Chapter 16: Pain & Gain

Silence surrounded her. Darkness enveloped her with the tenderness of a lover. It blanketed her, covering her numb body with its cloak of nothingness. Cold fingers danced across her sweat coated flesh, whispering promises of escape and peace.

Peace.

Adeline desperately wanted that.

Peace.

Peace alone would set her free from the binds that had shackled her to this earth. It would unlock the chains that surrounded her soul and set her free.

Yes. Peace sounded amazing.

Slowly opening her eyes, Adeline prepared herself for the world she had just entered. Bright blue skies would've surrounded her, and hills of lush green grass would've gone on forever. Happy yellow birds would've swooped above, singing songs of joy and content as they let the gentle breeze carry them up and away. Adeline would've felt the heat of the sun, and for the first time in years, she would have welcomed the heat. She would've laid down on the soft grass, letting the fingers of nature caress her pasty skin and fill her mind with peaceful, happy thoughts.

But it wasn't her time.

Empty, cold darkness met her eyes. Adeline blinked once, twice, a third time. This was the same darkness she had closed her eyes too. This was the same darkness that had witnessed her final breaths, her final moments.

Adeline didn't even realize she had moved, but one moment she was laying on her back, and the next she was on her knees. Fingers shaking with the aftermath of the drugs clawed at the wood floor, trying to find the vials that were supposed to have relieved the world of her.

Glass met clammy fingertips.

Pale bloodshot eyes traced the tape that wrapped around the cylinder.

Black lines scribbled in a haste glared up at her. Adeline didn't even know how her mind could understand the barely legible handwriting, but the six letter word was understandable.

Silver.

If that was silver... then how was she still alive?

Scooping up the second vial with shaky hands, Adeline stared down at the glass with a dark look.

Wolfsbane.

The tape read, Wolfsbane.

The glass slipped through her fingers and fell to the hard floor with a thud. Thankfully it didn't shatter, but a thin crack ran up from its bottom and traveled to the opening of the vial. A clear drop of liquid trailed down the lip of the opening and quickly disappeared onto the wooden floor.

Wolfsbane.

How in Moon's name did the vial contain Wolfsbane?

It had to be a mistake. It just had to be!

Adeline had checked the vials before taking them from the shelves. She had twisted the glass tubes over and over in her hands while her eyes traced the sloppy writing.

But she had been in a rush, and her eyes had been clouded with unshed tears. Had she misread the labeling?

Obviously, she had.

The sound of footsteps pulled Adeline out of her shock. Surging to her feet, she swayed for a moment, her head swimming with the sudden movement. Judging from the receding darkness in her room, Adeline assumed that it was dawn. Her heart grew heavy.

She couldn't have been out for more than a few hours, and that fact alone made her shoulders sag and her eyes darken.

She was supposed to be dead.

She was supposed to be free of this cruel world.

The footsteps were growing louder now, and from the light thumps of bare feet against hardwood, she knew who the owner of the feet was.

Bending down, Adeline picked up the vials with clammy fingers and wobbled over to her bed -- stuffing the glass tubes under her pillow. Adeline pulled back the ruffled covers and slipped into their chilling warmth.

????

The Luna looked through the gap of the open door, her eyes adjusting to the shadows of the remaining night. Pushing the door open a little more, Alexandra peered at her daughter. Adeline's thin body was tucked under the quilts that a pack member had quilted for her, and her chest rose and fell gently.

Secretly, Alexandra hoped that her daughter would've been awake. She wanted to say goodbye before she had to cross through the portal into the Nativus Magia Realm, just in case anything went wrong.

This is for our daughter. We are doing this for our daughter. Alexandra told herself and her wolf. A rumble of agreement answered her inner dialogue.

For our daughter. The wolf growled.

Watching Adeline's still form for a moment longer, the Luna backed away, pulling the door closed. Letting out a harsh breath, Alexandra turned and walked away from the room. She had to meet with Dillon and tell him where she was going, or else he was going to tear apart the mansion in search of her.

Looking down at her wrist, Alexandra read the clock that sat perfectly on her wrist bone.

It read: 6:04 AM

Dillon would've just started the pack training session, but Alexandra knew that the training session usually didn't start until 6:15, once the teenage pups finally arrived.

With her shoulders pulled back, her back as straight as a board, and her head held high, the Luna walked down the many hallways and through countless rooms. Alexandra pasted pack members and nodded her head once in their direction. They all bared their necks in respect and submission in acknowledgment to her power and authority over them.

The crisp morning air met Alexandra's face as she pushed open the door that opened out into the vast forest surrounding the mansion. Looking out into the clearing before her, she didn't see a single wolf. It didn't surprise her. Dillon usually did the warm-up on the large field, but then lead the large group of wolves for a miles-long run through the forest. And today was no different.

There's no way in hell that I'm gonna find them. She thought.

Looking out into the large field for a moment longer-- her eyes and ears straining for the tiniest trace of life, of the pack that meant everything to her, she turned on her heel and disappeared back into the mansion with her head held high.

????

"I am coming with you," The large wolf growled at his mate.

She shrugged, "No, you're not."

Desmond's chest rumbled with a low growl as he trailed after Sasha. Her shoulder-length hair was pulled up into a ponytail, her legs were covered with a pair of jeans that rolled up at the bottoms, and her torso and chest were covered with a fresh, white shirt. He didn't know how she could look so good in a pair of jeans and a regular shirt, but she somehow pulled it off. Though he wasn't shocked. Sasha could be wearing a burlap sack and be covered in feathers, and he'd still find her irresistible and beautiful.

His chest vibrated with a snarl as she threw in a little more swing to her hips. That little vixen. She knew exactly what she was doing to him, and to his wolf.

"I am coming with you." He grunted, leaving no room for her disagreement.

Sasha threw him a glare over her shoulder but kept on walking. "Did I stutter?"

Desmond folded his arms across his thick chest, glaring right back at the Oracle.

Kicking open the door with her foot, Sasha slipped into the room so quickly, that the door hadn't even rebounded off the wall.

Desmond watched as she dumped the contents that had been previously in her arms, onto the bathroom floor.

Leaning forward, Sasha picked up the spoon that she had laid out on the side of the tub and brought it to her nose.

Desmond had to resist the urge to laugh as his mate's face paled and her nose scrunched up in disgust.

"Yep," she said, popping the 'P'. "Just as disgusting as I remember."

"Why would you even smell it?" Desmond asked, his green eyes glistening with humor. "You can smell it from the hall."

"Blah blah blah," Sasha snapped. Tearing the spoon away from her face, she turned towards the bubbling liquid that sloshed inside of the bathtub. Stepping forward, preparing to drag Sasha away from the liquid in case something went wrong, Desmond looked down at the pool of swamp greens, angry greys, and sickly looking purples. The liquid twisted and churned inside of the tub, rising up against the white sides before dropping back down. Lunging forward just as the living pool of liquid threw itself at Sasha, his large hands closed around her shoulders and pulled her out of the way.

The tub let out a sizzling hissing sound as if it was angered by the fact that it hadn't burned the Oracle's face off.

"Sasha..." Desmond started, his voice low in warning, but Sasha ignored him.

Shrugging off his hands, she stood up and turned around to face him. Her eyes were gentle as her hand traveled up his thick arm, over his corded neck, and stopped, cupping his cheek.

"Thank you," she said. Leaning up onto her tiptoes, she placed a sweet, soft kiss on his lips. Just as Desmond was about to deepen said kiss, she pulled away. "Thank you so much for putting up with me and all of this."

Desmond's wolf purred at her words.

"But I have to do this." Sasha's eyes implied what she wouldn't say, but right then and there, Desmond knew that he couldn't stop his stubborn mate.

"Please let me come," he pleaded. "I can't stay here and sit around not knowing if you are in danger or harmed or-"

The sound of a door opening and closing softly drew his attention away from Sasha. Using his wolf's senses, he immediately smelled the she-wolf's blood and power.

Alexandra.

There was no way in Hell that he just going to sit around, waiting for his mate to reappear from the portal.

When Alexandra opened the door and stepped into the bathroom, Sasha nodded once before throwing in the last of the ingredients.

Everything went white.