The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 8

REMY

\t"Is your wolf telling you something is off," I asked Caulder.

\t"No," he said instantly. "Remy, you're acting strange. What's going on?"

\tl looked around, unsure if I should say anything. No one else seemed to notice anything was off, and I didn't want to seem crazy. I also didn't want to worry everyone and ruin the vibe of the party, but something told me I should tell Caulder the truth. \t"I'm not sure." My eyes wandered back to the moon. "My wolf started talking to me, saying something was wrong and that something was coming for me." A sharp pain radiated through my head, and I quickly grabbed my temple.

\t"You should lie down, Remy," Harper said. She grabbed my arm and tried to guide me away, but I resisted.

\t"No. I'm fine." I let go of my head as the pain started to subside. "I also saw a shadow consume the moon and then it flashed red." I wanted to tell them everything, just in case it ended up being important.

\t"I didn't see the moon do anything of the sort," Harper said, looking up into the sky.

\t"Did your wolf tell you what was going on?" Caulder asked. His voice was steady, but I could feel his concern radiating out.

\tl shook my head. "No, and she won't talk to me again. Caulder, do you think it was some sort of hallucination?" My hands were shaking, and I was scared. Whether I was hallucinating or this was some kind of warning, nothing good could come of this. \tCaulder looked around the party. "I'm going to get Mom and Dad. They might know what this is better than us."

\t"We can wait until after the party," I quickly said. I knew Mom would fuss over me once she heard about this, and I was afraid they would just cancel the party.

\tCaulder grabbed my cheeks and made me look him in the eyes. "Hey, I know this is confusing, and we don't know what's going on, but it's best that we deal with this now, whatever it is. There will always be more parties later, so don't worry about that." He turned to Harper. "Go with her and have her sit down at one of the tables and drink some water. I'll be right back."

\tCaulder disappeared into the crowd, and I couldn't get rid of the sinking feeling in my stomach. Harper guided me over to some chairs and sat me down.

\t"I'm going to get some water. Will you be okay for a moment?" Harper asked.

\tl tilted my head to the side and gave her a look. "Harper, I'm fine. I'm not sick or anything."

\tShe pulled her lips tight. "Okay."

\tMy chest tightened as I looked at her face. She was just trying to help and there was no reason to snap at her. "Harper, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I'm just a little freaked out right now."

\tShe tried to smile, but it didn't look genuine. "I know. I'll be right back."

\tShe left me alone, and my eyes kept scanning the crowd, waiting for something to go wrong. Everything looked normal, but I could feel deep down that it wasn't. \t"It's here," Raven said.

\tl shot to my feet, but before I could do anything, the ground rumbled beneath the party, shaking everything and everyone. Screams echoed as people began to panic. To everyone else, this would seem just like an earthquake, but I knew better. Whatever was here was supernatural, and it was here for me.

\t"Get off the dance floor!" I screamed. I moved forward, directing people away from the grassy field. There was something pulling me to the center, and I knew that was where everything was the most dangerous.

\tPeople rushed away from me, and I continued moving closer. I felt drawn to whatever was there, even though there was a voice inside my head, screaming at me to run the other way. I continued directing people off the dance floor, and it was almost cleared when there was a sudden c***k, splitting the ground in front of me.

\tl fell to the ground and scrambled backwards, moving as far away from the c***k as I possibly could. More screams echoed in my ears, and when I looked at the other side of the c***k, I saw one of my classmates hanging from the edge of the c***k. She was screaming for help, trying and failing to pull herself out. I recognized her, but I was struggling to remember her name. She was in my biochem class, and she was nice, but I had barely had a conversation with her before.

\tl fell to the ground and scrambled backwards, moving as far away from the c***k as I possibly could. More screams echoed in my ears, and when I looked at the other side of the c***k, I saw one of my classmates hanging from the edge of the c***k. She was screaming for help, trying and failing to pull herself out. I recognized her, but I was struggling to remember her name. She was in my biochem class, and she was nice, but I had barely had a conversation with her before.

\tl needed to help her, but the c***k in the ground was growing in size, and I couldn't confidently jump across. If only I could shift and use my magic to get to her. I could help her get up, but I had never been able to perform that skill. I squeezed my fists tight, frustrated that I could barely use my magic, when Caulder seemed to be a natural at it.

\tl needed it now more than ever to save my classmate. I took a deep breath, just as all of my lessons had told me to do. I imagined myself on the other side of the c***k. I needed to be there. I felt desperate to use this magic. It was inside of me. I could feel small vibrations in my core, wanting to come out, but they stayed just as that. They were only vibrations, and when I opened my eyes, I hadn't shifted at all.

\tMagic wasn't going to save this girl-at least not my magic- and when I looked around, no one else was coming to help. They were all too afraid of the sudden fissure in the ground, and I didn't blame them. It was so sudden, and the ground was still shaking. Everyone else was just trying to save themselves. But when I looked back at my classmate, she was screaming, terrified for her life as her fingers started to slip.

\tl knew there was only one thing I could do to save her, so I transformed into my wolf form, tearing my dress in the process. I sprung across the gap in the ground with ease in my wolf form. I turned and grabbed her with my teeth and pulled her up. I tasted her blood in my mouth from gripping her so hard, but she didn't seem to care.

\t"Thank you," she cried out when she was finally back on the ground again. She didn't waste much time running away.

\tl changed back into my human form, and my dress was tattered and hung off my shoulders. I moved to follow my classmate, but I felt a deep voice ringing in my ears.

\t"Remoria," it called out, but I only heard the voice in my head.

\tl looked over the c***k, and I peered into the darkness below. I could feel the presence of whatever was reaching out to me, begging me to join it. For a brief moment, I wanted to listen to the voice. My throat was tight as I thought about it, but then I broke free from whatever trance it had put me under.

\tl started to move away, but another c***k echoed beneath my feet, and then there was suddenly nothing beneath me.

\t-

\tCAULDER

\tPanic and chaos ensued around me before I managed to replace my mother and father. The ground shook, as if it were an earthquake, but my gut twisted, telling me this wasn't an earthquake. Remy somehow knew something was coming, and I knew this was what she had sensed. I didn't know if this was her magic emerging in the form of predictions, or something else, but I knew I had to get back to Remy and Harper and make sure they were okay.

\tl tried to push through the crowd, but everyone was in a frenzy, trying to run the opposite direction, making it nearly impossible to run where I needed to. With a deep breath, I used my magic to shift over to the tables. I only saw Harper, and I rushed over to her. \tl tried to push through the crowd, but everyone was in a frenzy, trying to run the opposite direction, making it nearly impossible to run where I needed to. With a deep breath, I used my magic to shift over to the tables. I only saw Harper, and I rushed over to her. \t"Are you okay?" I asked.

\tShe was scared, and I could feel her heart beating as if it was my own. She rushed into my arms and held me tightly. I held her back, not knowing what else to do. I still didn't understand what was happening.

\t"I don't know where Remy is. I left for a moment and this all started happening. I came back for her, but she was already gone." Harper was on the verge of hysterics, and I didn't want to let her go, but I had to replace Remy.

\tShe had somehow known that something was about to happen, and I was worried it was tied to her.

\t"Remy, where are you?" I tried to link, but our line of communication was closed. We never closed it on each other, which made me even more worried.

\tl pulled away from Harper and looked her in the eyes. "Remy isn't answering me. I need to look for her. Get yourself to safety. Help others if you can."

\tHarper nodded with wide eyes. She was scared, but I could tell she was doing her best to pull herself back together and be strong in the moment.

\tl started to pull away from her, but she grabbed my arm. She quickly pulled me towards her, and before I knew what was happening, her lips were on mine, and sparks flew between us. In all of the kisses I had had, none of them came even close to this one. Harper tasted better than I had ever imagined, and I never wanted to stop.

\tShe was the first one to pull away, and her eyes were wide. "Go replace Remy. I'll see you later." She turned and ran towards the others who were trying to replace safety.

\tMy lips still tingled from the kiss, and my body just wanted to run after Harper, but I had to replace Remy. She could be in danger, and I needed to make sure she was okay.

\t"Remy!" I shouted, hoping she could hear me, but the chaos drowned out my voice.

\tl started moving closer to where the ground was shaking, and then I saw the large c***k in the ground in the middle of our backyard. It didn't look normal, either. It was too clean, too pristine to be a naturally occurring fissure. I could also feel the magic oozing off of the opening. My magic flinched at it, and I knew the intentions of whoever created this c***k in the ground were malicious.

\tThen I saw Jessica hanging from the edge of the c***k. She was screaming for help, but Remy's wolf was already there, pulling Jessica to safety. My heart swelled with pride as I saw Remy risking her own life to save someone from our pack. Remy quickly changed back into her human form. Jessica stood up and ran away, but Remy didn't follow. Her eyes turned milky as she stopped to look back into the c***k. She looked as if she was in some sort of a trance, and I knew this wasn't good.

\t"Remy! Run!" My voice carried across the ground, but Remy didn't seem to hear a thing. She started moving closer to the c***k, but then she stopped, shaking herself free. She started to move away, but a c***k made the ground collapse beneath her. \tl didn't even think as I shifted towards Remy. One moment I was standing in place, and in the next, I was falling into the c***k, holding Remy in my arms. I blinked and shifted us out of danger. We landed on the ground several feet away from the fissure, and I collapsed onto my back with Remy still in my arms.