First QuarterChapter Sixty: Western TerrainThe morning came creeping in without anyone noticing. They were all exhausted from the settling they had done yesterday, from building the tents, building campfires, make-shift chairs and tables, cleaning the surroundings out of weeds and insects, and snakes.Everyone was snoring away except for the guards on shift.Mallory woke up earlier than she had expected. When she opened her eyes, the unfamiliar ceiling brought her defenses up until she remembered that she was outside the forest. She stared at it before standing up.As she stirred, Oddny, who she made to sleep on a bed inside her tent, also stirred. Mallory paused her movements. Then when Oddny went back to sleeping soundly, she sighed in relief and stepped out of her bed.Mallory grabbed a coat from the hanger. She knew how biting cold it was outside at a time like this. She also took a thick blanket. Then, after wrapping herself up, she went out of her tent.“Good morning, Luna.” C
First QuarterChapter Sixty-One: The Hunting GroundsThe next morning, they met at the end of the camp. Mallory saw her group flocking together like a bunch of excited animals but then scattered the moment she arrived. Mallory ignored the blatant rejection in their eyes and stood next to them. Cyril, who was standing far away, looked at her anxiously.Mallory smiled at him, reassuring him that everything would be fine.It’s been the third day. All these days, she’s been on guard as she doesn’t know if something would really happen, but fortunately, just like Trevon said, nothing did. Maybe it was truly just her imagination, and she had nothing to worry about.Soon, their instructor arrived.“Let us wait for the other to get completed before heading off.” Their instructor is a female beta. She had short hair, almond-shaped eyes, and a powerful, intimidating aura. “We will be exploring the forest at the best we can so you’ll have a better gist of where to hunt and to settle for the ent
First QuarterChapter Sixty-Two: Start of the HuntMallory rushed through the woods, the bun she made for her hair had long been disheveled. Running through the forest would one way or another hurt you, but the low branches seemed to avoid her, leaving no scratch on her skin intentionally.On her run, she could hear various voices in her head. The plants were greeting her, talking to her enthusiastically with something she couldn’t quite catch.When she discovered she was distant from others, she halted to catch her breath. As expected, their voices grew stronger and clustered.[How long are you staying here?][Are you strong?][Can’t you see? She’s weak if she is already panting after that small run.][Why are you not in your wolf form? It’s faster that way.][Stupid.][Stupid. Did you not hear what that man said? Fair competition.][Fair competition?][Forget it, you won’t understand anyway!]Mallory laughed, finding their bickering funny. Then she patiently explained. “I can’t use
First QuarterChapter Sixty-Three: A PuzzleNothing. There's nothing out of the ordinary.Thinking that they were making a fool of her, she turned to them with her eyebrows raised. “What—”[Shh.][Be patient!][It will be anytime soon!]So, Mallory swallowed her words back in her mouth and looked around again. She held her breath and dusted out the window curtains and used it to clean the chair, then sat on it slowly, trying to assess if it not breaking earlier was just a one-time thing.It didn’t break this time either. Mallory relaxed and waited for whatever was about to come.It didn’t take longer than she thought it would.[Wake up!][Stop sleeping and look!]“I’m not sleeping,” Mallory lied, knowing that she almost dozed off if not for the light that was hurting her eyes. She couldn't contain her amazement at what she saw.When the sun
First QuarterChapter Sixty-Four: Another Secret of the WorldHer steps echoed on the silent path of the stairs. She used a glowing crystal to light up her path and supported her every step with the cold wall. The wall was slightly damp, maybe because vines were crawling on it. Despite the lack of light, flowers were growing on the thick, green vines.Mallory stepped, guided by the voices of the plants.[Slowly, you’ll get there.][Just walk down. Everything’s going to be fine.]Mallory was grateful for their reassurance, as the dark scares her. It was a common thing to associate darkness with vampires. But they won’t hurt her, and she knows it. Later, she saw the end of the stairs. It was an arched entrance, with lights spilling out from it.Mallory stopped just steps away from it, clearly perplexed by how it was bright as day when it was already so below the ground. However, her question
First QuarterChapter Sixty-Five: The Guidance of the SoulsMallory finished reading the diary and when she closed the notebook, she didn’t know what to feel about it.After that first sentence, the past Goddess’ Blessed simply disregards it by saying she will be narrating her life in that small notebook. Mallory was skeptical; how can she tell a whole life in this small notebook? Then, after reading, she realized why it only took her this long. The past Goddess’ Blessed wrote this before she set off outside to fulfill her duties as the Goddess’ Blessed. She wrote sentences so short that she summarized ten years’ worth of life in a few sentences.She was just an ordinary werewolf in a small pack living quietly with her fated mate when she discovered that she was the Goddess’ Blessed. Everyone celebrated, thinking that finally, the Goddess would be gracing them with her presence. However, her mate betrayed
First Quarter Chapter Sixty-Six: Two Faced TW: Blood “W-wait! It’s enough—let me rest!” Mallory said shakily, her breathing constrained. She attempted to move, but the wounds on her legs stung and ached so much. She groaned and looked at the blood-stained dagger in her hands. “Damn, if others see me like this, they would think I’m crazy with how I just stab and wound myself…” [Weak!] [Tsk!] [That’s all you got? You can’t even heal four wounds at a time!] Mallory sighed, exhausted. “How can I? It’s only been two hours since our training!” Mallory looked above. The light was getting dimmer; night was coming. [Fine! Rest, then heal yourself!] Mallory could finally sigh in relief, then focused on regaining her energy before healing the wound she inflicted on herself again. She felt a warm energy coming out of her palms. She hovered her palm over the wounds and watched as they healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Mallory was happy with it, even if the healing speed was a
First QuarterChapter Sixty-Seven: Second DayLiving Souls.During the two hours of non-stop teaching her about her healing ability, the noisiest one of them kept on babbling on and on and naturally spilled what Living Souls are.They were not plants. All along, she thought she could talk to the plants themselves, but turned out, that they were the souls of a plant that lived for hundreds of years that they gained consciousness. As they were already souls, they could move from one ‘unconscious’ plant to another, taking over their ‘bodies’ for a while. It seems convenient, but they can’t stay away from their original area for too long unless they want their real body to wilt. Mallory tried asking them where their original husk was, but they didn’t say as it was equal to saying how to kill yourself.So, Mallory then thought back about the oddity she didn’t notice. ‘Come to think of it, If I talk with them, and then go to another area, it seems like I’m still talking to the same person a