Moon Touched

140 Sir Demon's Nightmare pov

How much longer will this go on? How much more pain must I endure? Did I make the right decision when I told Lady Gaia I wanted a life like the wolves? Are the other enduring the same things I am? Dear goddess, what is being done to us? Demon pants through the pain once more, praying that it comes to an end soon. He continues to wonder if he made the right decision. Maybe he should have remained as he was and not wanted more in his life. Sucked up and returned to Hades when he called him home. He couldn't help but want more in life, especially after witnessing how the wolves lived and loved. He wanted that desperately. Look into someone's eyes and see all their love for you. It is essential to experience the mate bond and be able to feel the love they have for you. As far as he could tell, it was the most beautiful thing in the world. The mated wolves had absolute trust in each other, and although they loved others in different ways, the mate bond was all-consuming. But was it worth this torture, and would the result be what he was hoping for?

Another wave of pain was beginning. He could feel the burning sensation that started before the actual pain. Demon felt like he was on fire. Everything burned, from his skin to his blood, like it was boiling in his veins. Demon could hear voices trying to soothe him, a cool cloth wiped over his burning skin, and dribbles of water ran into his mouth and throat. He wished he could thank whoever was trying to comfort him. Suddenly, the popping and breaking of his bones began again. Every bone in his body would break and reform into what he assumed was his wolf. Even the fur sprouting through his skin was excruciating. It felt like someone was stabbing him over and over with a needle all over his body. One of those long needles he had seen used on what witches called pain dolls. He had seen one long ago on a visit to the earth's realm. A witch was given something to represent the person, like hair, and would create a doll from it. The doll represented the person, and when the owner wished to harm the person and cause them pain, they would stab a long needle into the doll. Demon had no idea if the doll worked, but seeing what the witches from this pack could do, he believed the dolls probably did work. He imagined the pain from the needle, feeling like his fur sprouting. Maybe the pain was expected, and every time Alpha Nathan or Luna Katia shifted, they felt the pain but had learned to control it somehow. That couldn't be right. The alphas and their mates would have said it hurt.

Demon released another tormented scream as his fingernails felt like they were ripped off one at a time, and sharp claws grew from the bloodied nail beds. Once this torture was finished with his hands, his feet went through the same process. The pain of growing claws might not have been so bad if the bones in his hands and feet were not breaking, popping, realigning, and morphing into the legs and paws of a wolf. This type of metamorphosis went on with the rest of his body. His hips and torso had hurt during the changes but not as severely as his legs, paws, and face. The hip and leg joint seemed to need realigning along with the rib cage and shoulder/front leg sockets. Demon believed that the most horrendous pain he had ever felt was the reshaping of his skull and brain. The breaking and lengthening of facial bones was something he hoped never to feel again. He hoped that somehow when this was over, the shifting from human form to wolf form would not be this painful. The lengthening of his facial bones into a wolf's muzzle was like someone stabbing a hot poker into your face and twisting it. Add your brain being mushed into the odd-sized cavity, which gives the feeling you got when spinning in a circle for long periods. It was not only unbearable pain but disorientating also. This would go on for hours. The Demon's body would shift from being human to being a wolf over and over. Each time, the pain was just as awful as the last. Finally, Demon would fall into a dark oblivion where he could feel nothing, and he slept.

​Often, Demon thought he heard others speaking to him. Someone had told him he would be surprised when he awoke and saw what he looked like. Another had said to him that Lady Gaia had kept her word. He just needed to fight his way through the evolution, and he would have everything he wished for. Sometimes, someone just sang to him while wiping a cool cloth over him. Other times, he could hear low murmurs of conversation between two ladies and a man. Demon did not know if he was hearing things or making things up in his mind to help keep from going insane from the pain or if it was all real. He hoped this would be over soon and Lady Gaia would bring them all out of this sleep.

Across the hall, in the alpha suite, Nathan, Mark, and Lorn lay suffering the same as Demon has been. Their lunas are in the same way. After conferring with the other protectors, Zeus and Hera discover that all the wolves suffer similarly. The only ones not affected are the children who have not received their wolves yet. They are sleeping peacefully. Occasionally, one of the alphas will scream for Luna, their mate, and Zeus will have to calm him. Hera takes care of the lunas, for they found that if Zeus tries to help them, the alphas fight evolution and try to break free of sleep. They think the lunas are being hurt when they hear them cry out. Hearing Hera speak softly to their women seems to calm them. She speaks to the lunas in a way that also explains to the alpha what is going on, how the lunas are doing, and what she is doing to help them.

When the pain and shifting cycle end, and they are all sleeping peacefully again, Zeus and Hera make sure that Nathan and Katia are touching, and then do the same with Lorn and Selene, and finally, Mark and Talon. The two gods believe they are soothing and healing each other while they rest. They have learned from Cronos and Evelynn that it is the same in the Beta suite. Bob informed them that it was the same for all the mated wolves. The unmated wolves are suffering more as they get past a certain point. Gaia does not seem worried and continues to reassure the protectors that everything is fine. During her last visit before this previous round of shifting and screaming, which Zeus swears was the worst yet, Hera informs him he says that after every round, Gaia informed them that even she was surprised at the amount of pain these werewolves have had to endure, but it will be over soon.

Zeus sat at the little table, sipping the tea his mate had put in front of him. "How much longer will this go on?"

"It will be over soon, "Hera repeated Gaia's reply whenever she asked how much longer.

Smacking the table, Zeus sputtered, "I don't think she knows. I think she decided years ago she was going to mess with the twins and their creation but put no thought into this so-called prophecy. Gaia's head swelled because the girls decided to create like her."

Hera hurriedly sat down and took Zeus' hand while shushing him: "Don't say that too loudly. We do not need Gaia taking offense to your words. She has been the old Gaia since Uranus has been dealt with. We do not want the angry Gaia back. Besides, you speak in anger because you are having to watch your son and the twins suffer so much."

"I have watched those girls suffer for years. Enough is enough. Let them have their happiness. Why is there another prophecy involving them?" Zeus asked his mate.

Hera sighed, understanding Zeus' frustration, "She is only trying to ensure the werewolves survive in this world. They must live in secrecy from the humans, and she wants to ensure someone will lead them and help them survive this human world."

"I know, my dear, but I still worry for them. Why not just bring all the supernaturals to the god realm and let the humans have this one? If we wish, we can still visit and live amongst them but return to our realm if things get bad for supernaturals here." Zeus suggested.

Hera smiled at her man, loving how he would bring them all to their world to protect them, but she knew that was not best. So many supernatural mates are of this realm. What if they never meant them because they were not living here anymore? You know, as well as anyone else, that humans are tied to the supernatural world as much as anyone else. So many mates have turned out to be human, and they adapt well to this world once they understand it and become part of it."

"You are right, my beauty. I still wish this part of the prophecy would end." Zeus admitted.

​"It will soon, my love," Hera said while kissing him on the cheek. "You know Rhea told me they are starting to worry about Sir Demon. She said he was doing worse than anyone and that the pain seemed to be so much worse for him. She and Gaia are starting to fear he may not make it through the evolution process."

Zeus sat silently for a moment before acknowledging Hera and what she had just said: "If I have to, I will converse with Hades about the Demon's bravery. Although he disregarded orders the underworld lord gave, he should not be punished. Hades did not even care about the boy. He was trying to interfere. The Demon should be rewarded."

Hera nodded her head, and the couple returned to their patients, who had begun to scream in agony as their bodies began shifting once more.