His Rogue Luna

Sixty Six

Ilmestys
(n.) Vision, apparition, manifestation.

Artemis POV

It seems that my life was a rollercoaster and there was no calm and peace of mind. As I relaxed in my mate's arm with post coital bliss and drifted off, darkness slowly clouded my mind and I slipped away into oblivion.

For a while, I just drifted in the abyss, relaxing and letting the waves carry me away. But it didn't last long.

The world around me began shifting and morphing into a different scene and I felt myself being jerked forward and thrust into unfamiliar surroundings.

The first thing I noticed was that it was day time, the sun shining brightly in the cloudless sky. The trees of the forest were a beautiful shade of light green and the soil beneath my feet was warm and damp.

It was beautiful but the uneasy churning of my gut was warning me something horrible was going to happen.

As if proving my instincts correct, I heard a piercing scream break the air. The sound immediately had my heart leap in my chest as I began running towards the sound.

I ran as fast as I could through the trees but more screams were ringing out like a painful symphony. As I neared closer to the edge of the forestry, the sounds of fighting were all too clear, as well as the sounds of weapons flying through the air.

Not this. Anything but this.

As I finally broke out into the battle scene, my stomach dropped painfully, and I had to fight the urge to empty my stomach.

Werewolves were fighting against a large group of armed hunters, silver weapons flying through the air impossibly fast. Two hunters were ganging up on a young werewolf so I jumped into action, reaching for the humans to rip them apart but my hands passed through them, like a ghost.

It was a vision; I couldn't interfere with it.

So I watched with growing horror as one by one, the members of the original Silverclaw Guardians fell to the ground, their blood soaking up the soil, forever marking it with the tragic bloodshed that I was witnessing. My chest constricted with sobs and my throat clogged with tears. I would avenge them all, I promised myself.

My parents.

The quick thought startled me out of my frozen state and I began looking around for two familiar faces. People were running around, everything was burning and it was all so chaotic.

I found them and I wasn't sure if I was relieved or more horrified.

They were both severely bleeding and injured, struggling to stay upright and fight the group ganging on them. The tears returned full force and I couldn't hold back my sobs.

A particular man stood by, watching with a sick smile as he puffed on a large cigar. I knew immediately that he was the leader.

"This would be so much easier if you told me where she is," he spoke up.

"Never," My mother hissed, dodging a punch to the face but catching one on her stomach. She grunted and fell to her knees, her body shaking. My dad, alarmed, made the mistake of looking back at her, a hunter using the opportunity to stab him with a small knife in his ribs.

He didn't pull the knife out and I could tell it was silver from the way he hissed and fell next to my mother. One of his arms was severely injured and he clutched that to his chest as he crawled closer to my mother. She had several knife wounds on her abdomen and was struggling to breath.

Knowing that they would both die made it all the worse.

"I'm going to find your daughter and she's going to die just as miserably as the rest of your people have," The leader spat, throwing his cigar and stalking closer to my parents.

He squatted in front of them and I moved closer to see better.

My father was sitting with my mother, holding her while she struggled for breath. Her brown hair was matter to her face with blood and as she looked up at the leader, even I couldn't deny how truly frightening her glare was.

"She will end you all, this I can promise you," she warned, in an ominous tone. The hunter looked spooked for a second, his pale eyes widening in horror before he quickly masked it with an arrogant smirk.

In one swift movement, he pulled out a gun and shot her right in between the brows. The sound made me jump and again, my stomach lurched with the sheer force of my emotions.

My father's pained roar matched my internal screams and when the hunter pointed his gun at my father, I felt what was left of me shatter. Just like my mother, my fathers body dropped onto the floor with a heavy thud.

His brown gaze was lifeless and the hole on his forehead bled a dark red.

I couldn't handle it anymore, I collapsed onto my knees, a heaving sobbing mess, staring into the dead eyes of my parents, two people I had hoped to find my whole life.

My uncle had told me a while ago that my parents had passed, but seeing it happen with my very eyes was so final and heartbreaking that I found I couldn't help but mourn them a second time.

The disgusting hunters began dousing them with alcohol and I screamed at the unhearing humans to stop.

Was killing them not enough?

Now they wouldn't even get a proper funeral.

The leader stood over the bodies. He pulled out something from his pocket and I realised it was a lighter. Stepping back, he threw the lighter on them and I watched as their bodies quickly caught fire.

I was almost in an entranced daze, watching the orange flames grow and burn everything in their path. The tears had stopped now and my face felt stiff from the dried tear tracks.

I turned to the leader, watching his face and etching every detail into memory.

With shaky feet, I stood back up, looking around and surveying the damage. Dead bodies littered the floor and homes were burning. The sounds of fighting had long ceased and I knew it was over.

I watched the hunters walk away, and I made a vow to myself, my parents and the Moon Goddess.

I would deliver on my mother's words and destroy them all.