ANOTHER LIFE

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I'm running through a maze-like forest as fast as I can, and I have no clue why; the only thing evident in my mind is; I have to get back to him. I need to find him. Help him. There are broken branches, rocks, and dead animals all around me, my hands are bloodied, the gown I'm wearing is ripped, and my hair is covered with debris. What is this place? How do I get out?

I can hear the sound of sabers clashing in the distance, and I follow, thinking it will lead me to him. After a few more left and right turns, I'm in front of an old Victorian-style castle. I can see severed heads, torn arms, and legs, several bodies, all littered across the courtyard. The sight before me is gruesome, and my stomach is convulsing as I take in all the mangled bodies before me, but something catches my eye at the door. A man was standing at the entrance. His head moved from side to side as if he was looking for someone. His penetrating gaze meet mine, and I momentarily feel relief. I found him.

He dashes towards me, and as he gets closer, I can see the blood leaking from a wound in his arm; I stumble forward, landing in his open arms. His green eyes peered right into my own, and I swore they saw right through me, to the core, and that prickling sensation from his touch was etched in my mind from some distant memory. In my mind, I knew I had never seen this person before, yet I still felt like I knew him; he was oddly familiar to me.

"Phoebe, thank the Goddess I have been looking for you everywhere. The Council is here; we have to get you out. Now!" He grabbed my hand and took off through the entrance to the castle, and I wanted to tell him that I was not this Phoebe person, but my mouth was moving before my mind could comprehend what I was saying.

"Elias, they destroyed the forest, all of the guards are dead, and they murdered my mother to get to me. It's happening, as the Enchantress said, and it's all because the Goddess dared to intertwine a wolf and a human. What are we going to do? We can't fight them all?"

We start running through a dark corridor so fast the soles of my feet begin to hurt.

He abruptly stops and turns to me, pulling me into a tight embrace, "Sweetheart, it's not just that you're a human, your blood is special, and a lot of people on the Council would kill to have it. I smelt the difference on you the moment I met you. It triggered the mate bond, and I thought I would have more time to understand it before they came for you. I'm so sorry, my love; I should have told you the truth from the beginning. I just wanted to protect you, keep you a secret. I believed I could keep our life, our family hidden, but our time is running out."

"Elias, what do you mean my blood is special? Why would they want to kill me for it?"

He takes a deep breath, "You are a direct mortal descendant of the Goddess Selene and her mortal lover Endymion. In some wolf legends, it's been told with the blood of a moon-kissed human child; you could become an immortal wolf with the strength that will rival that of the Gods and inherit the power of the Goddess herself."

"I don't understand; you told me that wolves could live for hundreds of years, and how can my blood make anyone immortal?"

"Yes, we can live hundreds of years, but the longer we live, the harder it is to change into our wolves; our strength and life energy also become visibly weaker over time. We eventually die, but it is a painful death, and some would do anything to avoid it. Some wolves will get stuck in their other form and go mad with hunger. If someone were to remove your beating heart from your chest under the blood moon and eat it, they would be able to transcend to that place where the heavens and earth meet, where they can steal time, steal the light in the night sky, and make the world sleep at their feet. Do you understand what a wolf could do with this kind of power?" He strokes his thumb across my cheek.

"Yes, I do. Did you not trust me? Why have you kept this secret from me all this time?

He strokes my hair, "My light, if I did not trust you or you did not trust me, our bond would have never grown into what it is now. Trust is but the sand in which my love sprouted from, and Poseidon himself couldn't wash away the footprints our union has left. I only meant to hide you from my world. From my world"

"What about our daughter? Will they want her just as they want me? We have to keep her safe, Elias." We started running again but even faster down the dark corridor. He leads me through a door into a small office. Once we step in, he makes his way to an old ragged bookcase, pulling a dirty red book back from the shelf, and the bookcase opens. He grabs my hand, and we make our way through a foul-smelling cobweb full tunnel.

"Our daughter is fine. She is with someone I trust, and no one knows of her existence. I assure you, my brightest star, that she is safe. My only concern now is getting you out of here and figuring out what to do after that."

"You will be killed for your betrayal, Elias. Do you think I can live without you? I will not be able to look at myself knowing I am the cause of your death!"

"My soul duty in this life is to protect, love, and honor you, and if giving up my life to fulfill those vows is what needs to happen, then it would be a privilege to die for you. You have nothing to feel guilty about; this was a choice I would easily make over and over if I had to.

We come to the end of the tunnel, and there was a wooden door; he knocks three times, and then four knocks sound from the other side. He opens the door, and there is a heavy-set, bald guy standing there with two horses. Elias starts pulling me towards the horse and lifts me, placing my legs on either side.

"Stewart will take you as far as Castle La Lykos, and Gabriella will meet you there and take you to our daughter. I will meet up with you both as soon as I can."

"Don't ask me to leave you here. I don't want you to become just a memory that will fade away with time. I need you here with me, by my side. I will do anything for you if you would just let me help." I can feel the hot tears stream down as I look at his pain-stricken face, but I can see there is no changing his mind.

"I will never fade away. Do you not know that what we have is infinite?" It has no end, my love, and we will be together in this life and the afterlife." He started to say something else, but our heads turned simultaneously at the sound of heavy footsteps, and I could see three tall, muscular, naked men walking from out of the shadows. They all have menacing glares, and the growl that sounds from deep in their chest has the horses startled, and I grip the reigns tighter, trying to stop the horse from running.

"The council demands that she is brought back to perform the ritual, and if you stop us, your head will be delivered on a pike, you treacherous bastard."

Elias's head snaps back to me, and he gives me a curt nod, "Time to go, Phoebe. I love you." His hand smacks the back of the horse, and I take off. I turn my head to look behind me, and I can see him changing into a giant white wolf. He starts charging in the direction of the other men, who also begin changing into enormous wolves, and that's all I can see before I hear Stewart yelling at me to keep my eyes straight ahead.

We ride for a moment and my thoughts weren't directed on where I was headed, but where I must return too. Deep down inside I knew this day would come. I had always known since before I truly met him. I didn't know how I had the knowledge that I had, but it was clear to me that going back was my fate.

I brought my horse to an abrupt stop, and I sat there struggling with what I was told to do and what I have to do. A pain in my stomach became present, and the further I went, the more intense it got. The sounds of the battle were slowly fading, and my heart was beating faster as it dawned on me that he would die and I wouldn't be there.....to guide his soul. Deep in the pit of my soul I knew we either had to fight together or die together. This was our fate, and you can't fight fate.

"My Lady, we have to get you to safety. It was My Lord's dying wish."

With those words, my decision was cemented, and I turned the horse around and started galloping back to him to Elias. I can scarcely hear Stewart yelling for me to come back. I don't care about anything besides getting to him. We would live in this world or perish together. As the tree line came into view, I could start to see Elias's wolf and another fighting, and I screamed his name.

Elias's wolf starts to turn back into it's human form, and I just knew something was wrong. His head snaps up in my direction, and the other wolf launches for him, biting his neck, and he staggers back. They both start circling him, biting and dragging him by his legs. As soon as I was close enough, I jump off my horse and run towards him. I don't even know how to save him; I just need to get to him. The enormous wolf of the two jumps backs and bites his neck again, he shakes his head, and I can see the blood spouting from the wound, and I could have died right there and then from the sight.

The wolf stepped back and started to repeat the same move, but I was close enough to jump in between them before he could finish Elias off, and that's when I feel the wet hungry bite of a werewolf. His teeth felt like someone was cutting me with a chainsaw, and the pain was unbearable. He unlatched his mouth from my neck and threw me against a tree, where my body landed, making a loud thud. They immediately changed back to their human form and start stalking me.

I feel hot hands lift me, "I bit her too deep; she will be dead in a few moments. Calvrick will not be happy about this," he threw my body back to the ground, "Link him and tell him what has transpired here." He yells at the other wolf and makes his way to Elias's body. "Hmm, you're still alive, but not for long; he bites on his neck again, this time ripping a piece of flesh off, "For all your secrecy and disloyalty, you will die." They both change back into their wolf form and take off running.

Elias's body starts moving, and I can see him half crawling towards me, and I want to move or say something, but I can't. I can hardly feel the pain anymore; everything is numb, and my vision blured. I felt a sudden jolt of electricity from my hand that brought me back, just barely.

"Stay just a little longer, my light," he squeezes my hand, and his face comes into view," I told you to run."

"Save...You...Always." I whispered as blood flew from the corners of my mouth.

He laughed, "And I will save you always. Let go, Sweetheart. I will soon follow after you." I can feel his hand brushing through my hair, and my eyes flutter. "Go to sleep, my love. When you awake, I shall be on the other side with you." The last thing I remember feeling was his lips pressed against my forehead.

"Helena? Helena? Helena? Wake up. You're crying in your sleep." I hear Elijah's voice booming in my ear, and I cringe at the sound. I open my eyes and bring my hand to my cheek, feeling the wet moisture of tears. My God, that dream felt so fucking real. What was that? Did I have vivid imagination? I shake my head back and forth, and I cannot shake the sadness that seems to be rooted to my core.

I throw the covers over my legs and run to the bathroom. I go to the sink and run icy water on my face looking in the mirror at my reflection. What in the fuck is going on? Relax, Helena; it is just a dream; it wasn't real. It was real I repeated as I sobbed. But why did it feel so real? I could still feel the pain from the bite, and my hand subconsciously moved to my neck, making sure there is nothing there. I sit on the toilet, running my hands through my hair, trying to make sense of this.

"Helena, I can feel your distress. What is going on?"

Well, if you can feel my distress, just leave me the fuck alone.

"I can feel your annoyance now, and you really should watch your thoughts." He mocked me.

I almost laugh at his tone, and I take a deep breath telling myself over and over in my head that it was just a dream. It didn't mean anything. People have strange dreams all the time. I grab a towel from the rack, dry my face, and open the door.

"I'm all right, Elijah. It was just a strange dream, and it freaked me out just a little bit, but it's okay now," he looks at me with worry, "I promise." I try to make my tone as light as possible, but he sees through my bullshit but does not push the issue. I moved to the side to walk past him, and I head for the bed, plopping down on edge.

He walks to me, slowly crouching down in between my legs, cupping my face. "Sweetheart, are you sure you're all right? I did not like what you were feeling. It felt like you were in physical pain and hurting."

Honestly, I don't know how to best explain to him what I was dreaming, and part of me refused to think that it was any more than just a dream, but that new piece of me, the part that is slowly starting to recognize something unreal is happening wants to tell him the truth. I opt to say just part of the truth to him and decipher the entire dream later.

"I just dreamt something from a movie or a book I must have read. There was a fight, a guy, and I got hurt in the dream, I guess. You don't have to worry about it," I shrug, "I would like to ask you something, though. How in the hell do you know what I am thinking and feeling?

"Helena, I said give me time to explain everything. You said you would have patience."

I narrow my eyes, "Dude, I am not asking you to run down everything, but you got to give me something. I feel like I just stepped into an episode of Ripley's Believe it or Not."

He stands up and paces back and forth with his hand under his chin. He might be mumbling something, but it is hard to hear. He stops after about five minutes and comes back to the same position he was before. "I will answer that, but no more questions. The problem with answering your questions is any response I give will solicit more questions since you understand nothing."

"Just answer the fucking question, please." I half-smiled.

He takes a deep breath, "The bond that we share allows me to feel what you try to bury and to hear what you won't say."

Although what he said is fucking nuts, I still smile at the fact that he answered my question, and he was starting to tell me some of what is going on. I pinch his cheek and give him one of my best smiles. "Now, was that so hard. I hope you know I have tons of questions, but I will settle just asking one more." His beautiful face pouts, and I suppress the instinct to laugh.

"When is breakfast?"

He kisses my cheek, "Whenever you want it to be, my little one." He picks me up, putting me on his side like a parent carrying a small child. I feel incredibly tiny in his massive arms; he is one big ass guy. I bring my head down, resting it on his shoulder, and he snuggles his chin into my hair. We make our way downstairs to the kitchen. He sets me down on the stool and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

"What would you like to eat?"

"Nothing fancy. Do you have any cereal?"

He turns and walks to the cabinet and grabs a box of Fruity Pebbles glancing at me, and I give him a thumbs up. I see him grab something that resembles a punch bowl, and I roar with laughter.

"Elijah, don't you have any regular size bowls? Why do you keep giving me food in these giant ass bowls?" I hold it up, pointing at it like it is a science experiment.

His brows furrow, "I keep forgetting you don't eat as much as we do. I have a cup that might be small enough for you."

How much food is he eating in one serving? And, who are we? The questions keep piling up, and I'm unsure of how much patience I will have. He brings what he says is a cup to me, and it does look like a taller bowl. I turn the 'cup' round and round, letting my mouth hang open at the size and the weight.

"This sucker must weigh a ton. It's so freaking heavy." I keep twirling the cup in both hands, my eyes focused on the dish, when I hear a low chuckle coming from Elijah. I peek up and see his amusing smile.

"You are delightful. A human dish would break easily in my hands. The slightest pressure I would apply would cause it to shatter." He gives me a meaningful look, and I assume he is starting to trust me a little now.

"Hmm, you have superhuman strength." I pause, "Is that what you're referring to when you talk about breaking me?"

"Yes, I have to mind my movements around you. If I were to grab you too rough when I pull you in for a hug, I could easily fracture your spine."

Well, I will be damn; he wasn't kidding about breaking my pelvis. I might have to rethink giving him my virginity. We could just be trying to have kinky sex, and I can end up in a damn wheelchair. We should prepare a safety course before the grand finale. I need to ensure my hip will still be intact when we finish.

I hope he doesn't tear my vagina apart.

He tenses up next to me, and I jump back, startled at his sudden change in mood. I feel regret brewing in him, but for what? He looks at me for a second and then grabs the cup out of my hand, places it down, and pours me some cereal. He walks to the refrigerator to grab the milk and the drawer to get a spoon. Thankfully, this happens to be a regular size spoon. He places the items in the bowl and gives me a stern look.

"Eat; your blood sugar is low. Once you're done, I thought I could take you to the mall to get a few things."

Good, now he knows when my blood sugar is dropping. What the fuck? I guess he is my very own personal glucose meter. I shot him a look, and he ignores me, gesturing to the food in front of me. I just sigh and grab the spoon, and start eating.

"Why do I need to go to the mall? I have clothes at home?" I asked.

"I want you to live here with me?" My mouth falls open, and the spoon drops in the bowl with a loud ring, and I am still for a moment. Did he just say he wants me to live with him? I am only seventeen. What is he thinking? Why can't we just date like ordinary people? Talk on the phone, see each other in school, go out, have fun! Jesus Christ, move in together!

He is staring at me with a dreadful look on his face, and I hate that my silence makes him fell such a way, but he just pulled the rug from right under me with that one. How do I even answer that question? I bite my lip and start to play with the edge of my shirt. He tilts my chin up to look directly into his face.

"Do you not want to stay here?"

"I don't know. I mean, I already told you that this," I wave my hands in between us back and forth, "Is moving extremely fast."

"Helena, do you want to be with me?"

I answer at once, "Yes. Always."

His mouth turns into a full-blown smile. "I want to be with you always. My wolf does not like it when we are too far apart, and I happen to agree with him. If your hurt or in trouble, getting to you would take time, and I won't risk your safety for something so inconsequential as distance."

"Who or what is your wolf? Is that what you named your penis?" There was no hint of teasing in my face or tone. I genuinely wanted to know what he was talking about, which is the second time he has mentioned his 'wolf.'

"My little curious human," his pointed finger pokes my nose, "Let us just say my wolf is something like my inner voice. My conscience. He and I are the same, and we did not like you being so far away from us. Do you care to see what we did to the room you were in once we realized you were gone?"

I jump off the stool, and I stumble down, almost hitting my head on the edge of the countertop. His hands grab me before I wind up with a concussion or worse, and he steadies me. I had not realized how tall everything in the kitchen was; it was like all the furniture was about a foot higher than average standards. It makes sense if I think about it; everyone here was unusually tall.

"It would seem I have to protect you from yourself, as well. Follow me, and please watch your step." He laughs and pulls me out of the kitchen towards the staircase, and we make our way to the room I was staying in. He pauses and turned to me, "Please, keep in my mind that I was agitated when you left."

My eyebrows cocked, and I gave him a perplexing look before I opened the door. I let out a small gasp and tumble back, taking in the scenery. I mean, it looks like a tornado came through here. Pieces of fabric are ripped all around the room; the bed is in two halves; seriously, he had to karate chop the bed like they do when they're breaking a board. Many holes decorated the walls, the television is busted, and several parts are scattered across the floor, broken glass was just everywhere. All the drawers were on the floor, and as I look at them, I see bite marks. Did he just chew on the fucking furniture? Where the hell is the dresser?

I notice the giant hole where the bay window should be, and I run to it. I look down, and the dresser is torn apart on the ground. I back up and do a three-sixty, taking in all the damage he inflicted, and looked at him. He looks so worried, and I could again feel his emotions, and he feared my reaction. To both our surprise, I laugh, and I mean I laughed. Honestly, this was such an overreaction. What a drama queen! Jeez, if he just had fucking asked Daisy for my number to call or text me, I would have just came back.

"My angry wolf, you need to consider taking some anger management classes. Cause this shit," I motion at the chaos of a room he left, "Is just ridiculous. Who is going to clean this up?"

Some of the tension leaves his shoulder but not all. "I suppose I went over the top, but in my defense, I imagined the worst had happened to you. Now, do you see why I want you to stay here with me? I would prefer not to go through that again, and don't worry; the servants will clean this up."

I shake my head, "No, sir, we will be cleaning this up. I am responsible for putting you through that, and you're responsible for making the mess. It's not right making them clean this up."

He strode towards me, taking his hands out of his pocket wrapping his muscular arms around my tiny waist. "Such a thoughtful Luna," he dipped his nose into my neck, leaving soft wet kisses up and down my collarbone, "Shall we go spend an obscene amount of money on your new wardrobe? I made space in my closet for you." His free hand goes to the back of my head, pulling me in for a kiss, tongue fucking my mouth, and I stifle a moan.

Lord, for all that is holy in this world, please get this psycho.

His lips come together as he tries not to laugh, and I break our kiss and lightly push his hard chest as I back up. I feel cold for a moment when his body is no longer pressed against mine, and I fight every cell in my body to not dive back into his enticing embrace. I wanted to ask him what a Luna is, but I decided against it. I recall Daisy and Jay calling me that, and the title holds some value to them. Just another thing I must wait for him to explain, and I am trying to be patient, but I am no fucking Nelson Mandela.

"I still haven't agreed to live here. How do you think my mother will react when she finds out I want to move in with a guy I only knew for three days?"

"Helena, why are you so obsessed with what others will think? The only opinion that should matter is your own. If you always want to be with me, why not just do it? I could have known you for two seconds, and my wishes still would have been the same. Time is irrelevant when it comes to you. It could have been three days, three months, three hours since I met you, and I would still feel as if I had known you my entire life.

I wonder how he can be so sure of his feelings for me, and an awkward silence fills the air as I try to find the right thing to say.

"Can I have some time to think about this? I am not saying no, but I have to think about it."

He clears his throat, "Fine, how about we just go shopping to prepare for that future, yes." His eyes glow with a mischievous sparkle, and I swallow the lump in my throat. He will undoubtedly be a handful, that is for sure, and I must consider who or what I am dealing with.

"We have to discuss your possessive behavior; being your woman is going to be very interesting." I giggle and pull him in for a hug, "Come on, let's go. We have some shopping to do, and after that were coming back to clean this mess up." I lace my fingers with him, and he stares down at our linked hands. He smiles and brings our hands to his mouth, kissing softly on my knuckle.

"Anything for you." He said with gentle eyes.

We make our way back to his room, and I can see there is already a pair of black jeans, long sleeve white shirt, and underclothes laid out for me. I start to think about my dream and notice some similarities between Elias and Elijah, and I also feel that the same way Phoebe loved Elias, I felt for Elijah. I would do anything for him, be anything, be with him at all cost. He gave me privacy to change, and while doing so, my mind kept drifting back to my dream. To them.

I grab the brush off the dresser and head to the mirror in the bathroom, pulling my hair into a tight ponytail, and once I finish with my self-evaluation, I walk out, and I see him standing in the middle of the room. My eyes favorably roam over his body, and he looks like a model. This is the first time I take the time to notice what he is wearing. He is also wearing black jeans, a black and white polo shirt, white Sperry shoes, and a vast black diamond-coated watch. Wow, he looked fucking good, and I had to stop myself from drooling.

I can get used to seeing him every day.

"I would love to see you every day as well, Helena."

Dammit, how do you turn this hearing my thoughts shit off?

"You know you hearing my thoughts is going to get annoying fast. Can I block you out if I wanted to?" I place my hands on my hips.

"Over time, you will learn to control it, but I would prefer that you don't. I love hearing your mind. You have such a lovely way of thinking, and I love seeing the blush on your cheeks when you get embarrassed. The prettiest fucking flower I have ever seen."

His smoldering gaze leaves hot kisses all over my body.

I turn a brighter red, and I curse myself for being so easy to read, but my heart contracts at his words. "We should get going before my embarrassment likely kills me." I laugh, and he takes my hand, leading me to the garage where we jump in his Range Rover. We were soon on the open highway headed to the town mall. I decided to ask him a few questions.

"So, tell me about yourself." I asked.

"What do you want to know."

"What's your favorite color? What do you like to do in your spare time?"

I blushed. "The color of your eyes is my favorite color, and when I'm free, I paint."

That surprised me; he didn't strike me as an artistic type. I suppose he might be the one collecting all the artwork in the house. "I noticed all the paintings throughout the house. Do you collect a lot of art?"

"Yes, I do. Some of the paintings you saw were handed down from generation to generation. My family has a thing with preserving history."

"It must be cool to trace your ancestry back as far as you can. Daisy told me that your bloodline goes back fifteen generations and that your family is important. You are a 'noble wolf.' I assume it is hard to live up to that kind of scrutiny.

He glances at me with a confused expression, "How is it that you know that phrase?"

"Daisy told me your last name was Adolfo, it sounded German, so I looked it up to see what it meant. It turns out your name means noble wolf. So, can I assume that is why you keep referring to your alter ego or conscience as 'wolf.' Am I right?"

His mouth turns up into a lopsided grin, "Such, an endearing little mind you have. Yes, my name does mean 'noble wolf,' and our family is of German descent. We are considered royalty in our world, and great power and responsibility comes with that title. Soon, you will meet my wolf, and we will discuss everything after that. Do you happen to know what your name means?"

There is that word again 'royalty,' It scares me to know that he is considered that, and you know what I am...a damn commoner. I hold no title, no rank, nothing that I have in the slightest could compare to what he has. I try to force out those unwanted thoughts and focus on the conversation at hand.

"No, I never thought about what my name means. Do you know?

"Helena means light, and your last name Armani means warrior. So one could say you're a warrior for the forces of light, but to me, you simply light up my life."