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5. Caught
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2024-05-21 15:11:37MARCELLO
It was one o'clock in the morning and her face was all I could see when I closed my eyes. For a while, I tossed and turned in bed, trying to fall asleep, but that was futile. I could not even get a wink of sleep. I was torn between going to find her and giving her her space. And I was so confused as to why I felt so unsettled because of her. It was so bad that I could not think of nothing else at that moment. I had even opted out of border duty for the night because I was simply not in the mood, and it was because of her. So I decided to give into whatever was pushing me to her and go find her in the woods. I had to take a longer alternative route to her tent as the people that were manning the river were surely going to find me if I had gone through that path. When I found her, she was seated on a log of wood in front of her tent, fanning the fire under a roasting meat hoisted up by sticks. I was going to watch her in silence for a while, but I stepped on a freaking twig and her head shot up immediately and then our gazes locked. Immediately, a grimace appeared on her face and her nostrils flared. Angrily, she marched towards me and snarled, "What are you doing here? What do you want now?" "I just wanted to make sure that you are alright." I spoke gently, careful not to provoke her even more. "And how exactly is my well-being your concern?" She spat. "Do you even know who I am? Do I have anything to do with you?" I was quiet because even I could not answer those questions. I had no idea why I felt drawn to her like this. And I felt helpless, because it was not looking like there was anything that I could do about it. "You looked really scared the other night and I've been feeling really bad that—" "I'm okay now." She cut me off. "Now, you can be on your way out of here." "No." I shrugged, choosing to be insistent. "The first time we met, you promised to be my friend, remember?" "That was because you had me pinned down by force!" She argued. "There was no way I would have agreed to that if I had any other choice." "You pinned me down first." I reminded her, chuckling, and her frown deepened. "But a promise is a promise." "I don't care. I don't want anything to do with you. Just leave this place, let me be!" I sighed, frustrated. "Look, I know that werewolves and vampires do not usually get along, but—" "How do you know that I am a vampire?" She raised a brow at me. "What makes you think that?" I looked at her in disbelief. There was no way she was seriously asking me that. "Are you being serious right now?" "Is there any reason for me to be joking with you?" "First off, you have freaking fangs." I started. "And have you seen your reflection lately? You're pale as hell. And your lips, they're red like che—" "That's enough." She lifted her hand, looking embarrassed. I chuckled at that, admitting within me that she looked adorable like that. "I won't harm you, I promise." I said to her in all seriousness. I really needed her to understand that. "You don't have to be this... guarded around me." She scoffed and let out a humourless chuckle. "And I'm just supposed to believe anything that you tell me?" "I..." I paused. She was right. There was, in fact, no reason for her to trust me. If anything, she should have been beating me up with a stick right now. I mean I was just a man that showed up to her tent on a random night and forced her to agree to be my friend. Thinking of it like that really opened my eyes to see that I was kind of being a creep. "You what?" She eyed me. "There's nothing you can say to prove yourself, huh?" "Absolutely nothing." I agreed with a sigh. "I guess I'll be on my way." "And never return." That hurt me for some reason. The words of a stranger should not hurt me like that but it did. And before I left, I had just one request from her. "Can I at least know your name?" I asked. I just wanted to have a name to associate with her face. Because I was sure as hell not going to forget her anytime soon. "How is that of any importance to you?" "Just..." I exhaled. There was really no tangible reason "Please?" "Valeria." She pointed forward. "Now, leave." I nodded, throwing her a salute. But I had only taken three steps when a figure came out of the shadows and I went completely still, holding my breath. I could not believe that that was happening. How was I so careless to not have noticed that someone was following me? Now, her life was in danger because of me. "So this is where you spend your nights now?" He asked, his low deep voice causing my body to run cold. "Don't you think it's a little bit dangerous?" "I..." I managed to mumble. "Um... It's just..." "Your little secret has been busted, Marcello." He chuckled. "And everybody will hear it." I swallowed hard, unsure of what to do. In fact, my head was blank as I had no idea how to salvage this situation. But even being aware of the fact that I was in deep shit, all I wanted to at the moment was to get her away from him. No matter what it was going to be, I was ready to face it as long as I got to get her out of harm's way. "Look, we can talk about this—" "Hell no." He did not even let me try. "Father will be the first person to hear about this."Related chapters
Blood and Moonlight 6. False Alarm
MARCELLO My heart was beating erratically in my chest. And my brain racked for possible ways to get Valeria out of here fast. And as I stood there, still freaking out inside, he began to laugh, clutching his stomach. That caused my face to morph into a frown as I had become confused. "My goodness..." He breathed between his laughter. "You should see your face right now. You look like you have come in contact with the scariest thing on earth." I frowned, eyeing him suspiciously. He was the most cunning person I knew and the fact that he was amused got me even more afraid. "You're meeting a girl in the woods to hide from what exactly?" He chuckled and glanced at her for a second. "Be bold like me and flaunt her around town." I looked at my cousin in confusion. From the way he spoke, it sounded like he was not even aware that she was a vampire. Surely, his tone would not have been that mellow if he had been aware. So, just to be sure, I asked him, "how long have you been standi
Last Updated : 2024-07-01Blood and Moonlight 7. Another Rogue
VALERIA Immediately he left, I got busy with packing my things. It had been a while since I had felt fear at the intensity at which his cousin made me feel. There was some kind of mischief in his eyes that threw me off, something about him that did not just sit well with me. So I packed my backpack and collapsed my tent. I was going to move deeper into the woods. And as I walked deeper and deeper, with the hopes that he would never find me again, I ignored the part of me that wanted to turn back. Since my parents died, that was the only place that had felt like home to me. The river, the canopy trees, everything came together for my comfort, and the fact that I had to leave weighed me down. Now, I was in a bald patch of grass and, just to the right of the space, were trees that had thick shades underneath them. I took the opportunity to rest as I had already covered a reasonable distance and the sun was going to be out in an hour or two. But as soon as I sat down, I felt a pre
Last Updated : 2024-07-01Blood and Moonlight 8. Found
MARCELLO I did not keep my words. I went to look for her the following night. I was fooling myself when I thought that Iwas going to be able to stay away from her. And I only realized that when I tried to sleep that night. I closed my eyes and she was all I could see: her frown, the way her lips curled when she was irritated, how her eyebrows would come together. Her face haunted me and I could not go two minutes without thinking about her. If I did not know better, I would have concluded that she had cast a spell on me. Because she was supposed to be nothing but a stranger, so the pull I felt towards her was not even logical at all. So imagine my dilemma when I got to where I usually found her and it was completely empty. No tent, nothing. Just sticks and ash that was left in her wake. I was confused and utterly distraught. And I almost went into panic mode. Did she run away? Or was she kidnapped? Where the hell did she even go!? I breathed and forced myself to reason logically
Last Updated : 2024-07-02Blood and Moonlight 9. Findings
VALERIA The smell of dust was what welcomed us as soon as we walked into the cabin. But after almost two hours of walking, that was the least of my worries. I dumped my backpack on the floor and sighed once I was relieved of the weight. My eyes followed Veronica around as she walked around the place, smiling from ear to ear. And a little smile of my own creeped up on my face as I watched her be happy. That was until Marcello stepped into my line of vision and my face immediately morphed into a grimace. "I've not been here in a while..." He was telling me as he stuffed his pockets with his hands. "It shows." I nodded and picked up my bag, walking past him to talk to Veronica that was still prancing about. "We should try to clean up a little." "I can help with that." He spoke from behind me, I could hear the enthusiasm in his voice. "It's just a living room and a bedroom, it will not take too long with three of us on it together." I turned back to look at him with a sly sm
Last Updated : 2024-07-03Blood and Moonlight 10. Not A Monster
VALERIA The book fell from my hands and landed on the floor with a thud. The last time I was this petrified was when I was hiding, watching my parents being murdered. And I felt like because all things were pointing towards the same thing happening to me, getting killed by a werewolf that hated the existence of vampires for some reason. The feeling of someone touching my shoulder had me jerking away, triggering my instinct to fight. But it was just Marcello's concerned face that I saw when I turned. His eyebrows were furrowed as he observed me carefully, then he asked, "Are you okay?" "Don't touch me again." Was what I responded with. The only thing I could think of at that moment was how, behind that look of fake concern and interest, all he wanted was to see me dead. "Back off." He raised his hands in surrender as he took two steps back. "I'm sorry that I wanted to see if you're alright." I shook my head at his sarcasm. Who did he think he was fooling? And it annoyed me even
Last Updated : 2024-07-05Blood and Moonlight 11. Not a Stranger
MARCELLO The couch was really uncomfortable. I had been tossing and turning all night, struggling to find a position that I was comfortable in. But, at some point, I just gave up and decided to sit instead. My purpose of staying back at the cabin was to watch over Valeria and Veronica after all, totally not because I wanted an excuse to be near Valeria. All of a sudden, I heard movement behind me and I immediately whipped my head around to see who it was. I released a breath of relief when I saw that it was just Valeria scowling at me as usual. She scoffed and walked around the couch to seat on the one seater opposite me. "All it takes to scare you is to just... exist?" "You snuck up on me." I pursed my lips. "I did not know that you were there, anyone would freak out a little bit." "Yeah, whatever floats your boat." She leaned into the chair and crossed her legs. "Why are you here though?" Her tone was sharp, and I could tell that it was from a place of suspicion. She
Last Updated : 2024-07-06Blood and Moonlight 12. Mate? No Way...
VALERIA Marcello had left as the sun rose, and it was not long before my eyelids started to feel heavy. In the bedroom, Veronica was still sound asleep so I tried as much as possible to climb in bed quietly. I may have slept for over six hours because the sun was setting when I woke up. And I finally understood how Marcello felt earlier when I turned to my right to find Veronica looking at me with the widest grin on her face. I exhaled and glared at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?" "I had a dream about you— actually, it was a vision." She giggled. "And guess what?" "What?" My tone was bland. I could even be bothered to pretend that I was interested even if I wanted to. "Marcello was in it!" "Um... hurray?" I was confused, was I supposed to be excited about that? "Do you want the full details or the summary?" She asked excitedly, wiggling her eyebrows at me. "Summary, please." "Hmph!" She rolled her eyes dramatically. "You're boring!" "I don't c—" "
Last Updated : 2024-07-09Blood and Moonlight 13. Truth?
MARCELLO Alan grabbed my hand and pulled me to a distance away from the house that was out of earshot. "I cannot risk anyone listening in on what I am about to tell you." "Well, start talking then." I was beginning to grow impatient. "Alright." He gulped. "My mother told me a lot of things this last time I paid her a visit." He sat on the carpet grass beneath us and pulled me to join him on the ground. "Firstly, my father did not just die in his sleep. He was killed when he found out things that he was not supposed to know." I sucked in a sharp breath at that. How was he so contained knowing that kind of thing? "Did she tell you who killed him?" "Yes." He sounded wry. "Who?" "Your father." "What!?" I backed up, my eyes reducing to slits. "What are you saying?" I knew that my father was a very hard man, strict with most things, but accusing him of killing his own younger brother was a reach, a massive one. My father was not capable of that. "Listen to me, Mar—" "No!" I got
Last Updated : 2024-07-10
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Blood and Moonlight 27. Silver Wolf
VALERIA When I heard the loud, angry, growl behind me, I did expect to turn and see the giant silver wolf that was standing behind me. It was only by his eyes that I knew it was him. Marcello. But I was still terrified. Even though, somehow, I knew that he would not hurt me. I ran away from them, him and that big, black, wolf. And when I turned back again, they were already biting and clawing at each other. I looked away from the gory scene and closed my eyes. My hands were already trembling, I had never been so scared in my life.Someone grabbed my hand from behind but before I could scream, I saw Alan as soon as I opened my eyes. Veronica was the one holding my hand. I let out a shaky breath as my nerves relaxed, even though I could still hear Marcello's growls as he was fighting that wolf."Shit." I heard Alan curse under his breath as he watched the fight. "You guys need to head back to the cabin. Don't stop until you get there." "What? No." Veronica argued. "We can'y just lea
Blood and Moonlight 26. Shifted
ALAN My heart raced as I stared at the piece of paper. Who in the world could have left it here? And who did they want to find it? Was it possible that it was meant for all of us at the same time? I crumpled the paper and stuffed it in my pocket as I stood up straight. "Forget about this." I told Marcello firmly. "We have bigger fish to fry right now." "What if it is more important than we think?" He countered. "We cannot just dismiss it like that." "If whoever it is is not bold enough to show their face then we should not be thinking of them." I faced him. "Veronica and Valeria are already worried enough as it is, we do not need to add irrelevant things like this to their troubles." I really wished that I actually believed that the piece of paper was irrelevant. Deep down, I knew that it meant danger. And it was even worse that I had no idea who wrote its content. We walked back to the cabin in silence, both of us choosing not to speak our minds. As soon as we entered, i
Blood and Moonlight 25. Long Time No See
MARCELLO "You felt someone watching you?" Alan stared at Valeria in confusion. "Yes. I know for a fact that someone was there, even though I did not see them." Valeria responded, confident as ever. "How—" "It's the amulet." Veronica cut Alan off. "It's heightening her powers. She's getting more sensitive to the slightest things." "So someone was actually there?" I spoke this time. "Who could it be?" "Bran?" Alan suggested. "No, I doubt that." I shook my head. "He would have challenged me then and there. It's not his way to play hide and seek." "Then who? One of your father's guards?" Veronica was looking worried. "What if they followed you here? What if they've sent for more men to come here and apprehend us." "Calm down, Veronica." I sighed. "It's possible that it's one of his guards, yes. But I doubt that they could follow us here. None of them can match neither me nor Valeria's speed." "O—okay, that's good." "Why were you guys at the river in the first place
Blood and Moonlight 24. Someone's Watching
VALERIA "The ambassador has managed to convince the minister of defense— who happens to be his brother— to join in on our mission." Alan was pacing to fro as he spoke. "He has asked for two more days to get the Alpha's advisor on board. If that's successful, I think we'll be good to go." "Wouldn't the involvement of the advisor be risky?" Veronica asked. "What if he declines and says something to the Alpha?" "He won't." Alan seemed so confident about that for some reason. "Believe me, most of those people in powerful positions would jump at this opportunity to take down the Alpha because he has done despicable things to just about everyone in this pack." "Well, that's one valid explanation." Veronica shrugged and sat down beside me. "So what do we do while we wait?" I tuned out of the conversation when Alan started talking about gathering as much information as we could. What was really bothering me was the dreams I had been having for the last couple of days. In those dream
Blood and Moonlight 23. The Ambassador
MARCELLO Alan made me go along with him to see who he called the ambassador of our pack. Now, I had never heard of this person before, and unlike the other people Alan was trying to gather, this person was not an omega, he was a gamma. Alan explained that this person was a good friend of his father and he also thought that my presence would do something to persuade him into helping us. The ambassador's home was in the valleys near the borders on the other side of town so it took a while to get there. The building was modest, as opposed to the houses of some other gamma nobles that I had seen before. The guard at the entrance let us through the gates once I spoke to him. And immediately we stepped in, the ambassador was standing in front of his building, almost like he was already waiting for Alan, but he looked a little bit surprised to see me. As soon as we were within earshot, he asked Alan, "Why have you brought the Alpha's son here?" "To show you that I was serious a
Blood and Moonlight 22. Trust
VALERIA It was going to take a lot of strength to do what I was about to do. I was about to take a trip down memory lane, a path I did not want to take at all. I really just needed these men to understand that they could not take the amulet away from me if that was what they were planning. "What I am to tell you is not because I want to justify myself for lying yesterday, it's because I want to prove to you that I have every right to keep this amulet." I started. "This amulet is the sole reason I was outcast from my clan, the reason I became a rogue." Veronica let out a low gasp and I lowered my gaze to my fingers. "I was eleven when the south of Cyacruse was first raided." I began. "They killed both my parents so my aunty who lived up north took me in. She was my mother's older sister and the first child of my grandfather; apparently, he was bored of life so he passed down all his properties to her and just killed himself. And that was how the amulet ended up in her possessi
Blood and Moonlight 21. Escape Pipe
MARCELLO "What are you talking about?" I asked my wolf. "What mate?" "The restlessness you feel around her, the strong pull you feel towards her, the way you just cannot bring yourself to stay away from her, and how you'd do just about anything for her, it's not just all for nothing, Marcello, it's the mate bond." He explained, and I did not need a soothsayer to tell me that he was talking about Valeria. "She is our mate." "How do you know all these things?" I was still skeptical. "Irrespective of the block you put on me, I still feel what you feel, see what you see." He said. "I just could not communicate with you. And if you've been unsure about it all the while, I'm here to confirm that she is our mate, we were destined for her and her for us." "Then you must already know that she hates me more than anything in this world." I told him. "That may be true. But it's only a matter of time before she will succumb to this bond. You just need to be patient with her." He advis
Blood and Moonlight 20. Resurfacing
VALERIA The presence of the amulet did not let me rest. My fingers ached to activate it, and it was only a matter of a few minutes before I succumbed to its pull. Veronica was sound asleep when I checked on her, so I took the amulet, sneaked out of the bedroom, and went out the back door into the backyard. It was only a few minutes to sunrise and, if I successfully activated the amulet, I would not have to run away from it again. Instead, I would get to feel it for the first time. I looked at it in my palm, the words for the activation spell ringing in my head. Then I inhaled deeply and held the amulet to my chest as I said the words out loud: "Like the force of a flood, wield your power through my blood." And just like that, what felt like electricity coursed throughout my veins, making my eyes roll to the back of my head as my body vibrated uncontrollably. I could not see anything except a bright, red light in my vision, and my grip on the amulet went tighter, causing m
Blood and Moonlight 19. Cracked and Activated
MARCELLO "Are you really sure that my father has that amulet?" I asked as I watched Alan pace to and fro in his room. "Yes, Marcello, stop asking me that." He looked at me briefly. "Your parents were arguing about it yesterday in their room and, as usual, they were really loud while at it." He chuckled and stopped moving to look at me. "Your mother thinks it should just be destroyed, alongside anything related to vampires and the prophecy. But your father thinks that they could still find a way to activate the Solis amulet." I sighed and pinched my nose, they really did have loud arguments these days, since the night that my father gave us the news of Bran's probation. But that was not the crux of the matter at the moment. "Well now, you want us to steal it. So what's your plan?" "By twelve midnight, they'll both the honouring the invite to the first shifting of the Beta's daughter and they'll be out a few hours."
