The Dark Side of the Moon

T H I R T Y - T W O

"I want him in the cells by sunrise."

"Yes, Alpha."

Another yawn escapes me. It's becoming harder and harder for me to remain awake. I curl closer into Grayson, searching for any sort of comfort. Now that I'm focusing on all of the sleep I haven't been getting and the supernatural reason why, my complete exhaustion finally sets in. I'm whiny, emotional, and my eyelids keep closing every few seconds just for me to jerk myself awake. I know that if I fall asleep I'll have another nightmare which could be more detrimental to my health.

"Madeline, any suggestions for the time being?" Grayson asks. He directs the question to Cole's mate, the red-haired girl who I haven't been introduced to yet. She's beautiful even after she was woken up in the middle of the night. Her fiery hair is naturally wavy, and her green eyes shine like emeralds. She is definitely taller than me, probably around 5'5" or 5'6", but then again, everyone's taller than me- I barely made it over 5 feet.

Madeline looks over to me with what she probably intends to be a small smile, but it actually looks more like a grimace. She hesitantly starts speaking up.

"I'm really sorry, but there's not much you can do. I will say that falling asleep is the last thing you want to do- every time you fall asleep, the magic will be siphoning energy off of you, making you even more exhausted than when you were awake. I can reach out to my friends in another coven and see if they have any magical potions that can soften the effects of the spell. Unfortunately, the only way these spells can be lifted is if the casting witch or warlock removes them."

She lowers her head, obviously distressed that there's nothing more she can do. Cole wraps his arm around her waist and kisses her cheek. She smiles sadly at him and leans into him for support. I wonder why Madeline knows so much about magic? I'll have to ask her once this nightmare is over and I've had a whole 48 hours to sleep.

"Fuck!" Grayson growls. "So you're telling me that if we don't find this fucking warlock soon, Thea will never be able to sleep?!" He sounds like he's angry at Madeline for the news she shared, but I know he's just frustrated for my sake. I can see Cole's grip on Madeline grow tighter and more protective with his Alpha's raised volume. He doesn't say anything, he just stands still while waiting for orders.

If there's one thing I've learned about werewolves, it's that they're extremely loyal beings. They are extremely protective, sometimes overprotective, over their mates, and they'll defend their Alpha and Luna with their life. I don't even know Madeline very well, but I can tell that she will do everything in her power to help me, a mere human, only because I'm Grayson's mate and her Luna. It's comforting to know that I have more people in my life to look out for me.

"Yes, Alpha. That's what I'm saying. Thea will begin to deteriorate even more, and eventually..." Madeline looks away and bites her lip while trailing off her sentence. It's very obvious what she means- I'll die if we don't find Eli.

The loudest growl I've ever heard emits from Grayson, and the others in the room are so effected by the sound that their knees begin to wobble from the pure power Grayson releases. The furniture shakes from the noise alone and I suspect anyone who was sleeping is wide awake now. His canines are fully extended and his eyes are pitch black. He grips me tighter as he stands up and towers over the four other leaders of the pack. They are Betas and Gammas, yet they don't even compare to Grayson's alpha power and strength.

Although my ears are still ringing from his outburst and I am a little more tense from his anger, I rest my head in his neck and give off small kisses to calm him down. I'm starting to understand this whole mating thing, because Grayson slowly, and I mean slowly, begins to reel back his aura of power.