Arius stirred up in his sleep. 'Another nightmare this week,' he thought, looking at the ceiling.
He dreamt of the day when his life changed completely, the day when he lost his sun.
He closed his eyes. Then his memory drifted to that day.
In a dark house, a young boy heard the commotion outside.
"Arius hide!" his mother's urgent voice echoed in the silent room. He refused, but because of her insistence, he had to comply.
He saw her gently smiling at him, who thought it would be the last time she would smile ever.
The door opened, and the uproar rose.
Arius looked through a small gap. Men and women dragged his mother to the outside while shouting.
"She is a vampire."
"She is the one who killed our children."
"Execute her..."
"Let her under the sunlight, it is their weakness."
He wanted to help his mother, but he was afraid. His legs didn't want to move. He watched as they threw her outside when the sun shone brightly, leading his mother to cry in agony under the sunlight.
Tears slipped from his eyes as the cry of his mother rose and rose, he put his hands over his ears. The voice still haunted him, urging him to remember every detail of that day. Then the sounds faded, replaced by utter silence.
Arius awoke from his bed, looking at the window. 'Thank you, Mother, for always making me remember why am I doing this and why should I continue on this path.'
"Your majesty," Jolay said to him as he exited his chamber.
"Did you do as I told you?" Arius asked, walking to the meeting room.
"Yes, no one will get in without an access card and double-check," Jolay replied.
Arius smiled. 'Soon, the vampires would fear nothing.'
.
The bell rang, waking Lucette from her deep slumber. She stomped her feet, "Yo! What's with the bell today?"
She thought about the information the beta told her, sleeping in the process. Unlocking the door. The pregnant woman she met at the introduction ceremony greeted her with a smiling face.
"Hey there. Sorry for waking you up," she said.
Lucette wondered how she knew that, but looking at her wrinkled clothes, her unkempt hair and the redness of the right side of her cheek! She smiled foolishly and tucked strands of her hair behind her ear.
"Get in," Lucette said, and they walked to the living room. She tidied her clothes without Hannah's notice.
She lost her face as a princess!
They stayed silent for a moment before Hannah said, "Sorry, if I came uninvited, but Jordan called and told me about you. I really felt sorry for leaving you here alone, I thought the alpha accompanied you, but... If you need anything to ask about the pack, you can ask me."
"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. So can you please tell me what should I do in the pack?" Lucette asked, putting her legs on the couch. Her red eyes glowed.
"You as the Luna of the pack need to be in charge of she-wolves, Advising the Alpha in making decisions, bearing.. pups. And In case, the alpha has gone for a long time, you will lead the pack," Hannah told her.
Meanwhile, Hannah didn't know how to explain to her. Vampires differed from werewolves. She never heard a vampiress become the Luna.
Lucette listened carefully. So I am in control? She would be the one who would give orders, not the one who obeyed them!
She thought coming here was a bad thing, but now she was at an advantage of the situation.
But there is a problem which is that rude man.
If he was the Alpha, she is the Luna. They were equals. Then, he should quit seeing her as someone unworthy. He should apologize for treating her like that.
"Wait... Pups?" Lucette asked. and Hannah caressed her belly. She gazed at Hannah's bulging stomach and shrank in her seat.
'No! I would never allow something like this to happen.'
The Alpha hated her, and she resented him too. Lucette threw the idea in the back of her head.
Imagining herself standing with her head high while the rude Alpha begged for her forgiveness. She smiled.
She snapped out of her thoughts when Hannah nudged her. She rubbed the tip of her nose, chuckling over her silly thoughts.
They continued their chat. Hannah was such a nice person as she explained about the hierarchy of a pack, the Alpha or the leader. Then the beta, his second in command. Then the omegas, or the other members of the pack. There were also the pack warriors who defended the pack.
She told her how they could shift to their wolf form. 'It must be something cool.'
Lucette wore her boot and followed Hannah outside the house since it was dark outside. Lucette looked in the forest direction where she met that wild animal. Her body shivered.
"Beautiful scenery, isn't it?" Hannah said, tightening her coat over her body.
'Beautiful and scary,' Lucette thought.
"Even if you want to go, you can't. It's a forbidden place to go," Hannah spoke.
"Forbidden? Why?" she asked.
"It was the Alpha's decision, but no one knows the reason. It's been like this for years," Hannah replied.
Is it because of that wolf? Did the alpha know the existence of that animal?
"The werewolves who patrolled at the border would warn anyone near that place and wouldn't allow them to surpass the forest so, even if you want to look, you won't be able to go," she told her when she stared at the forest.
'Of course, I won't go in.'
She did it once and never did that again. She cherished her life. But last night, no one stopped her from entering the forest and she didn't see patrols.
Is it a deliberate attack? But who is so daring to attack the vampire princess and the werewolf's bride?
If someone attempted to Kill the vampire's princess and the Luna of the pack, then they were deliberately targeting the two kingdoms to fight again.
How can someone be vicious to do that? Didn't they think about the innocent people who would die if a war broke out?
'Now, I had to protect myself well. It's not even a week since I came and I received a heart-wrenching welcome.'
She walked with Hannah on the buzzing street, pondering over her complicated situation.