Wardrobe

Villager: Nightshade

"Belladonna, wake up," she heard a soft voice murmur, and she tried to ignore the shooting pain in her neck, her arms, slowly blinking her eyes open to take in her surroundings. The figure that sat crouched before her was a familiar one-- Selene Hallows, a necromancer of sorts several years Bella's senior. The young woman had tears in her eyes, and reached out to brush her fingers to Bella's cheek. "Thank the gods."

////

Bella's clumsy fingers had been braiding the silvery hued strands atop the other wolf's head, when she spotted her mother slipping through the forests in the direction of Brookeshire. Belladonna knew what lay on the outskirts of Brookeshire, and knew her mother was playing a dangerous game, fooling around with the Queen Alpha's mate. In spite of her reluctance to accept her mother's enchantment with the King, she could not help the love she held for the small being her mother was carrying.

She rose to her feet, glancing in Selene's direction with a reproachful smile.

"I have to keep an eye on her," she explained, and Selene considered the younger girl for a long moment. Bella squirmed beneath her gaze, feeling ever exposed under the moonchild's gaze, as if her very soul were exposed. Selene reached out, grabbing Bella by the front of her tunic. Bella stumbled forward, a bewildered expression on her face up until Selene pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss. Blood rushed to her cheeks, and she awkwardly returned the kiss-- at least, as much as she was able. Selene pulled away mere seconds later, looking almost chagrined. "What... what was that for," Bella blurted, a dopey smile crossing her features.

"Luck. I feel as if you'll need it." Selene said, fiddling with the hem of her shirt and refusing to meet Bella's eyes. Bella hesitated, drawing her lip between her teeth before leaning in to nuzzle Selene's cheek. The older girl reddened, and Bella drew away with a tender smile.

"I'll be back soon," she promised, lingering for a moment longer to consider the other young woman. When she first met Selene, the feeling that brewed in her gut was unrecognizable. Now, however, she felt she could give it a name. "I love you," she said shyly, turning her back on Selene and darting through the forests before the other woman could respond.

"I love you too," Selene whispered to the forests, watching the younger girl dart away with a faint smile.

////

The pain in her neck had eased off into a dull throb, and Bella managed to sit up, trying to place where they were. The area was dark, damp, and she reasoned that it must have been some sort of cave. Perhaps Selene's home? Selene watched her with an expression that seemed torn between joy and sorrow, and Bella reached out to her, noticing a long row of stitches circling around her wrist. The young girl quirked a brow, considering her injury with curiosity.

"What happened?" She managed, but her voice was hoarse, and it hurt to speak.

"I'm... so sorry."

////

It had seemed the normal meeting, though in her preoccupation, her mother had noticed her presence almost immediately. Bella was called out, and she considered the King Alpha with an expression of disdain. Her mother tangled a soothing hand in her hair, and the wolfchild allowed herself to drift away. The love her mother held for the man seemed to taint the idea of love... almost. Bella had never been familiar with the emotion, but she knew she could never share Selene, should the moonchild be with another.

A loud scream dragged her from her thoughts, and her eyes widened as the Queen Alpha burst into the clearing, cursing the King and her mother. She rose up on her haunches, watching the Queen with a wary expression. She listened as her mother tried to sputter out an explanation, but the older woman was cut short by the King himself.

"She was but a foul temptress, my darling. But now, with you here, I see her for what she truly is," the King said in a rush. Bella's eyes widened, and she considered the cowardly male with narrowed eyes. She tried to nudge her mother towards the forest, the utter heartbreak that radiated from the older sending an ache through Bella's being.

"You think you take my mate? Ha! I'll see your head laid upon the forest floor!" The Queen Alpha screamed, lunging towards her mother.

Bella did not think. She simply jolted into action.

She darted between her mother and the Queen Alpha, standing protectively before the woman and her unborn child.

"Bella, no!" Her mother tried, but the young girl did not draw her gaze from the Alphas.

"Go! Go! For Wraith!" Bella roared, springing towards the Queen Alpha. Their intended assailant smirked, sweeping her claws towards Bella's face. Pain shot through her as her skin was nearly sliced from her face, and she stumbled back for but a brief moment.

"Yes. Run for your bastard child!" The Queen Alpha cackled. Bella touched her own cheek, blood staining her fingers almost immediately. Her mind turned to Selene, and the love she had felt for the moonchild since laying eyes upon her. Her mind turned to the future may share, the pups they may bear. More than anything, she thought of the feeling of Selene's lips on her own.

However...

Belladonna Ainsworth was not a pup to turn her back on family, no matter what the cost. She darted forward once more, managing to sink her claws into the Queen Alpha's skin. The woman roared, and Bella heard her mother scream as blood spurted before her eyes, staining the Queen Alpha's clothes. She dropped to her knees, eyes going hazy as she raised her eyes to her wounded throat. She weakly clutched the flesh there, trying to stem the flow of blood. It was no good. The blood seemed to have no end, and her mind turned to Selene as she felt the life flow from her young body. The last thing she heard was a somewhat familiar chanting that seemed to radiate through the forest, until everything went black.

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For the first time, Bella noticed the deep red blood that stained Selene's clothes. Her eyes widened, and she reached out to the young woman who had claimed her heart.

"Are you... okay?" Bella rasped out. Selene nodded, hesitated for a moment, then shook her head in response. She took Bella's hand in her own, and an unfamiliar feeling of power surged through Bella's body. The pain in her neck faded altogether, the chill that permeated her body giving way to warmth.

"I wasn't fast enough," Selene choked out, drawing Bella into her arms. Bella was silent for a moment, reveling in the sense of peace that washed over her as her love held her. Memories washing over her, she brushed her fingertips to her neck, where blood seemed to be drying. She pressed her fingers harder to side of her neck, searching, hoping. However, as she suspected, there was not a pulse to be found.

"H-how? I did not think..." Bella stammered out, the question lingering in the air. "A moonchild can not unlock their powers until they have found their soulmate." Bella muttered, the words having been repeated to her probably dozens of times since knowing the woman before her.

"Yes. And I have found mine." Selene said resolutely. Bella thought to protest, to insist that Selene was wrong. But as the young woman pressed her warm lips to her own cold ones, she swore she could almost feel her heart beat again.

Perhaps that would have to be enough.