Chapter 118
Selena's POVAxel and I sat on the roof, looking down at the beautiful scenery below. The houses and trees blended together in the lovely night and we could only see dots of lights, scattered across the blanket of darkness.The sky was particularly clear, the stars winking as it shone through. It was almost a full moon."It's beautiful", I whispered as though my voice would shatter the peace of the night.Axel waved off. "I'd like to think you're definitely more beautiful."I giggled at this, although it wasn't loud, the sound cut through the silence, echoing.I could distantly hear the party going on, laughter and chattering blended together until it was simply noise."Do you want to get back to the celebration?", Axel asked, his hand engulfing mine."No", I disagreed. "But, we can go see the kids, right? I'm sure they miss us.""You're right", he nodded. "Come on.Chapter 119Selena's POV Blake jumped off before the vehicle came to a halt. Lily and I stumbled out, I was too disoriented to focus on anything else except the forest. "She said north of the Red moon, right?"Blake asked no one in particular. I nodded, my tongue glued to the roof of my mouth by the sheer gravity of the situation. My kids must be so scared."We'll sweep out this area and hope that we find them", he announced. "Cecelia is the only one who has any idea on his whereabouts, so we pray to the moon goddess to find him quickly or that she regains consciousness."His words hung in the air, true but it didn't make it feel any better. We had miles of land to cover and with our number, I knew we'd never finish tonight but I was willing to try. "Let's go", he clapped his hand, like we were in some camp and the thought flared my anger even more. Blake didn't deserve the hostility but my emotion
Chapter 120Selena's POV With Cecelia out like light, we opted for searching the area where she had muttered before falling unconscious. The same report over and over again that I was slowly losing hope and with that, my anger was burning hot. I searched with them sometimes, and other times, I simply placed the length of my room, worried sick. Axel had barely come home since the kids went missing and secretly, I cursed him. I wasn't sure why. The air between us grew tense, our relationship strained but we still kept it together for the kids sake. He was upset at me for ignoring him for the last week while I was searching for someone to blame and he was the only person close enough to pour my frustrations and vent my anger on. The first time we had a fight was when the patrol guards had reported no findings or sightings of the said cottage. Axel dismissed them, slumping unto the nearest chair. I
Chapter 121Axel's POV I blame myself. For everything. For my negligence towards my kids. It was all my fault. And when I heard Selena confirm my exact thoughts, it felt like I was drowning in a sea of helplessness. The glaring realization that a single decision could've prevented all this. "You need to pull yourself together", Blake looked down at me worriedly. "You have to find them first before blaming yourself for something that's beyond your control.""It wasn't beyond my control. I invited Asher here. The guilt is on me."He groaned in frustration, his shoulders sagging in defeat as he realized with certainty that I'd beat myself up over this, over and over again.The probability of the guilt clearing after that was slim to none. "Just stop it already", he groaned, sitting right next to me, our shoulders touching. "I know the Luna said that to you but...""She was right", I
Chapter 123Selena's POV Turns out, we didn't have to wait a week for Cecelia to recover. She woke up the next morning like a woman on a mission and with a lot of convincing, which included almost tears, we finally agreed to let her lead us to the cottage. Everyone got ready, not Cecelia though. We ensured she was clad in a light blue hospital gown and large grandma sweaters to ensure she was comfortable.Cecelia scowled at her reflection in the mirror when we finished dressing her and for the first time, I found myself suppressing a laugh from the humor of her situation. "I can't wear this", she mumbled, her entire weight on Lily and I. "Why not? It looks cozy", Lily piqued in from her left. "You'll not feel a bite of the encroaching winter cold.""This looks like something I would never wear even if I was at the edge of death.""What?", I smirked. "Are you ashamed of not being dressed well enough
Chapter 122Selena's POV I couldn't believe my ears. Although Axel and I immediately rushed after Blake, my heart was pounding and my mind tried and failed to grasp the magnitude of the situation. "Calm down", Axel placed a comforting hand on my back, rubbing soothing circles on it. I wanted to run after Blake, but I maintained my quick strides, throwing Axel a smile. "Thank you", I whispered. When we stepped in, I was instantly overwhelmed by the sight of Cecelia. She was weak and her eyes struggled to stay open but she was awake regardless and that was all that mattered at this point. "Hey", Axel gripped her hand which she had weakly gestured to us with.She mustered a small smile. "The tension in this room is so stifling", she muttered but I heard her quite well, given my distance. Her eyes fell on me. "You must've been so worried about your kids", she rasped out. I could only reply
Chapter 124Selena's POV Asher blinked once, twice before the situation dawned on him. He must not have been expecting us, obviously. Before he could run off as usual, Blake had pinned him down. He struggled in our hold but Axel and I simply sidestepped him, rushing to the house. It was modest, with a leather couch, waxed floors and a small kitchen space. The television played a movie but I couldn't focus on anything except finding my children. "Orion? Zephyr?", Axel called out, his voice echoing through every corner of the house. We listened closely but there was no sound of a response. Axel and I checked every single room but they were nowhere to be found. I was growing agitated as we rushed back to the door where Asher was still restrained by Blake. He struggled in Blake's hold but there was nothing he could do to break out of it. "Where are they?", Axel questioned as soon as Blake held him u
Chapter 125Axel's POV The moment I rushed in and took in the state of my kids, every rational thought flew from my head. The emotion on Selena's face couldn't be described properly in words. It looked like a swirl of every emotion possible, from fear to anger and relief. I called for help and they took my kids away, Selena in tow. "I'll go with them", she stated, her voice showing she was about to burst into tears. "Yes", I threw her a weak smile. Selena's eyes closed as I dropped a chaste kiss on her forehead. We remained in that position for a while, her hand holding unto my shirt as though drawing some source of strength. "I'll see you at home", I rubbed my hand down her back before breaking away from the hug. Selena rushed off immediately after. I could only watch her back as she left. When I walked back outside, Asher was struggling against Blake's hold. He looked a lit
Chapter 126Axel's POV Everything around me stopped. I stared in shock at the knife I was holding, the knife currently buried in my brother's chest. Then, I looked up at Asher. His eyes had lost that wicked glint in them, this time, he just looked completely frightened, like the little boy I had grown up with.His hand shakily grasped mine, the same one now slicked red with his blood. He made a move to speak but no words were formed, instead, blood burst out of his lips, splattering against my face. His eyes didn't leave mine, even as I witnessed the life slowly drain from them. A sob grew in my heart, and I let it out. It came out strangled, like a wounded animal. "No...", I muttered out. The blade slipped out of his chest, the sound of bones and squelching flesh loud like thunder in the quiet forest. Asher slid to the forest floor, his back against the tree. Blood was slowly spreading across th