Luna Isabella

XII. A Higher Warning (Part 1)

Isabella’s POV:

I mumble something even I don’t understand. There’s a harsh hot breath huffing on top of my head. I claw my nails down only to receive a low grumbling sound in return. Taking a few blinks, I tilt my head upward, and the even breathing halted. My upper body leans back slightly, and with caution, I attempt to mold his fingers away until he scrunched me farther inward.

I push back.

He tightens his arms.

I push back.

He tightens it even more.

“Let me go,” I mumble, trying to escape.

I look upward from his chest to his face, eyes meeting his. Instantly, he releases me, and I roll onto the other side, causing my face to plummet onto the hard ground. I groan, lifting myself with the bed, seeing Damien sat upright...still without his shirt.

“Why...are you here?” he asks.

I stand up and flip the hair out of my face. “This is the room you imprison me.”

Damien looks around, analyzing everything as if he was seeing each item for the very first time. He rests his forehead onto the palm of his face. “R-Right,” he grunted and stood up. He grabs his clothes, put it on, then walk out the door.

I stood there and stare at the closed door.

The door burst open, and I leap back, causing my bottom hitting against the nightstand.

Damien marches inside and hugs me.

I froze, both hands still hung in the air.

“Little Flower,” he mumbled, and I released a deep breath knowing its Alfie. I grab the back of his shirt, as the smile automatically cross my lips. He places both hands on my shoulders, “Let’s have breakfast!” he smiled brightly.

Alfie grab my hand and began skipping?

I held his wrist, pulling him back before he can make it out the door. “Alfie stop...skipping,” I said.

He turns around and scrunches his brows together.

“It’s weird seeing Damien skipping,” I said slowly.

He nods in return, running his fingers through his hair. “Right. Damien doesn’t skip,” he mumbled.

I chuckled lightly, “Why are you so happy?”

Alfie grin widen, “Because Damien is changing!”

I tilt my head, “Hm?”

He held my hands, pulling me towards the bed. Tucking a strand of hair behind my head, Alfie held my hands on his lap. “You guys slept together last night!” his eyes widen in astonishment.

I blink, tilting my head ever so slightly at his sudden statement.

“Little Flower, ever since you arrive at SilverStone, Damien hasn’t been drinking or taking drugs so he can sleep. He hasn’t been touching other females. It means things are getting better between Damien and you, so you’ll stay then become our Lun-”

I remove my hands, shake my head, and stood up. With hesitation, I take a few steps away from Alfie.

He looks...hurt.

“Little Flower, we can all be to-”

I shake my head, remembering how Damien kissed the other girl. The scent he carried that night. How he told me I’m going to make me his mistress.

“I can’t be with Damien. I need to get out of here,” I mumble, feeling the uncomfortable heart beating inside my chest.

Alfie scrunches his hands together, trying his best to keep the smile on his face, but it looks strain. “Damien is ch-”

“I don’t care!”

He stood up and reach for me. “Little Fl-”

“No! No!”

“Then, why the f**k are you still here?” he shouts.

I take a few blinks, not expecting his outburst. Usually, its Damien who screams, Alfie never raised his voice before. “I-I-”

“I what?!” his tone sounds strained.

“I don’t know! I don’t know why I’m here!”

He laughs, almost unamused as he licks his pale lips. “I don’t understand you. I gave you a f*****g chance to leave this place, and you decided not to go. Do you know what that does to us?”

I stood there and stare at him. The vein on the side of his temple seemly ready to burst at any second. He ran both hands through his head as he walks in a circular motion. “Hope!” he shouts, a few steps away from me. “You’re f*****g giving us hope, Isabella!”

“What hope? Damien doesn’t wan-”

"I want you!” he screamed, glassy eyes removing from mine. Alfie sniffs, placing the palm of his hand on his forehead and turn around. “I want you.”

My hand reaches for him but halt midway in the air.

Alfie turns around, scrunching his lips upward. “I know you won’t believe me, no matter how much time I say this, but Damien...he really needs you. Last night, just proves it,” he points a finger to the ground.

My nails clawed into my flesh. “Last night proves nothing.”

He takes a single step closer. “Last night proves everything. You may not feel it, but I do. I know how Damien felt last night. He hated himself for his inability to love you like how Alpha Nathaniel loves Luna Aria,” he placed his hands in the air showing deep nails mark on his palms. “Damien desperately tried to hold it in last night. He tried his best not to do anything reckless.”

“What about me?” I whisper. “Even if he is changing right now, what about the suffrage he gave me?” I sniffed, trying my best to hold back the tears. “I did nothing wrong to him, but he blamed me for something I’ve never done,” the cracks inside my voice was apparent.

Alfie takes a step towards me, but I step back. “For what? Because his mother killed his father? Because his first mate rejected him?” I placed my hand on my chest, feeling it tighten. “I sympathize with his situation, but we all have our darkness. I was never there, and he put all the blame on me! The resentment...the hatred...everything.” The tears lace down my cheeks.

He takes another step, but I step back once more. Immediately, he grabs my wrist and pulls me inward.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” I mumble, attempting to breathe, but it got harder. I hit his chest multiple times. “I don’t deserve this kind of treatment.”

Why?

Why do I have to go through all of this?

I want my family.

I want to have a normal life.

I didn’t want to become a soldier.

I didn’t want to kill.

I didn’t want any of this.

He held onto my shirt tightly, and I feel the water hitting my shoulder. “You don’t.”

It hurts.

The pain still hurts.

But, does that mean I am still sane?

After a while of silently embracing once another, he releases me, “You should go shower,” he mumbles. Steadily, he turns around with his eyes, still avoiding mine, and left the room.

When I finished showering, I stared at my reflection. The puff around my eyes was apparent, skin color changing, and - I lift my shirt up.

No, I’m still the same.

I am still the same, right?

There’s a knock on the door. I roll my shirt down and head towards it. Opening the door, I was greeted with a giant smile. “Izzy! Guess what!” Ian sang, basically dancing into the room.

“Come on in?” I replied unsurely. The water from the shower slithered down my skin and made me feel more uncomfortable than refreshed.

He threw a piece of paper in front of me. “You are now-” he made a drum-like sound with his mouth, “a normal high school student at Sakura High School,” he points two fingers at me and continues his bizarre dance.

I look down at the document colored by a faint cherry blossom in the background. “Sakura High School?” I question, feeling as if that is the most unusual name I’ve ever heard.

He smiles, “I’ll tell you all about the history of Sakura High on your first day,” he places a hand in the air, “High five?”

Placing the paper down on my side, I lift my hand and tap his rough palm.

I stared down at the single piece of paper as Ian walked out of school.

“Hope!”

“You’re f*****g giving us hope, Isabella!”

“I want you!”

“I know you won’t believe me, no matter how much time I say this, but Damien...he really needs you. Last night, just proves it.”

My hand scrunches up the single piece of paper, as I shut my eyes. I threw my foot up and kick the door then scream in utter disbelief.

I spent the whole day on the bed with Hee-Young bringing in food without question.

Feeling a nudge on the side of my arm, I released a yawn and sat up. “What is it, Hee-Young?” I grumbled, wanting to dig deeper into the comfortable bed.

She smiles, “It’s nice to see you getting comfortable here.”

The hair sticks to my cheeks. “What do you mean?”

Hee-Young takes a seat on the bed, shifting the weight slightly. “It’s just when you first got here, you barely slept and now -” she continues smiling, placing two clasp hands together on the side of her head and closes her eyes. Then, she opens them, “You’re sleeping like a baby.”

I frown - when did I get so comfortable?

She fake cough and stands up. “Luna Isabella, are you ready?”

I look down at the wrinkled clothes. “Ready for what?”

“We are having a party tonight for Alpha Nathaniel and Luna Aria.” She skips towards the closet. Soon, Hee-Young came back with a high collared dress that seems to stop around my knees.

“You know I talked with Luna Aria,” Hee-Young whisper as she put some weird stuff on my face.

She signals me to close my eyes, and I did. “Oh.”

Hee-Young feather some stuff onto my eyes. Her touches were delicate. “She is...interesting," Hee-Young mumbles.

I open my eyes, “Interesting?”

She nods, “No offense, but I’m kind of glad on not in Full Moon.”

My brows scrunch together. She actually likes staying at SilverStone. “Why?”

“The Alpha and Luna look slightly...psychopathic.”

And Damien isn’t?

“I know our Alpha isn’t perfect,” she said as if she is reading my mind. “But, with you, things are definitely getting better at the Pack House.”

Why? Why does everyone seem to push all the responsibility to me?

She places the product down on the table, leaning against it as a deep breath left her throat. “You don’t notice it because you’re trapping yourself in this room, Luna Isabella.”

Am I trapping myself in this room?

She stood up straight, clasping her hands together. “I know you’re wondering why I said that”

How does she keep reading my mind?

Hee-Young pace around the room, and my eyes follow her. “However, Alpha Damien removes the restriction on you, yet you choose to stay here, avoiding us,” she walks back towards me, going on her knees as her hands reached for mine. “I understand your impression of SilverStone isn’t the best, but with you here, we can be better,” she whispers.

“Why?” I ask, attempting to remove my hand, but she grips on it tightly. “Why me?”

“Because the Moon Goddess grant us, you.”

I unraveled our hands. “Didn’t the Moon Goddess grant you, Stacey, too?”

Her body tenses at my question. I exhale and stand up, making my way towards the bed. I sat down beside the dress, “Your Moon Goddess did not choose me, and if given a choice, your pack wouldn’t choose me either. I wouldn’t have chosen me,” I said.

Isabella stands up and wraps her arms around my head. “I would’ve chosen you as our Luna if given a choice,” she mumbles.

“You don’t even know me, Hee-Young.”

She takes a step back. “I know you like picking on your food when you’re full, but you dislike leaving the table first. I know you unconsciously sleep in the corner of the room whenever you felt like you’re in danger. I know you prefer to shower multiple times per day as if its therapy. I know you like being called Izzy by Ian despite that sour face you uphold.” She places a warm hand on my cheek. “I may not know your past, but I know the you right now and the you right now is a good person.”

Hee-Young removes her hand. “Much more than I can say for Stacey,” she chuckles unamusingly. “Not everyone was happy when she was named Luna,” her eyes flash a deep black. “Certainly not me,” she said in an almost bitter tone before walking out the door.

I closed my eyes; my body froze in a single location.

The clock continued ticking inside the room with the uncomfortable song of tick-tock.

The door cracks open, polished shoes entering the room. My eyes open, still on the ground as a red box presented itself in front of me. “Wear it,” Damien command.

Steadily, my hand reaches for the box, unveiling a single gold bracelet. I rest my hands down on my lap. It feels heavy. “Why?”

“Do you think you have a choice?”

I reach my hand inside the box, feeling the cold sensation of the metal. “What exactly does it do?”

“If you leave SilverStone’s property, then you will get electrocuted, and your friends will go along with you,” he said.

I chuckled unamusingly, “Should you be telling me this?”

“What’s the point in lying?”

My eyes met his heated gaze, “You tell me.”

“And what exactly does that mean?” he swallows deeply, almost as if trying his best to keep the growl from surfacing.

“Why am I still here? Can’t you let me go?”

He steps closer, his large frame hovering over mine. “I gave you a chance.”

“No. Alfie gave me that chance. You two are not the same.” I stand up. “He wants me, and that is why he wants me to be happy and free. What about you? If you hate me so much, why not just reject me and cast me out?” my hand tightens on the bracelet as I pulled the turtleneck down. “Why do all these useless things to ensure I stay here?”

He opens his mouth but shut it as his apple bottom continuously bulb up and down, tongue in a complete knot. His broad chest hit me as I stood my ground. “I do not understand your hypocritical actions.”

I lift a hand in the air and slap him.

He stood there, face still tilting to its side as his fists tighten. “I don’t need to explain anything to you. You just need to do as I commanded.”

“And if I don’t?” I defied him.

“Then, you will be punished.”