Chapter 21 Words I Couldn't Say

Serenity's POV

After I left Cole speechless, I went straight to my trailer and fell asleep, tired of all the training Tasha and I had and my argument with Cole.

I stirred and sat up, looking around. It was still dark out. Looking at the clock beside my bed, it showed that it was just past 12. I sighed and tried to go back to sleep but was unable to do so.

I lay there staring at the ceiling, thinking.

Only a day to wait until Cole and I leave for Johansen's land. An image of Eric pops into my mind making a giggling girl out of me again.

I shook my head and hid my face in my pillow, embarrassed of myself.

To add to my embarrassment, someone knocked on my door. I sat up and looked back at the clock, making sure I saw it correctly.

12:15 AM.

Who could be visiting me this late? Then I grinned thinking it was Tasha remembering something she had forgotten to tell me earlier, that girl seemed to be a whacky version of Anna.

So I stood up and walked toward the door, but then I hear growling from the animals in their cages. I stopped for a second. Then I grabbed the jacket Tasha lent me, wanting to help with the animals in case the tamers asked for it.

I hurried toward the door and opened it wide, the person standing on the other side made me stop and step back.

"Don't look so surprise," Anton says, "I did say I'll see you soon, didn't I?"

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, I wanted to know if you fancy a walk with me?"

"No." I said, "You can go home-"

"I don't think so." he shook his head, blocking the door when I decided to close it on his face. "I paid your boss for a good three days to see you."

"Boss?" Jim popped into my mind. "I'm not part of the act, Anton. I am here to look after the animals. Besides its the middle of the night-"

"And the moon is up, almost full, see?" he pointed, "Isn't this sort of a special nights for shifters?"

"Go home, Anton," I say again.

"No." he pushed my door open and stepped inside.

"What are you doing?" I snapped, "Leave Anton, this isn't your castle where you can strut around."

"Then maybe I should take you where I can boss you around?"

I frowned and moved away.

"Not if I can help it."

I felt relieved hearing Tasha's voice, though there was a whole new aura from her.

Anton chuckled, "How cute, a little human girl protecting her friend."

"I'd dare you to see me as little when I'm done with you," Tasha says, raising one arm.

To my surprise, Anton flew back and hit the trailer's wall with a loud crash, leaving a dent on the wall.

"Let's go, Serenity," she says hurriedly, seeing Anton was shaking his head.

We ran out of the trailer and ran toward Cole's trailer, which was on the other side of the field.

"Cole!" Tasha called even before she can even reach the trailer. "Cole!" she was now banging on the door.

We hear a shuffle inside, and the door opened, "Tasha?"

"We've been calling you!" Tasha snapped.

"What is it, Tasha?" Cole cut her off before she rants.

"Anton…" I answered, "Anton is here."

"Indeed I am."

We turned around and saw Anton smirking at us. Whatever Tasha did to him didn't even leave a mark.

"What are you doing here?" Cole snapped.

"I'm here to pick up the princess." He says casually.

Cole now stood between us, "Not while I'm still alive."

"Well, that can be arranged." With that said more vampires appeared behind him.

"Shit..." Tasha says.

"Get her out of here, Cole." I hear Tasha say.

"No." We said in unison.

"I'm not leaving without you, Tasha." I shook my head and reached for her hand.

"That isn't what's supposed to happen-"

"This is my life!" I snapped, "I'm tired of having people run it for me!"

"Come with me, and I'll help you," Anton says.

"No." I glared at him, "I'm done sacrificing myself, I have done it for my family, and nothing good came out from it."

"Well, there's really nothing you can do without your wolf, is there?"

I frowned.

"What does he mean you don't have your wolf?" Cole asked.

"I- I.."

"The real deity is not with her. That's what it means," Anton answers for me."You've been serving the princess, yes, but not the deity."

"Serenity..."

"My wolf, Josephine..." I began to explain, "she's with my mate. Until we haven't fully mated, I can never have her with me."

"And you thought of telling us that now?" Cole snapped.

"I still have half of her divinity. I can save-"

"That's not the point, Serenity!" Cole snapped.

"Serenity, you have to understand, if you die right now, so will she." Tasha says, "Then your kind will have nothing to hope for."

I frowned and stared at Tasha, looking at me as if I lost something that I can never gain back.

"Is that why you bloodsuckers want her?"

"Plus full control of their lands," Anton added. "And just think, the princess of the shifters joins the royal family of the vampires."

"What?"

"Just like mother and Gelya."

"Gelya?" I asked.

"You really don't remember her?" Anton raised a brow. "Some best friend you are."

Gelya's face appeared on my mind, and then a memory flashed.

"I'm so sorry..."

"Shh... It's alright, Serenity..."

My eyes widened, remembering how she reached for the moonstone. She was the reason it was in this realm in the first place.

“Serenity…” I said.

“Bingo!” he says, “After the princess had married his mate, Gelya ran away. Gelya couldn’t face the princess even after she had forgiven her. So when we crossed paths with her, father changed her, wanting to know if it will take effect. And voila! We have two half breeds with us.”

“And Aunt Janice?”

“That one’s just for the fun of it.” he smirked, “To see the beta in pain… to weaken the best fighter.”

“You monster!” I run up to him, but Cole stopped me. “You heartless piece of-“

He laughs, “You seem to be forgetting,” he gives me an amused look, “I am heartless.”

I pushed Cole away and ran toward Anton, who just smiled.

“Serenity no!” I hear Tasha call for me.

Then Anton disappeared for a second. Then he appeared in front of me, grabbing me by the neck. I struggled as he lifts me from the ground as if I weighed nothing.

“And you…” he says, “when I take you as mine, it will just be spite. To your kind and your mate.”

I felt the chain of my necklace roughly brush my skin.

“No…” I gasped and waved my hand up, and soon he dropped me on the ground, finding himself slammed on a tree and the ground.

I caught my breath and pushed myself to stand, still glaring at him. “You will never hurt any of them as long as I am alive.”

“That wouldn’t be for long.” He says, then he disappeared again.

I remember Tasha’s words when she was teaching me to shield myself. Though it was just for the mind, I deeply hoped that it would work physically.

“Serenity, move away!” Cole said, running to my side and jumped halfway in the air, meeting Anton before he can touch me.

And that’s when the hell broke loose.

I looked around as the shifters take down multiple vampires, killing them without mercy. Tasha uses her craft on them, leaving them pinned on the ground and killed by Kendra before they can even stand.

I caught three vampires who were about to jump on Dana. She turned and slashed them into pieces and turned into ashes. I looked around four wolves, a witch, and I can never take down all of them. Especially with Cole having a one on one fight with Anton.

I pinned down more vamps for Dana to kill when I heard a tree crashed and a loud growl from behind. I turned to see Cole struggling to stand up, shaking his head.

“Cole!” I called and ran to save him when I was again grabbed by the neck and pinned on the ground.

“I always get what I want, princess.” He says, then I felt a sheering pain in my chest\. Piercing through my skin, I closed my eyes, fighting off the pain. I screamed as I felt the pain double. When the hold on my neck was gone, I can barely see anything. I gasped for air but still felt the blinding pain. I try to look around, and from my peripheral view, I saw Gelya stab, Anton on the chest with her hand and he turned to ashes.

“Serenity, sweety, look at me!” I followed Aunt J’s voice, “I’m sorry, but this is the only way to save you….”

With that, she leaned down at me. Finally, I closed my eyes and let the darkness take me.

I woke up back in the middle of the field that has always been my place of peace when dreaming. I remembered the fight and started to cry. It’s finally over. I was dead, a vampire killed me, and I didn’t even see Eric. I wasn’t able to say what I felt about him. How much I love him.

“What’s wrong this time?”

I turned and saw Liam sitting in front of me, pulling out grass and tossing it up in the air.

I wiped off my tears and set my hands on my lap, “It's over, Liam.” I mumbled, “I was too weak and too careless.”

He shrugged, “You were never weak, Serenity.”

“When I was alive,” I said.

“Serenity, you aren’t dead,” he said, irritated. I looked up at him, questioned. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

I rolled my eyes, “That’s comforting coming from a guy who is half dead.”

“Half dead means half alive, sissy.” he pointed out.

I shook my head, “That vampire….”

“He tried, but he failed.” I looked up at him, surprised. “Seeing that you’re in the same realm as I am, and you were saying I’m only half dead puts you in the same state as I am.” He gave me a grin, “You’d probably also wake up before I do.”

“I don’t get it,” I said.

He sighed, “Bottomline, you aren’t dead, sissy. Far from it.”

“But he-“

“You may be more of a human right now, but for some reason, you aren’t dead.”

Then I remembered aunt J saying it was the only way it will save me. I looked at Liam again, who was back to picking grass and throwing it in the air.

How would he react to seeing Aunt J as a vampire?

“Liam…”

“You don’t need to tell me now, sissy.” he gave me a look, “I know that look you have now. It's when you want to tell me something but are scared of doing so, but you just have to.”

“But Liam-“

“If you think I don’t need to know now, then don’t.” he says, “Especially when it causes you pain.”

“Liam…”

Then he leaned back, using his arm to propped him up. “So this girl with you….”

“Huh?”

“The witch?” he pointed out, “What’s her name?”

“Tasha?”

“Tasha…” he says with a nod, “what’s she like?”

“Oh well, she’s like anna, I guess,” I answered, not knowing where the conversation was going. Memories of me, Anna, and Cole rushed through my mind making me smile. “She’s cool. She makes the gloomiest days perfect. I remembered when I first met her….” I chuckled, “it's hard not to trust her, even after all that has happened.”

I start to tell him what we’ve been up to, and he listened intently. It was like we were catching up on each other’s lives.

“…you’d love her,” I said with a sigh.

“I’m sure I will.” He says.

I looked at him closer. His smile was different. It was one that I’ve never seen before. Then it dawned on me, but I doubted for a second.

“I think Cole may be in love with her,” I said casually.

“Hearing what she’s like, I think it’s hard not to be.” He answers as casual.

“I guess.” I grinned, “I wonder what Aaron and Jake would say about her when they meet her.”

“They’d probably say,” he sat up, “that’s one piece of ass I’d like to tap.”

I laughed as he imitated Aaron. Thinking now that he couldn't be mated to Tasha, she wasn’t a shifter, and he had never even seen her.

Then he sighed and looked up in the sky.

“Looks like you’d be waking up sooner than I expected.”

I looked up and saw that the dark clouds were rolling in, just like when my dream was near its end.

“Told you you weren’t dead.” he stood up and extended a hand for me to take and helped me up. I stood in front of him, and he stared at me like he always did. I knew what he felt for me, but we both know it isn’t meant to be. That his admiration will just be that, nothing more, nothing less.

“You should get back now,” he says. I nodded. “And you better leave me some action and ass to kick.”

I laughed again and just nodded. He smiled as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

“I promise I’ll be the one to wake you up,” I said.

“I never doubted for a second.” He said.

He then kissed me on the forehead and stepped away, letting go of my hand.

“I’ll see you soon, sissy.”

“See you, Li,” I said.

I watch him walk away from me, like the many times he did when he visits my dream.

“Liam!” he turned around, and I smiled, “I love you.”

He smiled, “I know. But you love him more, right?”

I frowned, “Serenity?” I looked back at him, and he gave me a wink. “I love you too, sissy.”

I smiled at him, knowing there was not a hint of a lie in his words.