Chapter 65 - The Grimstone: Part I

LUNA ASTERBELLE'S POV

Eman has been trying to say the same thing over and over again: that I should leave King Dawn's side and never obey any of his words. I couldn't comprehend what's been driving him to say those things to me, but I'm sure that he must have his own reasons.

He kept on repeating his statements that all led to one thing—betrayal.

"Did you have a misunderstanding with King Dawn before?" I questioned him before he could've said anything else.

He placed his hands in his pocket, casually walking out of the abandoned building, which I followed. Since there wasn't much light around this area, I could barely see where we were. I depended on my ears to determine where Eman went.

"The truth would soon unveil, Luna. Just don't forget that I warned you today. If you can't avoid him a hundred percent, then just be cautious of whatever the King would plan out for the upcoming war," Eman said without turning around to face me. He tilted his head up to the night sky, extending one of his arms as if he were wishing upon the stars.

I was so distracted by our sudden encounter that I didn't notice right away that Eman no longer wore his hoodie. There were signs of bruises on his arms, which were visible to me as he was wearing a thin shirt.

"War? What do you mean, war?" I asked in confusion.

I have only been away for a few days, and then Eman would randomly tell me that there's some sort of war?

"Grimstone would soon fall under a catastrophic world just like Althea aforementioned. That woman should've never been born as the moon goddess," he grunted, dropping his arm to his side, then continued, "actually, I take back what I said earlier; I don't want to see you back in King Dawn's properties. This is for your own good."

I took a step forward to touch those worn-out wounds he had. "You went through a painful battle, and you're just concerned about me; that's why you're eager—"

Eman held both of my wrists, which I didn't resist. This opportunity to look him directly in the eye at such a close distance was rare, so I shouldn't act stubborn now. Although I could sense a familiar source of aura, which was unusual for Eman's case, I assumed that it was just one of the side effects of my wolf's awakening.

"Get a grip, Luna! That King would be the last person you'd ever want to spend your remaining days with—he's beyond evil." Eman cut me off as soon as he grabbed me.

I could no longer restrain myself from letting him run his mouth freely just to keep on talking trash about Dawn. "You don't know King Dawn as much as I do, Eman. We spent most of our days together through thick and thin, and you wouldn't understand how much I acknowledge him."

Despite wanting to stay in that position, I chose to move my arms away as I took a detour, but he caught up to me quickly, asking where I'd go.

"Our meeting here was purely coincidental. I'll just pretend that I never had this conversation with you when we meet next time."

The anxiety in his eyes was unbearable for me. I can't seem to shake off this uneasiness that I'm getting from those eyes. It feels like I'm burdened by an immense amount of despair that I must take responsibility for. Eman was seriously making me go nuts.

"What else can I do other than avoid King Dawn? I'll do anything else that you'd request; just don't force me to avoid him."

Eman's face brightened a little bit. "I have another idea," he replied.

We spent about five minutes under the light post as Eman discussed his Plan B in case I couldn't get away from Dawn's chains. I thought that he'd suggest that I should betray the entire Dark Shadow Clan for Dawn to hate me and voluntarily kick me out, but Eman voices out something completely different from what I had imagined.

He wanted me to convince the Moon Goddess, Althea, not to make any of the existing packs find any reasons to initiate and declare war. Eman believes that there wouldn't be any conflict between those packs if Althea said so, even if Grimstone itself would begin to crumble into an undesirable scenario.

"It's not even an option; there's no way for me to reach the moon goddess' land, Eman. You know how secure her territories are." I flatly rejected his idea.

Eman shook his head, like he knew something that I didn't. "I can summon the same type of portal that Althea did before when she sucked you into her dimension," he said with full confidence. "So, what do you say? You have to make a decision before we split ways."

"Fine. I'll try to talk to the moon goddess," I responded, uncertain of the possible outcome.

Eman ordered me to go away from our current spot to give him space for the creation of the portal, which he was able to summon in less than a minute. And just like before, the ground shook upon the appearance of the portal.

"Go now, Luna. I can't hold on for much longer. I'll come after you if you don't return after an hour," Eman hurriedly shouted, since I couldn't see him as he was behind it.

"Can't you just accompany me?" I yelled back, in hopes that Eman would go with me.

I'm just doubtful of myself; maybe the moon goddess would listen to our request if it were the two of us. And besides, we're not on good terms, knowing that she was the one who cursed me.

"If I leave this spot, the portal will likely vanish. I can't summon it until the next hour!"

Left with no choice, I rushed to the portal's entrance with my eyes squinted. Unlike the first time that I've been here, I wasn't surrounded by any human flesh. In fact, the vibes here were more peaceful than any other place that I went to.

My body almost burned upon my successful entrance into her dimension. "That's peculiar," I murmured to myself when I no longer had the irresistible urge to shift.

"Ah, I've been waiting for you, Luna Asterbelle." The moon goddess showed herself in her human form as she greeted me.

She still looks similar to me, no matter what form she is in.

"I don't want to stay here long, so I'll cut straight to the point." I breathed in heavily as I prepared myself for whatever and however she'd react. "Stop the war between the Blood Moon and the Crimson Moon packs," I demanded.

Althea had a smirk on her face upon hearing what I said. "You came here to spout that nonsense?" She placed one of her arms below her chest, while the other was on it as she bit through one of her fingers. "Did I even hear you right? Just between those packs... are you sure? Didn't you know that the Dark Shadow Clan joined the Crimson Moon's side?" she inquired.

I was totally taken aback. "That's not true! Dawn's clan would never dare to join forces with them," I said.

Dawn hates both Shin and Nero. I can't even imagine the three of them fighting side-by-side just to take over the Blood Moon Pack and defeat them.

"You've been dancing along Dawn's thread, Luna. You think that he's protecting you and expecting nothing in return?" Althea laughed, mocking my naivety. "No one in this world thinks that way anymore," she added.

Could this be what Eman was trying to say? So does it mean that Dawn and everyone else other than Eman were treating me as one of their pawns?