The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 148

BLADE

I could smell him. He always had a rugged, unique scent to him. It made my nose burn as it filled my head with the trauma it stirred up from deep in my past. I still remembered the day Draven became just like my father. There was a time when he felt more like my brother. We faced the same yelling bouts our father would go through when things weren't working out the way he wanted them to. There was a time we were both beaten, and I thought he understood my pain. I was wrong.

I realized that the day he walked in with a whip and the dark gleam in his eyes. He hated me the day I was born and never stopped hating me. I was the one who was supposed to be powerful and give our father everything he ever wanted. I was supposed to be the one who led the coven and tore the world down around me in order to let our father have everything he ever wanted.

When my father realized I would never be the creation he wanted, he sent Draven into my room to beat me senseless. Every c***k, every whip of pain made Draven's eyes grow darker, and his laughter echoed in the chamber that day. He enjoyed beating me down to remind me just how lowly and worthless I was.

I had believed him for the longest time. I thought I was nothing and deserved to be miserable for the rest of my life. I had believed him, and I hated him for it. It was time I showed him just how worthless I really was. I was not the same kid he once knew. I weaved through the battle, determined to find Draven in all of this bloodshed. I kept catching hints of his scent here and there, but just as I reached it, it was already coming from a completely different direction. It was like a game of cat and mouse, and somehow I knew Draven knew exactly where I was and what I was doing. He had to have known by the way he seamlessly avoided me.

I could feel Remy's worry floating through our matebond as I continued running on and on. She made me promise to stay by her side during the battle. She said it was the only piece of mind she would have, knowing there was a possible future where Draven would tear me down, but that future she saw she had been nowhere near me. Staying together was her solution to stop it from happening. I slowed my pace to make sure she stayed by my side, but it was making it harder to keep up with Draven, and I didn't know what to do.

There were too many bodies on the field and too much chaos happening around us. Was this Draven's plan all along? Overwhelm us with numbers so he could move around undetected? Did he plan on swooping in and taking Remy when we least expected it? My head started to throb as I questioned everything. I stopped moving and stood still with my eyes closed. I couldn't keep wandering around, foolishly following Draven's scent. I wasn't doing anything to help our side win by chasing his phantom. I couldn't let myself fall into his carefully planned-out trickery.

I could feel Remy's presence as she stopped next to me. She transformed into her human form now that I wasn't running around.

She placed her hand on my shoulder and said, "What's wrong?"

"This isn't working," I said. I kept my eyes closed. I wanted to focus on the sounds and smells of the battlefield instead of the overwhelming visuals of the mini-battles going on across the field. "I can't find Draven, and I'm wasting time."

Remy squeezed my shoulder. My heartbeat slowed under her touch, and my head started to clear. "Take a deep breath. We've got this. It's still early in the battle." There was a slight catch in her throat, and I knew she was worried. Even though it was early, lives had already been lost, and each minute wasted resulted in more lives being put at risk.

"We have to find him, but when I pick up on his trail, he seems to disappear a moment later." I didn't want to waste more time.

A vampire flung himself towards us, trying to take advantage of our stillness on the battlefield. I stepped forward and grabbed his throat with ease. I threw him against the ground, pinning him down by his neck. I finished him off quickly, but I knew others would come after us if we continued to stand there doing nothing.

"We need a different vantage point," Remy said, thinking the same thing as me.

I wiped my hands on the grass and looked at her. She was looking up at a tree, and I realized she was right. Draven was using the distractions of the fighting to mix up my senses, but if we had a moment away to look down on the battlefield, he wouldn't be able to hide as easily.

Remy offered me her hand, and when I took it, she shifted us into the tallest tree nearby. The branch was flimsy, and Remy nearly lost her balance, but I pulled her into me while grabbing the tree trunk. My extended nails hooked into the bark, latching us to the tree to make sure we were stable.

As we looked down at the battle happening below us, Remy's body tightened. Every werewolf down there was part of her family, and as much I had grown to care about her pack, it wasn't the same. I had less at stake on the field below, and it didn't really hit me until now. Even though I wanted my revenge on Draven and had wanted to take him out for the better part of my life, Remy was the most precious thing I could lose today.

Remy could lose her family, her pack, her life, and me. It made me want to keep her safe. The biggest target was on her back today, and seeing the number of vampires from a bird's eye view really put into perspective what kind of fight we were fighting today. We didn't have the numbers to win, even if we had the strength. If we didn't make a big move, none of us would walk out of here alive. I just hoped taking out Draven would be enough.

"There," Remy said, pointing to the field.

I looked to where she was pointing, and Draven was standing in the center of it all, looking around with a triumphant smile. Then his gaze tilted up, making eye contact with me. I didn't know how, but he sensed our presence and knew exactly what we were doing. I felt tied to him in that moment in a way I never had before.

I wanted to reach into my pocket and touch the bottle of magic sitting there, but I refused to let go of Remy. I could still feel it throbbing against my leg. It seemed to grow more intense as Draven stared at me, as if it somehow it was tied to him. I didn't fully understand the feelings stirring up inside of me, but suddenly, something deep inside pulled me towards Draven. Something told me that he was more than just my half brother.

It made me wonder if he had some sort of magic ability as well. I had never known his mother, just like I never knew my own, so I assumed she had met a similar fate. However, I had always been under the impression that he was a purebred born vampire, which was why he was stronger than every other vampire I knew, including our father.

Now I wasn't sure what was going on. Either Draven and I shared the same mother, or he had taken some of the magic that belonged to me. I had never sensed this draw to him before. It was new and made me question where it came from.

"If we are going to do this, we should go now," Remy said. She was staring at Draven, too, and I felt her breath quicken. Even though she was trying to stay calm, I knew the idea of facing Draven terrified her.

"Something isn't right," I said, tightening my grip on her waist. I was struggling with pinpointing exactly what my body was trying to tell me, but I knew it wasn't good. "You shouldn't go down there."

"What are you talking about? We talked about this. You're not facing Draven alone." Her voice was hoarse, and I could feel the panic rising in her.

"He doesn't need me. Whatever he did with my magic... he doesn't need me to trigger the prophecy." That was what this feeling was. I was sure of it. I was the Son of Blood and Magic, but Draven somehow was too. If he got his hands on Remy, he would take her and try to trigger the prophecy himself.

"You're not fighting Draven alone. No matter what his intentions are, we are stronger together," Remy said. She twisted around just enough so she could look at me. She touched my face with her fingers, pulling my gaze away from Draven and towards her instead. The determination in her eyes was enough to pull me back to the reality of the moment.

Whatever Draven had planned, Remy and I had agreed to fight together. We would not let Draven play mind games with us and stop us from accomplishing our goals. We had a future to live together, and we would fight together for that future. "Let's go," I said, knowing each second I took to second guess this decision could be the difference between winning and losing.

Remy grabbed my hand and shifted us back to the battlefield. We appeared in front of Draven, and I was surprised he was still there. I had fully expected him to slip into the chaos to avoid us once again, but he was ready to try to take what he wanted.

"I see you refused my gift," Draven said, his eyes roaming to my pocket where my magic was sitting. I was right. He was somehow tied to it, and I was happy I had decided not to accept the magic yet. I knew he would've used it against me. "Enough," I said, my voice slicing through the air. "You will never get your hands on Remy, no matter what you do. She's not yours, and I'm going to show you you're not as strong as you think you are."

Draven laughed, the sound coming from deep within him. "You're the one who's not as strong as you think you are. Did you really think you had a chance to win this battle, because all you have done is waste lives? There is no way you'll defeat me and my pet." Draven snapped his fingers, and the ground rumbled beneath us, something dark and evil lurking just below. The ground shook, and Remy clung to me for support as the earth under our feet shattered.