dustpan, the crystal shards where sticky and covered in liquor. A surge of Shivers rocked my body, bringing me back to the night he was drunk beyond belief. 

He'd seen my face of displeasure. Luka grabbed my chin, making me bring my eyes to meet his in a dominant way. He stood in a firm manner, the slight curve in his back bringing him closer to me.

"That night will never repeat itself Aura..." He sounded sickened with himself. I believed he was genuine with his promise. I needed to.

When he finished cleaning up the glass, he grabbed the papers we were looking for and shuffled through them.

After explaining every detail in my dream, he recalled hearing  me say something familiar. From there, we journeyed into his study, looking for the answers to the puzzle together.

He flipped through the pages restlessly, becoming aggravated from not finding what he was looking for. I felt a pulling in my chest, so I paid closer attention to the pages as they flew.

Slowly, the feeling grew until a page in particular stood out to me. That's it! I just knew it had to be. Something was helping me to find my answers and this is where the feeling was leading me!

I grabbed his hand, stopping him from flying past the page. He looked confused.

"Something is telling me that one is it! I can feel it..."

He didn't question me even though I could sense he wanted to. The page fell back to where I'd stopped it.

Luka wasn't convinced as he scanned the page intensely. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Aura... are you sure?"

I searched for that feeling, trying to determine it's accuracy.

"Absolutely." Nothing but confidence left my tone.

Luka held the book so I could see the page.

"Aura... this is the chapter on your family lineage?"

I didn't understand how I could have mistaken the lead. It was a firm feeling. Luka was right though; this chapter contained my family's reign over their pack.

My heart stung with hurt reading their names in my lineage line, but the pain quickly diminished. My name wasn't in the registry, but my brother's name was. My mothers side of the family was missing, her name being the only one from her lineage. On my father's side, his whole family was in here. The union of my parents was in here. The birth of my brother was in here. Even the birth on my nephew was in this record! Why wasn't I?

My nephew was born only a few years ago....

I didn't understand the uneasy feeling I was having. The tingling urge that the information I needed was right under my hand.

Luka just watched me as I oddly preformed my recently enhanced senses.

I closed my eyes and ran my finger over the lines. I traveled my finger tip slow, feeling the senses from every name it grazed over. I knew the instant my finger passed to a new name, feeling the emotions of another life time. Their intentions. Their loves. Their... power.... The Ink burned.

The sharp sensation stabbed through my chest and I had a flashback of my dream, almost as if it were a real memory.

I opened my eyes, looking for the answer to everything I've been looking for. My disappointment was palpable. My heart sunk to the floor when I realized the name under my fingertip was etched out. Scratched beyond recognition.

Someone wanted to cover their tracks.

I threw the book in the already messy room, not afraid to break anything seeing how it was undoubtedly already broken. Luka stayed silent, understanding the disappointment flowing through me.

He tried to hold me, but I shoved passed him, walking to the center of the room. I held my head low, letting the shakes overwhelm my body and I wept. I though I was so close to the truth.

Luka's eyes burned into the back of my head, he wouldn't take his eyes from my weak exposure. I felt ashamed. I felt like I didt nothing but cry, kick, or scream around him. I wanted to let that part of me go. The part that hated him. 

His arms wrapped around me. I could feel the bright warming comfort he brought me from the contact. I fell into it, feeling like I could stay there in his arms for infinity. The dark looming pressure for me to learn the truth couldn't touch me if I had Luka.

I felt safe in his arms. I remembered back to when my father would hold me like nothing was wrong with our lives. He would hold me till I felt strong enough to walk out the door and face all the other kids. He said I was different, and that made me stronger than the rest  of them.

 For the first time since then, I felt like I had someone who would protect me with their life, even if I didn't want it. He wouldn't go away even if I told him to. Even if I was different from the rest.

I looked up from my tears in realization. The light clicked in my head. My mother and father would always tell me that I was different from the other kids.

I pulled away from Luka so quickly that I startled him.

"We need to go back!" I got ahead of myself, forgetting to explain my thought before my brain toppled over the other with a new one at a million miles an hour.

Luka looked absolutely confused. "Go back? Where?"

"Go back to my pack. Back to the ruins." My voice shook on the last part, but I couldn't lose confidence now. I had to commit.

"Aura... I don't know if that's a good idea. You're.... just starting to heal..."

I could see a million emotions passing in his eyes. He was full of regret, shame, guilt, self-hate...fear. Fear of losing me to the pain he caused. In that moment, I realized he was punishing himself harder than I was. I could read it all over his face, there was more to my family's murder than I know about. Melody may be right...

I took a deep breath. It would be more than painful to return home... to the destruction of my life... But I have to get to the end of this.