The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 138

REMY

My mom and I sat in silence as we waited for a guard to bring Julie to us. I picked at my nails, unsure of what to say to her. Things had been fine between us, but I still felt a distance between us that hadn't been there before, and I didn't know what to say to her, so the conversation was non-existent. "How are you and Blade doing?" my mom asked. I was grateful she was the one to break the silence, taking the pressure off.

"Good." I knew my response was short. It wasn't my intention, but I didn't know exactly what to say. I forced myself to elaborate a little. "He makes me really happy. He cares for me in a way I didn't even know I needed."

My mom smiled, her shoulders sinking a little. "Good. A good mate should make you feel that way."

"It's still hard though," I blurted. I didn't even know why I said that, but I knew it was the truth. "With the prophecy and all I mean."

She looked at me with kindness in her eyes. It was as if she understood the pressure I was under. In a way she did. According to Rina, there was a future where my mom could have triggered the future. She chose her own path, choosing my dad over that future. "The prophecy does not define you or your relationship with Blade," she said simply. risk could trigger a darkness that spreads over the world?"

"But doesn't it?" I quickly retorted. "Isn't it selfish for me to want to stay with Blade, knowing there is

She shrugged. "Some would call it selfishness. I think it's brave personally." I blinked at her a few times, warning for her to explain herself. "Many people would run from a difficult situation like that. You are choosing to face it. You mating with Blade is not a guarantee that the dark future the prophecy foretold will come true. You told me that Rina said only you have the power to choose who you will become if you choose that route, did you not?"

I gave a quick nod, mulling over her words. "What if I'm not strong enough to handle it?" This was the fear that held me back from mating with Blade sooner. The last thing I wanted was to cause more problems for everyone around me when Draven was starting a war over the potential power I held inside of me.

She placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me, striking a chord deep within my soul. "Never for one second think you are not strong enough for anything. Even if you face a foe that is above your level, I know you will work hard to get stronger and faster until you are stronger than your opponent, so don't ever doubt yourself."

Something about the words she was saying made my chest well up. There was pure confidence in my abilities, and I didn't find a single shroud of doubt in her eyes as her voice filled the air. I had spent years feeling like I would never be enough, wondering why Caulder was the golden child while I was left behind. I spent years thinking my parents didn't have faith in my abilities, but as her soft smile poured into my heart, I knew that was never the case.

She had been trying to protect me from the world that was trying to tear me down every day. She wanted to save me from the pain she had faced herself, but it was never because she thought I couldn't handle myself. It was because a mother would always protect her children in whatever way she could.

I grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, trying to tell her I finally fully understood. I couldn't te words without risking getting too emotional, but she squeezed my hand back, and I knew she knew.

The door opened, and two guards led Julie into the room. I took a deep breath to ground myself again. I had to focus on trying to find a way to break through Julie's walls.

Julie was sat in the chair, and she kept her eyes glued to her lap, not bothering to look up at who was here. I knew she had gone through several interrogations with different people trying to find out any information she might have picked up during her time with Draven. She hadn't spoken a single word about Draven or anything else.

As I looked at her, she looked like a shell of the person I once knew. Her cheeks had sunken in, and the life in her eyes was fading. She was broken, and she had given up all together. I felt for her. She was young, and she had so much of her life ahead of her before she decided to throw everything away for someone who didn't care about her. I couldn't even begin to understand how she was feeling or why she had done all of that.

"I'm sorry," I sputtered out. I had intended to ask her about Draven, but I couldn't bring myself to say his name.

Julie looked up at me, recognition brightening her eyes. "Did you come here just to taunt me?" There was a deep hatred in her voice.

"No. There would be no point in taunting you." Even though Julie had betrayed this pack and tried to get my best friend killed along with myself, I had no interest in twisting the knife in her back. She had done this to herself, and she was already facing the consequences.

I expected Julie to snap back at me, but she didn't say anything. The fact that she had spoken already was more than anyone else had managed, but if I didn't get any information from her, all of this would be for nothing.

"Do you really think Draven cares enough about you to come for you?" This was a little bit of a taunt. I needed her to understand that Draven didn't love her and never would, even though the truth was a harsh reality. She wouldn't give up any information if she still trusted him.

She kept her face still as stone as she stared at me. No reaction.

"I hope for your sake, he doesn't." This statement was one made from pity. Being rejected by a mate was a painful process for a werewolf, one that sent some werewolves into spirals of depression or madness.

My eyes widened with realization. "You already know he rejected you, don't you? That's why you clung to him. You were desperate to change his mind. You were doing everything you could to delay the pain. If you held onto the hope just a little longer, you wouldn't have to accept that your mate didn't want you."

She was still silent, but I could see the start of her eyes glistening. I didn't want to hurt her. Knowing she was locked away where she would never hurt anyone else again was enough.

"He wanted to force himself onto me." My voice was a whisper. My body shuddered, and bile started to rise in my throat as I thought about it. My mother tensed at my words. I hadn't told anyone about that. I told Blade about the kiss, but I had felt Draven's desire for more. If I had stayed with him, I knew he would force things to go further. I didn't want to tell anyone about it, because the thought of it made me sick.

"I'm going to kill him for it," I admitted. I hadn't let myself think about it much, but it had been sitting in my heart as a dark desire since Draven's lips touched mine. "Also for Darian, and everyone else he has or will kill. For you, too. For the hurt he has put you through. I'll make sure he dies so he can never hurt anyone else again."

There was a darkness sitting under my skin that stirred as I admitted these thoughts. It was the darkness inside that I truly feared. Others had told me I was too kind-hearted to ever release destruction onto the world, but the darkness crawling just beneath the surface was what truly made me fear what I was capable of. If it got out of hand, I had no idea what I was capable of.

"Why for me? Why do you care?" Julie's voice cracked. She broke away from my gaze, as if she was afraid to know the answer.

"Because no one deserves to be mistreated, even you. He took a future away from you." I paused. "You had control over yourself, so you're not innocent in the matter. I won't fight for your freedom, so don't think I'm some savior, but I still don't think you deserved to be treated the way he treated you."

I felt the pain in Julie's heart, and I sympathized with it. However, she had control over her future, just as I had over mine. She chose to take the dark path. I didn't want to be like her.

I stood up and said, "If you have no information for me, then I'll stop wasting both of our time."

"I hope you kill him," she whispered. Her voice shook as she admitted it out loud. My suspicions were confirmed by that single line. She knew Draven didn't care about her. She knew he had only used her to get what he wanted.

"You and me both." I started moving toward the door, but before I touched the door handle, Julie spoke again, stopping me in my tracks.

"He wants to use your blood to control that creature that almost got me killed. He said it is attracted to the essence of you, so with your blood, he will be able to get it to do his bidding. He plans to use it in the war under the light of the red moon."

My blood turned cold at her words. If Draven controlled that creature, I could only imagine the destruction he would be able to cause. "Thank you."

I left the room before Julie could see my hands trembling, and my mom was a step just behind me. I felt like I couldn't breathe until I stepped into the fresh air. I was grateful for the information, but it scared me at the same time. Something about the darkness of the creature called out to me, and it terrified me more than anything else I had faced.

"Where are they?" my dad asked, the moment I was outside. He was waiting for me to emerge, his arms crossed and face tight. He knew the others were gone, and their time was up.

"Uh-oh," I muttered, knowing I was going to get in just as much trouble as the others for lying to his face. "Uh-oh indeed," he mimicked.