Full Moon (1)
A groan escaped from Luna’s lips before her eyelids fluttered open. The first thing she saw was the familiar bed canopy, then the room, and finally, the man sitting on a chair right beside the bed.
The man exuded such a terrifying and dangerous aura that Luna shivered upon feeling it. The brown eyes that had looked at her calmly that morning were now red and blazing with anger.
The man leaned back in his chair, with his hands resting on the chair’s arms and his right leg crossed over his left, exuding the posture of a powerful and arrogant man. His red, luscious lips formed a thin line, and if Luna didn’t know who he was, she might have been captivated by his handsomeness.
Luna took a deep breath and slowly tried to stand up, but she had barely moved when the man gave a full-throated growl. “Your Majesty… what happened?” Luna murmured, her voice trembling. A sneering, mocking smile spread across Alkrevas’ face as he heard Luna’s words, as if what she said was a useless joke to him.
“Tell me,” Alkrevas murmured, intertwining his fingers on his lap. “What were you talking about with that witch?”
“Witch?”
Alkrevas sighed softly. “I don’t want to talk in circles,” he said quietly. “You don’t need to pretend anymore, Luna. We both know each other’s secrets, right? I can read your mind, and you are not from this world.” Luna gripped the blanket, covering her body tightly.
“Besides, it was an easy puzzle to solve, Luna. The translator bracelet you use. The fact that you’re the only woman I haven’t met. Your visit to the imperial archives. Anything else? Oh! The coincidence of the portal in the sacred forest is reported to emit light and become active again after a long time. Did I miss anything?” Luna couldn’t say anything in the face of all the facts Alkrevas listed. He wasn’t stupid, and Luna was just trying to deny the reality that Alkrevas knew her secret.
There was no way a fool easily deceived could sit on the throne. From her interactions with Alkrevas, it was clear he was cunning, loved manipulating situations, and was obsessed with her.
“Of course, if I couldn’t read you through here,” Alkrevas murmured, tapping his temple with his index finger. “It would all be speculation, but after reading your entire mind and your past and gaining full access to you through the mating process, all my speculations were confirmed.”
“Where are my belongings?” Luna murmured.
“Oh. Is that the reason for your change in behavior over the past few days? Are you trying to get your belongings back from me? This makes me lower my guard and then seize the right moment to reclaim my things, right?” Alkrevas asked mockingly while Luna simply pressed her lips together in response. Not agreeing or disagreeing with Alkrevas’ words. “The belongings found in that Fae inn, I will keep as my treasure. After all, those items belong to you-my soulmate.”
Alkrevas sighed softly and added, “Honestly, I felt annoyed seeing the materials I guessed were for clothes you wore. It’s too revealing and short. I wondered about the clothes from your world, but I am also curious about how you look in them.” Luna gritted her teeth, holding back her anger. “So, Luna? Is there anything else I should explain?”
“Aren’t you angry that my name is Luna?”
“No, I’m happy because it signifies that your fate is to be my Luna. I am only angry at those who call you Luna, so from now on, I forbid everyone from calling you Luna.”
Then Alkrevas stood up and approached the bed. He bent down, kissed Luna’s forehead, and murmured, “I will never let you go. No matter what happens.”
“But I want to go home!”
“Your home. Your world. Now it is here. With me.”
“No! I don’t want to!”
“Be as stubborn as you want, Luna. I don’t care because sooner or later, you will accept the reality that you are my soulmate. Your place is beside me. Your world is now here. You will never be far from me again.”
A single tear slowly rolled down Luna’s cheek, and small sobs escaped from her lips. “Shh… my poor little mate. Don’t cry. You know Norris, and I will be sad to see you cry.”
“I have a family.”
“Oh? Aren’t you an orphan?”
Instantly, Luna reached out and grabbed Alkrevas’ coat collar. “You-” Luna hissed softly at his question but restrained herself when she saw the blaze of anger in his brown eyes. She swallowed all her frustration and decided to change her tactic.
“Please, I beg you, let me go. I want to return.” Then she lowered her head and murmured, “What if our positions were reversed? Wouldn’t you want to return to your world?”
Alkrevas furrowed his brow deeply. “No. I wouldn’t want that as long as I can be with my soulmate. I wouldn’t care if I had to leave my life in this world.” Instantly, Luna lifted her head, looking at Alkrevas’ serious face. Slowly, her hands released, and with a face clearly expressing defeat, Luna looked out the window, not wanting to see the powerful Emperor standing near her.
“You want to return because you want to find your biological parents?” Luna suddenly turned towards Alkrevas and stared at him intently. “I saw your thoughts, Luna. You want to find your parents, but you’re afraid. Isn’t that right?”
“Don’t you know that’s a violation of privacy?” Luna growled.
“There is no privacy between soulmate pairs, little mate.” Alkrevas sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
“Stop denying your destiny. Stop denying this sacred bond. You are only causing yourself suffering.” Alkrevas paused for a moment, then continued, “You know, even though I knew you weren’t sincere when you said you were my soulmate, I was still happy.”
Then he straightened up, adjusted the collar of his coat that Luna had previously grabbed, and murmured, “Tonight, I won’t come to your room to sleep, and I’m sure you know why. You should rest and think about what I said.”
Alkrevas turned and walked toward the exit, but his steps halted when Luna let out a soft whimper: “I want to know their reason.” He turned and looked at Luna over his shoulder. If he hadn’t had super-sharp hearing, Alkrevas might not have heard the words.
Norris fidgeted restlessly in his mind, scratching at the barrier wall. His wolf soul wanted to soothe their sad soulmate. Still, Alkrevas wouldn’t let Norris do so-not with the full moon approaching when their emotions and sexual hormones were all over the place.
Alkrevas stood still, not asking, not leaving, waiting for Luna to say more. “I want to know why they abandoned me, but I’m scared. I’m afraid of being disappointed.” Alkrevas sighed deeply and walked back to the bed. He lifted Luna’s chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.
Norris howled and whimpered upon seeing the beautiful dark brown eyes filled with tears and sadness. “Let me go back. Please.”
“I can’t because I know that if I let you go, you won’t come back.”
“Your Majesty…”
“I waited so long for my soulmate, Luna. I traveled across the continent to find my soul mate, calling all the women to the palace to see them one by one. Norris and I were so desperate. We lived alone for years. Our hope dwindled and disappeared each year you didn’t appear. I nearly went mad. I nearly gave up and chose to die rather than become Feral. So when you stood before me, I promised myself I would never let you go. I’m willing to destroy this world for you. I’m willing to kill everyone so they won’t mock you. So, forgive me. If you are selfish, then I can be selfish too.” After saying that, Alkrevas kissed Luna’s cheek and lips, then turned and walked out of the room. He didn’t look back one last time.
Luna screamed and cried out of frustration, anger, and sadness. She threw anything within reach, but unfortunately, it was only soft pillows. Luna ran her fingers through her hair in frustration and buried her face in the bed, punching the mattress with her clenched fists.Content held by NôvelDrama.Org.
Her entire body trembled, and she howled, crying over a situation that had never once favored her. But as her sobbing began to subside, Luna threw off the blanket covering her. How could Alkrevas know her deepest intentions? She hadn’t told anyone. Not Ghea, not Nicole, not even Maya, her best friend. She had tried to erase that thought repeatedly.
Searching for her parents was the biggest reason she wanted to succeed; with money, she could do anything, but she was scared. She was so afraid of hearing the reason why her parents abandoned her, but every time she tried to take a step to find out, Luna would retreat.
Luna cursed the mate bond that tied her soul to Alkrevas because, through this bond, he knew her deepest secret, the secret she had tried so hard to forget. Luna buried her face in her hands and once again screamed to vent her frustration.
Her eyes closed as she imagined all the events that had occurred, making Luna feel even more distressed. She cursed the mirror she had bought back then. If only she hadn’t been drawn to it, maybe none of this would have happened. Luna took a deep breath, then wiped her face, opened her eyes, and saw the anklet Alkrevas had given her around her leg. She remembered Beth’s words and tried to build a wall around her mind so Alkrevas could no longer read her emotions and thoughts. Still, Luna groaned as she felt a pounding in her head as if something was stopping her from doing so.
Suddenly, Luna stared at the anklet on her leg and grabbed it. She pulled at it with all her strength, trying to remove it, but it wouldn’t budge. Luna let out a bitter laugh; of course, it wouldn’t come off. If someone like Beth couldn’t do it, how could she, a mere mortal?
Remembering Beth’s words about the anklet, Luna realized that Alkrevas had been monitoring her all this time. He could easily enter and read her mind and dwell within it, and this realization made Luna feel a surge of conflicting emotions. The anklet she tried to remove glowed each time she wanted to take it off, a sign that it held unusual power. A scream of frustration escaped her lips.
Then she climbed out of bed, roughly wiping away her tears. No. She wanted to return to her world not because of her parents but because she didn’t belong here. She needed to get back to where she was supposed to be. She needed to return to Marinka and Lucy, who were surely worried about her. Luna didn’t care if she was considered stubborn or heartless; all she wanted was her life back as it was.
With that thought, Luna ran to the chamber door and tried to open it, but it was locked tight. Luna pounded on the door from the inside, shouting for the guards she knew were stationed outside, but her shoulders slumped when she heard one of the guards say, “We apologize, Miss. You are not allowed to leave the room. We cannot defy the Emperor’s orders. It’s best if you rest.”
Luna grumbled in frustration and ran to the window. The balcony door and everything else were locked tight as if Alkrevas had anticipated her moves. Luna ran her fingers through her hair in frustration and stood in the middle of the quiet room, and slowly, her body collapsed onto the thick carpeted floor. The turmoil in her heart was overwhelming. On one small side, she was tempted to stay, to give Alkrevas a chance, to overlook whatever he had done, but on the larger side, she wanted to go home. She missed Maya and Nicole, and she couldn’t just accept Alkrevas.
She glanced at the sky, which was growing darker, and the moon was beginning to adorn the sky. “Dinner time is almost here,” Luna murmured to herself. A few minutes later, she heard a knock on the door and Judith’s voice from outside, indicating that her words were true.
“Miss, what would you like the chef to prepare for dinner tonight?” Luna sighed softly. The words of that psychopathic Emperor were indeed true. Everyone had been forbidden from calling her “Luna,” even Judith, who had always called her Luna, now called her “Miss.” If this continued, she would feel increasingly uncomfortable.
Luna cleared her throat softly and walked to the window, then replied, “Anything, Judith. Tell the palace chef that I want his recommendation.”
“Alright, Miss.”
She then heard footsteps retreating and the door closing tightly, indicating that Judith had left. Luna bit her lip and extended her hand, rubbing the window glass and checking its thickness before nodding her head.
She pulled out the gemstone Beth had given her from inside her clothes and murmured in amazement when she saw a transparent white light stretch from the gemstone in her hand out the window. Luna looked outside, furrowing her brow when she saw Alkrevas, along with his Beta and Gamma, riding horses toward the direction the transparent white thread pointed.
Luna put the gemstone back and searched for something to tie her hair. Then, she changed into a lighter dress that would allow her to move easily before taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Judith,” she murmured into the silence of the room.
…