Chapter 56

Malia POV

How? What? Why? All these questions were circling inside my head as I was trying to get a hold on the reality that I’ve lived in for 20 years without even knowing an ounce of what was happening behind the curtain. It felt like a whole play, a ridicule act that we were all acting in without any script, as life demands. But some of us created their own, and have been playing around with fate as if it was normal. And free. But oh, did it come with a cost. Cost we’ve been paying on their behalf.

I have always thought we were deprived of our freedom as females to be hunted the way they imposed us. But how far was I from the truth? The strained relationship between the Moon Goddess and her children found its origin way back, a long time ago, centuries even before the War.

Wars ensued because of past feuds that happened between individuals. Hunger for power. Vengeance in response to humiliation. Rejection because of ugliness. Fate faltering because of the demise of a loved one, pillar of the balance.

It all started with her. Seline, the Moon Goddess. She was said to be the more gracious being of them all, full of light, patience, calmness, elegance. She graced this world for a long time alone, until her sister came to join her on her journey. Mother Nature, bound to the Earth itself, bringing everything to life.

Their magic was beyond this realm, far too wide to understand. But it was far from flawless and invincible. Someone understood its cracks and because of the hatred of an individual whose pride got hurt, we were all doomed.

The Moon Goddess was never intended to find a fated mate. She was the giver, not the receiver. But one was convinced he was THE one.

Kodard. It seemed like the obvious choice, of course, considering his bloodline was one of the oldest, if not the one.

Shivers ran all over my bodies when Belinay, laying by the fire, in her private area, uttered his name. Of course it was all coming down to him. The mystical wolf by me noticed my discomfort, visible disgust painting over my face, evident disdain in every twitching muscle of my body. She scoffed before continuing her tale, and all I could was to frown at her reaction.

‘Considering your background and the history of your own bloodline, it is only normal for you to instinctively react that way. Your body has a memory. Shila’s spirt too. After all, it is the same man to this day. His bloodline is fake, as he, since then, never died.’

From disgust I skipped to surprise, but she shut me up by resuming her story.

It was about the Moon Goddess, and how she once would grace the Earth often to meet with her sister that shared the same secret and forbidden desire. They would both take the usual human form, to blend in, and despite the warnings written in the stars, they would even mingle with the mortals.

There, they would meet their ‘children’. Their creations, their descendance. But in their heart, they wanted to be part of them, wanting to be part of the world they helped create, despite the danger to be find out and worse.

At some point, they did had their small circle of close friends they’ve gathered here and there, from their ventures. Growing closer by the day, the knitted group decided to even build their own village so the sisters would always know where to find them. One, not hard to guess who he was, was trying desperately to grab the attention of the two sisters, sticking to their side every time they would appear, spontaneously, in their town. Too kind and polite to brush him off, the women would just ignore the man, but in the end, it was only fueling his flame instead of fanning it.

There was only one rule amongst them, that no one dared to even question or defy: when the Full Moon would rise, they would be left alone. And so it was heard. Until one night.

One fateful night of a bright and high Full Moon, Kodard followed the two sisters. Blinded by what some would call ‘love’, what other would call ‘obsession’, he broke the single rule they ever asked to be respected. He stayed strategically behind, hidden in the shadows, where he belong, watching the graceful bodies advancing between the trees, almost floating toward the Moon, slowly rising in the midnight sky.

Chocked by his discovery, he couldn’t stay hidden anymore, jolting on his knees under the embraced bodies over his head, claiming his love for Seline, the older sister, claiming he finally found his fated mate in her. While one pure soul was swooned by the words of an avid man, a wise heart met the Earth again, only to apologize and gracefully reject his claims. She wasn’t who he claimed repeatedly she was, and at some point, as the Moon was calling her back home, she lost her temper. And that was the only time she ever did. Even after the loss of her sister, we will come to that part soon enough.

Furious, offended, he swallowed his pride and sobbed at her feet, as she answered the pull of the Moon, not before embracing one last time her sister, ignoring the crying man under. She didn’t know at the time the thoughts germinating in her heart, but she noticed she wasn’t as cold towards him as she should have been, so knowing the nature of Mother Nature, pure and good, sensitive to the feelings of others, she presented her own warnings and concerns about him, and pleaded for her to heed them. But it was time for her to leave, so she did, unwillingly leaving her sister behind.

She stayed awakened and observed the next scene unfold under her nose, as she stood by the Moon. Her sister, blessed her heart and soul, comforted the man. Telling him all the good things will come to him on due time, that he would be surprised one day with an opportunity even greater than he thought he missed.

She saw it all. How the glint in his red eyes changed, how the man became monster. He took her words to his heart, not to heal and mend it, as she intended to per her nature, but spreaded as poison in his veins. The Full Moon high in the sky called to his animal side, and he yielded to it, feeding his desire with his dreadful plan. Claws piked at the place of his nails, reflecting her own light, and in a swing, cut off the throat of the healer kindly standing by his side, rubbing his back.

Her body fell slowly to his feet, blood running out, painting the so green grass around in the crimson red color of the mortal form she wore. Rain didn’t come as Seline didn’t cry. Thunder didn’t crash as she didn’t scream the pain that bloomed in her heart.

But a curse was born that night, until all the keys were to be reconciled to amend for the death of her sister.