His Blue Moon Princess

Looking for her

Nathaniel took us back to the city, and two cars are waiting for us in the street, one white and the other black. Almost all the other wolves have already dispersed one after another, leaving only a few of us. Tonia changes into her human form as soon as she retrieves her clothes from the trunk. Visibly pissed, she quickly puts on her jeans and a tank top, and takes the black car’s driver’s seat without a look for me. Bobo, who was busy l*****g the blood off his face and cleaning himself goes to lay on the back seats. Liam takes his backpack back and changes to his human form, too. The whole time, Nathaniel’s eyes won’t leave him. It seems like I’m not the only one in trouble...

“Nora, you get in the car with Tonia. Liam, you come with me.”

Liam and I exchange a look, but we don’t dare protest. He rolls his eyes and obeys his brother's, throwing his backpack in the car before going in. I bet he’s going to get scolded in the car... 

I take the black car’s passenger seat, while Nathaniel heads to the white one. I notice a cream wolf with mesmerizing citrine-colored eyes I’ve never seen before is coming with them. Aside from Bobo, she's the only wolf left from the ones that came with Nathaniel. She naturally stands close to him, so I guess she is a member of his Velvet Moon pack. So pretty… Who is she? I didn't see her interact with Nathaniel at all, but maybe I missed something. 

I try to get a look at the trio, but Tonia starts the engine, and I lose sight of the other car in a few seconds. We drive for a while, clearly aiming back to the apartment, but a heavy silence as taken over the vehicle. She doesn’t even put the radio on, and the oppressive atmosphere is unsettling. After a while, I decided to give it a go.

“Tonia, Bobo, I’m sorry…”

“Oh, really?”

She sounds really, really pissed. I suppose she is. I did sneak out of the apartment while Bobo was sleeping… What can I say now? She seems focused on the road, but I’m sure she is boiling inside. Everyone stays silent for a couple of minutes, but all of a sudden, Tonia explodes and starts yelling inside the car.

“Nora, what did you think you were doing?! Do you have any idea how mad the Boss is at the moment? Nathaniel could barely keep him from coming! And you know what would have been the result of him coming to get you? Do you know? A s*******r! And you! Do you have any idea how dangerous and stupid of you that was? This i***t Alpha of yours could have hurt you! Or any of those wolves! Do you want to go back to the hospital again? Do you want to? That was a foolish idea to go there alone, Nora!”

“I wasn’t alone…”

She hits the dashboard, making me jump. 

“Don’t mention that i***t Liam! This brat is no better than you! Always getting into trouble, why does it have to be the two of you now? Two weeks ago, he got into a fight with five rogues! And now he is skipping school and helping you in getting yourself killed? If there is anything left of him once Nathaniel is done, I’m going to teach him a good lesson, too! I'm so mad at you two! What is wrong with teens?!”

I’m feeling sorry for Liam. I think I can handle being scolded by Tonia, but I fear Nathaniel might be giving him a hard time right now. Judging by their interactions earlier, he really seems to respect his brothers. 

Tonia keeps talking and goes on about my recklessness, but I’m not listening anymore; I’m thinking about what happened today. This is crazy… 

My brother made me guilty of everything that happened in the Clan’s eyes. Then, Nathaniel’s intervention… I see Peter, Amber, Marc, and his sister’s corpses. Four people died within ten minutes before my eyes. I knew the Blood Moon Clan lived up to its reputation, but…

I know this kind of thing happens with Moon Clans. Werewolves are not gentle creatures, and our instincts push us to use our strength to mark our territory and fight for more. I’ve seen dead people before. Rogues we killed, other Clans members fighting to death… But now, I know what they mean when they say the Black brothers are ruthless. Nathaniel didn’t even blink while killing Marc’s sister. Liam and Bobo both attacked to kill from the start. None of them showed the slightest hint of hesitation.

They have nothing in common with the Jade Moon Clan, which is always avoiding trouble. The Blood Moon takes what it wants. That makes me think about Nathaniel’s words. How could they possibly have been looking for me? They couldn’t have known who I was to Damian back then! Now that I think about it...

“Nora, are you listening to me?”

“Sorry Tonia, I was… thinking. But why did you save me that night?”

She looks taken aback by my sudden question, and her angry expression vanishes as quickly as that. She looks at me, confused. I notice that behind us, Bobo stopped pretending to sleep and has raised his head and ears to listen. 

“What do you mean? You were attacked and…”

“No, I mean, why me? You didn’t know I was Damian’s mate. It was cold and pouring, nobody was out in the streets that night, but you guys were there. Not only you were there at the right time to save me, but you also took me straight to a hospital and treated me like… like a princess from the start. It doesn’t seem like something someone from the Blood Moon Clan would do at all. Not for a random stranger, some unknown girl you found in the street.”

This time, she has stopped talking. She seems hesitant, and I can see her exchanging glances with Bobo through the mirror. Are they talking using their telepathic bond? Hard to tell. The siblings stay silent for a long moment before Tonia finally sighs.

“Okay, you’re right, baby girl. We were looking for you.”

“But you didn’t know me!”

“No, but… We were looking for a seventeen-year-old girl with blue eyes, black hair, and a scar on her face. We knew you were in danger. Bobo smelled a lot of blood, and we tracked you all the way to that street. It’s not just us, Nora, all of the Blood Moon Clan was roaming the streets looking for someone fitting your description that night.”

What? How could that be? This is nonsense…

“The Boss somehow knew you were in danger. He felt your panic and sent everyone out to find someone fitting your description. I don’t know how he knew precisely what you looked like, Nora. He just said his mate was in danger before we all went.”

This is impossible!

First, how could he have known I was in danger that night? To know our mate is in danger or hurt, we need to have met him or her at least once and made eye contact, to awaken the bond between our wolf-selves! How could Damian possibly have known I was his mate before having met me first?

And even if, somehow, he could feel our bond, how did he know what I looked like? The description Tonia gave me is too precise to be luck. He even knew how old I am, and about my scar. And why couldn’t I know about our bond? My wolf recognized Damian for the very first time as her mate when we were at the hospital. I’m positive she had never felt any connection like this before; she never met him. None of this makes sense!

“I don’t get how this could be possible… Tonia, Damian and I met for the first time at the hospital. I didn’t even know I had a mate before that.”

“Me neither, baby girl. The Boss didn’t explain anything, you know. He just confirmed it was indeed you when he saw you laying in the hospital bed after that. He never told us how he knew about your bond. From what I saw, the only other person who might have known about the Boss even having a mate is Nathaniel, since he wasn’t surprised at all. He acted as if he knew about you right from the start. I am not sure about Liam, though.”

I take my head in my hands, trying to process everything. That is way too much happening in one day for me to handle.  Not only everything going on with my Clan, but now even my bond with Damian is…. I sigh.

Behind me, Bobo lets out a whimper.

“He wants to know if you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, Bobo. Sorry again for sneaking out on you…”

Tonia seems about to scold me again, but she exchanges a look with her brother and rolls her eyes.

“He says he’s not really mad. He understands you wanted to go out, but he was anxious something might have happened to you. He says next time you ought to bring him, too. And that I... Hey, I don't nag too much, shut up!”

“Aren’t you guys supposed to stop me?”

“If you’re going to sneak out eventually, we would rather come, too. But Bobo is the only one thinking that, I don't agree with this.”

I smile at Bobo, thankful to him for being so understanding. He probably felt as trapped as I was in that apartment. I don’t get why Damian is so persistent in having me locked in. I’m done with the golden prison.

We finally arrive back at the building, and by the time the elevator takes us upstairs, most of my confidence has vanished like snow under the sun. Liam is standing next to me, pouting and avoiding Nathaniel’s gaze. Guess the Big Brother talk really has some effect on him… Now that I see them, it seems like they are several years apart. If Liam’s my age, I would guess Nathaniel is around 22 or 23... But he might be even older, I'm not sure. What about Damian then? I need to ask Tonia later.

With the two wolves and four people standing in the elevator, space is quite crowded, but I wish we stayed there longer. As soon as it stops, I feel a pain in my stomach starting. I’m so nervous, I can barely breathe.

The door opens, but only Nathaniel, Liam, and the pretty she-wolf exit the elevator. This is two floors beneath mine. Is one of the brothers living here, too? Or both?

“We will see you later, princess.”

The door closes again, and this time, the siblings and I exit the right floor. How can I be so tense already? I feel like a storm is waiting for me behind the door. Tonia opens the door for me, but both of them flee to the kitchen, leaving me alone to face Damian.

I take a deep breath and walk in. I take out my sweater to leave on one of the chairs, as it got tainted with blood somehow, and I feel way too hot. When I finally enter the main room, Damian is standing against the glass wall, looking right at me with his silver eyes, arms crossed.

Even when he is fuming like this, I find him breathtakingly handsome. I feel scared, but not as much as I was before. I slowly walk up to him, and his eyes won’t leave me. I stop when I’m within arm’s reach from him.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

That cold tone again.

“For leaving the apartment without warning anyone, or saying where I went.”

I really am. I should have at least left a note for them to know. I realized it while speaking with Bobo in the car. I only wanted to exit the apartment, but I didn’t think about how I would worry Bobo or Tonia. Or Damian.

“That’s it? You could have been killed, Nora.”

I sigh. “Liam was with me.”

“Liam is an eighteen-year-old brat!”

“An eighteen-year-old lead Hunter. And what choice did I have?”

“You should have stayed right where you were!” He suddenly yells with a bang on the wall. 

"Don't get mad, please."

"I am already mad, Nora! You knew I didn't want you to go out, and you still did! You put yourself in danger, and you told no f*****g one!"

His voice echoes on the wall, and I can't help but step back. This situation is much scarier than the one before. I find myself defenseless facing him, and he so furious right now I have no idea what he is capable of. He is breathing heavily, and his fists are clenched. Why does it have to be like this? 

But I’m not giving in to him. I feel like if I don't step up to him right now, I will never be able to express myself ever again.

“You can’t keep me locked here forever, Damian. I will go out again, with your permission or not. I shouldn’t even need to ask you!”

“Why won’t you listen?!”

He suddenly steps forward and grabs my shoulders.

“Nora, you could have been hurt or killed! You went out there, and if anything had happened to you… If anyone had put a hand on you, I swear I would have slaughtered each and every one of that wretched Clan!  The only reason I stayed back is that Liam said you were with him, Nathaniel was coming, and you were finally taking them to your Clan!”

I grab his shirt and try to push him back, but he just won’t let go. I use all my strength to repel him, but he won't move an inch. Why is he so strong?! Though his hands are not hurting me, I hate to feel trapped like this! I can't help but start tearing up, exhausted from everything that happened, from yelling and fighting with him.

“Let go of me! Why are you so interested in finding my Clan in the first place?! You don’t know anything about me, yet all you talk about is getting to those people! Let me go! I hate this!”

“They hurt you, Nora! Those people abused you for years! I will never forgive them for what they did to you! And they are going to pay for every single time they dared to touch you!”

His voice is so cold I get the chills. Why is he so mad?! I try to push him away from me again, ignoring my stupid crying. I understand that he saw my scars, but that’s not enough for this murderous intent I can feel from him! 

...No, there is something else. I remember what Tonia said in the car, and all of a sudden, the reason for Damian’s anger becomes so bright. I stop trying to push him away, slowly realizing the truth.

“...You felt it.”

I keep looking into his eyes to see if I’m right, and he suddenly releases me, his arms falling to his sides. I stare at him, completely stunned by what just hit me.

I would never have imagined such a thing a few hours ago, but now that explains it all. Everything about Damian's actions towards me. His eagerness to know where I come from. His hatred for my Clan, and even his extreme protective attitude towards me. My hands tighten on his shirt, and I whisper in a breath.

“You felt it all, didn’t you? Every single time I was hurt, you felt it through our… bond.”