LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV
My wolf automatically sulked within the depths of my soul as I witnessed how Shin ruthlessly took the life of the innocent shaman who I was expecting to save Jerome. Lizzy died in the hands of the person she feared the most, and I couldn't even do anything for her.I would carry this burden of guilt for the rest of my life.I was no longer in my awakened form. I went back to my human appearance, and I couldn't even let a tiny bit of aura emit through my body. The feeling of losing someone completely washed through me, like I had no choice but to deal with it.With both of my knees on the ground and my clenched fists above my thighs, I knew that it was the end for me as well. Even if I knew that everything would turn out this way, I still chose to take the risk.My keen senses abandoned me, even though my vision wasn't that efficient anymore. I couldn't grow out mLUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV I never left Jerome's side for the next couple of hours. My adoptive mother was the only one who invited me to rest or at least have a short break to eat my meal, but regardless, I still stayed on the same spot. "Why are you pretending like you never insulted Jerome before?" The curiosity from the past still lingered, and it wouldn't leave me until either one of my adoptive parents gave me a response. Mrs. Asterbelle sighed, avoiding eye contact with me. "Jerome Dawson had a lot of similarities with the moon goddess—I didn't like that." "And what if I tell you that Jerome was the moon goddess' son? Will you disapprove of him as my mate? Will you treat him like trash?" Mrs. Asterbelle has been hating Althea for years now, even before I got to meet her and Brian. We never talked about why she loathed the moon goddess so much; she always changed
LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV The feeling of betrayal took a toll on Shin. He saw nothing else other than the idea of getting rid of those who betrayed him, no matter what their relationship was or how strong their bond used to be. All that matters to him is creating a massacre. Shin leaped above us, which we easily avoided by jumping towards the threshold of the door that he left open. His overwhelming power was nothing to be taken lightly. If I were even a second late in moving, I could have died back there, seeing how he didn't even hesitate to land with such a strong force that made the ground shake. Nero peeked at me for a short while, only to check whether I was safe or not. He called upon his wolf before he shifted. They both had similar features, as if they were born as twins who only had differences in perspectives. The beta tried to catch Shin with his quick agility, but it was useless. Shin was obviously faster than him.
LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV Anger filled my mind. The best that I could do to maintain my composure for now was to hold Astra back. I still have to find the right momentum for her to strike. Astra was the type of wolf who gets careless as she tends to act on her own accord without any plan beforehand. "Release Nero before I run out of patience, you insolent brat." I blurted out Astra's thoughts, though I guess they were also mine. "You're not even worthy to be recognized as an Alpha, considering that rotten personality of yours," I added. Shin's cheeky smile faded as he started to bite one of his fingernails, only to state that he was getting anxious. "You have no idea who you're facing. Shall we settle this with a duel and a deal? If you can make me kneel on the ground and completely out of breath, I'll set Nero free and heal his whole body. But if you lose..." The alpha's eyesight traveled from my face down
LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV The stench of Nero's blood crept to my nose as Shin kept on whistling as his footsteps drew near me. I heavily breathed from my slightly parted lips at the same time that I exposed my wings, which I flapped consecutively before I flew down to purposely stumble upon Shin's head. I pretended like I received a fatal impact that caused me to fall and roll to the ground while groaning in pain. "I don't want to plan bruises on your beautiful skin, little wolf. Admit defeat already; you won't even succeed if you have any ulterior motives," Shin arrogantly said, contradicting his action as he stepped on my hand, rotating his foot, almost with the intention to break it. "I heard something intriguing recently. Your plan was to fake your death; am I right or am I right?" My eyes flickered in fear that Shin knew my scheme all along, even before I discussed it with Nero. "Your hobby of eavesdrop
LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV The plan to end this mess inside the Crimson Moon Pack doesn't seem to have a bright exit just yet. I really thought that once we got rid of the former alpha, we could rest easy already and just think about how to take Brian out as well. We were foolish to think that no one among our allies would actually dare turn their backs on us to betray us. If ever my hunch was right, then I highly believe that it would be Jerome to get hurt first, aside from anyone else, considering that Jazpher was the only keeper of the Dark Shadow Clan whom he trusted the most. Nero still hasn't found where Yuki and Jazpher were hiding. He couldn't get through their mind-link, which only proves that she's in an unfortunate situation right now. "If I see that vampire again, I seriously won't go easy on him anymore!" Nero gritted his teeth. On the other hand, Jerome seemed to have a lead where he could sense
LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV Those eight words froze me on the spot. I could sense the continuous thumping of my heart and also how my entire face blushed because of the heat coming from my ears. However, I still couldn't come up with a proper response to that. Maybe it wasn't the right time for us yet, considering how we still had to deal with my adoptive father before we could totally relax and be comfortable with our everyday lives. "Everyone's waiting for us..." "I don't care." Jerome cut me off. "Don't you want to be mine for eternity, Luna? Are you going to reject me?" The longer that I stare at those eyes of his, the more I can sense that his wolf is peeking through my own and is trying to lure me in. Jerome's hand started to travel from my shoulders down to my waist, exploring the insides of my shirt as he pulled me closer to his muscular body. He rested his chin on my right shoulder
LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV Jerome left the Dark Shadow Clan's premises under my supervision, as he was forced to go to the Crimson Moon Pack to communicate with them and hopefully gain their trust. Nero and Zen were still there, so I'm sure that they would assist him along the way. I can't help but admire Jerome, even if I can't see him do it personally. It's such an impressive feat that he wanted to take Shin's troops as his own, because I haven't seen him have a soft side for all the decades I spent with him during our childhood years. I haven't heard anything from him yet. He told me before he went there that he'd mind-link with me once everything's settled. "Luna, aren't you going to eat your breakfast yet? Jerome might not come home today as well," Mrs. Asterbelle mumbled, the tone of her voice hinting at concern. "If they insist on defying Jerome, he'd have no other choice than to get rid of them..." she added.
LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POVThere wasn't anything certain at this point, especially with the ability of Brian to manipulate people's minds into thinking according to how he wants to.If I'm the only one who can see that Yana's tears weren't real, then does that mean that, in my allies' eyes, Yana was really in pain right now?I shook my head, then tried to gaze at Yana for the second time, only to realize that I still sensed no emotion coming from her."You can pierce through Yana's heart if you'd like to. That one is a fake. The real Yana is hidden somewhere safe in this pack house," I said without stuttering."How can you be sure about that?" Mrs. Asterbelle asked me, as if she also didn't believe my words.I glanced at my mother with one of my eyebrows raised. "Don't tell me you're falling for that man's tricks too, mom?" I mumbled while pointing at Brian, who was smirking this whole time. "This is why I preferred to take Brian on my own." There's no use in trying to convince them to thi