Magic of Moonlight

Chapter 16 - Shut Out

Griffin bounded into the encampment, his nose seeking out any hint or sign of Ember's scent. It was faint to his nose. Almost non-existent. He snuffled before pawing at a small trap door in the floor of one tent. Growling, he shifted back to human form to use his human hands to pry open the door.

Dropping down inside, he could smell Ember's scent a bit stronger. He followed his nose until he came upon a she-wolf curled up in a ball. Carefully, he uncurled her body to reveal his hidden mate. Her scent is still faint Griffin. Not to be fooled twice, he carefully unwound her further and inspected her chest.

Shimmering in the low light, the silver crescent moon sat there proudly. Both Griffin and Sebastian were confused. This was their mate, but her scent was weak. Sebastian immediately took over and moved her around carefully trying to see if there were any injuries. His first thought was she was dying and that's why her scent was faint.

Seeing no marks on her other than the marks of betrayal across her skin, he tried to shake her. "Ember!" He needed her to show him she was alive. He didn't care if she was angry with him or hated him for touching someone else. Just knowing she was alive would set his mind at ease.

He watched as she lay on the floor. Her breaths were deep but very slow. He sat back on his heels sadly. Dad... He paused, noticing the void within his mind. Looking around, he spotted the wolfsbane plants. Growling in frustration, he scooped Ember up and jumped out of the hidden room and came to rest a few metres from the entrance. He looked down at his mate feeling at a loss at what to do. Dad?

What is it?

I don't know what to do. His voice was forlorn and lost.

Alpha Alexius had never heard his son like this before. What happened?

I found her... But her scent is faint. It's her. She has her mark. But she won't wake up. She doesn't appear injured. Would the marks have something to do with this?

Alpha Alexius bit his lip before drawing Alpha Lucas into their mindlink. Son... I think she's shut you out.

Shut me out? Sebastian was confused.

Like my best friend... Alpha Lucas replied quietly. Her mate was a bastard. He only wanted her as a side chick. Basically to be a maid and a walking incubator for him. One day, she received layers of marks on her body. The pain was unbearable. She spoke to me the day before she did it. She said that she wasn't going to take his abuse anymore. I thought she meant she was going to stand up and fight back. But instead, she shut herself down and never came back. Her mate killed her because she became useless in that state.

So Ember's willingly shut herself down to shut me out... Tears spilt from Sebastian's eyes. He looked down at her before pulling her onto his lap. Can we get her out of it?

I'm sorry... Alpha Lucas said with a sigh. I don't know. There are so few documented cases of she-wolves shutting themselves down in this manner. Many who feel the marks of betrayal either kill themselves or murder the ones their mate cheats with. It's hard to know what will bring a she-wolf back from where ever it is they go.

"Ember..." Sebastian couldn't hold it in any longer. Heavy tears flowed down to land heavily on her head. He held her tightly. He kept berating himself in his head for how easily fooled he was. The signs were there but he had been overridden by his own craving to be constantly touching her or inside her to see them. "Please... I don't care if you hate me. Hit me. Do anything! Just, please... Don't shut me out. Come back."

***

He wasn't sure how long had been out of it but he found himself in his bedroom. He sat up and looked around confused. It felt like he had woken from a dream.

That was no dream. Griffin's voice said sadly. Look next to you.

He looked down and saw Ember lying flat on her back. Her cheeks were reddened from moisture. The low cut gown that she had been changed into showed her crescent moon to him. Biting his lip, he tried shaking her again. Taking a deep breath, he pulled his knees up and rested his head on them. He gently brushed away the stray strands that sat over her face.

"She'll come back," A soft voice spoke in his ear. He jump, almost knocking Ember off the bed, and looked around trying to pinpoint where the voice is coming from. "She'll come back. Don't lose hope."

"Where are you?" He looked around the room again. "Well if you won't tell me then at least tell me who you are."

"You know me silly," The voice giggled playfully. "You just haven't met me yet." The giggling continued in his ear. "Don't lose hope and you'll eventually meet me."

Who in the world are you talking to? Griffin asked curiously after listening to his human talk to something he couldn't hear. Has Ember shut you out and finally driven you crackers?

Maybe... Sebastian sighed lightly before picking Ember up and taking her into the bathroom. He was going to keep to her usual morning and evening routines. He didn't want her to wake up feeling dirty. I heard a voice. It was soft and almost child-like. She told me to not lose hope.

Soft and child-like... Griffin mulled over it before he burst, his voice sounding excited. It could be Glacier. When I talk to Glacier, her voice is soft but tinkles like glass at times. Her laugh is very child-like but it's adorable. Griffin gushed, excited about his mate.

Glacier... Sebastian smiled before speaking out loud. "If that is you Glacier I look forward to finally meeting you." He hoped Griffin was right.

More giggles near his ear before the voice whispered. "And I look forward to meeting you as well...." There was a long pause before a more adult and seductive purr echoed in his ear. "And Griffin too."

Sebastian's mouth almost dropped to the floor at that sound. Griffin...

Hmm...

Have you heard Glacier with her adult voice before?

No... Griffin sounded very confused. He tried to raid his memory to see if there was any lifetime where he had heard Glacier's adult voice. Why?

Well... Once Ember comes back. You'll find out.

You're not going to tell me?

Nup. Sebastian popped the p like as if he was actually smacking his lips.

Asshole.

Sebastian chuckled and carefully continued to take care of Ember's body as best he could.

***

"You know," A soft voice spoke startling Ember from her peaceful moment. She had been rolling the stem of a leaf between her thumb and index finger mindlessly. "You could have imagined up things for you to do in here."

Ember frowned. "You aren't awake yet so how are you in here?"

"Well now," A small white orb floated near her before pulsing lightly. "You shutting yourself down is what prompted me to come to visit."

"You know what our mate did," Ember looked away from the orb. "I'm probably being fucked into oblivion right now by those wolves. They can have their doll. I don't want to be present for it."

"Do you want to know what actually happened?" Glacier asked quietly. That caused Ember to peek at her before turning her head away again. "Or what is actually happening to you now? I promise it's nothing bad."

Ember bit her lip before peeking back at the orb. "You're my wolf. How can you forgive him for having sex with another wolf?"

"Because I know the context on how it happened not just know that it happened." Glacier said placing emphasis on the difference between the two of them. "Sebastian and Griffin both love us dearly and he wouldn't do anything to hurt us deliberately."

"That's the mate bond talking there," Ember murmured looking away again. "If you think I would be swayed by the bond then you have another thing coming. I'm still underage. I can't feel the bond unless we are having sex with him."

"Then you are in a better position to not be blinded when I show you the context," Glacier replied as she twisted Ember's words back on her. "I might be blinded because with me comes your feeling of the mate bond. But you... Well, you have no shades on your eyes. What's stopping you from looking? If you see and still agree with your current choice then I can't stop you. But if you see and understand, then maybe you can release yourself from here."

Ember frowned. Her wolf made sense from a logical standpoint. There was nothing lost in seeing what happened. She either continued to stay where she was or she would return to him.

"Fine then..." She said after some thought. "Show me."

The Glacier-orb spread herself out until she looked like a giant flat screen. Images played that were familiar to Ember. That morning at school, parting ways with Sebastian, following him out into the woods during her free period before lunch, falling into the hole, and her screaming her lungs out for help when she realised she couldn't mindlink, the intense pain from layers of marks over her body, and her withdrawing into her own mind.

"This is what you didn't know." The video played as if being rewound and then her video and Sebastian's video played forwards in time side by side. That morning at school, parting ways with her, meeting up with her at lunch, having sex with her in the woods, him becoming enraged at learning that the her he was with was not her but actually Chelsea in disguise, his attempt to find her, and his tears as soon as he found her again.

"Horn dog," Ember muttered softly causing Glacier to giggle. "But I suppose he's my horn dog, isn't he."

"That he is," Glacier's infectious giggles caused Ember to crack a slight smile. "Do you want to see what he's doing now?"

"Something silly?" Ember asked mildly curious. She wasn't ready to leave her sanctuary yet. The feeling of being betrayed still was fresh in her mind despite now knowing the context of what happened.

"Hmm... More sweet actually," Glacier replied. The video changed to their bedroom. Ember could hear Sebastian humming softly the same tune he hummed when she was curled up scared inside his source. She leaned closer to look at what he was doing.

"Oh..." Ember suddenly blushed. Sebastian was very gently massaging and moisturising her skin just like she would do herself every morning. She watched him sway gently as he took care to moisturise between her fingers and toes. She could see his touch, body movement, and even demeanour screamed loving mate instead of this usual protective posture.

She sighed and looked away. “My heart can’t stop feeling hurt. I know we were both tricked. I know Chelsea got him to have sex with her which is how I got the marks. I know but my mind keeps telling me it’s lies. You’re showing me this because it’s the mate bond and you’re showing him in a positive light.” She peeked back at Glacier. “Does that make sense?”

“Not really,” The now Glacier-flatscreen replied. “But I do understand that human emotions are complicated. You had no doubts coming in here so in order to leave you’ll need no doubts. Maybe watching him a while might ease your mind.”

“Maybe…” Ember replied with a sigh. She could hear that critical voice in her head. “I hope so.” She focused back on the video.

Sebastian hummed as he put a floral dress on Ember that was low cut enough to show her crescent moon before he gathered her in his arms and walked down the hall to his Alpha lessons with Alpha Alexius.

“Son, you know you could have left her in your bedroom,” Alpha Alexius said watching his son carefully arrange Ember on the lounge in the sun. “She would be safe there.”

Sebastian shook his head. “I want to be there when she wakes up. If not me then the other Avatars. I don’t want her to wake up completely alone.”

“I understand that but what will you do if she doesn’t wake up?” He asked quietly. “I know she’s the Avatar of the Moon but even she is still vulnerable to the same things we all are.”

Sebastian bit his lip. “I trust in her enough to know she will wake up. She just needs time.” He looked at his Dad directly in the eye. “Just like the time, those wolves raped her before I came of age. And the time Trance was leaving her things. She always needs time to process what happened and come back to me.”

Alpha Alexius sighed before nodding and waving Sebastian to take a seat so they could start.

“He’s right…” Ember murmured suddenly causing Glacier to waver a bit before steadying herself again. “I’ve always needed time to process.”

“Then take the time,” Glacier replied, her voice sounding like she was smiling. “Sounds like Sebastian knows exactly what you need and he’s willing to give it to you and support you however he can.”

Ember sighed once again hearing that critical voice screaming ‘Lies!’ in her head. She continued to watch.

“Dad…” Sebastian interrupted his training. “Both Trance and Chelsea used black magic to harm Ember and me. Is there…”

“I had wondered that myself,” Alpha Alexius said cutting over his son and knowing exactly what he was going to ask. “Did you know that each species has its own monarchy?” Sebastian shook his head and indicated to his dad to continue. “We can send a formal letter to the Witch and Mage royals letting them know what has happened here and they can advise on what we can do."

Sebastian nodded and glanced at Ember. "I don't want to think about what could have happened if I didn't know," He gave a shiver before looking back at his Dad. "I wouldn't wish that on anyone." Alpha Alexius agreed and the two set about formulating a formal letter to the Witch Queen and the Arch Mage.

***

As days passed, Sebastian could feel himself starting to lose hope of Ember ever waking up again. Every day it was the same thing, he would take care of her usual morning routine and took her with him everywhere he went... Even to school. He didn't care if it seemed strange. He didn't want her to be alone.

This night, he was awake. His eyes watched as the clock ticked down the minutes to midnight. He knew his rut was coming and he needed to make sure he kept a level head. He bit his lip and looked down at Ember's unconscious form. "I hope I don't hurt you if I go into a lust haze," he whispered quietly. "I'm hoping you wake up so I don't have to make that choice."

His words were met with silence. He laid down on his side and held her close. Glancing back at the clock, he took a deep breath and prepared for his rut to take hold.