Immortal Desire

Chapter 5 | Gemma

Raque abruptly snatched Bernice from Fierro’s grip. She can feel the tension between Fierro and her beloved Bernice. Why does she regret taking her girlfriend into Fierro’s lair? She should have known better why Fierro is so eager to make Bernice Guideville be part of La Quinta Jewels.

“Perdonami, B,” said Raque to Bernice while checking on her arms that Fierro tightly gripped.

"Are you hurt?”

“No, no, I’m fine.”

“Let’s go home. I need to think things over. I felt disappointed with your boss Raque. You told me a way different, Erasmus del Fierro. I am not expecting his insolence and he . . . his invading my mind,” said Bernice unintentionally.

“Invading your mind? What do you mean by that?” Raque asked in curiosity.

Why is Bernice suddenly telling her about her secret power? Did she just disclose to her she can read minds?

“Oh, did I say that? Forget it. Can you drive me home? I don’t know where Dimitri went. He might have gone exploring hunting girls.”

“Your brother is a womanizer. Isn’t he?”

“No! No, he’s not a Casanova. Dimitri likes you. I mean, loves you, Raque. But I can’t share what is mine because you only belong to me.”

Raque was taken aback when Raque’s lips touched hers once they were seated inside her car.

“I missed you.”

Bernice muttered while intertwining their hands and looking straight into her eyes. Raque couldn’t help but felt guilty of the truth. She made Bernice fall in love with her to use her. She’s the chosen one, and she needed her to get Gemma in possession..

“I missed you too, B,” Raque pulled Bernice close to her and embraced her tightly as she could. A tear fell from her eyes.

‘I am an immortal, and I shouldn’t feel guilty. I shouldn’t pity you, Bernice. I needed you for my gain, but why do I feel this way? Immortals don’t know how to love humans. I don’t have the heart to love you. I don’t know what love is. But earlier, when I saw you in Fierro’s arms, I felt enraged. I felt jealousy. I can’t bear to see you in some else’s arms. My mission is to get Gemma into our possession and kill you. I don’t think I can now, B. I love you this much that I will sacrifice my own life.’ Raque wanted to tell Bernice what and how she feels right now, but she couldn’t. She constantly needs to block her from invading her thoughts, afraid that she will find her deepest secrets.

Raque is in this complicated situation because of the powerful stone—Gemma. At first, she only needed to find Fierro, and then Fierro sent her out to Italy to watch over a woman named Bernice Cruz. No one knows; neither does she foresaw she would learn to love an immortal in human form. Raque is lucky enough that B loved her back more than she anticipated. She could still remember how Fierro set up everything for her and Bernice to meet. Fierro was there at the event but hiding in the shadow.

Fierro is the primary culprit of the car accident that caused Bernice to lose her memories. He planned every single detail of it. Raque couldn’t understand why, but now she can see a clear picture. Fierro wants Bernice for himself, but she couldn’t allow that to happen. The woman belongs to her. Only hers!

“I found her.”

Fierro excitedly told Raque while they were discussing the event they will attend in Milan. It was a jewelry fashion event that members of the Milan Jewel Organization organized annually. Only jewelers around the globe that have an exclusive invitation may present their jewelry company masterpiece. Milan Jewel’s is a distinguishing occasion that Fierro can’t afford to miss.

“I need you to fly to Milan tonight. Bring her back to me unscathed. I don’t care how you would do it. I need Bernice Cruz Guideville to be part of La Quinta. Offer her millions. Give her everything she wanted. I need her here. Do you understand?”

“Why such a hurry? Who is this woman?”

“I don’t like questions, Santillan. Do as I say!” His pierced eyes and an authoritative voice roared in his office.

“During the jewelry event, she needs to wear a piece of jewelry I specially made for her. I need to see it. I need to see it glowing. I need proof that I found the woman I’ve been looking for.”

Raque did not hesitate to fly to Milan, Italy. It is her chance to retrieve the Stone. But she came unprepared. Fierro has hired tight security to watch Gemma. She predicted Fierro would not be there, but she was wrong. From the time the model wore the necklace with the Gemma stone until she took it off. Fierro was watching it closely. A different Erasmus del Fierro wears a rare smile on his face. She saw him close to Bernice.

Raque let the chance of getting Gemma into her hands slipped away. She could have snatched it out from Bernice, but she didn’t. The pendant of the necklace that Bernice wore is the stone she’s been looking for. She saw not only the excitement in Fierro's but also his lustful desire for the woman she loved.

Raque met Bernice before Fierro found her. Ephraim invited her over to Milan on Bernice's eighteenth birthday. From then on, she closely followed Bernice until she befriended her. When the car accident happened, she took the opportunity that Bernice does not remember her being an immortal.

SpadeChaser demanded her to come back to the Philippines to watch over Fierro. They arranged everything for her. Fierro knows of her being an immortal, but he does not know her role in his life and the danger he could face once she unleashes the truth. Getting close to Fierro comes on a mission.

Fierro possesses a powerful gem that belongs to Raque’s clan. It was initially from Spade’s pack but was stolen by Quinta's ancestors. Raque was once a werewolf before transforming into a vampire. Her mother and Ephraim Guideville’s ancestors belong to the same clan. They are the most powerful werewolves during their era.

For the immortal like Raque, the moon goddess can take their eternal power back if they don’t abide by the prophecy. Gemma stopped glowing and shielding the werewolves when Raque’s ancestor failed to find the chosen one.

A new prophecy came about fifteen years ago. The chosen one will have a red crescent moon on her nape. She was born with infinite powers that can only be unleashed when Gemma and the chosen becomes one. The last and only werewolf that can touch and unleash the power of the stone. The ability to shield her kind and control fire, air, water, and earth in her hands.

Bringing back the Gemma — a powerful stone given by the moon goddess some thousand years ago to protect the werewolves from humans and other creatures is her mission. Raque needed to retrieve Gemma before being freed from being an immortal. She needed to bring back the stone from its original resting place, on a hidden cave on top of Sorento mountain that can only be seen during the lunar eclipse forty-nine days from the now.

SpadeChaser is an organization run by Ephraim Silas Guideville secretly. Ephraim found the chosen one, and he needed to protect her from saving his kind. The blood moon and lunar eclipse are about to happen forty-nine days from now. Bernice's twenty-first birthday is a week from now, and she is not showing any immortal powers other than her shaman skills.

Dimitri came home without Bernice that made Ephraim hissed at him.

“Where is your sister?”

“She’s with your friend Raquel. I can smell them on the way.”

“Have I not told you to watch over her? We are no longer in Italy, Dimitri. Now is the time I need you to watch her closely. The Quintas can take her back from us anytime now. It is crucial Bernice remains on our side. She can’t treat us as an enemy. It will be the end of all of us if that happens. We need her to protect us on the night of the blood moon, and that is only possible if she remains on our lair. Do you understand, Dimitri?”

“Babbo, why don’t we tell her the truth? My sister will understand. It is the best way we can do so that she takes our side and protects us.”

Bernice silently walked inside their house. She has only been here a few times

since they moved to Milan. Her father Ephraim forbids her to come back to Manila on her own. However, Bernice managed to sneak out with her brother Dimitri. Their parents knew they were in Paris but they are both in the Philippines with Raque. Dimitri is like a magnet to Bernice that he follows where she goes. He knows every detail about Bernice. Dimitri yearns for her sister to free his mother Camillia. The last Luna that has gone wild because of Elfego. She has been locked up in the Mountains of Sorento for almost thirty-one years now.

“What truth do I need to know, Babbo? D?” asked Bernice in silence as she read her father's and brother's thoughts.