CHAPTER 6: HEART TO HEART

“Where are you?” Anastacia was back in the dark void again, and by the feeling of coldness and fear that surrounded her, she knew that Asteria was there. She knew that her beast was somewhere listening to her.

“Answer me!” She screamed. She tried her best but she couldn’t remember how she got there in the first place. 

Anastacia prayed that nothing bad happened, and that she wasn’t back in the operating room again. After the shooting and the death of her five soldiers, she had developed an irrational fear that the same vision would be shown to her again, and it would mean that many would die again. To her, the beast inside of her, no matter how amazing, powerful and beautiful it is, the beast was still bad luck to her. She was still pissed that her beast didn’t come out and rampage while they were being attacked. If Asteria was able to get out of her during the shooting, there was a bigger chance that her men and women would somehow survive.

“I know that you’re here, Asteria! Now, Answer me!” She screamed again. She needed answers, and she knew that her beast would somehow know the answers to her question.

Anastacia could only see darkness around her. She knew that she was floating as she couldn’t feel any ground or anything solid beneath her. It means that there was a chance that the beast was just near her, but for some reason, it chose not to say anything. However, its presence was so strong that she could feel it. Her beast, Asteria, was angry. It was pissed, and for the first time, she felt like she knew why.

“Asteria, where are you?” She called again, “Don’t tell me that this is the first time you decided to be all holy and ignore me? Now that I’m looking for you, you decide to ignore me. How pathetic are you, you beast!” She raised her voice higher and higher until she ended up screaming the words.

“Shut up, you pathetic little wench!” A monstrous voice echoed, and Anastacia was forced to cover her ears as the loud sound and vibration of the voice began to affect her.

“You bitch! You are nearly strong enough to challenge me in my own dimension! Now, shut up!” Asteria shouted louder, and Anastacia could feel the blood dripping from her ears at the intensity of the sound that echoed around her.

The voice sounded loud as if she was in a box and all the sound waves were coming to her in all directions. It was worse than the first time that her wolf's voice surrounded her.

“Sh-show yourself!” Ana managed to say in a strained voice while she willed herself to fight back the urge to throw up, “I-I’m…I’m not weak!” She screamed again and groaned in pain as a burst of suffocating energy surged through her.

Asteria was exerting her dominance in the dark void that surrounded the two of them, but Ana knew that whatever dimension she was in, it was all in her head. None of the things happening around her was real, because she would just wake up any moment now. She just hoped that the reason she revisited Asteria in that empty void of darkness was not the same reason as the first time. If she lost more people because she couldn’t defend them like the five people she just lost recently, then Anastacia could never forgive herself.

“Asteria!” She screamed and opened her eyes. She forced herself to use all her strength to fight back the force that was suffocating her, “Show yourself!” She commanded again as drops of blood came out from her nose. She just wiped it with her hand and continued to strain her eyes to see past the dark void.

“Sei molto interessante, piccola Luna,” (You’re very interesting, little Luna) Asteria spoke with a hint of surprise laced in her voice as her form began to materialize in front of Anastacia.

Anastacia ignored her words as she didn’t stop focusing on pushing back the authority that Asteria was trying to radiate. She needed to focus or else her wolf would be the one controlling everything around her. 

The way her power was being released to fightback with the power and authority that Asteria was releasing felt like a forcefield. It was as if the strength that she normally felt when she allowed her beast’s power to seep through her was materializing and forming a dome of light that allowed her to reach her powerful golden beast. 

“Enough,” Astaria commanded in a stern voice when Ana didn’t stop releasing her powers to the void.

“No,” she said as blood continued dripping from her nose, “I’m the one who owns my body and my mind, and you're the one who will control it for me, Asteria. I’ll give every ounce of power I can muster and take over this void.” She said in a stern and determined voice.

Anastacia still pushed more and more of her power until she could see that her beast, Asteria, began to materialize more. A deep and menacing growl echoed around her, and seconds later, all sound waves and pressure around her disappeared.

“Well done, little Luna. You’ve overpowered me for now.” Asteria said and Ana knew she smirked behind the enormous fangs that looked like it was as long as half her arm.

Anastacia looked up, and she saw that her beast and her were no face to face. Neither of the two of them were floating, and Ana felt herself slowly lowering to the ground. The scenery changed, and all around her, the dark void became a bit lighter. However, she noticed that the light only came from the two of them. She was still keeping her power around her just in case her unpredictable companion would attempt to take over again. Ana was emotionally and mentally unstable the majority of the time when it came to her beast, but she was a trained soldier, and she knew she had to focus while the enemy was in front of her.

“Little Luna, listen carefully,” Asteria said, “You both surprised and somehow amused me, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt for now and tell you what you need to know. Just make sure you shut up and let me speak.” Her beast said as the giant being sat straight and caused Ana to back up a bit so her neck doesn’t strain from looking up at her wolf. She prepared herself for the worst.

“Luna, right now, your body is inside of that lab where you and your pathetic brother are hoping to find a cure for being who you are,” as Asteria talked, Anastacia began having flashbacks as her memories returned.

“You told your brother that you wanted to find a solution to control me so when an ambush comes, you could turn into me whenever you needed to,” there was venom in Asteria’s voice, “A stupid claim. For you can never control me. I am not meant to be controlled. I am meant to rule.” She said and gave Ana a warning growl before baring her fangs again.

“You, pathetic little Luna, took the sample, and you are now in a temporary coma. You won’t die after that stupid decision, but you will be weak when you wake up.”

“Wait,” Ana was confused, “How is it that you know what’s happening to my body now, but I don’t? What are you and what is this place? Also, why did you only show yourself to me now? We never even spoke to one another ever since I was a child. You just went wild and growled at me whenever I tried reaching out to you, and you always made me out of control and-”

“Silence!” Asteria bellowed with rage. The wolf snapped at her, but her shield was still up, so she was only about a foot close to Ana’s face.

“Annoying!” The wolf exclaimed, “I told you to shut up! I will answer those questions when it’s time. For it is not your fate to know everything today, little Luna. Your fate is to find that out through blood and power. For now, just know that meeting you and being in this dimension of your mind is not my choice.” there was disgust in her voice.

“Now, Luna, you need to wake up. Make sure that you keep yourself strong both in mind and in your body. Today, I give you the control as my acknowledgement of your authority,” Ana raised her brows in surprise, “However, as a hybrid, we are not supposed to be created. You and I are not meant to be in this world. The same goes to your brother, and my brother inside of him. As I am your hybrid wolf, and you are my hybrid human, we are destined to fight.”

The look of dread and determination in Asteria’s golden eyes reflected the same emotion in Anastacia’s eyes. She met her wolf’s gaze equally and she saw her reflection in the wolf’s irises. Ana’s hair was also gold with silver streaks like Asteria, but this time, hers had a few red streaks. 

“Little Luna,” Asteria proceeded, “I am bound to you, but know that my goal is to destroy you. So be prepared for that day.”

There was silence between them as Anastacia became speechless. It was the first time that she heard of a wolf that was destined to destroy its human. A wolf is a werewolf’s other half. They were supposed to be soulmates, but Asteria was determined to take full control. She felt shivers run down her spine as she met Astria’s challenging gaze, and she felt her wolf’s power again. The beast’s power was returning, and it was trying her again.

“Remember, Luna, I am you as you are me. That means, whatever I am, you are as well.” Asteria said and growled as she took her attacking position. Anastacia took a step back and focused more on her shield.

“Anastacia, the blood I hold is yours as well,” The beast taunted, “The more mates you attempt to take, the more blood will be on your hands.” Asteria said and laughed menacingly before Ana collapsed due to the sound and her wolf’s power. Asteria overpowered her.

“Run!” Anastagio said when his sister suddenly began transforming on the lab’s bed.

He signaled his men to get everyone out as he prepared himself to transform into his wolf. One of the nurses screamed as Anastacia’s claws sliced through the female nurse’s throat. The screams of people could be heard, and he could hear his men lead the humans out of the area and into the saferooms. 

Anastagio ran away from the dead nurse and his growling sister who was trying to transform. He then ran outside towards the field using his speed as he could hear his sister’s half transformed self ran after him. It would only take Anastacia about thirty seconds to transform, but seeing as she had trouble transforming, he realized that his sister was probably trying to fight back her own wolf.

“Anastagio!” The sound of Ana’s voice petrified him, and he couldn’t help but stop in his tracks just in time for him to reach the clearing. They were now at the area where the little wolves would train.

Anastagio looked behind him and saw that Anastacia was now covered with blood, and her sports bra was showing through her torn shirt while her cargo pants had tears from her claws. He looked at her eyes and they were bright gold. Her hair had gold, silver and red streaks that made her look both terrifying and fascinating. 

“Anastacia, please,” he said in a low tone as he also slowly transformed, but only enough to show his teeth, claws, and gold eyes.

Anastacia growled and completely turned into her wolf, tearing her clothes in the process. In an instant, Anastagio released his own beast to fight against his sister’s monstrous wolf. She was more powerful than him, but only powerful to harm him severely. He believed that the only reason he was alive was because the wolf sees his own beast as its brother.

As Anastagio transformed, he could see through his own wolf’s eyes as it fought ferociously with Anastacia’s wolf which was a bit bigger than his own wolf. He tried to calm himself and tried to communicate with his sister through their link, but there was a barrier whenever he tried to call her in her mind, and it made him cold. He could usually feel her, but there was a barrier that prevented him from reaching her mind. It was like his twin sister wasn’t there at all.

Anastagio groaned when Ana’s wolf bit his wolf’s shoulder. The two beasts fought with all they had, and the two of them were covered in blood and cuts. Each of them bit and clawed the other, and all he could do was scream in his head and tried to reach his sister. If he could reach her, he could help her control her beast.

“She’s in a deep sleep,” A woman spoke in his mind, but this voice wasn’t his sister’s. It sounded like a mixture of a growl and a deep voice of a woman.

“Who are you?!” He replied.

Anastagio groaned again and realized that his wolf was now on the ground with a broken front leg. His eyes went wide when he saw that in front of him, Anastacia stood in her half wolf form. It was the first time that he saw her transform into a half werewolf like the one in the movies where she stood on her hind legs and had the form of a human, but covered in fur, her claws were out, and her head was a wolf’s.

“Ana?” He called to her through the link, but the barrier was still there.

“The little Luna is mine,” the beast in front of Anastagio said as it roared in pain when a bullet was embedded in its arm.

Anastagio looked and saw that there were at least a dozen soldiers with guns all around him, and there were three pairs of werewolves that transformed beside the armed men. He was happy, but the terrifying growl and howl of Anastacia’s beast signaled death. 

In a blink of an eye, nearly all the men with guns were slashed by her claws. The ones in wolf form fought back, but she killed each of them, one after another. Anastagio’s wolf tried getting up running, but his broken leg made him slower than his sister.

“Stop it!” He screamed to the beast through the link, but a menacing laugh was its only reply.

The beast stopped in front of him, and in one move, his wolf bit her neck as her clawed hand went through his chest and held his heart inside. The pain made his wolf bite harder and claw Anastacia’s wolf on the belly.

“Die…” his wolf said in his mind as he felt the pain of the clawed hand holding his beating heart.

“No, please…” Anastacia’s voice echoed in his mind as Anastagio blacked out and entered the dark void of death.