Slaves to the Moon | DRAFT

XIX ■ Mercy

"Yer Majesties!"

By the time we had made it back to the castle, the storm was in full swing, covering the forest floor quickly beneath thick blankets of white, fluffy snow. I would be lying if I said I wasn't slightly relieved to see the large, red-head waiting for us on the front steps.

"Luna." Fergus bowed slightly as he placed a warm blanket around my shoulders. That was the second time today he had called me that. I wanted to correct him, but there was a twinkle in his green eyes as he looked towards Gabriel. A sparkle that hadn't been there for some time now. As much I hated being called 'Luna', the argument could wait.

"I see yer looking fit enough tae give Chuck Norris a run," Fergus teased.

Gabriel grunted as he climbed the rest of the steps. He had been distant and cold since leaving Willie's, clearly focused on something else. At the time, I had assumed he was just focused on getting us back to the castle before the blizzard, but now? I wasn't so sure.

 "Any word from Alpha Jack?" he questioned.

"Aye, thay made it th' lenth o' Montreal afore th' storm hit," the Scotsman informed us. " I suspect as soon as th' roads clear, the Alpha will be 'ere."

"Good," Gabriel nodded.

As Fergus ushered us inside the warm castle, I was surprised to hear a low rumble erupting from Gabriel. I immediately turned around to find the Were King's eyes narrowed at the hand resting on my shoulder. I stepped forward, ready to embrace Gabriel in order to stop him from hurting Fergus, when suddenly he tossed me up and over his shoulder. In no time at all, the King had bounded up the staircase.

"Please, Alexis," he begged. "I need to claim what's MINE."

As he flung me down, across his bed, my hand flew up to the mark on the side of my neck. "But you already have," I croaked.

"No, not really." A pained look crossed his normally handsome face as he gazed down at me. "It should have been pleasurable the first time," he informed me. "Not forced because you were dying."

I opened my mouth, a protest forming in the back of my throat. While I had agreed to give this relationship a chance, I still wasn't ready for all he wished it to entail.

"Gabriel, I--"

"Did you know when you left this afternoon, I could still feel you," he began. "I could feel you through the mate bond and I knew something was wrong. The hex was driving my crazy and I was sure you were in danger. I thought you were near death! If I hadn't shown up when I did, I could of lost you," he whimpered. "You are the only thing I have left in this world, Alexis. You're all I have left of my wolf."

I blinked repeatedly as I tried to hold back the tears. There it was, the truth I had known all along. Gabriel Aethelwulf, one of the world's most powerful werewolves, and yet he was nothing but a slave to the moon.

"Do you even love me?" I stammered, making my way to the other side of the bed.

The King's mouth gaped open, "How can you say that?" he asked. "You know I do."

"What I know is that you live for your wolf and your Luna," I spat. "You feel a sense of obligation to me, and you're only using me to keep you grounded to your wolf. The truth is you don't love me-- you need me." 

"Isn't that better?" Gabriel scratched at his head. "When I go to sleep and wake up, you're all that I think about," he yelled. "For Luna's sake! I can't even breathe without you being on my mind."

Sadly, I shook my head. My throat constricting any words that might have come out. As I rounded the corner of the bed, Gabriel came towards me. The mate pull wanted me to run into his arms, but my head knew he would never understand.