LOGINShare
123. Shield
Last Updated:
2024-07-15 22:52:46
Related chapters
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 124. Interlude
Interlude.Hidden by the tall trees that shelter the mountain top, a man watches the Witches Guild. His eyes track what most won’t notice, and his senses perceive the unperceivable. The witches are clever, with their spelled barriers and their cloaking enchantments, but they are still young.None of their little tricks work for a creature like him.He watches as the manticore wreaks havoc in the hospital.He watches as the griffin escapes its confinement.He watches as a brave young woman conjures a mauve shield to protect a group of children.The creature’s eyes narrow, and he watches her closely.After the havoc is managed and the children are safe, his eyes follow the young lady as the old Ksialite leads her away. He follows her as she disappears to the other side of the mountain.Dark hair, emerald eyes, fair skin. Effortlessly beautiful, catching the eyes of all that she meets.Oh, how that never changes. Some things will remain constant until the end of time.The man, the creatu
Last Updated : 2024-07-15Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 125. Defeated
Callista.I gasp as I come out of the episode, and I can still feel that dark monster trying to fight me. Trying to catch my breath, I look around. It’s still storming heavily outside, and rain splatters on the windows. The room is plunged into silence with the notable lack of chanting.It was still raining, but peculiarly, I am not in an episode.Needing to make sense of this, I rush towards the candle table, and lo and behold every single candle was unlit and blackened.Giddiness and joy build inside of me as I stare at the blackened candle. A grin starts to stretch my lips.Is this what I think it is?!As soon as the witches who worked with me opened the door, I let out a yell."It worked! Oh, my Goddess, it worked! I’m free!"Physician Okorie smiles at me."I knew you could do it, Callista!” she says. “Congratulations, you defeated all your demons!"The physicians come toward me, and we embrace, laughing and giggling like crazy. And maybe we were because we did it! Our effort was
Last Updated : 2024-07-15Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 126. Teleport
Callista.The next morning, I wake up in the Birdhouse feeling fresh as a flower. No fatigue from the party last night, no feeling like I should roll over and never leave my precious sleeping spot.Instead, I feel as perky as a baby griffin, ready to start my day.And the rest of my life.The party had gone on and on, and by the end of it we were all too lazy to go back to our respective rooms, so we decided to crash in Ophelia’s room in the Birdhouse on some spare sleeping bags the residents had stashed just for moments like these.Last night I’d forgotten that the room had not been protected against nightmares like my own. But in the end, it does not matter.Because I don't have any nightmares. I sleep like a kitten on that bedroll, flanked by Do Hyun, Mariz, and Leita, right there on the wooden floor of Ophelia’s room.After I stretch the remnants of sleep away, I walk towards the window and look outside.The storm has subsided, and the morning sun gleams on the fresh-looking leave
Last Updated : 2024-07-17Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 127. Shock
Theon.The first time Valencia kissed me, I was shocked to my core. It had been years after she'd left my pack, but her lips were still familiar.And just as unwelcome.I got over my shock pretty quickly and shoved her back, my heart racing in my chest. Then, I’d immediately looked around to make sure that no one had seen us before tearing into her."What the hell are you doing?" I'd screamed at her, wiping my lips furiously. The kiss, however brief it was, felt so wrong.Just like it was when I kissed Ruelle before. The only person whose kiss felt right was Callista, and I had no intention of doing that with anyone else but her.Valencia had looked confused. "But Theon," she'd protested. “We’re both mateless now. We’re free! Our mates are dead so we can finally be together. There's no one to stop us!""Valencia, I don't know how your relationship was with your mate," I let my anger show on my face because I didn't like her thinking one bit.I'd thought she'd gotten over this by now.
Last Updated : 2024-07-17Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 128. Betrayal
Callista.For a moment, all I can do is to gape at them.This is the last thing I expected to see upon my arrival at the castle, and the only thing I feel is betrayal.And confusion. But mostly betrayal."What the hell?" I exclaim, because what the actual hell are they doing?"Callista, I can explain-" Theon roughly shoves a dazed-looking Valencia off him and strides towards me, but I take a few steps back, as if by instinct. I stare at his face, noticing how distressed he is. His expression is the personification of regret, complimented by the deep furrow of his eyebrows, the hurt in his eyes, and his open mouth.But all I can focus on are his lips, which are red and shiny from the kiss.The same lips that kissed me before he let me in the Guild. "Really?" I say, in a tone that borders hysterical. "Because I'd love to hear it."Just then, I hear footsteps coming towards us, followed by Haden’s screams."Alpha!" He yells, before even turning the corner. "The barrier was breached! Som
Last Updated : 2024-07-19Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 129. Explain
Callista.My heart lurches to my throat, and I gulp, schooling my expression so I won’t show what I’m really feeling. Then, I go to the door and open before I can start doubting myself again.Theon stares at me as I stare at him, looking into each other's eyes. He opens his mouth, then closes it. He bites the inside of his lip."You look well," finally, he says. It’s disconcerting to hear him be so meek."I feel well," I reply, maintaining the calm. "I'm completely healed. No more episodes when it starts to rain."We're hedging, I know that. It takes me such an effort to restrain myself from demanding an explanation for what I saw downstairs."That's great. That's more than great," he nods furiously as if he was a bobbing head.Suddenly, everything feels too much. I don't want to tiptoe around the incident anymore. I need answers."What was that with Valencia in the hallway?" I ask."I didn't kiss her!" He blurts out as if he had been waiting to say that. "But it's not the first time
Last Updated : 2024-07-19Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 130. Wrecked
Callista."Yeah?" I croak. My voice sounds wrecked, and I hope she doesn’t look too closely into it.Theon shakes his head at me, eyes wide. I remember everything he told me about her, and I make a healthy guess. I nod at him, and he visibly deflates in relief.We jump out of the bed and straighten our clothes. I comb my fingers through the mess of my hair, trying to make it look a bit more acceptable. Theon does the same, rubbing at his lips to wipe away any moisture. "May I come in?" Valencia asks, her voice toned down and defeated. After I feel like we look decent enough, I reply. "Yeah, sure, come on in."Hesitantly, she opens the door. Upon seeing Theon, who looks pretty intimidating at the moment, she backtracks."I can come back later," she mutters, but I cut in.“No, it's fine, Theon was just checking in," I send Theon a look.I need to talk with her. She is clearly not in a good place, and I feel sorry for her. Just days ago, I was the same. And even though she'd come on
Last Updated : 2024-07-19Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 131. Rise
Callista.I meet Valencia as the sun begins to rise. She waits for me in the training area with two wooden swords in hand, idly swirling them."I hope you remember the last things I taught you," she says, and I feel myself blush. With everything that has transpired, I'd totally forgotten all my sword lessons."Um," I try to find words. "I guess?"Valencia shakes her head. "Well, why don't we spar and find out how much you remember, huh?""Sure," I reply.We take the swords and get into position. I feel a tingle run through my body starting from my ring. I glance at it, trying to see if it's glowing, but it's not. Why was I feeling the tingle then? Perhaps it's adrenaline."Get ready!" Valencia yells and lunges.Now, I had forgotten everything. My mind is clear of any sword art techniques, and I feel like an idiot. But it seems like my muscles hadn't forgotten what Valencia taught me days ago. My sword's arm moves at the speed of sound, countering her every strike. My legs and body mo
Last Updated : 2024-07-22
Latest chapter
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
