The Moon Phase Trilogy | Protected
Twenty-Seven

Shaun had followed Zandyr for a long time. Her legs began to grow tired and she was ready for a break. “Can we just rest for a second? My legs are so tired,” she groaned.

Zandyr rolled his eyes, not turning towards Shaun as he complained, “Werewolves need to learn to keep quiet when not spoken to.” He hissed.

Shaun snorted, “You chose the wrong werewolf for that. I complain so much. Asher can totally vouch for me on that account.”

“Would you please just be QUIET? You are giving me a headache! We are almost to my cave.”

Shaun grew submissive in an instant, “Yes, sir.” She squeaked. Her head lowered and her eyes shifted from foot to foot. She knew something felt off about her, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

Shaun kept her gaze to the ground, making herself trip over a root that was sticking out of the ground. She lost her balance and fell into Zandyr, who stopped right in front of her. Damn it! She panicked. She reached for anything but the vampire in front of her, but accidentally grabbed his cloak.

“Shaun!” He shouted, not being bothered by the cloak that sat at his throat. “That’s it! I’ve had enough of your clumsiness! You are getting thrown in the silver dog cage that’s in the woods!”

Shaun scrambled to her feet and stiffed up, “Silver...d--dog cage, s--sir?” She stuttered in a whisper.

Zandyr spun around, his eyes piercing hers like daggers, “Yes, silver dog cage. Asher! Take this mut to the cage our princess was in. She needs to learn a lesson!”

Asher appeared from the cave entrance with an evil smirk across his pale face. Shaun narrowed her eyes and tried to shift, but something was stopping her and it wasn’t Blu. She turned to Zandyr and snarled, “What did you do to me? It’s like you have full control over my body and mind!”

Zandyr showed his fangs with a smirk,“That’s because I do, fur bag.” His attention turned to Asher, “Take her away!”

“Yes, sir!” Asher’s smile never faded as he shifted to his wolf form. He picked up Shaun easily with one paw and walked to the part of the forest that was the darkest.

Shaun tried to escape, but the grip of Asher’s wolf was too strong. “Put me down you hairy ass!” She squirmed.

“Shhh, you’re going to attract attention, mut.”

“You’re a damn mut too!”

Asher squeezed a little harder and she yelped in pain. She went quiet and Asher grinned with a sigh, “That’s better.” He saw the cage in the distance and readjusted Shaun in his arms. He poked her face, noticing she was actually passed out, and smirked, “Even better than I thought.”

The forest was darker than he remembered near the cage, but Asher wasn’t afraid of anything in the woods. He was a large bipedal wolf; things were definitely more afraid of him than he was of them. With each step he took, the ground shook underneath him. His surroundings were silent, just the way he liked it. His eyes scanned around, making sure no one was around to see what he was going to do with the girl he was carrying over his furry shoulder. He noticed the cage buried under leaves and tree branches and he grinned. He casually removed the tree debris and used a branch to unlock the cage carefully. He opened it with the same branch and unslung Shaun from his shoulder.

He threw Shaun in, like an old toy he was tired of playing with. She hit the back side of the cage and immediately screamed in pain as the silver burned her bare skin. Tried to get on the bottom, but that burned her too. “What the hell am I supposed to do in here, Asher? Burn to death?”

“Yeah, I thought that was obvious, Shaun.”

“When I get out of here, I am going to hunt you down and kill you myself if Wilson doesn’t do so first, or Zandyr...or even your brother!” Shaun snarled and tried to hide the pain, but it was too hard to fully hide.

Asher shifted to his human form with a smirk. He walked up to the cage, wrapping his fingers on the cage slots. Shaun could hear the sizzle of skin burning, “You’ll die before that. I’ll make sure of that. Ericka won’t have her Protectors anymore and she will be weak and fragile, just like she used to be.” He spit at Shaun and she could feel Blu wanting to attack. Shaun shoved her down, for her own safety and growled at Asher. He scoffed, releasing his grip and stepping away from the cage. “See you in hell, mut.”

Shaun watched Asher leave and she let out another shriek of pain. She tried to think of a way to cover the bottom, so at least she wouldn’t get burned there, but nothing came to mind. “Why not dirt?” Someone suggested.

Shaun’s eyes scanned around, as she danced in the cage on her hands and knees. “Who’s there?” She growled.

A young girl stepped out of the shadows with a sweet smile on her face, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” She pushed her mouse brown hair from her pale green eyes as she spoke. “I’m Priscilla, and this is my big brother Otis.” The girl gestured to the tree she was hiding behind and her brother jumped down from the branches. His dark brown hair fell into his pale green eyes and a frown fell upon his face.

Shaun gawked at the two siblings. She could see right through them. “What are you?”

Priscilla giggled, “We are spirits that live in this part of the forest. This place is called Spirit Valley. It’s where all the forgotten species go when they die.”

Shaun nodded, throwing dirt, as Priscilla suggested, on the bottom of the cage so she could be somewhat comfortable. “So, what species were you...are you?”

“Are. And it’s none of your business, wolf.” Otis grumbled.

Priscilla frowned, “Otis, be nice. She isn’t like the others. She’s like the girl that was thrown in here before. The one who finally changed through force.”

She must be talking about Ericka. Shaun thought and she heard another voice in her head, one she didn’t recognize.

She is. Sweet Ericka is in more danger than anyone cares to believe. She is going to need both of her protectors at her side when the time comes.

Both protectors? I thought adapters could only have one? Shaun thought.

Ericka is a special case. Queens don’t rule alone. They have their lady in waiting and knight by their side.

What are you talking about? Who is this? Shaun began to panic and she could tell the ghostly siblings noticed.

It’s Ericka’s mother.

Shaun almost blew chunks, “I--I thought...”

Otis smirked, “You thought she was dead, didn’t you.”

Shaun’s eyes were wide and she looked up to him, “I didn’t think she could speak through her mind. She could only do that when she was a werewolf. She is a vampire now...isn’t she?”

“She is, but she never lost her wolf. She still has her compassionate side and it is seeping out slowly, regaining power.” Otis explained.

“How the hell do you know this? Are you her other kids or something?” Shaun asked with a hint of sarcasm. The siblings didn’t smile at the comment, “Y--you are her siblings...aren’t you...”

“We are the children she was never able to meet.” Priscilla commented, lowering her head. “Ericka has no idea. Please don’t say anything to her until the time is right.”

Shaun was frozen in shock. Her best friend had siblings she never knew about and she couldn’t tell her any of it. She accidentally wrapped her fingers around the bottom of the cage, shuffling the dirt she had put above the metal. Her body thawed as her hands sizzled. She unwrapped her fingers and threw her hands up, the back of them hitting the top. “Damn it! How the hell am I supposed to get out of here without burning myself to death?”

She glanced over to the forgotten Bluhm siblings, but they disappeared. She heard footsteps coming, the sound of crunching on fallen leaves and twigs gave it away. They were coming closer and their pace had quickened. Shaun braced herself, and she felt a thud and then a girl flipping over the cage, not burning a single hair on her body. “Ouch...” the platinum blonde haired girl groaned, rubbing her head. She turned to see the cage and Shaun and the girl made eye contact. “AH!”

“Shhhh! Keep your voice down! You’ll get me killed and yourself killed. Can you help me out of here? I was put in here by an evil man.”

The girl scrambled to her feet, brushing her white dress off and got a better look at the situation. “Why can’t you unlock it yourself?”

“I burn when I touch it...see.” Shaun revealed her bare skin to the girl. “Please, I need to get out of here...or I might die.”

The girl nodded frantically, touching the lock and removing it so Shaun could finally get out. “What creature burns from silver?” She asked curiously.

“Werewolves...” Shaun commented under her breath as she crawled out of the cage. “I’m Shaun. Thank you so much for saving me.”

“Sure.” The girl took a good look at Shaun and her hand shot to her mouth, “Oh my...you are worse than I had thought. Come with me, my friend is a really good healer.”

Shaun was hesitant, the last time she went with someone, it got her put in the cage. “I--I don’t know...”

“You can trust me. I’m one of the good ones of my kind, and so is my friend.”

Shaun chewed her lip, but casually followed the girl. “What’s your name anyway? You know mine, I should at least know yours, since you are helping me.”

“It’s Astoria.”

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