The Red Moon (4)

Seraphina's POV

At the human school, I wasn’t particularly remarkable. My grades were average, nothing special. But it didn’t matter. I had no intention of attending one of their universities. My goals were set much higher than that.

My real ambition was to attend Loisage Academy, a prestigious school known only to our kind. It wasn’t a place for ordinary humans. It was a sanctuary for wolves, witches, and other magical elites. Loisage held the kind of knowledge I desperately needed—the kind that might help me break the red moon curse that had plagued my family for centuries.

I knew that the answer had to be hidden somewhere in the academy’s vast collection of ancient texts. There had to be something, some spell or ancient ritual, that could finally free us from this cycle of death and loss. And if there wasn’t? Well, then I would find a way to create one myself.

The weight of the curse pressed down on me more heavily with each passing year. Every time I caught a glimpse of the red moon through my window, my heart clenched with dread. My mother’s ominous words echoed in my mind, and I couldn’t help but fear that, like her, my time would eventually come to an abrupt and violent end.

But I wasn’t ready to accept that fate. Not yet. Not without a fight.

I had always thought I would have more time.

The plan had been simple: attend Loisage Academy for four or five years, gain the knowledge I needed to handle the complexities of the Moonbane family, and return when I was ready—ready to assume the responsibilities that came with being the next in line for our cursed legacy. At least, that was the future I had envisioned for myself.

Though I never fully related to humans, there were aspects of their beliefs that resonated with me—especially their idea that even while shouldering family obligations, one must live for themselves. It struck a chord with me. As much as my bloodline bound me to the Moonbane family’s ancient ways, I couldn’t help but long for a life beyond its grasp, if only for a short while.

After all, my lifespan was already destined to be brief.

But now, on the night of my sixteenth birthday, the reality I had hoped to postpone came crashing down on me far sooner than I had expected. The moment I saw the red moon hanging ominously in the sky, dread gripped my heart like a vice. The glow of the moon, deep crimson like blood, seemed to sear through the night with its cursed light, a reminder of the fate that had claimed every family head before me.

Had the curse finally taken my mother too? The thought sent waves of panic crashing through me, each one more suffocating than the last. I couldn’t breathe.

"Mother... Has she...?" My voice trembled in the stillness of the night, my mind grasping at the worst-case scenario. Was she dead?

But no. I couldn’t accept that without seeing her for myself. My instincts screamed at me to check on her, to confirm with my own eyes that she was still alive. There had to be time. The curse couldn't have taken her so soon, not like this.

I turned toward Stephen, his face lit by the faint red glow of the moon. His expression was unreadable, but I could see a flicker of worry in his eyes as he looked at me. He hadn’t seen her either.

"Stephen!" I called out, my voice stronger now, fueled by a sudden surge of determination. "Have you seen Mother? Have you checked on her?" The urgency in my tone snapped him out of his daze, and he blinked, shaking his head in response. He seemed as lost as I was, caught in the overwhelming confusion that had descended on us both.

I couldn’t wait for him to gather his thoughts. "The Red Moon Curse... I don’t believe in that nonsense!" I spat, tightening my grip on his wrist and pulling him toward me. "We’re going to see Mother—now."

Even though I knew the curse was real—how could it not be, when it had claimed so many before her?—I refused to believe that it had taken her without a fight. My mother was too strong for that. Too powerful. She wouldn’t just give in. There had to be a chance, however small, that she was still alive. Still fighting.

No. I wouldn’t accept her death until I saw it with my own eyes.

I didn't fully understand why, at that moment, I felt such an overwhelming need to see her, to feel her presence once more. Maybe it was the blood that bound us, or perhaps it was a part of me that still believed she could defy the fate that loomed over us. Whatever the reason, I had to find her.