Moonlit Waltz

Chapter 6 - Ambition

“My luna, what do you think about me calling myself the Dark King in the future? I like that name.” Clear sunlight poured in through the gap in the curtain, illuminating the two naked bodies in bed, intertwined like Siamese twins. Nicholas was much more persistent in becoming a wolf king than Ria expected.

“It suits you,” Ria muttered weakly, but the worried look in her eyes was in clear contrast to her words. At the same time, she felt powerless. Even though she had been able to change Nicholas, she failed to change the larger piece of the future.

In the coming days, Ria and Nicholas made love in their little love shack as if they were addicted. Nicholas’ interest in Ria did not wane in the slightest. Instead, it seemed to grow in intensity. The cold-blooded butcher had transformed into an affectionate lover who took meticulous care of her. Ria loved this tyrant, who had fallen under her “subjugation,” like no other.

It felt unreal to have been offered such happiness on a silver platter out of nowhere. She could not help but worry that it was all just a dream that could leave her at any moment.

So, Ria cherished every moment she and Nicholas had together down to the very millisecond. Oh, how she wished that she could just cradle Nicholas in her arms and make him forget about his dreams of becoming a wolf king.

She feared that if Nicholas were to become king, her memories from her past life would no longer be able to help her in this life. Everything had already deviated from its original course, but Ria had always been a hopeless pessimist. Misfortune had become a part of her, after all, so such worries were not groundless. If Nicholas insisted on becoming a wolf king, then he was destined to reach that dream by stepping on a mountain of corpses and being surrounded by a sea of blood, and she was going to be there with him, facing endless death and danger hand in hand. If Nicholas truly did become a king, then it would be unavoidable for her to meet the two other alpha kings. She did not even dare to imagine what would happen then…

Ria spent many days soothing herself. Since the Moon Goddess granted her a new chance at life, she must expect something from her. Before her rebirth, she was at the mercy of fate and was powerless to resist it from the very beginning, forced to drift through the motions until she met her bitter end. She did not want to run away anymore; she wanted to try and live bravely for once.

On the 11th day, what Ria feared did happen in the end. After a phone call with someone, Nicholas turned to her. “My dearest luna, we have to leave here soon. Someone will come by in a bit. They’ll take you somewhere safe.”

Ria’s body trembled. She circled her arms softly around Nicholas. “What about you? Won’t you be going with me?”

Nicholas laid a kiss on Ria’s forehead. “It’s time for me to begin my battle to become a king.”

“Can I go with you?” Ria pleaded.

“No. Only when you’re somewhere completely safe can I fight without worry, my love.” Nicholas was adamant, accepting no objections from Ria.

Nicholas wore a fitted black suit. He had an intimidating and domineering appearance when he did not smile, especially with his deep features and tall, muscular figure. His smile was reserved only for Ria. On the other hand, Ria was dressed comfortably in burgundy sports fashion, giving her a lovely appearance. Even though she was decked out in branded fashion, she kept to a simple design so as to keep a low profile.

When the two of them left the house, four people—three men and one woman—appeared to be waiting for them outside, lowering their heads at their appearance.

The three men spoke quietly, seemingly in great fear of Nicholas. Even though Nicholas had yet to become the Dark King, he had the aura of a superior. Only the tall woman with hair as red as a flame and a figure just as hot was studying Ria curiously.

Nicholas introduced the three men to Ria. They were the newly elected Alpha of the Storm Wolf Pack, Blaine; the newly elected Alpha of the Night Wolf Pack, Steve; and the newly elected Alpha of the Thorn Wolf Pack, Sean. They had all sworn loyalty to Nicholas.

Then, Nicholas put his arms around the young woman affectionately. “This is my younger sister, Angelina. She’s currently studying at a werewolf college. It’s a neutral zone for our kind, so it’s absolutely safe there. I was thinking of sending you to the same college as her. Angelina herself is a powerful Beta warrior. She’ll be there to watch out for you in case anything happens. Angelina, this is Ria. I’ve mentioned her to you before. Not only did she save my life, but she’s also my fated mate.”

Angelina was beautiful. She had long lashes and luscious red lips. The kind look in her eyes also made her appear very approachable.

“Nice to meet you, Ria!” Angelina was very friendly with Ria. Pulling her hand, she grinned. “Thank you for saving my brother!”

"It was merely the will of the Moon Goddess," Ria returned the smile, but a trace of doubt surfaced in her heart. Despite knowing Nicholas for so many years, it was her first time meeting Angelina. She did not even realize that Nicholas had a younger sister. Ria guessed that she possibly died before she met Nicholas in her past life, which made her feel pity for the young woman, barely older by a few years.

"Angelina, I'll be entrusting Ria's safety into your hands," said Nicholas.

"Don't worry, Nicholas. Nobody will dare mess with her with me around." Angelina was confident.

Nicholas grabbed the bag that Sean was holding and handed it to Ria. “I’ve asked my men to handle your admission procedures for you. I’ve also retrieved your bank card and ID from your stepfather. Anything else you need will be in the bag.”

“Thank you. Take care of yourself, too. I look forward to our reunion.” Ria threw her arms around Nicholas, feeling touched by his thoughtfulness. It was certainly not something that Ria expected from him. She never even knew that he had been planning all of this in the background while she spent her time worrying about the future.

After bidding farewell to each other, Ria left with Angelina in the car that Nicholas had arranged for them to the airport.

Ria sat side by side with Angelina in the car. While they were on the way, Ria finally opened the backpack to find a brand-new Gucci wallet inside. In addition to her ID, there was a small amount of cash and a debit card with the PIN written on the back. There was also the latest model iPhone and other daily necessities. Ria could not help but smile with happiness.

Suddenly, she realized that she had been forgetting something. She asked Angelina, “Angelina, where are we going?”

“Inverness, capital of the Scottish Highlands, where the best werewolf colleges in the world are located,” Angelina answered with a smile.

Ria knew about that place. She had seen it on TV. Inverness was where the Lochness monster lived. She had always hoped to be able to visit that place one day. It was said to be a romantic place filled with vast hills and fields. It was a special stretch of land that had been washed by rain and snow for tens of millions of years, a primitive land located far away from modern civilization.

It was the first time that Ria was looking forward to the future rather than worrying about it.