Chapter 5

"Valeria, are we still besties?" Mel questioned, throwing on a brown tee shirt.

I came to her room after getting ready for the pack run. I was in black sweatpants and a white tank top. Right now, I wished I hadn't come into her room in the first place since she was making me answer questions.

"Yes, Mel. We are and always will be besties." I answered.

"Then why don't we share stuff? You no longer tell me anything."

"Of course I do."

"No, you don't." She argued. "I don't even know you anymore."

I hated pregnant Melody. She got emotional easily and threw temper tantrums. The Melody I knew seven months ago wasn't like this. Pregnancy was changing her and, in my opinion, for the worse.

"What have I not told you?" I asked, knowing fully well I'd regret it.

"Everything." She threw her hands up.

"You're exaggerating."

She glared at me. "I'm exaggerating?"

"Sorry."

She pulled her hair up into a ponytail. "I forgive you. Now spill the beans, Val. Tell me the truth. Who is that man? Tyrion? Who is he?"

"Do you really want to know?"

She gave me a duh look. "Would I ask if I did not want to know?"

"Good point."

"Tell me already. We're going to be late for the run."

I inhaled deeply to prepare my ears and brain for what would come after I told her the truth. It would probably go like this. After I tell her, she'll stare at me, then scream before becoming calm again. She'd probably scream again.

"Do you remember Mavros?"

"Yeah. He was the one who..." She paused, eyes wide. "He's Mavros?"

"Yes." I confirmed.

Then I waited. I waited for her to scream her lungs out and shake me like a crazed woman, but she didn't. Seconds went by, yet there was nothing. She just stared at me like I had grown two heads.

"I had a feeling he was strange," she said. Yeah, that was it. She would not scream. "His aura is a little odd."

"Please don't mention this to Logan or Carter." I begged.

"I understand. Just to clear something up, was the man in the red suit also a god?"

"You saw me with Aspro?"

"Of course everyone saw you with Aspro... Aspro? Isn't he the brother of Mavros?"

I almost laughed at how confused she was. "He is Mavros' brother."

"Wow." She breathed. "Valeria Romero now chills with gods."

"Don't put it like that."

"Okay. But are you fine with having Mavros around? He is responsible for Zayne's death after all."

"I'm trying to put it all behind me. It won't be easy, but I'll try. It's time for me to move on."

She wrapped her hands around me in a comforting hug. "You've got this, okay?"

I know.

<<<>>>

I always thought the night was the most beautiful time of the day. It might be because of what half of me comprises. A feral being drawn to the moon. The way stars twinkled, the way the moon illuminated the land and shone upon us with so much love always put a smile on my face. I'd hate to imagine a world without the moon. What are we without the moon?

When I went to the human realm because of a 'human boy'; as father would often call him, I asked him if he thought werewolves were real. He told me he wasn't certain, but it'd be nice to have us around. He said the way authors portrayed us made us cool and really fly. He added we were like dogs in a way. Howling at the full moon and stuff. The human boy was very wrong.

Dogs were man's pet. We were beasts.

Dogs caught sticks in between their teeth, but we caught bones and flesh.

Man rubbed dogs on their bellies while we put man in our bellies.

We were different in so many ways than one.

Thinking back to what he said about authors portraying us werewolves as cool and fly often made me smile. What did they know about us? They knew nothing about us, yet they put their imaginations to the test to assume what we look like, what we act like and where live. It was funny. Maybe one day they'll come see for themselves and think, 'shit! All I wrote was garbage. So fucking wrong.'

"Hey."

I spun, tearing my gaze from the moon to Logan. "Hi. Is there a problem?"

He shook his head. "There is no problem. I'm just worried about you."

"Why?" I asked. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"Not really. I know it's been hard for you these past two years and despite the smiles and I'm fine, I know you're not fine. Plus, the pressure of being a wonderful alpha queen to be remembered is there, too."

"Logan." I placed my hands on his shoulder. "Don't worry about me. I promise, I'm fine. Don't forget you have a mate who you have to worry about. Not me."

"I know I have a mate, but I knew you before I met Ared. You were in my life from day one. My mate is important is important to me, and so are you. I'm allowed to worry about your welfare."

I smiled. Genuinely. "Honestly, most times I think I'm the luckiest person on the plant and sometimes, I feel like the most unfortunate person the earth has had the displeasure of having."

"You're not unfortunate." He removed my hand from his shoulder and held it. "You've got us. We're here. So please don't think that way."

"I'll try."

He hugged me, running his hand up and down my back soothingly. When he pulled away, he held my hand for a few seconds before going over to his mate. They were so good for each other. Logan must have said something, because she looked in my direction and waved. I waved back.

"Am I late?"

I jumped when Mavros spoke from behind me. The smell of his cologne invaded my nostrils, making me weak in the knees. I turned to look at him. Probably not the best move because our faces were so close.

"No." I backed away. "You're some minutes early."

"Oh, that's good." He placed his hands on his waist, unintentionally flexing his muscles. He seemed to have noticed I was staring at his arm because he snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Earth to Valeria."

"I wasn't staring." I said, averting my eyes.

"Sure, you weren't." He lifted his eyes to the sky. "Tonight is going to be my first full moon run."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If I'm in the mortal realm on a full moon, it's usually to assassinate wolves giving packs a reason to worry."

"With this information, I think I will now call you the dark knight."

He arched a questioning brow at me. "The dark knight?"

I nodded. "Yeah. You do bad things for a good cause."

"Back at you."

"Me?"

"Mm-hmm. You killed Layton Hunter for your people."

I lowered my eyes at the mention of my mate. "I had no other choice."

As if trying to clear the air, he came to stand behind me. "Have you ever wanted what it'd feel like to be a powerful being?"

"I already know what it feels like. I'm me."

He chuckled. "Love the confidence. But seriously. I can give you a few minutes of that bliss."

"Now?"

"When the moon is at its best. Which is in about three, two, and one." He touched my shoulders. "Tell them it is time to shift."

"Don't tell me what to do in my pack."

He bowed mockingly. "My apologies."

I readied myself for the shift. At the right moment, I willed my wolf to come out and in no time, my skin stretched from man to beast, taking gray fur as a replacement. My bones shifted and cracked to take my beast's form. Blood dripped from my face as bones stretched to form a snout. Knife-like claws replaced my finger and toenails, completing the shift.

I shook the pain off and stood tall, just like my father would expect me to. To signal everyone to shift, I howled. Sounds of bones cracking and rancid breathing rushed into my ears and a musky scent followed. They'd shifted.

When I looked to my right, Mavros had also shifted. He had a dark coat, was as big as I was, and had red eyes. His size would make the members of my pack think he was an alpha like me. He gazed into my wolf's blue eyes, and that one gesture was enough to drive my wolf insane.

Logan and Melody came to take their places behind me, forcing Mavros to step back. It was a reminder that I was the Alpha here. I was the boss. The queen. Nevertheless, there was something coursing through my veins. Something I found difficult to control. Something more feral than I was used to. It was... amazing.

Once more, I howled, marking the beginning of the run.

I dashed into the forest first and my pack followed. There were to follow me for some seconds and go do their own stuff later, but the point of the run was that I led them and to free our wolves from their human cage. Mine was loving her freedom right now. I jumped over fallen trees and dodged the standing ones, enjoying the chilly night air against my fur.

I kept running until I picked up a scent. An animal scent. It was a deer. I stopped. From where I was, I saw them. Mother and fawn, having a bonding time. It sparked anger and jealousy in me. Whatever Mavros had done to me was messing with my mind and urging me to run to them and snap their necks.

But then I thought about it. Which would taste better? Mom or fawn? Definitely the fawn. Whereas the mother's skin was tough and all, the fawn's would probably melt in my mouth. In seconds, I will rip its throat out and I would consume its flesh, staining the forest floor with its blood. My heart was cold and my mind knew no pity.

I stalked them, making sure to not step on tree branches and alert them of my presence. Carefully, like father taught me, I made sure I was close before attacking. Paw after paw, I drew closer to my meal. The feeling of being the hunter was thrilling. I loved it. The fawn suckled its mother, not at all realizing the end was near.

At the perfect time, I attacked, sending the mother off and as expected, the fawn could barely keep up with her. It only meant death for it. I pounced on the fawn and bit down on its neck until he stopped struggling. It made little sense to me how its blood smelled like the finest cologne and how its flesh tasted so sweet. Perhaps it was because I had just taken it away from its mother. All the love from her made her fawn intoxicating.

"How does it feel?" Mavros.

With the fawn's scent clouding my senses, I hadn't noticed him earlier.

"I feel like a monster." I answered, removing my mouth from the fawn's neck. "I killed it."

"You always kill. Whether it is to defend yourself or feed your wolf, you will kill. It's in your nature. You can't run from it."

This was only a fawn. I feared I would want to kill more soon, so I said. "Take it back. I don't want this."

"As you wish."

His red eyes glowed in the dark and at that precise moment, I felt something leave me. I looked at the dead fawn and sniffed the air. Its blood no longer drove me insane. I was me again. If this was how Mavros felt every time, I'd hate to be him.

Only the tip of the monstrosity iceberg was enough for me to know such a life wasn't meant for me. I was meant to be a protector of the wild, not a destroyer. It made me wonder if he felt guilty after killing.

No, he didn't.

He'd told me before. He said he enjoyed killing.

It was a part of him. He longed for blood whilst I wished to protect.

We were different.