A Luna's Flame

Chapter Sixty-Nine

My own panting filled my ears as my heart pumped with anticipation as the room stilled. My hand throbbed as I began to analyze my opponent for weak points, using Noah's late-night teachings to my full advantage. The teenage boy, who I assumed to be Atlas, spat blood onto the floor in disgust, his chin quickly swelling. He cradled his reddening jaw as his eyes squeezed close in pain as tendrils of blood circled down his forearms.

"What the fuck was that for? Are you sure that thing is a girl because she hits like a grown man?" Atlas muttered as he looked at me with anger.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as my head slightly cocked to the side. He looked somewhat older than me, but he took that punch like someone half my age. He didn't even try to move out of the way!?

"That's what you get. I told you to stay with Moroi, boy!" Pythia reprimanded as she rested her hands on her wide hips, completely forgetting about her discarded weapon.

"Like hell, I'll hang out with him now! Look at my beautiful face. I'll be unrecognizable within the hour," Atlas exclaimed while looking down at his bloody hands, grimacing in pain shortly after his outburst.

"That jaw will be the last thing you'll have to worry about if you don't mind that mouth of yours," Pythia threatened, her purple iris twinkling with a devious promise.

I stepped closer to Noah as I watched Atlas spew curses under his breath as he rolled his eyes at the witch. Noah grabbed my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"What is going on? One moment, you help me save my sister, and then the next, you try to kidnap her! Thank you for your help last night, Pythia. I really do appreciate you stepping in when other pack members ignored me. But you are not entitled to have her as compensation," Noah threatened as his chest seemed to widen as he attempted to shield me from her.

Before I could blink, I felt warm fingers caress my chin and pull my face toward them.

"If I wanted to take her, I would've," Pythia whispered as she looked deeply into my eyes, her breath fanning my face.

I whimpered and tried to move from her grasp, but her fingers dug in deep. I pulled at Noah's arm, still unable to utter a word, but he was rigid. I looked over to her teenage companion, and he seemed to be frozen in the middle of his curse-filled rant. It was as if time itself no longer existed around us.

"Such an intoxicating mix of colors you have here. How do you feel?" Pythia asked as her gaze shifted between my eyes.

I continued to try to free myself from her grip but to no avail. I looked around the room frantically as I struggled, fear's icy fingers squeezing my lungs of air. My eyes burned as my vision blurred while pieces of myself battled against each other.

"Calista," she said more firmly, slightly shaking my chin.

Instantly, the witch had my attention. How did she know my name?

"I am not here to harm you," she promised softly.

I glanced over at her bloody partner before looking back into her dual-colored irises, doubt evident in my stance.

"He's an idiot. Contrary to that horrifying mouth of his, he wouldn't hurt you either. That incantation is meant as a transportation spell, but he seemed to have forgotten the correct words. If I hadn't stepped in, who knows where you would've landed," she mumbled the last bit in agitation.

I raised my brow in question, absolutely unconvinced.

"I came here into this pack, and more specifically, this house for a reason. I know the reputation I have amongst your kind. I was the one who spread it, after all, and wolves are known to enjoy a good story," Pythia began to explain with a wink and soft chuckle at her own cunningness.

"You and your wolf needed to evolve, and fear was the only way to force it. Instincts are a wolf's greatest blessing and something you tend to rely on in difficult situations, especially when it involves the well-being of a loved one," she continued.

"A black wolf that doesn't shift. An Alpha female with potential slipping through her fingers. A rich bloodline dwindling because of a fractured mind. A pitiful waste."

My eyebrows crinkled as an unknown anger grew from deep within as her insult warmed my ears.

"I have traveled the world of the Lycans and seen the inner workings of wolf packs. I know far more than the highest-ranking Alpha because the trees always whisper the sweetest stories to me. If wolf's fables are worth anything, your mother was notable in her own right. Pioneering into spaces where others have fallen....and all for her pup to succumb to herself," Pythia scoffed as she let go of my face.

"She gave you another chance at life, and now you've gone mute! Cowering behind a Beta wolf that you would've left behind with little hesitation. You should be better than that! He protects you more than you can protect yourself," she reprimanded.

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Tears burned the edges of my eyes as my throat begged for reprieve.

"Do you plan to waste your second chance at life because you hate who you see in the mirror? The voices in your head are no longer there. That chaos that gave you an excuse to ignore your inhibitions has vanished. What is your excuse to be pitiful now?"

I shook my head vigorously as I felt the bud deep within my soul begin to blossom from the tears of my heart.

"They took everything from you, and you've let them! Were her sacrifices for nothing?" Pythia asked, her purple iris a blaze.

And just like a crack in a cement foundation gives way to a lone flower, its roots deep despite its confining environment, something within me broke through. A ground-shaking growl rattled the window as pure rage warmed the blood in my veins. My eyes clarified again as my resolve strengthened.