LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV
It feels as if my world stopped spinning after I heard what would occur tonight from the Alpha himself. It all seemed impossible to believe, especially the first part where he declared that he chose me as his luna.
I stepped back in an attempt to run away, but the pack warriors blocked the exit, so I returned to my spot. "Exactly what are you blabbering about? I only heard from Beta Holmes that you were interested in me, but that doesn't give you the right to claim me as your own! I have my mate, in case you don't know," I said.
"Did your mate accept you? Rumors have it that he didn't even have the chance to do so because your adoptive parents refused to take Mr. Dawson as your mate," Alpha Holmes muttered.
I have no clue where he heard such rumors, but he wasn't mistaken.
Butler Zen moved forward to reach for my wrist, but I avoided his every attempt at the same time I glared at him. "Why did you take me as your chosen mate? If I have to do as you say, I should at the very least know the reason behind your decision, and besides, I don't even know your name."
Alpha Holmes planted a playful smirk on his lips. "What if I tell you that I plan to make you my fucking buddy?"
My vision turned red due to what he said. It infuriated me down to the depths of my soul how he could casually treat me as one of his toys, despite only meeting me once.
"I've changed my mind. I'm leaving this place," I mumbled to myself in regret for going along with their beta's will.
I should've stayed with Dawn and let him kill the beta rather than stop him. If only I did, then I wouldn't have had to go through all this nonsense.
"Move away," I coldly said to the warriors, who were blankly staring at the air.
Unexpectedly, the warriors gave way for me to exit that place. I didn't bother looking back, as they might force me to stay in there out of the blue.
***
It's already been approximately half an hour since I got to the outskirts of the Crimson Moon Pack, but I'm still stuck in the same forest. It's like I was only going back and forth, and there was no other way out.
Was this the reason why Alpha Holmes didn't care if I'd left earlier?
I held onto the left side of my neck when I felt it aching. I closed my eyes as it stung. It's like it was being sucked in by someone that I can't even see.
"Fuck..." I cursed after the pain finally subsided. "What was that?"
Even though it was quite blurry, I got an image of Jerome's figure in my mind. He was looking for me; he kept on endlessly running in his maze, and his face clearly shows how much he yearned to see me.
Right...
We haven't seen each other since the night of the full moon after Jazpher saved me. I couldn't tell him where I went or at least tell him that I was doing fine. My neck received the same amount of pain as I gradually thought about how I could go to him, and it only vanished when I heard someone's footsteps.
"Miss Asterbelle..." Butler Zen called me.
"What else do you want from me? I already told you before that I'm leaving."
"But you couldn't, so I came to see you and lead you to the right path. Anyone who isn't a member of our pack tends to get lost in this forest," he said.
For some reason, the butler sounded much more sympathetic than the alpha.
Zen went ahead of me, and I was left with no choice but to follow him. Along the way, I felt like someone was spying on us, so I utilized my keen senses to identify the location of whoever it was.
"Beta Holmes is here, isn't he?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.
He nodded his head once. "His brother has trust issues. He can't even have faith in me, even after all the years I spent serving only him." He faked a laugh.
While we were heading out of the forest, I got to ask the alpha's name: Shin Holmes. Zen also mentioned that the alpha hadn't been gifted since birth and that each of his fated mates ended up dead because of an incurable disease that was spreading throughout their pack.
"Why didn't you seek help from the moon goddess?" I questioned him when we reached a different path that was filled with light posts and people who were crossing the streets.
Zen shrugged his shoulders. "The Alpha believed that you possessed the blood that could cure the virus, which is why he didn't bother to do so. He heard of how you were dumped by your parents after you revealed that you were a half-blooded vampire during your debut." Zen stared at me with his alluring eyes that made it hard for me to look away. "You're the only solution to our problem, Miss Asterbelle," he added with his utmost sincerity.
I heaved out a deep sigh. "Is it that rare for a half-half to be born in this world? Everyone keeps on saying the same thing; that I was the only one capable of doing this and that," I said.
"That only shows how special and dangerous you are."
Beta Holmes suddenly stepped in between us, which made me move backward as well as Zen. "Aren't you going to go back and be my brother's mate?" he asked.
I frowned, wondering what Yve would do in this situation. Of course, Yve would flatly reject it since there wasn't any benefit in it for me. However, my conscience was telling me otherwise.
"The moon goddess would punish me for mating with someone else, Beta Holmes. I can't be rushed with my decisions."
"Do you think that lying would get you out of here? We already know that you're cursed by the moon goddess herself, so there's no way that you'd be punished more than that," Beta Holmes replied with a stern gaze as if to tell me that he has no intention of letting me go.