Two of the next three nights Elora spent anxiously. She hardly ever sleeps, there are hours in the night when she changes. For safety’s sake, Caspian took her into the middle of the woods whenever Elora felt strange in her body.
Despite that, everything seemed fine. Elora lived a normal life during the day and suffered at night. Until the last day of shooting the commercial, which took place in Gibbston, Elora still had not found a way to escape her worries for her survival.
“You just have to say yes, then I will be by your side every second.”
“Precisely because you will be with me a full twenty-four hours every day, I gladly decline.”
The two of them were shot on a bike path in the Gibbston Valley, over a small bridge to the canyon, pedaling their way through the meadow.
The director freed them to talk about anything, and Elora had nothing else to think about other than werewolves. This new life really confiscates eve
They have completed the ad shoot. Elora started her leave a few days after the project closing meeting, making sure everything was in order before she left. Javier cried like a baby on Elora’s last day at work.“I’m not dead, Javi.” Elora rolled her eyes after saying that.Javier grabbed the tissue box on Elora’s desk. “I’ll miss your stinky body every time I do a commercial, El.”“Damn you.” Elora cursed, but her lips curled into a smirk. “We can see each other every time you want it. But tell me a few days earlier, so I won’t take a bath until I see you.”“That’s disgusting.” Javier’s tears immediately stopped.Elora didn’t say anything about moving to Caspian’s house, and until this moment Elora still hasn’t told Javier about her relationship with Caspian. Javier also seemed tired of pressing Elora and waiting for Elora to tell
Caspian led Elora to jump over the window that led into the forest.They were headed to a point that Elora had used to transform over the past few days. A small meadow surrounded by dense trees, far away in an untouched place. The forest around here was still included in Caspian’s private estate, so no one would pass through it. A place that is safe enough to do unusual activities.The vegetation in the meadow had died from the impact of Elora’s transformation. It still struck Elora with guilt every time she saw the trees there, blackened to charcoal, and the bushes dry from burning.“As you already know, changes don’t have to be made at night or when the moon appears. Transformation can be made at any time depending on our will. It’s just that the changes at night give you more power.” Caspian explained as the two of them walked deeper into the forest.“Do you know why when I shape-shifted in my apartment, I didn
It didn’t take long for Zed to dig up information about Elora. With the help of some of his friends in Auckland who hold key positions in the police and government, Zed returns to Queenstown with some news.Zed arrived at Caspian’s house at night, to find the Alpha sitting lazily in an iron chair on the veranda of his room, accompanied by a bottle of Pinot Noir 2010 wine. Caspian drank it straight from the bottle.“A tough day?” said Zed. Caspian just glanced at him without a smile. “I got a lot of information,” Zed continued.“Starting tomorrow, teach her self-defense.” Caspian ignored Zed’s words and said something else.“Self-defense?” Zed raised one eyebrow. “With me?”“She hates me,” Caspian said blandly. “My future wife hates me.”Zed knew this was inappropriate, but he wanted to laugh at seeing and hearing Caspian now. Caspian wore a
Caspian shouldn’t be able to casually tell Elora to do this and that. But what will Elora do if Caspian has the will? With a stony face, Caspian came to Elora’s room this morning. He entered through the connecting door (believe it or not; it didn’t have a lock so Caspian could enter whenever he wanted), and said that Elora’s training with Zed would start today.“Do you realize that Zed is a man?” Elora asked curtly.“It seems as long as that guy isn’t me, and he doesn’t get too close or touch you carelessly, you’ll be fine.”Elora opened her mouth and squinted. Had their conversation yesterday left a fresh wound on Caspian, that made him act and say icy cold now?“Are you still angry?” accused Elora.“Do I look like that?” challenged Caspian. “I am not angry. Why am I angry?”“Precisely because you said that you seem angry. Angry like
Unexpectedly, it turned out that practicing with Zed was quite fun. Elora didn’t know why she could feel comfortable with Zed, but it wasn’t something important to question. Maybe now Elora’s trauma is starting to heal? She hopes so.Elora returned to the castle when the sun was high. Zed took her out for a meal in the castle dining room, which was as large as the studio at Dreamcatcher. The room was empty because it was just the two of them. A long table was pinned to the wall, filled with all kinds of food you would normally find in a family restaurant. It confused Elora about which one to eat.Zed accompanied Elora to eat at one of the two long tables arranged in the center of the room. Wooden benches without backrests surrounded the table. Elora sat on the side facing the long line of windows on the wall. Elora could see the castle’s lush forecourt from here.“Where’s everyone?” Elora asked, looking around.&l
Caspian could feel the heat all over Elora’s body through their skin touching. The heat slowly burned Caspian’s skin. This was not a transformation that Elora was used to experiencing. Elora groaned in pain while Caspian carried her into the forest.“Hold on, El.” Caspian’s voice was drowned in the wind, caused by his speed as he ran.Once they reached the place where Elora used to shape-shifted, Caspian laid Elora down in the middle, then Caspian took a step back. Elora squirmed, her body convulsing and her eyeballs rolling inward, leaving only the whites to be seen.Caspian wanted so badly to come over and ask Elora for the pain, but there was nothing he could do.Elora’s back arched upwards, accompanied by wrenching screams and snapping sounds Caspian wasn’t sure where they were coming from. Elora then rolled several times on the ground until her position was further away from Caspian.The moon tonight w
Elora heard the sound of cracking. Her eyes caught the faint light dancing in the darkness. It took her a long time to realize that her eyes were still closed. Elora opened her eyes, and the first thing that caught her sight was a burning fireplace. Yellow, orange, and gold light filled the room with warmth.Elora was wrapped in a blanket, which wasn’t thick enough to dispel the shivers that were attacking her whole body. Elora blinked slowly, feeling a cold and sore that she didn’t know where it came from.Her memory revolved around the incident in the room, when Caspian gave her food and then they had a fight, again. Where is Elora now? This place is so unfamiliar. Elora lay on the sofa in front of the crackling fireplace.“I thought you’ll be wake up tomorrow.” Caspian appeared from a dark corner of the room. Elora’s breath caught when she saw Caspian, who seemed to have been fighting with a bunch of thugs. Scratches extend
Elora spent the next few days in solitude. Not once did Caspian come to visit her. Elora waited for Caspian to appear from behind the connecting door, or when she came out of the room, Elora hoped to run into Caspian in the hallway. But Caspian’s figure was nowhere to be found. It was as if Caspian was just a mythical creature that had appeared in Elora’s dreams.Elora is still continuing her training with Zed. Zed praised Elora’s progress from day to day until they reached the stage where Zed challenged Elora to a simple battle.“Your reflexes have improved a lot since the first time we practiced. You are a fast learner,” Zed praised after Elora managed to push him until Zed almost fell.Elora tried to smile happily at the compliment, but the look in her eyes failed to fool Zed. Zed walked over to Elora and handed her a water bottle that Elora had placed on the edge of where they were practicing.“Something’s wro
Ten years later….Caspian looked at himself in the long mirror in his room. Today is a very important day in his life. The day he had been waiting for for the last ten years.Caspian deliberately opened the bedroom door, because he was waiting for someone to arrive. As Caspian was adjusting the position of the suit attached to his body, the bedroom door snapped open and someone ran in, screaming.“Uncle!!”“I told you, call him Alpha!”A loud bang was heard, and the sound of a child screaming in pain followed. Caspian frowned, sharing the pain in the boy’s head. “It’s okay, Kate. He’s my nephew, anyway.”“If I let him, he’ll go easy on you, Cas!”“Mommy sucks!” Cooper shouted, then he ran away, leaving Caspian and Kate.Caspian smiled widely and hugged Kate. Kate hugged him back. She gave Caspian a few pats on the back before they let go.
“Elora!”Caspian shouted for her, but Elora kept running. They thrashed the snow under their feet, breaking through dry branches and braving the skin-biting air. Elora was in werewolf form, and she ran faster than Caspian.Caspian continued to chase after her, but all he could see was Elora’s back getting further and further away. Until they came to a dark and almost frozen riverbank. Elora suddenly stopped, then turned around. “Stop! Stay away from me!” she screamed. Caspian stopped a few yards from Elora. His lungs ached, and the wound throbbed like a second heart.“Elora,” Caspian spoke Elora’s name carefully, as if her name was sacred and contained magic. That one word can describe how longed and desperate Caspian is. He walked over, turning himself into a human again. Instantly, a chill shot through Caspian, worsening his condition and making his wound feel like it was being stabbed by a thousand tiny needles.
“Don’t move,” said Brittany. She hitting Caspian in the chest with her rock-hard fist.“Ouch!” Caspian groaned. “Brit, you know I’m sick, right?”“No. Your wound should be healed by now.”“I’m still recovering.”“Bullshit.”“Have you ever been shot with a silver bullet?”Brittany stopped arguing. She shrugged and glanced at the nightstand beside Caspian’s bed. “I still can’t find her,” Brittany muttered. “It was as if she had disappeared from this world.”“She’s still alive. I can feel it.”“How about you stop looking for her? It’s been a month, Cas.”“Only a month, Brit.”Brittany took a deep breath, then when she looked back at Caspian, a smile tugged at her pink lips. “I can’t keep mobilizing my members to look for h
“Hëna.”Arapeta’s voice was at the threshold of Elora’s hearing. She felt dead to the world, but she was still awake. Elora could see everything around her, but at the same time, she could not feel her body. Elora seemed to float in another dimension, which looked the same as the world she knew.“No,” someone denied. Zed’s breath was close to Elora’s ear, whispering a doubtful refusal. “Hëna wouldn’t want to meet lowly werewolves like you! She is too sacred to be seen by the ignorant eye!”“Look who’s talking,” said Javier. “You mean the moon goddess doesn’t want to see you?”The sound of bullets cut through the night, and a moan of pain escaped Javier’s lips. “Bastard.” Zed gritted his teeth as he realized his shot had only hit the edge of Javier’s arm.Zed pulled the trigger again, but the gun fell from his hand,
“You can guess the rest,” Zed said. “He confronted me, and since we were both anxious about each other’s secrets, we started arguing. I purposely took him to the edge of the forest, far from the city. I felt that our conversation would not go well, so I prepared for the worst.”“You—you killed Cooper?” Caspian gasped.Elora couldn’t see Caspian right now, but she could imagine how devastated Caspian would be to know one by one the harsh realities that were happening around him.Elora thought Zed would laugh and admit it proudly. However, there was only a cold reaction to Caspian’s question. “Didn’t you hear my explanation? Your best friend sells drugs!! And you’re angry because I killed him?? You should thank me!! I have removed the trouble from your pack!!”“You killed him! You killed Cooper and you’ve been acting like you know nothing?! Have you gone mad?!&rd
“Are you sure?” Cooper asked. He still didn’t believe in Zed’s theory. The pack of The Moon Protectors was long extinct, and there is not enough evidence that they inherited Hëna’s powers. But Zed had done a lot of research, relating events, until he concluded; there was still one werewolf from that pack. And she is a woman.“Damn sure,” Zed replied.They were sitting on the balcony of the Sacred Storm restaurant. It’s a full moon tonight, and because it’s the holiday season, many tourists come here, including single women. Soft prey to satisfy Zed’s passion. Cooper was happy to see Zed in action because he said every woman looked so hilarious when they had fallen for Zed’s seduction. Although Cooper often says that Zed’s behavior is immoral, Zed knows Cooper enjoys it too. Seeing how helpless the women were in front of them.“Then what’s your plan?” Cooper asked again
Caspian didn’t know if the plan he had put together with Javier, Arapeta, Aiden, and Hanupo could go smoothly. Caspian wasn’t even sure what they were talking about together was a rescue plan. After learning that Zed betrayed him, Caspian could no longer expect the members of the Sacred Storm pack to submit to him. Caspian knew some of them had sympathy for Zed.Caspian drove to the abandoned wine cellar in the west. It used to be the territory of the Sacred Storm, but through tough negotiations with the Alphas at that time, they decided that the area would become a neutral area and a barrier between the territory of one pack from another.Caspian left his car on the side of the road. He made sure no one was around before turning himself into a werewolf. The sky was getting darker as Caspian made his way through the woods. The longer Caspian could feel the energy radiate from the other werewolves. There were many werewolves up ahead, and none of them Caspia
Cold. Dark. A faint sweet and bitter aroma.Elora opened her eyes, but she couldn’t see anything. The intoxicating smell of medicine still lingered in her nostrils. After a while, she realized that someone had covered her eyes with a black cloth.“Judging by the way you’re moving, it looks like you’ve come to your senses.” A familiar voice greeted her. That’s Zed. Elora could feel Zed beside her. His breath brushed against Elora’s cheek.“Let me go,” said Elora.Zed chuckled. “Why are you saying such useless things? You think I’ll let you go when you ask me to?”Elora struggled. They tied Elora’s body with ropes to a chair. As Zed ran a finger up Elora’s cheek, Elora rebelled and shivered in disgust. “Get your hands off me,” Elora hissed.“Don’t piss me off, El. Soon we will be husband and wife.”Elora gasped. “What
Caspian drives like a madman after Elora doesn’t answer his calls, and when Caspian calls Javier, that man says he left Elora alone. When Caspian got angry at this, Javier said, “Hey! I didn’t mean to leave her! She insists on being alone!”Caspian parked his car carelessly in the parking area of Elora’s apartment. He rushed to the second floor and knocked on Elora’s apartment door in a hurry. “Elora! Open the door! It’s me!”No answer. Even Caspian didn’t hear any movement in there. Caspian tried to knock again, this time louder. Instead of Elora coming out, it was the residents of the apartment opposite Elora’s apartment who opened the door. An old woman walking with a cane.“She went out with a black-haired man,” she said, half grumbling. “For God’s sake, what happened to her recently? She hadn’t been home in a long time, and last time she made a big fuss. I almo