Blood Of The Luna

Chapter 10

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Damian’s POV

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I could feel her warmth seeping into my arms, and after the cold I had been forced to endure outside, I found that I didn’t hate it as much as I assumed I would. It was difficult, of course, having to deal with my own problems and someone else’s problems.

But there was no way out of this one. And for someone in my position, there was no other option than to simply accept what was happening and learn to live with it.

My hand was in her hair, gliding through the softness of it and causing her scent to resonate all over me. Her lips were slightly parted, full and enticing. Her skin was soft, supple even. I supposed she could be called beautiful, in a way that many people would be jealous of. She was easy on the eyes, and the surprising part was that she didn’t even realise this. She was completely ignorant to the fact that she looked like the sculpture of a master, every point carved to perfection. Every curve was smoothed almost to painful precision, and no matter how hard I tried, my eyes were always drawn her breasts. She did not flaunt her body like some common w***e. She was respectable; a good girl, through and through. I had never known one, and she certainly was a stark opposite of the women I usually went for. But there was a charm about her, an effortless pull which made you want to come back for more. When you were with her, it felt like you were only privy to a small percentage of what was actually going on. A lot was going through her mind, and I wished that I could be able to find out what exactly it was that was going on in that head of hers. If only I could reach into her mind and pluck a single thought, then I would unravel the mystery that was Alyssa.

Her mother was terrified to see me appear beside her, and her fangs jutted out almost immediately as she jumped back in horror. It took a few seconds before she recognised me, and only then did she turn her terrified gaze on Alyssa who was nestled carefully in my arms.

“What happened to her?” I asked. But all I got in response was her mother’s terrified and inaudible murmur. She kept trying to wake Alyssa up, but she was clearly lost in whatever trance she seemed to have fallen into. Her eyes had glazed over, and her hands were trembling slightly with every breath she took. She seemed like she was having a seizure, but I didn’t know what I was supposed to do to save her. After all, no one had ever taught me what the right procedure was in the event of a seizure.

Only one idea came to me, and even though it was a risky one, I didn’t have any other choice. It was either that or let her die, and I could not afford to let her die. Never in a million years.

I placed my hand on her forehead, and when she drew in a sharp breath, I concentrated on feeling her pain. I had only ever managed to do it once in the past, and even then it wasn’t entirely successful. I couldn’t exactly delve into her mind, but I was hoping that if I tried to take away her pain, then I would be able to figure out what was tormenting her.

At first, I didn’t know if it had worked. All I could feel was a strange emptiness, and a darkness which suddenly enveloped me. I could feel the sensation of falling which meant that it was working at least, and then I felt the familiar tug behind my navel which meant I was diving into someone’s mind. The sensation was nauseating at first, but then it soon cleared and I found myself now standing in the middle of a battlefield, with several howls of pain and rage erupting everywhere around me. The sun was hidden behind a thick grey cloud, with forks of lightning illuminating the sky. It was an eerie place, and I could feel the chill in the air. Smoke rose from heaps all around me, and there were several dead bodies all around. Most of them were wolves, but there were a few who looked like humans.

What the hell did I just fall into?

Hundreds of wolves were battling around me, but it only took me a single minute to realise that they were losing badly. I could just make out several shadows which were moving all over the battlefield, slashing at the throats of the wolves. The snarling was familiar, and I knew where I had heard that sound before.

What the f**k was she doing having visions of vampires?

And then I saw her, sprinting across the battlefield with a large and frankly terrifying man chasing her with his fangs protruding sharply. There was murder in his eyes, and it was obvious that he was ready to kill her in any way he could manage. She was running at full speed, but it wasn’t enough to get away from him. Some of the vampires were breaking off from the battle to chase after her as well, and very soon she would be surrounded. Up ahead, I could just make out a woman leaning against the trunk of an oak tree, her head drooping at an awkward angle which immediately told me that she was dead.

It was official; Alyssa’s mind was the most f****d-up place I had ever been in.

The man was almost catching up to her, and I had half a mind to just let everything play out in front of me just so I could see what was going to happen. It was like watching a soap opera, wondering what was going to happen next. In my case however, I couldn’t stand around and wait for something to happen. I also couldn’t interfere, seeing how these were mere projections of her subconscious. I had delved into enough minds to know that I couldn’t do anything to stop her own thoughts from harming her if they wanted to. All I could do was pull her out of her own mind, and so I dashed towards her and stepped between her and the man. For a split second, his eyes flashed a terrible shade of red. But then I used my powers to push everything away. A light erupted from my hands, blinding everyone around and causing the vision to shiver and rattle. Alyssa was still running, and I had to scream out her name to stop her from running.

My voice seemed to interfere with the vision however, and the sound caused a gigantic explosion which split the vision in half. The man stopped dead in his tracks, and he covered his ears just like everyone else. I went after Alyssa, but it became apparent that she couldn’t see me, just like the others.

Of course she wouldn’t see me. Whenever I entered someone’s mind, they were always unable to see me. It was almost as if their subconscious chose to ignore me completely, like I was nothing more than a statue in the background.

I realised with a jolt that my light was reflected in her, and it seemed even more intensified as it was coming from her.

This was getting boring. I wiped the scene away like it was nothing more than a wet painting, and I pulled her up with me. She seemed confused, and as she whirled around with her eyes unfocused and her lips slightly parted, I focused on getting us back to the real world. Usually, all I had to do was imagine a portal that would send us back. It would immediately appear before me and all I had to do was walk through it. But this time, even as I tried to imagine the portal, I could feel an odd sense of dread settling on me. Something told me that it wouldn’t be so easy to get out of Alyssa’s mind.

Several thoughts were all tangled up in a mess, weaving in and out like the blotchy work of an unsophisticated artist. I could not clear a path to a portal, and every attempt was struck down by a new thought. Honestly, it felt like her mind was strung together by a million different thoughts and memories, most of which didn’t even seem like they belonged to her.

Was I somehow projecting my own thoughts and memories into her mind?

But that would be stupid. I made sure to keep my own mind separate from hers. It was the single most important thing that I had to take care of when doing this, because I did not want her delving into my thoughts.

So how could she have all these memories? They were like dormant icebergs, drifting along in her subconscious even though they didn’t belong to her. When I placed my hand on the closest one, it was the memory of someone who lived during the early 1800’s. She was battling the same vampire man I had just seen, and what was even more confusing was the fact that she looked exactly like Alyssa.

Were these memories or imaginations?

After what felt like an eternity of struggle, I finally managed to open a portal in front of us. I pushed her in before I went after her, but not before I took one last look at the beautiful tragedy that was her mind. It would take years to unravel it all; painful years of what I could only imagine was going to be a very chaotic life together. The very thought of it made me cringe. But I steeled myself and walked through the portal, suddenly returning to my own consciousness with Alyssa lying in my hands. She was trembling violently, her eyes bloodshot and wet with tears.

“Relax,” I said. “Everything is going to be fine.”

She smiled at me weakly, before she slumped in my arms and passed out completely. Her mother was crying beside me, and I tried to hide my irritation as I looked up at her.

“She’ll be fine,” I said. “Just keep her away from whatever it was that triggered this reaction in the first place.”

“Thank you, Damian,” she said. “I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here to help.”

Of course you wouldn’t, you stupid b***h.

“It’s not a problem, Mrs McCormack,” I said. “Would you like me to carry her up to her bed?”

“I would appreciate that, if it’s not too much of a hassle,” she said with a smile amidst her tears. The sight irritated me, and I wanted to yell at her for looking so weak and helpless. But I held my tongue, and I focused on getting Alyssa away from the tears and the theatrics. I swear, I wasn’t getting enough from this.

I carried her up the stairs carefully, and I took the opportunity to look at her carefully in her sleep. She was beautiful, I noticed once again. It was muted even in her sleep, and once again I wondered how she was able to resist the urge to flaunt it in everyone’s face. Women were often like that. Just a simple drop of feminine charm was enough to make them think they owned the world. But Alyssa looked like someone who didn’t realise just how many feathers they would ruffle if they actually put in the effort.

And yet, even though fate was bringing the two of us together, she was the last thing I wanted.

I stepped into her bedroom, ignoring how small and modest it looked as I dropped her carefully onto the bed. She was breathing heavily, still exhausted from her ordeal. I had half a mind to draw the covers over her, but I decided not to do it.

Let the b***h freeze to death for all I cared.

It was exhausting, trying to keep up the act and pretend that I actually cared about her. It was probably the hardest thing I had ever been forced to do. So far, I thought I was doing a very good job. She was completely and utterly infatuated with me. I had her in the palm of my hand, and even after the brief moment earlier when my true feelings for her had shown, I knew she would forgive me.

I saw the way she looked at me. I had seen that look a million times already in the past, and I knew exactly what it meant. When a woman looked at you that way, it meant she was lowering her guards before you and she would do anything to be with you. Alyssa might not know it yet, but she would have done anything I told her to do if it meant that she would have me. The single thought of being with me was enough to make her do whatever I wanted.

She was just as stupid and pathetic as I imagined after all. How father could even suggest that I should marry someone like her was beyond me. Did he not realise that I was worth a lot more than she ever would be? Did he not realise that I would be wasting my potential on this imbecile if I was forced to be her partner?

It wasn’t fair. I deserved so much better, and I could never understand why he didn’t see things my way. How could he ask me to belittle myself, and waste my potential on someone like Alyssa? She was completely wrong for me, but he wouldn’t care about that. All he wanted was a Luna who the people would love. Alyssa would fit that profile perfectly. Even though she wasn’t all prim and proper, I could see everyone warming to her naturally. They would look at her and see this perfect, beautiful woman who would be the answer to all their problems.

The b***h deserved nothing more than a knife in the gut, if I could have things my way.

Appearances must be maintained however. Earlier, he had been able to sense that I hadn’t treated Alyssa as perfectly as he expected me to, and I already suffered the consequences. I didn’t want to face another trial by blood, so I resigned to accepting my fate.

Oh, how good would it feel to wrap my hands around her neck right now and strangle the life out of her? She probably wouldn’t even notice. Neither would her stupid mother, and I could slip out before anyone noticed.

But I couldn’t; not when he would be waiting for me. I could feel him summoning me now. And so I headed downstairs after one last glare at Alyssa before I went to greet her mom then left. She persuaded me to stay, but I blatantly refused.

As if I would want to spend another minute in this wretched house.

I had just stepped out when I came face to face with him, his eyes glowing in the dark and a sour look in his eyes. He was growling lowly, and I could feel the anger coming off of him even though he hadn’t said anything. But I was used to this; I had lived with the man my whole life after all. There was no need for me to show my true feelings; no need to show my true hand now. Let them all believe they were playing me. And then, when the time was right, I would flip the tables on them.

“Hello, father.”

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