The King's Blood Witch

13 - Mother Moon

The trees rustled around her, chills creeping up her spine and down her arms, following along her skin like a game of tag.

The moon was full, as bright as the sun, but it held secrets and mystery. It didn't judge quite like the sun - the wrath of the goddess which sees all, every mishap and sin. The moon had her own secrets, and would never judge the actions of her children.

Rosa was glad for the comfort of the moon, the way it bathed her in a calming light. The sun would've provided her with much needed warmth, but Rosa would gladly suffer through the cold if it meant being comforted by mother moon.

She still remembered how the soldiers fell to the ground, one simply clutching his chest before his face turned red and he just no longer got up. The next was far more gruesome, his skin blistering with heated blood, brains blowing out and painting the grass red.

Rosabelle ran after that, not looking back, praying she could blame her murders on the strange man. She was surprised she made it passed the fence but she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

She ran until her legs could run no more, her body falling to exhaustion in the middle of the dark woods.

Perhaps she should've gone with the man, after all, she had no money or resources. If she was spotted by anyone, she was immediately be taken back to the palace and she would rather die than do so.

But what if Adonis forgave her? What if she fell to her knees and pledged her undying love, swearing that she was just being stupid and she would never ever want to leave him.

Rosabelle pinched herself, forcing memories of her mother's murder and being locked in that awful room to resurface. The only reason she was in such horrible conditions was because of him.

She could not forgive and she could not forgive.

There had to be somewhere she could go and be safe, somewhere to just... do anything. And even if it wasn't ideal, anywhere would be better in Adonis's clutches.

A twig snapped behind and Rosa and, with her heart in her throat, she quickly turned around. Only then did she remember something extremely important about the full moon.

Wolves.

Scrambling up to stand, she started bolting away, trying not to cry at the pain in her feet and the quickly approaching wolf behind her.

She winced when she hit her arm on a tree, delaying just slightly, enough for the wolf to grab a bit of her night gown. She was able to rip it away, continuing her run.

But she tripped on a stray branch, head falling into the dead leaves and mud. The wolf climbed on top of her, fangs digging deep into her shoulder.

Rosabelle screamed, reaching her hand to briefly touch the wolf and cause his blood to stiffen momentarily. He bowled in pain, moving off of her so she could stand.

She clenched her fist looking down at the wolf, feeling his blood flow and heart beat in her own veins. With one final stiffen in his blood flow, she ran away, not knowing if her powers could handle so much after her outburst.

When she was a good distance away, in a cave at the side of a large oak tree, she examined the bite mark wincing in pain. She tried her best to mend the flesh back together, but her powers were spent. All she could do was pass out and hope for a better day.

—-
Three of the younger wolves had traveled too far last night, walking straight into the Dark King's territory. That was something Salvatore simply could not have.

They kneeled in front of him, his arms crossed as he looked down at them. There was only two of them present, which would have made him worried had her not been seen the morning.

"Where is Xavier?" Axel questioned from the side, probably just woken up after his change.

"I don't know," said Terrance from the floor, a huge scratch mark on his face. "He didn't look too good when we changed back."

"Yeah," agreed Dilo, "really... off. Like he had seen a ghost."

"Ghost," Byron, Salvatore's brother mocked from the dining table. He was a broody one, but he enjoyed jesting at the expense of others.

Speak of the devil, the doors opened for Xavier to lug himself in, dark bags under his eyes, a huge red mark on his face and hand clutching white fabric.

"Where have you been?" Axel demanded.

Xavier didn't answer at first, looking around blankly before falling to his knees. Different than the others, as if his body just couldn't support him anymore.

Axel and Terrance rushed over, asking the boy questions and such. Salvatore made his way over, arms behind his back in concern as he looked down at the boy.

"What is the matter, young one?" He asked, brow furrowed.

Xavier looked up at him, eyes wide and fearful. Body practically shaking.

"I encountered a woman last night," he began. "She had white hair... red eyes... I knew she was the Beast's treasure and I thought if I could capture her, he could bargain with the Dark King into not attacking us again."

Salvatore sighed in exasperation as Axel shook his head and Byron just scoffed from the table, eating his chicken.

"The Bastard King would never agree to something so stupid," he mocked. "You just saw a girl that looked like her, she would never be out of the castle."

"That's if she exists," Axel muttered.

"Enough," Salvatore ordered before looking Xavier in the eyes. "What else happened?"

He took a gulp before speaking. "I had her... I bit her, accidentally. It burned in my mouth. She did something to me... my heart stopped for a while, I think. I feel all... fuzzy now."

Salvatore wanted to rub his forehead in exasperation; this was why you never fucked with witches. Especially witches who went around dressed as the Dark King's... daughter? Wife? Ward? Honestly, after all the stories Salvatore had heard, he wouldn't be surprised if she was all those things and more.

In his fearful recount, Xavier dropped the white fabric on the floor. And then... then Salvatore noticed it... the smell of roses and parchment, sweet as sugar but even more delectable.

"Where did you get that?" He asked the boy, trying his hardest to keep his tone even.

"I ripped it off the girl."

At that moment, Salvatore felt as bad as Xavier looked; the witch was his mate.