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96. Trip
Last Updated:
2024-04-10 18:38:03
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Once 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 : 2024-04-24Once A Luna, Now A Stealer? 104. Tree
Theon.Callista starts to sob uncontrollably, hanging onto my shoulders. Haden stares at us and I can feel his wide eyes even through the mask.I'm frozen on the spot."Callista?" I ask in a soft voice, "What happened?"What did they do to her up there? Did they hurt her? Did they try to break into her mind? Was she hurt? Such thoughts swirl in my mind as I feel the rage boiling in me. Someone made my mate cry, someone hurt my mate, and I'm going to fucking claw their throats out-My eyes widen as I register my thoughts."Calm down," I tell my wolf who's already plotting murder. "We don't even know what happened.""Mate hurt!""Let me handle this."“She’s hurt!”“We don’t know that for sure, shut up and let me deal with this, will you?!”Haden raises the goggle part of his mask and his hazel eyes stare at me. His eyebrows raise as if he's asking me what the hell I'm doing.I raise my eyebrows trying to convey a panicked ‘What am I supposed to do? She won't' talk!’ without words.Rolli
Last Updated : 2024-04-24
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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
