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79. Past
Last Updated:
2024-03-29 17:12:58
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Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 80. Feelings?
Theon.After a lifetime of having the notions of duty, responsibility, and royalty engraved to me from the start, I didn’t want to disappoint our father or the pack that relied on our family to provide it with leadership. Had I simply been the prince still, I might have considered it, but it was only mere months ago that my brother had abdicated from his position as the heir to the throne, because he trusted me to do a better job at ruling than he would have done, and father had started training me in the royal and diplomatic affairs. I realized that I had been using this relationship as a means of escape from all the expectations that were weighing down on me. While I loved Valencia, nostalgia drove our relationship more than love. She was my last connection to the life I led before I had to step up and fill the position my brother left, but I wanted her to be my present and future too.But I was not just Theon Rexellen the wolf. I was Theon Valenti Rexellen, first of my name, the he
Last Updated : 2024-03-30Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 81. Gift
Callista.Several days pass and Dr. Haeger says that I’m released from the hospital.No more rain comes after that first incident, so there isn’t a way for us to do more tests. None of the previous tests shed any light on what’s going on in my body, and being cooped up in the hospital room makes me go mad from boredom. I’m antsy and restless and want to do something other than laze around. Back when I was a prisoner in the tower, at least I had dread to not make me feel bored. But now I don’t even have that. Everyone I come face to face with is so nice.I request Dr. Haeger to release me, and at first, he is reluctant.But eventually, he folds.“But as soon as you feel strange, give me a call.” He instructs me. “Or go to Dr. Harris if you happen to be near the infirmary. No matter how little it feels, notify either of us.”“But I don’t have a phone,” I say, feeling sheepish.“Not anymore!” Haden’s voice comes from the doorway of my former hospital room, and I see him and Theon standin
Last Updated : 2024-03-31Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 82. Joy
Callista.A brand-new workstation awaits me.The previously small desk that resided in the corner in front of the window had been replaced by a brand-new study table containing a laptop and a number of binders and books. There’s a schedule printed out on the desk on the top of the laptop, and a set of instructions.“What is this?” I whisper, feeling overwhelmed. This is the last thing I expected to see when I realized that I was going to be able to come back to the tower.“Well, it came to our attention that you never really did get to finish school.” Kellin appears next to Haden at the doorway with a smile. “So, we thought we could enroll you in a remote learning program so you can finish your GED, and hopefully, attend college afterward.”I gape at the setup, speechless. I don’t know what to say. Thank you doesn’t seem to be enough. Especially after I thought I was going to be a glorified prisoner for the rest of my life.“We thought of enrolling you in a physical school but given h
Last Updated : 2024-03-31Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 83. Odd
Callista.That’s an odd request.“Why?”“We are going to need some privacy or this.” Then he grimaces. “I swear on the Goddess that I will not harm you, if that’s what you’re worried about. I won’t even touch a hair on your body. You are safe, I’m not…we aren’t going to be like before.”My eyes search his face for a moment, and see that he’s earnest. Well, that swearing is serious. So, I lock the door behind me and move away from the door.“Please take a seat,” He gestures at the seat on the other side of the desk. “I just want to talk.”I take a seat.Theon puts away some of the documents in front of me in a file and steeples his fingers together in an odd formal gesture. I sit ramrod straight, because no matter the swearing earlier, he is Theon, and I am Callista. Ever since we met, we have been nothing if not volatile.He leans forward, his voice low, “What did Valencia want from you the other day?”I’m taken aback by that question. I thought he was going to talk about the agreemen
Last Updated : 2024-03-31Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 84. Positive
Callista.School is hard.Never thought I would say that.After months of staying off schedule, it’s hard to work according to a timetable again. And it feels truly bizarre to learn things after all the things that had happened to me for the last few months. Taking a notebook and a pen, jotting down notes, and even answering questions bring about a strange sense of nostalgia. It makes me miss Esther. We had been so close before, attending almost every class together, sitting next to each other, and whispering when the teachers weren’t looking and snickering at one thing or the other while we had lunch. But now, I can’t do any of that. I don’t even know if Esther is aware of what happened to me, or where I went. She seemed as shocked as every other wolf on that dastardly coming-of-age ceremony day, but her expression had morphed into worry pretty quickly. If the Alpha’s men had not been there, I was certain she’d have come to my aid.I wondered if she thought about me once in a while,
Last Updated : 2024-03-31Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 85. Friends?
Callista.This news catches me off guard. I did not expect to hear that out of him. Theon is actually asking me to join him for a function out of nowhere and all I can do for a good half a minute is to gape at him like a loon.Finally, my brain kickstarts function and I give out a noise.“Huh?”“The Annual Festival to honor the Goddess? Your pack celebrated it too, right?” He asks, all casual and inquisitive, as if we do this sort of thing every day. Like we’re buddies who didn’t have the kind of past we did.Also, what kind of a stupid question is that?Of course, the Leighwen pack celebrated the Moon Festival. So did all the werewolf packs in the whole world. It was a major event in the werewolf community, where everyone takes to the streets to celebrate and honor the Moon Goddess through a night of fun and merriment.It’s an event that promotes the brotherhood between the wolves in the pack. Which is why I feel a spike of bitterness and anger rise within me. It’s not entirely logic
Last Updated : 2024-03-31Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 86. Power
Callista.I stare at her, wondering what the hell I am supposed to say.On one hand, I wanted a female friend again. I missed the easy friendship I used to have with Esther, the camaraderie, the witty quips and snickering over mean girls, having someone to tell secrets to and expecting no judgment in return, just support.Although I had a friend in Haden, he was busy half the time with duties. And even then, there were some things I couldn’t say to him without feeling embarrassed. Our friendship kept getting stronger by the day, but it was different from what I had with Esther. Not as easy-going.But I couldn’t expect the same friendship from Valencia either. Esther and Valencia are so different the very idea is laughable. Valencia was the opposite of easygoing. She is mysterious, passive and serious with a sketchy history, half of which I didn’t even know.Theon warnings ring in my head, and even though I can’t imagine Valencia doing something that unhinged, it leaves me aa bit wary
Last Updated : 2024-04-01Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 87. Cherry
Callista.“Defend yourself, Callista!”Valencia’s wooden sword hits mine with the intensity of lightning, and half the time I can’t even see her coming. I thrust my own wooden sword here and there trying to block as many hits from her as I could.“Defend yourself like I’m your enemy, come on!”Valencia is a ruthless teacher and a clever swordswoman. Her body moves like she’s dancing across the floor, elegant, almost regal, but effective and lightning fast. Her strikes were precise and powerful, always hitting her target, which, at the moment, is me.It had been three days since we started practicing with swords, and all the time, Theon came to watch us.That was not something I expected to happen in my lifestyle.I thought he was going to blow up when I told him about Valencia wanting to help me learn the way of the blade, as she called it. At first, I didn’t really want to tell him, but then I remembered his warning. So, when I went to him, I expected him to blow the socket. surprisi
Last Updated : 2024-04-01
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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
