CHAPTER NINE (NEW MOON)
Chapter Nine: A Fun Person
“Mallory…”
Mallory raised her head only to see Oddny looking at her with teary eyes.
Frowning, Mallory set her fishing rod aside and held her hands. She asked, her voice full of concern. “Oddny? What’s wrong?”
Oddny bit her lips, hesitation was clear from her subtle actions. Mallory caught her throwing anxious glances toward the others who were with them by the river.
It’s their first week traveling with the Exploration Unit which saved them from the pursuit of their mortal enemy; the vampires. During this week, Mallory had already adjusted to the atmosphere within the group. She thought Oddny did too, but she didn’t. Not even the slightest.
As the oldest of them, she did everything to make Oddny comfortable. She hunted, foraged, and fished for their own food and lit the fire to keep themselves warm. It was a bit hard at first, making her realize her mother’s dedication to her whenever the same thing happened again, but eventually, Mallory managed to make everything run smoothly.
Mallory knew where that hesitation and uncomfortable feeling Oddny was feeling rooted. They have been with the Unit for a week and a half, so they didn’t hide their unwillingness to mingle with the two. And being females, they had experienced nasty glances and remarks from older men.
Mallory endured, but Oddny’s heart and mind can’t bear it.
She looked at the younger one’s face. Unlike her usual bubbly personality, her face was shrouded by gloom. Her face was pale like paper, and her lips were chapped as if they were deprived of water. Under her eyes were black bags, too heavy that one might think she hadn’t had her sleep for a very long time.
“Let’s go there,” Mallory softly guided her towards an inconspicuous area by the river. They were far away from the fishing werewolves, but Mallory knew that they could still hear them even with the distance. She just hopes that the gushing sound of the river will mask some of their conversations.
Once they were alone, she asked again. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to serve the son of their alpha,” she sniffed.
That was the time she noticed the after-bath garments for men in Oddny’s hand. Mallory’s eyes shrank considerably.
Oddny’s hand trembled, and she shakily said, “Mallory, I’m scared…”
There was silence after that.
Mallory’s thought turned into a complete disaster before calming down. She took a deep breath and placed her hands on the garment.
Oddny looked at her in confusion before her eyes lit up from understanding. She bit her lips before shoving them towards her. Then she softly whispered. “I’ll fish for us”
Mallory bit her lips and nodded. “Thanks…”
She walked past her, but before she escaped the earshot, she heard Oddny say, “Sorry…”
-
Mallory went to find the son of the alpha before realizing that ever since she entered this unit, she had not felt any presence of an alpha. The person who greeted them was a beta, and the other older ones were already omegas. It was a small-scale Exploration Unit, but to think that the son of the alpha was there.
Mallory thought for a moment before coming to three conclusions. He was either the beta leader, one of the omegas, or he had yet to acquire his Status.
No one would really know their Status until the Blessing Ritual, one that happens in the Coming-of-Age Ceremony. The statuses are separated into three categories; alpha, beta, and omega. Alphas are the most likely wolves to be given by the goddess a considerable portion of her strength to defend against the vampires, the beta is the second while the omega almost got nothing from the goddess. They were considered ‘normal’ wolves and were the wolves that dominated the number of the pack. Aside from hoping to get an offensive type Blessing from the goddess, the omegas are merely humans that can shapeshift and have enhanced hearing, eyesight, and strength. Of course, also has twice or thrice longer lifespan than the human race.
An alpha, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of them. They were very few and in a hundred betas and omegas, you can only find two or three. Most Alphas came from a descendant of an Alpha. It was rare to be an Alpha child of a beta or omega.
Most know about the three.
But there is one status that is not talked enough.
Luna.
Every Alpha’s fated mate is called Lunas. And all Lunas can be the embodiment of the goddess. They can possess a huge portion of the goddess’s power. They are considered stronger than the Alphas. Legends had it that most of their abilities were used to defend against vampires.
For what ability is that—no one knows.
The last known Luna existed a thousand years ago, and nothing like that has been reported ever since. A fated mate is rare, even in lower Statuses. A Luna, without a doubt, is even rarer. Fated mate and the existence of Luna were both considered impossible by everyone existing.
As Mallory was summarizing that in her head, a figure towered over her. With the absence of her mind, she didn’t notice it in time, and when she did, it was already too late. She bumped head-first into the person.
Mallory immediately stepped back and bowed her head in apologies. “Sorr—”
“Mallory?”
“… Leofric?” She was shocked to see him. They had not crossed paths since that day. It had been a week. Mallory had seen him from afar, but she wasn’t able to speak to him because there were always other people around him. They were like butterflies surrounding a fragrant flower.
Mallory just watches from the distance, not really feeling the need to come up to him and get his attention. Not that they have anything to speak about.
“Call me Leo.” Leofric laughed and looked at her eyes curiously. “What are you doing here? And where is that sister of yours?”
“Uh,” she looked past his shoulders and saw that there were others waiting for Leofr—Leo, with impatient eyes. “I’m here to serve the son of the Alpha…”
Her voice trailed off, greatly ashamed that she didn’t even know the name of the son.
“Serve him?” Leo’s brows went up. “Who gave you the order?”
Why is he asking me that…? Despite her confusion, she answered truthfully. “It wasn’t mine in the first place. I just replaced Oddny because she doesn’t want to— “
She abruptly stopped her speech, realizing how she almost sullied Oddny’s name in front of other people. What’s more, it’s the man who seemingly has a deep connection with everyone in the group.
“She doesn’t want to?” Leo frowned. Mallory just pursed her lips. Leo looked at her for a long time before asking, “So, did you take it even if you also don’t want to do it?”
Mallory instinctively closed her mouth, but she couldn’t stop her eyes from wandering toward the burly men who were watching from the side. Watching? No. They were staring.
Mallory was in the river to fish and wash their clothes. It can’t help that she’s a bit wet, and the wet clothes she had on were hugging her body. Upon realizing the sources of their stares, she shifted uncomfortably and almost curled into a ball.
Mallory saw a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes. With a frown, he looked at the men and glared. The men immediately dispersed. She looked at him in amazement while he said sorry in a frustrated manner. “Sorry, I didn’t know they were like that in front of you. I—I’ll let the leader know about it.”
She quickly shook her head. “No need! I don’t want to bother you with such a thing.”
“This is hardly called a bother!” Leofric laughed, but there was a hint of annoyance in his voice. For where it was directed, she had no way to know. When he recovered, he said sternly. “The son of the Alpha is not like them. Don’t worry.”
Mallory just tactically closed her mouth until he asked again. “By the way, what kind of service is it?”
She showed him the garments, and it took a minute before Leo reacted.
“What on—” She doesn’t know if her ears are playing with her, but she seems to hear him curse. Her brain hadn’t processed anything yet when he took the garments away from her. “Tha–that probably is a wrong order! I—he won’t ask for a service for this!”
Mallory looked at him in confusion. “How did you know…?”
“Anyway, he probably won’t need your service now.” He held her shoulder and gently pushed her away. “Now, go back to whatever you’re doing. I’ll handle things from here.”
“But—”
He clicked his tongue before landing a hand on her head to ruffle her already disheveled hair. He grinned at her and said, “Sorry for making you feel like it’s unsafe to tell me something like this. It won’t happen again. I’ll make sure you won’t have any discomfort throughout the journey until we reach our pack.”
Everything happened so fast that when he left, she just stood there, watching at his back.
When she went back to the river, she told the confused Oddny about what happened. She, too, was puzzled by the sudden development before sighing in relief.
When things settled down, Mallory finally understood what happened and she couldn’t help but silently thank the man in her heart, also wondering if they would talk again in the future.
‘He seems fun to talk to.’
CHAPTER TEN (NEW MOON) Chapter 10: Facing the Truth and Awakening itContrary to her expectations, she couldn’t find the right opportunity to talk with the man. As usual, he was surrounded by others, making it hard for outsiders to enter the circle. She didn’t push it, afraid that she’ll annoy the only person who was kind to them.Although she was a bit dejected with the situation, she was still happy that he kept his word.There was truly no one who bothered them during the trip. The nasty glances they received were already close to none when they entered the last week of their trip back home. This lifted their heavy nerves, and even Oddny started to smile a bit more again.Because of their slowly opening atmosphere, a certain someone started bringing herself inside their comfort zone.“Mallory, Oddny!”The two darted their eyes toward an incoming figure. She was shorter than Mallory by two inches, her hair is colored like the soil, and her skin was tan. She had an amicable smile on
CHAPTER ELEVEN (NEW MOON)Chapter Eleven: ActivationFirst thing’s first—how?Mallory went closer to the clear river, the moon lighting the place up for her to see her face clearly. She looked at her own reflection closely, but no matter how much staring she did, she couldn’t see any changes. She can’t see the patterns she saw in her memories.Mallory sat by the edge of the river; her mind spun to figure out how.Should I… A minute later, an idea surfaced in her head. She looked up, at the glowing moon. Should I try and talk to the Goddess?Mallory had done prayers of thanks to the Goddess. She had done things that others had too to communicate with the Goddess. Rituals, prayers, and meditating somewhere nice and quiet. However, none of these acts warranted a response from their Goddess.Mallory thought hard
CHAPTER TWELVE (NEW MOON) Chapter Twelve: A Step Closer Mallory woke up with a start. As soon as her eyes opened, the first thing she saw was the leather-colored ceiling. It took her a while to realize it was a tent. Mallory's eyes wandered around, confused. After looking here and there, she realized that it was hers and Oddny’s tent. A question suddenly popped up in her head. ‘How did I get here? I don’t remember walking back to the camp…’ When that question passed through her brain, memories from yesterday night entered her brain without warning. Mallory froze after remembering what happened yesterday. Her eyes widened and she sat up, ‘She saw me! Oddny saw me—’ Her vision blurred with how sudden her movements were, but that didn’t stop her from standing up and walking out of the tent. She ignored the dizziness and the slight pain in her legs. She looked around anxiously, trying to find her shadow. She looked around like a spinning top when suddenly someone patted her on her
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (NEW MOON) Chapter Thirteen: The Gates As the sun dips below the horizon, a town next to a mountain range emerges from a fog. Oil lamps and candles lit up one by one, illuminating the small place. As the darkness truly enveloped the land, the town came to life. A door of a rather simple house creaked open, and a man with red eyes stepped out. One after another, more came out from their houses. Their faces were pale as snow, their eyes red as blood, and the most noticeable feature of them all; their fangs. Long, sharp fangs. Havenbrook town. A small town of vampires. As they can’t be under the light of the sun, vampires only come out at night. And as the moon shone, it was the beginning of their day. Vampires moved about, talking to one another or taking a walk near the fountain in the square. Little noise could be heard, and the town excluded a tranquil atmosphere. Half an hour later, one of the residents of the town looked outside, and with his hawk-like eyesig
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (WAXING CRESCENT) ARC THREE: Gale Pack—New Home Chapter Fourteen: Welcome to their New Home Mallory was surrounded by the darkness. The grasses and the hand on her back were her constant assurance that she hadn’t fallen into a pit of darkness with no way out. With one of her senses blocked, she became conscious of every noise that her ears picked up. She heard the dry leaves breaking under her feet, the murmurs of the crowd, and the whistling of the wind. She doesn’t know how much time has passed, she doesn’t know how much they stopped, turned, and walked again. Minutes later, she felt the hand on her back disappear. Alarmed, she almost voiced out his name, but seconds later, she felt her blindfold tugging. The next moment, Mallory almost went blind from the brightness of the sun. She covered her eyes with one hand, and after a while, opened them slowly. “Welcome to Gale Pack,” said the voice she recognized as the one who was leading the unit. She can hear him
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (WAXING CRESCENT) Chapter 15: New House Trevon brought them around the pack and introduced the important parts and on which building they should go or specific reasons. As they go around looking at things, the two can’t help but marvel. It was truly bigger than their pack. It was bigger than Mallory had ever seen. Everything looks and feels so organized, and Trevon did a good job explaining everything to them. Mallory can’t help but think that she’ll adjust better than she had ever done. ‘Though I really have no other choice but to get on my feet fast,’ she said to herself ruefully. Mallory thought of the future ahead and felt her shoulders droop for a bit. She immediately fixed her mood and realized that they were already crossing the bridge she had seen earlier. It was a short bridge, and they crossed it in a matter of seconds. What awaits them on the other side of the bridge is another row of houses, but Mallory noticed that they were a lot more clustered and
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (WAXING CRESCENT) Chapter Sixteen: First Day Mallory lay on the bed, looking at the blank ceiling. The oil lamp hanging next to the window burned silently, flickering when the wind blew. She can hear the distant noises outside, constantly reminding her that she is in a place where people can freely move. A place where they don’t need to be sleeping with half of their body awake. She felt her body relaxed. As soon as she relaxed, Mallory realized how tense she was. She had never released all the tension she accumulated from the travel and the lurking danger in the forest even after entering the huge walls of this pack. She felt like everything was moving so fast, and with this rest as a buffer for the next steps she needed to do, Mallory finally gained the time to think. Without any warning, a blue-haired Damian and Melita’s smiling faces entered her mind. Sadness immediately overwhelmed her. Mallory shifted to her side, facing the wall. Aside from that night, Ma
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (WAXING CRESCENT) Chapter Seventeen: Job Application In this pack, you can get contributions by completing tasks or missions that are handed out in the General Application House at the Town Hall. There are a lot of different things to do, and Trevon introduced them to some. One is helping to mow the field or to help plant vegetables and grains on the field. Two are attending to the animals, feeding them on a daily basis, milking the cows, and many more. There are also tasks or missions that need to be done outside the pack. Such as foraging fruits and spices because there is not enough especially since the village is growing bigger. Or finding minerals and ores for the forgers to create weapons or tools. Very rarely, there will be a mission just like Hazen’s unit did. A mission that needs to be done outside the safe zone, or venturing in the outside world to gather information. It’s risky, so sometimes, they need to train others first before deploying a team. Ma