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95. Car
Last Updated:
2024-04-10 18:02:31
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Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 96. Trip
Callista.Once upon a time, I'd dreamed of going on a road trip.There was something so classic about them that appealed to my childish mind, something that we could have in common with humans, like school, but much more enjoyable than school and certainly more adventurous. Being confined to the pack was suffocating at times, regardless of the freedom if afforded, so escaping even for a little while was a dream.At first, I'd wanted to do it with my adoptive family, but the moment I'd asked them if we could, the answer had been a stout no. Followed by incredulous laughter. Later, I'd hoped that maybe I could make a trip after I graduate, along with Farris. I'm embarrassed to say that I planned the whole thing using a pink glitter pen in a little red scrapbook. I'd spent weeks on it, really.I was ready to bring it up to him after the coming-of-age ceremony. I was certain that he would jump on board, and it wouldn’t be hard to leave too because he was the Alpha after all. We didn’t hav
Last Updated : 2024-04-10Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 97. Friend
Callista."No coming back?!” I nearly screech. “Why did you not tell me this before?”"I might have thought you would back away from it if I did.”Unbelievable. “Well, Theon, considering how I could actually die if I back away, it’s not really a choice is there?”Theon looks sheepish and regretful.“Look, I’m sorry, but you don’t have to worry, Callista, I know you can make it," Theon reassures me. "You're the strongest person I know. If you can't do it, I don't think anyone can."Strongest person he knows. Those words ring in my ears, and it's hard to believe he thinks of me that way.But still!“You’re lucky I don’t condone regicide.”Theon actually smiles at that, and I try not to blush and ignore the barrage of butterflies in my stomach."Also, I’m afraid you’re overestimating me, Alpha, I don’t think I am all that."Theon searches my face with those abyss dark eyes. One could get sucked into them if you look too closely, they will hypnotize you. One look is all it takes to hook y
Last Updated : 2024-04-12Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 98. Mist
Callista.The Witches Guild covers an entire mountainside, with small, clattered buildings, all built on terraces, starting from the midway point all the way to the top. There is a long staircase looping through a rough incline to each of the smaller buildings.Mist covers half the mountain, and ethereal lights glow through the haze, making it appear pretty ghostly. In the dark of the night, I cannot count how many buildings there are, or how they are shaped. All I see are dimly lit silhouettes, but even then, it’s a majestic sight. On the top of the mountain, there was a tall tower, the very top of it hidden by actual clouds. It caps off the domineering picture created by the entire landscape in an aptly foreboding manner.As if they were trying to add to the effect, in front of every building stands a number of people, all dressed in cloaks and shrouded in shadows. An ominous air remains, and the silence is overwhelming. We get out of the car and walk towards the doorless gateway t
Last Updated : 2024-04-12Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 99. Tower
Callista."For the duration of your stay here," the Headmistress says, "we are housing you in a specially warded room."Theon and Haden were separated from me by the woman who was called the Matron, who led them towards the common guest room on the lower floors of the tower. The Headmistress requested me to follow her.I looked at Theon before following her as if by instinct. Not for his permission, but for his opinion. That was when I realized I’d come to trust him more than I thought was possible."It's okay, no one here will allow anything to hurt you." Theon had assured me, and the tightness in my chest eased. Theon knew these people, that had to mean something. "The witches who live in the Guild are sworn to be non-violent unless it’s in self-defense.""But what if I have an episode and attack them?" I asked, glancing at the Headmistress. I bet she could take me down before I could even think of making any violent move on her."It's okay, Callista. The Headmistress knows more abo
Last Updated : 2024-04-14Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 100. Pleasant
Callista. When I wake up the next morning, I feel fresher than I'd felt in a long time. There had been no nightmares last night, and my mind was far less haunted than before. My eyes and my head don't hurt from waking up from sleep numerous times, and for the first time in a while, I can enjoy the morning. Until I realize where I actually am. Sunlight streams inside the warded bedroom and the way it contrasts with the coldness in the atmosphere is almost delicious. I let them touch my skin, and warm me from the inside. When I breathe, I see fog. How far up in the sky am I? Stretching, I step into the bathroom and brush my teeth. I don't feel like taking a shower, but I want to make a good impression, so reluctantly I step under the water. It's nice and toasty while it lasts, but the minute I step out it feels like I'm freezing. It doesn't matter if the room is heated, the cold on the outside somehow seeps in. I quickly get dressed in the warmest clothes I can find and escape to
Last Updated : 2024-04-14Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 101. Echo
Callista.We are led out of the tower from a different entrance than the one we came in. As soon as we step out of the door, the feeling of teleportation takes over.“Oh, shit!” I start but only get to and it when we materialize someplace different from the tower.It is a bizarre-looking facility, but very in line with the Guild. It's a wall-less building, with numerous levels. The whole building is built around a large tree that soars up into the sky. The branches support the various levels coupled with magic. Enchanted stairways lead from one level to another, according to the wish of the user. They're like escalators, but movable from level to level. I see various hospital equipment along with various non-mundane equipment all around. There are many people milling around, dressed in all kinds of archaic clothing, but the ones wearing light purple robes with deep violet cloaks held by copper-colored chains. Theon tells me that they are the physicians, basically, the ones who rule t
Last Updated : 2024-04-16Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 102. Horror
Callista."How bad?" The Headmistress asks.The physicians look amongst themselves, and by the way, the Headmistress stiffens, I have a feeling that them being so uncertain and worried isn’t common.It’s physician Thulile who answers."Her mind is fragmented,” she flicks her arm in the air and an orange glowing sphere appears, and as soon as it does, it breaks into small pieces, all hovering in the air. “And the broken fragments are creating a dark barrier around her mind, protecting the malevolence that resides inside.”Black tendrils erupt from the fragments and link each other, creating a dark barrier. Within it a silhouette of a girl appears, eerily similar to me, but her eyes which are her only discernable feature, are red. I’ve seen those red eyes before.“The malevolence wants to end her eventually, but for now it plays with her."The dark barrier vanishes, and with it, the girl disappears with a scream.I shudder and don’t even try to hide the horror I feel."This Chamber of D
Last Updated : 2024-04-19Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 103. Dark Magic
Callista.With a gasp, I wake up, and like a broken dam, the real world floods into my perspective.The rain has stopped already, and the clouds roll peacefully once again. I see sunshine and I feel the warmth. But I'm dripping with sweat, and I’m panting unstoppably.When I look to the side, I notice a furiously whispering huddle of physicians at the other end of the room.Something clinks from my side, and I turn my head to see the Headmistress undoing my shackles with a carefully blank expression."How are you feeling, Callista?" She asks, helping me to stand up after all the shackles were undone. My knees are still weak, so I lean against the bed."Like I got caught in a tornado," I say, shaking my head to stop the wiggling feeling inside my skull. It's like I have worms in my brain or something. “Like I’ve been on the world’s worst rollercoaster while having motion sickness.”"Do you feel nauseous? Do you require water?""No, thanks, I think I'll just sit down." I sit on the bed
Last Updated : 2024-04-24
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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
