The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 10

REMY

\tl paced back and forth inside the pack house. It was ridiculous that Caulder made me stay inside. He must have thought of me the same way my parents did. So what if I didn't have a future role in this pack? It didn't make me weak and useless. I even saved

someone's life, and now I was being hidden away like some useless princess.

\tl reached for the door handle, ready to storm outside and help anyway. I was tired of being the girl who did everything she was told to do. The threat was over. There was no reason for me to stay in here any longer.

\tBut my hand stopped before it reached the door handle, and I couldn't get myself to open it. My parents wanted me to stay inside. Caulder told me to stay in here. If I left, I would only make them angry, and I hated making people angry. My hand dropped, and I let out a sigh. My fear of disappointing others was still holding me back, and I couldn't get myself to disobey them.

\tl gave up on the idea of returning to the destroyed party to help out and started heading towards my room. Suddenly, I bumped into a man who appeared out of nowhere. He was late in his years, and he had a neatly trimmed beard to add to his older appearance. He was tall, almost unusually tall, and something felt oddly familiar about him. I didn't recognize him, and as far as I knew, he had never been to the pack house, but something in the back of my mind told me I had met this man before. \tHe was a sorcerer. That much I knew. He had shifted right in front of me, and I could feel his magic filling the air around him. The little magic that I had pulled towards him as well.

\tl took a step back, ready to fight if it came down to it. My mother said never to trust a stranger, and even though this man felt familiar, he was still a stranger. "Who are you?"

\tHe smiled down at me. "Remy, my dear. It's been a while. You look well. Where is your mother?"

\tl didn't respond to him. Instead, I took another step back. "Mom, there's a sorcerer inside the pack house," I linked to her. This man somehow knew me, but I still didn't know if he was a friend or a foe. I wasn't about to take a chance.

\tMy mom shifted in front of me suddenly, moving into the space between this man and me. Her body was tense, and she held out a ball of magic, ready to fling it if necessary. Even when she saw the man, she didn't relax, telling me I did the right thing by reaching

out to her.

\t"Winslow, what are you doing here?" she asked. Her voice was angry, and she glared at the man.

\tWinslow raised his eyebrows. "Adira, I thought we were past such things. You know exactly why I am here. We need to talk."

\tMy mom gritted her teeth. "Now is not a great time."

\tWinslow's face shifted. It seemed to almost harden as if to hide whatever he was thinking. "That's exactly why we need to talk. Now."

\tl expected my mom to tell him to get out of the pack house or tell him she wouldn't do things on his terms, but instead, she turned to me. "Remy, please go to your room."

\tMy body tensed. I was yet again getting kicked out. "I want to stay."

\t"Remy." My mom's voice was taut, just like her lips. "Please. I'll come talk to you later." Her eyes were pleading, but I didn't understand why. Why was she doing what this man asked, even though she clearly felt tense around him? Why was I being forced away again? Why didn't my own family trust me to stand up for myself?

\tl decided it wasn't worth the fight and turned to storm off. My feet were heavy against the ground as I climbed the stairs to my room. I made sure to slam the door behind me, hoping my mom would hear it. I knew it was childish to do, but I didn't care. It was my birthday, and instead of celebrating it, I had somehow ended up in my room alone, being treated like a child.

\tl stripped off my ruined dress and threw on some sweat pants and an old t-shirt. Then I flopped onto my bed and buried my face into my pillow. This was the worst birthday ever.

\tl stripped off my ruined dress and threw on some sweat pants and an old t-shirt. Then I flopped onto my bed and buried my face into my pillow. This was the worst birthday ever.

It-

\tHARPER

\tl dropped Jessica off at Doctor Zayla's office to get checked out, and then I rushed to the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind me. I splashed water onto my face. The kiss with Caulder replayed in my head over and over again, and I felt like a complete ¡***t. I was supposed to take things slowly with him, but that was anything but slow.

\tl knew I had to be careful when it came to Caulder, because if anything went wrong, somehow I knew I would be the one who would be crushed. I loved him. He and Remy had been my best friends for as long as I could remember, but somewhere along our friendship, I had started to develop feelings for him. When I talked to him, I truly felt heard, and all of the late nights I had spent with him were forever burned in my memory. For the longest time, I had imagined what it would be like to actually be his girlfriend. \tBut then I stood by as he got with one girl after another. He didn't care about how long he was with the girl before moving on, and I swore to myself I would never be one of those girls. At first, I was angry with how he treated the girls, but knowing his reputation, all of the girls kept fawning over him. I stopped being angry on their behalf, because they knew exactly what they were getting into with Caulder.

\tl had buried my feelings so deeply for him that I forgot about them.

\tBut then he said all of those wonderful things I had imagined him saying to me for years, and it broke those feelings free.

\tBut he was still Caulder.

\tAnd I didn't trust him.

\tNot in a relationship way at least.

\tl splashed water onto my face again. I had to get it together. I couldn't keep worrying about a boy when the pack was still dealing with everything that happened. People were injured and scared, and I was hiding in the bathroom like a coward because I kissed a boy I liked. \tA boy who was a player.

\tA boy who was kind and caring.

\tA boy who cared for his sister more than anything.

\tA boy who was my best friend.

\tA boy who could break my heart in the blink of an eye.

\tThe kiss was a mistake. I had just gotten too wrapped up in the moment. The screams and panic made me afraid that something could happen to Caulder, and the adrenaline kicked in. Now, I was worried he would expect more, and I didn't know how to face him to tell him this was a mistake.

\tl wasn't sure if I could even get those words out of my mouth, because the younger me wanted to revel in the fact that Caulder liked me.

\t-

\tLUNA ADIRA

\t"We're not talking here," I said firmly. I was furious at Winslow for showing up like he did. That wasn't the deal. He was never supposed to see or interact with Remy. Not after the deal we had made.

\tl led him through the pack house to my office. Stacks of papers from my Luna responsibilities filled my desk, and the room was dark from the curtains blocking out the moonlight.

\tl shut the door behind me and locked it. This was not a conversation anyone but Mark was allowed to hear, and I couldn't risk anyone walking in on us. I motioned for Winslow to sit in the chair across from my desk while I took a seat in my chair. \t"Why are you here?" I demanded, curling my fingers. After years of careful planning, Winslow could have ruined everything.

\tHe leaned back in his chair and gave me a knowing smile. "You know exactly why I'm here, Luna. We both know what attacked your pack house tonight."

\tl ran my fingers through my hair. I had felt the dark magic before, and I knew exactly what it was. I tried pretending to move on in my life, pretending like the threat wasn't there, but every day I worried this day would come.

\t"It was the council's responsibility to keep that thing contained. You failed." My words were bitter. "We made a deal, and you are failing your end of it. It could have attacked my daughter and son. It could have destroyed everything we have worked so hard for." \t"It was the council's responsibility to keep that thing contained. You failed." My words were bitter. "We made a deal, and you are failing your end of it. It could have attacked my daughter and son. It could have destroyed everything we have worked so hard for." \tWinslow shrugged. "You seemed to have dealt with it with ease."

\tl wanted to punch him. The Council of Magic never stopped reaching out to me over the years. They wanted me to join their side, and for the past eighteen years, I refused. I would never trust their organization after they threatened my life. Even though they claimed they were past that and wanted to be friends, I would never trust them. They were snakes.

\t"You let it free in the first place. You didn't do your job." I held his gaze, letting him know I wasn't playing games. When it came to the protection of my family, I didn't joke around.

\tWinslow sighed, his smooth demeanor falling for the first time. "That's why I'm here. We've been able to keep it contained just fine, but we have a problem."

\t"Clearly," I stated with anger dripping off my tongue.

\tWinslow ignored my comment and continued talking. "The vampires are trying to bring the prophecy to fruition. They have been performing these rituals, trying to free the entity. They weakened the cage we built, and part of it escaped. This was only a fraction of the power it holds. We need to do something, or we will all be in trouble."

\t"We?" I repeated. "I have upheld my part of the deal."

\tWinslow leaned forward, and I could feel him looking into my soul. I had to hold in my shiver. "Adira, this thing tried to attack your family. It sensed where your daughter was, and it came for her. If you want to protect your family, we need your help."

\tl fiddled with the hem of my shirt. I hated everything about this. We had managed eighteen years of peace, but that was gone now. I had tried to spare my children from the burden of this prophecy for as long as I could, but I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep them out of the loop. \t"What do you need from me?"

It-

\tCAULDER

\tl knocked on Remy's door when everything had finally been taken care of. I hadn't seen her or Harper anywhere, and I knew I owed Remy an apology. When there was no response, I knocked again. She still didn't answer. \t"Remy, I know you're in there. I can feel your anger from here." I didn't blame her for being so upset. Today we turned eighteen, which meant we were supposed to be adults now, but no one had treated Remy that way. \t"Then you should know that I'm not answering because I don't want to talk to you," Remy shouted from the other side of the door.

\t"I'm not going to go anywhere, so you might as well let me in." I leaned against the door and waited, listening for any kind of movement. I didn't hear anything, so I tried the door handle. It was locked, and it wasn't like Remy to keep me out like this. She was definitely more upset than I realized. "Come on, Rem. Please let me in. It's our birthday. You shouldn't spend it alone."

\tThis time I heard movement inside. The door unlocked, and Remy cracked the door open. Her makeup was smeared, and her cheeks were stained with tears. She looked up at me with red eyes.

\t"I'm over this birthday. It sucks. I just want to go to bed, so you go do whatever or whoever you want." She tried to shut the door on me, but I slipped my foot in the door frame to stop it. \t"I told you I'm not going anywhere. Can we please talk?"

\tShe rolled her eyes and let go of the door, leaving me space to enter. "Fine."