"How do you know us? How is my mate a lookalike of your mate? If Ilios is your brother, why were you like a rock?" I shout at her, demanding answers.

All others in the room flich at my loud voice and I take in deep breaths trying to control my anger.

"I see. Many questions, however, it will take a long time to answer. I would rather show you."

She snaps her fingers and all the wines and everything in the room becomes neater. The vines grow smaller and smaller until all I can see the mud floor and wooden walls of the hut. Fire starts under the pot and the glasses fly in the Air before going to sit on a shelf which was earlier hidden by the vines.

My vision turns yellow as I see the past happening. I can see other but they are just outlines against the yellow room. If it weren't for Aiden holding my hand I would be sure I was hallucinating.

I hear voices and turn to see. A man who is eerily similar to Aiden comes, his arm clutched by a more lively looking version of Selene.

Behind them is a younger version of Ilios, but there is a dark look on his face as another woman, a witch by the smell of her, enters the room.

"It is a surprise, my dear Wolfe." a younger healthier looking selene says.

Wolfe. The middle name of Aiden is Wolfe. I turn to look at Aiden in surprise and his outline just shrugs in response.

"But using Dark Aura is risky, Selene." Wolfe says, doubtful.

She pats his arms, comforting him. "Ilios has persuaded me. He says it will be fine as long as we don't have any ill intent. You just want to turn into a wolf so that you can understand them better. No worries."

The man, Wolfe, just sighs at her and says fine. Drawing nearer, I perceive a distinctly fae odor about them. Ilios, Wolfe and Selene are all fae.

The witch comes near the pot and looks at the sky as if she is waiting for something to happen. After a few moments, the moon rises and it is not its usual white. It is tinged red. It is another blood moon.

As the witch begins her incantation, the room fills with a red glow. She stops chanting and waves three glasses of silver from the shelf. They fly before they go into the pot and lift into the air, now filled with the concoction that was brewing.

They again raise like corks in the air before they split in three different directions and come to a stop before Selene, Wolfe, and Ilios.

"I thought only Wolfe will have to drink this," Ilios asks the witch, sounding really confused, but a dark glint shines in his eyes.

The witch says, "No, you have to be a witness else the Dark Aura will consume. It's the price to be paid to shift forms."

All of them look at each other before drinking from the glass. My subconscious mind somehow notes that the silver doesn't burn their fingers, but the forefront of my mind brings me back to the present as I hear the witch laughing like a maniac.

Selene and Wolfe look at her strangely, but then her laughter dies as blood pours out of her mouth and she clutches her hands to her chest, her heart. Then she wails in pain as Ilios jumps in to hold her, but he stops mid-stride and falls to the ground.

I see his eyes changing with spots clouding them, like those of a typical vampire, before he pounces on her, his fangs sinking into her neck and sucking blood.

She tries to fight him, but he holds her down. Soon, he is finished with her and stands, wiping his mouth, and looks at Selene and Wolfe. He sniffs the air and snarls and pounces onto Wolfe, but something happens to Wolfe as he convulses.

He lets out a howl at the moon and I see vines sprouting from the walls of the cave that hold her in and fix her in place with a wall. She struggles and some type of mud creeps on to her and solidifies over her, forming a shell on her body.

Meanwhile, Wolfe finishes shifting. He is now a wolf and Ilios and the wolf attack each other as they snap at claw each other.

And just like that, they disappear from our vision and Selene, of the present, stares at us from her earlier position. The yellowish tint retards and my vision is back to normal. Basically, it means that the curse backfired. Selene speaks up.

"Ilios backstabbed me. He knew that my mate Wolfe would never be able to use his Fae powers again. I wanted to surprise my mate, the love of my life, by bringing him closer to his source of his power. My mate had deep bonds with the wolves. He was a toon zoon. I thought I was helping him, but the witch betrayed Ilios. You saw how her magic backfired. It took her life. Ilios lost his source of power, too. He was a Ouranous like me, only my bond was with the moon while my brothers were with the sun. His ill intent caused fate to punish him. He could not even get out and feel the sun while I was bound to the wall, unable to help my mate"

"But how are you able to come out?" Delingr asks. Phoebe tries to calm him down, her hands rubbing his back in a soothing gesture. Delingr shudders and keeps gulping something in the throat.

Selene smiles at him tenderly, "I see Ilios has not yet realised the err of his ways. I am sorry for your loss, but his end is near. Coming to your question. I was a victim, and hence I pleaded with fate. Fate saw the truth in my pleas and gave me two wishes. But with a price I had to pay. After all, I willingly agreed to use the dark magic which is frowned upon. I gave up my powers, my body. My astral body was always bound to the moon, but I could come down to the earth once every blue and blood moon."

"What was your wish?" I ask. I feel Aiden squeeze my hand. I think he wanted to ask the same question.

"To give my mate another chance at both life and love. I asked Fate to let him forget about me and his past life and then he proceeded to meet his second chance mate who is your great grandmother, Aiden and Adrian." Selene says, addressing them.

Aiden just stares her down but Adrian narrows his eyes at her, his jaws clenched. Giasemi looks at her, her lips pursed in distaste. I don't think she approves of Selene's actions. Well, neither do I.

"How do you know my mother?" I demand answers.

She sighs and says, "I came to the earth on one blue moon and saw that your mother was critical. Her life was at stake. She was critical, and I donated her my blood."

"You were the anonymous donor my brother mentioned?" My uncle asks, pointing a finger at her. Lindsey rubs his back, calming him down. He has tears in his eyes as he looks at Selene.

Selene nods and continues, "Only she was carrying you. Fate then chose to fulfill my second wish."

"What wish?" Phoebe asks, curiousity burning in her eyes. Delingr still seems to be controlling himself.

"My wish to get vengeance upon Ilios. My blood defeated the curse of dark magic flowing through your veins and bestowed my fae powers onto you. Now you carry the power of both." Selene explains.

Selene then turns towards Aiden and says, "You have to defeat Ilios. Kill him tonight else he will drink the blood of Aurelia and kill her to overcome his curse."

"But if she has both powers. Isn't she killing him?" Aiden asks, his brows scrunched and lips in a thin line.

Selene shakes her head and says, "No. You have to do it together. Today."

"Well. We were trying to find him and thought we could find a lead here. But so far we managed to only find his history, not his present. Do you know where he is?" Aiden asks Selene.

"Yes. But I can't tell you. My involvement with dark magic and dark auras has already angered fate. I want to avoid provoking it further. Forgiveness is something I'm striving for." Selene answers.

"Great." Aiden grunts frustrated, running his hands through his hair.

"But," Selene continues, "I can tell you what he wants"

"Other than killing me and drinking my blood?" I scoff at her.

Her eyes flash with anger for a second before she takes a deep breath.

"Careful Child. I am not your enemy. But I don't take well to disrespect. I am stripped of my Fae powers, but I still am what werewolves call to. Your entire being desires my presence. My mate's desire for me is entwined with the curse that you carry in your veins. All your powers won't work against me," Selene snarls, and my brows meet my hairline in surprise at her words.

"She can't, but I can," Giasemi says, narrowing her eyes at Selene.

"You can't harm a being whose entire astral body is a projection. I am but a mere illusion. Yes, my body is tangible, but I can't harm others and neither can others harm me. The curse in the veins of your friend obeys me." Selene says, annoying us more.

Adrian asks, "How can you help us?"

Selene smiles at Adrian and waves her hand in the air. A whooshing sound echoes in the room and suddenly we are transported back to the palace.

We are in Aiden's study and Henry, who was sitting in Aiden's chair, falls off his seat in shock. He looks embarrassed as he stands and brushes his hair in an attempt to compose himself.

"King." He says bowing at Aiden, then turns towards me and bows at me before coming over from the back of the table and standing in front of us.

"I was just about to mind link you. You came at the right moment," Henry says, and only then do I notice that his palm is fisted and his jaw clenches.

"What's the matter?" Aiden asks.

"We have identified suspicious activity on the outskirts of the village. Vampires are closing in on us, and Aaron recognized one of them to be from Blood Mafia. I just got the information from one of our assigned spies." Henry manages to says through his clenched teeth.

Aiden growls in response, and his growl is echoed by Adrian. "What are you waiting for? Gather the men. We need to stop the Blood Mafia from taking over."

Aiden then turns towards Selene and says, "That's why you brought us here. You knew of what's coming."

Selene shrugs one shoulder and then sits on one sofa and says, "Hurry then. You have a lot of work to do" 

Word Count: 1836

Phewww!! I didn't think I would be able to update but I managed.