The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 69

LUNA ADIRA

"What the hell is wrong with you? Coming into my house and attacking my daughter and our guest? Do I have to remind you that this is my home?" I yelled. This was supposed to be a rational conversation, but I had never been more furious with the Council of Magic my entire life. A part of me had always known they were shady, and now I regretted not cutting them out much sooner. "What is wrong with you? Do you realize that that vampire may be the Son of Blood and Magic? If he is, then everything we have done is for nothing," Winslow returned.

My hands quivered with frustration. I looked at Mark, who was standing in a corner as far away from Winslow as possible. I was sure he was struggling with not killing the bastard right away for putting Remy in harm's way. He shook his head slightly to let me know I shouldn't say anything.

He was right. If I told Winslow that we knew Blade was the Son of Blood and Magic, there was a good chance he would try to kill him again or worse. "How I handle the guests in my pack is none of your business. For the record, Blade is providing us with valuable information on how to take down the vampire you were supposed to be handling."

Winslow waved his hand and started pacing the room. "We are handling it. We just have to be careful. Vampires are resistant to a sorcerer's magic, so we have a harder time dealing with them. If you would just take over-"

"We are already planning on handling it, since we clearly can't trust you," I spat. I was done with Winslow and the rest of the council. They acted like they were better than werewolves, because they had magic and they were made up of a bunch of old people, but I knew better. They were just a bunch of arrogant control freaks who wanted me under their thumb, since they were afraid I would turn on them.

Winslow stopped pacing and glared at me. Usually he was cool and cocky, but his visage was slipping. "You are the one who broke our deal. I felt the shift in the magic world and had a feeling you gave Remy her powers back. I came here, hoping it wasn't true, but sure enough, the girl has her powers back. It's only a matter of time that foolish girl triggers the prophecy, now that she has the power to do so."

"Don't you dare insult my daughter," Mark growled, moving swiftly across the room. He grabbed Winslow by the collar and pressed him against the wall. "We are handling our daughter in the way we see fit, and we decided the secret keeping had to stop. I trust her to do the right thing. She's smart and capable, and because of that you are afraid of her. Instead of trying to help her, you convinced us to lie to her for 'her own good.' Well, not anymore."

"It is for your own good. You don't understand how prophecies like these come to fruition. You only know how to swing your fists and teeth around like some dog," Winslow said. He looked down at Mark with a sneer. "Be careful how you treat me, or you're going to regret it."

Mark slammed Winslow against the wall. He was losing his cool, and I didn't blame him. I was one step behind him.

"I think it's time you leave and never come back here," I said, approaching Mark.

I touched his arm, and Mark started to relax just a little. He let go of Wislow, who started to fall, but he used his magic to steady himself.

Winslow adjusted his clothes, and his demeanor seemed to calm down. "I will leave when I finish what I came here to do," he said.

"And what is that?" I asked. I didn't care if he completed his task, but since it clearly involved my pack, I needed to know what he was trying to do.

"I'm here to take Caulder with me to train him," Winslow said simply.

"You will have no hand in training Caulder." Mark started to go after Winslow again, but Winslow raised his hand and sent an energy wave at Mark, sending him flying back.

"I warned you not to cross me again, wolf," Winslow said. His calm tone made me uncomfortable. He seemed determined to get what he wanted, and I feared he had something up his sleeve.

"Why do you want to train Caulder?" I asked, trying to match Winslow's energy. I needed Winslow to keep talking to me, and I had a feeling insults would get me nowhere.

Winslow looked at me and smiled in a way that made my hair rise. "Because he inherited your father's magic ability to control time. I can see your father's strength in Caulder, even now, before he has come of age and come into his full powers. As you know, we are struggling with keeping the dark creature contained, but with Caulder's help, we might be able to create something that will actually hold that creature captive."

"Caulder will not be leaving this territory. This is not up for discussion." I kept my voice firm. I wanted to sever my bonds with the Council of Magic. I wasn't about to let them take my son away.

"Caulder is coming with me. He is a sorcerer, which means he is obligated to answer the calls of the Council of Magic," Winslow said simply. "So are you, Adira. You've already broken a command once. Think of this as your way of making it up to us."

"I do not answer to the council," I said, bitterness filling my mouth. "I am a sorcerer and a werewolf. You and the council do not control me or my family."

"You seem to think you have a choice in all of this," Winslow said. "We are trying to stop the destruction of the world. We don't care about your independence and will do what is necessary to protect this world, including taking your child."

-

REMY

I sat on the counter of the bathroom as Blade cleaned the bottom of my foot with rubbing alcohol. I winced as he touched the liquid to the wound. "Sorry," he said, looking up at me. He was kneeling down, so my foot was at eye level with him.

"No need to be sorry. You don't have to do this, you know. It's just a small cut, and it'll heal in a couple of hours." I bit my lip as I looked down at him. We hadn't talked much yet. He carried me to the bathroom against my protests, because he wanted to make sure the cut was properly taken care of.

Blade dabbed the cut one more time, moving quickly to minimize the stinging. Then he cleaned my foot off and started putting a bandaid on it. "Of course I have to do this. That's what boyfriends are for, aren't they?" His lips pulled into a smirk, and I could feel my cheeks flushing at his comment.

We hadn't officially given each other the title of boyfriend and girlfriend, but it just slipped out when Winslow was attacking Blade. Even though we hadn't discussed it, it felt like he was my boyfriend. If he wasn't, I didn't know what we were doing. I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. "Yeah, uh, I, uh, hope that's okay."

Blade chuckled as he rolled the hem of my pants back down. He stood up and settled himself between my legs. "It's okay, as long as I can call you my girlfriend."

My face was burning, and my heart was pounding. I nodded my head, barely able to get words out of my mouth. "I'd like that."

"Good," he nervously chuckled. He grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it. "I was starting to fear that you regretted asking me to stay."

The smile on my face dropped, and I looked away from him, feeling ashamed. "I don't blame you. I haven't been great to you this past week."

Blade took my other hand and kissed the back of it. It was such a simple gesture, but it sent tingles down my spine. "I wish I could say it was okay, but it was hard on me. I was scared of losing you. I know you were struggling with all of this, but so was I." "I know. I'm sorry." I knew an apology wasn't enough, but I didn't know what I could do to make it better.

Blade flipped my palm over and kissed it. Then he kissed my wrist. I was mesmerized by every little movement he made, and I didn't want him to ever stop.

"Just talk to me next time. Even if you need space, just let me know what's going on. It'll stop me from getting in my head as much," he said. He moved back to my other hand and started repeating the same kissing pattern.

"I'm scared of getting more attached to you," I admitted. I twisted my hands and interlaced my fingers with Blade's. "You mean so much to me, and I don't want to give up on you. I want to do everything I can to break this prophecy, but I suddenly felt paralyzed. What

if I can't figure out how to break this curse? What if I fall madly in love with you only to lose you in the end? I felt like I couldn't breathe at the thought, so I hid away from you. It wasn't fair. I know that. I'm so sorry."

Blade pressed his head against mine. "I know how you feel. I'm terrified that the first good thing in this life is going to be ripped away from me. I thought leaving would be easier, but I'm positive it wouldn't be, because being away from you makes my heart ache."

My heart felt like it was swelling, because I could feel Blade's pain, and it made me tear up. "Let's promise that no matter what the outcome ends up being, we make the most of our time together now. We fight together, win or lose."

Blade's hands cupped my cheeks. "I promise I will be here with you no matter what ends up happening. I promise I won't give up, even with my last breath. I love you, Remy, and I plan on living a long life with you."

"I love you, too," I admitted, making my heart beat like crazy. I knew I loved him, but I had never said it out loud before. It felt good to say.

Blade pulled me into him, sealing our promise with a kiss.