His Blue Moon Princess
Chapter 29

It's a bit disturbing, actually. I can smell Tonia and Damian, of course, but aside from Nathaniel's smell, which obviously dominates, I'm sure I recognize that she-wolf smell... Doesn't that mean she comes in here often? But if she's close to Nathaniel, why would she hide from him that she actually intervened yesterday night and saved me...? I don't really get what could be between those two.

Moreover, her relationship with Nathaniel aside, I still have to understand how she got to mind-link with me. That was my first time experiencing it for real, and it felt so natural, so clear. I wish I could hear her voice again. She said she would replace me. How? She sounded confident, but I'm guarded non-stop by either Damian and his brothers or Tonia and Bobo. Is she okay contacting me with them around? Will she?

While I'm lost in my thoughts, the car finally stops in front of a large, modern-looking company building. Looks like we've arrived. For some reason, I was expecting something more secluded, like a warehouse or a cabin.

Damian opens the door for me and takes my hand to guide me in the building. There's even a middle-aged doorman, and he politely inclines when the brothers walk in. He's not a werewolf though, is he? The building looks pretty normal, against all my expectations. Once we come in, there is even a lobby, and two ladies welcome us from behind the reception desk. Gosh, this is a bit intimidating... Isn't this an office building? I'm glad I dressed properly. I'm wearing a white sweater and a pair of dark jeans, but I wish I had put heels on instead of my sneakers... Well, Tonia is wearing a jean overall and her usual sports b*a, so I guess it's okay.

There are a lot of office workers despite the early hour, but nobody really pays attention to us. Damian leads me to an elevator and some people that were about to enter actually step aside as soon as they see him, to let us through. Why does everybody turn so silent as soon as they notice Damian? It's like he's some royalty; a lot of people turn around or politely salute him wherever we go. Even as the elevator stops at several floors before ours, some office workers that were obviously waiting for it don't dare to enter and ignore it as soon as they see the brothers. It's a bit embarrassing. But Nathaniel and Tonia don't say a thing, and Damian still hasn't let go of my hand, caressing it with his thumb.

"Is this your office building?" I ask.

"One of them," answers Nathaniel. "Damian works at the headquarters, but here is just a secondary office. We have a dozen like this across the city."

I don't really grasp the difference between the two, but I have my answer. I should really start learning more about the Black Brothers' businesses. I hate feeling so clueless like this. When we reach the eighteenth floor, which seems almost empty, Nathaniel guides us through several corridors, until we finally enter a large meeting room.

As soon as I enter, I gasp. It's reeking of blood here! I cover up my mouth, feeling immediately disgusted by the smell. But I have more things to be concerned about.

The room is actually empty, except for chairs. There are three people already present. A large and tall guy, with tanned skin like Tonia, is leaning against a wall with a nonchalant look, playing with a knife. His hair is completely shaved, he has a ring piercing on his eyebrow, and with his black costume, he looks like the protagonist of some spy action movie. He salutes Damian as soon as we enter the room. "Hello, Boss."

Is that Neal? Probably, he looks a lot like Tonia and older. Plus, Bobo is there, too, in his wolf form as always, sitting in a corner of the room. He sees us come in but doesn't move. Neal walks up to us and very politely salutes Damian, but I don't care. All I can see is Alec, sat up in a chair in the middle of the room, looking like he just came back from hell.

That's not exaggerating. He has a lot of blood on his face and his clothes. As I thought back at the mall, he's definitely a lot thinner than before. His upper lip and one of his eyebrows have large cuts that are still open and bleeding, and he has a black eye. His shirt is ripped open, and his chest shows contusions and large lacerations. He's a total wreck. They even actually put a large plastic cover under his chair so all the blood wouldn't stain the floor!

"You promised not to hurt him!" I yell, furious.

I want to run to Alec, check him, but Damian holds me firmly. I glare at him, but he won't let my hand go.

"Oh, he didn't," says Nathaniel.

I stop and turn to face him. The second brother is smiling at me with a look I don't like at all. He walks up in front, and he and Neal both raise hands.

"We did, princess. You can be mad at us, but we didn't promise anything."

Who are they kidding?! They just took advantage of my own words! I glare at both of them, furious, but they obviously don't care. Neal has a blank expression and Nathaniel keeps his annoying smile. They act like this is some funny joke, but I'm miles from being amused right now!

"Stop laughing! I didn't want you to hurt him!"

Neal rolls his eyes. "Oh, please. We were already nice, considering what he did to you and how much he struggled. If it wasn't for you, this would be settled already."

I know what he means by "settled", but I'm not scared by them. I'm too mad right now. They are telling me they didn't kill Alec for my sake? How is that supposed to be a proper explanation?! But before I can say a thing, a laugh starts from behind them.

All eyes turn to Alec. My brother is laughing like a mad man while looking at me. "There she is... My precious little sister! What now, huh, Nora? You want to finish the job and kill me? You must have wished for this all these years..."

Is that really my brother?

I look at him, disgusted. He has that crazy look in his eyes, in the way he stares at me that makes me really uncomfortable. But I can't step back now. I'm done being intimidated by him or his words. "Enough with this, Alec. I never wanted you dead."

He scoffs and suddenly stops laughing. "Too bad. Because I want you dead."

Damian immediately starts growling loudly while heading towards him, looking furious. I try to hold him, but it's actually Neal that comes and stands between Alec and him. They struggle a few seconds, but with me and Neal holding him back, he eases up a little. Tonia is growling, too, less loudly, and Nathaniel is just staring at Alec like he's observing some science experiment subject. Bobo stood up, too, and starts walking in circles around Alec. I know he's ready to attack and kill him at any moment, though he doesn't look agitated at all.

With nobody actually stopping him, Alec keeps talking.

"Mom should have just killed you in the first place. Too bad she missed!"

"Stop talking like this!"

"Why? You don't like it? But it's the truth, isn't it?"

"No. Mom was sick, she..."

"YOU MADE HER SICK IN THE FIRST PLACE!" He suddenly yells.

I don't get it! What do I have to do with our mother's sickness and our parents' death? Why is it always about me for Alec? How is it my fault? I was seven! I remember way too vividly what happened, and I had nothing to do with it!

I remember it all too well.

It was the end of November, ten years ago.

I had noticed that my mother had started acting strangely for months already. From when I was young, she had always been a very calm and discreet woman. I don't think we had many visitors, so her whole life revolved around her father and us. She took care of the house, watched us, and never worked. Dad was the one always away for work, for days sometimes. I suppose that had to do with the pack, though I don't really remember it.

Our mother never seemed unhappy, but she was clearly the happiest whenever Dad was home. I don't think that she didn't like us, but somehow, she was never a very loving and caring mother. It seemed more like a job, a mission she had been assigned on since we were born. Alec was the one always looking for a mother's warmth, while I was okay with her passive attitude. She never really scolded us or got angry with us. Although she kept asking dad to have more children with him, I always wondered why, since she didn't really seem cut for motherhood. Maybe it was just her way of having his attention. All she wanted was for our dad to be with her, look at her. When he was, it was like her whole world illuminated. The whole house was much happier then.

She was a pretty woman, with her long brown hair and dark eyes, but she was like a lifeless doll unless our dad was here. She would always make herself very pretty and tell us to behave when he was to come back to our house. They were the best days for everyone, as dad was home and mom was nice and happy.

As time passed, it somehow got worse.

She kept ignoring Alec and me, and always looked for my dad. Mother paid less and less attention to us, while she always wondered how to look prettier for him. It got to a point where she couldn't stand him being away. Sometimes, when he was away for work, she just sat and blankly looked outside the window for hours, not hearing a thing around her. She could get confused about what time it was, or the date of the day. She asked where our father was a hundred times a day, and only talked about him. As kids, it was complicated to live like that, but Alec and I somehow got used to it. We just looked after her and talked to her when we felt she needed it. I thought it was fine that way, but I was just a child then. I had no idea how bad it could go.

On that day, it snowed for the first time of the year, so I got home all happy.

I loved the snow back then because snow kept dad home.

I don't remember where I was earlier. I think I was with a friend... I can't really remember. I just remember how I played in the snow on the way home, jumping around and leaving my little boot footprints on the white coating of powder

But as I walked closer to our house, I started hearing terrible screams. I recognized my mother's voice right away and started running to our house. I had no idea what was going on; I was just worried about my mother. I pushed our front door and followed where the screams came from, completely panicked. When I entered the room, my parents were there, loudly fighting and struggling. Mom, her hair all over the place, had a large kitchen knife in her hands and kept trying to stab my father with it. Dad was holding her wrists, yelling at her to calm down. Alec was there too, crying, trying to hold her back and begging her to stop. It was the most terrifying thing ever. I had no idea what was going on. Dad was yelling. Mom was screaming, tears running down her face. She looked crazy and... desperate.

I wanted to run away. But I was so scared something bad would happen to my dad, I went toward the scene instead. I didn't even make it all the way. A slashing sound and blood covered my favorite white coat. I saw my father's chest cut open, and his eyes wide open in surprise. His knees gave away, and he fell on his side, right next to me. I remember how my eyes slowly turned down to him. His were looking straight at me.

He muttered my name very slowly like he just realized I was standing there. For a second, the scene froze. My mother's yelling stopped, and she looked at me, in shock. I thought it would stop, that she would realize what she had done. The next second, a silver flash, and the left side of my face suddenly started hurting like hell. My vision went completely red. I saw my mother branding the knife one more time, and the thought that I was going to die struck me. But a dark silhouette suddenly came over me, and I was pinned to the ground as my head hit hard against the floor. I cried from the pain, but the fear was even worse.

Because the thing covering me was moving, I couldn't see a thing and I heard my dad's breathing next to my ear. Mom's screams started again, and more slashings sounds came as the body over me blenched over and over again.

I was so scared. The side of my face hurt, and I could hear terrifying sounds, yet I was blind. My mother kept screaming, and Alec kept crying loudly. It seemed to last for hours.

I heard my father's breathing stop right before I fainted.