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279. Flayed
Last Updated:
2025-03-03 19:03:10
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Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 280. Absorb
CallistaI balk at the last thing he says, wondering if I heard him correctly.“F-flaying?” I stutter.Didn't that mean skinning someone...alive? “Yes, flaying,” the devil confirms. “It was a common practice with thieves in those times, when their targets refused to comply. The man must've tried to fight them when they came to rob him. In a way, it was the stupidest thing one could do when met with thieves, especially when one was with one’s family. But those were desperate times for many, and how could a man bare to be parted of the wealth he slaved to earn?”“You stumbled across a scene where a bunch of thieves was flaying a man in front of his family,” I repeat, still unable to comprehend the absolute humidity of it. “Yes, I did. And little did I know then that that would be considered tame compared with the other terrors I'd witness throughout the centuries that were to come,” Xaveraq comments. “Anyways, back to the story, yes, the man was being flayed. When I came across the sc
Last Updated : 2025-03-03Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 281. Path
Callista“You've been standing there for quite a while,” suddenly, Xaveraq notes.For a millisecond I don't know how to answer that because of the drastic change in subjects. I've been waiting with anticipation for him to get to this part of the story.What happened with the deviless? How did the entire Devil Clan disappear from the face of the earth? How on earth did Qaetanya's soul get into Lucienne’s body?“What?”“I said, you've been standing there for quite a while. Follow me, I'll show you the way to your room. I won't chain you this time, because you can't escape this temple even if you escape your room,” Xaveraq says.Then, he sweeps away towards the passage he pointed out earlier which led to the living area in the temple. “Wait, stop!” I call out, running after him. “You need to tell me the rest of the story!”“It's blatantly obvious what happened next,” the devil states without stopping. “Use your imagination, Callista, and fill the blanks.”“Uh, how about no? I can't use
Last Updated : 2025-03-03Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 282. Ring
TheonLucky for us, none of the stewardesses on any of the flights we take appear to be hunters. We arrive at the Henri Coandă International airport in Bucharest, Romania after 15 hours after leaving the Chicago O’Hare International airport.Lucky for us, it seems Hunter, who had lived in Romania for half of her teenage years is very familiar with the Romanian language. We all exhale in relief upon hearing that. As soon as we exit the airport the fact that I’m no longer in the USA finally dawns on me, and I feel a bit lost. We’re literally plunging into our plan blind here, and we’re at the mercy of Hunter and Callista’s ring.I’ve never been this off in my life before. We were so far away from home in unfamiliar territory, and I didn’t know the dangers our environment processed.The Headmistress would be joining us when we get close to Callista’s location same as she did before because she had to attend the hearing at the Supernatural council regarding the Teller pack, as she was o
Last Updated : 2025-03-03Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 283. GPS
Theon“What the actual fuck is wrong with this fucking thing I swear to the Goddess this is giving me gray hairs!” Master Tsertinand roars.We all flinch at his outburst as we've been focusing on the outside, waiting for him to use his aspect on the ring yet again. We'd parked the van after crossing the Ialomita River, at the roadside, and pooled out of the car to give Master Tsertinand some space under the guise of stretching our legs and being tourists to the general public.The night was coming along, and at a distance, I can see the lights of a city. We still got a long way to go until we get to Focsani, so we should be getting back on the road soon. I was just thinking that when Master Tsertinand comes out of the vehicle cursing left and right all while shaking his fist.Upon seeing me, he stomps toward me, grabs my hand, and deposits the ring on my palm before I can even get over my immense surprise. Everyone else in the party gawks at us, confusion marring their faces. The r
Last Updated : 2025-03-04Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 284. Drift
CallistaAfter my mini-breakdown, I feel a bit more stable. The storm inside my head has calmed down enough for me to take in my immediate surroundings. So, I get up from the floor and turn towards the room. And then gasp. Because the bedroom looks newly prepared to accommodate me.I gape at it for a few moments, wondering how this had happened.Did the devil prepare the room for me before he teleported me from the bear pack? Or had he done it after, when I had been unconscious?Which was odd, by the way. I didn't know why I fainted every time I was teleported by the devil. It didn't happen when Matron Aldar did it. But that feels like the least of my concerns at the moment. As we walked through the temples, I realized that the architecture was very similar to that of the Greco-Roman times but looked even more ancient. There were pictorials on every surface, faded away with time for the most part but still visible.These pictorials looked a bit like Egyptian hieroglyphics, but more
Last Updated : 2025-03-04Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 285. Qaetanya
CallistaI find myself standing in a very familiar space.It's outside, and there is a flowerbed with all kinds of roses planted in it. The flowers are in full bloom. They smell nice and are very nostalgic. I look around, and there's a stone wall behind me.In front of me is also a wall. To my left, there are more flowerbeds, and to my right, there is a doorway. I'm alone here, there isn't another soul in sight. Suddenly, I recognize where I am. This is one of the sides of the Rexellen pack castle, in the inner courtyard. Near the wall, some maids had started a mini rose garden a couple of years ago.What was only supposed to be two flowerbeds had escalated, and now the entire side of the castle was filled with roses. Theon and I loved to walk in this area, mainly because it was secluded enough to make out when we felt like it. Seeing the rose garden makes me weak with homesickness. I miss the castle so much, and not knowing if I will ever be able to see it again pains me physical
Last Updated : 2025-03-04Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 286. Absorb
Callista“I...” Qaetanya stutters, her expressions conflicted. “I... don't know.”“Seriously?”“I do not know how to save you from him,” defeated, she says. “Xaveraq is not the devil I knew anymore. He's powerful. He is so much more powerful than I can even fathom. I saw the way he battles with the witches. He shouldn't be able to win over them so easily, but he did.”She looks down.“I don't have the power I once did anymore. Thousands of years of living in bodies that were not mine had depleted it. My entire magical being depleted a lot of it when I gave Lucienne the power of the stealer. Now, I feel as if I'm ordinary. That I'm nothing more than the average devil.”“You lost your power. How is that possible? You were blessed by the Moon Goddess!” I yell, letting my anger echo in my voice finally. I don't want to hold it back anymore. “I don't know!” she lashes back, meeting my own tone. “I thought the same. I was called a deity, and I thought I was invincible. I thought I was the
Last Updated : 2025-03-04Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 287. Clueless
TheonIt's been three days since we arrived in Romania, and I'm pretty sure that there wasn't a place in this country where we hadn't gone to by now.The ring has been showing us various trails, each differing from the previous ones it'd shown us. And because our alternative was giving up, we'd followed each path the amulet had shown, hoping that at least one of them would lead us to Callista. But no.Not a single route has led us to her. Now, on the third day, we stand in the middle of nowhere. Because our van which had served us faithfully for three days had broken down. Barren fields that had once been used to grow wheat surround us from either side of the road. It is nighttime, and snow keeps falling. The road is hauntingly lonely without a soul in sight.There’s not a town in sigh. The road seems to end at infinity, fading away into the white of the snow. I stand next to Haden as he tinkers with the engine of the van. I know nothing about vehicles, and Haden wasn't much of an
Last Updated : 2025-03-04
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Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 322. Epilogue
CallistaTen years later.I stand in front of Lily Lane Pup Daycare after ending my workday at Rexellen University, holding a stack of books in my arms trying to shove them into the backpack I’ve taken with me.It’s three in the evening, and the kids should be out in a few minutes.It’s summer again, the weather is pleasantly warm, and everything brims with life. There are bees flying everywhere, suckling nectar out of the numerous fully blossomed Leanderrs.The Rexellen pack town is as busy as ever, with people bustling around after clocking off from work, going on their errands, and their outings.Everyone seems happy, and they’re open and very friendly.Upon noticing me, everyone who passes greets me with a simple.“Good evening, Luna!”“Good evening to you too!” I always greet back.Some parents stop by near the daycare to collect their children, and we start pleasantly conversing with each other.I’ve been the Luna Queen of the Rexellen pack for ten years now, and honestly, those
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 321. Ceremony
CallistaFour weeks later.I walk down the shoveled path with a single lily flower in my hand, a smile on my lips, and my heart overflowing with joy.I’m dressed in an ankle-length, heavy-set gown that accentuates my form as if it had been sewn with me in my mind.It’s a silverish white in color in accordance with tradition, and a million tiny rhinestones create spiraling patterns all over the skirt. The long sleeves and the woolen cloak that accompany them give me warmth on the cold winter night.On my neck, there is a white gold necklace with a diamond as the pendant, the only piece of jewelry I wear, which is a gift from the witches who'd arrived a day before to celebrate the ceremony.The mating ceremony for Theon and me.In the background, a string quartet, comprised of two maids of the Rexellen pack castle and two guards, plays a tune that I can't quite name but can’t help but think is so apt for the situation.On either side of me, my closest friends whom I consider my family s
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 320. Gift, not Curse
CallistaA week later.Valencia Everhart was sentenced to life in prison by the Supernatural Council for assisting the devil in his criminal endeavors such as kidnapping and harboring a werewolf, orchestrating a pack takeover on the orders of the devil, attempted killing of two pack members of the Rexellen pack and the biggest crime of them all, assisting the devil in massacring the entire Galdine pack.I thought the last one was a bit harsh because Valencia never really did know about that charge, but as Valencia had confessed in the court, she’d given the devil the location and information regarding her pack.She had been under the impression the devil was going to protect the Galdine pack from Theon’s retaliation against the pack takeover, but she’d been lied to.We attended the court on the same day as Valencia did, and I’m sure that the cries that ravaged her as she learned the horrible fate that befell her pack would never stop haunting my nightmares.I felt sorry for her, and a
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 319. Afterlife
CallistaQaetanya and Xaveraq reached the afterlife together.One was willing, the other was not. One sacrificed herself, while the other, well, I had to kill the other.Xaveraq’s soulless body lays in the circular chamber, and I don’t look at it again as we exit the room, both of us still in wolf forms.I feel numb as we stumble out of the temple as soon as possible after I release the devil’s and the deviless’s souls into the gateway.None of us speak, although I could feel everyone except Theon patiently waiting for the right moment. They look stunned as we walk through the doorway. For a moment I’d been afraid the doorway wouldn’t be present because of it being only shown with the blessing of a devil and all, but fortunately, it stands.As soon as we all exit the temple doorway, it starts to shudder. And then the most bizarre thing happens.Numerous high-pitched screams ring through the air, and greyish white mist starts to shoot from all directions towards the doorway, getting su
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 318. Defeat
TheonI can’t process half the things that are happening as I stand outside the little circular room, trying and failing to get in.One moment, Callista is being choked by the devil, and the next moment, in the place of Callista, stands a majestic white wolf! The wolf shimmers as if she were the Moon Goddess herself in wolf form, stepping down from the moon to aid us in our time of need.But when the wolf looks at me for the briefest moment and howls in ecstasy, I realize that this wolf is no Goddess.That’s my mate!After months, no, years, of agonizing, Callista has finally found her wolf.But then she turns towards Xaveraq and leaps towards him with no hesitation.My scream deafens my own ears, wondering what the hell she was doing. I witness the whole scene as if it’s unfolding in slow motion.As Callista nears the devil, whose shadows are closing in on her to consume her, a flash of blinding white light erupts from her, filling the room with a glow akin to the sun.I shield my e
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 317. Amazed
QaetanyaHer wolf is beautiful, reminiscent of the first wolfwoman I met in the forests of Gaul all those years ago.She is larger than most wolves, were-creature or otherwise, and when she stands, she cuts a majestic figure, even in the confines of the squat, circular room. Her coat is a silverish white, and it glistens as if it was created by moonlight, as if the Goddess molded the wolf herself.Her emerald eyes shine as she stares at Xaveraq in confusion, and amazement, stunned to her very core.She can’t still process that after years of hope and dream, she’d finally transformed into her secondary form.I had watched her wolf grow from a pup to an adult within her as I was trapped in her mind ever since she was born. Throughout the three thousand years I’ve been with Callista’s bloodline, I’ve witnessed hundreds of pups being born within the babies, but never have I seen a wolf as beautiful as this one.Even I was in awe when she first appeared, sleeping soundly, growing along wit
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 316. Shift
CallistaThe very first time I witnessed a werewolf’s first shift I was just five years old.It was at a birthday party, and of course, it was for Ruelle.Naturally, almost everyone from my adoptive parents’ families was invited. I liked my relatives because they didn’t favor Ruelle over me to the extent my parents did. At this time, all I had were Ruelle’s hand-me-downs. Her clothes, her toys, her books…The only thing I had for myself was a pair of shoes because Ruelle’s feet had always been smaller than mine, and there was no way my feet could fit in her shoes.I loved those shoes so much.That didn’t mean I never got gifts. My parents’ relatives would always give me presents of my own when they came to visit. It didn’t matter if it was Ruelle’s birthday or mine.It didn’t matter if it was a special day, a holiday, or even a plain, random visit to see how we were doing: clothes, shoes, toys, and new books; everything a little girl could want.Granted these things would be taken awa
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 315. Goodbye
Callista“My, my, Qaetanya, you’re actually stronger than I thought. Here I thought that you wasted it all by giving that werewolf a special scent,” the devil taunts the deviless as he circles us, his eyes set on us as if he’s a predator.“I was blessed by the Goddess,” arrogantly, Qaetanya declares, flexing her digits so the electric sparks flicker around them. “Such a power cannot be hindered by anything, least of all you!”“All except the summer solstice,” Xaveraq grins before hurtling another wave of shadows towards her.Qaetanya ducks them swiftly, and the shadows hit the wall behind us, getting absorbed into the stone. Using her momentum, Qaetanya attacks Xaveraq with a light wave of her own, which Xaveraq detracts by a shield of shadows.“I told you that information because I trusted you,” Qaetanya replies to the jab. “Because I believed the man I loved wouldn’t even think of hurting me with that information. But you did exactly that. You might preach about me manipulating you
Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 314. Monsters
TheonA pillar monster falls right in front of me, nearly crushing me, but I jump away just in time. The sheer force of the fall breaks its stone arm in two, and the eerie silverish glow in its eyes subsides. The pillar monster stops moving.“I think he died,” I tell Haden, who is panting on the other side of the fallen monster.This is the only one that we managed to fall, and by the looks of it, kill.“Holy shit, did that actually work?” Kiran screeches.He was the propellent of bringing the monster down. Now, he jumps back to the ground from the shield he’s been standing on and jogs closer to the pillar monster.Tentatively, he reaches out and touches its cracked shoulder, where some of the previously seen symbols are visible. I remember them running all around the pillars before the monsters came into being, glowing.I look at him and nod, trying to confer my thoughts via body movements.Yes, I think it actually worked.“Guys, we managed to bring a monster down!” Kiran yells back
