Page 86 of Blood Moon
I scoffed. “What was that? I don’t have a complex! This has nothing to do with being an only child,” I said, sneering at him and biting back tears. “I’m pissed at you, and I don’t know what’s happening!”
“I’m saying that you’re being ungrateful. This entire time I’ve been warning you! I’ve been telling you to leave. Not once did you ever listen.” He glowered. “I told you I was a monster. I warned you of the danger. Now here I am, saving you, and you can’t even say thank you? C’mon, Mira.”
I lowered my voice. “You act as if it’s so simple. It’s not, Julian,” I said, swiping away tears. “All of this is absurd. And I get to freak out, okay? There are creatures after me!”
Julian fumbled with what he wanted to say next. “Mira, I’m sorry … you’re right … and fighting isn’t going to help us right now.” He took a breath. “There is something else I need to tell you.”
My throat swelled, and I sat up quickly. “Julian,” I said, bracing myself and already frustrated. “What is it?” I couldn’t handle another thing. I gripped the door handle, squeezing so hard it burned.
He didn’t skip a beat. “I’m not just a werewolf,” Julian breathed. “I’m a vampire, too.”
CHAPTER42
I was utterly cognizant of what I’d become for her.
Article II, Lost Letters from Aadan the First
We were silent, still pulled off to the side of the road. I wrestled with my thoughts as I pressed against the passenger door, hesitant to leave. How was any of this possible?
Julian returned my phone, and I gaped at the blank screen while I pulled on the handle. I released it. Where would I even go?
He stared out the windshield, the red moon in the distance, encircled by clouds. “Do you have any questions for me?”
I bit my bottom lip, squeezed my phone. There weretoo many questions.“I don’t know what to say or how to start. This is … pushing beyond belief. How is it possible that you’re both?” My chest heaved.
Julian started the engine. We drove a few hundred feet, and he said, “This has been happening to my kind for centuries. It’s darker than the fairytale people have made it out to be. Darker than whatever’s in those books about Timber Plains.
“Eras ago, the first vampires came to be, known as the Elites. It started in Europe, and as the Europeans fled to new areas, so did the vampires. Each place they went, they brought diseases, spreading them through the blood of victims who escaped. Humans were dying at rapid speeds. Influenza, the plague, death by vampires.
“The Elites wiped out towns across the world, until one day, the heavens opened, and down came Aadan. When he touched the ground, a new mutation formed. Werewolves. And when Aadan turned into a wolf for the first time, he split into two.
“Aadan the First and Aadan the Second were the Originals.
“The Originals were said to have been created as a shield to humanity. They were the only thing that could kill a vampire. The pack grew and grew, and over time, the wolves stretched across the world, forming as a mutation in select mortals—at first—until eventually, they mated and multiplied.
“At some point, the original pack caught wind that the Elites had voyaged to North America and settled in the Midwest. As Aadan the First and Aadan the Second traveled there, so did many others.
“For years, they looked for the Elites and could not find them. This caused a divide. Eventually, Aadan the Second felt he was stronger, more agile. At all times, he was a warrior, prepared for battle, and Aadan the First grew exhausted. The endless hunting and fighting and killing didn’t seem like a fulfilling life. Because of this, Aadan the Second wanted to be Alpha, but there could onlybeone Alpha.
“The first Aadan tried to reason with the second Aadan, but when that failed, war broke out. The wolves turned on each other, fighting to the death. The second Aadan destroyed towns out of rage, killing the humans and any other wolves who followed Aadan the First, until they eventually found and wiped out the hidden village of vampires.
“Then, on an evening like tonight, during the Blood Moon, a vampire made a pact with Aadan the First amid the war. If they came together, they’d be stronger than Aadan the Second, and they could defend their territory. That’s when the Blood Lycans were born, my people.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, but I didn’t give him a chance to respond, because this was the story, the one Rena would tell me. “But the wolf and the vampire didn’t just make a pact, they fell in love, right?”
His voice was rough. “Where’d you hear that?”
“My mother,” I said, and when I did, Julian looked at me with narrowed eyes. “So then, how … how was mating even possible? They opposed each other. Did the pact really solve everything?”
He looked back at the road. “An evolution happened. What we call fated mates, and no, it didn’t solveeverything.” My look of confusion was enough for Julian to continue. “It’s similar to imprinting, which is common in nature. Birds and other animals are born with the ability to imprint on their mothers, and later, it determines who they’ll be attracted to.
“In the paranormal world, it’s a bit different. It’s the involuntary process by which the wolves and Blood Lycans find their soulmates. It originally existed to build stronger, more cohesive communities—the perk being more powerful offspring. For wolves, it is the initial first meeting with ‘the one’ that causes it. For Blood Lycans, it comes in blurs through dreams and visions. Only, they need to taste the blood of the other to truly know.”
This new information sparked so many questions. Mostly, I wanted to know if Julian had found his fated mate, what happened to the vampires, and if the wolves ever surrendered. “Have you found your mate?” I asked.
“No,” he said quickly, and I didn’t know why, but he seemed upset by this.
“You said the pact didn’t solve everything … why was that?”
