The Gate of Shadows

Staring at a rampaging black wolf charging at me jolted me into action, throwing myself towards the side only for her to miss me by a few centimeters. Shade followed, pinning her down against the bed as I ran towards the exit before slamming the door shut behind me.

The door alone wouldn’t hold the wolf, though. Shade would have to do all the work of keeping her inside. My hands trembled uncontrollably when I realized I had left the inhibitors inside the room, too.

It didn't matter; I couldn’t wear them if I wanted Shade to hold Melody. The entire situation was nothing like what I had planned.

Betrayer!

Kill her!

The whispers barraged me.

Quiet! I need to think!

I tried to stand up to look for someone who could help, but my legs gave out. They had cleaned the wolves out of the building for the festival, so none of them heard my enchantment go off. Frustration built within me as tears welled up in my eyes.

“Help!” I screamed, but no one was around to hear me.

Every race was outside, enjoying the festivities of the moon festival. Some were available to everyone in the town, leaving a few essentials inside the building, and whoever was on the cameras in every corner had their attention on something else.

I couldn’t help but release a shriek, slamming my hands on the floor. The sound caused my hands to glow blue, prompting me to retreat quickly against the door.

No, I can’t have a meltdown!

With my condition, I quickly lost hope of finding anyone to help us. Trying to fight off the head-breaking whispers, I slowly felt like I was shattering. The only light of hope that came my way was when my pocket vibrated, triggering me to gasp.

With everything happening, I forgot I nabbed Melody's phone before removing her curse. Sitting against the door, I reached into my dress pocket to see who was calling. It was Fenris again.

Ah… You’re the last person I want to tell this to.

However, I had no choice but to do so. I had no way of helping Melody, who had lost touch with her gentler side. My finger trembled, going to hit the green icon on the screen.

"Hey... Melody, please don’t hang up." a surprising voice answered.

It wasn’t Fenris... but Liam.

"I know you don’t want to talk to me, but I promised Fen to keep calling you while he goes to talk with the elders," he said.

I could barely manage any words to come out of me.

"I just need to know—" he continued, only for me to interrupt him.

"Liam..." I broke out in a sob.

"Lilith?!" he sounded alarmed after hearing me.

"I need you." I wept.

Tears continued to streak down my cheeks as the whispers drowned me in their never-ending suggestions.

"Lilith, what happened?!" Liam questioned.

I hung up, not being able to hold it.

It’s enough. This is enough. You’ll come running, right? You will... You must...

If not… we kill her! A whisper erupted, triggering me to shake my head.

No! Quiet! Don’t hurt anyone!

I tried to comfort myself while Shade continued to keep Melody in check. Thanks to my connection to her, I could hear what was happening inside the room. Curling into a ball, I closed my eyes and covered my ears, trying to calm myself.

For a moment, I closed myself off to the world, waiting for Melody's prince to save her. I lost count of time, withdrawing myself from everything that was happening. Blocking out everything and everyone was the only way to keep me from breaking.

However, I couldn’t help but be startled by someone grabbing onto my shoulder. Much to my surprise, it was Liam, who seemed out of breath and sweaty.

"Liam! I—" I cried, grabbing onto his arms.

Liam went straight into protective mode.

"What happened? Why are you bleeding?!?" he queried, grabbing onto my face to assess my injury.

The worry on his face was almost calming to me.

Finally…

"I..." I struggled to say anything.

He glanced around to look for the girl he loved, only to find me alone.

"Where’s Melody?" he continued.

I glanced away from him upon hearing his question.

"I... broke her curse, and now she’s berserk!" I informed, trying to hold onto some sense of self, yet my tears were hard to dry.

What I said caused him to grab my hands. "What? How?" he asked.

I bit my lip, hesitant to tell him. Liam noted my demeanor, probably connecting the dots from Fenris's minor meltdown from earlier.

"Never mind. We can talk about that later. Tell me about how I can help.” Liam focused on the task at hand.

"She lost control and doesn't even recognize me," I answered, trying to stay calm.

However, my body radiated a blue aura, too. I was hanging from a thread, too.

"Shit. Where are your inhibitors?" he continued to assess the situation.

I shook my head. "I... left them inside. Shade’s holding her from breaking out."

The last thing needed was a rampaging Lycan in the building or near the city. He forced my gaze back onto him, reaching towards my injury and triggering me slightly to wince in pain from his touch.

"Did she do that?" he questioned, appearing to lock away his emotions.

"No... breaking the curse caused an energy pulse that flung me across the room, and I think I hit the bedframe," I answered.

There wasn’t a single reason to lie or hide anything anymore.

“I see,” Liam sighed softly before helping me up from the floor. "It’ll be okay. Open the door." he smiled reassuringly.

I couldn’t help but gaze again towards the ground, nodding. He shifted into his wolf form before I opened the door for him, revealing a struggle between Shade and Melody. The entire room was a mess.

"Oh, Liam... how good of you to show up. This little wolf must learn manners, but I’m not the best candidate to teach her those." Shade scuffed teasingly, holding Melody, who struggled to escape her grip.

I thought Melody would recognize her beloved wolf when she saw him, but she was no longer the woman she used to be before the transformation.

“Let her go,” Liam growled, ready for her.

“All your lover, boy.” Shade smirked, releasing the rabid wolf as she wasted little time launching at him.

Swiftly, he pinned Melody down against the floor. Unlike her, he had trained all his life against other wolves. To be Fenris’s firsthand, he needed to be just as good as him in any scenario, including combat, but this new wolf didn’t stay behind.

Her weight and power placed her not far behind him even though she had no experience. He struggled to keep her down, too. Shade wasted little time handing me my bracelets so I could put them back on, causing her to shrink in size immediately and jump on my shoulder.

Did I do good, Lily? She purred, rubbing her little head against my shoulder as I pressed her against me.

Oh, you were terrific; thank you, Shade.

Unable to move, I could only watch as Liam asserted his dominance over Melody, only for her to fight back at every attempt. However, her inexperience quickly showed when he dominated her. Usually, Lycans would shift back once beaten in a scuffle as an instinctual response, yet this wolf…

For a moment, everything appeared to settle, and I stepped inside the battered room, triggering Liam to glance at me—a mistake that Melody took advantage of. She slipped from under him, biting into his neck before slamming him against the floor.

Luckily, his thick fur prevented her fangs from going in too deep. However, that didn’t change the fact that it pinned him under her, unable to move. If he tried to push her off him, her fangs would’ve caused more damage.

Melody dragged Liam to the desk, causing it to crack and tumble. Even though I wanted to help, I would only make everything more complicated if she noticed me. Unlike him, one bite from her would injure me critically.

Even though I knew I would complicate things. I couldn’t bear seeing them like that.

Why did it turn out like this?

"Melody! Please!" I yelled, triggering her to shift her attention onto me before snarling at me like a wild beast.

Taking the opportunity I gave, Liam shifted back into his humanoid, catching her attention as she quickly turned to him again, growling. A show of strength wasn’t working, so he tried something else.

"Mel... I know it’s scary, but you can’t let it control you." He tried to reach her wherever she was under that beast.

Before I knew it, he was on the ground again, beneath the giant black wolf that loomed over him.

"Liam!" I called out, worried she would rip into him.

"It’s okay, Lilith. It’s going to be okay. Right, Mel?" he reassured me from under her.

Somehow, she hadn’t bitten him. Instead, she watched him, like Fenris did to me under the blood moon.

Wait, have you ever seen Liam in his wolf form before?

"Hey, you’re in there. I know you are, and I know... you wouldn’t hurt a fly. So... please, sweet baby girl, come back to me?" He caressed her cheek.

For a moment, I thought she would snap, but she responded to him by shifting back into her humanoid form.

On top of him, she slowly reached for his cheek, triggering him to smile once her fingertips touched him as he leaned into her.

"Li... am," Melody muttered before dropping limp on him.

Instinctively, he clung to her tenderly. “Thank you for coming back to me.”

I slowly made my way to grab a blanket to cover her with. Unlike other Lycans, Melody's clothes weren’t enchanted and destroyed during her transformation. After covering her up, I tried to step away to look for a wet piece of cloth when he suddenly clasped it onto my hand.

I hesitated to look at him, thinking he would scold me or yell at me for doing something so stupid.

It’s not like I don’t deserve it, but… I…

Liam pulled me down towards them, tugging my head towards his chest. He held us both ever so tenderly.

"Thank you!" His voice broke.

It was almost as if he were about to cry.

"What?" I mumbled, having a hard time accepting it.

After all, I did something incredibly foolish. No, it was multiple ludicrous things that achieved this. I played with the lives of many to accomplish this, yet all he could see was the act of kindness I did for them.

My eyes couldn’t believe it when tears ran down his cheeks. A man I saw as a strong, unmovable Lycan was crying before me, thankful for what I had done for someone he thought of dearly.

"You saved her! Thank you!" He cried, holding onto us both.

Ah… I…

Within seconds, I broke as my heart ached because of what he said. Somehow, even though I took incredibly foolish actions that put the entire world in danger, it ended in something good—something that saved someone from being punished for how she was born.

That broke me. I saved someone and did something good for once, but it broke me.