Lahat ng Kabanata ng To Be Loved By A Dying Moon God: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

KaelumA woman stands in front of me. Small. Maybe five foot three. Her eyes are too wide, too bright, stretched beyond fear. Beside her sits a wilted floral arrangement.The offering. My sacrifice.I stop walking.If I’m going to kill a creature, I don’t want them frozen like this. There’s something cruel about ending a life while terror still owns it. Then again, death is kinder when it comes fast enough to leave no room for begging.Nature has always been brutal that way.These are my people. She is one of the creatures I protect.And tonight, I have to kill her so the rest survive.I’ve been standing here longer than I realized because the woman slowly lowers herself to the ground. She watches me carefully now, studying me instead of trembling.If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was planning an attack.But she looks exhausted. Like life has been carving pieces out of her since birth.And she’s beautiful, fragile in the way cracked glass still pretends it can hold together.“I

Kaelum“Did you take the sacrifice?” Aurora asked over the open portal between us.I paused before answering, my eyes settling on the book barely hanging off the shelf across the room. It tilted dangerously, one more inch away from falling.I stared at it for a moment like my powers would suddenly return out of spite.Nothing happened.I sighed.It had been two hundred years since the divine authority tampered with my powers because I refused to obey the rules of the court. Their precious laws about sacrifice.Rules that demanded we kill the very creatures we claimed to protect.The same people who prayed to us.The same people whose wishes we processed like obedient all-loving gods, pretending we cared equally for all of them.And in return, we demanded blood.At first, sacrifices were voluntary. People offered themselves willingly for their packs, their families, their kingdoms.Then humans and werewolves corrupted it.Sacrifice became politics. It became a convenient way to get rid

Kaelum“He is here.” The whispers spread through the court before I even stepped fully into the chamber.gods. For creatures supposedly above petty behavior, they were remarkably predictable.And who knew it would feel this satisfying to be back here?One hundred and fifty years ago, they dogpiled me hard enough that I stopped attending these meetings altogether.Apparently, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Several eyes rolled immediately.A few faces tightened. One goddess looked outright annoyed.I couldn't have been happier. Perhaps I should have lived more for this.Lived more for disappointing colleagues. Lived more for doing exactly what I wanted without considering any of them.“Could he be any more annoying?”“That’s not even the problem.” Another whisper followed.“They said he's stronger now. Your territories are at stake.” The whispers continued as I made my way toward the round table.Not a single person looked pleased.Good.I found my seat and sat comforta

KaelumI still hadn't figured out why Aelar always brought half the estate with him whenever I summoned him.I looked past him as he stepped into my living room and found nearly twenty-five residents trailing behind him. They crowded together awkwardly, exchanging nervous glances and subtle looks that suggested they were all sharing some secret they expected me to know already.A pointless concern. Would I waste my time listening to every insignificant scheme they came up with? Absolutely not. Not the little politics, not the hierarchy games, not the endless social nonsense creatures loved creating.My gaze drifted lazily over the crowd before stopping at the newest resident, Thalia. She was trying very hard to hide behind the women at the back. The way she peeked around shoulders while pretending not to made her look suspiciously like a house rat searching for its next crumbs.A small chuckle escaped me. The little wolf immediately ducked farther back.The room remained silent. Everyo

KaelumI sat still in my chair until my mood balanced out and the storm stopped flying around.Maybe I should cause the court some confusion.Their plans to get married and create successions, excluding me, could be ruined if I played enough politics to destroy their perfect little plans.I hated the smugness that came with them thinking they had leverage over me.How did everyone get to have a succession while I did not, all because I saved werewolves from their doom?It was those perished gods' people who had called unto me. Their gods were beyond saving. They knew that too. Even the court saw it.Everyone blamed me for their separation.As though it had not been bound to happen.I left for one hundred and fifty years, and they have still not saved themselves, and they blame me; they had enough time.All they had to show for one hundred and fifty years was a petty heir threat thrown in my direction.My gaze drifted to the mirror. My skin looked pale.Yeah, the divine authority said I