Chapter 101 The last lunar Queen

Chapter 101 The last lunar Queen


THE ACADEMY COURTYARD

Raiden stopped walking exactly two feet away from them. He didn't look at Niles at all. His eyes were fixed on Twila's face, taking in her dark purple silk dress and the delicate black lace mask covering her eyes.

"What are you doing here, Raiden?" Twila whispered, her voice trembling so much she could barely get the words out.

"I came to look at my girl," Raiden replied softly. His deep voice was filled with so much emotion that it made her heart ache.

"She is not your girl tonight, Vane," Niles stepped forward, blocking Twila from Raiden's intense gaze. "We are on a date. You need to walk away."

He looked past the vampire's shoulder, speaking directly to Twila.

"I am not here to start a fight, Twila," Raiden promised, his hands deep in his pockets. "I just want one dance. Just one song. If you really want me to leave after that, I will walk away for the rest of the night."

Twila swallowed hard,

"Niles and I just got here, Raiden," Twila said softly, feeling torn in two.

"Let her dance with you," Niles said suddenly, his voice calm.

Twila froze, staring up at the vampire in shock. "What did you just say?"

"I said go dance with him, Twila," Niles repeated, stepping aside. "I am not going to hold you hostage. If I am going to win your heart, I will do it fairly. Go have your dance and then come find me inside."

Niles didn’t wait for her to respond. He turned around and walked straight into the party, leaving her alone with Raiden in the courtyard.

Raiden slowly extended his hand.

"Please," Raiden whispered, his eyes pleading.

Twila took a deep, shaky breath and placed her hand in his.

THE MASQUERADE BALLROOM

Raiden gently pulled her through the doors into the ballroom.

The music played softly, a slow, beautiful song. The room was filled with dancing couples wearing masks, completely lost in the magic of the night.

Raiden didn’t take her to the crowded center. He led her to a dark, quiet corner near the windows and wrapped his arm around her waist.

He pulled her close against his chest, resting his chin on top of her head as they swayed slowly to the music.

"You look so unbelievably beautiful tonight, Psycho," Raiden murmured into her hair, his voice trembling. "It kills me that you dressed up for another guy."

"I didn't dress up for him, Raiden," Twila whispered, resting her face over his beating heart. "Island picked this out. I didn't even want to come."

"But you came," Raiden pointed out softly. "You are wearing his stupid ring, Twila. The magic isn’t forcing you to be here, you made a choice."

"I told you why I made the deal," Twila cried, holding his jacket tightly. "I am doing this to save your life! If I break the bond, the magic will stop your heart!"

"I don’t care about my heart!" Raiden pulled back, looking down into her tear-filled eyes. "I would rather die tomorrow knowing you love me than live a hundred years watching you hold his hand!"

"Don't say that," Twila sobbed, hitting his chest lightly. "Please don't say that, Raiden."

"Why won't you let me fight for you?" Raiden begged, gently holding her face with both hands. "Why won’t you trust me to fix this?"

"Because I am terrified of losing you," Twila choked out, her body shaking in his arms.

"You are breaking me, Twila," Raiden whispered, a single tear rolling down his face. "You are breaking my soul."

Twila couldn't take it anymore, the guilt was suffocating her.

"I need to get some air," Twila gasped, pulling away from his hands. "I can't breathe in here, Raiden. I am so sorry."

She didn't let him stop her. She turned and ran out of the ballroom, pushing through the dancing couples, desperate to escape the painful reality of her choices.

THE ACADEMY GARDEN

Twila rushed out the back doors of the castle into the academy garden.

The sky above was clear, and the bright full moon shone perfectly on the grass.

Twila ripped off the black lace mask, dropping it in the dirt. She fell to her knees, gasping for air, clutching her chest because it felt like her lungs were on fire.

"Why is this happening to me?" Twila sobbed to the garden. "Why did the universe give me a vampire mate? I am just a Void! I am not supposed to have a mate!"

As she cried under the moonlight, something strange began to happen inside her body.

Her skin felt hot. It wasn't the cold feeling of the Void magic. It was a bright, burning, overwhelming heat spreading through her veins.

"What is happening?" Twila gasped, looking at her arms.

Under the moonlight, her skin glowed with a soft, bright silver light. The Void in her stomach wasn't waking up, it was actually shrinking back, hiding from the ancient power rushing through her blood.

"I am not just a Void?," Twila whispered, recalling how she healed her bleeding hand yesterday. "I have something else completely buried inside me, my parents hid something from me."

She remembered what she did to her twin brother in the library. If she could use her powers to pull memories out, maybe she could also pull out the memories her parents locked away.

Twila raised both shaking hands and pressed her fingertips hard against her temples.

"Show me the truth," Twila commanded her magic, her eyes turning violet. "Show me what I really am."

She pushed her magic into her brain, tearing down the thick, invisible walls her father built fifteen years ago.

A flash of white light exploded behind her eyes.

She wasn't in the garden anymore.

She was inside a memory.

Her mother held her tight in a dark, burning room where fire roared around them. Her mother was crying, pressing a kiss to baby Twila's forehead.

"You have to listen to me, my sweet girl," her mother sobbed, staring into Twila's eyes. "People thinks you are just a weapon, they thinks you and your brother are just monsters of the Void."

Her mother placed a silver necklace in baby Twila's pocket.

"The Void is just a mask, Twila," her mother whispered frantically. "It is a shield protecting your true soul. You are not a monster, you are a Lunar Queen."

Twila watched the memory in shock.

"You are the last royal wolf of the silver bloodline," her mother cried, pushing Twila under a bed to hide her from the door. "That is why the dark magic doesn't kill you. Because pure moonlight heals you. Do not let them turn you into a villain, my beautiful little wolf."

Twila gasped loudly, pulling her hands away from her temples.

The memory vanished, and she was back in the garden.

But her entire body was shaking, her eyes weren't violet anymore, they glowed a beautiful, pure silver.

"I am a wolf," Twila breathed, staring at her glowing hands in shock.

The terrifying puzzle pieces finally fell into place in her mind.

"That is why I have a fated mate," Twila whispered to herself, tears streaming down her cheeks as the truth made sense. "Vampires don’t have mates. Wolves have mates. The universe didn’t give a random human a vampire mate."

Twila stood slowly from the grass, looking up at the full moon.

"I am the last Lunar Queen," Twila choked out, her chest heaving. "And Niles Vayne is a Royal Vampire."

It was the ultimate, ancient joke. The universe paired the last royal wolf with her natural, ancient immortal enemy to force a balance.

"Twila?" a confused, quiet voice asked from the garden path.

Twila turned around fast.

Neon was standing there, holding two cups of red wine. He dropped both cups onto the grass, his eyes going wide.

"What the fuck is happening to your eyes, Twila?" Neon gasped, taking a slow
step toward her. "Why are you glowing silver?"

"Neon," Twila cried, running over to her brother and grabbing his hoodie tight. "I remember everything, Neon. I just unlocked the memories mom hid inside my head before she died."

"What memories?" Neon asked, looking terrified of her eyes.

"We aren't just Void monsters, Neon," Twila sobbed, shaking him gently. "The dark magic is just a shield. We are wolves. I am the last Lunar Queen, and you are a Lunar King."

Neon froze, his jaw dropping open.

"Are you insane?" Neon whispered. "We don't have fur, we don't howl at the moon. I don't even have magic anymore!"

"Because your core is damaged!" Twila explained frantically. "But it makes perfect sense, Neon! That is exactly why I healed my own hand so fast! And that is exactly why the universe tied me to the vampire!"

Before Neon could say another word, a clapping sound echoed from the dark trees.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

"Well, well, well," a cold, evil voice sneered from the shadows.

Grandmaster Orion stepped slowly out of the dark woods. He was leaning heavily on his red staff, his rotting leg dragging slightly behind him.

He looked completely, unbelievably thrilled.

"I knew your father placed a mental block inside your brain, Twila," Orion smiled. "But I never thought you would be stupid enough
to break it open all by yourself."

"Get the fuck away from us, Orion," Neon yelled, stepping in front of Twila to protect her.

"You unlocked your true bloodline," Orion laughed, raising his staff. "Do you know how much power a fully awakened Lunar Queen actually possesses? You are going to power my core perfectly, my beautiful little wolf."