The Castle Under The Moon

Chapter Twenty-One

Shadow knew that Gheorgie was going to show up any time, he had a feeling.

It was already the next night, the perfect time for Lycans to attack, though Shadow didn't plan to fight.

"Aren't you hungry?" Luna asks from her position at the table, holding the small pouch that was full of berries up.

Shadow shook his head, remembering the deer that he had sucked dry while getting Luna said berries earlier that day.

Luna rolled her eyes and put the pouch on her lap as she continued to watch Shadow pace back and forth in front of her.

"How old are you?" She wonders, hoping that some conversation would calm the man down enough to stop pacing and possibly sit down.

"Old." He grumbles, still pacing.

"How did you know Jaiyana?"

Luna has to stop herself from patting her back when the giant man stopped moving and turned to look at her.

Shadow decided to be honest with his mate, remembering that his mother always said to be honest with your other half if not anyone else.

"She got me out of a bad situation and told me that she would watch after me, make sure that I always had a way out." Shadow closes his eyes as he remembers that day, and many others that he had shared with the woman.

"We were friends ever since." He smiles, opening his eyes.

"So you know Gheorgie?" Luna sets the pouch on the table, hoping that the men were on good terms so that the whole thing would go down smoother.

"He ran me off as soon as he got the chance." Shadow growls.

"What? That doesn't sound like him." Luna was shocked and didn't want to think of the older man that way.

Shadow meets Luna's confused eyes and stops himself before he could say anything too bad about the man, knowing how much she cared for him just by the way her eyes looked.

"He was jealous of the time that Jaiyana and I were sharing together."

When Luna's eyebrows scrunch up the beast and Shadow both melt a little bit, though it wasn't something that either of them seemed to notice.

"Were you mates?" Luna wonders aloud, ruining the moment.

Shadows eyes widen and his wolf whines, hating the thought of her mistaking the situation.

"No." Shadow chokes, trying to walk normally to the chair that she was sitting in.

Luna's eyebrows shoot up, noticing how fast he had answered her and the way he was closing and opening his fists as he made his way to her.

"We were just friends." He states, getting to his knees in front of her, hoping that she understood.

"Have you met your mate yet?"

"Yes." His reply was quick, no thought involved.

Luna's eyes widen as she stands, forcing Shadow backwards as she threw her arms around.

"Then you need to live! Let me help you!"

The sudden change in Luna's voice and pitch shocked them both.

Shadow stands up, trying to find something to tell her other then the fact that she was his mate.

After a full minute of coming up with nothing, Shadow grabs Luna's hands in his, deciding to just tell her, a small bit of hope filling him, maybe she would want him.

"I can't leave because-" Shadow was cut off when he feels a searing pain start in his left bicep and work its way through his arm.

When he looks down, Shadow sees an arrow sticking in the exact spot the pain had started.

"Oh my-" Luna speaks, not able to finish when another arrow glides into the cabin, right behind her.

Shadow growls and drops to the ground, pulling Luna down with him and positioning himself over her, keeping himself from crushing her with his right arm.

"What's going on?" Luna whispers, panic flowing through her voice.

"Your men need to be more careful." Shadow grunts, feeling the silver slowly numb his left arm.

They hadn't used enough to hurt him, only enough to make him feel it.

"My men?" Luna asks, her eyes meeting his.

Before Shadow is able to give her an answer the back door was banged open, disturbing the quiet cabin as it slammed against the wall behind it.

Luna cries out, not expecting the loud noise.

Just as Gheorgie walks into the cabin he shoots two arrows into Shadows back, hoping to make him too weak to fight.

"Stop!" Luna shouts, pushing against the now pale giant, trying to get out from under him, trying to help. Shadow could see the tears forming in Luna's eyes as she hit him with her fists.

Instead of listening to her command, Gheorgie shot two more arrows again, enough to kill four lycans worth of silver were now flowing through Shadow.

When he knew that he wouldn't be able to stay in that position for much longer he used the last of his strength to push himself to the side so that he wouldn't crush her with his weight, allowing Luna to stand.

"Stop this Gheorgie!" Luna demands, standing in front of Shadow's body.

Her eyes were now glowing a bright blue, and her voice was deeper, showing that she didn't like that the older man had disobeyed his goddess.

Anger was flowing through her, much like the silver was flowing through the giant man that laid passed out behind her, completely unaware of the scene that was playing out.

All of the men that Gheorgie had brought with him go down, taking a knee as they place their weapons on the ground in front of them, bowing their heads, knowing that they needed to obey her, her voice not allowing any room for them to argue.

"He has brainwashed you!" Gheorgie accuses after seeing his men listen to her. He's the only one still standing.

"He has done no such thing." Luna's voice deepens even more, sounding more deadly than anyone had ever heard it before.

"He has! He did it to Jaiyana and now he's doing it to you!" Gheorgie shouts as he glares at the men around him.

"So you did make him leave?" She asks, tilting her head to the side as her anger grew into something more terrifying.

Luna's feet began to leave the ground, showing that she was full of power and slowly losing her hold on it, Gheorgie knew that she would lash out soon if he didn't do something.

"I'm sorry but I have to do this." He tells her, and before anyone knew what was happening, Gheorgie raises his bow and shoots Luna in her right shoulder.

The men that surrounded Gheorgie began to scream, someone even knocked him to his knees before they knocked their bow into his head, knocking him out.

Luna's eyes widen as her feet land on the ground again, the silver slowly sinking into her system.

"Goddess!" Gabriel shouts, landing on his knees as he reaches Luna just in time to catch her from falling to the ground.

"He shot me." Luna croaks, still in shock from what Gheorgie had just done, whatever had taken over her seconds before now gone.

"You're going to be okay." Gabriel mumbles, watching as Luna's glowing eyes go back to normal.

"Don't hurt him, please." Luna whimpers, her eyes closing, not able to fight against the silver any longer. Silver didn't hurt her but since she is their goddess it forces her into a deep coma like sleep; and if given enough she could be stuck in that realm forever.

Not knowing which he that Luna was talking about, Gabriel tells the men to grab both Shadow and Gheorgie as he picks Luna up and runs towards the castle, hoping that they would get there in time to keep her from getting stuck in the dream world.