The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 76

ALPHA

MARK

"Who gave you orders?" I demanded.

The vampire across from me was restrained to the chair, and we were in a small interrogation room. Thankfully, this room didn't have to be used very often, but it also meant that it was neglected. A layer of dust covered everything, and the light flickered above. At that moment, I didn't mind it though. It added to the atmosphere.

The vampire kept his lips shut. He hadn't answered a single question of mine so far, and I had a feeling we weren't going to get much out of him. The vampires we had fought were reckless with their lives, and they were easy to kill. They were harder to capture, and I had a feeling they would have preferred to be killed. The dead didn't talk.

I stood up and slammed my hands on the table, starting to lose my cool. Blade was sure we already knew Draven was behind the attack. The note had said it all. It had even made it clear that Darian was targeted by the vampires, but that didn't make it any easier. I was angry. I wanted answers. This had to be more than about some brotherly feud. Draven had to know that by targeting one of my pack members, it would hurt the heart of the pack.

It wasn't just Blade Draven wanted. He wanted me to know that my pack wasn't safe against his attacks, if he decided that was the case. He wanted to make sure I knew I was weak.

"Tell me why Draven wants to meet Blade," I said, my anger seething through my teeth. I knew this temper wasn't good, but I couldn't control it. I had known Darian my entire life. He was the closest thing to a parent that I had, since my own were killed when I was a child. I wanted to hurt this vampire as much as I was hurting inside.

The vampire started laughing in my face. "Why should I tell you anything? You'll kill me either way."

I gritted my teeth and let go of the guy before punching him in his face. My hand immediately stung, but I didn't care. I found myself punching him again. My hand started to bleed, but I just wanted to keep hitting him. I wanted him to feel the pain I was in. I went to punch him another time, but this time Blade caught my arm. He had been sitting quietly, observing the whole thing so far.

"It's not worth it," Blade said, and suddenly I felt foolish. I was supposed to be the one in control right now.

"You're right," I said, slumping back in the chair. "I don't think I'm in the right mindset to be doing this right now."

The vampire across from me chuckled. "An alpha too upset to interrogate an intruder? This is delicious."

I went to move towards him, but Blade was much faster. He grabbed the vampire by the throat and slammed him against the wall so hard, it cracked the concrete.

"I wouldn't get cocky here if I were you," Blade warned. "Just because interrogating you is a waste of time, it doesn't mean anything about this werewolf pack. You might think Draven won this fight, but he has simply poked the beast." Blade extended his nails, digging them into the vampire's neck. Blood started dripping down the vampire's neck, soaking his shirt. The vampire squirmed beneath Blade's touch, but he wasn't strong enough to break free.

"Draven thinks he accomplished something tonight, and he might be right, but it's not what he intended to accomplish," Blade continued. "He's going to pay for what he did, and we're not going to play his games."

He dropped the vampire, who crumpled to the floor and then stormed out of the room. I followed behind him, motioning for the guards to take the vampire to one of the cells. He would face execution for his crimes against the pack, but now was not the time for that. Plus, we had only questioned him once. There was still a chance we could get information from him.

I caught up with Blade, who was pacing back and forth through the grass, running his hands through his hair.

"What happened in there?" I wasn't upset with him, especially after I lost my own cool. I just wanted to check on him, since he seemed anything but okay.

"I can't get him out of my head," Blade said, pulling at his hair. His threads were splitting, and I could tell he was in a lot of pain. "No matter what I do, he still replaces a way to get under my skin, and I'm sick of it. I thought I was free from him. I thought I was finally happy, now that I met Remy." He paused and glanced at me, trying to gauge my reaction after mentioning my daughter.

"When you meet someone you care for deeply, it brings a wave of happiness that washes over your life." I thought about how I felt when I first met Adira, and it brought a smile to my face. I quickly dropped the smile, since it felt like an inappropriate time to be happy. "But that happiness doesn't fix the pain you feel deep inside. That's something only you can do."

"How do I do that?" Blade asked. He looked completely defeated, and in some ways he reminded me of myself. He was trying so hard to outrun his past, but he would never be fast enough to do it.

"It's not easy, and it takes time," I said, "but you have to start by forgiving yourself. Let go of the person you once were and make choices every day to be the person you want to be. If you keep doing this, the past will become a simple scar instead of a gaping wound." "What if I can't do it," Blade asked.

"You will," I said simply. Even with the small amount of time I had known him, it was clear that Blade was determined and caring. I had confidence he would be able to heal his wounds with effort.

"How do you know?" He had stopped pacing, and his arms hung limply by his side.

"Because you have Remy, and every time you look at her, you'll realize that she is the reason you want to do better. You said that Remy was the first good thing in your life. Use her light to guide you to your own source of light." I walked up to him and patted him on the arm. "Come on. It's late, and it's been a draining night. You should get some rest."

Blade nodded. "Thanks." He started walking towards the house, but he stopped when he noticed I wasn't following him. "Aren't you coming?"

"Not yet. I still have a few things to take care of."

-

REMY

Ginger stood across from me, waiting for me to say something to start our training session, but I was moving slowly this morning. I was drained from crying last night. Darian's death clung to the air like fog, and it numbed my thoughts. I didn't want to train this morning. I just wanted to stay in bed, but Ginger had insisted we continue with our lesson after she discovered that I had had another vision.

"Let's get this over with," I said, knowing the sooner we finished, the sooner I could get back to Blade's arms. He had held me all night after he returned to my room, and he had lightened the deepening darkness that was encroaching on me. Without him by my side, I was struggling again. Everything had just felt like too much. First Caulder, then Darian. I was tired and just wanted to catch a break.

"If you really don't want to be here, I'm not forcing you, girl," Ginger said simply. She was leaning on her cane.

I was tempted to take her up on that suggestion, but I also knew lying in bed would do me no good. Everyone else was continuing with their days, doing what they could to figure out the next steps. I had a chance to improve my powers, and I had to take it. Even if I hadn't been able to save Darian, maybe I could save someone else. This had only been the beginning of the fight with the vampires after all.

"No. I'm here. Let me have it," I said.

Ginger shifted and smacked the back of my head. "There."

"Hey," I complained, rubbing the back of my head. "What was that for?"

"You told me to," Ginger said, playfulness in her voice. "And you needed the shock. I know you are struggling, but you can't even think about giving up. Caulder needs you. We need you."

I pulled my lips tight. She was right. I had lost my motivation, but I couldn't afford to falter. I had to keep fighting. It was what Caulder wanted.

"Okay. Fine. You're right. So you made it sound like you had some new revelation about my visions?" I said.

"What did you feel right before the vision was triggered last night?" Ginger asked.

I didn't want to think about that moment again, but I knew it was important. "I saw Darian, and I was terrified for his life. There was so much blood and..." My voice got caught in my throat. I wanted to erase that image out of my head, but it had been etched into my brain.

"You were afraid. Terrified," Ginger emphasized. "And when that creature was coming, you were scared, too. At least your wolf was, since she sensed it, right?"

"I think so. So what does this mean? I can only have visions when I'm extremely afraid?" I asked.

"It's at least a jumping off point. As you know, emotions have a huge importance in a sorcerer's magic. When a young sorcerer doesn't know how to control their magic, strong emotions often trigger abilities the sorcerer can't normally conjure themselves," Ginger explained. "So right now, fear is triggering your visions, but if you familiarize yourself with the feeling, you'll be able to control it one day. At least that is what my intuition is saying." "So how do I do that?" I asked.

"You have to replicate the feeling. Force yourself to feel afraid," Ginger said.

"Yeah, not sure I can scare myself," I said. What she said made sense, but I didn't know how to replicate the kind of fear I felt last night. I didn't want to replicate that feeling again.

Ginger smacked my head again. "Don't sass me, girl. I didn't say you were going to scare yourself."

Suddenly, hands pinched my side, making me jump and scream. I had been too focused on Ginger and had forgotten my surroundings, but when I turned, I saw Blade standing behind me, giggling at my reaction. "Hey! What was that for?" I complained, putting my hands on my hips.

"She told me to do it," Blade defended, still snickering.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Jerk," I muttered. "It didn't even work. I don't think a jump scare is going to work," I said. I was acting mad that he scared me, but part of me was just happy to see him here with me. "Oh come on. You would have laughed if you had seen your face," Blade said.

He reached for my hand, but before he touched me, something flew past my face, hitting Blade on the chest and knocking him to the ground. When I looked at him, I saw an arrow sticking out of his chest, and my entire body froze.

"Blade!" I screamed, but then my mind was transported somewhere completely different. I didn't recognize where I was, but it looked like a big city. I saw Blade and Caulder standing next to each other, and it looked like they were having some sort of discussion.