CHAPTER 32 : Nightmare

Clell found himself in a dark room with eyes piercing through him. He couldn't see who those eyes belong to, but he felt his hands shaking.
"Clell? Are you there?" A faint voice called him in the vast darkness.
Clell's senses heightened the moment he heard the faint voice. He focused on locating where the voice came from.
"Who are you?" He asked. "Wh--where are you?"
"He--help me." she replied, her voice almost inaudible as she uttered the last word.
"Where are you? What happened?"
"Help me." she was almost whispering now, her voice was full of pain and agony.
"Tell me where are you??" Clell shouted, sounding so desperate and fearful at the same, but mostly angry.
"They are going to kill me." she uttered, her voice cracking in the middle of her sentence.
The eyes surrounding Clell turned into provoked glares. Clell's hands and body are shaking now as he couldn't see anything aside from the white oval shapes and dark pupils around him.
"Clell." she cried in a low voice.
"Luna!" he finally recognized the voice that had been calling him for help and just like that his body stopped trembling. His eyes were ablaze, eager to save Luna. He started running into the darkness, ignoring the eyes around him.
"Luna!" he shouted.
Clell then jolted from his bed, while shouting her name.
"That was a bad dream." he muttered under his breath as he gasped for air.
"I hope you're okay, Luna. I hope they haven't done something so terrible to you."
"I--" he stopped as his heart twitch in agony as he thought what could've happened to Luna and what she was going through as she was held captive.
"I hope won't come late. Hang in there, my love. I will get you from that nightmare. I will save you." Clell said as he curled his legs on his bed, rested his elbows on them as put his hands on his face--his disheveled hair covering his forehead.
"Look at me, I am the alpha of the Winter Pack, but I look so pathetic and helpless right now."
"Do I even deserve to be in this rank? Do I deserve to lead? Do I deserve her when I always put her life in danger?"
Luna's smile flashed to his mind as he was doubting herself.
"Even at times like this, you are still the one that encouraged me and give me strength." He said, his mouth forming into a soft smile.
"I will save you. Hang in there for a while. We will be together and this time no holding back, we will make this right. I will get to hold your hands again and this time I won't let you go--not now, not ever. I will get to kiss your lips again. I will get to hug you again and feel your warmth."
Clell stood up from his bed and took a hot shower. It was already dawn, but after that nightmare he couldn't fall back to sleep.
He kept on spacing out as he was taking his hot bath, his mind kept on luring him to Luna, her safety, and the soldiers of the Winter Pack.
"I guess I need a good run to clear my mind a bit. This shower won't do." He sighed.
Clell then grabbed his towel and cover his waist down. He went out of the bathroom and changed into a black sweatpants and hoodie, he then put on his sneakers and went outside his room.
One would thought that he would go to the park to jog, but he went to jogging in a slow and steady pace towards the notorious trail. The gentle cold breeze slightly blowing his wet hair and brushing his face as he gradually accelerated his speed. It took him around thirty minutes to reach the trail's entrance.
Clell stopped for a while before entering and took a minute to stare at the pitch dark forest in front of him.
He started walking in, but his mind was still thinking about Luna, her safety and the soldiers of the Winter Pack.
"Did I make the right decision?"
"Should I bring the whole pack into this? Should I rescue her alone? Can I even do it?"
"No! Be confident, Clell. No one wants a self-doubting leader." he scolded himself.
He started jogging again as he was nearly at the center, but then stopped again for fragments of his nightmare flashed through his mind.
The darkness reminded him of the darkness in his dream. The moment he reached the center, he went ahead to the trail where he first saw and encountered Luna. He remembered how she ran away from him.
"Silly girl." he muttered.
"Well, silly me for chasing her in my wolf form."
He then went to the area where they had their first and last conversation.
"Tss!" he said as he stared at the spot. He walked slowly as he tried to remember how this first conversation went and smiled when the thought of her almost hitting him with a branch.
"Silly girl." he muttered again under his breath, then sat at the place where Luna sat when he surprised her--it was the last time they talked to each other. Clell curled her legs and hugged it, rested his head on his knees and looked back to what happened that day.
"I wish I ran after you. I wish I persuaded you more. I wish I didn't let you go. Then you would've been safe. Your family wouldn't have the chance to capture you or hold you captive. I'm sorry, Luna."
He heard Luna's voice again like in his horrible dream. "Clell, help me."
"Those bastards." Clell said with gritted teeth.
Clell raised his head up and gazed at the sky above him. "I will rescue you, Luna. I will hold your hand again and this time I won't let go--not now, not ever. I will get to hug you again and feel your warmth. I will get to see your smile again. I will get to kiss your lips again. We will be together again and this time we will make it right, no holding back and no secrets. Just wait for me and survive."
Clell's eyes were fiery and full of determination now.