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Chapter 20: Escaping Reality
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Bab terkait
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 21: Rising From The Ashes
Delaney Paola eyes me through the mirror as she dries her hair. She's just gotten out of the shower, and it's my turn next. "Ingrid told me the strangest thing, you know.""What?" I ask as I pull my clothes off and climb inside the bathtub. The shower curtain is made of plastic, and it's parted slightly. I turn the water on and sigh in relief and gratitude as it gets warm. I stand under the spray of water, and the water saturates my hair entirely before running down my body. "She told me she used to be mean to me because she had a huge crush on me," she states before giggling. "Can you imagine that?""I guess it makes sense," I comment. "I felt the same way," she claims. "I guess it was just an immature thing for her to do, but she apologized and it's over now. I didn't think I'd forgive her as quickly as I did, but it happened."I grab the bar of soap and start to scrub my body. It has a hint of vanilla scent. I breathe it in as I lather the soap between my hands, and Paola keeps
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 22: Offer
Delaney Pollux walks ahead of the two of us, and stands in front of us, almost like he’s acting like a shield between us and this predatory looking man. Behind him, Ingrid looks like she might be sick, and the look she gives us is apologetic. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like how the suspense is making me feel nauseous while at the same time, making me feel like I should run far away from this place. “What’s going on?” Pollux asks, his voice thick with command. Ingrid takes a shaky breath, and says, “This is Matteo, and he’s just leaving.” “No, no, no,” Matteo says in that same deep voice that cuts through the air. A wicked smile is curving his lips, and he gives all three of us a good look. “This is what we need, like I told you. You three believe in the cause, don’t you? You’re rebels.” Nobody answers his question, and he steps closer to us in response before saying, “My name is Matteo, like Ingrid said, and I’m the head of the rebel force up here. We do th
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 23: A Flash of Red
AlecI straighten my bow tie in front of the mirror, and Carla appears behind me and wraps her arms around my waist. “You’re a sight,” she says with a soft smile. Ever since our argument yesterday, she’s been in a much better mood. I guess it’s because I lied to her about Delaney, and now, she’s more assured about our relationship and the way I feel about her. None of this is honorable. It’s merely necessary. I hate having to lie to her, but I can’t tell her the truth. The situation in itself is just downright tragic. She has always loved me—since high school, to be precise—and my mind has been on the redheaded Omega that paid for my crime since the day we found out that we were mates. My feelings haven’t changed since, not even after the rejection.The same protective feeling that overpowered me when I saw Trevor trying to kill her is still within me, forcing me to protect her from these people who want to see her dead. And I can’t tell this to anyone. It’s my cross to bear. I
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 24: Disbelief
DelaneySo far, the night has been calm and pretty uneventful, at least for me. I’m being kept in the sidelines; I’m here mostly to fill the shoes of someone else, so not a lot of duties are expected from me. Matteo made sure of that. We were to steer clear of the main room; Pollux has other duties that don’t involve us, and of course, he didn’t mention what they were. He’s mysterious like that, and hates to give explanations about what he’s doing. Paola and I are keeping a close eye on each other. We mostly just fill trays with canapé’s and then send them out, even though we’re in waiting uniform. The mask covers my face pretty well, but I haven’t found a way to cover my hair. The worst part is that I’m the only redhead among the servants, so that does complicate things a little bit. Even so, I try not to be nervous about it. It’s unlikely that anyone will look too closely at me. Why would they?I’m just a simply Omega. Nobody ever looks twice at us. Knowing that the bomb will e
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 25: Explosion
DelaneyAlec is dragging me toward the kitchen, where the lights are flickering on and off. Dust and debris billows in thick clouds, and the ground beneath my feet continues to vibrate. I’m choking on the dust particles suspended in the air, and it’s stinging my eyes, too. We make it to the exit, where hours ago, Paola and I entered the building through. When we step outside, where the air is clean, that’s when I remember my best friend. For some reason, I completely forgot about her while the building was collapsing all around us. I’ll blame it on the panic, and also the shock of being face to face with my greatest enemy. But I have to go back inside. I have to find her. I take a few steps forward and Alec holds my arm again. I whirl around to face him angrily, and tear my arm from his grip. “What are you doing!?” he asks angrily in a low voice. “Are you trying to go back inside? Is it death you’re looking for?”“Let go of me!” I command. “If you’re not going to kill me or have
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 26: Having To Choose
DelaneyThe silence in the tattoo parlor is almost stifling, but things get better once Pollux wakes up. The mood just lightens, and even I’m glad that the bastard is alive. He rubs his eyes and looks around the room quickly, assessing his surroundings and giving each of us a look before nodding. “Good. You’re all here, so that means that none of you are dead.”“What happened?” I can’t help but ask. Pollux shakes his head as he tries to sit up. He winces at whatever pain he feels, and continues. “That guy lied to us when he said that the bomb was only meant to scare people.”“Why wouldn’t he tell us the truth?” Paola asks. “It doesn’t make any sense.”“It does, actually,” I tell her. I’ve figured this out while Pollux was asleep, but decided to keep my thoughts to myself until now. “He wanted people to participate. For the plan to work, there had to be enough Omegas to serve them. Who would join his side if they knew there’d be the possibility that they’d die?”Pollux nods. “Exactly
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 27: New Rules
AlecWhat a mess this whole event has turned out to be. Thankfully, most of the members of my pack were alive. Three men did get seriously hurt during the explosion—one lost a leg—but from my side, there weren’t many casualties. Alpha Fredrick, however, has lost quite a number of people, the most tragic one being the death of his daughter. War has been announced. I was there when it happened, and I had to sign the treaty that we would open fire against the rebellion. As one of the three Alphas, I can’t overlook what happened here. The rebellion has never taken things this far. I’m blown away by the severity of their actions. This explosion was brutal and cowardly; there were children present during the wedding reception. Innocents have gotten hurt. This can’t be overlooked. “Alpha Alec,” I hear Alpha Jason say behind me. “Could we speak for a moment?”I tear my eyes away from the rubble, and follow him to a more secluded area so we can have a word in private. We rarely have priv
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 28: The Decision
DelaneyThe rest of the day is really quiet, and I find myself alone for most of the time. I guess everyone else is trying to reach within themselves for answers. This isn't a simple decision to make. It has plenty of consequences, and getting caught means that we could die. Even if Paola and Pollux decide to join the rebel army, that doesn't mean that I have to, and the opposite is also true. This is my life here and shouldn't be tied to anyone else's decision. That was the decision I made after leaving the prison, but I've been sucked into that world now, and honestly, I don't find any of this bad, and maybe that makes me a bad person. I want freedom. Running away to a place where I'll still be kept under the ranks for being Omega won't give me that freedom that I need to feel fulfilled. This is where the change happens, and it'll be the only chance I'll ever get to do something significant with my life. This is it. The ultimate war. If I have any hope of making a difference, i
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Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 102: Feeding Lies
DelaneyIn the morning, there’s an agitation somewhere deep in the settlement that wakes me up right away. I turn on my side, and see Paola staring at me. It seems the same noise has woken her up as well. I ask her, “Do you know what’s happening?”“No,” she says. “What time is it?”Before I can answer her, there’s a sharp knock on our door and Francesca walks in. “I’m sorry ladies. I wouldn’t have come in so quickly if it weren’t an emergency.”I sit up. “What happened?”“They’re saying something ridiculous,” she explains. “Some of the scouts that keep a close eye on the Alphas and everything that goes on in the city have just reported that Tobias Renner has been captured. Your father, Delaney. I mean, can you believe that?”My eyes widen, and my heart drops to the pit of my stomach. “What?”“We’re worried because it might mean that our informants got the wrong information, which means that they’re on to us. That’s bad, and we’re trying to figure out what to do now that we can’t trus
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 101: Fight For Survival
Alec The whole city is looking for the rebels, particularly Tobias Renner and his troublesome red-headed daughter. I couldn’t stop it or say no, not without making myself seem suspicious. I had to agree with it. Either way, I’m in control of everything that happens. Everyone’s looking up to me to take care of this and make this all go away, and this is easier to do when the people who were suspicious of me are now dead. Well, not all of them. Carla is alive still, and she suspects of me even though she hasn’t said a word about it. She hasn’t said anything since she woke up, to her precise, and I don’t know if it’s a head injury or whether she’s choosing to stay mute. As long as she doesn’t say anything, I’m good to go. She hasn’t gotten out of bed either, and the healers don’t know what’s wrong because she refuses to communicate and doesn’t want to leave the house. I check up on her only when I’m sure she’s asleep. One thing I can say is that I’m glad she’s not participating in a
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 100: Empty
DelaneyI hear Paola say my name. “Delaney?”I turn to look at her over my shoulder, and see her in Cade’s arms. I’m outside, getting some fresh air, and I’m standing right next to a metallic garden table with the polished green paint. He sets her down on one of the matching chairs, and then retreats. It’s almost like he was never here.I sit down beside her, and her eyes follow me the entire time. I stare at her face for a few beats, unsure of what to say. During my rant in there, I’d forgotten that she would be there, listening to everything that I was saying about her brother. I don’t know what came over me. The fact that he would ask me what’s wrong when he let innocent people die just touched a part of me that I didn’t even know existed. I’m angry, and I don’t trust that anger. “My brother…” she begins before trailing off. I give her some time to get her thoughts in order, and she then asks me, “Were those things you said true? Did he really do that?”I wait for a few beats, t
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 99: Confrontation
DelaneySince Cade told me what he’d seen and heard, I’ve been in a deep, pensive state. It’s much more than just me thinking too much, though. It’s something else. It’s an overwhelming feeling of guilt that really could kill me. Guilt, helplessness, and regret, all mixed in one. It’s a truly miserable feeling. Because I had to realize way too late that Alec didn’t have anything to do with the attack, even though Carla had been leading the whole thing. He hadn’t known. This explains why I felt so guilty whenever I thought that he had betrayed me. It was because he hadn’t. He’d been innocent. He’d even tried to help the cause, which means that the second explosion had been his doing. And if Pollux had done the right thing and told us, so much could have been avoided. Alex wouldn’t be dead, and neither would Matteo. I’ve been too busy being angry to be able to cry about this. Pollux…he’d betrayed me in the worst possible way. He’d betrayed the whole rebellion in the most horrible w
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 98: Missing Her
Alec“Alpha Alec,” one of my Gammas says right as he enters my office. “Here’s the list of the casualties you requested. Also, the newly appointed Alphas have accepted your meeting request for this afternoon.”“Thank you, Jason,” I tell him before taking the envelope from his hand. My whole body hurts still, particularly my back, but I’m starting to heal well. The problem with burns is that they take time to heal, and they tend to leave scars. I’m not too worried, but it is in inconvenience. I’ve stayed home for what feels like an eternity now (even though, in reality, it’s only been a few days), when I should be doing better things. I scan through the page in front of me. Twenty-seven deaths, including security and some of the cleaners who’d been on shift the day of the explosion. All the Alphas gone, except for me. Even my Beta, Carla’s father, died in the explosion. She just doesn’t know because she hasn’t woken up yet. I’m the only one who survived it. This is a mere confirma
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 97: Cade’s Confession
Delaney The new location is supposedly safe, and I believe that because it’s in the middle of nowhere. I don’t think anyone could stumble upon us by accident. I look around and all I see is greenery. We must be in the middle of the woods somewhere, which makes sense because we’re living with rogues now, and they have a completely different way of living. The rogues are resourceful, I’ll give them that. There are shelters carved out of the land itself—wooden structures that blend into the thick foliage, and paths so overgrown you’d miss them if you didn’t know where to look. It’s rudimentary compared to the life I’ve known, but it’s safe. Safe. That word doesn’t feel real anymore. Not after the last few days. I’m still in shock concerning the bombing two days ago. Those of us who go into town come back saying that it’s all over the news. The Alphas have died. That’s all that’s being said. Names haven’t been released yet, and my guess is that the packs are trying to keep this
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 96: Two Bombs
AlecWhen I look up, my vision is completely blurry, and there’s a mess all around me, but that’s not the first thing that I notice. Carla.She’s lying beneath me, and she’s unconscious. There’s also blood near her head, which makes me think that she hit her head way too hard when I collided against her due to the explosion. I roll off her, groaning. I’m filled with a sense of urgency. I have to move. I have to do something. I check the time on my watch, and my eyes widen when I realize that this bomb went off way too early. Twenty minutes too early, to be exact. What the hell happened? Did something happen to the timer? Granted, I don’t know how to truly set up a bomb. I just followed the instructions I thought made more sense. But the timer was right. I’d made sure of it. I don’t know what happened, but there’s not enough time for this. I have to get out of here, and I have to find a way to help Carla. I rise, even though my head is fucking pounding, and then haul Carla up befo
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 95: Two Explosions
DelaneyMy ears are ringing from the explosion, and the windows of the car have all cracked. My head is a pounding mess, and I’m having a hard time seeing things clearly. Goddess, was the explosion meant to be that way?I look around at the car. Francesca is raising her head too, and I notice that there’s a piece of glass lodged on her hairline. I gasp, and point at it. “Francesca.”She frowns, and then she brings up her hand and feels the glass. Her face is a mask of horror, and she says to me, “By the goddess, don’t look.”I look away, and I imagine she removes the glass because when I look back at her, it’s gone and a bleeding gash is left behind. She presses her sleeve against it, and then stares out of the window. The building is up in flames, and I hate how long it takes me to process everything. Matteo is dead by now, and I’m guessing that so are the Alphas, as he’d planned. There’s no way anyone inside that building survived the explosion. It’s starting to fall apart, and th
Under the Shadow of the Moon Chapter 94: Timing
Alec I check the time on my watch. It’s 7:45 on the dot, which means that in forty-five minutes, at 8:30, this entire courthouse will go up in flames. Since the bomb has a timer, I don’t have to do a single thing. I’ll just have to show up to the meeting and then excuse myself right before it happens. It’s a good thing that I’m not the head of the meeting. One of the Alphas from our neighboring city will be giving the speech. I’ll be in the background, where nobody will see me. It hasn’t been easy to get the job done, because I had to do it myself. I put all the bombs that we recovered from the rebels under the ground, the same ground where the meeting will be held. The massive office is covered in a blue carpet, so the floor is never seen. All I had to do was remove a few tiles, dig just enough for the bomb to fit into the whole, and then cover it up. I did it last night, and all by myself. It’s incredible how easily one can slip in here when being an Alpha. Nobody questioned it,
