The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 9

CAULDER

\tRemy's chest heaved up and down, and there were tears in her eyes as she stared down at me. Another rumble of the earth shocked me into action. I started to get up, when I saw my mother appear in front of us, standing between us and the c***k in the ground. \tShe looked at me with fire in her eyes. "Get Remy out of here!" She turned back to the c***k and lifted her hands up. A bright light emerged from her hands and shot forward. At the same time, a dark shadow emerged from the ground, aimed straight towards us. \tMy father appeared by our sides, grabbing our arms and pulling us to our feet. "Get inside. Now."

\tHe pushed us forward, and I started guiding Remy to the house. My heart raced as we moved to safety. I glanced back at my mother fighting the dark entity. She was ready for the fight, and she easily crushed the darkness as bright white lights emerged from her. I could feel her magic sending a layer of protection around us, and I couldn't believe how easily she fought.

\tl had heard stories of my mother training and working hard to build her magic skills. She learned late in life that she was part sorcerer, and she made sure we knew exactly who we were from a young age, so we never had to go through that surprise. But I had never realized just how skilled she actually was as a sorcerer. We had never had any major threats, and I had never seen her in action before. It was a little difficult to pull my eyes away from her.

\tWe made it to the back door, and I quickly opened it. I tried to push Remy in first, but she resisted.

\t"Wait! We can't just leave Mom and Dad out there!" She tried to rush back, but I hooked my arm around her.

\t"They are fine. We just need to get inside, so they don't have to worry about us." I understood Remy's feelings. I wanted to go back out there and help everyone, but our parents gave me an order. Keep Remy safe. This wasn't the first time they had said this to me either.

\tAs we grew up, our mother had approached me on more than one occasion, asking me to protect Remy.

\t-

\t"Caulder, I need to ask a favor of you," our mother said, walking towards me when I was by myself one night. I was only ten years old at the time.

\t"Yes, Mommy. What do you need?" I had stopped playing with my toy and gave her my full attention.

\t"I need you to promise me you will always look out for Remy." My mother had pulled me into her lap and started stroking my hair.

\t"But Remy is just as old as me. Why do I need to look out for her?" At the time, my younger self didn't understand this request. Remy wasn't really my younger sister after all.

\tMy mother pulled her lips tight. "Because this world isn't very nice sometimes, and I'm afraid it might take advantage of your sister. You're not only her brother. You're Remy's twin. The two of you will share a special bond for the rest of your lives, and I need you to make sure your sister stays safe. I may not always be there to protect you two, so I need you to promise me you'll be there for her."

\t"Okay, Mommy. I promise I will look out for her."

\t-

\tWhen I finally pulled Remy inside, she collapsed against a wall and let out an exaggerated sigh. Her chest heaved up and down, and she squeezed her eyes tight. "Whatever that is was coming for me."

\tl stared at her for a moment. "How do you know?"

\tHer eyes snapped open. "Because I could hear it calling my name. I don't understand, Caulder. What was that?"

\tl shook my head and slumped into a nearby chair. "I don't know. Something magical, but it wasn't good."

\t"Why would it come after me?" Her eyes were bright with fear, which wasn't like her. Remy had never backed down from a challenge. She never showed even an ounce of fear, so seeing her like this told me this really rattled her.

\t"I don't know." I wished I had the answers for her, but I was just as confused as she was. I stood up, trying to gather myself. It felt wrong hiding, knowing others were out there fighting. "You stay here. I'm going to make sure everyone else is safe." \t"I don't know." I wished I had the answers for her, but I was just as confused as she was. I stood up, trying to gather myself. It felt wrong hiding, knowing others were out there fighting. "You stay here. I'm going to make sure everyone else is safe." \tRemy pushed herself off the wall and grabbed my arm. "Then I'm coming with you."

\t"You have to stay here."

\t"Why?" Her jaw tightened as she straightened her back. "Why do I get to stay here while you go out there to help others? I'm part of this pack, too." \t"Because I'm the future alpha. I can't afford to hide. Mom asked me to keep you safe, and you don't have any obligations. Just stay here. I'll be back."

\tRemy let go of my arm, and her whole body seemed to deflate at my words, but I couldn't let guilt get to me. I had made a promise to keep her safe, and I wasn't about to break that promise. I also wasn't about to leave Harper and the others out there when I could help. I didn't look back as I moved out the back door, leaving Remy behind.

\tl assessed the damage, and it seemed like the threat was over. My mother was no longer fighting whatever that thing was. She and Ginger were working together to mend the ground with their magic. My father, Scythe, Rie, and Mason were going around and checking on everyone to make sure they were okay.

\tl approached my mother and Ginger first. "Do you guys need any help?"

\tMy mother looked at me with concern in her eyes. "Where's Remy?"

\t"Don't worry. She's safe inside. I thought I could help out, get practice leading in emergencies." It seemed like the adults were already on top of everything, and they would be fine without my help, but I was sure there was something I could do. I was technically an adult now after all. \t"Boy, we don't need any help here, but I'm sure your father could use help checking on people," Ginger said.

\tl nodded and let them continue doing their work to fix the ground. I made my way over to the crowd of people where my father was directing everyone.

\t"If you are injured or know someone who is, please make your way to the pack house. Doctor Zayla will help you in whatever way she can," he announced. I could feel his calm, alpha demeanor radiating out among all of the people. "If you are not injured, please make your way home. The situation has been dealt with for now, but we still don't know what caused this or why it happened. When we know more, we will hold a pack meeting. If you have any information, please reach out to Beta Scythe or Beta Rie, and they will take down any information."

\tHe handled the situation with poise, and I truly admired him. I didn't understand how he knew the right thing to say to calm everyone down, and I worried I would never be able to handle the pack in the way he did.

\tWhen the crowd started to disperse, I approached my father. "Dad!" I called out to get his attention.

\tHe turned to me, and his face relaxed. "Where's your sister?"

\t"She's fine. She's in the house," I said.

\t"Good, it's best that she stays there for now. You did the right thing, son," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Thank you for protecting her."

\tl was glad Remy was safe, too, but I didn't understand why my parents were so eager to keep Remy away from all of this. She was safe, and so was I. She handled herself well during the chaos and even saved somebody during the crisis. She wasn't as weak or helpless as my parents were making her out to be.

\t"Remy could help us handle things. I'm sure the extra hand would be nice," I said. I know I had stopped her from joining, but the look of betrayal on her face was still haunting me.

\t"Remy could help us handle things. I'm sure the extra hand would be nice," I said. I know I had stopped her from joining, but the look of betrayal on her face was still haunting me. \t"No." There was no hesitation in my father's reply. "She's safer in the house until we know everything that happened here."

\t"Why is it okay for me to be out here and not her?" I asked. I was growing frustrated with the double standards being placed on us.

\tMy father sighed. "Look, now is not the time to be having this conversation. Just go help whoever you can now, and your mother and I will talk to you both later."

\tl wanted to argue, but my father was clear with his words. He wasn't going to budge now, and I knew better than to push him in front of others. Instead, I walked away, looking for Harper. I helped people along the way, and it seemed safe for the most part. People were just scared. There were a few minor injuries from things falling or people tripping, but we were lucky with everything that went down.

\tMy eyes finally caught a glimpse of Harper, and she was talking to Jessica, who was holding her arm close to her. I started walking towards her, but Scythe stepped in my way.

\t"Hey, I'm really sorry, but we have to cancel the rest of the party." He looked more disappointed than I was at the thought.

\tl hadn't even blinked an eye at the party ending. It would have been ridiculous to keep the party going after this. "It's okay." I tried to look past Scythe to see what Harper was doing.

\t"Can you make sure Remy knows we'll make it up to her? I know she was looking forward to this party." Scythe asked. "Where is she, by the way?"

\t"Sure thing. She's inside." I shifted back and forth, eager to run off to Harper. She looked like she was okay, but after the way she suddenly kissed me, my mind was racing with her, especially now that I knew everyone was safe. I wanted to talk to her about everything that happened, especially that kiss. She had seemed so hesitant, but that kiss had been so passionate.

\tScythe glanced back and narrowed his eyes at me. He took a step to the side. "Go on. I'll stop keeping you."

\tl glanced at him, and I had a feeling he knew exactly who I wanted to rush to. "I'll see you later." I tried to keep my walk calm and steady to not lead on more suspicion, but it was difficult to not break out in a run the moment he stepped off to the side.

\tl made it to Harper, and she looked up at me and instantly smiled. Then her smile fell, and she bit her lip. She turned back to Jessica and finished wrapping up her arm. "Let's get you to Doctor Zayla and get your arm checked out."

\tJessica looked at me. "Where's Remy? I want to thank her again for saving my life." Jessica's face was tear-stained.

\t"She's around here somewhere. I'll make sure to pass on your appreciation." I held back my frown. I shouldn't have made Remy stay inside. She risked her life to save someone, and I made her stay inside like a fragile doll. I needed to apologize to her. I didn't want to hide her away just because that was what my parents wanted.

\tJessica nodded. "Thanks."

\t"Let's get you inside," Harper said, starting to lead her away.

\t"Hey, when you have a moment, can we talk?" I asked before they got too far.

\tHarper blushed a little, and she avoided eye contact with me. "Sure."

\tl watched her walk away. The way she avoided looking at me made me feel off. I started to worry that she regretted the kiss, but I didn't want to overthink it. A lot just happened.