Lee’s Pov 

10 years ago 
 
It’s been hard enough to fight my way through life ever since I can remember. It’s what I have been doing for so long, despite being young. Today’s training with Jungkook’s father wrecked me. I think he makes it harder for me because I’m a girl. To prove a point. I can feel my body burning with exhaustion. Every muscle is begging me to put my body under hot water. I scratch the back of my neck, placing pressure on the aching pain in there, and ignore the birth mark in there. My fingers run through my locks as I put my hair in a bun. I really need a shower. Everything hurts, even my elbows. 

“No,” mother says from across the room. 

I frown. I frown as I always do, but accept the order she gives me. My hands fall to my side and I give up being comfortable. For whatever reason, during the warm months of the year, my mother does not want me to show my neck. I don’t know if it’s some sort of old minded thing, but she always scolds me when the back of my neck is showing. 

For a long time, I thought she hated the mark I carry in my skin. For a long time, I also considered she was picking on me because father wasn’t around anymore and she had to keep herself busy. She had to think about something other than his death. Especially with how brutal it was. We never expected it. It was a normal day and all of a sudden, he was gone. My mother watching my every move and pointing what she didn’t like was possibly a way to cope with her loss. If that was the case, I would gladly let her. 

“I am finishing dinner,” she says and I shake my head. “You need to eat, Lee.” 

“Not hungry, mom,” I tell her, shrugging and heading to the stairs at the back of the kitchen. “I’m going to wash up and rest after. Don’t really feel like eating.”

“You need food,” she shouts from behind me but I ignore her. 
I run up the stairs and ignore the blasting music coming from my brother’s bedroom. Jin has been staying in there for longer lately. I don’t know if working or resting. Whatever he is doing I won’t judge him, but I do miss my brother. The relationship we had. I get it. He is a big guy now. He runs Legion, picking up from where dad left it, after... after a bloodsucker murdered him. 

I swear one day I am going to end the species. 

Years ago, when dad took me in front of the council so I could start my training, I said the exact same thing. I told all of the men in the room I would kill all the monsters who dared to come close to the people I love. Most laughed, of course they did. A small child wanting to kill monsters. Not just any child, a girl at it. But throughout the years, I have proven I am capable of fighting my battles. Of course, I’m not old enough to go on a hunt, but I intend to keep the promise I made that day to both myself and my father. 

Turning the hot water on, I step into the shower. It doesn’t take me long to wash the sweat away. My entire body is sore after the training and I can feel the sweat sticking to my skin. A natural thing by now.

I am always sweaty from all the training. By the time I make out of the shower and dress myself, the second floor of the house is silent. I usually take a while after a training session. It helps not to have stiff muscles in the morning. However, as I am walking into my room, ready to call it a nigh, I stop. Mom and Jin are downstairs, and the conversation doesn’t seem to be going well. First, I make nothing of it but then I hear Jin raising his voice. I hear it and I freeze. Because the words coming out of my brother’s mouth don’t seem to make sense. 

“Mom, I can’t do what you want me to do. Lee is still a kid and-” 

“It was your father’s wish,” she warns him. The same tone she used on me not that long ago when I arrived home. Her voice is low enough so he can hear but as I tiptoe down the stairs, it becomes more clear to me as well. “Seokjin, your father warned you-” 

“I know he did. But I can’t have Lee around mom. They already told me off for letting her training carry on after dad died. They wanted to stop her. I had to intervene. Mr. Jeon had to intervene. It took both of us plus the Parks to settle down. Lee should keep her training sessions so she one day joins the Legion.” 

My mom groans and I know what it means. It means my mother is not happy with the answer she got, and she knows he is right. “They saw your father’s death as a way of taking her out of the way. They tried to use it to get rid of her. It won’t happen, Jin. You and I both know she is safer in the Legion than out.” 

I go a few steps down and stop them in the kitchen, standing side by side. Sitting, I lean closer but out of their eyesight. Mom stands by the sink, her back to me; Jin dries the dishes she hands him.  

What does he mean by stopping my training? I know women don’t usually get to be in the Legion, but I proved myself. Over and over I proved myself and then I deserve to be there. I was told from a young age I had to be in it, since I showed signs of having the same powers other hunters have. Plus I look like Jin. I don’t have the red eyes other hunters do, my eyes are silvers like my brothers, just as our hair is. As white as the moon on a dark night.

Father said all of those traits were enough to convince the Legion I had to be a part of our world and train with the younglings. And so I did. At the age of 9 I already had more knowledge and training in me than any other kid in the city. Especially since dad took it upon himself to give me extra lessons whenever he had time. 

I trained with the best. I learned a lot more than any other kid. I am the best student they had in the last century. Not my words, but my teachers. All of them say the same thing. I was born for this. 

Over the years, I have seen my mom take this all in. Her human frame is starting to show her age. She is a human, taking the perks of living with us. So she doesn’t age as much as we do, but she still does age. She has been fighting for my rights for years, and we thought it was settled. It makes no sense they don’t want me around anymore. Especially now that I know so much. I was even going to get my first blade next week and start patrol. The youngest to ever make it outside of class and into the field. But everyone says I’m ready. Even Jin said I am ready. 

“She has to be in there, Jin. How are we protecting her if someone finds out the truth?” 

Jin sighs and I can see the pent-up frustration getting him. “I know, mom. Believe me, I know. I agree with you on this.” 

“They are just scared,” she says, and I can hear the annoyance in her voice. She hands him another plate, and it’s a wonder the thing doesn’t fly around the kitchen with how fast she does it. “Who would have thought a woman could be the born leader of Legion. They don’t want her  around because they’re scared she will take over. I don’t think they know how to let a woman be responsible for things outside of the house.” 

My entire body grows cold as I listen to my mom talk. I glanced in their direction once again, but they are both still with their backs to me. What does she mean? Jin’s shoulders slump and he puts the dish away. 

“Mom, she can’t lead us.” 

“She can if she wants to. She bears the mark Nyx had.” 

I frown and try to make sense of it. Mark? What mark? My hand lifts to the back of my neck where the crescent moon stands out every time I put my hair up. The same mark mom doesn’t like me to show. The one at the back of my neck that when I was born looked like a simple dot. It grew overnight, and the moon became clear. The moon shape of a C that no one knew what to make of when they saw it. The mark is the same mark of the goddess we worship in our world. 

I know the story, but I was always told it was a coincidence. Every time my mom tells me not to show my neck, I considered it was merely because she didn’t want me parading something so rare. I mean, I should be proud to have a mark like this, but I always thought it was a coincidence. Never because it may be a part of me I wasn’t supposed to know. 

Jin’s shoulders tense. He doesn’t look at our mom when he speaks, but I can see by the way the muscles on his back shifts he has a lot to say but is stopping himself. I wonder sometimes how it is to carry the weight of all of us on his shoulders. Our safety depends solely on his guidance. “I am the Legion leader, mom. I have been since dad died, not Lee. She knows nothing about how it is like to make sure they are all safe.” 
“She could learn, and you know it. And unless she claims her rightful place. If she does, you will have to-” 

“Wait what?” I stand from the stairs and they both turn to look at me. “What rightful place?” 

Horror crosses my mother’s features as I approach the both of them as fast as my feet will take me. Jin sighs and puts the tablecloth down. He glances at my mom as if asking if she is happy now. They weren’t being quiet, but I can tell they thought I wouldn’t come down from my room tonight. It is what usually happens when I am tired enough to just lay in bed and fall asleep. Training usually has that effect on me and I did tell mom I didn’t want to eat. 

But this... this makes no sense. My mom glances at Jin, who shakes his head in reply to whatever question she didn’t voice out. When they don’t answer me, I take a step closer to them. I walk until I am standing on the other side of the kitchen island. My hands on the cold marble, I stare at my family and make my question clear this time. “What rightful place?” 

It is something they like to do. Ignore my question, so I forget I even asked it and move on. But not this time. And when my brother senses I am not letting go, he speaks. “Lee,” Jin warns. “It is best if you don’t know.” 

“Best for whom?” I snort and notice my brother’s jaw clenching. “Of course say that because you don’t want me to know since apparently you are involved in it too. And whatever it is, if it’s about me, I have the right to know. So don’t try to use your powers on me Jin. We both know they won’t work.” 

“No, you don’t have the right to know. Not when it affects your safety.” He raises his voice as if the conversation is over. “I say you don’t need to know and that’s it.” 

“You’re not my father, Jin,” I snarl. “You don’t get a say in my life.” 

“But I am your leader.” 

Mom takes a step in front of Jin, but the words are out of my mouth already. “Apparently you’re not that either.” 

The air in the kitchen stalls as my brother stares back at me with flames dancing in his eyes. Oh, I pissed him off. I pissed him beyond off this time. Usually no one defies Jin. It’s like a rule or something. I just have a stupid tendency to push his buttons. It’s funny sometimes how the others look at me when I question my brother or his orders. Especially Jimin. 

Jimin seems to want to follow my brother everywhere. He doesn’t question his decisions. He doesn’t even ask anything. Whatever Jin says, he does. Jungkook tries his best, but I think it’s because of Jin’s powers that they can’t really fight him. 

We are descendants of the moon. Stronger than werewolves. The blood and the bond runs stronger. But me... I always question my brother. It now makes sense why it bothers him so much when I do. I thought it was because he didn’t want the rest to see his authority challenged. But it’s worse. It means if I can question him, then I am also a... 

“When you were born,” mom starts walking around the island and sitting on a stool next to me. She nods for me to do the same and pats my hand. “It was one of the happiest days of my life. But when you were born, Lee, it was hard on us all. No one was expecting a girl. The city, everyone who is linked to us was shocked. No one knew what to make of it. How could a Legion member have a girl born into its hierarchy? 
Your father didn’t contest me, of course he didn’t. But others did. I was accused of cheating on him. I had to stand at Legion trial for that.” her eyes shine with tears she doesn’t shed and I close my hands into fists. 

The old men decided to trial my mother because of me?  I’m killing them. One by one, I am killing them all.  
How could they doubt her? She was a devoted wife. She was with my father every single moment of his life. This woman barely leaves the house because she doesn’t like crowded places.   

“It’s fine,” she pats my hand. “Your father threatened to cut their heads off if they ever dared to question my loyalty. The similarities between you and him were also there. You had his eyes and his hair. It was enough for him to plan on convincing the elders to let you at least let you train with the younglings when you were of age. They fought him. Oh, they fought him as much as possible. He only said you were getting your training, whether they liked it or not. But the issue came after. The big issue.

You see,” mom shifts in her seat. “As much as we were ready to trying to be ready for our first female hunter, we weren’t ready for the mark on you to become so obvious.” 

My hand goes to the back of my neck. “My mark?” 

“The same as the goddess my love,” mom sighs. “When you were born, we noticed it, but it wasn’t obvious what it was. As you grew up, so did the mark. By the time you were two, we could clearly see the moon starting to form on your skin. It became obvious to your father who you were, or what you were.” 

I glance at my brother, who watches us with a cold gaze. Of course, he is not going to say anything about this. If anything, Jin won’t ever stop mom from talking. “What am I?” 

I swallow the thick lump in my throat, but mom ignores it and keeps telling the story. “You are a direct descendent of Selene. You, my daughter, have her blood running in your veins. It was fine for us. We thought you would only be a bit more powerful than the usual hunter. The issue was when we noticed you contesting your brother. Jin wasn’t the leader back then, but still if he used his commanding voice no one would say no. But you did. And worse, you also contested your father.” 

My eyes widen in shock and mom nods. Even if I contested Jin, contesting my dad was... unheard of. Not even Jin could do it. Me contesting Jin, if what mom is saying is true, means I am an equal to him. But contesting dad means... “Mom, how?” 

“The mark. The moment you were born, you became the natural ruler of Legion, my love. So, not even your dad could stop you from taking his place if you wanted. But it also meant your powers would only grew. You can sense people around, even when they are at a safe distance. Your senses are far better than any others we know, and my love, you thrive in the night. You hunt better than any of the boys. And still when your father presented the idea, the Legion discarded it. They didn’t recognize you as a descendent from Selene. They said it was pure luck.” 

I snort and she smiles. Of course they didn’t. A woman cannot be a born leader. A woman is made to be at home and take care of her children. Whoever thought we could be better than man at something in this life. “So what does this mean?” 

I look at Jin, but he is already staring at me. “It means if you want to take my place, you have a claim for it.” 

I frown and think it through. Being the leader does sound good, but I know what issues it brings. I see my brother tired. And that is one of the reasons I don’t question my brother’s leadership. If they want him sitting on that damn chair, I will let it be. Between the struggles and issues of being in charge of the entire community, I don’t think I want that responsibility. Scratch that I know I don’t want that responsibility. The idea of having so many people depending on me... 

In theory, no woman can be a hunter therefore, I cannot be a leader either. But in theory, no woman had been born in the bloodline yet. And then I came along. “I don’t want your place, Jin.” 

“I know,” he says nodding. “But you need protection, Lee. I know you can fight your own battles, and the conversation mom and I were having was about this. You need protection. I’m assigning Jimin to be around you during the day. It’s summer and the mark will be appearing more and more since it’s harder for you to conceal it. Plus a lot of people have noticed it already... and people talk.“ 

“Whatever I have is none of their business, and Jin, I don’t need a bodyguard.” 

My brother raises a brow at me. “You really have no idea what this means, do you Lee?” He sighs when I frown. “Fine. A little intel on how things happened back then. When they found about your mark, everyone went to town with it at the Legion headquarters. Of course, people started to say you were too dangerous to be kept around. I know someone suggested for our mother to take you out of the country to ‘protect you’. Father didn’t allow it. He battled his way, speaking about how safer it would be to keep you around.”  

I bite on my tongue to stop my brother from speaking. Of course, men in this world don’t want women around. We tend to question things. Decisions we can’t understand. And keeping me around would bring issues. It would make their beliefs fall.

“And even if you don’t want to take the leadership,” he says and raises a hand to stop me from talking again. “I still need to put someone around you. You need protection, Lee. I know you are capable of fighting, but what if you get attacked by a coven?” 

“I really don’t want to have someone babysitting me,” I mumble. 

“I know,” my brother agrees. “I know you don’t, and I know you are more than capable of doing this by yourself. But it doesn’t mean we won’t worry about the outcome of your future if someone does find out about this outside of the Legion or, worse, the city.” 

His word echo in my mind as I try to make sense of it all. Outside of the city isn’t safe, we all know that. Inside the city walls, all monsters must behave, but outside... “Who knows?” 

Jin and mom share a look once again and it says more than they will admit to me. Why is it that everyone thinks they need to treat me as if I will break at any time. Jin licks his lips and starts to go around the isle to gather the dishes and put the rest away. Mom’s shoulders slump when she realizes she is the one who has to give me the news. “Everyone who has a seat at the table.” 

I make the mental math and can feel the scowl in my face getting deeper. “That is not many.” 

I eye my brother again as he turns to watch me. His gaze narrows on mom and then it seems to become clear she won’t say it. She already gave me hard news, she won’t do it again. So he cleans his hands once more, a nervous habit I picked on years ago, and speaks. “Plus their children. Everyone who has a place high enough in ranking.” 

That’s... a lot of people. The Jeon’s and the Parks. Plus a lot of the older families. If they have a... my stomach sinks as I realize what my brother said. “Jimin knows?” I ask and Jin dips his chin. “So let me get this straight. A bunch of people know this big secret about me, and yet I was left out of it?” 

My brother rolls his eyes at me. “I did this, we did this for your own sake Lee.” 

“No,” I laugh but its cold. Disproved of any emotion other than anger. I laugh but it doesn’t reach my eyes. It has nothing on the laughter people are used to. The one I know makes them look at me. “No. You don’t get to pull that shit. I am not a kid anymore, Jin. I can fight my own battles.” 

“I know. I told you I know. But you don’t know how big this battle can be.” 

“Neither do you,” I say, standing and feel my body tingling with the same expectation it does every practice. Magic flowing through me, begging to be released. “And the issue isn’t the battle itself. It’s the fact you, all of you,” I say, gesturing in the air. “Kept this hidden? You kept this hidden from me and yet my friends knew?” 

“Jungkook doesn’t know,” Jin says, pinching the bridge of his nose. I can see whatever patience he is holding on to slipping off. “Jimin knows because of his father. I haven’t been exactly telling people Lee. It’s a must know thing. I can’t stop the families from letting their own know.” 

“But you didn’t tell Jungkook because you knew he would tell me.” It’s not a question and yet my brother dips his chin in my direction. He probably warned Mr. Jeon not to tell Jungkook as well. My best friend would not have kept quiet if he knew. “Doesn’t make it any better if you are not telling some but force others not to let me know. I was around the entire city working my ass off and they knew. They knew this about me?” 

“Lee...” 

“No,” I cut my brother off. “No Jin. You can’t keep making my life decisions for myself. I won’t be quiet about it any longer.” 

My brother takes a step closer to me. He wipes his hands yet again and I consider how much this is taking on him. But then again, he didn’t consider how it would make me feel to be hidden from everyone. He wouldn’t even tell me if I didn’t just heard their conversation. Maybe mom did it on purpose. Maybe she was talking so I could hear. Because sure as hell, if it was up to Jin, I wouldn’t be a part of whatever is going on. 

He isn’t that different from the old people who try to keep me out of the decisions.  “What are you saying?” My brother asks but it kind of sounds like a warning. It sounds like a parent scolding their child. 

“I am saying I need to know more about things. Especially things in my life. I don’t want to be the leader, but I would like to be kept as a part of the decisions.” 

“You want a sit at the table?” He asks and I nod. “You are still young, Lee.” 

“I can apply for the trials this year. I know I am too young for it but I am ready.” My brother opens his mouth to speak but I push through it. “I am not asking for much Jin. Just a place in the life I was born into.” 

🖤🖤🖤