Blood Moon Pact: The Werewolf King and the Immortal Caged Bird

Chapter 8: Rune Branding (1)

The mud was still trickling down Kane's Wolf fur, and Eve's blood drop from the back of her neck was suddenly enveloped by a red light that had suddenly gathered above the marsh - the light of the blood moon, brighter than before, like a red-hot iron hanging above her head.

"What is that?" Eve subconsciously grabbed Kane's mane, her fingertips touching the throbbing veins beneath his skin, which were much hotter than before.

Before Kane could reply, he suddenly let out a low sobs in his throat. He saw silver-white light spots floating above Eve's wound on the back of the neck, like stars blown away by the wind, slowly gathering into crooked lines - first a curved crescent, then the outline of a Wolf's head, with fangs pointing straight at the wound.

"Runes..." Kane's voice trembled, and the silver light was reflected in his Wolf eyes. "It's the Blood Moon runes of the Wolf race... How could it show up at this moment?"

Eve felt a stinging sensation at the back of her neck before she could figure out what the Blood Moon runes were, as if ants were crawling into the wound. She tried to raise her hand to scratch, but her wrist was held down by Kane's claw: "Don't touch! Runes are about to get in!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than the wolf-head runes in the air suddenly swooped down and "whoosh" into Eve's wounds. She gasped in pain, tears almost welling up, but saw Kane trembling too - the same runes in the arrow wound on his front leg, the blackish-purple veins illuminated by silver light.

"Ah --!" Both of them cried out in pain almost simultaneously.

Eve suddenly felt a dull pain in her left shoulder, as if something had crushed her -- it wasn't her injury, the spot where Kane had been pierced by a silver arrow! She looked down at her hand, which was the same blackish purple as Kane's, and there was virtual mud stuck in the nail crevices.

"You... Do you have pain in your left shoulder? Eve grabbed Kane's paw, her voice shaking uncontrollably.

Kane raised his head sharply, his Wolf eyes filled with shock: "How do you know? And... Are your wrists tight?"

Eve subconsciously touched her wrist -- where was the strangle? But as soon as Kane's words came out, she felt as if her wrist had been chained up and her bones were aching, exactly the same as when she was locked to a crystal column by Valerius.

"It's sharing..." Kane's voice was hoarse, and he rubbed his head against Eve's arm. "Runes bind our sense of pain together."

The wind in the marsh suddenly stopped, and even the frogs stopped croaking. Raymond's pursuers were still Shouting not far away, but neither of them cared -- the throbbing of the runes gradually turned into warmth, creeping up the veins to the limbs. Eve's wound on the back of his neck was glowing, the blood drop was sucked dry by the silver light, and the skin smoothed out at a visible speed; The arrow wound on Kane's front leg was also healing, the blackish-purple veins slowly fading into the normal pink, and the twitching muscles completely relaxing.

"Silver Poison... It seems to be gone." Kane moved his front leg, which, though still a little numb, was no longer as piercing as before. He lowered his head and licked the back of Eve's neck, which had formed a pale pink scab with a tiny Wolf head and a crescent moon around the Wolf's ear, shining silver, as if embedded in her skin with her blood.

Eve also felt much more relaxed, the pain in her wrist was gone, and even the old wound that had not healed for five hundred years was no longer sore. She reached out to touch the mark on the back of her neck, and as soon as her fingertips touched, she heard Kane's "sess" - she had touched too hard and sent the shared pain through.

"Sorry, sorry!" Eve quickly withdrew her hand, her cheeks burning. "I didn't notice..."

Kane's Wolf ears also turned red, and he moved his face away from the swamp: "It's okay. Get out of here first, Raymond is still nearby."

Just as he took a step, he suddenly froze - Eve's ankle was entangled in the water plants in the mud, and she didn't notice it herself, but Kane clearly felt the dull pain of "being pulled in the ankle". He lowered his head and bit through the water plants with his teeth, and unconsciously wrapped his tail around Eve's waist: "Walk slowly, don't get tripped by anything again."

Eve responded obediently and followed him to the dry ground. The marsh, which had just felt so gloomy, now seemed less dreadful - the mud beneath her feet no longer clung to her, the stench in the wind had lessened a lot, and even Raymond's roar in the distance seemed less shrill.

"Hey, Big Wolf." Eve suddenly tugged at Kane's tail. "What's the use of this rune besides sharing pain? It can't be just for the two of us to hurt together, can it?"

Kane paused his steps, a complex light flashed in his Wolf eyes: "The elders say that once the Blood Moon runes are imprinted, two people who make a contract will share life. If one of them dies... The other party won't survive either."

Eve was stunned for a moment, her heart pounding. She's not afraid of death, but Kane is Alpha of the Wolf race, and if she loses her life...

"Scared?" Kane, sensing her nervousness, rubbed his head against her arm, "Don't be afraid. As long as we're careful and don't get caught by Valerius again, we can live for a long time."

"Who's scared?" Eve snorted stubbornly, but crept closer to him, "I just felt... This contract is just too domineering. At least ask the parties if they are willing."

Kane chuckled softly, and the Wolf tail swept her trouser leg: "Just now in the swamp, who closed their eyes and brought their neck over? I didn't force you."

Eve blushed instantly and reached out to twist his Wolf ears: "Isn't that an emergency! Who knows what runes will pop up!"

They were bickering when suddenly a whoosh came from afar - it was the sound of a silver arrow piercing through the air! Kane reacted very quickly, grabbed Eve by the collar and lunged to the side. The silver arrow flew past his ear and pierced into the deadwood beside him, the tail of the arrow still quivering.

"Dare to hide?" Raymond's voice was furious, "Chase me! We must take these two monsters down today!"

Kane didn't dare to stop. He carried Eve in his mouth and charged into the thick forest. The branches cut across the Wolf's back, and he barked his teeth in pain, but felt Eve in his arms frowning too - the shared pain was still taking effect. He quickly slowed down, trying to avoid the dense branches, and his tail held Eve even tighter.

"Run east!" Eve suddenly patted his Wolf neck. "There's a Wolf secret passage over there. I saw it last time when Valerius' servant was gathering herbs!"

Kane didn't hesitate and immediately turned around. He was familiar with the Shadow Forest, but Eve was better at remembering directions than he was - she had just made so many rounds in the swamp and could tell east from west and north from south.

As she was running, Eve suddenly let out a "hiss". Kane thought she had been scratched by a branch and stopped to check, but saw her pointing at her wrist: "It's not my pain... It's you. Did you get a stone cut on your right palm?"

Kane looked down at his paw - he had been in a hurry to turn a corner and had indeed rubbed it against the stone, making a shallow cut, which he himself didn't pay much attention to. Eve was able to precisely say "right palm".

"This rune... Can it locate where it hurts?" Kane was a bit stunned.

Eve also found it strange and touched the mark on the back of her neck: Maybe. I felt a chill down my ankle when you stepped into the mud pit just now."

They looked at each other and saw in each other's eyes a bit of a mixture of laughter and tears - the contract was convenient, but troublesome, even stepping into the mud pit had to be felt simultaneously.

"Don't study it for now! Run!" Eve nudged Kane by the neck and heard the sound of hooves getting closer behind her.

Kane recharged towards the secret passage. This time he learned his lesson. He was careful with his feet as he ran, trying not to hurt himself -- it was not worth it to hurt Eve as well.

The entrance to the secret passage was hidden behind vines. Eve pushed aside the vines and a damp wind blew towards him. Kane first went in to scout the way and only turned back to catch Eve when he was sure it was safe.

As soon as she entered the secret passage, Eve heard a "click" behind her - the sound of Raymond's men cutting through vines. She quickly pulled Kane deeper: "Quick! There's a fork in the secret passage, and you can shake them off by making two turns!"

The secret passage was pitch-dark and could only be identified by each other's breathing and footsteps. Eve held Kane's tail with her hand, fearing that she might lose track of him. As he ran past the third fork, Kane suddenly stopped, pressed his Wolf ears to the ground to listen, and then let out a low "whoosh".

"What's wrong?" Eve whispered.

"The pursuers are running off the other way." Kane's voice was a little relaxed. "It should have been left behind by us."

Eve heaved a long breath and panted against the cold stone wall. The air in the secret passage was not so good, mixed with the earthy smell, but she felt at ease smelling it - at least no more being chased by silver arrows.

Kane also heaved a sigh of relief. His wolf-like form gradually faded away and he returned to human form. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly frowned and reached out to touch the back of his neck - Eve had hit the back of his head too hard against the stone wall, and although it didn't hurt, it made him feel "heavy back of his head" too.

"Are you okay?" "Did you bump into it?" Kane quickly held her up.

Eve touched the back of her head, a little embarrassed: "It's okay, it's okay, just a light bump. It's you, running so fast just now, aren't your legs sore? My calves are still feeling heavy now."

Kane's ears turned red again, and he helped her as he walked deeper into the secret passage: "There's a dry spot ahead. Take a break."

There was indeed a flat stone in the deep part of the secret passage. Kane had Eve sit on it while he crouched beside it to look at the mark on the back of her neck. The pattern of the Wolf's head crescent had become a little lighter, almost invisible without a close look, and could only be felt as a bulge when touched by hand.

"The mark is not noticeable at all." The tip of Kane's finger lightly touched the edge of the mark, and the movement was very gentle. "It was glowing in the swamp just now, probably because the runes had just entered the body."

Eve touched it too, feeling a bit magical: "Will it always be like this? No matter where you get hurt, I can feel it?"

"It should be." Kane nodded, remembering something, and added, "The elders also say that after the Blood Moon Rune imprint, the covenants will become more and more like each other. Such as... You may gradually become less afraid of silverware, and I may... Be able to tolerate a little bit of sunlight."

Eve's eyes lit up: "Really? Can I not fear silverware?"

She had been imprisoned by Valerius for five hundred years and hated silverware the most - the syringes used for drawing blood were silver, the chains that bound her were silver, and even the cups Tom used to carry medicine were silver. If she were not afraid of silverware, at least she wouldn't have to be intimidated at the sight of silverware when she met a vampire again.

"Just a possibility." Kane, fearing that her expectations were too high, rushed to get vaccinated. "We'll have to wait until the runes are completely stable. Maybe it will take several blood months."

"That would be better than nothing." Eve laughed, her eyes crescent-shaped. "Even if you can only be a little less afraid."

Kane looked at her smile and felt a sudden softening in his heart. He didn't feel scared just now in such a dangerous swamp, but now seeing her smile, he felt a bit flustered - what if Valerius really caught her and used her to threaten himself? Rune sharing life, he simply couldn't ignore it.

"Eve," Kane suddenly grabbed her hand, looking very serious, "No matter what happens in the future, don't leave me, okay? Valerius surely won't let it go, if he uses you..."

"I know." Eve interrupted him and held his hand back, "I won't hold you back. If it doesn't work out, we'll hit him back together - you bite him on the neck and I'll stone him on the head!"

Her serious way of saying "smash the head" made Kane burst out laughing. The earthy smell in the secret passage seemed to have faded a little, leaving only the warmth from their clasped hands and the faint warmth from the marks on the back of their necks.

"By the way," Eve suddenly remembered something and took out a small silver piece from her pocket - it was the one she had just picked up from the swamp, originally intended to be used as a weapon. "Try this?" See if touching the silverware still hurts?"

Kane hesitated for a moment and reached out to touch the silver sheet. There was a slight tingling in the tip of his finger, much better than when he had been in the swamp, at least not as twitching as before.

"Much better." "Really useful!" Kane said in surprise. Runes seem to be really helping me fend off the silver poison!"

Eve also rejoices and puts the silver pieces away: "Then I'll pick up more silverware to carry with me. Maybe it will help you get rid of the silver poison completely."

Kane looked into her bright eyes, suddenly bent down and gently kissed the mark on the back of her neck. Eve's body stiffened for a moment, her cheeks flushed and her ears burning.

"What are you doing..." She muttered in a low voice, but did not dodge.

"Nothing." Kane's voice was also a bit hoarse, "just wanted to give it a try... Kiss here and do you feel itchy?"

Eve was just about to say "itchy," when she heard faint footsteps at the entrance of the secret passage - not Raymond's pursuers, the footsteps were very light, like... The sound of wolves' claws touching the ground.

"Is it one of us?" Eve whispered.

Kane sniffed and nodded: "It's the deaf ones. They should have come to pick us up."

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the voice of the eared Wolf came from the entrance of the secret passage: "Alpha? Are you in there?"

"Here!" Kane raised his voice in response.

The earless Wolf ran in with a few patrolmen and, seeing that the two were fine, let out a sigh of relief: "Finally, I found you! Elder Glen was so anxious that he sent out half of the tribe to look for them!"

Kane stood up and supported Eve: "Let's go back to the Wolf King's Hall first. Raymond may still be searching outside, tell the people to be careful."

"Got it!" The eared Wolf nodded, gesturing for the team to lead the way ahead.

Eve followed Kane out, clutching the corner of his shirt in her hand. The light in the secret passage gradually brightened, and they could see each other's faces. She glanced at Kane stealthily, and found that he was looking at her stealthily too. Their eyes met, and she quickly turned her face away, and the mark on the back of her neck seemed to start burning again.

Eve touched the mark and suddenly felt in her heart - being bound by this rune didn't seem so bad after all. At least when it hurts in the future, it won't hurt alone.

It was already dawn when I walked out of the secret passage. The morning light of the Shadow Forest was not as dull as that of the Eternal Night City. The patches of light that fell through the leaves were as warm as freshly sun-dried quilts.

The eared Wolf had already been prepared with two wolves -- not the kind of fierce war Wolf, but the soft-haired sled Wolf, lying on the ground with its head tilted to look at Eve, wagging its tail like a small fan.

"These are A Xue and A Feng, the docile ones." The eared Wolf patted the sleigh Wolf on the back. "Let them carry you back to the Wolf King's palace faster than walking."

Eve looked at Asher's furry ears and couldn't help reaching out to touch them. A Xue rubbed her palm comfortably and made a gurgling sound in her throat.