Blood Moon

Chapter 21: Conflicted

~ A heart and mind at war ~

I make my way over to my little sister's bedroom and take a seat by her bedside. I watch as she breathes softly in her sleep, still connected to a drip and her head still covered in bandages. "I don't know what to do Scar; everything's just all over the place" I sigh. "Hunter hates me because he thinks I'm a vampire and now an actual vampire is trying to get close to me for the Crimson Stone. To top everything off, there's still no word on our father and Cain" I gently shake my head, feeling a migraine about to come on. 

'We need to talk to our mate' Kali commands, causing me to rub at my temple. Not this again. 'Wanette, everything can be fixed if we just tell him the truth' she tries to convince me. But Rue said- 'Rue is only thinking for herself! He will keep everything a secret if we tell him to!' she barks. Didn't he sleep with Leah earlier?! Do you really want to be with someone who has treated us this way?! 

Hearing this she goes quiet. I hate to sound harsh Kali but he hasn't exactly been nice to us has he? 'It's all because he thinks you're a vampire' she argues. Why is that though? Why does he think I'm a vampire? Unable to answer my question she goes silent once more. 

"This is all rather ridiculous..." I trail off, taking my little sister's small hand in mine. "I'm still grieving the loss of our mother and siblings and now I have to deal with all of this. I just want some peace" I sigh. 

'Please... Wanette, just talk to him' she wails, getting desperate. If I agree to talk to him, will you shut up?! 'Just try... for the both of us' she pleads. I sigh, realising that she will not stop begging me until I agree to talk to him. I exit the room and make my way back to my bedroom. I walk over to the window, assuming that either Hunter or Ace will be standing by the forest entrance as usual. Kali sobs as I stare down at the vacant road; not a soul in sight, not even hiding behind the trees. 

Looks like it'll have to wait until tomorrow. I draw the curtains and crawl into bed. Closing my eyes I try to ignore the throbbing pain on the left side of my forehead, the stress finally getting to me. 'The first thing you need to do tomorrow is take back the rejection; once he rejects us the bond is broken, there's no coming back from that' she says. Hey now I agreed to talk, not to take back the rejection. 'You haven't got a choice. If he rejects us before you can clear up this misunderstanding then it's over. Taking back the rejection on your end puts the ball back in our court' she explains. I sigh. Fine, but I really think that we're just prolonging the inevitable here.

Kali goes silent as I begin to drift off, the worries of the day disappearing as I make my descent into the void. 

High. High walls. Grey. Grey stones. Red. Red throne. I stand surrounded by thick, high stoned walls. A large, red throne sits atop of a set of stairs in front of me, empty. As if I am stuck in a trance I begin to walk towards the stairs slowly. I make my way up, step by step, my eyes unmoving, fixated on the blood red throne. Before I can reach it, I see a shadow darting towards me from my peripheral vision. Unable to react in time I tumble down the stairs as it hits me, landing on my back. Peering down from above is a man hidden in shadows, his eyes the only feature I can make out. The eyes of the Blood Moon. "Julian?" I ask, confused. A deep, sinister chuckle comes from the man before he reaches down to wrap his hands around my throat. I struggle, trying my best to get him off of me so I can breathe but to no avail, he's too strong...

I awake with a fright. Gasping for air I rub my hands over my neck, relieved to find out that it was just another nightmare. Was that Julian or... someone else? I shake off my paranoid thoughts and convince myself that it was nothing out of the ordinary. It was just a nightmare; nothing more, nothing less. 

I slink out of the bed and make my way downstairs towards the kitchen. Rue sits alone at the breakfast table, quietly sipping a glass of whiskey. She turns her head towards me and gestures to the seat beside her. "Can't sleep either?" she asks before taking a swig of the liquid. I shake my head in response. "We shouldn't be making a habit out of this" she chuckles, placing the glass back down onto the table. "Want some? A little shouldn't hurt" she queries, pouring me a glass before giving me a chance to respond. 

"Everyday I used to train, hangout with my friends and wait patiently for my mate to come into my life. My biggest worry was who my mate was going to be and if I would have to move to another pack as I never wanted to be too far from my friends and family but now... well, all of that's irrelevant. All my friends are dead. All my family is dead. My pack is pretty much gone too. Anika will hardly talk to me. All I have left is you guys and don't take this too personal but none of you are making me feel better about the situation, I hardly know any of you after all" she says. I nod my head, listening intently. 

"Now not only do I have to worry about being found and then subsequently killed like everyone else but I also have to worry about you three too. I have to be responsible for your safety, not just my own. It's like I've become a mother all of a sudden to three kids when I'm only 20. I have to worry about Fenwick and Cain finding us. I have to worry about any information that could get out and back to them. Now, I also have to worry about vampires coming after us and a potential uprising. Give me a break..." she sighs before downing the rest of the brown liquid in her glass. 

"The pack is basically destroyed at this point, gone for good. Once Fenwick and Cain are dealt with we should look to settle in another pack. I would've suggested this one if not for the situation with you and this Hunter boy. I have a few contacts in some of the local packs back home, we should look there once the dust is settled" she continues, pouring herself another glass. 

"I hope you don't take anything I just said to heart, I'm not trying to be rude or anything" she adds after a short pause. "I understand. You've been expected to take responsibility for all of us out of the blue. I get it, it's been especially tough on you" I say before deciding to take a sip from the glass in front of me. As it hits the back of my throat I immediately regret it, the burning sensation causing me to gag. Rue chuckles as she observes my response to the alcohol. "Yeah it can be like that at first" she laughs. 

We continue to chat all through the night until sunrise, about anything and everything. I excuse myself to get ready for the day. After getting dressed and putting my contact lenses in I search around my room for the glasses. I sigh. Just now remembering how I lost them in the forest the day before. 

I hurry out of the house before Kyra comes out of her room and make my way towards the school alone. Right, I'm going to tell him that I'm not a vampire and I'll take back the rejection like you want me to but I'm not going to tell him anything else Kali. I'm not going to add to Rue's stress. She grumbles in response but doesn't put up much of a fight. 

I arrive at the school, less students than usual as I got here early. As soon as I enter through the front doors, the faint scent of Sandalwood and Neroli fills my lungs. I turn my head to observe a lone vampire, patiently waiting for me. I sigh internally. I gotta run right?

I scurry along trying to find my mate, Hunter. I ignore the vampire following closely behind and try my best to pick up my mate's scent. As I turn a corner to go down another hallway the smell of Cedarwood and Vetiver hit me. I follow the trail which leads me towards an empty classroom.

I stop in my tracks, my eyes widening. Kali wails at the scene before us. There he is, man of the hour with his hand down a random girl's trousers as he kisses her passionately. He opens his eyes and glances over at me, not stopping what he is doing for even a second. 'I'M... GOING... TO...' Kali begins to scream in my mind, her anger beginning to consume my very being. 

"I, Wanette Argent, rescind my rejection of you, Hunter Gauthier" I announce, forcing him to break away from the brunette. Kali calms down slightly at this but is still on edge from what we have just witnessed. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!"

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Author's note

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As of right now I plan to release 1-2 chapters every Friday. Any feedback both positive and negative will be greatly appreciated. This is my first time writing a story like this so I hope that it turned out alright.

Thank you for reading!

Yours,

xgwenux