Liana stiffened above me, and suddenly I felt weighed down, as if someone was crushing my soul. I still mustered my energy and kept running, but I had no idea why I had suddenly lost the will to fight.

It took me some moments to realize that Liana's emotions were affecting me. I was running by instinct, but my mind was distracted, feeling the intense pain and heartbreak she was feeling. I collapsed onto my knees right then, gasping for air as her overwhelming emotions suffocated me.

I was panting, and Liana was still on my back, not even realizing that we had stopped. She looked still and lifeless, her eyes fixed at a distance. She no longer radiated any emotion, just blankness and numbness. The comforting air around her was long gone and I had no idea what to do.

I somehow stood up, with her still on my back. I had managed to reach the place where we had left out breakfast. I worried for a moment if the wolves could follow our scent—

No, they cannot. As I told you before, a Luna is born with the survival skills. When you panic and prepare to run away from something or someone, adrenaline courses through your body, along with another hormone that manages to hide your scent. There is no way anyone can trace you or Liana...yet.

That was a relief to hear, honestly. I would have ripped off my hair rather then coming anywhere near Adrian Wolfe, right now. I still had no idea how I could get Liana back to normal, and all I could do right now was comfort her.

"Hey. Liana." I whispered, sitting down next to where I had put her down. She lied down, facing the cloudless sky for a while, our ears still alert for howls.

"Come on, let's eat something. Then we'll talk, okay?"

She nodded slowly, looking back to me. She wasn't crying, and her eyes were blank. The numbness she was emitting was making me uncomfortable, and I did my best in radiating my own comforting waves.

Are the emotions of a Luna that strong?

The emotions of every female wolf are strong. For common she-wolves, only their mates and their children can feel it. But for the Lunas, the entire jurisdiction under their mate can feel it. For you and Liana, the whole kingdom would have felt it, but since you are too far from your mates and the core of Were Kingdom, the wolves cannot feel your emotions, yet.

And this is one of the reasons Lunas are pampered and kept happy and satisfied. Or else it can affect the entire kingdom, mated or not. My wolf told me.

Liana did a good thing staying with humans, then, didn't she?

Yes.

I laid out our breakfast and we ate in silence. Liana was hurting so much inside, I was too, but we had different reasons.

I was hurting because I had realized that Adrian was not going to make any move to find me, nor was he missing me. I wished, my wolf too, that he felt at least something for me, something that would compel him to find me.

"Luna!" I heard a voice and stiffened, the unfamiliar voice and scent making me alert. Soon, I didn't feel my wolf as well as my pure blood and was left human.

I felt so empty all of a sudden.

We both turned around, Liana's face etched with confusion. She looked at the guard, whom I had seen in the morning, and he was now running towards where we were sitting down peacefully and eating.

"Luna Liana, are you alright?" He asked when he reached us. His eyes that were full of concern, fell on me for a moment and he gave me a scrutinizing look. I just smiled at him and he looked away.

Liana looked up and nodded.

"I heard, Luna. I must tell you, Alpha Prime is going berserk, and has doubled up the amount of guards at the territory borders. We cannot hide you or let you out of the kingdom now, because the other guards don't know that we are sheltering and hiding you. Alpha Prime ordered a tight curfew in the entire kingdom, and will personally check inside every household. What will we do now, Luna?

Oh fuck, there was nowhere to go. I looked at Liana who was deep in thought. She then looked up at the guard and gave him a small smile.

"It's fine, Hans, it's your duty and you must follow the Alpha's orders. Inform him where I live in about an hour."

I gaped at her. Did she really want to confront him?

"Liana, are you finally going to confront him?" I asked the question that rang in the guard's mind too.

She shook her head.

"No, Moon. I'm going to tell you what we are going to do. I don't think I'm sure if I'm ready to even look at him yet." Liana said, her voice set in a determined tone.

"Then shoot, Liana, shoot."

I fidgeted nervously, my wolf being the most difficult right now. She wanted her mate, but she too, just like Ana, Liana's wolf, wasn't sure if she could handle her mate being anywhere near her. I didn't get a full feeling yet of how it felt, to be near Adrian, here, in the Werewolf Kingdom. All I could remember was the day we met and if it felt anything like that, I knew that I stood no chance in front of him.

The thing was, we weren't sure if Adrian would be tagging alone with the Alpha Prime or not. That was the only loophole in Liana's plan, and then even I would have to flee with her.

The house was as normal as it had been, reeking of Liana and only Liana, along with my scent, but there were hardly any traces of my presence. Liana was down in the basement, where no one could sniff and sense her scent. I myself had no idea how she was feeling right now.

Liana seemed to have planned this moment since decades, or maybe she had hidden herself in the basement before too, perhaps hiding from someone else.

I was sitting on the couch, waiting anxiously for Alpha Jaxon to barge in and demand for his mate. I was supposed to behave like an ignorant and naive human, who knew nothing about Weres and vampires and PureBloods.

I smelt it then, the scent that had made me and Liana flee like our asses were on fire. Adrian's scent wasn't there and I sighed in relief, though I felt something inside me hurt.

It was clear, he didn't want me.

I switched on the television, a part of me wondering how it was working here, and changed it to a cartoon channel so that it could perhaps amuse me and calm me down. I watched it, my heart pacing as I felt the scent grow stronger and come nearer. My pure blood and wolf withdrew, making me feel like an empty shell once again.

I was supposed to be and act human.

I tried to concentrate on the animated characters in front of me when the wooden door exploded, leaving just splinters and the broken door. I was so fucking scared and startled that just a blow from the Alpha Prime reduced the door to pieces.

It was a strong and thick wooden door, I couldn't even imagine a human doing it.

The wood dust faded, revealing two figures, Alpha Jaxon, and the guard who had no idea about our plan.

Alpha Jaxon was attractive, very, very attractive. He had a toned, muscled body, was tall, as tall as the door was, perhaps just touching seven feet. I probably looked like a tiny, measly ant in front of that hunk, with clear blue eyes, shaggy brown hair and tanned skin. He was hot, seriously, the kind of hot that could make anyone's panties drop.

But not mine. I didn't feel attracted to him, not at all. It was just like he was another man for me, irrelevant and insignificant.

Gah! Being a wolf was so boring. The one I wanted didn't want me, and I didn't feel interested in other specimens too.

He closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply, smelling all that screamed Liana in the room. There was a small smile on his face as he closed his eyes, and he looked contented, peaceful. His brows furrowed slowly, maybe when he smelled my absolute human scent and he opened his eyes to look at me.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice deep and husky, with a dangerous undertone. A part of me wanted to shake Liana to bring her brain back to its place so that she could be with this hot hunk of an Alpha again.

Although, the thing that shocked me the most was that he didn't care to ask what a human woman was doing in the kingdom.

I narrowed my eyes at him, even though I was so scared that I could pee in my pants, "Who are you? How could you just barge in my friend's house like that? Do you know how expensive that wooden door was?"

His eyes narrowed at me, his stance threatening and his eyes darkening at my straightforward disrespect and disobedience. Then he realized that I was just a human.

The fact was, that even if I was a wolf, I still would have had the liberty to disobey him, being the Luna Queen and bla bla. But he didn't need to know that.

"Who are you?" He asked again when he had calmed down. His eyes assessed me, and then the entire room, searching for Liana's presence.

"Excuse me," I haughtily said, flipping my hair over my shoulder. "Who are you? I'm not interested in divulging private information to anyone. What do you want here?"

"For someone who is a pesky little human like you, you surely do have a sharp tongue. I'm your friend's boyfriend, and I need to talk to her." He said, slowing his temper down.

Even though I was a human then, I could still feel the power he emanated, and I could almost taste his authority. He was trying to use his power on me, and I knew humans did cave in.

But I was the Luna Queen. His power was useless to me, especially when my mate was more powerful than him.

"My friend has no boyfriends. I'm not stupid. If she had one, she would've told me earlier, much, much earlier. Also, who do you think you are, calling me a pesky little human? Do you think you are a mighty Wolfie Alpha?" I faked a growl, "Or a vampire with fangs, shining in the sunlight like an LED?"

This was fun. His whole body was trembling, literally. His face had turned red and the guard behind him cleared his throat, making it clear that I'd gone too far.

"Where is she?" Jaxon asked exasperatedly, gritting his teeth.

"Who?"

He sighed, "Your friend."

"Which friend? I have two with me here."

The guard frowned. Of course, he hadn't seen the non existent third one.

"Liana." He said, his teeth grinding.

"You are not Liana's boyfriend." I said.

He scowled at me, "What do you mean? I thought you said that she doesn't have a boyfriend."

This was the scariest and the most daring part. I was probably handing my life to him on a silver platter, "I thought you were talking about Moon. I know Liana's boyfriend. It's not you."

The moment was Kodak worthy. The guard took many steps back while I stayed rooted to my spot. The expression of rage, possessiveness and jealousy that covered Alpha Jaxon's face actually scared me shitless. My eyes were wide with fear, my knees trembling. Fear was what I was feeling, pure, unadulterated fear.

He let out a loud, soul shattering roar, and like a blur, he disappeared for the moment.

The moment when he reappeared, all I could see was broken tiles and the furniture smashed to smithereens.

I really liked that couch, it was too cozy.

One moment I was gaping at the mess around me and the next moment I was held up in the air, by my neck. He had a tight grip on me, gentle enough that it wouldn't kill me. My wolf threatened to come out, wanting to punish him into submission for daring to threaten his Luna Queen, but I shoved her back, because all the charade would go down the drain.

"Where. Is. She?" He snarled, my face at level with his. I was choking, my breaths becoming shallow.

"I d-don't know. Sh-She w-w-went out with Moon in the m-morning. She didn't come back yet."

"What's your name?"

I thought of something quickly, "Cynthia."

"Look, Cynthia, I want you out of here within the next two hours. Your friends will stay here, you get that?"

I nodded.

"Good." And just like that he dropped me, sending me crumbling down into a heap and luckily where there was no sharp furniture to injure me.

With a last punch on the wall and a growl, he stormed out of the house, barking instructions to the guards.

I sighed.

I stood up, rubbing my neck which felt sore. My wolf and pure blood came back to me slowly, and I felt whole again. I still hadn't had a proper talk with the both of them, yet they were so cooperative.

It's hard for you to be thrown all of a sudden in an alternate world. You're doing good.

Thanks.

I heard footsteps and a voice, "My, my, it's such a mess."

I turned, to find Liana walking out, clucking her tongue as she examined her furniture that was broken to dust. If she looked bad before, she was worse now, with her eyes puffy and bloodshot, and her face blank, completely blank. My wolf didn't waste a moment to radiate the comforting energy, and it surrounded us warmly, like a mother's womb, calming both of us.

A small flitting smile spread on Liana's face and she looked at me, the genuine warmth in her eyes calming down the fast pacing of my heart, "I'll be fine, Moon. Just give me some more time. And thank you so much, you did really good. I bet you enjoyed sassing one of the two most powerful Alphas." She chuckled.

"Yeah, I did. It was fun riling him up. But looking at your house, it doesn't seem funny anymore." I said, sheepishly.

"It's fine. We're going to leave once the borders are less guarded. We can leave now too, we are Lunas, after all. We can easily outsmart the guards, but I don't want to take any risk." She said, and went back downstairs, returning with a dustpan and a broom.

She threw a broom at me, and in just about a minute or two, the room was cleaned up. It was bare now, even tile-less, to be more precise. It looked just like it must have looked before painting and furnishing.

"I'm sorry." Liana said, all of a sudden as I stared at the room.

I looked at her, dumbfounded. "Why?"

"I dragged you into my mess, didn't I? I'm sure Jaxon would be keeping a watchful eye on you now. You would always be stalked or watched by someone, well, at least for some days till he loses his interest and returns to his usual fuckboy ways. I should have inspected the trail before taking you for a run. The last time I came here was a decade ago, and so much has changed since. It was a bad idea, Moon. I'm sorry."

"Hey!" I pulled her close by wrapping an arm around her. "It was fun while it lasted, okay! And don't feel like you're dragging me or something, I'm as much a part of all of this as you are. But there's this one thing." I said, hesitantly.

"What is it?"

I didn't know how to say this. As much as I believed Liana when she told me what Jaxon did to her, I could see the longing in his eyes today. He desperately wanted her, his eyes and his demeanor alone could tell it all to me. I didn't have my wolf then, so I couldn't feel or smell the emotions he was feeling, but his eyes alone showed it all.

There was a burning fire in his eyes, the fire that only his mate could quench. His stance was stiff, tense, and looked relieved only when he smelled Liana's presence in the room.

"Liana..." I trailed when she held up her hand, gesturing for me to stop.

"If this is about Jaxon, then I don't want to talk about it anymore."

But I was stubborn. I grabbed Liana's wrist and dragged her to the bedroom which was still the same as we had left it. I made her sit on the bed across me and sighed.

"Liana, I know what he did to you. I could see it in his eyes even if I couldn't feel it. He really wants you Liana. You've punished him for a whole century, don't you feel it's time you two sit down and talk?" I held her hand in mine, squeezing it softly.

She stared at me blankly for a moment, but then looked away, the tears slowly building up in her eyes.

"I would've believed you. I would've believed the wolves when they said that he was desperately searching for me. But I can't, and I won't. If he had been searching for me and wanted me, why would he go and fuck other she wolves in my absence, all the fucking time?"

I gasped. I had no answer to this, and yes, Liana was right.

"Here I am, still a virgin after meeting my mate and living on earth for hundred and twenty six years. Don't you think it hurts me, that I spent my entire life like a nun and here he is, fucking girls every single night. I was training to be a Beta, I was a tomboy. But still I dreamt of having a mate who will pamper me, love me and treat me like his queen. I realized soon how wrong I was, when he said he didn't want me. The moon is cruel, you cannot reject your mate, no way in hell. That's why our primary bond is still alive and wherever I go, wherever I run off too, I still feel the pain. It's not easy to forget it all and just let it go, Moon, it isn't."

She fell back on the bed and curled herself up in a small ball. She was looking at me now.

"Strange, isn't it? I met you just yesterday and I trust you more than I had ever trusted anyone." She said, sighing.

I smiled and lied down next to her, slinging an arm around her, "Strange, isn't it? I was hopeless, human and alone yesterday, and today I have a best friend, and have no idea what I am."

We both giggled for some unknown reason, and soon slept all our worries away, cocooned in each other's comfort.

I felt uneasy.

It was what woke me up.

My insides were burning, as if my core was threatening to burst into flames. It was growing and spreading through my veins, my chest hurting painfully. I felt sore, all over my body and moving even a fraction was painful. My throat was dry, inexplicably dry and it ached. I felt like I was drowning, in a pool of overwhelming emotions. It was difficult to breath and my heart clenched painfully, making me gasp.

What was happening to me?

I panicked and turned to find Liana, still curled up but wincing in her sleep as if she was having a nightmare. I nudged her, trying to wake her up, but her eyes were shut tightly and she curled into herself more and more.

I shook her, every movement painful as I tried to breathe out a few words. The pain was growing immensely, becoming more and more intense as time passed. I clutched my lower abdomen, where the pain was the most acute. I felt like I was going to die, and the sense of doom encompassed me. The world around me blurred, as the pain became too overwhelming to bear.

All of a sudden, it was calm; I couldn't feel anything, just numbness.

And then I screamed.

I kept screaming and sobbing, scratching my throat, my chest, my abdomen, and every other place which felt on fire. My sobs were just gasps, but the tears streaming down my eyes were enough to convey the intense agony I was feeling.

I didn't feel Liana shaking me and trying to pry my hands off me. I couldn't feel my pure blood self trying to calm my wolf down. All I could hear was Liana sobbing and begging me to calm down, desperately trying to get hold of my wrists and pin them down.