The Depth of His Betrayal

The next time I snapped awake, I was instantly alert. I looked around, fully at ease with my surroundings. I was still alone in my hotel room, feeling completely safe. I reached for Marsha, and she instantly made herself known, which brought a wave of relief to my body. I mentally threw my arms around her neck, almost sobbing in relief.
‘Marsha!’ I cried. ‘I thought you were never going to wake up. I was so scared,’ I admitted.
‘I am awake now! We need to talk!’ She responded harshly, startling me.
I pulled back to look at her. ‘What did I do?’ I asked anxiously.
‘You didn’t do anything. When I woke up, I tried to reach out to Kraven. When he didn’t answer me, I went through our link to see him. As soon as I connected with him, he began to attack me.’ She paused as sadness crossed her face. ‘He was calling me all types of names. Whore and liar were the ones he launched at me the most. That was not my Kraven.’
I stared at her in shock. ‘What do you mean? Gerry accused me of cheating on him while you were asleep,’ I informed her. ‘I don’t know what got into him, but it sounds like Osprey wasn’t just interfering with us. He must have done something to Kraven and Gerald too. They would have never hurt us like that.’ I paused to wipe my face. ‘When you were with him, were his movements a little jerky?’
‘Yes, a little. I checked to see if there was any type of energy around him, but I didn’t detect anything. Are you sure that Osprey was messing with us?’
‘Very. When I couldn’t wake you, I studied you very closely. He’s figured out a way to hide his presence in our minds almost completely. Is Kraven still angry?’ I asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Come on. We have to go.’
‘Where are we going?’ She questioned.
‘To save our mate,’ I told her as I grabbed the room key off the table before rushing out of the room.
I ran straight into the trees behind the hotel before quickly stripping my clothes off to shift, which Marsha did eagerly. She snatched my dress up in her mouth before allowing me to guide her through the forest to where Gerry’s dorm room was located. Once we arrived, we shifted back, quickly pulling my dress on before racing into the building. We ran up the stairs to his floor, and as soon as we stepped out of the staircase, we could smell his anger. My steps faltered as I neared his door. Gerry’s scent almost smelled feral by the time I reached it. I knocked lightly on the door seconds before it was yanked open by a furious Corey.
“WHAT?!” As soon as he saw me, he stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind him. “What are you doing here?” He hissed.
“I… I want to see Gerry. I–”
The door was yanked open so hard that it almost came off the hinges. “ANNIE!”
Gerry pulled me against his body. The not-fully-there look in his eyes made me stand still as he battled against whatever demons Osprey caused him to have. I swallowed nervously, doubting that I was doing the right things. His eyes bounced back to the grey of Gerry's, and he looked sad.
“Annie, help me, please,” he pleaded before Kraven took back over to slam me against the wall.
“WHORE!” He growled in my face.
I grabbed his face with both of my hands so I could stare into his eyes. “KRAVEN! Fight it! That’s Osprey in your head. This isn’t you. Come back to me.”
As he continued to breathe heavily, Marsha snuck in through our link to help him fight Osprey’s power, while I tried to keep his attention on me so she could gain access. When he shifted to press me harder against the wall, my eyes landed on the mark that I left on his neck. I went limp in his grasp, and he growled at me again as he leaned down to peer angrily into my eyes.
“Whore!” He spat again.
Corey shoved his shoulder. “Let her go!”
When Gerry turned toward him, I took the chance to bite into my mark. His body spasmed before he collapsed on the ground, trembling violently. I sank to my knees, praying to the Goddess to help him. The more energy that Marsha expelled to protect him from Osprey’s aura, the weaker I became until I was slumped against the wall. As my eyes drifted shut, Marsha gave one more push of her aura in the hopes that it would snap him out of his fit. As I pitched forward onto his chest, his arms weakly wrapped around my waist.
“Annie!”
******
I shifted on a hard surface, groaning in agony. When I rolled over, hands moved along my spine.
“Annie? Are you alright?” Gerry’s worried voice filled the space around me, wrapping me up in a soothing blanket that was made up of only him.
I groggily opened my eyes to peer up at him. “Gerry?” I whispered, shocked to hear my voice crack.
“Annie! Oh, Goddess, I thought I had lost you,” he cried.
When the scent of a moist forest filled my nose, I looked around before meeting his eyes. “Where am I?” I asked.
“When you collapsed, Corey and I brought you out here so the vines could help you. They have always helped you in the past. I can’t even begin to tell you how hard I prayed to the Goddess that you would be okay.” He carefully picked me up to situate me on his lap. “I was so worried about you! You have been out for over 24 hours. How are you feeling, beautiful?”
I nuzzled into his side. “I’m so tired. What happened?”
“I don’t know. All I remember is you showing up and me…” His face fell. “I hurt you again,” he whispered. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Annie.” He lifted me a little to press his lips against mine apologetically. “Maybe you shouldn’t be around me—not if I’m going to lose control and hurt you. I’d rather let you go than keep hurting you.”
I wrapped my arm around his neck. “It wasn’t you, Gerry. It was Osprey. I know you would never hurt me on purpose. That’s why I came to you. I just wanted to help break the control he had over you.”
He kissed me again. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, Gerry. We just have to figure out a way to fight Osprey’s aura.” I grabbed his face, forcing him to hold my gaze. “We will figure it out. I promise you, we will. We don’t have a choice because I refuse to let you go.”
“I really am sorry, Annie. I love you so much. I would never hurt you.”
“I know, Gerry.”
As we sat there holding each other, a vine came up out of the ground to lay across my lap. I watched it curiously as it opened up to reveal a small pouch made of a strange plant. When I went to pick it up, the vine closed around my wrist, holding it hostage. Gerry began to tug on my arm, but the vine held me tighter.
“Annie? What’s going on?” He asked, panicking.
I smiled up at him. “Do not worry, Gerry. The forest calls to me.”
I leaned back against him as my eyes rolled back in my head before closing as my vision changed.
*When I opened my eyes again, a short, stout woman sat in front of me, studying my face with curiosity. I instantly lowered my eyes away from hers in reverence. I sat as still as I could while I waited for her to say or do something. The longer I waited, the more anxious I became. She never came to me unless the Goddess had a message for me. It was usually praise for my protecting the animals in the forest, but in my heart, I knew that wasn’t the case this time. I folded my hands in my lap, too afraid to even breathe. She had always welcomed me with open arms and a jovial smile, but not this time. She hadn’t even greeted me. And that scared me the most. Finally, she sighed, making dread fill me.*
*“Hello, Annaria.”*
*I trembled as I slowly raised my eyes to hers. “Hello, Mother Annaria. What message does the Goddess wish for you to bestow on me this time?”*