Rising from the Ashes
Chapter 22

It had been years since Elenora had felt like this. Whole in a way. She doesn't tell Mia that she appreciates her nearly enough. It was Elenora that did most the hunting and almost all of the killing while they were rogues but it was Mia that kept them sane, kept them humane. It is odd to think that if she had never come across Mia and if she had never saved the girl than she would've most likely gone insane. She would have never come back for Charlotte and she would have never given into the urge to move back into a pack. The main reason she went to Bluemoon was because of Mia. Definitely for the answers as well but mostly Mia.

"What do you think would have happened if I wasn't your mate? What do you think might have happened if there was no bond?" Elenora mutters and she thinks about her own little answer. She would have never given him a second thought most likely. Perhaps he would have fought to kill her but ultimately he would not have been able to because of Alpha Scott.

"Sleep would find me easier." For a moment Elenora didn't quite catch that. She heard him clearly but she didn't really get it for a good moment so she continued to play with his fingers.

"Hey!" Elenora burst out when it does process. Nakoa chuckles and Elenora can't help her own smile.

For awhile it all goes quiet.

Well as quiet as it can go with Charlotte's loud snoring next to them. They had all settled in the living room and Charlotte had knocked right out after about ten minutes. You wouldn't think it possible with how the movie began. Nothing more soothing than hundreds of people dying at once according to Charlotte. Mia had knocked out shortly after Charlotte, except she had done so on the chair. "Your friend is quite nice for a rogue." Nakoa admits.

"What did you expect? Somebody cruel and vindictive?" Elenora smiles up at him.

"Somebody more like you I think. Wild."

"She was never meant for the rogue life. I think she was always meant for more."

His eyes find hers and he brushes her hair away. It's a comfortable moment. Peaceful almost. This is how she would spend every night given the option. In a dream scenario where everything is simple she would spend it with Charlotte and Nakoa. In a dream scenario Mia finds her mate and she comes over with him and they get to be together as a family. In a dream scenario there is no pain. "And you were meant to become a rogue? Nothing more?"

"I think I might have been meant for more." Elenora admits after a moment and she doesn't mean to turn the conversation around. She doesn't want to leave this peaceful moment. "But when Vermont kidnapped me, he stole that possibility away. Instead I was raised to hate." The contract is at the tip of her tongue. Perhaps Nakoa might know something about who Vermont really was. The contract said his name was Vito Cree before he changed it. Perhaps he might be able to tell her who Jarmon Hale is.

This is not exactly his area of expertise but somebody so close to the King is bound to know some things. Elenora would bet her life Nakoa is the type to keep up with the latest news and the wanted criminals. Maybe the names Vito Cree and Jarmon Hale would be familiar. She must mean something. She has to mean something. Usually when a kidnapping is done, it is not written out in a contract. Hers was part of a plan. She should be asking herself who Muriel Corvina is. She should read the contract and see if her real last name is anywhere on it. It might be. "As a child I never hated them." Elenora mutters "Not after everything they did to me. They were so cruel, so brutal towards me but I never hated them. I saw their pain. I saw what Vermont did to them. I felt their fear as they hurt me. They were so scared. Everybody was so scared. They felt disgusted, not of me but with themselves."

How far would you go for somebody you love? Would you become the monster if it meant saving your family? Those were questions everybody in Stonebridge was forced to answer. They became the worse version of themselves to protect their families. How could Elenora hate them for that? "When did you start hating them?" Nakoa asks and she closes her eyes. For a moment she sees May. Not the May that betrayed her but May for who she was to her then.

May had fought to protect Elenora even while she herself was being tortured. That had been May. It seems pathetic to hate her after a contract. Maybe that was how they started. Maybe they started with a lie and maybe May grew to love her. Maybe after several years of tending to her wounds, it became more than a contract. "I was sitting in the living room with my Grandmother. We were doing nothing wrong. She was stitching something into a blanket. I think it was a cabin? Something like that. I was telling her about Anthony. I was worried you see? He never showed up late and he never missed practice but that day he did. That's when they broke in the door. Six of the warriors and they grabbed May by the hair and dragged her-" Elenora pauses and she closes her eyes. It is almost like it happened just yesterday. Elenora can see Vermont walk in next.

He walked into her on the ground at the warriors feet, screaming for them to let May go. She felt so weak then. Capable of nothing. Anthony had taught her so much but none of it came to mind. Not then. Not when she needed it the most. It didn't matter anyways. Vermont came in and he pulled her up to watch. Forced her eyes to stay open as they beat May to death in her own home. "They beat her to death on the floor. All the while Vermont whispered in my ear that this is what happens when I love. I was not allowed to love. This is what happens to people who love me. I tried to get out of his arms. I tried to get to May just as May tried to get to me. She was getting beat but her only intention was to get to me, to pull Vermont away from me." Elenora had spent quite some time wondering where she went wrong. Her relations to May and Anthony were kept a secret. She was careful to hide where she went. She was always so careful, so paranoid. She didn't want Vermont to take that away from her. She didn't want him to take them away.

Nakoa's grip tightens on her. He pulls her so close she ends up on his lap. He buries his nose in her neck, calming himself with her scent most likely. "Anthony was next." Elenora continues and his grip only tightens. Elenora pulls his hand from around her waist and kisses his knuckles. Her eyes find the credits still going on the TV. She watches them as she continues with the ending of that day. Anthony. "They drug me to the cells and that's when I realized why Anthony never showed up. He was being tortured by the same men he called brothers. Vermont forced me to watch and he kept whispering the same thing over and over again. This is what happens to the people you love Elenora. This is what happens when you love." Over and over again he would whisper that. "Anthony tried not to scream. He tried to stay silent. He tried to tell me that he was okay. He kept trying to tell me that all was okay." Elenora hadn't realized she had started crying. Not until Nakoa turned her face towards him and brushed the tears away. He doesn't stop her. He doesn't tell her that she doesn't need to continue. Perhaps he knows that this needs to be said. Perhaps he knows that this is something she never dared to speak of to anybody. Not even Mia.

She had definitely told Mia of the torture she had endured. She had told Mia that they had killed May and they had killed Anthony. She had told Mia of the cage chase. She had spoken of Vermont's cruelty but she had never told Mia of the reason she hates Stonebridge so much. She had never spoken in such detail. It was always too hard. It was always too much. "Do you know one of the worse bits? It wasn't that I was next and I was. I knew it while he tortured Anthony. I knew that he would torture me for daring to love as well. The worse bit of it all was Charlotte. She always came over to May's after school. She would sneak away from the orphanage and run to May's. Usually she would have gotten a warm welcome but when they killed somebody they always left the body. They wanted it to be an example. Charlotte would have walked into that cabin and she would have seen May on the ground. She would have seen her blood everywhere. She would have seen May dead. Charlotte wouldn't have left her like that. Even as a child. Charlotte would have dragged May's body out to the yard. She would have tried to scrub the blood away from the floors herself. After I endured the torture I went to find Charlotte. I checked the orphanage first but I found her outside of the cabin. She was covered in blood, curled up against May's stiff body." Nakoa looks to Charlotte after that. He doesn't seem to know what to say. What do you say?

Elenora still doesn't know. After so many years. Part of her wants to ask Charlotte, even now, if she is okay. Would she even want that? The reminder? "I will kill him," Nakoa promises. Elenora manages a smile although it is quite weak. She had meant to tell him about the contract. She should have asked him. Why doesn't she just ask him? She tries to force the words out.

"Wake Mia up for me. I'll get Charlotte." I pull myself away from him and move towards Charlotte "Oh and be careful. Mia tends to p-" Elenora swings around when she hears him struggling to breathe. Alright perhaps it would have been better for Elenora to wake up Mia. Mia's first instinct when somebody grabs her while she sleeps is to throat punch that person. That is exactly what she had done and she had struck fast too. Part of Elenora is quite proud of Mia. She is definitely getting faster. The other is worried for Nakoa who grips his throat, the air coming back to him.

"Oh." Mia mutters "My bad Alpha Bardrick but grabbing a rogue by the shoulder while she sleeps is not smart. Not smart at all." She mumbles before patting his back and dragging her feet towards her room. The door closes softly as Nakoa glares forward.

"Is she still nice for a rogue?" Elenora manages the joke. How is it possible that everything feels heavier yet still lighter in a way? Does that even make sense?

"Debatable."

Elenora snickers before turning to her daughter and shaking her awake. It is because of her quick instincts that she manages to dodge the punch meant for her jaw. Unlike Mia, Charlotte strikes twice but Elenora manages to dodge both hits and hold her fist long enough for Charlotte to wake up.

"You are a bit slow aren't you flower?" The old name slips out of pure instinct. Perhaps that is why Charlotte doesn't get as upset as she might have at Elenora's criticism.

"I was the quickest in my class at Stonebridge." Charlotte states

Elenora merely laughs, not to mock but to tease "Can you hold that reputation in the Bloodmoon pack? They are known for their fighting program." Elenora hears Nakoa come to a stop behind her. He probably hadn't expected her to bring such things up to Charlotte. It would mean the possibility of Charlotte at least taking a class in the Bloodmoon pack. That might mean them moving.

"I don't think I would want to move schools again. I like the one I'm at." Charlotte mutters "You worked so hard to get me into the one I'm at." It wasn't that hard though it is quite expensive. She simply asked Alpha Scott directly and he pulled some strings for her.

"You would not have to switch schools to be in the warrior program but you would need to take a couple of the other classes and it would be very time consuming. You would also need to be passing all of your classes in Bluemoon. The warrior class is a reward. You have to work for it." Nakoa tells Charlotte from behind her. Charlotte seems to think about the possibility though she doesn't respond. Instead she merely nods and heads for her bed.

"Trying to pull Charlotte towards your pack are you?" Elenora turns around with a smile. Nakoa shamelessly smiles.

"You brought it up dear. I merely encouraged."

"I do not remember there being anything about good grades in the class requirements. New condition?"

"Well I thought you might appreciate it a bit more. I do not think you would like this warrior class for her nearly as much if she starts to fall behind in her other classes. It happens a lot with these kids you know. They join the warrior class. They get caught up in it. They start to think their other classes don't matter nearly as much." He grabs her by the waist and pulls her close to him. So close. It had been quite a while sense they kissed. It had been awhile sense they did anything.

May never mentioned how strong the mate bond would be. She never spoke of the struggle it is to stay away from your mate "You'll need to get back to your pack won't you? You have business to do, to catch up on?"

"I did it all this morning. I woke up early to do so." He replies simply and then he kisses her. Why would they wait so long? Because of a talk they were supposed to have? A talk that basically told him that she was his and that she was tired of running and that she was sorry she ever ran in the first place? He knows doesn't he? He knows that she is his now?

This kiss is soft, sweet, and ends far too quickly. "My Luna," He pulls away to whisper and it warms something in her. It sounds so right.

Except wasn't that the reason she wanted to talk to him? She wanted to tell him that yes she is definitely his but no she will not make the vow to the pack. Not now. Not as things are. People are not cruel to her in that pack. They have not treated her wrong in any way but they definitely do not like her and they do not respect her. She doesn't respect them either. "Not yet Nakoa. Perhaps not any time soon." He does not pull away as she had expected he would. This is what he wants. He wants her to lead beside him. He wants her to be his Luna. It is an honor. "I am yours. I am completely yours and when it is time for the mating ceremony than you can bet on me doing that. I will not run from you anymore Nakoa Bardrick. I want to know you. I want you." It is perhaps the easiest thing she had said all night. Her wolf howls in her head.

It is still quite odd. She can hear Marcella but not only that she can feel her in a way she never felt her before. Why is that? Is it because of him? Maybe it is her acceptance. As a rogue she had denied her wolf every chance she could. She had spoken about how much she hated her, how much she wishes to be human. She had even went to try and rid herself of the wolf but nobody that she found would do so. Aconite was not an option for Elenora. Her wolf seemed to have a strong tolerance for Aconite, most likely built up over the several years of Vermont slipping it into her meals and whipping it into her back. "But you will not be my Luna." He states.

Once again Elenora shakes her head "Maybe one day I might." Elenora mutters "But I want to earn the respect of your pack. If I become their Luna right now they will not respect me and they will not love me as they do you. It will be a bitter acceptance at most though I expect Fergus will welcome me easily enough." Elenora smiles at the mention of the older man. He is still quite furious about how Elenora and Cadence act around each other. Elenora is happy to know his anger is mostly directed towards Cadence and only slightly towards herself.

"That should not take too long." Nakoa muses but Elenora merely laughs.

"More time than you might think beloved." The term is not meant to be accurate, not at all. Technically speaking she is his Beloved and he is her mate and yet the reference to his vampiric side seems to do exactly as she had hoped. Red floods through his dark eyes and she smiles at the response. "Though my wolf is content to be more nice towards your pack I will not shift my mood for them. I will be respectful but I will not be extra sweet. I don't think I have it in me to play pretend."

"You are sweet towards me." Nakoa smiles "Sometimes at least." Elenora merely laughs before pulling him away and to her room. If her wolf had it her way she would take him to the room and mark him right in the bedroom. Elenora will not do that. She will get to know him more. She will take this as slow as she can. Most mate bonds work on lust first and far most. That is not what she wants. Elenora wants a companionship. She wants love. In the times she was a rogue, where she dared to dream of finding her mate she would not think about the lustful side of things. She would think about the connection to that one person. That is what she longed for.

Elenora strips out of her clothes almost immediately "Are you trying to tease me?" Elenora turns around and laughs at both his face and the growing bulge in his pants.

"Not intentionally no but I cannot say I do not enjoy the result." He is in front of her in less than a second.

His hands find her bare waist "May I?" Elenora finds herself nodding and once again he kisses her. This one is less sweet. It is hard and wonderful and it leaves her wanting more which is why she pulls away.

"Shower. I need to shower." With that said she forces herself out of his arms and towards the bathroom. She manages to slam into the wall instead and her entire face goes hot. "Wall. There is a wall there." She mutters to herself before slamming the door shut. She can practically feel his smile through the door.

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