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106. Interlude
Last Updated:
2024-05-17 21:47:09
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Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 107. Meditation
Callista."So," I say, leveling everyone with dubious looks. "You guys talked for like, five days, and came to the conclusion that the cure I need is...meditation?"I try not to sound too condescending, because even though the idea seems silly, these guys are witches with immense magical power, and it was never a good idea to cross them.But still, meditation! They had magic and they wanted me to do meditation?!The Headmistress gazes at me serenely, unbothered by whatever it was I was trying to imply."Yes, meditation, while the physicians try to replace the dark magic that resides in your mind with light." She adds the part I conveniently left out.It had been five days since I came to the Witches Guild. After Theon left, I was told by the Headmistress that I could keep on using the room until they moved me to the hospital for my future treatments upon their decision.For five days, all I'd gotten was radio silence. In the meantime, I was told to enjoy my 'holiday' leisurely. Easie
Last Updated : 2024-05-23Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 108. Thunder
Callista. Their voices are deep and melodious, echoing off the building’s walls. As the chanting goes on, I feel the rain looming in, and try not to panic. Thunder rumbles and lightning flashes. I can feel little starbursts appear behind my closed eyes, and pain starts to shoot from the back of my head.Holding onto the lulling rhythm of the chant and regulating my breath, I feel as if I'm falling into another world. The starbursts mold into pixelated pictures, and my body feels as if it's floating. But the chant is always there, I do not let it go. I breathe, I exhale. The misshapen pixels start to get clearer.I'm in a tunnel lit by ethereal lights, and there is a door at the end. It's holding something in, and I feel the pain shooting from there. Something in me tells me to go there and I obey. The chant is ringing in my ears, and I inhale and exhale. I start to walk towards the door.The further I go, the more I feel the pain. I feel it take over my whole head, and it's hard to h
Last Updated : 2024-05-31Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 109. Ring
Callista. With a gasp, I open my eyes to the waking world.The jitters, the shock, and the disconnect is the same as before when I wake up from an episode. But this time, there is a glaring difference.This time, I remember what happened. I remember the orchard, I remember seeing Farris. I remember the blackness.And I remember hearing Theon’s voice. I remember the rope.The chanting had stopped, and so had the storm. The Headmistress crouches next to me, her arm on my shoulder. She peers at me with those deep grey eyes."Callista," she says. "You held on until the very last moment. But suddenly your concentration broke.'"I remember," I tell her, "I remember the episode."Her eyes widen, and she looks at the round candle table. There, near the edge, one single candle had gone out. And half of it is pitch black colored.The Headmistress gets up to walk towards the candle. She picks it up from the white end and tries to touch the dark part. But upon contact, she hisses and draws her f
Last Updated : 2024-07-10Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 110. Burns
Callista.I let go of the ring as if it burns. As soon as it loses contact with my skin, the eerie glow stops."Did you see that?!" I exclaim, glancing at the Headmistress and back at the ring. "Is that normal?"The Headmistress shakes her head, her eyes wide. "No, it is not. It doesn't happen in the hands of non-magical supernaturals."We both stare at the ring for a beat.Now that I look closely, what an ancient piece of jewelry it is. The circular band is a dark color that looks a bit greenish, and the crystal sphere doesn't shine as much as newer crystals do. There are some carvings on the outside, but none is clear enough to be decipherable.It’s cold to the touch now. But when I picked it before, I swear it hummed against my skin."Take the ring to your hand." The Headmistress instructs me. "It might just be a fluke, but it never hurts to rest again.”I heed her order, and the crystal begins to glow. I lift it off the chest.Then I feel it.A tiny vibration emanating from the ri
Last Updated : 2024-07-10Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 111. Origin
Callista. "A stealer?" The Headmistress repeats, as if she's confused. And then in a moment, realization dawns upon her. "Ah, yes, you are a stealer too.""Yeah," I admit, a little ashamed of my condition. "People consider me a taboo, and my previous pack basically exchanged me for land when they found it out.""I'm very sorry to hear that, Callista. No creature, whatever their circumstance be, does not deserve to be treated as such." She looks sincere and her tone is fierce, so is the indignation in her eyes, which I am stunned to realize is on my behalf. I shoot her smile of gratitude, and nod, which relaxes the set of her shoulders. "That being said, stealers are very specific to Were kind. You cannot find such creatures in other species. And throughout the years, I've noticed that most of the stealers to exist are born into wolf packs.""Have you met a stealer before?" I ask, taking a bite of my salad which I upgraded with salami and chickpeas."No, I can't say I have. I only bec
Last Updated : 2024-07-10Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 112. Gaul
Callista."She killed him?!" I cry out, my pitch squeaking. Werewolf legends are particularly rife with copious amounts of violence, so I should’ve expected that, but still!"Indeed so.” The Headmistress responds, calming arranging her food to be consumed. "And then she avenged her fallen pack and decimated the rival pack by enticing them with her scent."Not going to lie, Lucienne was kind of a badass."And then what?""Then she disappeared. Legend says she died soon after. Her love for her mate drove her to be maniacal, and before she could go fully rogue, she killed herself." The Headmistress finishes the story. "Legend also says the soul that resided in Lucienne's body latched onto a newborn baby girl as soon as she passed, who was in the vicinity. A soul can never die, and the woman cursed herself to never reach the afterlife. Her soul roams the earthen plane for an eternity, and whoever it gets latched onto becomes the stealer."I'm truly speechless after this story. I've never h
Last Updated : 2024-07-12Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 113. Phone call
Theon. I’m making an inventory of the tower ammunition when I get a call from an unknown number. "That's strange," I muse, staring at the screen and trying to flit through all the contacts I knew in my head to see where it was coming from. Werewolves never really got unknown contacts like this; we pretty much knew everyone around.Kellin walks over to me and takes a look of his own at the screen."Huh. Isn't that your personal number?" He asks, "The one you only give to your most trusted and guard like a dragon with an egg?"I roll my eyes, "I don't guard it. I’m cautious, aren’t you the one who used to rag me about having a sense of self-preservation worth an Alpha King?""Well, I sure am glad you’re taking me up on that so well.” I decide to ignore his sass and press the green call button."This is Theon Rexellen," I answer, instead of saying 'hello', "Who is this?""Theon?" A familiar female voice comes from the other side, and I stand straight up, "it's Callista. Sorry for the n
Last Updated : 2024-07-12Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 114. Heal
Callista.As the days go by, fragment by fragment, I heal.I honestly did not think it would be possible, but turns out, I shouldn’t really question the experts no matter how absurd their methods seem. After all, they were experts for a reason.I was moved to the hospital after the first session, where I got my own level of room. The same wards that were in the tower were placed here and they kept the nightmares at bay.The room I got was not open like the rest of the hospital was, but surrounded by linen curtains that were a light beige draped around cherry wood pillars that supported a circular roof. My bed was in the middle of the room, and at the foot of the bed, there was a chest, which was full of the robes worn by the patients of the hospital. They were a very light aqua color, and as everything in the Guild was, enchanted so they were warm when it was cold and vice versa, light and flowing. Some preferred to wear pants underneath, some didn't. Anyone was free to accessorize th
Last Updated : 2024-07-12
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Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 263. Chaos
CallistaAs soon as I exit the room, I stumble upon a girl who screams upon seeing me.I arm myself with my chain, not caring about her age. She looks old enough to have found her bear. The chain is bundled up with the piece of the bed post and the padlock, giving it a good heft, and I for a fact know that it would knock her out with one strike. “No, please don't hit me, I'm innocent!” She raises her hands in her defense as she stumbles back against the wall.“Who are you?” I snarl, not believing her entirely.“I just work in the pack house, please, I got nothing to do with what's going on!” The girl pleads, her expression filled with panic and fear. “I'm the one who brought you the food so Master Xaveraq could take them to you!”A quick thought passes through my mind.“You know Xaveraq?” I demand and she nods. “I was the one tending to all his needs. My Alpha assigned me to him,” she answers, and I hold the chain and point to it.“In that case, you got any idea where the key to thi
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 262. Fight
CallistaI can't believe it, Theon is here!Theon is finally here!The sheer relief I feel as soon as I see him nearly brings me to my knees, and I can't help but cry out his name. He's battling two bears at once, expertly dodging their lumbering attacks and hitting them with some of his own.He's fast and he's precise, and in a few minutes, he manages to draw out blood. Next to him, Haden fights, targeting the bears who come toward Theon. They act as a team to take the bears down. Haden has a scratch on his back already, but it doesn't seem to bother him.I find myself screaming at them whenever a bear turns towards them, and every time Theon glances at me, I feel better than I did in the last few days.It's kind of pathetic in hindsight, I guess, but I don't care.This is the first time I'm seeing my mate after four days, and dammit, I'm going to be as sappy as I want. I have so many questions. How is the Rexellen pack? What happened to Farris and Elias? Is Elias really dead? How
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 261. Punishment
TheonAs soon as the Headmistress gives us the signal, Ophelia lifts herself off the ground using her vines and shoots out of the trees.We follow her out, Haden and I shifted to our wolf forms, Master Tsertinand wielding his magical disc, Kiran holding two daggers that look lethal along with a multitude of amulets, and Leita with her vast knowledge of spells and ability to call any animal within the range. As soon as we burst through the tree line, I notice the house and the army of werebears. There might be three or four dozen of them surrounding the hunting lodge-style house that stands in the middle of a grassy field. Some of them are turned while many of them are still in their human forms.I noticed the Gamma who I fought against, Edwin Teller, in the front, standing with his claws out, ready to attack in any given movement. The Headmistress is standing facing a man who is not visible through the trees. The bears get ready to face the witches, and as soon as we appear, they st
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 260. Crimes
CallistaI rush to the window of my room, thankful that the chain is long enough to allow me the movement, and throw open the windows. There is an army of werebears, both turned and in human form, surrounding the house, facing the forest from the east.Near the tree line stands a woman dressed in the white garb of the witches, flowing pants tucked into her boots, a white tunic over a long-sleeved bodice with a sash tied around her waist, and a scarf wound around her neck. Her snow-white hair is tied back from her face, and her pale eyes glisten with an ethereal light.She stands in a posture that radiates power, her head held high, her spine straight, standing tall against an army of bears.I can't help my astonishment. The Headmistress is here!Her eyes flick upwards to the window and focus on my face. They widen slightly, and I can't help but wave like a lunatic and scream, “I'm here! I'm here!”The Headmistress gives me the smallest nod, visible relief in her eyes.“You are the He
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 259. Murderer
CallistaI can't sleep. I anticipated this before. Although the unrest outside had dwindled, I was still alert and wide awake, listening to every little sound. I'm pretty sure it's past midnight at the moment.I'm not a stranger to insomnia, but after having some good nights of sleeping blissfully before this whole fiasco started with Farris taking over the Rexellen pack, my old sleeping habits were making an appearance. The information the devil revealed today doesn't help me either. I still can't wrap my head around all of it.Of all the things to happen to me, I never expected that I'd end up a prisoner to an ancient being who killed thousands just because he wanted to ‘unify all races to save the world’. I mean, come on, that sounds like the plot of an action-packed Hollywood movie. And certainly not one with the supernatural in it. But that is the reality I'm living in. Both the earthquake and the Geraldine pack were his doing. How could he be so callous? So emotionless abou
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 258. Deviless
Theon“Now, the deviless, who'd been raised apart from her parents because she was blessed as a deity, didn't know what love even was,” the Headmistress continues. “It was a different time than ours, and back then, even language was at its infancy. Books were not invented yet. When she asked her servants about the strange emotion she felt whenever she saw the devil they wouldn't give her a straight answer. The servants were certain that the deviless couldn't feel love the way the normal folk did. The poor deviless was confused about herself and decided to ask the young devil warrior for answers herself.”The Headmistress pauses to glance at the barrier, and then turns back to us. It's nearly midnight now, and fortunately, we haven't had any animals wander into the campsite so far. We heard some chirping and rustling here and there, but it was nothing big.My bet was that they were rabbits or squirrels, or some other critters that size. Haden and I were alert, nevertheless, just in cas
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 257. Clan
Theon“Where's Aldar?” Master Tsertinand asks, making way for the Headmistress to approach the camp.She's dressed unlike I've ever seen her before. The Headmistress usually opts for long dresses and cloaks that look gothic and ancient.But now she's dressed in a costume similar to what the protectors like Kiran wore while they were in the Guild, although it is pure white in color. The protector outfit suits her significantly, making it easier for her to blend with the surroundings and accentuate her strong frame.Her hair is tied back from her face in a severe style, highlighting her angular features. She wears rings studded with stones on all of her fingers, and a stone pendant around her neck. “She had to stay behind to take care of the Guild in my absence,” the Headmistress replies, smiling at all of us in greeting. “The Academy is very busy at this time of the year with the first years getting ready for the Annual festival. Matron Aldar and I can't afford to leave together at su
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 256. Hiding
Theon“We saw a dirt path,” I reply as soon as I transform back to the human form from behind a boulder, using it to hide my nudity. “It's just a moment away from here. There are rocks all around so we can have a cover.”“A dirt path?” Master Tsertinand questions and send the ring a dirty look. “Couldn't have shown me that, could you, you little shit? We're trying to save your damned owner!”The ring, of course, does not answer. “We nearly ran into the barrier when we saw it,” Haden chimes in next to me, having transformed back himself. “Your bird was a great help.”As we say that, the bird itself arrives, chirping. It spirals around us, nearly touching us, and then flies straight towards Master Tsertinand. As soon as it collides with the weapon smith's body, it vanishes. “Did you call the Headmistress?” I question, pulling on my clothes.They're at the same spot I left them. Master Tsertinand was right when he said that the perimeter was smaller than that of the Rexellen pack. It o
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 255. Absorb
Callista“Holy shit, you're the one behind the earthquake too?!” I yell out, unable to believe what I'm hearing.I expected him to reveal a lot of things, but this was not one of them.“I did not mean to. I was never a fan of causing an unnecessary ruckus, and the earthquake did exactly that. It even sapped up some of my own powers in doing so, that I had to absorb more souls to compensate,” Xaveraq says. “Anyway, after that-”“Woah, Woah, Woah,” I stand up from my bed, my heart beating fast in my chest.I'm trying to piece together this puzzle in my head with all the information I'm being given. That part of absorbing souls, whatever that may be, rings a bell in my mind.A very disturbing bell.“So, where did you get your souls?” I demand.“Is that really important at the moment, Callista?” Xaveraq questions in a bored tone. “I thought you wanted to know how I found you.”“Tell me where you got the souls from,” I insist, feeling dread mount within me.I desperately hope he would not
