LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV
My wolf automatically sulked within the depths of my soul as I witnessed how Shin ruthlessly took the life of the innocent shaman who I was expecting to save Jerome. Lizzy died in the hands of the person she feared the most, and I couldn't even do anything for her.
I would carry this burden of guilt for the rest of my life.
I was no longer in my awakened form. I went back to my human appearance, and I couldn't even let a tiny bit of aura emit through my body. The feeling of losing someone completely washed through me, like I had no choice but to deal with it.
With both of my knees on the ground and my clenched fists above my thighs, I knew that it was the end for me as well. Even if I knew that everything would turn out this way, I still chose to take the risk.
My keen senses abandoned me, even though my vision wasn't that efficient anymore. I couldn't grow out my wings as well. Every feature that could possibly link me up with being a vampire disappeared.
"Is this my punishment for all of my past mistakes?" I started to question myself.
Shin ordered Nero to clear the mess and wrap it up, which he probably used as an excuse to stay with me in the same space without anyone bothering us.
"So, how do you like it? I showed mercy to Lizzy, but I can be much more gentle to you if you would start begging right now and ask for my forgiveness," he said.
The least that I could do was grit my teeth while glaring at him intently. As I was about to speak, Althea's voice resonated through my mind, telling me that my curse was in the process of being lifted. It was when I figured out that my sudden weakness wasn't due to exhaustion. I got it from the effect of losing my vampiric genes. The curse that the moon goddess placed upon me was being revoked because I'd already discovered my mate and his real identity, and I wasn't rejected by him any longer.
It was supposed to make me feel at ease, but why am I anxious?
The alpha tightly held my arm, forcing me to stand and follow his tracks, which led me to stop thinking about the curse.
"We're the only ones here now, Luna. No one would save you here," Shin muttered, leaning closer to my ear to let me feel his continuous breathing patterns. "Shall we have fun tonight? I'm sure you're drying to have a one-night's experience with an alpha in bed. You can't do so in your pack because the alpha is your father, right? Here, nothing would prevent us from doing anything we want," he whispered, which was shortly followed by his whimpers.
I only noticed now that Shin brought me out of the pack house. All this time, I thought that we were still inside the mansion. We were currently in the middle of some other buildings, in a dark alley where barely anyone was passing through. It was the perfect place for the alpha to do all sorts of indecent deeds that he could ever think of.
My shoulders loosened, and I dropped the weight of my arms to make it look like I was surrendering myself to him. My inner thoughts desperately yearned to scream my lungs out just to be heard and be saved by anyone. However, my physical build was entirely useless; I couldn't move freely on my own. It feels like I will lie on the stone pathway as soon as Shin attempts to let go of my arm.
"That's more like it, Luna. Don't resist, and you won't get hurt." Shin roamed his other hand just for the purpose of touching my bare skin, slightly pinching those small fats below my forearm. "You've lost weight. Are you trying to seduce me?" he murmured.
I let out a sigh of frustration, wondering when this perverted act of the alpha would come to an end.
For a short time after I closed my eyes, I suddenly saw the image of Althea as if she were literally inside my brain. "What do you prefer, Luna Asterbelle: being a werewolf, a half-blooded vampire, or would you rather stay as a hybrid and carry on with this curse?" Althea inquired.
"I've already gotten used to being a hybrid and was actually enhancing my strength. Why did you have to take the curse away now? You could have done it when I first celebrated my eighteenth birthday! None of this would've happened if you didn't bestow that curse upon me," I said, unable to control the rage that I felt.
"It was Jerome who wished for it in the first place. You have no right to complain about that to me; go rant about it to your mate, not me," Althea replied, crossing her arms. "Now tell me, what do you want?"
"Let me stay as a hybrid, Althea," I instantly answered without having to think about it for a minute longer. "Give me the strength to destroy this man who's about to make me his feast tonight," I added.
The next second that I opened my eyes, I thought that I was the one who had to push Shin towards the other side of the alley, but it wasn't. "B-Beta Holmes, you're here!" I was shocked, since I assumed that it would take him an hour to finish tidying Lizzy's corpse and wiping off the blood.
Shin was literally stuck on the wall, and he hasn't moved an inch for a while now.
"I couldn't find the two of you anywhere. I knew that he'd bring you here," Nero said, walking over to my side to make sure that I wouldn't fall. "Let's get out of here before he wakes up." He invited me as he held my waist, pushing me out of the alley alongside him.
"Why are you helping us? Are you betraying Shin? Aren't you his only companion left?" I consecutively asked Nero out of pure curiosity, knowing that he wouldn't get anything out of this.
He brought me inside the guest house, in the same room where I left Jerome and the others who were with us. An evident confusion was seen in my allies' eyes, unable to depict the reason why I was together with the beta.
"It's the least that I can do to repay you for treating Yuki like your own sister, as if she wasn't rude to you during your first meeting. I heard about your plan from Yuki herself, and she told me that I shouldn't worry about her too much, since it would make Shin suspicious of me," Nero explained after he closed the door and let me sit on the edge of the bed where Jerome lied.
"But what about Jazpher? Did you really have to hurt him to such an extent?"
Nero shrugged his shoulders. "That man is doing well; he's with Yuki right now. I still have doubts about that man, but Yuki insisted that he wasn't a cruel vampire," he replied.
The beta also mentioned how he wasn't merely acting during the time when Yuki gave signs that she knew Jazpher; since she kept it a secret from them, he was really infuriated back then and wanted to torture Jazpher for good.
I held the temple of my head when I felt dizzy, then I quickly grabbed onto the blanket.
"Are you alright? You look paler than usual. You're always looking out for us; you should also be cautious of your own health, even if you're somehow immortal..." Joseph voiced his concern as soon as he supported my head from behind.
I nodded my head, removing his hand from it. "My curse was just removed; I'm still trying to adapt to it."
"Curse? Do you mean that you're no longer a half-blooded creature?" Mrs. Asterbelle asked from the couch that was positioned near the corner of the room.
"I still am. The Moon Goddess made me choose what I wanted to be, and I chose to remain as a hybrid."
This decision would surely have an impact on Jerome, as he was the one who indirectly cursed me. I couldn't help but stare at Jerome's face, which was covered in sweat, making his hair cover his forehead.
Please wake up soon.