"Whose side are you on, Grandma?" Luke asked as she approached him, walking briskly in his direction, his voice barely concealing the tension beneath.The rest of the crowd had fallen silent, their gazes darting between Luke and the imposing mansion, its doors closed tight as if guarding the secrets within. Some stood frozen, caught between the duty of following the orders that the doctor had laid out for them and the curiosity gnawing at them."Do you think I've chosen sides between you two?" His grandmother replied, her voice calm but carrying an edge that hinted at deeper layers of thought.Luke held her gaze, the weight of unspoken words pressing down on him. "Do you have to choose a side?" he asked, his voice quieter now, almost pleading. A soft smile played on her lips as she answered, "Let's focus on the present, Luke. There are more pressing matters to discuss. My choice won’t even change what’s destined to happen when the full moon rises, which would determine the fate of th
Desmond's voice was steady, but there was an edge to it as he spoke into the phone."I haven't received the full payment for the job I did for you," he said, his words hanging in the air. On the other end, Bella barely paid attention, her mind elsewhere, absorbed in the thrill of Camilla's downfall. She had just stepped out of the doctor's presence, leaving the sterile, suffocating atmosphere behind to join Jane. The two of them, united by a shared smile at what the doctor said to her, revelled in the latest news.Bella’s lips curled into a satisfied smile, the kind that could only come from knowing your enemy was on the brink of destruction. Camilla's condition was dire, a fact Bella savoured like fine wine; she was pleased to the stars about what the doctor had shared with her, and hiding this feeling seemed impossible. Death seemed inevitable for Camilla, a fate Bella had already celebrated in her heart. To her, it wasn’t just a matter of if—she knew that Camilla’s spirit was a
“You don't have to worry; she will be fine.” Britney tried to make Mira, who was already crying because of the whole situation, calm. Mira surely knew that her mother wasn't in a good state before they left Lawrence’s chambers; she was sure that as they left their mom in the chambers, everything wasn't alright with her.I don't want anything to happen to Mom. Britney said, as tears were still rolling down her cheeks,Forever stood by the side and watched as Britney tried to make Mira feel better. He also knew everything, but he had decided to remain calm.Grandma's flabbergasted state at what their eyes met when they entered the chambers couldn't be hidden; she exclaimed loudly with shock, which made the mouthpiece turn his face away from Camilla and Lawrence and look at them as she and Luke both entered the room.She sprinted immediately to the floor and grabbed Camilla’s body.“What is wrong with them?” she asked the mouthpiece immediately as she started shaking Camilla and Lawrenc
“Camilla, breathe,” Britney whispered urgently, her voice barely masking her own anxiety. “The mouthpiece needs details from you to save Lawrence.”Camilla’s chest heaved, her breaths ragged and shallow as her eyes remained glued to Lawrence’s lifeless form. She didn’t seem to hear Britney, lost in the chaos swirling in her mind.“Camilla, focus,” the mouthpiece demanded, his voice cutting through the fog of her panic. “What happened? Why are you panicking?”Camilla’s eyes widened, wild with fear. “I saw him. It was him.” Her voice trembled, and her hands were shaking uncontrollably, as if the very air around her had turned to ice.Britney and the mouthpiece exchanged a glance. This wasn’t just fear—it was terror, raw and visceral. Whatever Camilla had witnessed had shattered something deep inside her; her reaction to the sight of Lawrence was unexpected.“Camilla,” the mouthpiece pressed, his tone softer but insistent, “I need you to tell me exactly what you saw. We can’t help Lawren
“We can’t stay here any longer,” Elder Clement said urgently, as the elders huddled outside, growing increasingly impatient. “We need to act swiftly. Time is slipping away from us, and the sooner we take action, the better our chances.” The war is closing up on us, and our neighbours are not the patient type.The atmosphere was tense. As they awaited the return of the mouthpiece or the doctor, it felt like their pack was slipping into obscurity. Every passing moment gave their enemies more advantage, and their indecision was only worsening their predicament. The absence of Luna was a significant blow, but it seemed they might be forced into war without her, given the lack of any signs of her return.A beta elder, who had been quietly observing, looked at Clement with interest. “What do you propose we do?” he asked, his concern evident. “We can’t afford to let our pack slip from our grasp while we wait. We need a solid plan if we’re to face this war prepared.”Elder Albert, who had b
The tension in the room was suffocating, thickening with each passing second.Camilla lay beside Lawrence’s body, her presence barely more than a ghostly shadow. She had drifted beyond the world’s grasp; her lifeless form sprawled on the cold floor, attracting the attention of everyone present. The others in the room—Grandma, Luke, and those who had once looked to her for guidance—could do nothing but watch in silent dread. Not a single twitch or breath suggested she was still with them and alive, her body a vessel emptied of life it once used to have.“Are you sure this will work?” Grandma’s voice wavered, cutting through the oppressive silence as she addressed the mouthpiece. His eyes were fixed on the task before him, muttering arcane words that seemed to roll off his tongue with a dark fluency. Yet there was a flicker of doubt in his expression, one that Grandma couldn’t ignore or even accept. It gnawed at her, the fear that they were too late.The mouthpiece’s silence was loud
“I don’t want us to lose ourselves in this debate,” Albert declared, his voice firm. “We all know she’s been poisoned, and there's no bringing her back anytime soon. We must decide what to do next and move forward swiftly. Dwelling on her fate will only hinder us.”Albert, who had been quietly savouring the grim news of Camilla’s condition, kept his thoughts to himself until now. He had relished the opportunity to see her suffer—a dark pleasure he had harboured for some time.A beta elder addressed the room with a pointed gaze at Albert. “It’s one thing to be unreasonable, but it's another to persist in such a state of mind. Albert, I never expected this from you, not from a man like you who is considered to have honour amongst us.Elder Clement added his voice to the mix; his tone was measured. “There’s nothing to fear. The mouthpiece understands the situation, and his presence inside is for the benefit of the pack. The less we concern ourselves with this, the better we can focus on
“It’s a marvel to witness your beauty these days,” Luke said as he approached and got close to Bella, his eyes lingering on her with a reverence that bordered on awe.“A marvel is not meant to be seen too often, you know,” Bella replied, her voice soft yet firm, as if she were offering a secret that few were privileged to hear.“I doubt there will ever be a time when I won’t wish to see this marvel,” Luke countered, his gaze unwavering and not letting go of Bella. Bella was radiant in her crimson gown, the fabric clinging to her perfect form with the elegance only true royalty could command. Her long, silky hair cascaded down her back and over her shoulders like a waterfall of midnight, a testament to the lineage she bore. She was, without question, a vision that demanded a second, even a third look. When you glanced at her, every heartbeat of yours would demand that you look back at her—an embodiment of beauty in its purest form.“You know,” Luke continued, a playful smile tugging