Commanded to...

“I am not, no,” Sinclair replied, turning to see an unfamiliar woman observing the painting too. She lean, but strong, Sinclair observed, a fighter of some kind, maybe. Or just someone who enjoyed a workout. This island, the eclipse, it was making her question people and their motives more than usual, she thought. 

“I have seen many paintings, though,” she continued, always keeping one eye on the other woman or her shadow. “There are many galleries across the world that I have visited, many beautiful paintings within them.” She let her gaze wander over the brushstrokes once again, remembering the first time she visited a gallery in France, each painting a story contained in a single canvas. 

Sinclair took in the woman’s features once again, finding a trace of familiarity. Maybe they had passed in the street, or stood beside one another in line at the store. “You live here, yes?” Sinclair asked, prepared to add another name to her mental roster of potential supernatural beings. 

“So, I take you’re not originally from here, right?” Petra replied, with her eyes still on the art in front of her while her words were directed at the other woman. Pondering the question inside her mind before voicing it out to the other woman, “which makes me curious why would you stay here, in this small town when you’ve been everywhere else...”  Petra’s action right after was a shrug.

Finally, her dark eyes moved to meet the girl’s once she had a question to Petra. “I live here. I’ve been here for a little bit more than a year. Why?” Raising an eyebrow, her attention was constantly between the woman’s heartbeat and what happened in their surroundings. 

“I can sense it. There are no other heartbeats but yourself... and mine.” Petra replied, her eyes wandering at the witch, watching Alicia as a prey. It had been awhile ever since she had gone through a fight, an actual fight where she could be the same werewolf she used to be when she was in the Colorado pack. Petra just wasn’t sure if that would be a good idea or a bad one. “It’s just me against you. And I can tell you that... it’s not your lucky day.”

Maya could not make sense of what was occurring to her, even though she had to know that this was bigger than her. It had to be some kind of spell or the island, but for the life of her, she couldn’t seem to see anything outside of herself. It was the first time she’d been knocked off balance an torn from all kind of power. This was what she did to others, this was not what others did to her. It shouldn’t have been happening, and for the life of her, she would make sure that it didn’t go on any longer. 

Her gaze settled on the other when she seemed to look in thin air, her own breath coming out shaky at the realization that this was perhaps nothing more than a game. It had to do with the eclipse and how their powers seemed to revert in a way. At least, that was what made most sense for her. Her head shook when her parents reappeared, attempting to speak to her. 

They mentioned their battles and how she should fight and get payback for her parents who had been mistreated, in any way, shape or form. Her head shook once more, stepping back from both the hallucination and the woman that still stood before her. “How do we make it stop? I want it to stop?” Her hands cupped her eyes, but still, she heard their voices and knew they were right there. Her brain was in control and nothing she did could stop them from appearing.

“I haven’t done anything?” She screamed then and stepped forward slightly, hoping the other would listen. “I do this to people, they don’t do this to me.” She hoped the other would understand, though she refused to give much more information than that. It had been a long lesson she’d learnt in the past, that once someone knew  your weakness, they would hit there and hard. Which was why the brunette always kept people at a distance. But one thing was for certain, the one who had done this, if that was the case, would pay. 

While Petra knew about some of the enemies that the Eirene coven had, Maya wasn’t one of them. she lacked a few information, but tried her best to find out who she should trust and who she shouldn’t. And that was the reason why she was always attentive, unable to keep herself relaxed around strangers, the reason why she thought that Maya would hurt Petra. But, in the end, she didn’t. Raising an eyebrow, still uncertain about her own actions, Petra slowly moved forward.

Soon, the werewolf was able to notice that she wanted help; Maya wasn’t there to fight, she was as lost as Petra had been throughout those days while seeing her previous alpha, fighting that urge of following his words instead of trusting her instincts. “I don’t know,” she despised those three words. But she really didn’t know. “There’s something definitely wrong in this island. Causing... hallucinations? I think, but I don’t know if there’s a way to make it stop. I...” She didn’t truly understand anything about witchs and how their magic worked. But, she didn’t share those words with Maya. Again, she couldn’t share her weaknessess with others.

And then, all Petra needed, was Maya’s following words to know that, right in front of her, there was a witch. Of course. “Seems a lot like payback, then.” Petra replied. “Did you get anyone angry these past few days? You could’ve been... cursed.” It was a statement that Petra didn’t truly know if it was what was happening to the witch. Everything those past few days were a shot in the dark. “Can I get you anywhere else? It doesn’t seem like staying out here would be a wise thing for you.”

Maya prided herself on her sense of control, both over her actions and the powers that coursed through her. Though, her stomach rolled when she turned to see her parents. Realistically, the brunette knew that they could, and would not, be where they stood — but she found herself speaking aloud. Even going to them, until they vanished  out of thin air. Perhaps it was another witch who had managed to chip away at her barrier and gain control. That thought alone, was the one that threatened to drive her mad. Her heart pounded, gripping upon the nearest surface for support. 

A sick and twisted game, one that she knew how to play. And so, Maya stepped forward in search of the one who had set revenge upon the brunette. If they believed that they could destroy her, they had not met the likes of Maya De Haas. “Stop,” she finally called out, walking past her parents who had begun to speak to her in order to gain her attention, forcing her to pause whenever their touch felt like thin air. 

Not real, none of it wasn’t real. For the first time, Maya felt the absolute power of her own magic. The first hand at what those victim of her cruelty felt like. How they succumbed to their own mind, cracking it half when they could no longer trust themselves to know what was truly in front of them and what was a vision. Her eyes closed momentarily, blinking open in the hopes that it would somehow vanish the demons that stood before her. 

Except, instead of demons, they were the people she loved most. Though the knowledge that they were mere images and memories angered her. The brunette twirled around, searching for the culprit until her form collided with that of another, and very much alive, person. “What are you doing to me?” Maya asked in a panic, stepping away from the other. Her sense of control had come undone, and never had she felt more vulnerable and weak than in that moment, unable to summon her own power because of the chaos that surrounded her mind. “What the hell are you doing to me?!” the witch screamed, not quite being present enough to even hear or process the words that had left the other.

All of her apologies suddenly vanished when the woman in front of her started accusing Petra of doing something to herself. It was Maya her name, it had to be, because it was the only name pounding inside the woman’s brain while her anger was building up within herself due to the situation. “I didn’t do anything to you,” she shared with a harsh tone, while her dark eyes stared at Maya, trying to understand what was happening. Maybe this was one of the tricks of the night that had been installed in Moon Island. Or maybe she was just a strange playing tricks at the wolf. 

Right next to Maya, Damien was there, standing, staring at her once again, almost as if he knew that he could control her all over again. This time, Petra knew that that Damien was nothing more than just her mind hallucinating him. This time, she wasn’t certain about the other times when it all felt too real.

And despite the fact that he could be just part of her imagination, his voice echoing inside her brain was too much. It was enough to make her feel vulnerable to the words of that fake Damien. If you don’t protect yourself, she’ll attack you. But I don’t need to tell you that, I’m sure you’ve noticed this by now. 

Emmanuel slowed, unable to hear the exact location of Petra’s voice or even the possibility of multiple people around the area.  He strained his ears for any possible hints of where she may be.  Emmanuel, where are you?  He heard drift his way in a sing song voice.  Emmanuel was sure that Petra was baiting him, making him on edge enough to make one wrong move that could open up for an attack.  As much as he tried to shake that thought out of his head it was a possibility that he was going to have to consider until he found Petra.

Shouting came from his left.  Why are you here? We don’t need you!  Emmanuel was confused and a little hurt.  “Petra! What is the meaning of this?”  He tried to say in his natural tone of command.  He knew no one could hear his voice waiver but he also knew this was possibly the time he was most nervous.  We don’t need you as an alpha!  What have you done to help? Nothing!  The pack is better without you!

Emmanuel was taken aback.  He never suspected his pack felt this way.  Follow my voice.  Or track my heartbeat if you are even wolf enough to.  I’m near the edge of the cliff, Emmanuel.  “We can talk this out.  It doesn’t have to be this way!”  He shouted after her, making no move to get closer.  His fear was an ambush, and there was no way he would be able to survive the fall from the cliff.  So he stayed where he was and prayed that the light from the sun would come back soon so he could begin to see what was around him.

Her frustration was growing strong along with the pace of her heartbeat. While she could sense her new alpha’s presence, she couldn’t see where he was exactly. Moving up, she wanted to track him down and walk closer to Emmanuel, but it felt that it wasn’t the wisest choice. Despite her great hearing and the fact she could follow his smell, Damien would follow along with her and she didn’t know how much damage her previous alpha could cause to Emmanuel. “We’re no longer on the same side, Damien. You’ve left me to die as if this was what I was suppose to do.”

She replied, uncertain of how she was able to express those words at him, watching Damien’s expression while her ears were filled with Emmanuel’s voice. It felt like he was demmanding an answer from her. But what kind of answer was he expecting? “The solar eclipse? I don’t know. There’s something wrong in the island, there’s something really wrong...” with all of them, maybe. And while Emmanuel being far away from Petra at that moment could be better, it’d give her alpha a better chance of staying alive. She didn’t want to stay around Damien for too long, not when he still had some sort of control over her. “Just, come and find me. I need you, Emmanuel.” 

You were always with us. I’m sorry that I couldn’t come back to you sooner, but I’m here now. And I’ll always be here for you.

“Go away, Damien,” she murmured. Covering her eyes with her hands was the kind of action that crossed her mind, but she knew that if she did so. He could attack her. Maybe this was still a test. Every single moment around Damien had always been a test. She could never keep her guard down with him. “What doesn’t have to be this way? I’m not going to hurt you. And I’ll make sure he won’t hurt you too. We’re stronger if we’re together, Emmanuel. Please...”

Dominique listened to Petra, they were both feeling uncertain about something but neither one had any answers, which concerned her even more. “No I haven’t been able to pick up my phone, I think someone has a spell on me or something… I can’t get in touch with the coven you are the first person I’ve seen and I was hoping you had a little more information than I did but I guess we are both in the dark.” As they spoke about the troubles they were facing, Dominique noticed Nadine getting closer but her whole body language was off. She was walking straight towards them. Dominique looked at Petra and back to Nadine but she was gone, which confused her even more.

“Are you alright?” Dominique asked, noticing Petra seemed slightly off, she didn’t notice until know how Petra was acting, something in her eyes told Dominique she wasn’t all there. “You seem preoccupied, did something happen? I can try and help.” She knew that if the pack was in trouble so would the coven and Dominique didn’t want to see anybody hurt. When Petra asked if she was alright, Dominique frowned “I think so, but I’m a little worried about you.” Without thinking Dominique reached forward placing her hand on the wolf shoulder.

Petra ignored that part of herself who wanted to track her previous alpha down and tell him to stop following her, to stop trying to act as if he was still the one who would give her orders, so she could actually hear what Dominique had to say about her own experience during the solar eclipse. “We’re both in the dark.” Nodding, Petra sighed. She was the last person that would be able to help Dominique with witch matters; her knowledge towards the subject wasn’t enough to find a way to make her feel better, but still she had to try. There was this small voice inside of her mind that was reminding her that Dominique was still part of the “pack”.

Are you okay, Leon? He could hear his own voice coming from behind his shoulder, really close to his ear and although he couldn’t see himself, Spencer was right there, as if he had just returned from the dead. Could it be possible? Leon shook his head, which could’ve made Petra that he was answering to her question–but then again, was he okay? “It’s–just a migraine.” He lied. He was good at that–lying to make people worry less about him. He wondered if he was the only one seeing his dead brother or if Petra was seeing dead people too. Nothing was impossible when it came to Moon Island. “Would you like to accompany me there?” He had heard her offer, of course he had, but Leon also wasn’t going to force her to accompany him, especially if he was the only one seeing things and she had other places to go.

Pretty, isn’t she? Leon’s voice returned and he could swear he could feel his hot breath, cascading close to his ear again. Wasn’t she the one who opened your eyes to the truth? Another voice joined his own and he saw and heard Spencer. Wasn’t she who reminded you how you stood back and did nothing after I died? Did you even mourn, Leon? Did you cry the loss of an innocent or did you mourn your brother? Leon felt his knees weakening a little, but after Petra’s answer, he was able to move his feet as he began walking. “The eclipse…” Finally, he spoke again, looking up at the moon, the only source of natural illumination of Moon Island. “How do you feel about it… as werewolf, I mean. Does it feel different to you?” Maybe talking would quiet down the voices that seemed to be following him. His own and Spencer’s.

Though his words would tell her that he was okay, she couldn’t believe it. There was a different sound coming from his heartbeat that made her lack trust when it comes to what he was telling her; yet, it wasn’t her problem. She wasn’t in any position of asking him what was disturbing him enough to make him lie. That was probably the last thing she should say to someone that was seen, in her point of view, as her superior. She had tried her luck far too many times before while around Leon. “Hope you’ll feel better soon, no one deserves... pain. It makes us strong, but it doesn’t mean they are good.” She replied, with a light shrug. Forgetting for a second, that the man who made her go through most of her pain had been wandering around, wanting her to hurt those who became her family in Moon Island. Damien was, indeed, a disease. “No. But you don’t seem well, and if you make of it an order. I will.”

Her days were full of worries and paranoia. Despite the news that had arrived through the television, that didn’t seem to share enough to keep everyone well informed. Petra still had a hard time to tell whether she was just hallucinating Damien, or if those times she could actually see him in front of her,  were times that she was seeing the real Damien, not just a projection of her mind. Everything was all too much. She was afraid of hurting her new pack and the coven they were allied to. She was scared of trusting the wrong people. Petra was on the edge and she didn’t know exactly how she could fight against it.

Still, she had to work, she tried and failed after the first training class. Seeing Damien in one of the guys that were in the gym, she knew she would have to wait until everything was better. Until she was sane enough to deal with others. Grabbing her back and storming her way out of the gym, Petra sighed. “You should just leave me alone,” she shouted at the voice. Hoping that her own hallucinations would hear it. Even if such plan made no sense at all.

When the eclipse hit the Island Dominique was home in her cozy apartment. She woke up in a small haze as she reached for her water bottle on the nightstand next to her, she felt the bottle begin to become lighter as she watched the water bottle itself began to evaporate. Dominique rubbed her eyes before realizing the water bottle was gone completely. She brushed it off, thinking it was because she was half asleep as she climbed out of bed and walked into her kitchen she couldn’t help but notice everything felt slightly off. She grabbed a glass and filed it with orange juice and when she picked it up she watched it begin to evaporate again. Words couldn’t describe how she was feeling, she quickly let go of the cup, but instead of it dropping to the ground it was just gone. Dominique was freaked out, she  couldn’t stay in her apartment, everything she was touching evaporated like water in her hands, she thought she was going a little crazy. She needed to clear her head and decided to take a quick walk. As she locked her apartment up her own keys evaporated and frankly Dominique didn’t know if she really did lock her apartment up or not but as she walked towards the shore, she felt eyes watching her. She was comfortable driving her car, so she walked to the one place that made her feel better.

The water.

As she walked  towards the shore it should have been a quick walk wasn’t. The eyes that she felt that were watching her, grew stronger and stronger, when she turned around she could have sworn she saw her friend Nadine. She called out “Nadine?” and heard nothing, which scared her even more. When Dominique finally made it to the shore, the scariest thing happened to her, she crouched down to the sand, and grabbed a small handful. The water felt distant and off, the sand in her hand evaporated. She had no idea what to do she couldn’t believe how alone she felt, the gut in her stomach wouldn’t go away, she was too preoccupied and almost collided with Petra because she was too focused on the water. It was almost a sigh of relief when she recognized Petra until the reaction she got from her made the feeling in her stomach twist.

“Why? Your like the first person i’ve seen all day! What is going on!” She asked Petra, she was beginning to consider if she should reach out and touch her to see if she would evaporate but decided she wasn’t going to risk it. As she waited for an answer, she noticed out of the corner of her eye, a figure in the background, it was small but coming straight towards her. Dominique tried to brush it off as if it was nothing but the hair on her neck stood up.

Petra sighed. There were no intentions coming from the werewolf of hurting those who were part of the coven she was aligned with, nor of the new pack she was in. But somehow, it wasn’t what happened when she was between Damien and Emmanuel, and she feared that it could happen again. She had no intentions of meeting anyone during her walk by the beach and yet, Dominique was right in front of her. She isn’t trustworthy, Petra. Listen to her heatbeat, and you’ll see that whatever she tells you, it will be a lie. The words reached her ears and once she looked at her right, Petra saw him again. Damien was feets apart from both herself and Dominique, and yet, it felt as if he was standing right next to Petra. “Just, trust me. There’s something wrong happening. We’re still in the dark. It’s not safe. Did you hear anythin from the coven?”

She was spilling words as a way of keeping her mind occupied and to ignore the words coming from her alpha. Petra hoped that Dominique would fill up the silence with her voice and that, somehow, it would be enough for Petra for forget about her alpha, to think that soon he’d disappear and she would be able to move on with her life without harming others. Because, for the first time in her life, she didn’t want to harm anyone. It didn’t feel as if they deserved. “I don’t know what’s happening. But it doesn’t look good. That’s all I can say from what I’ve seen so far.”

The weeks leading up to the solar eclipse left Emmanuel with a lot of worry.  He barely remembered what it was like during the last solar eclipse on the island, but he certainly remembered the aftermath.  All of the people around him talked about hallucinations and the drain it caused them.  So Emmanuel was more than a little worried about what would happen with the intense solar eclipse that was starting.  

Erring on the side of caution, Emmanuel decided to go to Squantum Point Cliffs to chain himself up.  Normally he preferred roaming the woods during full moons, but he wanted to be sure not to cause any innocent damage this time around.  When he reached the entrance he could smell that he wasn’t alone.  After recognizing the other as Petra he relaxed slightly, at least it was someone he trusted. 

As he walked towards her he could feel all of his hair stand up on ends.  Snarls filled the air as a cold “Everything’s going to be okay” found his way to his ears.  “Petra?  Where are you?”  He shouted after her.  Emmanuel wasn’t completely ready to come forward yet but the tension he could feel in the air was overwhelming.

Petra sighed. This wasn’t good. Any of this. She tried to focus on her breathing something that would keep her relaxed, though the fast pace of her heartbeat was sharing something else. Petra wasn’t one to be frightened by what could possibly happen to herself, but now, that she was hearing Damien and there was a chance he was there to hurt both herself and Emmanuel, she didn’t know what to do. And it was hard to admit that she wasn’t even certain of whom she could choose. If only Lexine was there, they would make the situation easier on Petra. And she could be able to calm down while thinking about her options. 

“Emmanuel...” She repeated his name while she tried her best to see him through the shadows that would come from the few the trees on top of the cliff. Her eyes moved faster, trying to catch a glimpse of either her alpha or the previous one. If she had to go through a fight, she’d need to be ready for it. I’m here, Petra. She heard again, the voice that would haunt her mind from the moment she was left to die and found a new home, a new pack. Here. She got scared by his proximity, her heart skipped a beat while her eyes stared at Damien. Why was he in Moon Island, what did he want there by himself without the whole pack. “Why are you here?” Her voice was loud, showing her frustration. And she didn’t know that this question could reach Emmanuel’s hearing. And that while she was seeing Damien, there was no one else there but herself.

And finally, the question pounding inside her head, came out of her lips. Why do you think, Petra? I’m here to get you back to our family. But, first you need to get rid off this pack you’ve been with. They are not your real family, they’ve never been.

Running seemed to be the wisest choice that day, she couldn’t work when she didn’t feel well and keeping herself active could possibly get her far away from her ghosts. It had been twenty-four hours of a constant nightmare after the solar eclipse began. Damien had abandoned her, left her to die in the middle of a fight, making her assume that it was her last task, something she should go through for her pack, for her alpha. Later, Petra had the knowledge that it was far from that, he just didn’t care that much about an injured wolf. It was the last time she had seen her previous alpha before she joined Lexine and later found her second home in the Mensah pack. However, there he was again. Haunting her vision, making unable to have a proper night of sleep, of going through her daily activities without considering the possibility that she was going mad. 

I’m the man that helped oyu become the powerful wolf you are. So, what? You’re going to ignore me now? Are you afraid of listening to my commands again?

His voice echoed inside of her mind and in her surroundings. If she could hate him, Petra would. Perhaps the frustration and annoyance of being left behind due to one battle that she had failed and got injured could be seen as hate. She didn’t know, she hadn’t dealt with feelings before; and now, that he was everywhere she went, Petra just wanted to get rid of that image, to let go of Damien. But she also felt tempted to listen to what he had to say. It had been like that for twenty-one years. It was the kind of bad habit that was hard to quit.

The whispers had reached her ears during the week before the solar eclipse. She wasn't able to gather all the information about the gossips, but from what she heard it was about how the last time it had happened, it was followed by terrible consequences in the midst of war. Petra wasn’t one to believe in tales, especially those she hadn’t been there to actually see it happening. But from the moment the sun started to disappear and Moon Island was painted in a darker color, she knew that nothing good could come out of that. Unlike any other day, she was even more wary, trying her best to keep herself attentive about anything that would happen in her surroundings, knowing that while the previous full moon everything had been easier than expected, anything could happen during this solar eclipse.

Even if she wasn’t the kind of werewolf that would keep herself chained at the top of the Crescent Ridge at Squantum Point Cliffs, Petra ended up there. It was still the afternoon, and yet she could barely see the view she so adored. If it wasn’t for her phone and the moonlight, she’d be swallowed by the darkness that the sky offered in an unlike time of the day. “Everything is going to be okay.” She was enchanting while by herself, ignoring that voice inside of herself that sounded a lot like her previous alpha. Is it going to be okay?