Bloody Symphony | Elijah Mikaelson

Chapter 22

October 19, 2013

Natanya hated the full moon.

She supposed she ought to like it, considering it was the one day a month where she could actually speak to her brother and Hayley.

But she despised it. Because every full moon, there were less and less wolves. Every full moon, someone arrived injured and needing medical attention.

It had been easy to cope, at first. Elijah brought them food every time, ensuring they ate properly. Sometimes, Freya came with him. The two took turns bringing Hope to see Hayley, which would brighten everyone's night just a bit. For Natanya, this was enough.

And then April's full moon arrived.

April 5th had been her birthday. Aiden's birthday. As a wolf, time didn't seem to pass the same way. So, the exact date slipped her mind. But April 25th had been the full moon of that year, just twenty days after she turned twenty-five. The day Aiden should have been turning twenty-four.

"Happy birthday," Elijah had said to her, having brought her a small red velvet cake to celebrate. She'd been confused, until he told her the date, which caused her to burst into tears.

"Forgive me," said Elijah, kneeling beside her. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

"It's my first birthday without Aiden," she said quietly. "The first time I've ever had to spend one without him. Every year without fault, we would at least be with each other in our wolf forms."

He cast her a sad look. "I'm sorry. If there were a way to bring him back..."

"But there isn't," she said. "There isn't a body to bring him back to. No Other Side for him to linger in. Aiden probably went to peace the second he died. No one comes back from that."

She took the little cake in her hands, carrying it with her to the side of the cabin, where Aiden's heart had been buried. She sat down in front of the marker Jackson had made, staring at the ground. "These past full moons, I've felt so... alone. I'm surrounded by wolves but the only one I ever really cared about was Aiden. We never left each other's side. Ollie would stick with Jackson and Aiden would stick with me. That's just how it was."

"He is with you," said Elijah. "You carry him in your heart, with all the love you have for him, even though he is no longer physically here. You carry him in your mind, with all the memories of the moments you spent together."

She nodded, reaching out to brush her hand over the marker before sadly biting into her cake. "Cheers," she said to Aiden, looking up at the sky before continuing to eat. Her eyes flickered over to Elijah, who had sat down beside her, saying nothing, but allowing her to lean over and rest her head against his shoulder.

Other full moons had been alright. He came by each time. They exchanged a few words and longing looks that led to nothing. Natanya was desperate enough to kiss him if it meant having at least a bit of fun before she turned again, but she held back. She wouldn't use him, not for that. Not even if Elijah had admitted to being perfectly alright with it. He almost wished she would.

Fall arrived, and more poachers appeared. It was late October when, one day before the full moon, a swarm of them had entered the Bayou. The wolves had been starting to gather, to be ready for when they turned back. As soon as the bullets started to whizz past their faces, they all scattered, ending up in different parts of the Bayou, in varying conditions. Natanya watched wolves drop dead before her eyes. She'd been forced to maul the heads off of two poachers to save her own life, and those of a few younger wolves who'd followed behind her, hoping to be protected.