The Wolf God's Unwanted Luna

Chapter 133: Fractured

My eyes fluttered open and closed, the world around me slipping in and out of focus. I felt my arm stir on the cold, damp ground, reaching out instinctively toward nothingness. My trembling fingers brushed something rough, and then something warm flesh pressed against flesh. His hand.

I looked up at the dark figure crouching beside me, a deep frown creasing my brow. How could I concentrate on him when my body was under such relentless, horrifying assault? The rain pounded overhead, each individual drop like a heavy drumbeat, then suddenly splashing so hard it felt like a bomb exploding just inches from my ear.

My head throbbed violently, and I whimpered as the thunderous sound crashed around me. My breaths came heavy, shallow, and ragged, like I was losing myself bit by bit everything swirling, blurring my vision into chaotic streaks of gray and dark green. A gentle squeeze on my hand drew my fading attention back to the sad angel beside me.

He seemed so familiar the steady touch of his hand, the sharp, electric blue of his eyes. His name teased the outer edge of my mind, but the memory slipped away just out of reach, lost in the overwhelming haze. A sharp, icy tingling erupted along my lower spine, growing more intense with every rapid heartbeat.

"Why..." I tried to whisper, but my voice faltered completely, the words stuck in my swollen throat.

Before I could finish, that tingling morphed into searing, unbearable pain like serrated knives stabbing deep into my back. Suddenly, my spine felt like it cracked completely open, violently arching my back off the cold ground. A guttural scream tore from my throat, raw, primal, and endless, my lungs burning with the sheer effort of it. The stabbing agony crawled upward, scorching my skin inch by agonizing inch.

Sounds echoed somewhere near me muffled voices, maybe but I was lost in the sound of my own desperate cries, drowning everything else out completely.

With every brutal crack, my back lifted higher, only to slam back down harder against the mud. My legs kicked out wildly, pounding the saturated earth with the balls of my feet. I knew I shouldn’t have been able to move, but I felt it all the absolute desperation in every thrash and shudder.

When the initial breaking finally eased, my back felt whole again, but inside, something was physically ripping me apart, tearing at my very core. My scream was breathless now, bitter tears stinging my eyes as dark, angry storm clouds circled overhead, perfectly mirroring the tempest raging inside me.

The clouds seemed furious at the sheer torment I was forced to endure.

Suddenly, he leaned closer, his massive form blocking out the tempest above. More tearing, more unbearable tightening clawed within my torso. I wanted to scream, to shout, but I knew the effort would only tighten the knot of pain. So, I just shook my head slowly, utterly helpless against the agony.

Pain. Endless, merciless pain.

It surged through me, relentless and all-consuming. Time completely lost all meaning I couldn’t tell if I’d been lying on the cold, wet ground for minutes, hours, or even days. My skin tore and bled, stretched to its absolute breaking point, and I felt myself shatter from the inside out. Nothing offered relief. No position was better or worse; there was only this endless, agonizing ache.