Page 152 of Crystal Luna

They didn’t notice when Ely launched past the treeline and snapped the neck of the wolf that had her in his grasp.

Though her relief was short-lived. Velora was nearly paralysed as pain shot through her spine. It felt as if the ground was ripped from beneath her. She cried as she was slammed into the ground—then her heart sank as she was pulled towards the edge of the cliff.

Velora tried to dig her claws into the ground, but it was useless without the aid of her back legs. She caught a glimpse of Ely throwing the third wolf into a rock. Then he sprinted towards her.

Ely pounced, latching onto her attacker’s neck. He rolled and pulled the wolf with him. As if time stopped, Velora watched as the two of them wrestled, moving precariously close to the edge. Ely was clearly losing. His shoulder bled and his skin there was hanging on by a thread. He tugged the wolf closer to the edge, his body breaking beneath him.

A moment later they both disappeared into the darkness of the cliff.

Shock kept Velora rooted in place. The only thing she could do was stare at the edge of darkness where Ely had just disappeared. She was stunned, not only with words but her mind was void of all thought. She didn’t know how to begin to process what just happened.

Though there was a deep growl and a painful whimper coming from somewhere behind her, she dragged herself to the edge of the cliff as if having a visual of it would change the outcome.

But with the loss of the sun, the only thing she could see was pitch black. She collapsed at the edge, muscles aching and pain so radiant that she welcomed the darkness of unconsciousness with open arms.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Isaiah

Isaiah was slammed with a sudden roar of determination from Ely’s mind—one so deep that nothing, not even death, would be able to stop him. Isaiah couldn’t just see Ely dragging himself to his death, but he could feel how much he didn’t care—so long as he saved his luna.

Shock and heartbreak riddled his body as he felt Ely fall and watched him disappear from Vel’s sight. But before he could internalise any of it, Ely severed the link, sparing him from the pain that he was about to experience.

His heart shattered when he saw Vel crawl towards the edge, only to see the vast darkness below. Then, the darkness slowly took over her mind.

Isaiah snapped out of his thoughts with a nudge to his flank. He hadn’t realised he’d stopped running but his legs burned from the strain. Ash was right next to him, eyes wide as he panted for air.

‘We need to get to her,’ he pleaded. So much fear flooded his mind.

Isaiah knew that, but he was rooted to the spot. His muscles didn’t feel like his own to control. He was ready to collapse.

Ash softly nipped at him, urging him forward. ‘She needs us.’

Of course, she did. Isaiah knew that, but he just couldn’t move. He knew that coming upon that cliff and not seeing Ely standing above her would make all of it too real. Ely had been with him almost his entire life. He needed him just like he needed Ash. He’d been his closest friend, his confidante when he felt he had no one else.

‘Vel,’ Ash pressed, nudging his shoulder so aggressively he nearly lost balance.

Something else pushed against his mind—or rather someone else. A spark of hope let him think it was Ely, only to flicker out when Axel’s link manifested.

‘Luna Velora is alive but injured. They’ve stopped her bleeding and are following Detlef’s instructions until he arrives. One of the rogues also survived—I’d like to keep him that way for questioning.’

Slowly, his alpha instinct returned. Isaiah’s legs began to move again. Only now his mind swarmed with thoughts of, “What the fuck do I do now?”

‘I want to know how the fuck they got so deep into our territory without anyone knowing.’

Ash ran by his side as they sprinted towards Vel and what felt like whiplash from reality.

‘I’ll have Kenneth trace where they came from’ Axel offered.

‘I don’t want him to be alone. There might be more where those came from.’

‘I’ll have him wait until reinforcement arrives,’

‘Vel comes first,’ Ash chimed in with a deep growl. The idea of Vel getting hurt even more was nearly tearing his soul apart.

‘Of course, Alpha.’ With that, Axel pulled his mind.

The further they ran, the more he felt Ash processing their new reality. Until now, Vel had been keeping his mind from Ely but with each passing minute it dawned on him more and more. They didn’t need words to see how much it frightened them, how much their hearts were wrecked because of it. But silently, they agreed to focus on Vel. Until she was safe and sound back in the village, they couldn’t think of anything else.