Winning the Luna's Heart- An HMAHM story

Chapter 16-"Vent"

*Third Person's pnt. Of view*

The cave was silent.

The heated couple was also silent. Their eyes moved about, but other than that, there was no communication, at least, no verbal communication. Anna-Marie's red face told Joey that she was close to exploding. The way she breathed heavily, and her chest lifted and lowered at a dramatic tempo, told him that she was counting internally, hoping to not take her anger out on him. Meanwhile, Anna could see that Joseph's silence was a tactic to calm the situation. He avoided her eyes because every moment they made eye contact, he looked away quicker than Anna could blink. He gave her an ultimatum but he did not want to see her struggle with the internal debate.

Joseph wrinkled his brow. It seems he was carrying both his and Anna-Marie's grief. He could feel the tension if this entire ordeal causing an uncomfortable burn around the muscles between his neck and shoulders. The stress of the situation felt as if it was weighing down on his forehead. Keeping quiet, and trying to not make the situation worse was a lot harder than Joseph thought.

He had no outlet. He couldn't vent out to Anna-Marie because she would simply throw it back in his face. Heck she would probably call him inconsiderate for making her know just how suffocating it was to hold his emotions in.

Joey himself had never even gotten over the shock of Vanessa's actions. Everything derailed so quickly, Joseph had yet to have a chance to catch his breath. He remembered the dark power that filled his veins when his fingers clogged Vanessa's throat, forcing the life from her body, and allowing death to take her over. For a moment, Joey was so blinded by rage, he reveled at the image of her slowly paling skin. But revisiting that memory now, and Joey felt that dark power taint his mouth with a bitter taste, and he felt sick to his stomach.

On the other hand, Anna-Marie was more than overwhelmed. She was at a point where the next words that came out of her mouth could change her life forever.

Anna drew in a deep breath, feeling close to tears. She needed to vent. She felt as though she was on the verge of losing her best friend, and her mate, and that feeling itself was enough to paralyze her. Anna-Marie knew that it would eventually come to this, and she was ready to cave under pressure. Just give up... and possibly run away to Europe, except, in that moment of wanting an escape, there is one thing that Joey said, and it caught her attention.

"So you want something to hold on to?" Anna spoke up and asked, and Joey's eyes snapped to hers, and she didn't miss the hopeful glimpse that flashed in his eyes the moment he registered her words.
"Well do you?" Anna-Marie pushed, needing something powerful enough to pull her off the edge. The edge she was very tempted to jump from.
"Yes." Joseph declared, his breathing accelerating as if he felt what Anna-Marie was thinking. He was desperate, and he wasn't ashamed to show it.

Anna shook her head, pursing her lips, then she stood up. She approached Joey and lowered herself until they were face to face, then with a surge of bravado, she grabbed onto his face, and pulled him to her. She interlocked their lips, and Joey was quick to respond, as he held her close, and lifting himself higher in order to increase the intensity of their kiss. Anna felt the tingles of the mate bond roar to life, as she pushed herself against Joey, who interlocked his fingers in her hair. She held onto his face for searching life, and the massage of his fingers in her hair made her feel as if a load had been taken off her shoulders. Even if it was only temporary.

Anna-Marie knew that they had a lot to talk about. And kissing to avoid an argument was recipe for a toxic relationship, but he asked for one thing. He asked for a glimmer of hope, and Anna hoped that her efforts were enough. She didn't know why, but underneath all that anger and hurt and pain, she knew she needed Joey by her side. He was her best friend, and there's no way she was going to face the demon they call Xavier, without Joey by her side.