His Cursed Luna

6. Night Slaughters

|| Penelope ||

I sat on the chesterfield, exhausted. The entire evening was unexpected. I closed my eyes, massaging my temples with my fingers as I tried to clear my thoughts. First, I was somehow sent back in time. Next, I saved some Lycan out of nowhere, and the mysterious wolf showed up in the ball, pushing me into the center of the attraction.

In my past life, I wanted to be the Queen, I wanted to earn respect and power, and in the end, when it came, I had lost too much. Hence, I had always thought if I were given another chance, I would never fight over the crown; rather, I would live a happy and peaceful life away from this castle. But my fate didn’t want that, certainly.

“Penny,” Bridget walked in.

I opened my eyes as I stared at her blankly. Her naivety died when she realized I was in a problem and the circumstances forced her to grow up.

“I heard you have been declared the Crowned Princess! What happened out there, Penny? Who was the wolf you danced with?” She asked as she sat by my side.

“A Lyacn. I have never seen him before, Bridget,” I murmured defeatedly, “but he seems to know a lot about me.”

I told her everything that happened in the hall. Bridget bit her bottom lip as her mind was processing my words, “he questioned about your wolf! Do you think he knows?”

“I am not sure. The possibility is there,” I nodded.

“You need to be very careful, Penny. This secret of yours can bring disaster to your life,” Bridget spoke with concern.

Yes, I knew that. I still could hardly believe how Elijah twisted his words on this matter, pushing me to the verge of death. No one should know about my secret! Otherwise, I would be dead in no time.

A sigh left my lips as I thought of Elijah. He came to talk to me at the party, only to exchange some pleasantries. My blood boiled at his words. I wanted to smack that face, making him forget to smile forever. A rage built up in my heart, urging me to tear him apart limb by limb. I hated this man to my guts. Only I knew how I was able to control my bloodlust.

“I know,” I whispered.

“Anyway, we will find a way to deal with everything, Penny. Please don’t overthink. I bet you haven’t had a proper dinner after this havoc,” Bridget smiled, trying to soothe things up.

How could I eat when my entire life was in jeopardy?

“I am not hungry, Bridget,” I replied.

“Let me ask for some milk at least,” she insisted as she stepped towards the bell to pull the rope. A servant was supposed to show up in the quarter as soon as possible, but I was an abandoned Princess, and hence the servant would probably take his sweet time to arrive.

Bridget knew this well, and hence she walked near me again, “let me comb your hair. You will feel better.”

I nodded. She stood behind the Chesterfield and took off the hairpins one by one. I closed my eyes for a moment. A sudden sense of danger touched my skin. I sat on the couch promptly as my gaze fell directly on the open window. The chilly wind was playing with the huge curtains. I closed my eyes again to focus. There was an intruder by the apron of my window. No, two! No, wait, more! A shiver ran down my spine. I stared at Bridget once blankly.

“What…” she couldn't finish her sentence as I asked her to be quiet in sign while standing up slowly. Another gust of wind entered the room, extinguishing every single source of light. I knew what was coming.

Soon a hooded figure appeared in the room. Then another one joined him, and then another. There were five in total.

“Penny,” Bridget whispered as she stood by my side. I could sense her wolf was on the verge of shifting. Bridget was a low-ranked werewolf, and hence I couldn’t rely on her much, especially when we were facing five warriors. They weren’t Lycans, and I could tell that. Neither could I sense them being werewolves. What were they?

“Finish her,” one of them spoke as two hooded figures stepped forward, obliging the order.

I could sense the tension building up in the room. The two men came forth, chanting something that made me feel dizzy.

“Penny!” Bridget screamed out in pain as she fell to her knees. I felt a little uneasy. My gaze found Bridget once. I had to save us from this situation.

Measuring my surroundings, I fixed my eyes on those two who were chanting. I knew I would get only one chance, but I had to take whatever I could. Taking a deep breath, I launched myself towards them. It took me only a fraction of a second to grab one of their heads. I twisted his neck, spinning him midair before throwing him towards the others. My sudden outburst took them by surprise.

“Bridget, RUN!” I yelled as I took a protective stance.

I knew giving them time to recover would do no good. Hence, I pounded my fist on one of the figures, making him groan in pain. Bridget was still in a daze. There was nothing much to think about. Grabbing her arm, I dragged us towards the huge window and then jumped off. She was a werewolf, and hence her landing wasn’t a problem. I tried my best not to hurt myself.

“RUN, BRIDGET,” I screamed, and she stood up promptly.

I knew I probably couldn’t outrun them, but it would at least buy us some time. If we were lucky, we might come across some guards who might help us.

“Penny, they are no wolves,” she spoke in panic.

“I know,” I replied as I tried to pick up the space.

We were in the garden. I took a right, knowing it would lead us to the training ground. The probability of finding some help will be better over that area of the castle. Soon we came across a long corridor. As we were about to step in there, I sensed the same scents around us. The hooded figures appeared, surrounding us, making us shiver.

“Enough of this chase,” one of them snarled, “finish them off.”

I tried to find an opening, but there was none. The chanting started again, making Bridget miserable. I began to feel bitter but was still in my senses. Oh, Goddess! Did you bring me back to give me a less miserable death? I wondered as I hugged Bridget. She was crying and yelling in pain. What kind of chant was that? A sudden thought appeared in my mind. Sorcery!

“The Dark Witches!” I mumbled.

“So you know,” one of them smiled as they kept chanting.

Bridget slowly fell to the ground, and I knelt with her. Her body became cold, and her breathing was shallow.

“Bridget!” I muttered, holding her head on my lap. Was it the end of me?

The cold wind blew my hair, touching my cheeks and bringing a sudden ease to my heart. A gusty wind blew around us, and the chanting stopped with it. The only thing I heard was a schwing. I lifted my head only to find myself amidst a pile of dead bodies. Then my eyes met the back of a familiar stranger.

“Are you alright, Princess?” His voice in the hallway. The long dark blue coat was enough for me to recognize the man. He danced with me in the hall, but the mischievousness was gone from his eyes.

Bridget groaned before I could answer.

“Bridget,” I shook her shoulder worryingly when I heard him again.

“She will be fine in a bit. It was a soul-sucking chanting. To think of hybrid assassins, you must have irked someone badly,” he added.

“Hybrids!” I repeated.

“That’s right. Half werewolf and half witch. Very handy to make a false rogue attack,” he explained.

“You shouldn’t have interfered in the ball,” I replied with irritation. He slowly stepped closer and knelt.

“I wanted to help,” he spoke in his defence as he examined me.

“And now I am the target,” I yelled, unable to control my temper, “who are you?”

“Seems like their magic hardly has any effect on you,” he ignored my question again.

“You are one beautiful mystery to me, Penelope,” he smiled for some reason while standing up.

And then he disappeared in the dark, leaving his last words, “will meet again, princess!”