Chapter 40

Daphne

The vampire's words still echoed through my mind, and a hundred questions raced around inside my head as I ran through the forest.

‘I cannot attack the royal blood of my own kind. It’s a crime, and we do not go against the royalty at all,’ he had said.

But what did that mean? I was a werewolf, not a vampire. And yet... there was something inside me that yearned to know more about these creatures of the night. He would have been able to tell me more about what he had meant, however, Calle killed him before he could say anything else.

Yes, he'd only done it to save me since vampires were dangerous creatures who would take any opportunity they got to harm us if left unchecked. However, I was left with more questions than ever before swirling around in my mind. I wish I had listened to the vampire, so my curiosity was not getting the better of me until now.

How could he just kill someone like that without giving them a chance to explain themselves? Didn't he understand how frustrating it was for me not to have any answers?

I continued to run farther than was supernaturally possible—far away from Calle, leaving dust behind, until finally, darkness enveloped whatever remained ahead of me. But then I halted as I heard the screams. At first, I thought it was only in my head, like a product of my own distress from what I had just gone through. But something wasn't right, Something dark had seemed to descend upon our town.

Then the screams started to get louder and more desperate.

"Are you hearing what I’m hearing?" I inquired with Reina.

‘Do you mean the sound of the river?’

I sighed, shaking my head. "No, not that. I’m referring to the screams."

‘The last time I’ve heard of screams was when you knocked those vampires off.’

Confusion reeled in my head. Reina and I were one. She was supposed to be getting all of what I hear, feel, or see. Unless this gift was coming from my other side.

‘Hey, I'm not hearing what you’re hearing. But I know what you’re thinking right now,’ Reina stated.

"So, what do you think happens to me?" I asked.

‘That the gift comes from the vampire side.’

I frowned. "So you believe what the vampire said?"

"Maybe." There was a sad tone in her voice. "But they seem to recognize your other origin. Remember, the vampire retreated from killing us both. And he’d said, you’re one of them."

"Whatever, Reina," I sighed, blowing out a loud breath.

Anyway, I couldn’t just ignore the shrieking voices, so I turned in their direction. And then, as I ran with more speed, chasing the sound, I realized that the screams were coming from the direction of my school.

What greeted me there made my blood run cold. Dark shadows filled every corner, surrounding students and teachers alike with their writhing tentacles of pure darkness. As I got closer, I could see them starting to attack the students. They were tearing them apart with their bare hands! It seemed like a living nightmare—one where no one could escape unscathed!

‘Oh, shit! How could this be possible!’ Reina squeaked in my head, and her terrorized voice gave me goosebumps on my skin.

I looked around, though my sight was almost blurry from the tears. "Something or someone must be responsible for this! I’m going to find it!"

I looked around for the person who was controlling these creatures, and finally saw a woman standing on the roof of the school building, her hair wild around her face as if electrified by an unseen force.

"Suzette," I grunted. Fury filled me up with a sudden intensity that seemed to course through my veins like liquid fire. "She’s doing this! She’s casting a curse on our school for her own twisted ends!"

‘How dare she do such an evil thing?’ Reina growled. I could feel that she was ready to surface anytime now. ‘Wasn’t she content that she had hurt us? She’s the reason why you’ve lost me!’

"I’m not going to let that happen again," I muttered, balling my hands into fists. "But first, I need to stop her insanity and make her pay. This is such an injustice to so many lives!"

As rage burned inside of me and I filled myself with newly found strength and courage, I let Reina take over, and we teleported to the rooftop in the blink of my eyes. I felt amazed at myself for having such skill, but my main concern was to stop Suzette from causing any further harm.

The first thing she did was stare at me when she sensed my presence. Her eyes flared with bright light, but I could see how angry she was; she couldn’t move. Maybe because the spell would vanish once she lost her focus. Regardless, she could still manage to spit furious words at me.

"You! Get the hell out of here. I’ll slaughter you if my ritual ruins it!"

Her words were full of threats, yet I seemed unaffected. I realized I really changed a lot. The last time we bumped into each other, I was so intimidated by her aura. But now my impression of her has lessened, though I see her as a huge destroyer of things.

Suzette looked confused, and she seemed disoriented while talking to herself.

‘I’m ready to sink my pang on her undelicious skin,’ Reina snarled, but I stopped her.

"Hold on. Let me present myself first," I said, "I want her to know who I am before we punish this witch."

Reina agreed though she was still growling dangerously in my head.

When I transformed into human form, her eyes widened, and the dark illumination vanished in her hand.

"You need to stop this nonsense, Suzette. You have no right to harm any of the students in my school!" I warned her.

"Daphne Forster?" she gasped. For a split second, her face displayed shock. But after collecting herself, she grinned with full confidence. "I’ve heard you’re the Luna of Calle now. Well, that’s not going to last because I’m here to replace you. You’re just nothing but his toy."

Anger boiled up inside of me until it exploded outward in a burst of energy directed at Suzette herself. Seriously, I’ve had enough of her insults and degradation, though I really didn’t care about any of it. For now, I was busy putting her in the right place. That was no other than in hell.

"How can you be Luna when you know it is to harm others?" I snapped, and my jaw hardened as I roared at her. I could feel my teeth grow longer and longer. Hold on, how could I have pangs already without my wolf transformation?

Her eyes widened. "So, you’re a part vampire?"

I was taken aback by her queries. But then I shook my head. She was a cunning witch, but there was no way she could distract me.

"No! I am a werewolf—the Luna of the pack you’re hurting!" I charged forward without hesitation. "This time, we'll be ending things between us once and for all. Either you die today or so will every single last student here who has become a victim of your sick magic!"

"Blasphemy," she snarled when she turned toward me—the fury within her matching mine perfectly as if lit ablaze by some unknown force.

With strength far beyond anything human, we engaged in a brutal fight. Punches flew left and right, slashing skin open with our nails. Soon, I found myself growling ferociously, trying hard to land the final blow that would end Suzette's mischievous action.

Nevertheless, she used trickery, distracting attention long enough to cut her palm, allowing precious red liquid to ooze out.

The smell awakened another part of me, calling out desperately. "N-no…" I shook my head, stepping back. The scent of her blood was like my favorite food. It made my throat dry, and I became thirsty and hungry.

‘Focus, Daphne!’

My mind was so clouded, but I could still hear that little distressed voice. Who was that, by the way?

‘That’s it. Let me surface! Or else, you’ll be defeated!’

I blinked. I realized that the voice was Reina’s. Oh, how could I let Suzette trick my head again?

I was about to attack her, but she was nowhere to be found. But before I knew it, she was right there, inches from my face. And before I could even form a word, she stabbed me straight in the chest.

"No one can challenge divine powers!" Suzette jeered.

The pain was unbearable. It felt like my body had been ripped in two, detached from my soul and the world around me. I knew I was dying but still managed to take notice of what Suzette had on her neck—a glowing necklace that looked oddly familiar.

With one last burst of energy, I reached out for the thing and yanked it off her neck as hard as I could. The moment she realized this, something happened; all shadows were suddenly gone! All students started recovering with fear emanating through their eyes, while Suzette began burning up with anger beyond control at being so easily disarmed.

She paused briefly before pointing an accusing finger at me, then finally understood why every student’s life has been saved. "It is you!" she hissed between gritted teeth. "You broke my stone!" Then, upon catching sight of Alpha’s mark engraved into my skin, she added, "What a great pleasure killing Calle's slut!"

Without wasting another second of thought, she threw me carelessly off the building without hesitation until darkness completely swallowed me.