LUNA ASTERBELLE’s POV
I saw how fast Jerome’s naturally black eyes were turned into those crimson eyes of his which were paired with his gray hair. If he’s starting to turn into this state, then he’s probably being consumed by his wolf. I still can’t say for sure if the moon goddess and Jerome really had a relationship with one another as mother and son, but I can surely assure that there’s a connection between the two of them even way back I got to know of his identity.
I simply had no idea what it was as of the moment, but if it enrages him to the point that he’d want to torture me alive, then that just means that he hates Althea. “C-can you calm down for now, Jerome? We’re not in the premises of Grimstone, we don’t have a clue what can happen here,” I quickly said to stop him from conducting another fatal blow that I’m not prepared for.
He’s probably ten centimeters taller than I am now. He used to be slender than me before he went missing. For all of the years that I haven’t encountered him in the same path with my life, he must have gone through the worst in the past, which makes him have the need to rely on someone’s shoulder.
And at the very least, Jerome might have desired his mother’s tender touch and gentle words of affirmation that everything would turn out alright and that he doesn’t have to worry about anything since she was there by his side whenever he needed her… but that wasn’t the case.
Despite the anger within Jerome’s eyes, the way that his tears formed were still unescapable for me to get a glimpse on. “My mother was innocent. She was the love of my life, she was the only reason that I had to be motivated with proceeding with my life even though I wished to be killed by the alpha. She was the only one who could read through the depths of my heart, and not just what was written on my mind. My mother was everything to me!” He grunted as he gave me a fierce look. “You’re fortunate that you had the Asterbelles to protect you from my wrath back then,” he whispered to himself, which I was still able to perceive as we didn’t have that much distance apart from one another.
Even though I didn’t want to blame him for what I saw from my adoptive parents, I put out a brave front. “So you were the one who gave them the burn mark, weren’t you?”
Jerome’s eyebrows furrowed and his aura seemed to cool off for a bit. “You shouldn’t have had any memory of that scenario. How come you knew about the burn mark?” We kept on throwing questions one after another for the sake of feeding our curiosity. “I highly doubt that you really know the exact details about what happened back then. Because if you did, then you probably wouldn’t even dare to accept conversing with me any longer,” he added.
I didn’t know how to react to what he said. As far as I know, he was still agitated by what Mr. Asterbelle did to his parents. He should be the one who wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore.
So I really don’t understand why the tables have been turned.
“B-but, why..?” I stuttered.
For a few seconds, his aura softened up a bit just like how his eyes did. “L-Luna…” he whispered my name in such a gentle manner.
My heart raced because of his voice. The similarities are just too much right now, but I’m still refusing to believe it since I don’t have definite proof just yet.
“Luna Asterbelle, since the day that we met, I knew that I wouldn’t get along with you. My blood boils whenever you’re around. It pisses me off that even though I’m feeling that way, I… I…” Jerome gritted his teeth at the same time that he looked away.
I tilted my head in confusion of what he was trying to say. I still haven’t mastered the capability to read someone else’s mind, so it’s kind of troublesome for me to not hear the rest of his sentence.
Curiosity can seriously kill.
“What?”
“Forget it unless you want to die in my hands.” Jerome went back to being ruthless. He blew a huge amount of air.
My lips parted when I saw a short flame that traveled with the wind. “Did you create that fire?”
“What are you taking me for? A dragon?” Jerome clicked his tongue. “If you want to get out of this place, then you have to cooperate with me.”
I never knew that the word cooperate actually existed within his vocabulary. I tried my best to suppress my laughter, but it still got out of my mouth.
“S-sorry… It’s just that, your words are somehow contradicting what you really want to say,” I reasoned out but he chose to ignore me. “Your aura keeps on disappearing.”
“You can see the aura of others?” he asked and I gave him a short nod as a response. “Only the Asterbelles had that kind of power. It’s a miracle that you’re only adopted but were able to adapt to their power as well.”
So that was the reason why Mr. Asterbelle wasn’t that surprised to know that I can see his aura. But it still remains a mystery to me as to why he would be angry if I possessed the same type of power as them. It’s not like there’s any risk to seeing someone’s aura.
“Luna Asterbelle, give me your hand,” Jerome ordered me and I didn’t move according to what he said, instead, I continuously blinked my eyes. “Give. Me. Your. Hand,” he repeated.
I extended my left arm to his side and stretched out my fingers. “F-f*ck!” I immediately cursed when his sharpened nail slashed through my palm, which instantly gushed my blood out. “W-what are you doing?!” I was vexed as I pulled my arm away from him.
Jerome stared at his nail before he slowly licked my blood from it.
“Your blood… it’s different from the one that I’ve tasted before.”