ENCHANTED WORLD SERIES BOOK 4: MOON CHILD'S WAR
Chapter 12

Ruvin parked his car outside The Treasure House and sighed. He was on the edge. He had to flee the hideout because no matter where he went in that house, Alli clouded his mind. Ruvin had a feeling that more people knew what was transpiring between the two of them because everyone always found a reason to get her away from him. It started with Vixen and after breakfast, Izzy took her to the basement to show her the latest spy software she created.

When Ruvin felt like he could finally talk to her, Briar showed up and took her to see her sister. That was the last straw. Ruvin found himself packed in his car with Jake and heading into town.

Jake zipped his jacket beside him and pulled up the hoodie. “I will see you in a few.”

“Before you go, I need to ask you something.”

Jake’s eyes widened a little bit but he gave a little shrug. “Sure, Commander.”

“Why are you risking your life dealing with Lukas and Izzy’s world war three? You know how violent those two can get. They are enchanted beings, way stronger than what you are used to. You could get yourself killed in their brawls.” Ruvin wasn’t so enthusiastic about anyone trying to deal with Lukas and Izzy. Everyone else tended to ignore them, only warning them away when it got intense.

Jake chuckled softly staring at the windshield. “Those two are just lacking communication. Izzy is downright stubborn and has a temper issue while Lukas might appear teasing to Izzy but he is ruthless and very unstable. Now, if I don’t intervene, they will surely gravely hurt each other.”

Ruvin didn’t understand what went through Lukas and Izzy’s minds every time they saw each other because it was something that happened every day, several times a day for that matter! Lukas pushed Izzy so hard and Izzy retaliated with everything she had. Being a newly transformed beast, there were still a lot of things Izzy didn’t know and although Edon and Raul once took it upon themselves to teach her, Lukas came in, announcing that he was going to do it himself.

“You know, sometimes I feel Lukas cares too deeply for Izzy more than he is letting us see.” Jake frowned a little as if he was remembering something. “I mean, he is always the one who demands that Izzy be left home. I think the thought of her getting hurt out there terrifies him.”

Ruvin narrowed his eyes. “Then there is only one way to get to the bottom of this.”

Jake turned to Ruvin. “I don’t like the look on your face. What are you planning to do?”

Ruvin smiled grimly. “I plan to take Izzy hunting tonight.”

Jake whistled and shook his head. “I don’t see Lukas agreeing to that.”

“Well, he will just have to deal with it,” Ruvin said.

Jake opened the door and jumped out into the rain. “Lukas is as stubborn as they come. I am heading off to see if there are new tourists or global trekkers that have arrived in town.”

“Watch your back,” Ruvin warned.

Jake was constantly putting himself in danger of being discovered. It was obvious that people were already asking questions as to what he was always doing in certain places and why he was always asking questions.

Ruvin’s greatest fear was if Jake started questioning a hunter without knowing. They would replace out that he is the one who gives out information and could harm him.

Jake saluted and walked off while Ruvin also jumped out and approached Sheyster’s store. It was about that time they had a talk.

As he entered, he was greeted by an empty space that wasn’t at all familiar. Immediately Shadow started prowling, scanning the area for any immediate danger.

Sheyster was sitting at her counter looking quite angry.

“Closed down for renovations?” Ruvin drawled.

Sheyster turned to him and narrowed her eyes. “Just where do you hide when you are needed? I had a beast and weakbloods about to rip each other’s throats off in front of everyone.”

That brought Ruvin back to his serious mode.

Shadow, make sure you make a thorough sweep of the area plus the streets surrounding the shop.

Yes, keeper. The beast went to work, feeding so much information to Ruvin. He recognized two scents one belonging to Titus and the other to Donny. He also recognized the suppressed scent of a beast who didn’t want to be tracked but he had to be brighter than that if he wanted to evade a pureblood.

Blake.

“What happened?” Ruvin asked Sheyster.

Sheyster sighed heavily and moved away from her counter. “I tell you, I am better off born a serpent than a dog! You all lack in manners yet here I was led to believe dogs were most intelligent and loyal of all species. Ha!”

“Sheyster, if you are not going to make sense of what you are saying, I will not be able to help you. What the hell happened?” Ruvin asked a little more forcibly.

Sheyster sighed rubbing her forehead softly then turned her violet eyes to Ruvin. “Blake came in here to try and talk to his mate. She must have been a newly transformed wolf but I have never seen her around here so I don’t know her--”

“Wait, you knew about Blake and you didn’t bother to share that information with me?” Ruvin accused. “Not only are you hiding a pregnant Dragon female but you kept a half-blood lycan from me. What else are you hiding, Sheyster?”

Sheyster rolled her eyes. “Oh shut up for a moment, would you? If I had a loose tongue and go about telling everyone everything that is happening around here, do you think you would have been safe until now? You are not the only one who has entrusted his secrets to me, Ruvin. So much is happening here and you are not even on the tip of the iceberg yet.”

“I am all ears!” Ruvin growled. “I am here, now and I need to know everything you know. I was sent here by the Lord Mage to keep everyone safe but how do I do that if no one will tell me what the bloody hell is happening?”

Sheyster frowned at him in confusion. “What has been eating you up lately? Is it the full moon?”

Ruvin ran his hands through his hair. If only it was the full moon. I mean, come on! How many bloody full moons had he survived? “I am just a little cranky lately--”

“A little?” She arched her eyebrow at him. “Let me make you some coffee first.”

That brought a smile to Ruvin’s face. No matter how upset Sheyster got, she couldn’t deny her motherly instincts to take care of everyone. She was upset with him yet she wanted to make him a cup of coffee.

“I hear more hunters are coming in. It’s strange that suddenly they are flocking in here in such big numbers.” Sheyster said quietly as she prepared a cup of coffee for Ruvin. “I was used to hearing two or three but seven--eight? That’s bad news.”

“What do you know, Sheyster?” Ruvin asked again.

Sheyster settled the cup of coffee in front of Ruvin and slipped on one of the tall stools beside him before she started speaking. “From the time I came here sometime back with Balthazar and the founders of this town, there was nothing like this. The first founders were weakbloods and it wasn’t so alarming when someone went missing. We tended to believe that the youth didn’t want to stay here and often ran away to bigger cities to look for better lives.

“The numbers were not alarming and there were no bodies to be found.”

Ruvin frowned. He heard about Balthazar from Drake but he wasn’t sure exactly who he was so he went on to ask the female who had spent time with him.

“Balthazar was one of the last ancient bloodline of Sereba, a very strong bloodline before even the royal bloodline. He saved me from death when the Scarlet Shield guided him to me. Apparently, I am important to the future of the enchanted world.” She laughed softly. “We moved quite a lot because of the aging process. Although I couldn’t recall anything that had happened to me...I couldn’t recall my son.” Her voice faltered and Ruvin could only imagine how hard it was for her to live all those years not remembering her family. “Although I had no idea where I was from I still recalled I was not similar to any human. When people started asking questions about our age, we forged death certificates and moved on to the next place.”

“How long have you lived here in Ashwick?” Ruvin asked. He and his team were there for less than six months!

“I have been here for at least three hundred years. After Balthazar died and his family moved to other places leaving me alone to fend for myself, I moved around other towns and cities for about three hundred years then returned here again ten years ago. Many people think I look exactly like my great, great, great grandmother from an old photo framed at the town hall.

“We were practically the forefathers of Ashwick back then. This is where Balthazar met someone he truly loved although she was not his true mate. Jodie was human but she loved Balthazar dearly and...sometimes I felt she had a hint that Balthazar wasn’t entirely human--but that didn’t stop her from loving him. I remember, for her wedding present, Balthazar had given her the Scarlet Shield. By that time we both didn’t even remember what it was...or maybe Balthazar remembered yet pretended not to because sometimes I would catch him talking to it like a mad man.”

“How did Drake’s mate get her hands on it then?” Ruvin frowned.

“She is a special female, the exact copy of Jodie. The shield was passed on down Balthazar’s family for generations until it finally chose her. Maya is Balthazar’s family.” Sheyster smiled fondly.

“But how did Balthazar die? He was a pureblood Dragon, he would have lived for more centuries to come.”

Sheyster nodded. “He chose to die with Jodie all those years ago. I didn’t understand it back then but when Drake came and restored my memories, I understood how he did it. He gave up his Dragon for love. It is possible being as strong as he was. We stayed in this realm for more than three hundred years, Ruvin. He found love but I chose to stay alone because deep inside me I felt I had a deeper purpose for being here. It is the reason why I am still here all this time.”

“So what happened here? I know Blake, Donny and Titus were here. I don’t know the fourth wolf.” Ruvin sipped his hot cup of coffee.

Sheyster slumped her shoulders. "I have known Blake for a while now. His younger brother came through the gateway several years ago but disappeared without a trace. Blake came after him and moved around quite a lot; Roswell, Shadow Creek, Selam, and finally here searching for him but he hasn’t been able to replace him.”

“He managed to replace his mate though.” Ruvin shrugged puzzling the pieces together. It described why he was a lone beast. It must have been terrible not to know the fate of his brother. “Do you think his brother was one of the victims that were drained of blood?”

“The human hunters were no match of a half-blood beast back then...Even now. Even though they have new and more effective weapons I have never heard them capturing an enchanted beast.” Sheyster explained.

“And what about the weakbloods that have been found dead and drained of their blood?” Ruvin frowned slightly.

“I don’t know about that but since Blake has been making a follow-up on them, I think he knows better than I do.”

Ruvin was sure Blake knew more than he was letting them believe. He needed to sit down with the half-blood and get more information. “So, he claimed his mate in front of Titus?”

Sheyster scoffed. “You are worried about Titus? You should be worried about Louise, her brother!”

Ruvin’s eyebrows snapped up his hairline. He was thankful that Alli didn’t have a brother yet again.....there was Corleen to deal with. “That went well, I bet.” He couldn’t help but grin imaging the expressions on the weakbloods’ faces when they discovered Donny’s mate was an enchanted beast!

Sheyster grumbled softly. “I was lucky I had a powerful weakblood around and she managed to alter and manipulate the weak human minds because Donny practically shifted in Blake’s arms especially with the heated argument that was going on between Blake, Titus, and Louise. Her wolf couldn’t take the yelling.”

Donny was different from Alli. When someone was yelling at Alli, she yelled back. It looked like she wasn’t the type to back down. She had a fiery temper and Ruvin almost regretted thinking how much it will increase with her transformation next month.

Ruvin didn’t know there were psychically strong weakbloods around. Usually, the Nosferatu surpassed every race when it came to powerful minds. “By the way, do you know the Nosferatu? I need to speak to their clan leader about these deaths.”

“Are you looking for a death wish?” Sheyster exclaimed. “Don’t even think about going around accusing the Nosferatu about these murders with you being a Lycan....or have you somehow forgotten what happened between the species?”

Ruvin growled in frustration. “Of course, I remember what happened but the blood draining is suspicious.”

Sheyster sighed. Ruvin was stubborn and she must have seen it in him so she muttered. “Go to the Eclipse Club at the edge of town tonight. Look for Aro. Tell her I sent you.”

“How do you know the Nosferatu?” Ruvin asked.

“They help protect this town in their own way. Now, if you go poking where you shouldn’t, you will return here with a silver stake through your heart! Behave when you speak to Aro. Although the Lycans cunningly sold off the Nosferatu secrets to others, Nosferatu are still by far the strongest race on this earth whether here or in the enchanted world. Be careful.” She warned.

Ruvin had never come across a Nosferatu who didn’t both loath and fear a Lycan. One thing was that the Nosferatu, though very strong, had the weakness of the human sun. It made their bodies paralyzed and their powerful minds sluggish. People believed that they slept in coffins in basements like the way it was portrayed in movies but that wasn’t the case. They slept deep within the earth where the earth energies could rejuvenate them and restore their powers. For safeguarding their lairs, they got the strongest High Mage to create spells for them but in the human world, High Mage were hard to come by so their resting grounds were not in their lairs. They were somewhere safer so even if someone attacked their lairs, they would be safely buried somewhere else.

They too were affected by the Luna energies but a Nosferatu knew better than to get on a Lycan’s bad side. Ruvin could pick up a Nosferatu scent from a mile away and it wouldn’t take him long until he found one, dug him out, and killed him.

Just as they were talking the pregnant dragon female entered The Treasure House. Ruvin’s nostrils flared as her cinder scent hit him hard. Ruvin turned to Sheyster with a questioning look on his face.

“She is suffering from severe nightmares that keep her coming back here. Let me help her first.”

Ruvin got up with Sheystery. “What’s her name?”

“She doesn’t remember but she says she hears a voice that talks to her and tells her that her name is Serensa. She thinks she must have dealt with a terrible trauma that has made her create an inner voice that always tries to soothe her when she is distressed.”

“Her dragon? She must be from a powerful bloodline to have her dragon talk to her in this realm.” Ruvin sighed in surprise.

“Though I have felt my dragon’s presence, I have never heard my dragon talk to me from the day I got her--and I am from the Glaeder bloodline, a bloodline right after the Royal Bloodline,” Sheyster stated emphasizing just how powerful Serensa could be.

“Sheyster!” She rushed over to the older woman, her eyes wild with fear, her skin covered with a thin sheen of sweat, and her body trembling out of control. “Sheyster, the nightmares are getting worse! I can see his silhouette. He comes to me whenever I turn off my lights!”

Shadow, search the female’s mind for her dragon. Ruvin told his wolf.

Yes, keeper. Shadow penetrated the female’s mind slowly so as not to scare her, searching for the footprints of the entity living within. The dragon was quiet as if anticipating what was about to happen. It didn’t take long until finally, Shadow recognized the entity’s pattern.

A wave of fiery energy blasted through Ruvin’s head and it felt as if it was about to crack. Another blast was propelled against him from the dragon as she tried to defend her keeper’s mind from Shadow.

Shadow! Ruvin called but the wolf was quiet. Crippling pain went down his body as Ruvin staggered to the floor moaning in pain with blood running down his nose.

Shadow! He called again but the wolf was as silent as ever. That had never happened before.

“Wait!” Sheyster exclaimed holding onto the female as she took a step towards Ruvin, her eyes glazed over by the presence of her dragon. “Don’t kill him. He means to help you, not hurt you! You have to stop!”

Sheyster’s authoritative voice sank into the dragon because she suddenly stopped and released Ruvin from the mind shackle....but Shadow was still nowhere to be felt.

“Hey, you.” Alli grinned when she found Corleen sitting on her bed flexing her arms and neck. She still had angry red marks from where the silver wire had passed and a tube was still stuck to one of her arms feeding whatever that clear liquid was on the IV stand.

Her head snapped towards the door and she frowned. “Alli? What are you doing here?” Her voice was still croggy and her skin still a little pale but Alli was happy to discover her eyes were as bright as ever.

She shrugged her shoulders and approached her sister. She knew Corleen was going to start bombarding her with questions but at that moment she had never been so happy to see her even if she was grumpy. “I made a fuss about seeing you and Ruvin brought me here. You don’t know how ecstatic I am to see you sitting up like that.”

Corleen’s shoulders slumped before she did something that made Alli freeze on the spot. She opened her arms towards her. When she saw Alli stutter she rolled her eyes and sighed. “This hug has an expiry date so you better take it now before it is too late.”

Alli didn’t wait to be told twice and dashed to her sister’s arms, her eyes swimming in unshed tears. “I missed you so much, Corleen.”

Corleen groaned in pain softly and patted Alli’s hair. “I am not going anywhere. Not when I still need to protect you. Not when I haven’t ushered justice to those who deserve it. Just give me a week’s time and I will be good as new.” She moved back and cupped Alli’s face. “You’ve grown skinny--were you that worried about me?”

“You are the only one I have, of course, I was worried about you,” Alli said blinking away her tears.

Corleen slipped her fingers through Alli’s multi-colored hair and pushed it from her face with a pensive look about her. “Oh, I must have spoiled you too much to have you act like this,” she muttered almost to herself. “But I can’t get around to how you convinced the Ghost Runner leader to bring you here in the first place.”

Oh, he didn’t need convincing at all, Alli wanted to say but clamped her mouth shut. “You knew they existed but why did you lead me to believe you didn’t believe in them?”

“To protect you.” Corleen sighed looking a little exhausted. She sank back on her bed and sighed. “These are beasts we are talking about here, not wolves like you and me. They are more animals than they are human.”

“We are not human, period.” A voice came from the door.

Both Alli and Corleen turned to see who it was and Vixen sauntered in with her heels tapping softly on the marbled floor. Alli couldn’t deny that the woman was attractive. She was tall and slender with no lump of fat on any part of her body. That morning she wore leather leggings and a graphic black t-shirt that had a hand flipping the bird to everyone else.

“I am not like the other beasts. I am a Duma--a cheetah breed for those who wouldn’t understand.” A half-smile curled on her red lips as she stood in front of them and placed her hands on her hips. “Makes you wonder how this kitty got mixed up with the dogs? Sometimes it’s fated for all of us to cross with the ones we think we will never mix.”

“This is Vixen. She is part of the Ghost Runners." Alli explained to Corleen.

“It seems you have spent a little more time with them to know them better,” Corleen muttered with a frown. She was not the trusting type. She turned to Vixen and her frown deepened. “Even though you guys saved my life, it doesn't mean I trust you.”

“I don’t trust you either,” Vixen assured her. “For all I know, you might bring your fellow weakbloods to raid our place. It’s safer to kill you than to set you free.”

"Weakbloods?” Corleen echoed.

“That’s what they call us.” Alli tried to explain but Corleen was having none of that.

“We are not weak. I happen to come from a very strong bloodline and both my parents were wolves.” She stated.

Vixen gave a little shrug. “I thought the Wolfen families were the ones with strong bloodlines.”

Corleen’s face was suddenly ashen and Alli didn’t understand why. “Corleen, are you alright? Do you need to rest?”

“Listen, don’t take offense in the name. Even though you are a weakblood, you are strong. I have never seen any weakblood survive the kind of attack you had that night. I think you should add that up in your CV for Faelen to bask on.” Vixen taunted.

Alli found it strange that although Vixen was blunt, non-trusting, hostile, and a little over the top, there was nothing ill about her actions. It was the reason why Alli didn’t take so much offense in what she did or what she said. It was just in her nature as a Cheetah breed, she guessed.

But for Corleen, it was entirely the opposite and telling by the way she was staring at Vixen, her anger very evident in her eyes, Vixen was better of shutting her mouth. Alli cleared her throat nervously and tried to mitigate the situation. “Vixen and Briar helped nurse you back to health, Corleen. Without them...I don’t know how you would have survived with all that silver eating up your insides.”

Vixen held up what looked like a teardrop-shaped vial made from multicolored glass. “Your last unicorn blood dose.” She moved from where she was standing and went to the IV machine that was hooked to Corleen’s arm. She plugged the vial straight into the sophisticated IV machine and turned to Corleen. “Because of this thin human atmosphere, the vial can’t be opened in the air. The blood will disintegrate immediately.”

“How many unicorns do you need to kill for this stuff?” Corleen asked.

Vixen chuckled softly as she opened an outlet and the mercury-like liquid began making its way down to Corleen arm. “Our King back in the Enchanted World has two Unicorns in his keeping. They voluntarily allow the harvesting of their blood every once in a while. Normally, back home, unicorn blood is the last resort but in this realm, nothing else works with better results than it when it comes to silver poisoning.”

“You have a king back in the enchanted world?” Alli’s eyes widened.

“Yes, and since you are a weakblood, you are under his rule and so is Faelen--”

“We have no king.” Corleen ground out. “The only rule we are under is Lord Faelen’s. And you should honor his status.”

Vixen sighed and turned fully to Corleen. “Faelen is no match for the Lord Mage, sweetness. The time will come when you meet him and I suggest you prepare for it because he is a force to reckon with.” She turned away and walked off, leaving Alli’s mouth hanging and Corleen’s teeth set.

“We need to get out of here.” Corleen finally said wanting to yank the tube feeding her body with unicorn blood away but Alli quickly stopped her.

“We can’t. You need to get better first. Ruvin promised to let us go right after you can walk out of here on your own.”

Corleen turned to her with a scowl. “It’s not like you to trust what everyone is saying. I saw Ruvin and I talked to him. I know he thinks he is the Ghost Runners’ leader but do remember this, they are all in Lord Faelen’s territory which makes them under his rule.”

“Corleen, I am worried about you and I think these guys have the best equipment to get you better and on your feet in no time. Just endure it for a little while and we will leave, okay?” Alli said.

Corleen sighed in defeat and sank back on her bed. She knew Alli was right and that this was her only chance to get rid of all the silver that was still circulating in her veins. She closed her eyes and placed her arm over her eyes. “Alright but I don’t want you loitering around these guys--especially Ruvin. I don’t trust him the most.”

Alli pursed her lips. She wanted to give a little hint on what Ruvin had been saying about them being mates but quickly voted against it because Corleen was not in the mood. Alli didn’t want to be mated to someone she didn’t know. When Ruvin entered somewhere where they all were, you could feel the power that he had. He was the type of man that didn’t need to look over his shoulder when he walked in dark alleys at night. He was the type of man that went out to look for trouble before trouble found him.

It was in the way he walked, his muscles taut, moving with ease to every command he gave them. It was in the way he commanded the very air around him, in the way he talked to everyone and looked at them.

Lately, she realized he was also starting to command her body, silently but evidently so. Whenever he looked at her, certain parts of her body stirred and refused to heed her commands. His eyes melted her inner core and left her stumbling over for decent and solid thoughts. She didn’t like any of it and she wanted to get away from there as soon as possible.

She needed space to think and to blotch Ruvin’s advances from her mind. Even though everyone in that house believed they were mates, Alli didn’t want to be. She wanted the freedom to choose and she knew whether he was an enchanted beast or not, he still had to play according to the rules that he was not allowed to claim her until she had her first transformation. That gave her at least a month to figure out how she was going to get away from Ruvin.

The light breathing that came from Corleen, told her that she had fallen asleep. Alli pushed Corleen’s hair from her beautiful face and got up before making her way to the monitoring room where she knew Izzy was busy on her computers.

“He said I could go! He sent the message and you saw it!” She suddenly heard Izzy yell and rolled her eyes knowing Lukas was down there with her.

“I said no! You are not going hunting tonight.” Lukas growled.

“Good luck telling the commander that,” Izzy smirked turning to her computers.

What followed had Alli clamping both her hands over her mouth to keep herself from screaming in protest.

Lukas grabbed Izzy from her chair and slammed her on one of the walls, the impact making Izzy bite back a moan of pain.

“Heavens be damned. Lukas, you fucking psycho!” She murmured, her hands holding tightly against his shoulders so that she didn’t crumble onto the floor.

“You. Are. Not. Going. Hunting.” Every word that came out of Lucas’ mouth was accompanied by a growl. He reminded her so much of Ruvin when he got upset after replaceing Tyson’s messages in her phone.

“Just why are you like this?” Izzy finally asked.

Alli’s eyes widened when she realized that Lukas was half transformed, his claws digging into Izzy’s arms and blood oozing down her skin. Her face was scrunched in pain but the look in her eyes told Alli that it wasn’t the physical pain that she was feeling but rather the emotional pain of having Lukas the way he was.

A single tear ran down Izzy’s eye. All this time, none of them had seen Alli standing there looking like a granite statue

“I--I--” Lukas stuttered, his claws retracting back into his fingers. “I don’t want you to get hurt. If--if anything ever happens to you, Izzy--” He breathed in hard trying to control his anger.

“Lukas, I am a beast. If I don’t get the freedom I am supposed to give Nala, she will drive me to do something drastic. It has been months since my first transformation and Nala has never had a decent hunt, what do you think will happen if I keep her cooped up like this?”

“I will run with you tonight. You and me only--no one else.”

“For real?” Izzy’s eyes suddenly brightened. “As in hunting and running?”

“Yes,” Lukas whispered as if he was being tormented to say the words he never wanted to utter. “But just the two of us, okay?”

“I don’t care how many we go. Do you know how excited Nala is right now?” Izzy giggled.

“I can feel her.” Lukas suddenly pressed his forehead on Izzy’s and rubbed his nose against hers. “Come and I clean you up. Don’t get me angry like that again.”

Izzy rolled her eyes. “You are always angry with me, Lukas, and I don’t know why. Wait until I tell the commander you almost killed me today.”

Alli caught the wicked grin on Lukas’ face as he circled his arm around Izzy’s shoulders pulling her close enough to whisper something into her ear.

Izzy yelped. “Lukas, you man whore! I’ll kill you!” But Lukas was already running out of the basement leaving Izzy to chase after him and Alli more confused than ever.

Just what the hell was up with those two!

“Interesting...” a voice came from behind and when Alli whirled around, her loose locks bouncing around her shoulders, Zach was standing behind her smirking with his arms crossed against his thick chest.