Moonlit Waltz

Chapter 8 - Ria's Secret

Ria only wished she could get out of here now. Merely being that man’s neighbor was bound to be a recipe for disaster.

Seeing how shocked Ria was, Angelina continued, "Don't worry, Ria. Even a wolf king has to obey the rules and regulations of the college."

Ria was confused. "Then why have there been so many victims?"

"That's because he's been threatening them, of course! Nobody would dare report him to the college. The victims are all afraid that their clans and families would be targeted by August's wrath if they ever dare come forward with his misdeeds. That bastard… Scum like him belongs in hell." Angelina finished her coffee in one angry gulp and slammed her cup on the table. "He tried harassing me too last year, but it didn't work out for him. Nicholas fought with him and both sides were badly injured. Still, he never harassed me again after that. Don't worry, you're my brother's luna. He won't dare lay a finger on you."

He would! Ria thought to herself. Angelina had no idea that she was also August's fated luna… He would definitely use any means possible to get his hands on her. A fight would only be the start of it. Ria knew that as a fact because that was exactly how it was before her rebirth!

"Come on, I'll show you around the town," Angelina suggested.

"I… uh… I'm not feeling so good. I was thinking of sleeping in today." Ria did not dare to take the risk. A wolf's nose was extremely keen, especially to the scent of one's mate. For an alpha, the scent of their fated mate was like headlights in the dark.

"Should I call a doctor?"

"No need, I just need some rest, that's all."

For the rest of the day, Ria holed herself in her room, spending the day in worry. She had no idea what to do, and there was nobody who could help her.

"Ahhh, Sherry! Please please make a decision for me, will you? I can't even think anymore…" Ria groaned to Sherry, unable to make up her mind on how she was going to get through this dilemma.

"I don't think running is going to solve anything… Maybe you should just tell Nicholas the truth. After all, he's the only person you know who's strong enough to help you, isn't he?" Sherry suggested. Sherry's personality was the complete opposite of Ria's. Ria was rash, indecisive, and easily swayed by her emotions, whereas Sherry was rational, calm, and steadfast.

"I'm just worried that it’d complicate things… Anyway, would Nicholas even believe me if I told him such a ridiculous story? Even I find it hard to believe…" Ria was not so sure about that decision.

"Well, if you can't think of any other ideas, why don't you try that first? After all, Nicholas is the alpha that the Moon Goddess bestowed upon you, whether it be in the past or now, and he's never done anything to harm you. Can you really think of anyone more reliable than him?"

"You're right… I'll give him a call right now!" After pondering her options for a moment, Ria made up her mind and took out the new phone that Nicholas got her so she could give him a ring.

"Hello, my luna. Miss me already? Have you been able to adapt to life in Werewolf town?" Nicholas's voice was as warm as before. Just hearing him speak calmed Ria's anxious heart down.

"Nicholas! I think I'm in trouble…"

"What trouble? Who's giving you trouble?! Damn it, why didn't Angelina tell me about this!" Nicholas roared.

"No! It's not what you're thinking! It's just…" Ria spoke in a fluster, "Do you have time right now? I'd like to tell you a story, but uh… it's a pretty long story."

"Of course, my luna. Nothing's more worth my time than you. Please, I'll listen. I promise you, I won't miss a single word."

"Okay, so… the main character of this story is called Ria, just like me, but she's eighteen, and her life was almost exactly the same as mine! On her eighteenth birthday, she attended the Wolf Banquet as a chef. Three wolf kings attended that banquet that fateful year, and nobody could have expected that Ria would turn out to be the fated luna of all the three kings…"

"Woah, that's crazy! I don't think you'd find a story like that even in a fairytale!" Nicholas teased.

"Nicholas, please… Let me finish my story, all right?" Ria asked in a pleading tone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of you… Please, continue." Nicholas could tell that Ria was touchy on the subject, so he apologized sincerely.

Then, Ria began describing in detail the events that followed her eighteenth birthday from a third person perspective, not missing a single detail until she finally reached the end where she was killed by Regina.

"It's an unbelievable but interesting story. Very tragic, too. I sympathize with the girl in the story, the one who shares your name." Nicholas sounded moved after hearing the whole story, but he had a few criticisms. "I'm happy you made me the Dark King in your story, but I'm not so sure about his character… To be frank, he pisses me off. I would never act so coldly toward my luna! He's just a heartless killing machine!"

"Nicholas… have you ever wondered what sort of person you would have turned out to be if we never crossed paths?" Ria asked in a grave tone.

Nicholas was silent for a moment, seemingly putting serious thought into the question before sighing. "I have no idea…"

“My dear, my story hasn't ended yet." Ria continued, "The Moon Goddess seemed to have given Ria a second chance and brought her back in death, back to her sixteenth birthday. At first, Ria thought that the ridiculous events that happened before her rebirth were just a very long dream, but what happened to her since was exactly the same as what she experienced in that dream. However, strangely enough, her wolf was sent back in time with her too. That meant that she could find her alpha before the age of eighteen, but in order to avoid the tragedy of her past life, she decided to hide. However, as if the Moon Goddess were playing a trick on her, she met one of her alphas by chance… She saw Nicholas. Nicholas wasn't the wolf king that she knew yet. In fact, he was going through a big turn in his life… Nicholas, you understand what I'm trying to say, right?"

There was silence for a few moments. Naturally, Nicholas had to be smart enough to be able to become a king in the future. Even though he found Ria's outlandish story to be completely unbelievable, he couldn't find any loopholes in her story to prove that it couldn't be real.

"Assuming your story is real, then what sort of trouble did Ria encounter in the story?" Nicholas asked smartly after putting two and two together.

"Today, she saw Wolf King August from her window in the morning," Ria answered in a trembling voice.