Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Crescent Heir : Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

The night had not just turned into a nightmare — it had become the single worst experience of Romulus's entire existence.He barged out of Sophia's apartment like a man fleeing a burning building, except the fire was his dignity, and it was already ash."This was all a test." He muttered it first like a confession, then growled it like an accusation as he dragged himself along the corridor. "All of it. She made the whole thing up just so I'd fail woefully." His voice dropped to something between a hiss and a whimper. "All that talk about BDSM and awful riddles. What does she even know about sex and lovemaking if she claims to be a virgin? All for purity and desire." He threw his hands up. "That Ashworth woman is completely crazy. Who names a whip Godzilla? Who, in their right senses, believes love blooms through torture?"He stopped walking for half a second, jaw tight, fists clenched."A beauty with unadulterated evil in her heart." He resumed his march. "Puuta!!"It never stopped. H

Maureen didn't answer immediately.Her hands steadied on the wheel, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. Anna stared at her, wondering if she'd even heard the question. She had — clearly — and was deliberately keeping quiet. Anna felt embarrassment creep up her neck at the silence that met her. She shouldn't have asked that. Not like that, not so bluntly. Her eyes dropped low, gaze sliding away from Maureen toward her own hands folded in her lap. She'd known, somewhere underneath the question, that it wasn't wise to ask it out loud."Baby girl." Maureen's voice came calm and soothing, practical even. Anna's gaze snapped back to her. Maureen breathed out, and smiled in a knowing way. "Do you believe Jebediah truly loves you enough to bear both you and the child of another?"The question was simple enough sitting there in the open air. The answer was the problem. Anna opened her mouth to say something, and found her brain had nothing waiting there to fill the space. Her mouth shut again o

Jebediah looked into his mother's eyes and realized she wasn't joking — not even a little.He'd seen her serious before, the way her blue eyes dimmed the moment all humor drained from her face. But this was different. Maureen was dead serious."Like, right now, mother?" Jebediah said, surprise coloring his own voice."Yes, son. And it can't wait." Maureen's tone left no room for negotiation.Jebediah glanced behind him, making sure no one was within earshot. The muffled voices of Anna and Loretta drifted faintly through the air until they vanished into the building. He turned back to his mother."But mother, this isn't a good time. Anna's mom just arrived. Shouldn't we be giving her a proper welcome, at least?""Alright, I'll make it brief, then." She grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him toward the corner of the security booth, just as a staff member walked briskly past them, headed for the garage."Mother, you're making me nervous, keeping me in suspense like this. What urgency co

"Anna...""JB, please." Anna looked Jebediah straight in the eyes now, hers shimmering with unshed tears, threatening to spill with the smallest provocation. Jebediah couldn't help but soften, the fight draining out of him just from that look alone. "It's written not just in your eyes, but in the way you talk. You're terrible at pretending, babe."Jebediah giggled despite himself, though it came out shakier than he meant it to. "What? What was that just now?" He booped her nose playfully, buying himself a second to gather his nerve. "Now you see right through me? Damn.""JB.""Alright, you win." Jebediah sighed, the sound heavy and dragged. "I don't know how you're going to take the news. It bites too hard just saying it out loud." He cradled her closer, arms tightening around her like he could shield her from words with nothing but the strength of his hold. "I don't want it to hurt you.""JB." Her voice dropped quiet now, almost a whisper, but there was steel threaded underneath the

"White what?"Deimon wore his most ignorant stare yet, brows close together, mouth half open.Romulus only smiled and shook his head slowly. It wasn't a surprise at all — the White Witch wasn't a name for public knowledge. It was a hushed word whispered in shadows, reaching only a few ears, even those of Alphas. Deimon's ignorance was nothing to be ashamed of."Aleister Morrigan," Romulus said, letting the name settle in the air. "The one who sits in the dark groves, at the crossroads of the leylines. A being of legend, Master Ashworth.""Aleister Morrigan." Deimon turned the name over, word by word, like he was weighing coins in his palm. "Sounds powerful. Ominous, even. Why is this the first I'm hearing of it?""Perhaps only a handful of souls know of the White Witch. Even seasoned wolves and godheads haven't heard the name. It's no surprise it never reached you." Romulus pushed off the railing, rolled his shoulders, yawned, groaned low in his throat. "It's been a long evening, and