ENCHANTED WORLD SERIES BOOK 4: MOON CHILD'S WAR

The red orb was already setting by that Alli finally accepted that it was such a terrible thing not to be able to go out. She had a dull ache that she didn’t understand. She was not allowed to go out but managed to sneak out every time she caught someone going out for training or something. That evening, she followed Raul out as he went out for a run.

Though the beast tried to flirt with her earlier, she knew she could keep him in check until Ruvin returned. Not even the mysterious High Mage, Zach, was in sight that evening.

After he appeared behind her down in the basement, as she watched yet another episode of Izzy and Lukas, he gave her a brief hi and disappeared. The man was like the wind and he could be felt even if he wasn’t seen.

“You should get back inside. I am going for a run.” Raul gave her a side glance.

Alli froze on her feet. And here she thought she was doing a great job sneaking behind! “I run pretty fast myself.”

That brought a smile to his face as he stretched his muscles. So far, none of the beasts she met had the monstrous transformation Manny had. She wondered how Manny was doing. Though she hated him with a passion, the last time she saw him, his arm was practically torn off by the Varga. It wouldn’t hurt to know if he lost the arm, or somehow they managed to save it.

Raul chuckled just as the twigs littering the ground snapped under someone’s feet and brought it to their attention. They both turned and Vixen came to sight. She was wearing a neat sweatshirt over her graphic t-shirt and traded in her heels for very fancy sneakers.

“What are doing out here, little girl?” She asked as she stood beside Raul and he reached over before he playfully smacked her tight butt. Vixen held out her hand to him and Alli watched in amazement as the middle nail stretched up into a claw, flipping Raul.

“Oh, come on. I can keep up. I haven’t seen the outside world since yesterday. Do you know what that does to a wolf?”

“It keeps you safe, doll,” Raul assured her.

“Please?” She tried batting her eyelashes at him but he was more serious than ever because a scowl appeared on his face. She turned to Vixen and gave her the pout with the big green eyes.

“It’s your funeral, kid,” Vixen muttered.

“And I am not a kid or little girl, okay? I am twenty-one.” Alli scolded.

That brought a cheeky grin on Raul’s lips. “Okay, twenty-one. Let’s go.”

The race started and Alli was in between Vixen and Raul. The pace wasn’t hard to keep. Alli loved running and she did it several times a week, not because she needed to keep fit but rather, she felt free and that she could deal with anything after a good run. Her small feet pumped hard as she dodged low-growing branches and hopped over fallen baby trees that just couldn’t keep up with the high demand of nutrients from that soil.

Both Vixen and Raul’s faces were so serene because this was something they lived for. Louise and Corleen had once told her how they loved the chase in the wild when they transformed into their wolves.

They all had that wild and untamed part in them that thrummed for such exercises. Alli followed the thin trail deeper into the woods. This was one part she had never been to. She couldn’t get her bearings right but Raul made sure to keep in her line of sight even though he had managed to leave her a little behind.

“Pick up the pace, twenty-one,” Vixen stated behind her.

Alli rolled her eyes. So now she had a new pet name. She had heard them all; baby Corleen, little girl, doll, and the list went on. She increased her pace, feeling the burning begin in her thighs. She pushed the sensation out of her mind and concentrated on the task at hand. She needed that if she was going to survive one more day in that house without going mad.

Suddenly the trail was no longer predictable. It took drastic corners and plunges down rocky protrusions. She found herself climbing over dead logs and ducking under hunched over trees. Sometimes she found herself using her hands to aid herself with the climb. Sweat beaded on her forehead but she wasn’t complaining.

Her hands dug into the wet and cold soil, and her fingers grabbed onto exposed tree roots that helped her heft herself up to the other side.

“Need help back there?” Raul teased.

“We are doing well on our own, thank you.” Alli shot back.

Vixen scoffed.

Alli dug her feet into the wet soil covered in layers upon layers of dead leaves, sometimes slipping against the wet foliage but she gritted her teeth and forged ahead. Darkness was already engulfing them and it got harder to see the grey hoodie Raul was wearing. The entire area was silent with only their feet and their breathing to be heard.

You never learn, do you....the disembodied voice suddenly chastised making Alli come to a halt.

“Tired already?” Vixen asked her, slowing down. “We are just beginning.”

“Did you hear that?” Alli turned around in circles looking from the thick canopies of the trees above them down to the oddly curved trunks due to the competition of sunlight.

Vixen took a deep breath. “Hear what?”

“That voice.” She frowned raising her nose up and sniffed the air. There was a pungent smell of decaying leaves on the wet ground, the wet soil, and the coming rains. There was nothing out of place. Even the feeling of the place didn’t change. They were not in any immediate danger. “I have heard it before.”

“Yo, Raul!” Vixen called to the man further deep in the forest.

A few seconds later, Raul jogged back. “A twisted ankle?” He teased.

“No, a voice in her head.” Vixen crossed her arms and quirked her eyebrow at her.

“I am not lying to you. I have heard this voice before. She warned me before we were attacked in the woods by the Varga several days ago. Now, she is scolding me for being out here in these woods.”

There was a change in Raul and Vixen as they both suddenly stiffened and turned their noses up in the air. They scanned the area in alert and Alli was positive they felt something and were using their psychic link to communicate. Vixen roughly shoved Alli in between them.

“We should head back,” Raul suggested as he nervously scanned the tree line.

Alli felt a presence but it was not the print of anything evil. The woman was there and she was watching them.

Who are you and what do you want? How is it you can connect with me? Alli tried to connect with her.

Get out of these woods while you still can. Tonight is the last night of the full moon. Tonight.....he rises to feed. The voice said sounding so close. Get out before you become a victim like the others.

You know who he is, don’t you? You know who is killing the wolves in the woods. Alli asked.

You don’t wanna know. The connection was cut so suddenly and the presence was gone that it left Alli disoriented for a moment.

“It’s gone,” Vixen said with her cheetah print rippling on her skin as she readied herself for any confrontation.

The sun was completely gone leaving them standing in complete darkness.

Alli? A desperate call came and Alli quickly recognized it.

Ruvin...

Alli, where are you? I can’t seem to locate you. Where the hell are you? The anxiety in his voice had Alli’s heart quake in her ribs.

She searched blindly in the dark until she caught Raul’s arm. Her terror overlapped the repulsion of the contact to Raul. “We need to get back quickly. Something has happened to Ruvin.”

“Step aside.” Raul pushed Alli a little distance away from him and embraced the change.

A series of bone popping and muscles stretching could be heard in the air. Raul’s body bulged out and he became a very large brown wolf. Alli breathed in and when she turned to Vixen her mouth fell open.

Never in her twenty-one years of living had she ever seen a cheetah breed transform. She had lean lines she was beautiful. Her large tail slashed in the air to show her impatience and she dotted through the woods making her way back to the house.

Alli felt a wet nose nudge her arm as Raul urged her to jump on. Alli didn’t hesitate. She climbed on the big wolf, remembering the last time she was on Ruvin.

Raul ate up the grown like no other. Soon, they had caught up with Vixen’s cheetah. Her golden hide shimmered in the little light that penetrated the woods from the moon that was already making its way into the sky. She was large but she sure knew how to be elegantly and lithe as she moved around the trees.

Alli felt as if her heart was about to jump out and run ahead of them. Why would she feel that way for someone she was planning to get rid of from her life? Why did she suddenly have the undiluted urgency to be there for him when just that morning she was doing everything in her power to avoid him?

The house came to view and Alli could feel a shudder of relief run down her spine. Raul stopped in front of the entrance and Alli didn’t wait for him to hunch down and allow her to slip from his back. She hopped off and bolted for the door.

“Where is he?” She asked the first person who she came across when she burst in.

Tessa turned to her, her fingers wringing nervously around each other, and said. “In the basement. I don’t even know what--”

Alli dashed towards the steps that led to the basement. Edon, Quentin, and Jake were there obscuring her view of Ruvin. Zach was standing over him and he must have been doing something to him because the entire basement was charged with energy like no other.

Lukas, Izzy, and Briar were standing on one side. Izzy had tears lingering in her eyes while Lukas’ jaw was set and Briar was quite composed though Alli was sure she was hurting on the inside. She was the kind of person that hurt the most though their emotions were not seen. She reminded Alli of Corleen.

“What--” Alli started but her voice choked as she pushed her way through the bodies to go to Ruvin.

The sight of him brought bitter bile in her mouth. His t-shirt and jacket were wet with fresh blood, his eyes wide and alert but they kept on alternating as if he couldn’t quite make his mind on whether he was bracing for the change or not. More blood seeped from his nose and mouth. His body trembled and Alli could tell he was in immense pain.

Zach had his hands on Ruvin’s chest, pumping so much energy into him and ragged growls escaped Ruvin’s lips in pain.

“What is he doing?” Alli exclaimed. “Someone stop him! He is hurting him!”

Edon stopped Alli from moving further as Zach snapped his head towards her.

“Get her out of here.” He hissed making the hairs at the back of Alli’s neck raise up. She had never seen Zach like that before. He was all business and had no time for games.

“Alli?” Ruvin tried to turn to her but Quentin and Jake quickly went over and held him down. “Alli, are you alright?”

All the strength drained from Alli’s body. Ruvin was severely wounded yet he was asking if she was alright. How could he think about her at a time like that?

“I’m fine. What’s happening?” She asked in tears.

A growl tore from Ruvin’s throat as his bones started popping and elongating. He was transforming right in front of them.

“Don't cry, Alli!” He rasped.

“That’s not Ruvin.” Edon tightened his hold on Alli. “That’s Shadow.”

“Alli is making Shadow crazy and I can’t keep him down. Edon, take her the hell out of here!” Zach exclaimed.

Edon grabbed Alli and led her away. Alli numbly followed feeling as if the entire world was in slow motion. She almost bumped into Raul and Vixen, who also managed to congregate with the others. Alli could hear every heartbeat in that room. She could smell the overwhelming scent of fresh blood and fear.

“Unhand her!” The loud snarl had everyone go silent. Edon froze in midstep, his hand tightening around Alli’s.

Alli quivered on her feet. She had never heard Ruvin that angry and that scary before. It almost didn’t sound like him yet the level of his power had everyone shrink back into the shadows.

“Oh, crap.” She heard Zach mutter.

Something heavy jumped off the bed and landed with a large thud on the floor. The shuffling of feet, muttering of curses and whispers told Alli that they were dealing with Shadow and not Ruvin.

“Didn’t you hear me, boy? I said unhand my mate.” He growled.

Alli trembled with every word that came out of Shadow’s lips. She quickly slipped her hand out of Edon’s grasp and spun around to try and calm him down, something she had seen her sister do to Xavier several times when he got possessive.

Oh, how she wished she hadn’t! She expected to see the large pale wolf pawing his way towards her and was planning to try and soothe him but what she came across was nothing she was prepared for.

“What the hell is this?” She whimpered as her legs buckled under her at the sheer fear she felt streaking down her spine, paralyzing her in place and sending her crushing her butt on the cool floor.

Edon turned as well and when he saw what they were facing, he quickly went down on his knee and bowed down. “Forgive me, Commander.”

The thing....the gigantic wolf-man combo drew down until his large muzzle was above Edon’s head. Murmurs of protest echoed in the space but the thing held his hand up to silence them. Claws curled out from each finger and were sharp enough to slice a man in two.

“Know your place, pup.” He snarled showing his razor-sharp teeth.

When his eyes turned to Alli, her breath hitched in her throat and hiccupped. She didn’t know who this was. He was neither Shadow nor Ruvin. He was a man-beast with muscles that quivered at every move he made. His eyes were bright with menace. He stood on his hind legs and, though they were covered in the familiar pale fur that Alli knew, they were a wolf’s and not human.

Alli thought she had seen it all...

Who are you? She stuttered.

His eyes narrowed at her. I’m the ultibreed.

“What’s the ultibreed?” Alli asked loudly in panic.

“What’s standing in front of you.” Zach sighed tiredly. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me you were going through the ultibreed change and you let me use all that energy? You fucking clown. Fuck you.”

The ultibreed turned to Zach and snapped his teeth at him. “You know, you talk too much for a male with a death wish. I should rip your throat out for what you did to me, Harry Potter.”

“So smack me stupid, you oversized furball. I am outta here.” Zach sighed again and simply vanished into thin air.

“What’s an ultibreed?” Alli echoed again.

The ultibreed turned his attention back to her and dropped both his arms on either side of her preventing her from crawling to safety. His wet nose almost touched hers as he stared at her. “Me.” He ground out. “Now, you and I need to talk.”

“You can’t...” Vixen’s voice faded when he turned to her. She raised her chin up defiantly and spoke again. “She has not gone through her transformation so you can’t claim her.”

“I know that, sourpuss.” He told her and Alli could have sworn he was smirking.

Was he still Ruvin? Just what was she about to deal with?

A choked chuckle came from Lukas and Raul. One side of Briar’s mouth was curled up in a smile of awe. Izzy was still hiding behind Lukas. Quentin and Jake had their guns in their hands and Edon was still down on his knee.

“Get up.” He told her.

Alli shook her head. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you.”

This time she was very sure he smirked. “No more smart words coming from that mouth of yours, baby mate? I should take this form more often.” And just like that, he began reducing in size, his bones popping and relocating, the wolf face molding back to his human face.

His bulging biceps shrunk back and the fur around his arms, down his spine, and on his legs rippled back under his skin.

“Now, can we talk?” Ruvin asked her, his eyes full of amusement and hiding more mysteries than ever.

Alli didn’t know why but she suddenly raised her hand up and cracked her palm against Ruvin’s slick cheek.

The entire basement was stunned into silence yet again.

Ruvin turned slowly towards her, his eyes flashing amber. “Did I deserve that?” Double voices escaped his throat.

Alli pursed her lips and nodded. “You deserve a lot worse.”

“Do we have to do this in front of everyone?” He muttered lightly.

Alli looked around and everyone was watching them like a newly premiered movie. When he extended his hand to help her up, Alli swiped it away and got up before stomping up the steps.

Ruvin followed Alli behind biting back the fiery pain that was pulsing in his joints. Taking the ultibreed form was like going through the first transformation all over again. His bones ached like nothing before, his muscles felt like they gained more volume inside his skin and as he walked, he felt a change in his movements too.

Thanks to Serensa’s Dragon attack, Ruvin started transforming. At first, Ruvin thought that he had lost Shadow because the beast went deathly quiet for a few moments. When Shadow returned, the force was so great that it caused their life essences to fuse and merge completely to form the powerful ultibreed. This was the final stage a beast could achieve in their lifetime. It was the ultimate form that allowed the beast and its keeper to become one and it usually took eons to become an ultibreed.

The only other ultibreed known was Storm and he achieved his after being attacked by dragons and was fighting for his life on a sickbed.

Ruvin and Shadow were no longer co-existing, they were one and the same. He felt different. He felt as if his ego was given an energy boost. He felt like he could conquer anything and nothing was going to stand in his way. The feeling of the entity occupying his body soul and mind was no longer there nor would he ever hear Shadow’s voice again.

Shadow was always the impulsive one, and Ruvin wondered if he would be able to control his urges as the ultibreed when it came to hunting, scouting, and...mating.

He watched the sexy sway of Alli’s butt in front of him and had to grind his teeth to fight the urge of touching her. He tucked his hands in his pockets and looked away while his body raged on. Alli suddenly stopped and turned to him with her eyes icy cold and her mouth taut. Ruvin knew he was in for it.

Truth be told Ruvin made a mockery of what happened down in the basement so that he didn’t scare Alli even more. Although he was quite amused by everything, thanks to Shadow’s ego merging with his now, he didn’t want it to have a long-lasting effect on Alli.

“What have you got to say for yourself?” She asked.

“You were genuinely worried about me, weren’t you?” He narrowed his eyes at her. He heard it in the way she spoke all the time they were down there and saw it in the tears that ran down her cheeks.

“Do you need another wake-up call?” She held her hand up showing him her palm.

If she thought the little slap did anything for his ego, it only boosted it and now he was filling in his pants, anticipating the feel of it again. An unexpected growl reverberated from his lips causing Alli to take a step back. As she was about to turn and flee, Ruvin caught her arm.

“Come with me.”

“Hey!” Alli protested as Ruvin led her upstairs to his room. He flopped her unceremoniously on his bed, hearing her muffled protests but at that moment he didn’t really care.

He was pissed!

When he returned from SHeyster's shop and he didn’t find her in the house, he went bat-shit crazy and it prompted the acceleration of the ultibreed transformation. That was much worse for his transformation. The agony he felt was thousand times over.

“Where did you go?” He asked as Alli struggled to sit up.

She blew her hair from her face and that icy look in her eyes turned dark. She was calculating on escaping, he was sure of it.

“I went running in the woods with Vixen and Raul,” Alli answered. “I’m not on lockdown here, am I? I came here at my own free will and I’d like to think that I can move around when I want to.”

“You are not on lockdown but you need to be careful. Just because you are here surrounded by enchanted beasts, it doesn’t mean you are safe.”

Caution skittered her eyes quickly as if she was about to say something but she quickly clamped her mouth shut.

Though Ruvin was able to link psychically with her, only her wolf would have enabled him to comb through her memories and give him full access to her mind. At that moment he couldn’t. He was only able to read her thoughts, not her memories.

“What is it? What did you see?” He asked her.

“Nothing,” she murmured dropping her eyes instantly telling Ruvin she was hiding something.

He approached the bed and bent down to her, hooking his finger under her chin. “You are lying to me. Alli, if you saw something or even felt something odd this evening, you need to tell me. It is the last night of the full moon and we want to do all we can to protect the weakbloods.”

He watched in longing as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth and turned her big and clear eyes up at him. “I heard a voice. The same voice I heard in my vision of Conrad and the same voice I heard on the night we were attacked by the Varga. She was warning me to get out of the woods. She told me that tonight was the last full moon and that he was rising to feed so I shouldn’t fall victim like the others.”

“She? Did you manage to see her face or anything else about her in your vision?” He asked her softly.

She shook her head. “No, just long black hair...and she was wearing leather. She knows who is doing the killings.”

They had to find that female. It was the same description Edon had given him the other day...but tonight he had other plans.

He raises to feed...

That specific sentence told him they could be dealing with a rogue Nosferatu. Ruvin was definitely going to The Eclipse club that night to look for Aro.

“You are going after her, aren’t you?” Her eyes widened softly.

Ruvin couldn’t help but grin. “Jealous already, aren’t we? My baby mate.”

She scrunched her forehead. “Don’t call me that. I just asked because I want to come with you. I know her print. I can recognize her because somehow she was able to connect with me. She’s left her prints in my mind.”

Ruvin couldn’t help but thread his fingers through her hair. “You have an extraordinary gift, Alli, but you are more help here where it is safe than out there.”

“Ruvin, I will help you. I know what I am doing.”

“You are not even a transformed wolf yet you act like one. Remember, you are still almost human...and my mate.” Without any warning Ruvin picked her up, her legs going around his waist automatically.

“What are you doing--”

“Hush for a moment,” Ruvin said as he began struggling for control once her warmth embraced him and her scent coaxed his mind to think of nothing else but bedding her.

He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring at the feeling of her around him. He felt her hands slip around his neck to keep herself steady and the feel of her wet skin on his was like the trigger he needed to get his hormones to a boiling point.

“Are you alright?” She asked softly.

He snapped his eyes open and looked at her. He was dirtying her with his blood and sweat. “Take a shower with me.”

Her eyes bulged. “Wait! We can’t do that.”

He smirked. “Of course, we can. We are mates. I am going to see it later if I don’t see it sooner.”

Alli felt a quake go down her body. It was nothing like what she felt when the other males touched her. Ruvin managed to set a fire in the depths of her core.

Her arms tightened around his neck. Now that she thought of it, his had grown a little bigger than he once was.

“I am not taking a shower with you.” She said.

“Then why are you holding me so tightly as if you can’t let me go?” They had that boyish grin with the dimples that had Alli’s heart doing to hoola dance in her ribs.

She quickly let him go and slipped off him but he didn't let her go.

“Can I go and let you have your precious shower?”

Ruvin’s face moved closer to hers as a lopsided smile appeared on his lips. “Can’t wait till you hit puberty.”

“I did that when I turned twelve!” She exclaimed.

Without warning, Ruvin placed a kiss on her lips. Alli was not prepared for its effect because her legs almost folded under her again. She had to grab onto him to keep from kissing the floor.

Ruvin chuckled at her reaction causing her face to stain red. It was not like this was the first time she was getting kissed. What was wrong with her? She had been dating Tyson for crying out loud...but she had never reacted to his kisses the same way she did when Ruvin kissed her.

“You just can’t keep your hands off me, can you?” SHe couldn't believe he was teasing her when several minutes ago he pulled the ultibreed stunt on her.

“Go and take your shower, Ruvin.” She pushed away from him and quickly escaped his room.

When she reached hers, she slammed the door shut and locked it. As if that lock was going to keep Ruvin out!

She tangled her hands into her hair as she started pacing in front of the door.

“What is wrong with you, Alli. Damn it, why are you being like this? It’s so--it’s so frustrating....” She hiccupped a whimper as she slumped down on the carpet floor leaning against the door.