LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV
There wasn't anything certain at this point, especially with the ability of Brian to manipulate people's minds into thinking according to how he wants to.
If I'm the only one who can see that Yana's tears weren't real, then does that mean that, in my allies' eyes, Yana was really in pain right now?
I shook my head, then tried to gaze at Yana for the second time, only to realize that I still sensed no emotion coming from her.
"You can pierce through Yana's heart if you'd like to. That one is a fake. The real Yana is hidden somewhere safe in this pack house," I said without stuttering.
"How can you be sure about that?" Mrs. Asterbelle asked me, as if she also didn't believe my words.
I glanced at my mother with one of my eyebrows raised. "Don't tell me you're falling for that man's tricks too, mom?" I mumbled while pointing at Brian, who was smirking this whole time. "This is why I preferred to take Brian on my own." There's no use in trying to convince them to think in the same way as I do.
Jerome held my wrist and pressed it tight to make sure that I wouldn't go anywhere. "Don't be too hasty in making decisions, Luna. If you end up killing Yana, would you be able to live on with that guilt?"
I hissed, realizing that no one was on my side as I aggressively pulled my hand away from his grip. Glancing back at Yana, I caught in the peripheral vision of my eye how Yuki stole the gun from Yve's pocket without her noticing a thing. I don't know what's running through her mind.
However, despite her sneaky action, I somehow felt that Yuki trusted me, even for a single bit, which is why I didn't tell Yve about the stolen gun.
Jerome might've seen it too, so I flew over the direction where Yuki was and ordered her to shoot before Jerome could reach her, which she did.
"No, don't shoot!" Jerome yelled, which was too late.
I followed the swift pace of the silver ammo as I imagined how time got slower before it finally reached Yana's chest.
Yuki's hands were shaking by the time she pulled the trigger, so I initially thought that she'd miss the target, but the bullet pierced through the center of Yana's chest, causing her to open her mouth widely without letting her voice out, or maybe the fake one just didn't have a voice box.
I was too stunned to speak when Yana fainted.
Yve tried to help her sister stand back up, but Brian smacked her head with his foot. I wanted to pull her out of that situation, but Joseph got ahead of me.
"Are you nuts? You're going to get yourself and Yana killed! Wake up if you still want to talk to her later on," he said while continuously swaying her shoulders.
This puppet version of Yana was too realistic, and the only condition for Yana to go back to her normal self was to wait for Brian to lose his life.
A black soothe emerged from Yve to depict her miserable state. She saw a dear family member get shot by a common friend, and even if she wanted to help, she couldn't even land a finger on Yana.
"I'll curse you, Yuki Holmes. I won't ever forgive you for shooting Yana. Remember this day; you'll be haunted by your sin every day," Yve muttered as she sent death glares to Yuki, who didn't seem to care.
The same soothe was mixed up with an aura of hatred. If Yve still had the strength of a vampire, she probably wouldn't hesitate to seek vengeance for her sister.
Joseph walked to my spot. "Can you calm her down? I'm not familiar with Yve that much," he whispered in my ear.
I looked at him with a perplexed gaze. "You've been friends for years even before I met her. How come you're not familiar with her?" I asked with the thought that maybe it wasn't just Andrea, his previous mate, whom he had forgotten.
He didn't give me a response. Instead, he went to Nero to warn him about the risk to Yuki's life from Yve.
"Are you done yet?" Brian spoke to make the tension between us worse. "You seem to be treating me like I'm not a threat to your lives."
Alpha Brian stepped on Yana's head with one of his feet. I could hear how heavy Yve was breathing, and that's when I totally lost it.
I made up my mind to make use of the glowing stone that the moon goddess gave me, which I picked up. This would be the second time that I'd utilize it, and I hope this would also work for Brian.
"You've never been defeated by anyone, right?" I tried to distract the alpha with a nonsensical conversation.
I kept my attention focused on activating the glowing stone while I approached Yve from behind. I sincerely apologized to her for not stopping Yuki earlier and said that I'd make it up to her by killing the alpha right now.
"Sorry? Do you think your apology would bring Yana back to life?" she frustratedly replied, pushing my left shoulder to try and make me lose balance.
Fortunately, Joseph was nearby. He held my back as he supported me in standing up before he returned to Yve with the intention of cooling her off. This was the first time since he was separated from Andrea that I saw him embracing a woman.
Maybe his wolf was reacting to Yve's scent, realizing that she also lost her mate.
I mind-linked with Jerome to inform him about my plan without mentioning the stone, and he agreed to attack Brian together with Belle until I'm prepared.
Brian only showed his palm to his wife, and that already stopped her from striking together with Jerome.
"A woman who's powerless joins forces with the son of the moon goddess? Your desire to be spared from being cursed by Althea is too visible," he said to manipulate Mrs. Asterbelle into believing that her current prowess can't take him down.
Three minutes have passed, and I've already mustered up the courage to attack Brian.
With every ounce of my strength, I successfully hit Brian directly in the chin with an uppercut. It was the only wish that I asked for—that I should at least give them the chance to grab Yana away from Brian while I keep him company for Yve to take her sister out of the pack house.
After all, the fact that Yana was held hostage was the sole motivation that forced us to return here. It's only a bonus if I can kill Brian.
Hitting two birds at once wouldn't be too bad.
"Beg for mercy, Brian," I said without halting my punches, even though my knuckles were already hurting. "Ask for your life to be spared, just like you think Mrs. Asterbelle would do," I added.
I hit his face until I got tired. Those several blows caused his nose to bleed while his cheeks received bruises. Regardless, those weren't enough to justify the injuries Yana had.
Brian wasn't moving, so I had no choice but to check his condition up close through his pulse, since I couldn't hear his heartbeat from afar because of how rapid mine was.
"Wait, Luna, don't! He's faking his death." Jerome warned me not to approach Brian.
I thought that I was paralyzed, as I couldn't move an inch from my spot when I saw how quickly Brian disappeared from my sight. He grabbed my hair and pulled it to trap me with him.
"These people are a nuisance. We'll continue our fight somewhere only we know, Luna Asterbelle," Brian murmured, his terrifying voice crawling down my spine.