I was in the middle of having my stomach stabbed in dreamland repeatedly when I was shaken awake.

I immediately summoned a knife and flipped my attacker over onto the bed, the knife pressed against his throat. 

When I recognized my "attacker" I sighed in relief. For God's sake, Axel. Don't sneak up on a sociopathic killer. Didn't anyone ever tell you that? I asked through the mindlink as I got off of him and removed the knife from his neck, discarding it on the nightstand. 

Axel didn't have any humor in his tone as he spoke. "Luna, you were screaming. I was worried," He admitted, and I could see the leftover panic in his voice. "What the hell were you dreaming about?"

I hesitated before answering, deciding that making a joke about my chronic nightmares was the best way to go. The usual. Being murdered brutally, same old same old. I shrugged indifferently, but I could feel the sweat dripping down my face from the dream-induced terror.

Axel searched my face, concern embedded in his features like a second skin. "How often do you have these nightmares?" He questioned, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.

I shrugged again, but he didn't let me off the hook so easily. I tried keeping my face neutral, but he read me like a book and winced as he asked, "Since the Wilson incident?"

The look on my face must have been confirmation enough, because I saw his face twist in pain. "Why didn't you say anything about it to me before?" He sounded hurt, and I didn't understand why. It's not a big deal, that's why, I answered passively. 

"Of course it's a big deal. Even your dreams are violent," Axel argued sympathetically. I didn't like the way he looked at me with pity. 

I glanced over at the clock, which showed that it was 7:00 a.m. I don't want to talk about it, I warned him not to press the subject.

"What does Cain say about it?" He questioned, and the last thing I needed him to do was running to Cain. If he thought I was dealing with the nightmares alone, I knew he would make me come back. 

It's not Cain's problem, I finally answered. They're just bad dreams. Everyone gets them. He knows that, I know that. It's really not a big deal.

Axel frowned. "You went through something traumatic. It is a big deal. You should talk to someone about it, since I have the feeling you're not showing how much its affecting you to Cain."

I was quiet. He was right about the fact that Cain didn't know the true extent of the lack of sleep I got every night, and I had no intention of telling him how bad the trauma was hitting me even months after the incident. He knew about the nightmares, but I was pretty successful in convincing him that they weren't impacting me too badly.

He has enough on his plate with the Red Crescent issues. He doesn't need to be bothered by some silly dreams, I brush off his concern with a dismissive wave of my hand. 

"He's your mate," Axel looked at me incredulously. "Your pain will never be a burden to him. It is as much his pain to bear as it is yours."

His words made my throat constrict, but before I could give another dismissive reply, I was saved by a mindlink from Thane.

Are you okay? I thought I heard screaming.

I'm fine, I responded. A smile crept on my face as I had an idea. Hey, are you up for a little bit of hunting?

**********************************************************************

Truth be told, I had a lot of pent up rage from the nightmares, and I was desperate for a distraction. I knew that Thane wasn't as emotionally intuitive as Axel, and he wouldn't be hounding me about my traumatic past.

Which is why I told Axel to stay at the pack house and train Onyx for the day. I trusted him to properly kick her ass. He did learn from the best after all. He obeyed with only minimal protests and after I promised him I would check in with him every hour I was away. 

"You look like shit," Thane affectionately told me as he met me by the front door. He was wearing a grey t-shirt and black joggers, the most casually dressed I have ever seen him. He typically opted for button down dress shirts and slacks. 

I guess I succeeded in trying to look like you then, I quipped back. He smirked, his green eyes glowing with amusement. He wasn't wrong. The circles under my eyes were more prominent than usual, and the lack of sleep made my face paler and colorless. Especially when contrasted with my black cloak and attire. 

As I anticipated, he didn't question the screaming, nor the dark circles under my eyes, even after we began walking into the woods. He did try apologizing again for the previous night, but I brushed him off. We were both powerful wolves. It would have been even stranger if we didn't clash at times. It is just the way strong wolves are. 

When we reached the edge of his territory, I told him that I was surprised he agreed to take me rogue hunting, because Cain definitely would not have been too thrilled. 

He shrugged indifferently. "Cain isn't your keeper, nor mine. You can do as you please in Blue Moon."

His words warmed the cold depths of my heart. He was always very understanding of my need for freedom, a kindness I did not take lightly. Around Thane, I didn't have to worry about being coddled. 

Do you have that same philosophy about your mate? I questioned.

The corner of his mouth turned upwards. "I wouldn't ever keep Onyx on lockdown, if that's what you mean. She's not my puppet to be controlled."

I raised an eyebrow at him as we treaded through the uncharted lands that were foreign to me. I was surprised that the Alpha was not more possessive of his mate. I had just assumed that all Alphas were control freaks. Even last night was not an overreaction on his part in werewolf terms. Anyone would freak out about an outsider sending their mate home with bruises, and it seemed like he even got over that pretty quickly. I had anticipated even before arriving that he would get mad about it once, so at least we were already done with that part.

Thane stopped abruptly. "Did you hear that?"

I tilted my head to the side and strained to hear whatever he did. The woods were silent. I was about to Thane he was imagining things when he sent one of his magical bursts at me, which I avoided by doing a backflip over it. 

He laughed as his eyes glinted with mischief. "Just making sure you awake, Luna," Thane teased me.

I smiled sweetly at him and summoned two knives, one in each hand, which I quickly threw both at him, one towards his heart, and the other slightly to his left. Immediately after thowing those two, I summoned two more and threw them to his right.

He moved, as I predicted, to the right to avoid the second knife I sent in that direction, and didn't move quickly enough to avoid one of the knives I sent to the right. It knicked his right bicep, and his grey sleeve was stained in red.

"Clever girl," He said in amusement, and smiled when he touched his hand on the cut and noted the blood. 

Slow Alpha, I taunted him, but he just snorted and kept walking through the woods. I was thankful for his company and for the distraction. It felt nice to spend time with someone who didn't look at me like a broken doll.

Finally, I heard the sound of footsteps running in the opposite direction of Thane and I. Dibs, I quickly told Thane, who groaned.

"Fine, but I get the next one," He complained childishly.

I sprinted in the direction of whoever was running from us, and finally saw a man running, his back to me. He must have heard me behind him, because he turned around to look at me. His head cocked to the side as he took in my appearance. Namely, my cloak. 

"The Reaper? Why are you near Blue Moon territory? You're supposed to be located near Red Crescent," His eyes narrowed.

I smiled. I love being recognized by my fans. 

I summoned a knife, and he instantaneously shifted into a large grey wolf. I threw the knife straight into his forehead as he leapt at me, and I instantly regretted not savoring the kill. 

He collapsed on the ground and twitched once before going still. 

Thane yawned from behind me. "So uncreative. I expected more from you, Reaper," He teased and emphasized the last word. I remembered when he first met me in his woods and knew who I was. 

I shrugged. I'm just getting warmed up.

He snorted and was about to retort back when we heard a piercing scream. A small woman, no older than 20 years stood a few yards away, her hand covering her mouth as she looked at the dead wolf on the forest floor. 

I summoned a knife and offered it to Thane, who shook his head. What, do you want a sword? Bow and arrow? Pick your weapon.

His canines flashed at me, and his eyes were black. He looked truly lethal. "I prefer a more intimate kill, Reaper."

The girl must have heard him, because she turned and tried to run, but Thane was too fast. He appeared in front of her before she could take three steps. 

"Please," She begged.

"Please what?" Thane taunted her, his smile cold and cruel. "Please kill you? Please splatter your guts all over the trees?" 

His hand grabbed her neck, and he pulled her in close to his chest, but turned away from his face so that she was looking at me.

"Is it sexist if I kill her?" He asked rhetorically as he moved her hair to the side, away from her neck.

I shrugged. I think it would be more sexist if you didn't. 

Thane's claws elongated, and with one quick swipe, the blood spurted out from her neck and splattered onto his shirt. He tossed her body to the side.

"Pity, I quite liked this shirt."

***************************************************************** 

Despite the cruel reputation that Cain possessed, I was positive that Thane was even worse than his cousin. He always seemed so even-tempered and kind when interacting with me or his pack members, but he had absolutely no sympathy towards rogues. He was cold, calculating, and always played with his prey. 

I loved it.

It made him the perfect hunting partner, and together we killed about 10 rogues, making each kill more brutal than the last. 

As we began to head back to the pack house, I mindlinked him, Hey. Thanks for taking me hunting. I feel much better now. And I did. I felt like I had reclaimed the power that Wilson took from me every night in my dreams.

"What are friends for? I must say, Cain has one brutal mate on his hands."

I snorted. Says you. I didn't know you were so inclined towards violence. You hide your bloodthirst well.

He turned to look at me, a knowing smirk etched on to his face. "We understand each other well, Ares. We help our suffering by causing others pain. Don't think I haven't noticed the change in you since Wilson tortured you."

I flinched. Nobody has really ever stated the incident so bluntly, but of course Thane would. He wasn't one to beat around the bush. It's one of the things I greatly admire about him.

"We all have our demons. You and I just exorcise ours similarly."