10. Moonlight

Arva and Leon are getting ready to go back to the pack. All the cafe employees have gone home. The two of them and Noura were outside the cafe sitting on the steps, which must have been cleaned.

The atmosphere around the cafe is very quiet; only a few cars can be seen passing through this area. This cafe is located right in an alley close to the highway and opposite a restaurant. On the right and left are a university and skyscrapers belonging to a private company.

Most of the visitors are students and office workers. Employees will be busy during office breaks.

"Why don't you guys go home?" Noura watched Arva pacing in front of her. Arva really can't stay still for a minute.

"Waiting for you to be picked up by Alpha," said Arva cheerfully.

Noura rolled her eyes lazily. This day Arva and Leon always tease her. They often call her Luna. The call was still very foreign to her senses of hearing.

"Long time." Leon huffed in annoyance.

There was the sound of a car tire screeching into the cafe yard. The metallic black car was parked neatly there. Well, who else but Orlan?

Orlan walked towards them. His face radiated happiness with an adorned smile. That smile and gentle gaze full of love were fixed on Noura. Orlan made Noura a little embarrassed. Orlan did not see the presence of Arva and Leon, who was gawking at the drastic change in Orlan's face. Alpha is flat-faced, cold, and grumpy. Is he smiling broadly now? Very rare sight.

Noura stood up to welcome Orlan's arrival.

"Sorry for making you wait so long," Orlan said softly.

Noura's face was red like a boiled crab. "Yes, no problem."

Arva and Leon together cleared their throats. Are they not considered at all?

Orlan and Noura turned to Leon and Arva, who was looking at them in annoyance, especially at Orlan.

"You're not home yet?" asked Orlan.

"What?" Arva pouted. "Alpha should be thanking Leon and me. We were both waiting for Alpha to come to pick up Princess Noura. Alpha's question seemed like you were chasing us away." Arva huffed in annoyance.

Orlan scratched the back of his neck.

"Alpha, you don't even see us in the slightest." Leon shook his head.

"Sorry. Thank you for accompanying Noura." Orlan smiled faintly. See, just a faint smile? Really, to Noura alone, he smiled very broadly.

"Yes, no problem," Arva said.

"Don't pick up late, Alpha. Luckily we have Princess Noura with us. Otherwise. I'm sure Princess Noura has already run away. It's impossible she wants to wait for you," Leon quipped. Arva chuckled.

Orlan scowled. Leon was right; he wouldn't be late again to pick up Noura!

Noura smirked; Leon very knew what she was thinking.

"Yeah, I'll try not to be late again," Orlan promised and smiled at Noura.

"Ok. We go first." Leon patted Orlan's shoulder and walked towards the car.

"Don't go anywhere," Arva teased. Orlan and Noura smiled shyly.

***

Orlan and Noura are in the car. For a few minutes, the atmosphere was very quiet; as usual, they were busy with each other's thoughts. No one spoke, radio or anything like that, only the engine's roar.

Of course, Jay cursed Orlan, who couldn't lighten the mood. Orlan did not speak to Noura at all. Even mere small talk Orlan can not. Jay kept shouting inside Orlan's mind. Jay kept asking to switch their bodies; if he met Noura, the atmosphere would be like this, quiet like a graveyard.

"Orlan, what I said this morning ..." Noura started a conversation. As usual, she was the one to lighten the mood. After all, she continued to feel sorry for Orlan. It seemed that what she had said this morning about rejecting had hurt the feelings of Orlan and his wolf. Noura thought Orlan would not pick her up. Turns out her guess was wrong. Orlan really kept her word.

Orlan glanced over, and he remained focused on driving the car. Just now, he was thinking hard to find a suitable topic to talk about. Maybe because of the effect of being single for 449 years. As long as he was alive, this was the first time he had spoken to a woman directly!

"Why? About the reject?" Orlan tried to put on a normal face. However, his heart stirred. Sadness, anger, and disappointment mixed into one. Remember and imagine, during the 449 years of his life, this is the first time Orlan has fallen in love, but his mate is talking about rejects. Even though he knew Noura wasn't serious, his heart was still broken.

Orlan and Jay had agreed they wouldn't care about the witches' prophecy of 1150. No matter what would happen, if he still wanted Noura by his side. He doesn't care about the opinion of the pack members and his parents if they don't accept Noura's presence as his mate and Luna. He will maintain Noura.

However, the problem is whether Noura wants to be with him or not. Suppose the vampire citizens disagree with their relationship. Will Noura do the same with him, maintaining their relationship?

Actually, during this one day, Orlan couldn't focus on work. He thought about Noura's words about rejects and the supposed death of a werewolf and a vampire who might have been a pair of mates. Orlan conversed with Jay and thought about the fate of the two of them. If one day Noura asked him to reject her, his life would feel very empty.

"Yes. Are you angry?" Noura asked hesitantly. Of course, Orlan was sad and angry.

"Not angry. Just disappointed," Orlan said flatly. He is still trying to neutralize his face so as not to look angry, sad, or disappointed.

Noura noticed the normal-looking look on Orlan's face, but she knew Orlan was just pretending. The proof, when speaking, Orlan did not look at her and only glanced at her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to talk like that." Noura said in a low tone. She regretted saying it all. Even though deep down in her heart, there was still a hint of disbelief at Orlan's words that she was his mate. Oh, looks so impossible. Even though he knew many vampires were werewolf mates, but among them some were found dead in the Appalachia Forest. Not that Noura was afraid to die. She was just confused. Of the many vampires, why is she the mate of a werewolf? Moreover, she is mate an Alpha!

"So you're never going to tell me to do it, are you?" Orlan unknowingly smiled faintly, his heart pounding wildly. Jay cheered.

Noura was silent. She didn't know what to say. She was bewildered. Better be quiet. But his lips smile broadly.

"What's your wolf's name?" Noura asked to change the subject. There's no need to talk about rejects anymore. She knows enough about werewolf life thanks to her friendship with Arva.

"His name is Jay." Orlan turned to look at Noura. It happened to be at a red light, so he could freely stare at Noura's beautiful face and sweet smile.

"Jay? What color are his fur and eyes?" Noura was curious.

"Hm ... the color of his fur is black, and his eyes are yellow," Orlan recalled the color of Jay's fur and eyes.

"Damn you, Orlan. You forgot about me. We've been together for 431 years." Jay shouted in annoyance. Orlan forgot the color of his fur and eyes. Jay scowled. What had he meant to Orlan all this time? 

Orlan grimaced; he didn't need to respond to Jay, who was nagging.

"I want to meet him. I've met Arva's wolf, Alva," said Noura enthusiastically.

Orlan smiled widely. Jay was jumping for joy. "Noura wants to see me. Now Orlan, come on, let's switch our bodies."

"Shut up, stupid. You give me a headache. Not now, anytime," snapped Orlan. Jay scowled again.

"Yes, later. Surely you will meet him." Orlan smiled.

"Okay. Is Jay like you?" Noura asked questioningly.

"Like me? What do you mean?" Orlan asked back.

 "Noura means. Am I as annoying as you are? You don't realize you are annoying and boring," Jay shouted again in Orlan's mind.

"That's ... silent. Does Jay talk much?" Noura's eyes lit up; all this time, she had been a little interested in werewolf life. Was that why she was destined to become Orlan's mate, who was a werewolf?

Orlan smiled crookedly. "He's very talkative. Always gives me a headache."

Noura smiled widely. She wanted to meet Jay even more.

"Am I boring?" asked Orlan, thinking about what Jay had said. Orlan was suddenly afraid Noura would leave him because he was too stiff and unromantic.

"Hmm ... no." Noura smiled sweetly. She looked into Orlan's navy blue eyes, which made him always feel calm. The gentle and loving gaze that Orlan gave always succeeded in making Noura blush.

***

Carlen leaned his back against the sofa in his workspace. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, which was throbbing in pain. The events of last night gave him a headache.

"Your Majesty, what are we going to do with the corpses?" asked Vander, who was looking at the rows of photos stacked on the table.

"As usual." Carlen was sad to see the faces of his citizens, who died horribly.

Last night Aaron told them about the discovery of a vampire corpse in the Appalachia Forest. Even though it has been almost two weeks, no bodies have been found in the forest.

In the palace courtyard lined the corpses of vampires who had died. Their faces were blue, just like the bodies found earlier.

This past month, the Appalachia Kingdom and the citizens were shocked by discovering the corpses of vampires lying in the Appalachia Forest. They don't know who is behind all this.

"If this continues, the vampire population will decrease," said Vander worriedly.

Carlen exhaled.  "Who did this? They must have been killed by vampires. But who?"

In recent years the population of pure vampires who are citizens of the Appalachia Kingdom has continued to decline. This is due to the many vampires marrying humans who drink blood. At first, Carlen strictly forbids it because the child they will give birth to is half-blood, but he is afraid the vampires will not marry and will cause extinction; finally, Carlen allows them to marry any creature.

Many humans decide to become vampires before marriage, and many also choose to remain human, and those there should accept the risk separated by death.

The phenomenon of vampires marrying humans is caused by the number of vampires who died during wars that occurred hundreds of years ago. This resulted in fewer pure-blood vampires.

Long before that phenomenon. The vampire clan is already in danger of extinction. Because if vampires marry vampires, they will be blessed with children for a long time. While marrying someone other than a vampire might be an alternative because they will quickly have children, but the problem is that the child who is born is not a pure vampire.

"They were killed by vampires? Why do vampires kill vampires?" Vander was surprised.

"For what? Your question is confusing, Crown Prince." Queen Letizia, Carlen's wife, walked towards her husband. Queen Letizia's habit was to enter without knocking on the door.

"Will Noura continue to be involved?" asked Letizia.

"She was already deeply involved." Carlen snorted harshly. "What do you suggest, Vander?"

Vander's mind was stuck. Instantly he remembered Noura's words about the werewolf clan who had the same case. Many werewolves were found dead in the Redwood Forest.

"How about we team up with the werewolves? With Alpha Orlan?" That was all that crossed Vander's mind.

Carlen stroked his thin beard and thought about the suggestion of the crown prince Vander.

“I think Crown Prince Vander's suggestion is quite risky, but what's wrong with giving it a try?" Letizia agreed with Vander's suggestion.

"Okay." Carlen agreed. Vander was relieved his suggestion was approved.

"Did Ferin do all this?"

'I conclude that they are all werewolf mates.'  Noura's words echoed in Vander's mind.  One of the abilities that Noura has is being able to see past memories by looking into the eyes.  Noura can't see who the culprit is because their memories have been erased hours before death snatches them away.

"But many humans were turned into vampires by him. Is he really?" Vander hesitated. Ferin likes to turn humans into vampires. One of the reasons, Ferin did not want vampires to experience extinction. If Ferin were the culprit in the killing of vampires in the forest, it would be the same as making vampires extinct.

"This is just a diversion, so we don't suspect him."

"Vander, please give this book to Noura. Tell her to study it asap." Vander looked at the book Carlen had given him. His brow furrowed when he saw the book title in his hands, 'Vampire Power Book'. Why did Princess Noura learn this? Hasn't Noura mastered all vampire science?