The next time my eyes flew open, I gasped awake, only to find myself in a weird shack. It was morning as the sun shined through the wooden boards of the house. Parts of my body stung while I struggled to find my way out of the bed. The texture and waviness my movements caused made me wonder if they made the bed of water.

Worse yet, was that I did not know how the fuck I got here. In my struggle to climb out of the seas that made the bed, I knocked over the lamp on the nightstand. The loud noise of it crashing onto the floor caused Alijah and an ocean elf to rush from the other room.

The moment Alijah saw me awake, he smiled happily. Though it did not last long since the elf pushed him out of the way and grabbed my hand. He checked for my pulse, placing his forehead against mine to feel for a temperature, much to Alijah’s annoyance. Having been shoved out of the way did not make him any happier, either.

The ocean elf had beautiful icy-blue eyes that matched his aqua-colored hair perfectly. His tanned skin was typical of ocean elves that loved to be out in the sun. A smile slowly arose from his lips, glancing over at Alijah, who seemed more irritated than usual. Though for a reason, my memories were a haze.

Why is that? I can’t remember anything after falling asleep in a forest. Maybe a campfire? How did I get here?

“Her pulse is stable now. Be proud, you got her here just in time.” The elf announced.

Shit… I must have done something wrong.

Alijah stepped in, recovering from the shove he had endured. He did not run his mouth, much to my surprised.

Is he sick? How is he being civil towards a stranger?

“What?” I mumbled, not knowing what was happening.

Why did my wolf get me here in time? In time for what, exactly?

So many questions came up, while I could not remember much of what had occurred the previous day. The elf quickly picked up in my cues of confusion.

He knew more of what was happening to me than I did.

“Ah... Yes, you must be very confused. The medicine used for luxorite poisoning has a common side effect. You probably won’t remember what happened before and after the exposure for a bit, but it should come back to you later.” The elf tried to clarify to me.

I was completely lost in what was going on.

“Luxorite?” I mumbled, unaware of how everything was affecting my wolf.

Besides me, Alijah sighed before sitting next to me. I could tell he was not happy about my memory loss, even if it was temporary.

Does that mean I fucked up when we went into the cave?

I knew way before even getting into the cart with the merchant that we were headed there. But the only thing I remembered clearly was up to a campfire.

We had a campfire, right? Were we talking about something? Everything is so hazy, though.

All I remembered clearly was setting up the fire while Alijah went hunting for some food for us. That had been an embarrassing morning, too.

“You touched one inside the cave... You remember nothing?” Alijah took the lead.

The unknown elf picked up the lamp that had fallen because of my escape attempt. It still felt weird to sit on this bed, though. It was nothing compared to what I was used to. Though what caught my attention the most was Alijah’s tone. It seemed sad and disappointed.

His expression, though, caused my heart to sting.

Have I done something wrong? I… I have to speak. Figure out everything…

“No... I think we ate a bunny at a campfire?” I tilted my head, not sure if that ever happened.

For a moment, he seemed utterly frustrated by my assessment, growling at me in response.

Shit... he is not happy.

“You think?” Alijah seemed almost to pout as those words left him.

It was cute. What had I said to him for him to become this way? I felt like I was missing something big. What was it, though? However, the elf would not allow me to find out. He seemed to be ready to go elsewhere with the conversation.

“She may remember later. Maybe after the effects of the medicine, wear off a bit. By the way, my name is Wyatt, a junior medic here in Lokul.” The elf introduced himself.

Shit, we are all the way in Lokul?! Wait… Where the fuck is that?

I nodded, acknowledging him and his credentials. Though I also was trying to not show my surprise. Wyatt was an ocean elf healer. A rare thing on its own since only moon elves and sun elves had potent healing magic. All elves had the potential to heal with their magic.

However, only sun and moon elves could seal wounds. The rest could only soothe and speed up healing. Ocean elves usually only could soothe the pain. Though what the elf had used to heal me was an antidote to ward off the effects of the crystal within my system.

It worked like the medication my mother had created for the Iris variant of wolfsbane.

“Ah... Thank you.” I smiled, grateful for his help.

He seems like a nice guy.

He responded the same way, heading towards the door before turning to me once again.

“Now that will be ten gold coins. Don’t worry about it now, though. I’ll go get some tea to help with fatigue.” Wyatt suddenly announced, leaving me flustered.

Or not… That will eat a chunk out of our budget.

Of course, it would be expensive. That medication was hard to produce and only made in the earth elf nation. The moment Wyatt left the room, something other than money became the priority. After all, I had enough for it in my bag.

I gazed up at Alijah, trying to figure out what had happened the previous day. I wanted to clear up the haze that my memories had become, and he was the only one who could help me.

“So... what happened yesterday? Did I fall into a crystal, like the dumb ass I am?” I simpered, trying to find out what I should apologize for.

Though I also wanted to make him smile. Although I suspected I did many things wrong from his expression. Did I hurt him somehow? That was something that should have never happened.

Just what did I do to him?

Though, it scared me to ask straight.

“Hah... No, you didn’t fall into a crystal.” Alijah sighed.

I reached for him, only to wince in pain from the wounds, who were inflicted by him in his effort to save me. I should not have moved so fast before, either. Lycan wounds always healed slower than normal ones. This happened because of a special component in our saliva and nails. It slowed down all healing, even though the Iris surely was out of my system by now.

“Does it hurt?” The worried wolf reached for my face to remove some of my rogue bed hair.

A blurry memory arose. One where I pushed him down onto the cave’s floor. Shaking my head, I tried to concentrate on what he had asked.

“A bit. I guess you had to carry me out of there somehow.” I answered, feeling anxious.

What was that?

He pulled away from my face. Though it did not hit me yet just how much that meant. For him to have penetrated my skin, even though the spell was active. It meant much more than I realized.

“Yeah...” Alijah mumbled, unpleased by how things were turning out.

It made me want to apologize more, which I did.

“Sorry for being a handful.” I apologized, simpering once again.

He did not seem pleased by that, either.

“I... am just glad you are alive, Rem,” he sighed, gazing to the side.

I tried to not take too much meaning in his words. He was probably worried about his powers and the bond. Though he did not know that was the last thing he should have been concerned about.

“I know. You would be in trouble if I died, huh?” I blurted out without thinking it twice.

Again, nothing I said seemed to have been good enough. He winced, shaking his head.

Just what did I do to you?

Something happened that much I was sure of, yet he did not give me anything to go on.

Is it that memory I pushed off?

“Yeah, I would,” Alijah breathed, getting up from the bed annoyed by the turn of events.

Though he did not plan to stick around to fill me in.

“I’ll be more careful, I promise.” I tried to salvage this, only for Alijah to sigh yet again.

If not that, then what does he want me to say?

I could not figure out what was wrong, but it seemed like he wanted me to remember on my own.

“Though... thank you for saving me,” I added, sluggishly moving to the edge of the bed.

He shook his head in response.

“We are partners, aren’t we?” Alijah voiced, hurt by something.

All I wanted was to make it right, but I could not remember a thing of what I had done the previous day. His words, though, surprised me. It reminded me we had talked about something, and it seemed to be very important.

Though I could not fully recall the memories that would have allowed me to know what happened.

“We are?” I mumbled, scratching my head.

My words caused Alijah to get angrier because of my ignorance.

Uh oh... I should not have said that.

“Oi, you forgot that too?” Alijah growled, annoyed.

His reaction made me notice I was in some deep shit.

“Maybe,” I mumbled, not really being able to remember a thing.

I really wanted to, but all that came up was the campfire and bunnies.

Wait, did I fall on him there too? Arg... Rem... why are you like this? Utter klutz.

“Stupid girl… you know what, how about I go get your bag that fell in that mess.” Alijah huffed, letting out a small growl.

His eyes twitched a bit too. I had failed to salvage the situation. Maybe it would be better if stayed quiet. But...

“There was a mess?” I continued, wanting to find out more.

However, the grumpy wolf growled loudly before leaving abruptly. The door slammed so hard that it made me flinch.

I’m fucked…

“Okay, okay...” I muttered to myself, feeling off.

There was no way out of this, though.

Why did I forget such a momentous occasion? We became partners! How did that happen?! Arg!

I rolled around the bed, unable to contain my frustrations. Not that it did any good to my wounds, either. It stung to move. Though with each passing minute, memories slowly returned to my empty mind.

The feeling of his…

Did Alijah kiss me yesterday?

I tried to remember how it felt, passing my finger through my lips. The memory itself left a warm feeling in me.

Just... how did that happen? Why does everything have to be hazy?

An hour passed while my grumpy wolf did not return, but Wyatt did. And he bared in hand three teacups.

“Oh, where is your friend?” The elf asked, handing me a tea that smelled glorious.

I smelled nothing like it before. Elves knew how to make teas. It was so naturally sweet, too. Too sweet, actually. Not that I minded, I loved sweets. Though it made me jealous that they had these things here.

I mean, we also had them in Silverant, but to have an actual elf make it was rare. It tasted so fresh too. And since we were in Azear, they said it to have the best water in the world. The Purest and cleanest in Astea.

Wait, we are in Azear, right?

I had assumed we were, but I never asked.

“He left to go try to find my bag,” I answered, taking a sip of my tea.

Although I suspected it to be more than that. It seemed he needed some time to think about something, too. Probably what I did. If I only knew what it was.

“Oh, will he be fine?” Wyatt asked, narrowing his eyes.

I nodded, feeling weird under his gaze. It felt like he was studying me. Yet again, I was his patient.

“I think so,” I replied, taking another sip of the tea.

I had allowed him to defend himself. That would help him stay away from people. At least no one could kidnap him. Though... Edna...

Why has she not made her appearance yet?

This was something that troubled me. After all, I thought mom had found out she was using something to track time. It only left me to wonder why she had not found Alijah yet. Nothing made sense.

I thought by this time Edna would have already made her debut.

“Your friend should really rest, though. I mean, after the sprint he did to get here,” Wyatt worried about Alijah’s wellbeing.

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I shrugged, unable to answer him honestly.

“He doesn’t listen well,” I commented, knowing Alijah was not one to stay down.

It caused the elf to chuckle in response.

“You know, he was so desperate to save you, he begged everyone in the village for help. Even when doors shut on him.” Wyatt said, catching my attention.

Impossible… Alijah did that? Na…

That did not sound like him at all.

“He did?” I mumbled, unable to believe my wolf would beg strangers for anything.

I thought he would have barked orders or demanded treatment. Yet again, he could touch no one because of the bond. That was how...

Wait... how did he sink his teeth into me?

The bond should have stopped him from doing so. Even if it were to save me. Had his emotions pushed past the bonds because of his genuine desire to help me? Nothing made sense.

“Yeah... we are not usually kind to strangers. Even less to a Lycan and a luma, but I could not say no to his desperate attempt to save you. You were limp in his hands, and he seemed about to shatter into little pieces. So, I took him in and treated you. That was well over eight hours ago.” Wyatt informed.

I clasped onto my shirt, feeling my heart throb. Though it seemed unlikely Alijah would break just because of my death. I expected him to be angry and demanding, not the scared pup that Wyatt made him out to be.

“Thank you for helping us,” I whispered, not really understanding how that happened.

It was surreal, although it made me remember something else. Alijah and I fell into a body of water. The memory made me realize I had different clothes on.

Who changed me?

While I was trying to figure everything out, Wyatt continued to chatter.

“You know, seeing him so desperate to save you reminded me of my dad and mom when she fell ill. Though for her, there was nothing that could be done.” Wyatt recounted, remembering something that caused his own heart to ache a bit.

He had a bitter smile on his lips, too.

“Oh, I am sorry.” I apologized, thinking I had brought up painful memories.

Instead of accepting it, the elf smiled gently before petting my head, tracing his fingers down my hair. It felt odd. Then again, the only touch I liked was Alijah’s. And the other men who had touched me were my brothers and father.

“Actually, forget about the payment.” Wyatt declares, surprising me.

I leaned forward to him, confused.

Why doesn’t he want me to pay? I can’t accept that.

After all, the medicine for luxorite poisoning was expensive. Yet again, ocean elves were known for being too lenient. Caden called them the carefree beings that he aspired to be. But this was too much.

“Are you sure?” I asked, hesitantly.

Although I did not know, even if I still had the money I had taken from Silverant. This should have been a blessing.

“Yeah. It was nice to see that again.” Wyatt nodded, standing up from where he was sitting.

There, he picked up my cup and stared at it for a moment before placing it on the tray.

“See what again?” I mumbled, not quite following along with what he was saying.

It was almost as if he spoke in riddles. An odd elf... He lived in a wooden house, though I imagined the entire village being like this. All elves minus blaze elves lived in wooden homes. It differed from Silverant and Celestelia, who had cement ones.

Though in the hybrid country, there were some made of clay too.

“Love.” Wyatt chuckled.

What he said left me dumbfounded. He must have been severely mistaken or missing brain cells. There was no way Alijah would have showed any affection for me after I...

After... what did I do? Ah... I told him about Lilith. That was why he said we were partners, but then... he... he…

Images of my wolf pressing his lips on me flowed through my mind. My cheeks went bright red as they could be. He really kissed me. It had not been my imagination. Memories flowed within me while Wyatt went to leave the room. I had to correct him. I had to. That... meant nothing to Alijah.

“Wait, you are...” I went to correct him, only for the lights to flicker, shutting off completely.

For a moment Wyatt and I stayed silent, not knowing what was happening, until the eerie alarm blasted throughout the village. A shadow beast was coming. Alijah was the only thing on my mind again, while a familiar fear swelled within me. Without hesitation, I threw myself out of the bed, only for Wyatt to help me up from the ground.

We had to evacuate to the shelter while the designated fighters kept the beast busy. I had not thrown myself off the bed because I wanted to run. No, I did that because I needed to find Alijah at all costs. The shelter was second in my mind. However, Wyatt was not about to let me run around the town in my condition.

My stitches would have busted open. If they were not tearing already. Instead, his grip on me tightened while he led me out of the home. And through the village with everyone else, even though I protested the whole way. Alijah did not know what any of this meant and even if he was powerful.

I was right though; this village was all made from wood. It was far from the ocean too, as I could not smell the salt in the air yet. We were probably not far from the cave. I tried to pull myself off of Wyatt’s grip, but I still felt groggy thanks to the drug in my system.

The shadow demons that came from the soul cairn differed completely from Shade, who was my mom’s familiar. Her power came from mom herself, while the demons had no one to channel it through but themselves.

Dad could easily take Shade down by severing Mom’s connection to her magic, making her a helpless kitten. But in this scenario. There was no blocking it. Alijah could have gotten seriously hurt if I did not find him in time. Even if he could defend himself, that beast could easily take an arm off.

After all, these monsters were immortal while in our realm. Wyatt would not let me go, though. I did not want to rip his arm off because he wanted to help me. Even though I would not make it easy for him.

Why is everything going so chaotic? First the raiders, and ... then... Something happened in the cave, did it not? But what was it? What happened there? An earthquake? I had hurt my foot... but something else... Ah... right. We fell into a river... then...

Before I could finish that memory, Wyatt pulled me towards the shelter. It was the only metal building here. But that was because of Cerberus' safety mandates. Though, ever raced ruled by themselves. Lycans could not get into elven affairs for other things. Well, that was the role of the council.

I could barely keep up because of the injuries Alijah’s teeth had done to my body. He had to dig deep into my flesh to prevent me from falling out of his mouth. The pain of them made me want to pull as hard as I could to get away from Wyatt to find Alijah. But the elf stopped me by telling me that my wolf was probably there already.

A possibility I could not deny. Wyatt suggested other villagers had probably dragged Alijah there, but that also made little sense. The elf had said that villagers would not normally help strangers. Contradictory... but my wolf could have followed them there, suspecting something if he had gotten back to the village.

When we finally got to the shelter. Wyatt released me, allowing me to search for Alijah inside, much to the peril of my stitches. Even though my wounds hurt, I did not care. I screamed for my wolf’s name. All I wanted was to find him, even though everyone around was looking at me like I was a crazy bitch.

The shelter itself was big, making it hard to find anyone in here. The tech was nowhere as advanced as Silverant, though. In fact, the sheltered seemed unmaintained too. After all my screaming, Alijah would have heard me. Yet… he still…

Are you still angry with me? Is that why you aren’t coming to me? Or are you not here, after all?

My heart stopped the moment they closed the doors made from the same steel blaze elves used to reinforce airships and shelters. I ended up panicking. My wolf was nowhere to be found. Wyatt was wrong. A mistake.

Even so, I screamed for my wolf over and over while people commented on me. Even the ghosts that surrounded me were unimportant. I guess when I had my mind set on something, they could not overwhelm me.

My nerves got so bad to where Wyatt had to pull me away from everyone towards a corner. He told me to breathe, but I could not. Not without Alijah here.

Ah... something like this happened before. Not with the raiders... but with...

Memories rushed through me again. I pushed Wyatt out of my way and ran towards the door, only for the guard there to shove me onto the ground. The pain did not matter to me anymore. I growled loudly, expecting a fight.

Wyatt quickly tried to calm the situation before it got out of hand. However, something more concerning caught my attention from a passing ghost.

‘That beast is coming here... Oh dear, the soldiers did not stand a chance...’ the spirit informed.

After hearing that, I stood on the floor and tried to warn them. It was aggressive, if I may add. But in my defense, I did not want to be here either way. In response, one of them smacked me on my cheek, sending me tumbling back onto the ground. It seemed they had enough of my nonsense.

“What the fuck do you know, luma?” The vampire guard scuffed, not believing a single word I said.

Ah... those eyes...

He hated what I was. Of course, he would not believe me even if I had been better at choosing my words. He only saw that I was a hybrid, and that was enough to make me lesser in thoughts and capabilities. His hit had cut the inside of my cheek.

Luckily, it did not knock out any of my teeth. Spitting out some blood onto the floor, I growled while Wyatt intervened yet again.

“Look, forgive her. She is worried about her friend. This is a tough situation for all of us. So, can we all just calm down?” Wyatt got in between us.

Though, soon I would not be the only one who heard something coming. The ghost was right. The ground itself shook a bit in its approach. Whatever was coming for us... was bigger than the usual beast that came through. Probably a demon, a few ranks below Shade herself, who was a high-level Ancient.

Mom had classified the demons into five ranks: Lesser, Primal, Sage, Ancients, and Mythic. Throughout the twenty years that these anomalies were happening, we had only lost three villages to a catastrophic event such as a high-level sage.

When Edna ripped part of my mother’s soul, she also took out part of the Gate of the soul cairn with it. That event allowed the beasts to come into our realm for short periods of time. Though that period seemed to increase over the years.

Shit... my luck can’t be this bad, can it?

I glanced around, trying to figure out a way out of this, only for it to go eerily silent before all chaos broke loose. In an instant, the wall connecting to the door gave way. The blow itself sent everyone that was near the wall flying back deeper into the shelter, including me.

I did not even know how I got to where I was. Some debris fell on me after I rolled through the ground. Luckily, I could free myself from the pieces of metal that had fallen on me with ease. Though... I was bleeding a bit more than I previously was.

Alijah’s saliva was in my system, slowing down my healing factor. Not that it was not already slow itself. It would usually take a couple of minutes to hours for their effects to wear off on normal Lycans. For me though... it would take a day or more.

Though, when wolves usually fought, they had thick fur to protect them. This made it harder for their fangs and claws to do much damage. Though, Dad’s healing factor was faster than normal Lycans, which meant Alijah’s was too. It was probably why mine was almost as fast as a normal wolf.

Screams erupted from everywhere. While all I cared about was finding Alijah. For a moment, I felt like I wanted to suffocate as I tried to stand up from where I was. But I quickly lost my balance and found myself on the floor again. Even though I was unsteady, I could finally get a splendid view of the beast that was assaulting us.

The shadow demon appeared like a giant lion, with large fangs and two flexible tails that ripped through people with ease. It even had horns protruding from its head all the way to its back. However, the best characteristic to identify these beasts was their black body and those big blue eyes that resembled the same color as my right one.

This one was known as a chimera, and it was large enough to make a ruckus, though short enough for it not to be a sage. It was also blocking one of our ways out. The other exit had some guards struggling to open it. It seemed to have jammed thanks to some of the flying debris. They should have listened to me.

Those precious seconds probably would have saved lives.

Pity...

They deserved to rot for ignoring me. The moment that thought crossed my mind; I knew my blood lust was coming out. I had to push it down. Wyatt, who was blown away with me, rushed to my side to help me up. The beast stuck its head in while people ran towards the exit on the other side.

I had never been so close to one of these beasts before, so everything that was happening was new to me. It could not have picked a better day to come destroy this village, though. Sadly, it spelled bad news for everyone here. At least Alijah did not seem to be here.

A blessing for me. Though I had to figure out a way out of this without dying. I did not have it in me to shift like I did the last time, either. Either way, it would have placed all the people here in danger from me instead. I could only focus on one goal, and if I made it to repel the beast well, I could end up killing everyone.

Not like it mattered. My body could not handle it. In my current condition, a shift could have killed me. Trying to force its way in, one of the beast’s tails destroyed the walls that kept it from coming in fully. The emergency doors appeared to malfunction, too.

When fighting shadow demons, it was always a timer-set battle. Though lately, it seemed to last almost an hour, maybe a bit more. The last time I had heard one of my Dad’s reports while he was in his studio, the beast had lingered in our world for an hour and twenty minutes.

That made the twenty minutes that had passed since it came meaningless. So, it meant we had to deal with this for a full hour at least. Wyatt’s body trembled while I tried to find my footing, only to push the elf down to the ground to avoid one of the incoming tails. It tore through anyone who did not move fast enough.

Blood splattered everywhere while body parts fell around us.

If... one slip... I will...

Memories flooded again while I was on top of Wyatt.

Back at the cave... after we fell into the river... Alijah... I...

Before I could finish that thought, something ran underneath the beast. A second later, it magically disappeared from my eyes and into a building next to us. There was one thing that could have done that.

Alijah...

The worst was happening. I gazed towards where it had happened, and there was my wolf. He seemed out of breath, searching around the room to find me. He had run under the beast to get in here, only to kick it in its face by shifting into his humanoid form right as he passed it.

Getting off Wyatt, I ran towards my wolf, only for him to receive me with open arms. The moment I was in his embrace, I snuggled into his chest, calling his name. He responded by saying my name as well. It made my heart flutter.

The worry in Alijah’s voice when he said my name. It was so prevalent that it made me not want to let go. Though that would have been a mistake. Before I realize it, he shoved me onto the ground with my bag. One of the two tails of the beast almost hit him from behind.

It missed him only by a few centimeters, triggering his body to radiate red again. He kicked down the extended tail, stomping it on the ground. A second later, the beast came charging in, only to be met by Alijah’s fist, sending it up into the air and through the roof.

“Stay here,” Alijah ordered.

I wanted to warn him it was something he could not kill, but it did not matter to him. His goal was not to destroy it. He wanted to keep it away from me. Launching into the air, Alijah sent the falling beast away from us by meeting with it mid-free fall. In an instant, he followed it before I could say anything to discourage him.

With a brief hesitation, I stood up and ran after them. Everyone who was around was shocked and in disbelief at what happened in front of them. Though the thing that worried me the most was that Alijah did not know, unlike him, that thing did not get tired. The one unpleasant aspect about the blood moon’s power was that we could only use it in momentary bursts.

Dad always had to take down his opponent within thirty minutes or crash quickly afterward. My siblings who were born with it, maybe had a few minutes more than dad. While Alijah, I did not know how much he could handle. That unknown was something I could not allow to slip, since his power seemed to be more destructive than my father’s or brothers, making it more intense.

Wait... how do I know about that? Ah… yes, the cave… he…

Memories continued to flow through me while I ran as fast as I could. Almost falling twice. I did not care when I tore through my stitches. The adrenaline was not allowing me to feel most of the pain, and I surely did not care if I bled or not. Sadly, I could barely keep up with the two while they fought against each other.

Buildings came down with each blow as even Dad, who had more experience with shadow demons, struggled to take them down. Even if there was a team behind him, it was always a struggle. Mom and Vera... did it with ease, though. Although Alijah’s fighting style differed from my father’s. He was wilder, while Dad’s way was less chaotic. Predictable maybe.

At a point, I ran out of breath, needing to stop for a bit to catch it before continuing to run after them.

Shit!

No matter how fast I tried to get to them, they seemed to always be out of reach. Alijah was letting go of all the aggression he had stored into the beast that threatened him and me. Though at one point, he finally slowed down as I finally caught up. It probably had been an hour that I had spent going after them.

I did not keep track, though. All I did was run after them. Though my legs trembled from how much I had done so. Maybe it was the lack of blood, too. Either way, part of me wanted to collapse, but I would not let myself. At least, not until I found him.

Luckily for me, I would not have to look for much longer when something crashed nearby, almost taking me out with it. If I had moved a centimeter more, it would have splattered me.

Taking a moment to catch my breath, I glanced towards where the object hurtled. Quickly, I noticed it was Alijah. He was a bit of a bloody mess, but not missing any limbs. Regaining fresh energy from seeing him, I ran towards him while the beast charged towards us.

The moment my wolf saw me running towards him, dread-filled his face. He could barely move anymore, though. His stamina had run out, while the beast he fought was immortal and relentless.

“What the fuck? How stupid can you get?!? Get the fuck out of here, Rem!” Alijah screamed at me, full of desperation.

I did not care when I jumped into him. The strain on his body was too much, though his healing seemed to have sped up. However, all that mattered was the fact his chest rose and fell with each breath. By the gods... was I dumb, though. Even though I ran towards him, I did not know how to protect him.

I was utterly useless.

“Seriously, get out of here, Rem!” Alijah tried to pull me off him.

I chuckled nervously. After all, I could only do one thing for him, and that was to die. What I was about to do would be one of the most reckless things I had ever done. But losing him like I almost did in the cave would have been worse.

If I were going to lose him, I would also lose myself.

I love you, my grumpy wolf. Don’t look so worried. Everything will be fine. I promise.

How I wished I could kiss him. Though, I had already done that more times than I could count. Especially… in…

“Alijah, sit and stay there until whatever happens next happens,” I ordered, triggering Alijah to sit automatically.

He glared at me right away while I kneeled, taking out my headphones and mp3 player from my bag before throwing them at him. The coin pouch seemed to be there, which was good. Very good. He would need it to stay away from me and from everyone else.

Luckily, he had already learned how to buy things from watching me in this era.

“Rem?!? What the fuck are you doing?!?” Alijah snarled, angered by what I had done.

I simpered, knowing full well that I was crazy. I could not shift without putting myself and everyone else in danger. Either way, they were dead if I died, too. The only thing I could do was to perish for my beloved wolf.

The shadow demon would be here at any minute. The sound of buildings coming down was coming nearer with each second that passed. If it was a sage or ancient, it did not matter. I had to hurry.

“If I die... you will run far away from me until you are a continent away. Only then will you be freed from me and this bond, but only if I die, Alijah.” I simpered, putting on my headset.

Alijah’s expression changed from annoyance straight into dread, shaking his head desperately. From what I told him, I thought he would be happy. Perhaps I claimed a bit of his heart after all. A tiny part and it was good enough for me.

Although... attacking him as I did... was horrible. Would I recall those moments as my temporary death came to hold me?

Temporary... but for how long. Will Dad and Mom find me before I destroy Azear, or will they be too late?

At this point, it did not matter to me anymore. I could have called them by taking off my spell locator inhibiting bracelet. It was the one thing that survived my shift since it was enchanted. But if I did that, then it would have been the end for Alijah. I did not want him to be anyone’s prisoner.

“Sto...” My wolf went to protest; his voice was so desperate, but I would not let him finish.

I could see the beast become clearer while it dove in between houses, leaving only behind wrecks where they used to be. At least with wood, there was not much dust left behind.

“If I don’t die... And the beast is no more, then you will move again as soon as it disappears.” I finished turning on the mp3.

There, I took a deep breath and stepped away from Alijah, who was not happy with me at all.

“Rem don’t you fucking...!!” Alijah yelled.

I muffled him with the music that blasted my ears before he could finish. Taking a few steps away from him, I stood in between the beast and my wolf. This beast was not like the ones my mother summoned. This one had no master. Its only ruler was its wrath.

My body hurt, everything ached. All of Alijah’s previous wounds had reopened, thanks to my marathon. My feet were a bloody mess, too. I still had no shoes. Yet nothing would move me from where I was as that beast charged at us.

Alijah... For you, I give the world.