My Luna is a Witch

19

Chapter 19

Scarlet was standing in her room, looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair was growing faster. In a week, they went from her waist to her knees. She found this odd, but this had always been how her hair was. This length was making her uncomfortable. A particular question arises in her mind: should she cut them? Or let them grow?

She sighed loudly and, in the end, decided to cut them. She picked up the scissors and slowly, little by little, cut her stream of red hair. She never let anyone touch them except her mom. She missed her mom; she missed the pack, her father— she missed everyone and everything. Xavier was right. The human world is indeed dull. Humans are so primary. Back in the pack, in her school— relationship and the mate bond was a subject that the wolves were taught. A mating bond is a pure bond created by the Moon Goddess. Though some wolves taint this saint bond, the Crimson Stone pack taught every wolf to respect the mate bond, to never cheat on their partners, and keep the sanctity of the mate bond.

She liked the idea of the mate bond. The moon goddess chooses a person only for you. That person will love you with all his might, protect you, and cannot live without you. That’s what makes wolves unique to humans.

She scoffed when she remembered the hypocrisy her parents showed. A subject to teach the wolves to wait for their one true bond and not taint it with s****l desires or fling— and here they have made her and Xavier chosen mates for the sake of the pack, which was ridiculous in her point of view.

Why are they not allowed to find their one true bond— their fated mate? Don’t they deserve this? Why do they have to sacrifice this pure bond?

It was also peculiar that both the Lunas could only give one pup to their Alphas when usually Lunas are destined to provide at least seven to eight pups. Maybe it was her and Xavier’s misfortune that they were the only ones born.

Scarlet wished to have a window in her room where she could admire the moon at night. Mr. Patel warned them not to wander around at night. She sighed loudly as she cut the last strands of her hair. She cut her long-long hair— her hair rested on her shoulder; it looked odd in a good way. Her head felt light as she admired the new hair. She looked different, and suddenly, she felt a bit insecure. Does she look good? She cut them too short, didn’t she? Did she make a mistake? Does she look weird? Bad? Where is the self-confidence she was feeling a few minutes ago?

Her feet dragged her to the living room where Xavier was sitting on the couch— his back facing Scarlet. Scarlet cleared her throat to get his attention, but he was too invested in the football match, munching on his Doritos. His appetite was back, and it increased two times more than before. Scarlet took a deep breath and stood in between him and the TV.

“Hey! Ge—” His words stuck in his throat when he looked at her. His eyes widened, and the munching stopped.

“Woah . . .” He whispered, “You look so . . . different. When was the last time you cut them this short?” he asked.

“I-I don’t remember. I cut them often, though. They grow back fast,” She answered.

“But you have never cut them this short,” he said and got up from the couch. His hand made its way into her hair, touching the red locks— playing with them for a second or two.

“I haven’t. How do they look?” she asked him, her teeth sunk into her lower lip.

“They look . . . fine. I guess. I like your hair to your waist. It’s the perfect length,” He left the locks and sat back on the couch.

Scarlet freed her lips. She knew cutting her hair this short was a bad idea. She also liked her hair a bit long.

Xavier cleared his throat, catching Scarlet’s attention, “They look good on you. Every length looks good on you,” he said in a low tone.

“Thanks . . . I guess,” Scarlet was caught off-guard. Did he compliment her? And this was a big one, as it was coming out straight from his mouth.

“Are you done?” Xavier asked in a bored tone, to which she nodded lightly. “Then get out of here. I want to watch the match. Shoo,” He waved his hand at her.

Scarlet rolled her eyes, “I was going to leave in the first place,” She uttered and left immediately.

She went back to her room and closed the door. Why did she ask his opinion? What he thinks shouldn’t concern her, then why did she ask? There were many ‘Why’s’ in her mind, but the main question was: Why did she like it when he praised her?

Was she finally going crazy, or was it because they had started to bond a little after Xavier’s sickness? There has been progress— they have stopped fighting about everything and talk civilly without their parents' surveillance for the first time in forever. Maybe, because they spend a lot of time with each other, communication is crucial for survival. Perhaps they have finally made peace with this, though.

She looked at herself again in the mirror, her hands touching the locks of her now short hair, “They’ll be back to my waist in a while.”

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Sal unlocked the door with his key. He walked in slowly and found Xavier in the kitchen. Xavier's face was in the fridge, looking for something. Without glancing at Sal, he said, “She is not here. She went out with someone. I thought it was you,” Xavier got all the ingredients for the sandwich and closed the fridge door with his leg.

He put all the ingredients on the table and grabbed the knife. He has made a sandwich before but needs to improve with knives. He remembered when the Lunas told him and Scarlet to make sandwiches for everyone as punishment. They were only twelve, and both of them sucked at cooking. Xavier taunted Scarlet about not knowing anything about the cuisine and kitchen, even though she was a woman. He remembered how she treated him by putting the knife close to his neck. Her ocean blue eyes looked fierce, and her iris— there was a glimpse of crimson in them whenever she got furious. He never noticed this detail, but suddenly, it became a prominent feature in his memory lane.

“Nah. . . she went out with Charlie,” Sal answered in a low tone and took a seat.

Xavier's brow raised, “Charlie? From the class? The blonde douchebag? She has gone out with him?”

“Yes. Yes. Nope, he’s a nice guy, honestly, and yes,” He answered and popped a pickle in his mouth.

“When did you lose your perception? That guy is a total douchebag. I can’t believe she went out with him. Pathetic choice,” The words coming out of his mouth felt strange. He was sure she was with him for study purposes, even if she was going out with him. It was none of his concern. . .

“Why? Is it bothering you that your future Luna, who should be solely faithful to you, is dating someone else?” Sal asked, his tone pitchy.

Xavier pointed the knife at him, “Do you want me to cut you in pieces?”

Sal surrendered and popped another pickle in his mouth. “Is he truly not a nice guy?” Sal asked.

“Is she truly on a date with him? She can’t be. Remember when her parents thought that you and she were dating? Bloody hell! Their reaction was terrifying, and we were only five then,” Xavier uttered.

“You mean when you falsely accused us of dating based on your speculations? Oh, I certainly do remember,” Sal snapped.

“Do you want to bet?” Sal asked, “I believe she is on a date with him.”

Xavier cut the chicken finely, “I don’t. She must be with him for homework purposes,” Xavier answered in a careless tone.

“You sound confident,” Sal commented.

“And you sound envious.” Xavier’s eyes met Sal’s chocolate ones. Sal's smile dropped, a lump stuck in his throat. He coughed violently. “W-What? Me? Are you kidding me?” He asked.

Xavier observed him for a couple of seconds before speaking, “I don’t know . . . you looked and sounded bothered when you told me that she was out with someone else. Are you afraid that she will replace you with a new friend?” He asked, and Sal took a sigh of relief.

Sal raised his brows at him, “Not at all. I have faith in our friendship, but you answer me— are you afraid that she will replace you?” He asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

Xavier stopped chopping. He looked at Sal with confused eyes, “What do you mean? How am I involved in this?” he asked.

“You know . . . what if she falls for someone and decides to be with them? Then what would you do?” Sal asked, and Xavier's mind got numb. He never thought about that. What was this unsettling feeling in his heart?

“Then . . . I will do nothing. She will be answerable to the Alphas.” Xavier answered in a low tone.

“Are you sure it won’t bother you?” Sal asked.

“Why would it bother me?” He asked . . . to himself.

“Because all your life, you have heard your name beside her. You have been chosen mates since you were kids. Have you ever talked about this?” He asked.

“No . . . no, we haven’t.” Xavier stabbed the knife in the green bell pepper. “I think we should,”

“I don’t know, man . . .” Sal said.

What was this chaos he was feeling inside? He had always known they were chosen mates, but he never thought about that. The idea was always there back in his mind, but he never took it seriously. He and Scarlet have been compromising all their lives, and maybe Scarlet got tired of it. Perhaps this is why she decided to start dating the moment she got away from the surveillance of the pack. A question arises in his mind: What does he want?

Did he accidentally give the impression that it is acceptable to date? He joked about it often but never seriously said it. Was this her meaning of What happens in the human world stays in the human world?

Why is he overthinking this matter? He needs to let this go. Whatever she does in and with her life doesn’t concern him. His priority is to become the most powerful Alpha; one day, he will be.

“So, 100 dollars, is it?” Sal's question broke his chain of thoughts.

“What?” He asked.

“The Bet. One hundred dollars is fine, right?” He asked again.

Xavier rolled his eyes and agreed to it, “Fine,”

He put the sandwich on the plate and walked into the living room. Sal followed him, and both plopped on the couch to watch the game.

A few minutes later, they heard the doorbell. Their eyes met, went to the door, and both dashed to open it. Sal was quicker, and he opened the door swiftly.

Scarlet was standing beside a tall, blonde guy with a good build. His eyes were glued on Scarlet, a pearly smile playing on his lips.

Charlie's brows raised when he saw Xavier and Sal watching him with hawk eyes, “What are they both doing here?” Charlie asked and pointed his finger at both of them.