It was nighttime when Raven opened her eyes again. Her head throbbed, and body ached in a way it never had before. Tears escaped her, and she didn't bother trying to hold them back. Half because she didn't have the energy to, and half because she didn't see the point.
The earth beneath her was cool against her burning skin, a campfire gently blazed somewhere nearby, but her lids had flickered closed again by the time she was aware of it. Its warmth radiated through the air, licking her skin gently.
Exhaustion blanketed Raven to new extremes. She willed sleep to return but it eluded her. She took a deep breath to relax herself only to cough and convulse a few more bits of blood out of her mouth. She twisted onto her side, hacking up the rest of the choking substance until she could breathe again.
It was then Raven's senses went haywire. She could smell something familiar. Something that snapped her eyes and heart open to full alert as a sense of hope washed over her.
It was Anya's scent.
The biker's aroma hung in the air, somehow strong and faded at the same time. What did that mean? Was Anya here? Had she come to Raven's rescue?
Eyes searched her surroundings frantically for the first time. She was in some sort of cave. There wasn't much lying around the space. A pile of blankets laid in one corner, the middle sunken in like a nest, a collection of sticks of various sizes scattered beside it, the ends of them seemingly been gnawed on by a wild animal. The fire pit sat near the entrance, casting a comforting glow of light and twisting shadows across the cave.
As if sensing her stir, a familiar face walked into view of the cave's entrance, and it wasn't the one Raven was hoping to see.
Luna.
That familiar evil smirk and gleam of the devil still burned on her eyes and lips. Raven was starting to wonder if it was the woman's neutral expression.
Luna was fully dressed now, wearing heavy jeans and a long green shirt-wrap with a black tank top underneath. Raven couldn't help but notice Luna wasn't wearing any gang attire. No jacket. No blue bandana. It could've been nothing. But it still striked Raven as an oddity.
Luna strode into the cave menacingly before towering over Raven with a sneer. "Poor little pup without her mate to protect her while she grows."
Raven moved to sit up only to be crushed back to the ground with a heavy boot to her chest. Her very sensitive, battered, torn, disfigured chest. Raven let out an agonizing shriek as the countless cuts on her upper body surged with pain into an excruciating burn and ripping against the impact.
Luna's lips parted just long enough to let out an amused chuckle before she removed her foot from Raven's bleeding chest. Her thin red tank top soaked with a fresh batch of blood. Where her new jacket ended up was a mystery. Probably lost on the journey amongst the trees someplace.
"Why are you doing this?" Raven choked out.
Luna knelt beside Raven and leaned closer before answering, "Because you are disgusting. Because you should be food. And I have always told Anya for many years to never play with food. But she never listens. Almost none of them do. So, I'm going to use you as an example to teach them all a lesson."
Raven's brows drew together in shocked disgust. "What? You eat people!?"
Luna sighed, "Not anymore, sadly. Not since the precious commander took control over one hundred years ago. My reign will be different, though. I will take this pack back to the traditional ways. Back to when we were at our full potential."
Luna threaded rough fingers through Raven's messy hair. Her digits ungentle as they tangled and pulled against the mechanic's scalp painfully. Raven shivered in fear of what was to come, eliciting shushing noises from Luna as she continued to stroke Raven's head roughly.
"Shhhh, it's alright, Raven. I'm not going to kill you. But you are right to be afraid of me because I am going to hurt you. Just enough so you are close to death, it's Anya who will take your life. I'm going to leave you in such a broken and unrecoverable state that she will have no choice but to put you down. She can't take you to a hospital after all, with all that unique blood of ours inside you."
Raven's eyes grew wide with terror. What kind of maniac was she dealing with!?
Luna rose to her feet and circled Raven again as she recalled her plan to the mechanic, who was still bleeding out on the ground after having her wounds reopened.
"The first phase of my plan is already complete. I should thank you, really. For making it so easy to capture you. I never dreamed you would walk right into my territory willingly. And alone no less!" She cackled to herself as she continued pacing the cave. "Then I dragged you back to Anya's den. While you were asleep, I spread plenty of your blood on her walls as well as across the vicinity of the forest. It will lead the others in circles for hours. And I imagine Anya will be out for the count until at least after sunrise." Gold orbs shot Raven a murderous look of amusement. "I made sure of it."
Raven's chest tightened, and not from the pain as rage surged through her. "What did you do to Anya, you bitch!?"
Luna laughed again, seemingly pleased with Raven's reaction. "I'm betting this will be the first place she thinks to look once she wakes. But don't get too excited, dear Raven. She won't get here in time. Get to you. I'll make sure of it."
Luna knelt beside Raven again, petting her head as she continued to smile and recite her plan. It was that moment Raven chose to suck in a puddle of blood pooling in her mouth and launch it right into Luna's sneering face.
"Urgh!" Luna gagged in surprise as she wiped the offending sludge from her cheek. Raven was pleased the bitch didn't get it all, a very evident smear of Raven's spitty blood staining that once clear creamy white cheek.
Luna's eyes shimmered with fire and not from the flames that danced across the cave near the entrance. Her brows twisted into fury, her jaw clenched, teeth bared as they ground together. A fist raised high over Luna's head before she brought it crashing down and crushed it into Raven's face.
Raven's head snapped back from the impact, her skull colliding with the hard ground as pain surged to her cheek and left eye. That was going to leave a mark.
"Right before sunrise…" Luna whispered aggressively against Raven's ear now, two harsh hands gripping Raven's face painfully, holding her in place. "I'm going to change form so I can rip your leg off with my teeth."
Then, Luna was gone.
Raven couldn't be sure whether she blacked out momentarily or not. She didn't remember Luna's departure, just the chilling impression her words left behind. She couldn't have been out long however, as the fire still burned with verve. Its flickers of light still danced and twisted with the breeze.
Raven laid motionless on the cave floor as she thought about what just happened and everything Luna had said.
Change form? What the hell was that madwoman going on about?
A flash of the massive black beast from earlier shot through Raven's mind. Surely, that hadn't been real. There had to be another explanation.
She was in no condition to process any of that right then. The light-headedness and lack of focus from the constant blood loss was draining Raven at an alarming rate. And if Luna was gone, this would be Raven's only chance to escape.
New tears broke out when Raven tried to move. She did her best to will herself through the pain, but it was no use. The scratches in her chest were too deep, immobilizing her. She couldn't even move her shoulders—or anything else for that matter. She did manage to glance down enough to find her legs were still attached. Well, one more than the other. She couldn't even feel the one Luna had used as a chew toy earlier.
Desolation took over as she finally gave in to defeat.
When would Luna come for her? Was Raven living her final moments? And would she learn the shapeshifting mystery before death took her?
Before Raven slipped away to the realm of unconsciousness again, one final thought claimed her.
If Luna could turn into a terrifying beast at will, could the others too?
Could Anya?
A/N: PLEASE don't hate me… going back to once a week updates until further notice. So, updates are back to just Thursdays (No update this Sunday). I want to rewrite chapters 30-33 and possibly add in an extra chapter between this one and what was going to be the next one. Thanks for your patience and for reading everyone!