WARNING: This chapter is still under a major rewrite! Keep in mind that things may change (in fact, let's be honest: they will). You have been warned - read at your own risk. >:) If this chapter exceeds 2000 words, it will be split. Their titles will be allocated as I see fit, feel free to give me suggestions! Thanks everyone!
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Xavier~
I watched her silently. Her emerald irises seemed enchanted, and her wild aura was like that of a newly turned wolf's. However none of her features suggested that she was one. She had chocolate curls which reached just below her shoulders, snowy delicate skin, and a pair of orbs that gave you the feeling of comfort.
I quickly shut my eyelids, unable to afford being distracted from teleporting me and her. I was still new to this, although I seemed very experienced to others. It may have been a trait that ran through my bloodline, as I was partly a vampire. Fortunately, I hadn't inherited the thirst for blood or the burning under sunlight. All that resembled the half vampire in me was the calmness from within.
As I scanned over the places ahead of us in the portal, I caught a glimpse of someone who had the same features as me - my half-sister. I saw the placid smile that had so delicately grown accustomed to her features that it seemed almost forced. Our last encounter had been nowhere near as close as the usual reunition of two siblings. Feeling the unpleasant memories resurface, I quickly pushed the image of her out of my sight and mind.
Then a vision spontaneously dropped at my feet, beckoning me to unseal it. A tag had been tied to its wisps of strings, and in an elegant handwriting, it read,
"Mémoire - Les Malheureux
Yours dearly,
Aphrodítē"
A part of me was screaming not to give in to its temptations. However, I couldn't help but find myself wrap my fingers around it with my unquenchable thirst to uncover the dark history that revolved around my predecessors, especially when it was seemingly mine to reveal.
With one last fumble, I tore the strings of darkness from the wavering form of energy and allowed it to expand into the vision it was yet to reveal. My breaths became shallow and fast as the air thickened with a suffocating amount of mana.
Then the intoxicatingly sweet scent of roses filled my nostrils. Shafts of moonlight shone down through the interwoven branches above, and ahead I captured sight of a beautiful rose garden. Everything was quiet and at peace. The tranquil night sky was embellished with jewels that twinkled at me as if they could see me and had minds of their own.
Sensing the presence of another entity, I quickly reverted my attention to my surroundings. I watched as a slender lady draped in a silky white dress entered the garden. In her hand was a single white rose. Almost inaudibly, she began chanting some verses in an ancient tribal language that somehow made my fingers curl instinctively. The words felt familiar, but I just couldn't recall their meaning. The dense night air dropped by several degrees, but she continued her summoning unperturbed.
Specks of red formed in every petal of her white rose. The specks soon expanded, before spreading outwards like veins down the petals. Something thick and dark oozed out from the vein. She allowed it to trickle down her index finger, into her palms.
Then the woman became quiet, allowing the garden to rest in its serenity once again. Her summoning ritual was over, and now she just had to wait for the other end's answer: acceptance or denial.
Suddenly, something emerged from the shadows. It crept towards the lady like a serpent, seething the dark energy emitted from her now corrupted core. The creature slithered over her body, clinging and tightening around her in the painful silence. Her glorious resolve faltered as she crumpled to the ground unceremoniously. The critter was bound to her slender frame like iron chains, keeping her lifelessly still and bowed.
I began to notice her porcelain white skin that seamlessly merged with her silky white dress. She was the palest being I had ever seen. Perhaps she wasn't human either...
The branches around us began to rustle and the roses danced as a chilly breeze raised goose bumps on my skin. The newcomer was none other than the infamous Goddess of Love...
"Greetings, Princess Nyx. What may have brought you the courage to summon the most respected Goddess of Love?" Her voice rang through the area. It was sweet and enticing, but fake. Was labelling someone's voice as fake even a thing? Maybe her arrogant choice of words were what had truly shattered her impression on me. I could feel the hint of malice thinly veiled under the milk and honey of her voice.
"I need your help..." Nyx uttered in a feeble voice.
"What is it that you will be offering in return?" Aphrodite leaned forwards, scrutinising the frail body in front of her.
There was a pause, before Nyx answered earnestly, "Anything."
"That sounds like a shot in the dark. Should you go down that path, I will not be very generous for I am rather greedy." A bewitching smile stretched across Aphrodite's deceptive face. "Are you sure about your decision?" She leered over the shivering form.
"Yes I am aware, but who are beggars to choose?" Nyx responded, with the resignation and courage that didn't quite match her physical stature.
"Fair point. So dear, how may I help you?" Aphrodite whispered enticingly into her ears.
"Save my son..." Tears started to roll down her porcelain features. Aphrodite knelt down and ran her slender fingers down Nyx's trail of tears.
"Very well then," she brought her fingertips to her lips and tasted the tears with a strange expression. "Vampires were never meant for the werewolves, but I'll make an exception to your case."
Then she rose to her feet, and spoke in a commanding tone, "I acknowledge your Holy Presence, the Almighty, Queen Celeste, and ask for your righteousness and good will. Make your hearth shine through the darkest night; let it transform hate into kindness, evil into justice, and loneliness into love." She took in a quick but deep breath before continuing, "It is and has always been our duty as the deities of Querencia to handle such worrying circumstances in a peaceful manner. Thus I call upon your gracious kindness to unite our powers and allow for positive change."
I didn't hear a reply, but Aphrodite's once-calm demeanour suddenly seemed to radiate fury. She opened her mouth, but she could not utter a syllable. Her aura was now deathly suffocating and emanated one thing - hatred. Then she spoke six words that never seemed to leave my mind.
"Let the blood moon take over."
My vision blurred and soon I found myself alone back in the portal.
I took in several deep breaths to recompose myself, but before I could fully recover, another vision stained my view of the otherwise calming portal. Once again, the irresistible urge to uncover the unknown subconsciously overtook my senses. I soon found myself unsealing the dark matter with great haste and exhilaration, and much to my displeasure to my ignorance towards my rational mind, my surroundings began to merge into jagged mountain outcrops and unfathomably deep abysses that traced into the horizon like cracks in a cupboard door.
A blue-grey wolf leapt into the air, and time seemed to freeze for a couple of seconds before the mythical creature landed swiftly on the other side of the cliff. What had been a beaming silver face had somehow become vermined with crimson rivers in a matter of seconds. A deep, mournful howl echoed through the night, unanswered. Blood...no it wasn't the wolf bleeding, it was the moon.
I dashed forwards, not knowing why I did, while the moon appeared more distant with every step I took towards it. Then I felt the desperate need to confirm that this was not my father, who had been rumoured to have fallen from being the greatest Alpha of the most powerful wolf pack. A low rumble erupted from my throat, and before I knew it, I had shifted to my wolf form. I had barely suppressed the tickling sensation in my throat before I once again failed to control my vocal cords. My wolf's voice howled into the night, against my instinct. It was a ritual held by every wolf during the reign of the blood moon, a form of acknowledgement to the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite. She had to be in charge of the chaos that stirred in the blood moon, ironic of her title being based on love.
"Halt, little one..." An unfamiliar melodious voice murmured breathlessly in my head.
I pushed the voice to the back of my mind as my desire to recognise the blue-grey wolf escalated at a dangerous rate.
"You're merely another wolf to him, you won't make it." The voice emerged in my head again, with a subtle trace of foreboding.
I refused to restrain my raw attachment to the mysterious wolf. I continued sprinting at full speed towards the cliff, unable to tear my gaze from it and not caring if I were to fall. Afterall, this was all just a hyper-realistic dream, wasn't it? Surely I wouldn't sustain any injuries, let alone die here, once and for all?
Alas, my flickering grey eyes shone with newfound recognition. Nepenthe. My father, Alpha of the Crescent pack, stood before me. I awed at his magnificent build and cascading fur as I approached his beautiful wolf unflinchingly. The creature sharply turned to face me, and I received a vicious snarl instead of the affectionate nuzzle I had anticipated. My eyes were met with bloodthirsty ones. They penetrated deep into my soul as I stared helplessly, paralysed in terror, shock, and betrayal.
Without warning, he lunged at me, swiping his massive paw at my chest. Its claws dug into my flesh as I squirmed under his growing weight. However what hurt the most wasn't the physical pain, but the horrifying reality of father's fate. How could this be? Where did the loving image of father go? Worse yet, what if father was still awake, somewhere deep down? What if he was simply trapped under the false image of rage? He wasn't a monster. Someone had manipulated him, and I was so ready to avenge my father for this.
Maniacal laughter cackled in the distance, and my ears twitched in a futile attempt to locate the source of noise. It grew louder by each passing second until I could no longer hear from either of my ears. A skull-splitting headache. Heart pounding. Chest crumpling. My heart clenched as I saw her face flash in my mind, her brows creased in fury, hurt, and the purest form of betrayal...Princess Nyx was my mother, and Alpha Nepenthe was my father.