《Lunation of Fate》 01 First Blood Chastine was about to be killed as tribute. Bound in a prison cell, her flesh and blood was going to be offered to the god of the werewolves in the morning. After being experimented on for their self-serving motives, her final day ends on the tribute stone to be ughtered and eaten. The wolf god prefers a vestal offering for this ritual and she fits the bill. And there she was in chains, as her hope for survival dissipates. All she wanted was to be a free human since that was what she hadn¡¯t achieved in her waking life. But cruel fate just won¡¯t let her have it. A chinking sound of bolt and hinge being unfastened was heard within Chastine¡¯s earshot. The noise echoed within the chambers of the underground jail. It seems to be that someone had opened the main gate of the dank and dreary mmer. A pair of footsteps drew nearer towards Chastine¡¯s cell. Louder had those footsteps became, then it halted in front of the gated side of her room. She saw the pair belong to a male fellhound, a human tainted with the curse of the wolf-god. ¡°Are you the witborn from the watchtower?¡± The man inquired of her origin. She saw the man to be brawny, but the man didn¡¯t seem to be hairy like what they say of his kind. Chastine didn¡¯t utter a word. There was a moment of silence before the man say another string of words. But Chastine just couldn¡¯t bring into herself to have a little chit-chat with the male stranger. In her mind it was futile to have a conversation with one of her captors as she is going to die soon by their hands. But the male werewolf just wouldn¡¯t give up to strike a conversation with her. He somehow had an idea on what was going on inside Chastine¡¯s mind: that is, to break free from her chains. The man smirked a little and revealed to her the motive of his visit, ¡°what if told you that you can get out of here alive?¡± Chastine¡¯s face suddenly lit after hearing that hopeful statement. She recognized that his words had a serious, I¡¯m-not-kidding tone. She responded by standing up, the chains on her hands and feet noisily clunking as she approached him at a good distance, her face finally catching some light beams revealing her face. ¡°Ah,¡± the fellhound was amused and smiled at the sight of Chastine¡¯s face, ¡°so this is what you look like. They must¡¯ve prepared you for the feast in the morning. Beautiful.¡± She could see in his eyes that he was indeed pleasantly surprised at seeing her physique. Chastine was bathed and groomed. Her dark brown hair was half tied, with the tie loosely braided in an aesthetic fashion. They have also clothed her with a white flowy long gown that plunges down to her buckle-less belt sitting low on her waist. If you¡¯d put a crown of flowers on her head, she would look like a bridesmaid in a wedding ceremony. Chastine rarely hears sincere ttery. One might think it¡¯ll lighten up the mood but her serious mood just wouldn¡¯t change. She felt more determined at hearing the next line the man will spew out. Whatever he¡¯ll say next was her ticket to getting out of the turf of the fellhounds. ¡°What do I need to do?¡± Chastine muttered with a determined look on her face, the inner tip of her brows almost meeting at the middle. She¡¯ll do whatever it takes just to set herself free from her current chains. ¡°So now you¡¯re interested. Good. Your escape will depend on your answers from my questions.¡± Chastine inhaled and exhaled deeply, readying herself from the questions that would keep her alive. ¡°Ask away,¡± she carefully but calmly retorted. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± the man asked casually. Her answer was abrupt, ¡°Chastine.¡± ¡°No family name, even before you were enved?¡± The fellhound then arched one of his brows out of curiosity. ¡°None that I know of,¡± replied Chastine, ¡°I was orphaned at five.¡± ¡°Hmm-k¡­ How old are you?¡± What the hell are these questions? Chastine thought to herself, but she answered them nheless. ¡°18.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± the fellhound¡¯s lips upturned as if pleased with her answer. ¡°Who was with you at the Dianium watchtower?¡± ¡°My then master. Why is this relevant?¡± Chastine was bing confused at these basic questions. She felt like she was going to fill up a form for a job offer. ¡°Was he the one who taught you witborn skills, tinkering gears and all?¡± The strange fellhound maneuvered his hands in the air, as if tinkering an invisible tiny music box. ¡°Yes,¡± Chastine proudly said, ¡°but I learned some things on my own.¡± ¡°Hmm, what are those things?¡± The man squinted his eyes. ¡°Uhm,¡± she paused, hesitating to answer, but answered it nheless, ¡°¡­picking locks.¡± ¡°So they say. You¡¯re one feisty escapist.¡± The young fellhound, about the same age as Chastine, had a smug look on his face and began teasing her, ¡°ha, but isn¡¯t it ironic now?¡± Chastine was challenged and she was up for it. ¡°Give me a needle and I¡¯ll prove it to you.¡± ¡°So you like poetry?¡± the young man changed the subject back to questioning her. She was surprised that he knew. ¡°Why, yes. Reading them keeps me sane.¡± ¡°And writing. Seems to me you¡¯re making them, right on the walls,¡± the amused fellhound saw Chastine¡¯s scribblings on her cell¡¯s wall, inked from lichens growing along its tiny cracks. She nced at what she has made and apologized to the curious fellow, ¡°err, sorry.¡± ¡°Heh. You know, Chastine, you¡¯re quite resourceful.¡± She was confused at what to say, ¡°uhm, thank you?¡± ¡°And smart, and talented. Other than that you also have your own charm, but that¡¯s just a bonus.¡± ¡°Bonus? For what exactly?¡± Chastine was astonished. The man replied with enthusiasm, ¡°I would like to make an offer to you.¡± Chastine¡¯s chains clunked as she walked nearer towards the male fellhound. ¡°What¡¯s your offer?¡± ¡°Hearing and seeing your skills, you could be of use to me. But first, we have to get rid of your usefulness to the tribe.¡± ¡°How?¡± Gathering all sense and confidence, the man closed his eyes, then he opened and directly stared at Chastine¡¯s. He then calmly retorted, ¡°have sex with me, Chastine.¡± Chastine couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard. Confused, her eyes widened while her brows met at the middle. Her jaw gapped. ¡°W-what the-¡± ¡°The wolf dog prefers virgins. Hah, seeing your reaction it must be quite true. You need your maidenhood torn to make you a useless tribute, Chastine. Think about it.¡± While what the man proposed was logical, it was a matter of ethical dilemma for Chastine. She was indeed a ve since she was brought her to her first master, but she was marketed to be vestal to keep her worth high. Master after master, they had respected that idea. Until she met this fellhound. But she was carefully weighing in on the risks. ¡°What happens if I reject your offer?¡± ¡°Come morning, you¡¯ll be offered on the tribute stone. They will do a ritual and you¡¯ll be chopped to bits. Then¨C*ehem*-my men will chomp on your flesh and collect your blood for further experiments.¡± ¡°¡­and if I ept?¡± Chastine weakly asked. The man smirked. ¡°We f*ck, I get what I need, you escape unbitten, you live and freely. You¡¯ll have the time of your life.¡± Chastine knew the better option, but she was still gauging at further risks. This sex for survival has taken on a new meaning to her. Seeing that this will be her first time and to a fellhound, she began to feel grossed out but nervous. She knows that fellhounds want to keep their bloodline pure. If she would bore a child to this fellhound, she will be killed nheless. Whichever option she chooses, her life will be on the line.N?velDrama.Org content rights. The man, who seems to be growing impatient at Chastine¡¯s answer, finally gave her an ultimatum, ¡°well, clock¡¯s ticking, what say you?¡± Even with theplicated situation at hand, Chastine¡¯s sharp sense was still working. She needed to ensure that she¡¯d still be alive after their coption. ¡°How can I trust you to keep me alive?¡± The young man¡¯s face turned proud and serious at what he said next, ¡°we fellhounds keep our promise. You have my word. I¡¯ll protect you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name, by the way?¡± she asked as she decided to strike a deal with the fellhound. ¡°Call me Juste.¡± Chastine gave her answer to Juste. His face brightly lit at what he heard. 02 Dianium Lore In the world of Dianium, a legend is being survived by those bearing the anathema given by their gods. Legend has it that out of her thirst for power, the goddess of blood, Karmi, granted her loyal worshippers the gift of the dark arts: whoever wields it will rule over another. As they grew in number, the wolf-god of flesh, Rolfus, realize it was catastrophic for humankind. He gave his followers supernatural strength to fight off Karmi¡¯s worshippers. This was Rolfus¡¯ charge, but as time passes the evil nature of men defeat their purest desires. His followers began to abuse their power, using it for selfish gains. With the chaos in the world, Dianos, the moon titan, awakened from his slumber of a thousand suns. He became furious at the fold of events, thus he subjected both to a curse to overpower them by the witborns, humans untainted with their gifts. Rolfus and Karmi¡¯s worshippers received the same curse of being subject to untainted humans, though their supernatural gifts remained in their blood. So exist the bloodline of werewolves; known as fellhounds, the bloodline of vampires; termed as bloodhunts, and the untainted humans; called the witborns, with the witborns overpowering both of them with hydropneumatic technology. Today, the daily dealings in Dianium is deem peaceful and in orderpared to things pass. Unsaid hostility towards each other still run in their veins, so each bloodline is kept to their regions. There are but few open cities in the world of Dianium, as it serves all bloodlines trade andmerce. Fellhounds are of brawny type, bearing a rugged and boxy physique. Their canine teeth are wider and sharper than their human ancestor. They are mostly hairy, but they have the most beautiful eyes of royal blue or light hazel. They are physically strong: one can carry a baby elephant without breaking a sweat. Their favorite pastime is athletics. When wounded or tired, they regenerate at a faster rate than witborns.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org. Fellhounds are loyal to their word and caring in nature. Bloodhunts are of scrawny type, their kind being tall and pale inplexion. This is because they like to live in dark ces and avoid sunlight, as they will burn literally if exposed to the sun. They would still survive, but it will be harder for them to regenerate. They have dark eyes that can pierce a soul. Each set of canines of the bloodhunts looks sharper and pointier, so as the top tip of their ears, but they look sophisticatingly beautiful. They excel in the magic, arts, and music, which they use in defense against witborns and fellhounds. They are a mysterious lot. As the witborns build cities and towers on t ground, the fellhounds decided to live in the mountains. While the bloodhunts retreated to dark and gloomy underground caves. The witborns have overpopted Dianium,pared to the fellhounds and the bloodhunts. They advance in knowledge and new technology,piling codexes and conducting studies to maintain their defenses against the other races. Dianos, the moon titan, gave the witborns the gift of air and water power technology. With this knowledge and means, they have constructed what is called the Tink Tank. A Tink Tank is a steam-powered full armor that is worn and controlled mechanically by the wearer. It is a battle suit with erged limbs to raise up the strength of the witborn wearer. It is also installed with ss panels at the front for guarded viewing and to hinder the mind control skills of vampires. This powerful suit is the first line of defense from the fellhounds and the bloodhunts. Meanwhile, the bloodhunts have an arsenal of their own, but of the unconventional kind. They do not opt for selective breeding, but want to maintain their gifts through perpetuity. They naturally developed in their blood the means to make themselves immortal: by drinking blood of other creatures. So far, the best qualityes from untainted humans, though it is hard toe by. They abhor drinking the blood of the fellhounds; the taste seems repulsive to them. Selective breeding is the key to maintain the gifts of the werewolf race. Because of this, they are quite strict within their tribe, else it would weaken the supernatural gifts within their flesh. To keep their strength as they age, they eat untainted humans sold off through the ck market. This is where Juste¡¯s abhorrence lies. They are required to eat a human witborn on their 18th birthday. He just couldn¡¯t take the thought of eating a live creature that looks, moves and speaks like him. The human branch had already split into three species, but deep down, instinctively, Juste would have not of it. Juste thinks he¡¯s just a cursed human being, and he needs to reverse this curse in their bloodline starting from him. The tradition of eating human flesh has be less effective for the fellhounds, so the consumption of witborns must be at a more frequent rate. This was why Chastine had been experimented on, with tiny lumps of her innards biopsied and collected. She was a virgin. So instead of being discarded and ughtered in the dishonorable way, she was to be offered in a ritual as theing of age to their princely Juste. She was specially purchased by the wolf king for this purpose. But the predator and prey had one thing in mind: they both want to get out of their eventual situation. Juste couldn¡¯t take eating Chastine so he wants to defect from their n, while Chastine wants to break free and live as free human. They both want to escape that which imprisons them. ¡°So, is that a yes I just heard?¡± crooned the happily surprised Juste to Chastine. ¡°You want me to take back my decision?¡± muttered the passively irate Chastine, as she smiled with her eyes automatically squinting. Juste denied his enthusiasm with sarcasm, but underneath his words was an obvious jittery panic, ¡°hah, suit yourself. I¡¯m not the one going to die soon,¡± Chastine confidently replied, ¡°face it, you need me to achieve your goals. I¡¯m that one in a million chance you¡¯re dying to have.¡± ¡°Feisty guilt-tripping aren¡¯t we?¡± Juste was growing irritable at the flow of their conversation. ¡°I¡¯m just stating a matter-of-fact.¡± ¡°Fine¡­¡± Juste threw a thick pin from his coat to Chastine, ¡°¡­prove your skills right now then let¡¯s resume the talk.¡± Chastine¡¯s little hands picked the needle on the damp floor. Her nimble fingers tinkered on the keyhole of her chains with the pin Juste gave. ¡°Hurry, Chastine¡­¡± Juste was bing impatient of her bust out. Then as hemented on her sluggishness, the unfastening of her chains became palpable in his ears. Then, there followed the freefall drop of those very chains on the stone floor. 03 Exhibit A ¡°There. See what I mean?¡± Chastine was massaging her wrist as they were freed from the heavy chains. ¡°Now, the second lock: on the door.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± Chastine¡¯s eyes was wide with unbelief, ¡°I need a thicker needle for this. I know you have the key.¡±N?velDrama.Org content rights. Juste answered quick, ¡°wrong.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Key room¡¯s heavily guarded.¡± Chastine was disappointed, folding her arms in the process. ¡°So much for your n of escape.¡± ¡°If you could break through here, you pass the final test.¡± ¡°¡­do you have a thin knife?¡± She decided to give it a go. After all, it was the option to break out of her prison. Juste reached from his side pocket and handed over his knife pen. ¡°Here, will this do?¡± Both her brows raised up and she smiled, out of a happy surprise. ¡°Perfect.¡± Chastine sessfully opened the gate to her cell. She swung open the prison door and waited for Juste toe in. But Juste, on the other hand, grabbed her right arm right away. He hurriedly pulled her out of her cell. ¡°What? Wait, where are we going? I thought we¡¯re going to have s*x?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re going to f*ck,¡± Juste dragged Chastine towards the exit, ¡°but not in here. Upstairs, outside, in the tribute room, for father to witness.¡± ¡°WHAT?! I BEG YOUR PARDON?¡± What the hell?! Curses were swirling inside Chastine¡¯s mind. Justine slightly nced at his back for Chastine as they hurryingly stride their way to the tribute room. ¡°We need to have concrete evidence of your uselessness. We need to show them that we¡¯re f*cking.¡± Chastine¡¯s expression was a mix of disgust and nervousness. Never in her life would she imagine that her first time would be with a fellhound and for many to see. But this was a dire moment to be in. She needed to go beyond her principles to survive. Juste reassured Chastine of the act that they will do. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll be over soon.¡± He added, squeezing her hand in the process, ¡°I¡¯ll be gentle.¡± ¡ª ¡°Are we there yet?¡± she began to inquire in whisper as she and his redeemer had being walking at a good distance. The trail was dark and narrow, with only a few torches mounted along the cramped corridor. It seemed to be a secret passageway to where they were headed. Juste stopped to his tracks. ¡°Are you tired already?¡± ¡°Obviously. We¡¯ve been walking for like half an hour.¡± Without warning, Juste maneuvered to carry Chastine in his arms. ¡°HEY, WAIT-¡± Juste reminded her of their supposed quiet escape. ¡°Shhh, the guards might hear us. What¡¯s the matter?¡± he whispered to Chastine. Juste¡¯s voice tingled inside her ears as his lips almost touched her ears from being carried by Juste. Her cheeks turned red and her heart skipped a beat as she found his voice to be seductive and deep. ¡°Uhm, nothing.¡± Chastine dismissed the idea of having outright feelings for Juste. Meanwhile, Juste didn¡¯t notice her expression as he was focused in getting out of the trail as soon as possible. ¡°Hold on to my jacket, I¡¯ll ran fast.¡± Chastine fastened her grip onto Juste¡¯s chest area and closed her eyes in the process. Juste held her tightly, then began to ran at a growing speed towards the tribute room. They quietly but hurriedly reached the entrance of the tribute room. Juste carefullyid down Chastine¡¯s feet on the floor. ¡°We¡¯re here. Are you alright?¡± ¡°¡­yes.¡± She was still blushing and couldn¡¯t look at Juste straight in the eye. The tribute room was like a chapel, made of cobblestones with openings from three sides. It was located in the outskirts of the n¡¯s vast yard. Without any valuable things inside, Juste father found it useless to station any guards in there, so it was perfect for Juste tomit their act that was hideous to his n. Juste bolted all passages to the ce of conducting rituals. Then he started to light some candles situated on both sides of the altar to garner some attention. Afterwards, he reached for Chastine¡¯s hand and squeezed it slightly. ¡°Ready, Chastine?¡± There was a moment of silence. But before she could even utter a word, Juste pulled her towards him and held her cheeks. Juste then started to kiss Chastine. Chastine couldn¡¯t help but feel the warm lips of Juste. It was also her first time to taste someone on the lips, and to her surprise Juste¡¯s lips were pleasant to taste. Juste was setting up Chastine¡¯s mood so her tensed body would calm down. He tried to make love to Chastine as passionately as possible, so her first s*x wouldn¡¯t be as painful as they would seem to be. He broke their kiss to say something to her, ¡°was that good?¡± Chastine nodded. Justin caught a whiff of the aroma of her pheromones. He smiled at the fact that she¡¯s turned on. ¡°Don¡¯t doubt me, Chastine. Rx. I¡¯ll make this as pleasant as possible for you.¡± Juste started to kiss her forehead, then her nose bridge. He then bit her upper lip with his. If kissing feels quite good like this, no wonder everyone wants to have it. Chastine thought to herself. Chastine was starting to feel the rhythm of their lust-driven dance. By instinct, her arms started to lock themselves around his neck, while Juste moved around his hands along her warm body. Juste then broke their kiss again, but this time he started to hoist Chastine up to carry her towards the tribute stone, an altar table of sorts. Heid her face up onto the t surface, then pulled her dress up to her waist. Seeing herher regions wet and throbbing. His lengthy shaft started to get a hard on. Juste then unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. He let out the glorious beast inside him. He spread her legs and hooked them around his torso. He nced at Chastine again. While they look into each other¡¯s eyes, each filled with lust, Juste towered over Chastine andid over her to kiss her on the neck. Chastine¡¯s body began to burn with lust. She couldn¡¯t help but moan at the intensity of their love making. Juste then prepares her opening. He caressed her intimate part down there with his delicate fingers. Chastine moaned louder. He was even more turned on by Chastine¡¯s sultry voice. He started prodding Chastine¡¯s opening with his shaft. Slowly he prated her as he breathed deeply with Chastine hearing it. Chastine was blown away by what Juste was doing to her. It felt so good it crossed her mind that they should do it again if situation permits. ¡°Juste..¡± Juste breathed and thrusted heavily as he tries to break her maidenhood. *st* A trinkle of blood oozed out of Chastine¡¯s opening. She had been deflowered by Juste. It was painful, but as Juste said, it was just at the start. She began to feel a more intense euphoria when Juste¡¯s manhood began to go in and out of herher region. But Chastine was surprised at what she heard next. There were clinks and nks at the gated openings of the tribute room. Two guards were closing in on them. ¡°Juste, hurry.¡± Juste moved at a faster pace than before. 04 Climactic Exit ¡°Ahh¡­ Juste¡­ ahh,¡± Chastine was feeling the passionate heat from Juste¡¯s thrusts, her body obediently responding by her little paradise getting wetter and hotter. Juste was the same. His lengthy and throbbing meat was getting harder and harder. Trickles of sweat were dripping from his brows as he continued to pound Chastine¡¯s little paradise faster. ¡°Prince Juste, how could you?!¡± one of the guards was questioning his motives. Juste paused for a little while, nced at the guard with a smug smirk on his lips and said, ¡°tell father about this. Let him know that I¡¯m fucking my tribute.¡± He then continued to pound Chastine. The other guard went to the front gate of the tribute room, faced their castle, and howled a sounding rm. Then the inevitable happened. One by one, the candles from the little tiny window holes in the castle began to light up. Then the howling of that one guard was greeted with few more howlings that came inside the castle. ¡°Prince Juste, open the gate!¡± the guard he chatted with before was trying to pry open the barred gates. The other guard went away to meet theirmander and guide him towards Juste. But the princely Juste couldn¡¯t be bothered. He was focused in releasing his seed inside the erogenous opening of Chastine. ¡°Just¡­a¡­ little¡­ more¡­ Chastine¡­¡± Juste was reassuring her that it¡¯ll be over sooner than the guards capturing them. ¡°Prince Juste, stop this. NOW.¡± Scion, the armymander, saw them at a good distance and was enraged at what he had seen. But Juste just couldn¡¯t stop. He felt that he was about to reach climax and squirt out his stain inside Chastine. ¡°Juste!¡± Lord Abirham began to have a view of what was happening inside the tribute room. ¡°Aaahhh,¡± Juste felt a relief that their love making was over. They were both panting from exhaustion. It was a very exhrating but nerve-wracking experience for Chastine, partly because of the awesome s*x and partly because of the fear of being captured by the guards again. Whichever was the greater reason, her heart was pounding like crazy at what they did. The guard that chatted with Juste now had the keys. Anytime soon they will be seized by the Scion. Chastine will be killed nheless, while Juste will be punished severely for his despicable act. But Juste had a n of his own. He asked for Chastine¡¯s lockpicking prowess to do to the works. ¡°Chastine, here, open this gate,¡± he asked Chastine while pointing to the bottom of the tribute stone. Chastine was a little tired because of their deed, plus her heart was still beating abruptly. But she couldn¡¯t risk her life to be caught and eaten just because of exhaustion and out of nervousness. She followed Juste¡¯s instruction and looked closely at what he was pointing. There was indeed a small hole at the foot of the tribute stone, on the side of the altar that is hidden from the front gates. Chastine stared at the hole and thought long and hard how to open the exit way. Her heart slowly regained its normal beating because her concentration was in opening the little exit way. But Juste grew impatient and rmed at what she was doing. Hemented coolly and calmly, ¡°Chastine, no time for standing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking.¡± ¡°Well then, there¡¯s no time for thinking either. Hurry up and open the exit.¡± Chastine still had Juste¡¯s pen knife. By instinct, she stabbed the hole with the knife. It was a wrong move to make. The tribute room suddenly shook. Some bs and stones from the ceiling fell towards the ground. ¡°Chastine, what¡¯s happening?¡± Juste¡¯s voice suddenly went panicky. Chastine didn¡¯t bother with the bs and stones dropping. She was focused on finding out how to open the said gate and nonchntly replied to Juste, ¡°wait, let me think again.¡± Because the tribute room was slowly turning into rubble, one of the guards was able to sneak inside. Juste stopped him by punching him straight in the face as he charged forward speedily. Another tried to barge in. Juste threw a hand-sized stone onto his direction. It went straight to his face. ¡°Ah, so this is how you do it¡­¡± She inserted her forefinger into the hole, hooked his finger upwards, then pulled the door of the secret exit way. Bingo, she said to herself. ¡°Juste,e!¡± Chastine went inside the exit way, but she waited for Juste before she shut the door of the little passage. Juste was busy stopping the guards who managed to get inside the room. One almost caught Juste by the arms, but Juste was too agile to be restrained. He did an uppercut to that guard which hurled the guard up in the air and down to the other guards trying to seize them. With room to run, Juste ran hurriedly towards the little exit way on the foot of the tribute altar. Chastine shuts the door down. ¡°Now what?¡± Chastine asked Juste, who was trying to light a fire using a flintstone on the mounted torch beside them, ¡°where does this lead to?¡±This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Outside.¡± Juste sessfully lights up the torch. ¡°Heh, are there any more surprises?¡± Chastine started to lighten up the mood, but the now serious Juste only wanted one thing, and that is that they get out alive in that castle of his. After all, they were almost outside Juste¡¯s n¡¯s jurisdiction. ¡°Dunno, don¡¯t care.¡± Juste took hold of Chastine¡¯s hand. It was a little cold, but it is better than not having a hand to hold while he¡¯s trekking the small hidden passageway to their freedom. He stopped to his tracks. Chastine bumped into his behind. ¡°Ow. Why, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Juste¡¯s breathing went heavy. Chastine noticed the dead end. ¡°No, no, no¡­¡± Juste kept on saying no while he tried to find another keyhole of some sort. There wasn¡¯t any. ¡°Damn!¡± He beated his fist onto the wall. But Chastine had observed something. When he beated his curled hand on the wall, the earth they were standing on suddenly moved. She told him, ¡°Juste, do it again.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Just bang your fist on the wall.¡± Juste tried to follow what she said. Bang, he tried for a second time. At his third try, something happened beneath the earth. The earth copsed and opened. They fell deep on the chasm. ¡°AAAAAHHH!¡± Both screamed out of fear and surprise. They didn¡¯t know whether they would still be alive after hitting the bottom. Juste hit the bottom first, then it was Chastine. She fell onto Juste. ¡°Ow. My head,¡± she held onto her bruised head. ¡°You know you¡¯re quite heavy,¡± mumbled the squashed Juste. ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± Chastine stood up and helped him to also stand up. She then asked him, ¡°do you have any idea where are we?¡± Juste tried to head to the direction of light. He then parted away what appeared to berge leaves from a fern nt. With his spirits up, he cheerfully told Chastine, ¡°we¡¯re outside, Chastine, away from the clutches of the n.¡± They went out of the hell hole they were in and perused the forest. They saw a bridge on the far end of the forest. But just when they were about to cross a bridge of wood and twine, they were greeted by none other than his father, Lord Abirham. ¡°Juste,¡± Lord Abirham said, with a stern look on his face, ¡°why?¡± 05 Jump Ship ¡°Juste, why?¡± Lord Abirham asked Juste about his disgraceful behavior. He was his only child, so it was very hard for him to get totally angry with him. Juste wanted to tell his king father that he hated his own kind, for eating human flesh out of greed for their supernatural gifts. But his lips couldn¡¯t choose the right words to say. Deep down, he knows he will be insensitive to his own if he badmouths the nature of the fellhounds. So he bowed his head and kept silent. But his father wanted to reason out with him. ¡°Juste, if you wanted the girl, you could have told me. You can have anything you want in this castle.¡± Lord Abirham had thought Juste merely needed to release his s*xual urges. He added, ¡°There are better female fellhounds for you here. Do you want to run away with this frail witborn?¡± By this time, Chastine was getting more confused. She had no idea what was really going on. What was Juste¡¯s motive to get out of here? Was she preupied of her own escape that she didn¡¯t ask of his reason? It suddenly dawned on her. ¡°Juste what¡¯s going on? Why do you need to get away?¡± Chastine was bold enough to ask of his redeemer¡¯s motive to escape his n. Silence befell the forest. There were only the loud echoes of water next to the bridge, falling deep into the lively river. Juste mustered enough steadyposure to clear all false spections of his behavior. He looked at his father straight in the eye and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat my tribute. Witborns, fellhounds, even bloodhunts, we¡¯re all the same.¡± Lord Abirham raised his brows in surprise. Meanwhile, Chastine gasped. ¡°As the next in line to lead our n, you need to keep the gifts the wolf-god gave our bloodline. You must bear it, son, for the sake of your kin.¡± ¡°NO.¡± Juste blurted out a resounding disapproval. He might as well defect from them instead of consuming human flesh. ¡°Juste,¡± Lord Abhiram was growing impatient in reasoning out to his only son. But as Juste¡¯s father, he had chosen to understand his son instead. Juste, as his father thought, just might have this phase in his youth, growing angsty and rebelling against old ways. The n leader continued his hope of getting his son back through reason. However, Juste just would have not of it. He did another impulsive thing in front of his father. Seeing the only option to escape his father¡¯s clutches, he nced at Chastine and asked one thing that would test another of her skills. ¡°Chastine¡­¡± Juste held her hand. ¡°Yes?¡± He breathed deeply. ¡°Do you trust me?¡± Chastine couldn¡¯t answer outrightly. ¡°It¡¯s just a yes or no, Chastine,¡± added Juste. Chastine¡¯s heart beat faster. She took a leap of faith at her half-*ssed answer, ¡°Yes?¡± Juste then looked at Lord Abirham for onest time and bade farewell to him, to the only parent who raised him for 13 years. ¡°Goodbye, father¡­¡± He then sprinted towards the noisy waterfalls as he dragged Chastine along with him, jumping off the ground and into the abysmal body of water below the bridge. ¡°AAAAAHHH!!!¡± Chastine screamed for her dear life. She didn¡¯t think her day could get any worse. But there they were, freefalling with little chance of surviving. Will they be hit by rocks? Will they be in one piece as they take the plunge? Chastine¡¯s mind was filled with dread about their current state. After the long fall, they dived foot-first down the bottom of the waterfall. Touching the water surface felt like hitting pavement. Their adventure with the falls didn¡¯t stop there. They were quickly engulfed by the cascading torrents so they couldn¡¯t rear their heads out the water. It was a hard struggle. Chastine was running out of breath. But her willpower and grit overcame her fear, worry and exhaustion. She managed to swim away from the downward pull of the torrents. Juste, however, was nowhere to be found. ¡°Juste? Juste!¡± cried Chastine, as she look to her left and right, hoping to catch any sign of Juste¡¯s body. Without any sign from Juste, she thought that he was still at the bottom of the waterfalls. She dived in the river again and looked for him. Luckily, she spotted him below. But s, Juste was drifting; he was looking unconscious and lifeless. Chastine gathered up her remaining strength to pull Juste out of the water. She swam towards the surface with Juste¡¯s body in tow, carrying a portion of his weight as she makes way for shore. Chastine thought she could pass out at any moment, but her will to live and her will to make sure Juste is alive kept her moving. She was physically drained, but she immediately did a resuscitation to revive Juste, pumping her hands onto his chest. ¡°Juste!¡± Her fist was pounding onto his heart. In a manner of minutes, Juste coughed out a mouthful of water. ¡°Hah, hah, hah¡­¡± Chastine was catching her breath. ¡°What were you thinking?!¡± Juste wiped his mouth with his hand. ¡°Thanks. I don¡¯t know how to swim. For witborns, I heard it was natural.¡± ¡°You what?! You¡¯re as reckless as a badly spun tink tank!¡± She was still catching her breath. Juste justughed at their little reckless adventure. He was happy that he¡¯s finally having a first taste of his freedom. But celebrating his freedom was cut short as he noticed Chastine about to lie down from her position and began shivering. Her lips turned purple in color. ¡°Chastine. Chastine!¡± Juste began to worry about her health. He noticed her exhausted, but it didn¡¯t ur to him that she would have hypothermia. Granted, it was because of Chastine¡¯s skimpy gown that she had developed a short but fatal illness by the cold. He hesitated to set out a campfire as he thought of his father being hot on their trail. Fires let out smoke and smoke is seen at a good distance, so his father might find their whereabouts if he lights up a fire. He needed to find another way to warm up Chastine so her temperature goes back to normal. Without any hesitation, he carried her out of the wet surface. He then searched for a dry ce filled with foliage. He then started to undress Chastine. Then he unbuttoned his coat, jacket, and shirt. Juste then began to ce the shivering Chastine between his arms, wrapping her tightly to both keep their body heat from escaping.Material ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Chastine, just hold on,¡± Juste whispered onto her ear. It sent a different kind of heat within her body. ¡°Sorry, this is all I could manage.¡± Juste went for her hand and he wrapped it tightly into his, as he waits for Chastine¡¯s shivering to die down. 06 Rogue and Remedy It was before dawn when it all happened. From Chastine¡¯s break out of prison, to Juste¡¯s shocking n of escape, light hadn¡¯te out yet to greet them in full view. The chilly air of nighttime, coupled with ice cold waters, turned Chastine¡¯s body to shiver mad. It had hit her severely because she had been wearing flimsy clothing. Juste might be wholly to me. He didn¡¯t think carefully enough that witborns have weak constitutionpared to them fellhounds. Female fellhounds, a. k. a. werewolves, can withstand such low temperature. And with his n adapting to mountain weather, they were quite a strong lot against chilly winds and waters. Not Chastine. She¡¯s a normal human being, untainted by supernatural physical or mental gifts. Hers was an intellectual gift, but if she miscalctes, she would sumb to problems simr to what she was dealing with right now. She didn¡¯t know they will be swimming in a cold river pass midnight. Juste was taking responsibility for his own recklessness. He was bound to keep Chastine not only alive, but at the pink of her health. He greatly owed the frail human a favor. He had used her wits, her body and whatever strength she had just so he could fulfill his goal. But this is not his only reason for making sure she wakes up. Even for a little while, he had grown such fondness for the strong-willed witborn. He found Chastine¡¯s form and character alluring. Juste was leaning his back against a stocky tree. The foot of the tree had a small hollow, fit enough for him to squeeze himself in while hugging Chastine tightly in his arms. The area they were sitting on was covered with leaves. The leaves were serving little warmth and cover for them. As the young werewolf was waiting for the young human to wake up, he himself dozed off, probably from staying up all night. Hours passed and morning came. The chirping of birds can be heard throughout the forest. Chastine¡¯s eyes slowly pried open. She was awakened to the sound of their crooning. Gathering some sense into her surroundings, she was then shocked at the position they were in. She noticed her body without a hint of clothing. She waspletely naked. And she also noticed Juste without clothes. The most scandalous part of it was that Juste had wrapped his arms around her, and tightly at that. He also locked his finger onto hers. They look like a couple that had just made love to one another. While it was true that they had s*x, it was mostly out of necessity instead from heated passion. Chastine¡¯s knee-jerk reaction was to release herself from Juste¡¯s embrace. She then was rummaging through the pile of fallen leaves, looking for her slightly damp dress. Juste started to be conscious,zily opening his eyes as he sensed somemotion around him. He started to realize what was going on. As he predicted Chastine about to react loudly, he quickly put his palm over her mouth. With his other hand gesturing a quiet sign, he whispered, ¡°shh! They might hear us. What¡¯s the problem?¡± Chastine wanted to scream at the top of her lungs: one, to release her shocked emotion at their scandalous position, and two, so that Juste¡¯s eardrums would split into two, for some kind of retaliation. Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t able to do so. Instead, she just began to whisper out her feelings towards her savior-turned-harasser. ¡°You maniac,¡± she continued in a hushed but angry voice, ¡°what are you trying to do now? Are you really using me for your urges?¡± ¡°What the hell? Didn¡¯t it ur to you that you were quivering like crazy because you were cold?¡± Juste added, ¡°I stripped you off of your wet clothes and mine to preserve our body heat.¡± ¡°You could have set up a fire to keep us warm.¡± Chastine felt much vited. ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± Juste couldn¡¯t believe her dumb reason. Then it urred to him that she wasn¡¯t ustomed to living outside the walls of human cities. He snickered. ¡°Ahaha, I thought you were clever, Chastine.¡± Being a witborn, as the word implies, she was greatly insulted at Juste¡¯sment. ¡°Hah, if it weren¡¯t for me, you wouldn¡¯t be were you are right now.¡± ¡°Uhm, naked?¡± It was Juste¡¯s mocking answer. She was irritated. ¡°Outside your castle, away from your n, remember?¡± ¡°And still naked,¡± Juste proudly stated the obvious. Chastine gave up reasoning with Juste¡¯s mockery. She began to distance herself away from him to dress herself up, even if her clothing was still a little damp. Juste did the same. He grabbed his pants from the fertile ground, suited it up, and went for the rest of his garb. Juste couldn¡¯t help but be thoughtful of Chastine¡¯s flimsy gown. So he went near her and offered his coat to Chastine.N?velDrama.Org content rights. ¡°Uhm, Chastine?¡± While not looking at her direction, he reached out his hand to her, the one holding the coat. ¡°Here, this could be of use to you.¡± Chastine was a bit shy at Juste¡¯s offer. She hesitated a bit but grabbed the coat from his hand. She wore the ck coat, looking oversized for her little body. ¡°¡­thanks. And for saving me from hypothermia.¡± ¡°No biggie. Actually, I¡¯m to me for it.¡± He was still facing the opposite direction of Chastine. ¡°Sorry. And I should be the one thanking you.¡± Her irritation towards Juste died down. Chastine found that it was her turn to joke around. ¡°I can¡¯t hear you, Juste, turn around and say that again.¡± ¡°Forget it.¡± He detected the mockery in her words. Chastine started to giggle. She then went by Juste¡¯s side asking, ¡°So, where to?¡± They started to walk around. Chastine continued on with her query, ¡°why did you want to runaway? I think I have the right to know.¡± Just stayed quiet for a moment. He then replied to Chastine¡¯s answer. ¡°You heard me back at the bridge. I don¡¯t want to eat humans.¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard. But why did you bring my poetic skills before? I think what we did, it¡¯s out of the picture. How does it fit in your agenda?¡± He stopped to his tracks and then turned to look at Chastine. She can now notice his bright blue eyes and almost blond hair glistening in the sun rays. She found it mesmerizing to look at. In a serious tone, Juste said, ¡°I¡¯m looking for something.¡± Chastine was just staring at Juste. ¡°Hey, something wrong?¡± Chastine¡¯s cheeks turned red. She looked away from him. She then retorted, ¡°uhm, what is it? What¡¯s this thing you¡¯re looking for?¡± Juste breathed deeply before he replied, ¡°I¡¯m looking for the cure.¡± She became suddenly curious and nced at him. ¡°Cure? Are you somehow sick? Of what?¡± He couldn¡¯t look at Chastine in the eye when he answered her, ¡°I¡¯m looking for the cure to my bloodline¡¯s curse.¡± Chastine¡¯s eyes widened in bewilderment. She wasn¡¯t aware that such thing exists, if it ever exist in the first ce. She didn¡¯t know how to respond properly to Juste. So Juste broke the awkward moment between them. ncing back at her, Juste said, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking¡­¡± ¡°Uhm, no. I don¡¯t know if you do. I want to help you, Juste.¡± Juste¡¯s eyes brightly lit, as if he has been filled with hope. ¡°I¡¯ll help you, Juste, but on one condition¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± quickly was his reply. Chastine¡¯s face glowed with determination. ¡°Get me to Nhraim in one piece.¡± 07 Headstart ¡°That¡¯s my condition. I¡¯ll help you find the cure if you take me to Nhraim safely.¡± Chastine wanted to get to the open city of Nhraim. Like Juste, she also wanted freedom for her life. Sold off from the bankrupt orphanage at 5, she was enved by many masters since. She was taken cared of by them, even letting her learn their upations. But for her, being an enved human in an open city has apparently more perks than that of a ve in other human cities. She can roam around the town without being imprisoned in the four corners of a room. She can buy the things she wants. She can live an independent life without following others¡¯mand at will. Going to Nhraim was somewhat her ticket to her lifelong dream. ¡°Why Nhraim?¡± Juste grew inquisitive of her goal. ¡°I¡¯ve read it in books. Nhraim is the ideal ce for those who want freedom.¡± Her eyes glimmered as she describes to Juste how awesome the open city is, to her opinion. ¡°You can also live there if you want.¡± But Juste was dismissive of the idea, ¡°do you know how far it is from here?¡± Chastine naively replied, ¡°how far?¡± Juste picked a small twig lying on the ground. He then cleared off stones, leaves, and other twigs in front of him with his foot. He pointed the twig he was holding, touching the soil with its tip, and drew a circle on the loamy ground. ¡°For visual representation, here¡¯s where we are.¡± Then he drew other few circles beside one another with varying distances. He then drew a bigger circle at the far end of the first circle. ¡°Here is where Nhraim is.¡± He tapped the bigger circle. ¡°Can you see how long will we travel to get to that city? There¡¯s so many open cities nearer us, why did you choose Nhraim?¡± Chastine¡¯s resolve was unwavering. With her steady re, she told Juste, ¡°either it¡¯s a deal or a no deal.¡± ¡°Pushing your luck aren¡¯t you? You should remember you¡¯re still near werewolf territory. They could devour you in a sh,¡± Juste convinces her otherwise. But she had other tricks up her sleeve. She saw through Juste¡¯s goal and used it to her advantage. ¡°Well who knows, the cure you might be looking for might be in Nhraim.¡± She felt like she won their battle of persuasion. Juste found Chastine to have a point, and a good one at that. What if she¡¯s right? Juste lingered at the thought.Material ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Fine, witborn,¡± Juste groaned, seeing an annoyance to his voice, ¡°let¡¯s get you to Nhraim.¡± Juste added, ¡°but don¡¯t go running away from me until we find the cure for my curse.¡± He started to walk again. Chastine replied, ¡°Deal. I won¡¯t runaway from you as long as you protect me.¡± She became giddy and followed him behind. Moments passed and they found a small witborn vige. Chastine nned to spend the rest of the afternoon in that town. She was growing hungry and thirsty from all the things that happened to them sincete midnight. ¡°I¡¯m tired and hungry. Let¡¯s get to an inn to eat and sleep,¡± she said as her stomach grumbled. ¡°I sure hope they¡¯re neutral with wolfkind.¡± Juste was anxious at her idea. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Juste, I¡¯ve a n.¡± There was a stable in the outskirt of that vige. She saw arge piece of cloth in there and snatched it to make Juste a hooded cloak. It¡¯s to hide his striking fellhound features. ¡°There, we¡¯re all set. Now we can get inside without you worrying.¡± Chastine was dusting off the makeshift cloak Juste just wore. She smiled at him. ¡°I have a hunch this is going to go bad¡­¡± Juste was apprehensive of her n. ¡°Rx.¡± They have reached the reception area of the town¡¯s inn. Chastine had talked to the innkeeper. She then told Juste the sad news. ¡°Juste, there¡¯s only one room left.¡± ¡°How many beds are in that room?¡± ¡°Only one. A single sized bed.¡± Without hesitation, Juste told the innkeeper, ¡°we¡¯ll take it!¡± Then he flipped a small gold coin and itnded on the table of the reception area. Chastine was bbergasted. She thought what Juste was thinking. Her face reddened because of her indecent thoughts. She covered her face with her palms. Seeing Juste covered in cloths, the innkeeper grew suspicious of them. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be from around here.¡± ¡°Ah, hehe. We¡¯re a pair of travelers from some human city.¡± Chastine was quick toe up with an alibi. ¡°What city?¡± ¡°Horotek City.¡± The city were shest went before fellhound turf. The innkeeper wasn¡¯t all that sold at her excuse. ¡°We¡¯re just making sure you are a pair of witborns. We live near fellhound territory. Sometimes one lot or two would try to break inside this vige.¡± Juste and Chastine gulped at the same time. ¡°Oh, hehe, is that so? Thene check my teeth.¡± She showed her pearly whites. The innkeeper was convinced Chastine is a witborn. But what about Juste? Juste couldn¡¯t show his teeth. They will be kicked out of the inn if they find out his set of pearly whites was that of a fellhound¡¯s. Or worse. But Chastine was quick-witted. She noticed before that Juste wasn¡¯t hairy, so she used that to their advantage. ¡°Well, my friend here is sick.¡± She elbowed Juste¡¯s chest. Juste understood what she meant so he covered his mouth and started to cough. ¡°You won¡¯t dare get your face near his mouth. You might get infected.¡± Chastine then offered his smooth limb. ¡°You can just look at his arms. He isn¡¯t hairy like the fellhounds.¡± Juste extended one of his arms while Chastine rolled off the cloak to reveal his arm. No hair was seen on his arms. ¡°Okay¡­¡± The innkeeper then handed out the key to their room. Chastine ordered two set of meals to her room. It was delivered right away. ¡°Phew, that was close!¡± She let out a relief after locking the door to their room. Juste sat on the edge of the bed and was untying his booces. He then lied down on the bed afterwards. ¡°H-hey, where will I sleep?¡± Chastine disappointingly asked Juste. ¡°Eat first, then you figure it out.¡± His eyes were closed but he had a smug smirk on his face. Chastine feasted on her meal. She finished it in a few minutes. Not long after, she went to the bathroom to cleanse herself. It was justte in the afternoon, but she didn¡¯t care; she needed to rest. After her bathroom business, she went to one side of the bed and noticed Juste upying the entire mattress, with his four limbs syed on each corner. How will she be able to sleep? She did the what she had to do. She pushed Juste onto one side and squeezed herself in. Her position wasn¡¯tfy but she at least had a warm sheet to lie on. Juste turned to her side squeezing her further. He then whispered onto her ear: ¡°do you want to go for another round?¡± She was startled. She didn¡¯t notice Juste was awake and she knew what he meant. She also didn¡¯t notice that she was staring intently at Juste mesmerizing eyes. Juste was just trying to joke around. But seeing Chastine stare at him for an ufortably long time, he felt embarrassed instead. He turned opposite Chastine, with his face beaming red. Chastine also turned opposite of Juste, her cheeks looking flushed. And they slept off the rest of the day in that position. 08 Slumbercurse Night hade, and everything looked normal in the vige. The sights and sounds of night life had added up to the already lively atmosphere of the inn¡¯s ground floor. There were toasts of ale, giggles, and intimate chatter down that inn. Travelers must havee from all corners of Dianium to that ce of respite, exchanging tales of their adventure and knowledge. Though this was the case, Chastine, who was still fast asleep, looked as if she had been ufy in her sleep. It was not her cramped position nor the noise down their room. Something else had disturbed her restful slumber. Chastine was having a nightmare. She dreamt of being submerged in water, as if she was drowning without a chance to swim up to the surface for air. In her nightmare, something was pulling her down that was stopping her to breathe in ease. Momentster, just as when she felt she was running out of air, Chastine¡¯s mind had be aware that she was in a dream state. She regained consciousness, but she found it hard to move her limbs. Sleep paralysis, she thought. Chastine then tried very hard to move her forefinger to break it. She tried harder, but this time she tried to speak her god¡¯s name, Dianos. Dianos must¡¯ve heard her cry for help to get her out of her nightmare. As soon as she uttered his name, even weakly, she got out of her sleep paralysis. She moved her body so she can sit up. Cold sweat was beading out of her pores. Chastine tried to wake up Juste. But as she looked towards Juste, instant dread filled her bodily system. She saw Juste also finding it hard to breathe from being strangled by a shadow. The shadow looked like dense ck smoke, but it seemed to have a mind of its own. It was gripping Juste tightly by the neck. The shadow also must¡¯ve kept him from waking up. It¡¯s as if that special spell had been casted onto him for the very purpose of knocking him down and restraining him. Chastine did the logical thing to do. She shook off Juste so he could regain consciousness, but it wasn¡¯t sessful. She tried beating his chest with her fist, but to no avail. She thought hard but quick. She remembered one of her masters teaching her about a special move to break a spell. Her master called it ¡®lifebreath¡¯, a special tactic taught by their god himself. It¡¯s to disrupt a dark spell by introducing a foreign object into the subject. Inmon knowledge, it was a kiss. Like Juste to her, Chastine was also determined to keep him alive, not just because of her need for Juste, but also because she had grown fond of the young fellhound. It was also her chance to taste Juste¡¯s lips again. Not only will she save him, but the manner will be to her liking: sweet like honey. Without hesitation, Chastine applied lifebreath on Juste. In a span of seconds, Juste¡¯s eyes opened wide. The lifebreath was super effective. The shadowcast had been disrupted. Juste managed to further break out of it by countering the spell. He concentrated on the shadowcaster¡¯s location by his spatial senses. Though imprecise, he had an idea where it was hiding: deep within the forest. The spell was then broken. The caster stopped bothering Juste and retreated somewhere else. ¡°Juste, are you okay?¡± Chastine was filled with worry. He smiled at Chastine. ¡°I can talk and I can move. That means I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Have you an idea who it was?¡± Chastine¡¯s hands were on Juste¡¯s shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s Scion, no doubt. He¡¯s father¡¯s armymander.¡± He added, ¡°We must get away from here as soon as possible. They¡¯re tracking us down.¡± Juste was nning to stand up, but then he noticed their position. ¡°Chastine, why are you on top of me?¡± Her whole face reddened up. She quickly stood up and looked the other way. Juste found it best to lighten up the mood and jest at Chastine. ¡°What are you trying to do, Chastine?¡± He pointed at Chastine as if to use her of harrassment. ¡°Ah! Are you seizing this chance to molest me?¡± Juste, in aedic way, covered his body with the nket and put on a sobbing face. ¡°I¡¯m a molested guy friend, huhu.¡± ¡°I did not! Shut up!¡± Chastine was fuming with anger. She was also embarrassed, and she also felt highly insulted. Not only did Juste mocked her, but he also didn¡¯t at the least thanked her for saving his life. Because of these rationale and her messed up emotions, she decided to storm off of their room to head down the inn where she could take a breather from Juste¡¯s antics. She walked into the bar where low levels of merrymaking should be apparent, but she noticed that there were no people on the ground floor of the inn. She approached the reception area but there was no attendant at the desk. Strange. Where could the people be? Chastine thought to herself. She then had the idea to get out of the inn, to savor in some fresh air. She got out of the building even if it was dark. She had Juste¡¯s coat so she wouldn¡¯t be bothered by the cold. Chastine skimmed through the streets of the small vige. The ground was still unpaved and the houses there were far apart from each other. Still, it had some blind spots, ces where one had to be careful to walk in or else something threatening may happen to one¡¯s life: be robbed or mobbed. Chastine brushed off those negative thoughts aside. She must just enjoy the view of the moonlight and the stars, and the fresh ambience brought on by that provincial town. It was a good decision that she was unwinding through nature, from the hell she had been through from the fellhounds, and the toils and hardships she experienced in big human cities amongst her masters. For the longest time she felt rxed. But her rxation was still turning into vexation. She was still puzzled where could the people be. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an arrow flew off to her direction. She was almost pierced in her left thigh. Thankfully, it had only scraped her dress on that area. Out of shock, Chastine fell backwards. But she snapped back to her senses to clear off whatever misunderstanding her presence had with the archer.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Stop! I-I¡¯m not an enemy!¡± Her hands were crossed over her head. ¡°I¡¯m just a lowly traveler who wanted some fresh air.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s with you?¡± answered the archer. He was still hiding, not revealing himself to Chastine. ¡°I-I¡¯m with my guy friend. We¡¯ve travelled all the way from Horotek. We just wanted to rest for a bit here.¡± She made it clear that Juste was but a mere friend and that all they wanted was a quick sojourn to their vige. ¡°I-I¡¯m unarmed, please don¡¯t kill me,¡± cried Chastine, as she waved her hand in the air. ¡°Chastine!¡± Juste then came to the rescue. In one swift motion, he carried Chastine in his arms, ran, and hide into one of the dark alleys of the vige, a so-called blind spot. Chastine was confused. She didn¡¯t know why she was suddenly assaulted. 09 Enter the Bloodhunt ¡°W-why are they attacking me?¡± she asked Juste what was going on. ¡°Didn¡¯t you forget?¡± Juste was catching his breath. ¡°Don¡¯t put your guard down.¡± ¡°H-have t-they found out?¡± Chastine was fumbling with words. ¡°Yes, ah!¡± Juste let out a sharp cry as he pulled out a dart from his right thigh. He was hit before he even came for Chastine. ¡°Juste!¡± Chastine was frightened for his life. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. Poison don¡¯t really work well against me.¡± Vigntly panting, he continued, ¡°they must¡¯ve sensed the shadowcasting presence from before.¡± ¡°H-how?¡± ¡°Beats me. You should know co¡¯z you¡¯re a witborn, ah!¡± Juste winced from his other wound, a small shrapnel embedded in his left shoulder de. He removed it, shaking and with effort. Shadowcasting is a taboo art developed by the fellhounds. It¡¯s akin to the dark arts that bloodhunts are capable of.Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Chastine couldn¡¯t figure out why they have sensed fellhound taboo arts. Someone must¡¯ve been gifted in that vige sensitive enough to sense such skill. Or it could be a newly invented device she wasn¡¯t aware of. Whatever or who it was, they have been ratted out big time. They badly needed to escape the vige. But it was unfortunate that their location was somewhat far away from the outskirts of the vige. Chastine walked near the center of that vige. She felt sorry for what she did. ¡°Sorry, Juste,¡± cried Chastine. He heaved a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± But he added, ¡°I knew this will all go wrong.¡± Juste was thinking of a n for them to escape. Seeing a slim chance of both of them making it out in one piece, he did what he had promised Chastine. ¡°Chastine, when I tell you to run towards that direction,¡± he was telling while pointing opposite of the arrow¡¯s trajectory, ¡°run, ok? Don¡¯t stop til you see a trail.¡± He continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s opposite fellhound territory. There¡¯s another witborn vige along that area. Just follow the trail, you won¡¯t miss it.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± She had a valid concerning question. ¡°I¡¯ll try to buy you time to escape. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll catch up on you.¡± Juste looked at Chastine¡¯s eyes. Chastine had mixed feelings about Juste¡¯s n. She knew he was lying about catching up with her. Was this the end of their journey together? Chastine thought. Her eyes began to bead up. Juste gently tapped Chastine¡¯s cheek twice with his cupped hand. He then smiled at her and said, ¡°you be a good girl.¡± He then stood up and readied himself to face their attackers. Some vige people with torches and pikes in their hands began showing up, closing in on them forming a semi-circle around them. Juste then whispered a countdown and shouted at Chastine, ¡°3, 2, 1¡­ RUN!¡± Chastine was about to run opposite their attackers¡¯ direction, but she made a stand to help Juste instead. She didn¡¯t budge an inch. ¡°What the f*ck?! What are you doing?¡± Juste was bbergasted at what she just did. ¡°I¡¯ll help you, Juste.¡± It was Chastine¡¯s emboldened words to him. ¡°I can¡¯t just leave you behind.¡± ¡°Heh, you idiot.¡± Juste¡¯s face let out a confident smirk, one that looked like he¡¯s up for the challenge of winning against their opponents. ¡°Just don¡¯t be a burden.¡± Chastine doesn¡¯t really know how to fight. She¡¯s more of a thinker and a tinkerer than a fighter. But she knows how to use her wits. She was thinking how she could help him clear off some ground before they bust out. She noticed there were several bottles of alcohol next to where they were hiding. While Juste was busy taking out some vige people with his bare hands, Chastine was onto something with the bottles. She quickly ran to that side of the house where the bottles were crated and in order. She tried to tear the hem of her gown into strips, opened a few bottles, and squeezed down half of the strip of cloth inside the bottle¡¯s mouth. She grabbed Juste¡¯s flintstones from his coat pocket and started to light up the dangling strip of one bottle. She then threw it between Juste and the crowd of attackers. Juste looked at her and said, ¡°Not bad, witborn.¡± She tried to do it as many times as fast as she could until there was a semi-circr strip of fire between them and the crowd of vige attackers. She then ran towards Juste¡¯s and grabbed his arm. ¡°Come on!¡± Juste and Chastine ran opposite the fire and the vige people¡¯s direction. Chastine thought that this should be theirst run for their life and wanted to get to Nhraim as fast as possible. But as soon as she was about to climb up the side gate of the vige, she was weed by a couple of tink tanks. They were spewing out steam at their backs, readying to subdue her and Juste. Juste let out a growl then started to lunge towards one tink tank. Chastine could only watch in disappointment as she ran out of ideas to counter a tink tank. Juste was mightily strong, but the tink tanks were a juggernaut in terms of speed, power, and strength. It was reputed to be that way, to overpower and defend humankind against fellhounds and bloodhunts. One of the tink tank¡¯s arm had grope Juste by the neck. It was squeezing him tightly, knocking him out of his senses. When Juste was knocked down, a couple of vigers seized Chastine by the arm. They were caught and there was no way to run. ¡°Let go! We meant no harm in this vige!¡± Chastine let out the truth of the matter. But she was also knocked out from behind, her head being hit by the butt of arge knife. ¡ª Momentster, Chastine woke up and regained her senses. She knew she was in a familiar ce again: in prison. Her wrists were tied together with a thick rope. But it wasn¡¯t the prison at the fellhounds¡¯ castle. That ce was also cold and damp, with meshes of steel bars keeping her away from her freedom. The prison was in that very vige, in a basement in one of the houses of that little town. From a small window, Chastine could barely see what was happening outside, but she heard it involves lynching, as shouted by one of the vigers. The shocking news made her walk backwards, hitting the mesh bar behind her. And just then, she sensed an ominous presence beside her. ¡°So you¡¯re my new meal, eh?¡± hissed the ominous presence, ¡°skinny to the bones but you¡¯ll do.¡± Chastine slowly nced to her left to see who had just talked with a spine-chilling, craving voice. And she saw him, a bloodhunt, licking his tongue slowly around his lips, revealing his pointy fangs at her. His re was red and piercing through her body and soul. She fell backwards at the sight of him and gasped. What was she going do this time for them to break free from it all? Think, Chastine, think, she said to herself. The hungry bloodhunt was drawing near to her, as if he was toying with his meal. He could¡¯ve swiftly drank her dry, but this bloodhunt was taking his time with her. Then Chastine suddenly noticed his wrists. He was in shackles. And not just some ordinary kind of chains, it was made of silver and another special kind of metal alloy. Probably a lead base alloy, as lead can absorb the rays of the sun. Chastine opened her mouth to clearly say these words, ¡°do you want to be free from human thralldom?¡± The bloodhunt¡¯s eyes widened in awe as she said those bold words. 10 Mind Kontrol The amused bloodhunt was staring at her. He then blurted out augh, ¡°ahahahahaha! What did you just say? Free me from human thralldom?¡± The bloodhunt¡¯s expression was wide with interest. Chastine, although scared, held her ground to speak clearly to the captive bloodhunt. ¡°Yes. I can see that you are a prisoner too in this town. I can set you free, but you have to help me and my friend escape this hellhole.¡± ¡°Haha, you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying youngdy. If you release me now then I might bleed you dry right after my release.¡± ¡°And who says I will unchain you before I make a deal with you, hmm?¡± She let out a confident sneer and her brows met at the middle. The bloodhunt contemted for awhile what Chastine just said. He then revealed his current predicament to her, ¡°I got cursed before I even came here. If you set me free from that curse, I might help you and your friend escape this town.¡± She got curious about the bloodhunt¡¯s long-time problem. ¡°What¡¯s the curse?¡± ¡°That I can¡¯t kill anyone, else I¡¯d die.¡± ¡°Ha, serves you right.¡± It nerved the bloodhunt so he arched his brow. He then lunged at Chastine and her face met his at an ufy distance before she even bat an eye. ¡°You have an uncouth mouth, youngdy, I should say,¡± he hissed while his shackles prevented him from further getting near her, ¡°my fellow vampirekind put me through that curse!¡± Chastine was sh*t-scared about what just happened. The hair on her neck down to her spine began to stand up straight. She broke out into a cold sweat. The bloodhunt noticed it. ¡°Heh, serves you right.¡± He then stood up and held his wrist with his other hand, as ifforting it from some kind of pain. Chastine was breathing heavily and staring out at a distance. She wasn¡¯t really sure if it was a good idea striking a deal with this threatening bloodhunt. She thought she was gaining the upperhand, but it turned out that the bloodhunt was smarter than her. All of a sudden, the bloodhunt spoke, ¡°You¡¯re different from your kind. Scared-yes, but quite amusing. Youngdy, you have spunk.¡± The bloodhunt bit his fingertip and began to scribble something on the ground with his own blood. ¡°Witborn, what¡¯s your name?¡± She looked at what the bloodhunt was doing. ¡°Chastine. W-why?¡± ¡°Nost name?¡± While writing on the pavement, the bloodhunt arched one of his brows. ¡°Yes, just Chastine.¡± He mumbled something that she thought she heard about being a ve, and then looked at her. ¡°Chastine, I¡¯m making a pact with you¡­¡± ¡°What pact? What kind of pact?¡± Chastine grew inwardly rmed. He sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that you¡¯ll release me from this curse by saying some words, then spill your own blood on this mark.¡± ¡°What are those words?¡± ¡°Free me from my curse, something something, you make up the rest-I don¡¯t care-say what you want. What matters is your blood and your willing agreement anyways.¡± The bloodhunt then smiled at her. But Chastine¡¯s also smiled, and her grin was wider than the bloodhunt¡¯s. ¡ª *BANG!* The swinging of the prison gate was quite loud, but they were not heard outside because of themotion that was going on. Chastine and the bloodhunt got out of the prison. They went their way towards the town square. ¡°Maximillian isn¡¯t it?¡± Chastine called for the then imprisoned bloodhunt. ¡°Quite right, nailed my name the first time. Though I prefer the name Maxill. It¡¯s shorter.¡± ¡°Ok, Maxill, do what we¡¯ve agreed to.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. So you¡¯re with the fellhound who¡¯ve I felt tried to shadowcast huh?¡± ¡°You were working for these men?¡± ¡°I was enved. Vampire-kind dumped me here.¡± ¡°Actually it wasn¡¯t him. It was Scion, the one who¡¯s chasing us.¡± ¡°So let me get this straight, your fellhound boyfriend tried to get away from his n to runaway with you and they¡¯re trying to catch you both, is that it?¡± Chastine¡¯s ears and face turned crimson. ¡°He¡¯s not my boyfriend!¡± Maxill nced at her and chuckled at her expression. As he looked at her with enough lighting, Chastine noticed Maxill to be one handsome bloodhunt. He¡¯s also taller than Juste, and with his long ck hair flowing in the wind, Maxill looked sophisticatingly stunning. Noticing Chastine staring at him for long, he responded, ¡°Thanks, Chastine. I know, I¡¯m handsome.¡± Maxill grinned and brushed off his locks. She didn¡¯t protest as she agreed to what he said. Chastine then looked in front of them and remarked, ¡°Heh, you¡¯re one cocky bloodhunt, Maxill.¡± She also smirked. Maxill¡¯s words weren¡¯t rubbing her the wrong way. In fact, they bothe at an understanding that they were going to click, whatever their rtionship would be. Juste was about to be lynched by the townspeople, and Chastine and Maxill needed to save him before he gets hanged. When they arrived at the edge of the square, Maxill began to perform his dark magic arts towards the people. In one swift motion, he stood in front of the tform where Juste was about to be hanged. ¡°Hi.¡± Before the townspeople could react, Maxill quickly released his mind control skills to those who were staring at him. ¡°Sleep,¡± he told those people. The people fell on the ground and went into deep slumber. Maxill pursued those who escaped his gaze, touching them with the tip of his forefinger and they fell asleep on the spot. When we finished, Maxill went towards Chastine. ¡°There. Youngdy, it is done.¡± Chastine quickly hurried to Juste¡¯s side and untied the unconscious fellhound. He fell on the tform and began to wake up. ¡°Ow, what just happened?¡± He looked around and saw Chastine. Then he saw the bloodhunt at a good distance. Juste felt a rage in his gut. He then lunged straight at Maxill to attack him. ¡°Juste, wait!¡± called Chastine, as she reached out his hand towards the young werewolf. ¡°He¡¯s not enemy!¡± But Juste didn¡¯t hear Chastine¡¯s words. Maxill defended himself against Juste¡¯s attack. ¡°You ingrate b*stard!¡± Maxill hissed at Juste. ¡°You freak of nature!¡± Juste wasn¡¯t sure if he spilled out the right words. After all, he was still a fellhound. ¡°Juste!¡± Chastine called out his name as she was gasping for air. ¡°Stop! He¡¯s the one who saved our lives.¡± ¡°W-what?!¡± He couldn¡¯t believe what he had just heard from Chastine. Without warning, Maxill punched him in the face, and he got knocked out on the ground. ¡ª Juste¡¯s eyes began to slowly pry open. He sat up and looked at Chastine and Maxill, who were standing in front of him.Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Wiping blood off his mouth, he then said, ¡°Chastine, exin. What¡¯s a bloodhunt doing with you? You do know they bleed you humans dry, right? They crave your blood.¡± Chastine sat beside Juste. ¡°Juste, it¡¯s gonna be alright. Maxill and I made a pact with each other.¡± ¡°And what is that pact all about?! Tell me, Chastine.¡± Juste was growing concerned. ¡°I release Maxill from his vampire curse, as long as he doesn¡¯t harm me and do what I tell him to do.¡± Chastine¡¯s had enthusiastically exined the pact to him. ¡°You think he¡¯ll honor it?¡± Juste was doubtful of giving trust to the old bloodhunt they¡¯ve just met. ¡°Do you know they¡¯re a bunch of turncoats?!¡± ¡°Listen fellhound, I don¡¯t give a d*mn if you don¡¯t like me. But I¡¯m not like my kind. In fact, I abhor my kind.¡± Maxill¡¯s eyes narrowed at the mention of ¡®abhor¡¯. ¡°Juste, it¡¯s ok. He¡¯ll be with us now. I think he¡¯s useful, he¡¯ll help us.¡± Juste stood up began to size up Maxill from toe to head, staring at him for a long while. Maxill held his ground, him looking cocky and fierce. Juste then turned his back and began to walk towards the town¡¯s exit. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Chastine,¡± he said while walking away, ¡°and no resting in a human vige anymore, ok?¡± ¡°O-ok, one sec.¡± Chastine then talked to Maxill. ¡°Maxill,e, let¡¯s go.¡± She was tugging at his sleeve. Maxill just got released from a 5-year imprisonment. With nothing else to do, he decided to tag along with Chastine. Maxill walked with her as they head out towards the town¡¯s exit. 11 Out, In the Woods The sun was about to rise. As a bloodhunt, it was the bane of Maxill. Though he was highly tolerant of sunlight, in the back of his mind, he seemed to regret the decision to join them as he was at risk of exposure. He knew he was half-blood, but he was aware that he wasn¡¯t immune. Getting near the big ball of fire would be detrimental to his health. He was quite annoyed at this fact. He felt it was very restricting for his lifestyle of wandering alone. He cannot shapeshift and fly at midday. Thankfully, Juste and Chastine decided to travel through the woods. The thickets can serve as cover for his skin. Still, the excursion was posing such a challenge for Maxill. Rays have passed through the holes of the foliage over them. Maxill was wearing a ck long-sleeved cloak, the typical go-to color of bloodhunts. It looked medieval, but it fitted his features. Adjusting his cloak, he half-joked to Chastine, ¡°D*mn, I should have gotten a mask at least before we left the vige.¡± Chastine noticed Maxill¡¯s annoyance towards every ray that was hitting his body. She then offered her newly acquired scarf before they left off of that town. ¡°Here, I hope this¡¯ll do.¡± Chastine reached for his neck and started to wrap the red scarf around Maxill¡¯s neck. Maxill had grown a liking to Chastine; he saw something special in her amongst other witborns. ¡°Thank you, Chas,¡± were Maxill¡¯s words to her. Juste saw Chastine¡¯s kind gesture towards Maxill. A fit of anger suddenly rushed through Juste¡¯s veins, with bitter bile rising from his stomach. ¡°Hey bloodhunt, stay away from her. And it¡¯s Chastine, not Chas.¡± ¡°Your boyfriend¡¯s jealous.¡± Maxill sneered. Juste and Chastine blurted out in unison, ¡°we¡¯re not a couple!¡± Their faces flushed hot and red. ¡°Easy,¡± Maxill retorted.This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Juste¡¯s tummy then began to grumble, to which he felt even more embarrassed. He should¡¯ve eaten his meal back at the vige, he said to himself. Chastine and Maxill stared at each other and held theirughter in, but Juste was aware of it. He felt it. Saving face, he then dered. ¡°I¡¯ll go hunt for our meal,¡± with emphasis on the word ¡®our¡¯. It took him a couple of hours before Juste got back with his game. He caught two wild rabbits down a burrow. ¡°Chastine, I caught some-¡± he stopped mid-sentence. He saw them feasting on a roasted deer that Maxill caught! ¡°Juste, you¡¯re back. Would you believe Maxill¡¯s mind control also works on animals? We saw a doe and he did his thingamajig to it. Cool, huh?¡± Chastine was chewing down the little doe¡¯s leg as she exined what happened when he was gone. Juste was growing irritated at Maxill. As a fellhound, his pride was hurt that a bloodhunt outyed him to a sport they were very good at. He clenched his fist so tightly that the spine of one rabbit snapped into two. Poor rabbit. ¡ª Juste used his flintstone to make fire that night. He tried and tried but it didn¡¯t make a single spark. It was because Chastine identally dropped the stones on a small stream. It got soaked, and by the time they needed fire, it was still damp. Realizing Juste would take a longer time to light a fire, Maxill showed his way of making fire. He merely snapped his finger and out came fire on the tip of his finger. He then lit up their makeshift tinder and ced it inside a bunch of firewood. ¡°Wow, Max! Amazing!¡± Chastine was now calling Maximillian Vikander as Max. Juste just gritted his teeth in annoyance. ¡ª Few days went by and they were off foraging for food. Chastine saw some dark-colored berries, sniffed it, then decided to pop some into her mouth. She was really hungry. ¡°Chastine, stop!¡± Juste ceased her hand and toppled the berries off her hand. She just looked at Juste with a surprised expression. ¡°What? They don¡¯t smell poisonous.¡± Her brows began to furrow. ¡°Idiot, that¡¯s not the only way to test if those berries are poisonous.¡± He was miffed at Chastine¡¯s careless move. ¡°But I¡¯m hungry!¡± Maxill then chimed in into their conversation, ¡°wait, let me check.¡± He crushed one berry and rubbed it on his skin and waited for a few minutes, examining the form and shape of the berry bush while at it. Nothing happened to Maxill¡¯s sensitive skin. ¡°Chastine, I think it¡¯s from the berryweed family. That means it¡¯s edible for you and me.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s good then!¡± She grabbed more dark berries and popped a handful into her mouth. ¡°Thanks Max! But what about Juste?¡± Chastine became curious and concerned about Juste. Juste then suddenly removed his jacket and started to scratch the surface of his hands and arms. He itched all over; the berry was to me. His skin began to get irritated but he was more irritated at Maxill¡¯s reliable prowess. ¡ª When his itch died down, he talked to Maxill about what he thought he was doing. ¡°Maxill, I¡¯ve enough of your antics!¡± cried Juste. He was both surprised and confused at his reaction. ¡°What? And what did I do? What are you on about, Juste?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not part of this n, you insufferable bloodhunt! You¡¯ve done your part. Chastine doesn¡¯t need you anymore. Leave us!¡± Juste couldn¡¯t admit to himself that he had be jealous of Maxill, not only for his admirable skills but also for his closeness towards Chastine. Maxill, on the other hand, was connecting the dots. He then realized the reason behind Juste¡¯s sudden blow off of steam. ¡°My, my, Juste. Tsk, tsk, you don¡¯t have to call me insufferable. I know what you¡¯re thinking, y¡¯know.¡± He then grinned at Juste. ¡°Oh yeah?¡± He was challenging Maxill. ¡°Don¡¯t be jealous of me and Chastine. I know you have a huge crush on her, and she on you too. I¡¯m not dumb to such things.¡± Chastine¡¯s mouth opened wide. Her eyes also exhibited an expression of shock. She sped her hands on her gaping hole. Maxill then amusingly smirked. ¡°Am I a hindrance to your make outs? Or do you guys need a little push? I don¡¯t mind being third wheel.¡± Juste couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard from Maxill¡¯s mouth. To feign embarrassment, he asked the bloodhunt about his feelings for Chastine. ¡°What about you? Do you think I¡¯m dumb? You were intentionally impressing her and making me feel bad in front of her.¡± By this time Maxill blurted out a livelyugh. ¡°Ahahaha! Yes, Juste, I think you¡¯re an ignoramus. Quite right.¡± Maxill didn¡¯t hold back on his words. ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice she¡¯s making you feel jealous? And you were responding nicely to her secret whims.¡± ¡°Max!¡± Chastine protested at his words, but she knew he was right. How Maxill knew was one of Chastine¡¯s million coin questions. ¡°Guys, I think it¡¯s about time I tell you about me¡­¡± He readied himself to reveal something to them, ¡°I¡¯m gay. Yes, yes I am. I prefer b*tts*x over normal intercourse.¡± WHAT. THE. F*CK?! Chastine and Juste could only cuss in bewilderment. 12 The Remedium ¡°I consider b*tts*x as a special kind of love making.¡± He stared into space and smiled sweetly as he reminisce one of his s*xual exploits in the distant past. Maxill then nced at Juste. Juste¡¯s eye twitched and he had goosebumps. Maxill then expressed annoyance towards Juste. His almond eyes turned into slits and his lips were widened but had no curves. ¡°Idiot. Just so you know fellhound, you¡¯re not my type. Hmph!¡± He made it clear to Juste that he had zero interest in him. He then nced at Chastine. Chastine became confused at Maxill¡¯s stare. ¡°Ahahaha! That¡¯s why I like you, Chas. You¡¯re amusing to watch.¡± Maxill also rified something to Chastine, ¡°don¡¯t count on it, Chas. Like I said, I prefer a man for a lover.¡± He was referring to liking her for her quirks and personality. Chastine still couldn¡¯t believe that Maxill prefers guys. Her pride was somewhat shattered because all this time she was being yed at instead of her dominating the scheming. She didn¡¯t know if she would be sorry to Maxill or be sorry for herself. All she let out was a smile in disbelief. ¡°Both of you can have each other any time you want, I won¡¯t hinder your escapades. Oh, young love.¡± Maxill hummed as he sauntered merrily on the trail. But even though Maxill told the unadulterated truth to their faces, they still denied their feelings for each other. They were conniving at Maxill¡¯s back, whispering to each other. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know anything, Juste. Duh, as if he can literally read our minds.¡± She was convincing her crush otherwise. His nose wrinkled. ¡°D*mn straight!¡± Juste thought it was a clever pun, but Chastine didn¡¯tugh at all. Chastine was just staring at him, amused at the fact that she saw a never-before-seen cute expression of his face. Juste noticed her gaze. What he didn¡¯t notice was a thick raised root blocking his legs. ¡°Ah!¡± He stumbled forward and fell to the ground. ¡°I told you to heads up.¡± Maxill turned back to look at Juste¡¯s embarrassing position. Maxill was about to further shame the fellhound, but Maxill saw his mom¡¯s diary instead. ¡°Heeey, what¡¯s this?¡± Maxill picked up the notebook and flipped a few pages. ¡°Hmm, interesting¡­¡± It was written in a sort of ancientnguage. ¡°Hey!¡± Juste tried to grab it from Maxill. Maxill just raised the book higher so he wouldn¡¯t reach it. ¡°Roots of¡­roots of¡­ is it red? Ah, red root!¡± Maxill wasn¡¯t sure if he was reading the passage the right way. Chastine was surprised at Maxill¡¯s intellect. ¡°You know how to read it?¡± ¡°Hmm, not entirely. But I think I caught the gist of the sentence.¡± Maxill was rubbing his chin between his fingers. ¡°Juste, I think we need Maxill for this quest.¡± Juste then prostested, ¡°No. He¡¯ll use it for vampire-kind.¡± ¡°Juste¡­¡± Chastine was saddened. Maxill was offended. ¡°Excuse me, like you, I happen to also hate my kind. I even like to use whatever this is against them.¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org. Maxill then mumbled under his breathe, pertaining to his fellow bloodhunts, ¡°bunch of evil imbeciles¡­¡± Chastine didn¡¯t want to let this good opportunitye to pass. And with the blood pact Maxill and her made to each other, she was about to use it for the sake of their quest. ¡°Maxill, I think it¡¯s time I use another one of my chances.¡± ¡°What? What chances?¡± Juste grew curious. ¡°Oh?¡± Maxill was half-surprised. He paused for a while and said. ¡°Alright, youngdy, I¡¯ll help you two out as long as you keep your side of the bargain.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± Chastine had a determined look on her face as she believes this all could work out between the three of them. ¡°Juste, please? Give him a chance?¡± Juste had greatly objected before, but because of Chastine¡¯s helpless gaze and pitiful look, he couldn¡¯t say no to her. He just sighed and his answer was faint, ¡°do what you want.¡± ¡°Thank you, Juste. I¡¯ll make sure we find this one for you.¡± Chastine smiled from ear to ear and she hugged Juste. Juste also tenderly smiled, but she wasn¡¯t able to see it as her chin was hooked on the back of his shoulder. After an hour or so, Maxill recited to them of the whole stanza of the cure: ¡°Roots of red, drool of flesh, tall as pir, Stem of brown, crown of thorns, revealed on pyre, Leaves of green, thick of water, at one¡¯s behest Petals of white, rise of giants, at peaceful rest Seed of ck, depths of earth, one in all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called the Remedium,¡± Juste answered Maxill. ¡°It was said to turn a fellhound into an untainted witborn.¡± Juste was waiting for him tough at the absurdity of such cure, but Maxill was taking it as seriously as Chastine. ¡°So these are the ingredients for the concoction. How fascinating.¡± Maxill¡¯s eyes were wide in awe. But he mused that there were hundreds of possible nts that would fit such ambiguous descriptions. ¡°There are probably dozens of nt species that would fit each description. We should narrow down our hunt.¡± Chastine thought hard about how she could help solve their current problem. She then thought about one guidebook that one of her past masters used to look for a healing herb. She concluded in her mind that they should use this for their quest. ¡°The Herb Codex!¡± shemented out of surprise as she recalled the book¡¯s title. ¡°We can use it to narrow down our ingredient search.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­The Herb Codex¡­ I think I heard of such book¡­ nice one, Chas!¡± ¡°Alright, how and where do we find the codex?¡± Juste was getting pumped up about their search for his cure. ¡°Where are we at right now?¡± she asked the young fellhound. ¡°From what I¡¯ve sensed, we¡¯re getting near a human city.¡± Juste had used his spatial senses, sharp sense of hearing, and his strong sense of smell. ¡°Yeah, I heard that too.¡± Maxill agreed to Juste as he was hearing the sound of steam engines, about a mile or two away from them. ¡°Then our first official stop in finding the Remedium is in that city! Let¡¯s go!¡± Chastine had proudly dered it to her 3-member team. They were all livened up and enthusiastic about their search as they walk their way inside Makina City. But it wasn¡¯t an open city. It¡¯s a city in which fellhounds and bloodhunts aren¡¯t weed¡­ 13 Raybot ¡°The city¡¯s called Makina City,¡± Juste was squinting his eyes while shielding them with his hand against the sunlight. It was not his strongest suit, butpared to the witborn and the bloodhunt, he had the keenest eye among them. There was a train track that leads to the city. It was probably the only way for them to get inside. But because of the strict guarding at the entrance of the station-being it a witborn only city, they needed to find another way to break inside that big town. ¡°We need to find a another way inside,¡± Maxill sighed and expressed his concern. ¡°Chastine, any ideas?¡± Juste asked Chastine as she was the witborn amongst them. Chastine had been thinking whether her idea would be a good one. She couldn¡¯t think of anything else, so she spilled her not-so-good idea to Juste and Maxill. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re up for it, but the only way besides that train is underground: the sewer.¡± Maxill looked with disgust, while Juste didn¡¯t mind getting drenched in sludge. ¡°About to quit bloodhunt?¡± Juste then was challenging Maxill, ring at him with a smirk. ¡°Over my dead body.¡± Maxill was in it for the glory of solving the cure. They found their way to the small entrance of the sewers. Juste led them using his strong olfactory gift. ¡°Yup, this is the entrance. I don¡¯t even get this weird kind of smell, yuck.¡± Juste was used to burying their waste material on the ground. ¡°Yep. It¡¯s the smell of cesspool.¡± Chastine nodded, agreeing to what he just expressed. ¡°Come,¡± She led the way. Maxill flicked his fingers and out came fire to light their way. ¡°Wait, no fire. The air might be mmable.¡± Maxill snuffed out the little me he just conjured. ¡°Will you be able to see, Chastine?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hold on to Juste.¡± Juste held her hand. Their legs, up to the knee, were submerged in sludge, which was slowly streaming down from where they entered. They were against that slow current. As they were walking at a good distance from the sewer entrance, Maxill signalled his hand to Juste to halt and found out about thework of passages inside the sewage tunnel. ¡°Hmm, three passages¡­¡± ¡°What do we do now, Chastine?¡± This was Juste¡¯s innocent question. He was coughing his lungs out mid-sentence. ¡°Do you think we should split?¡± he added.Material ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°I think there isn¡¯t much difference, as long as we get out of here the soonest.¡± She then requested for Juste to use his spatial senses. Maxill, on the other hand, had something else in mind. ¡°If it is dark, enclosed spaces I think I could help better. Spatial sense works best on the ground, not on cramped spaces with water.¡± He then concentrated to shapeshift into arge bat. Maxill then clung himself to the cracks of the ceiling. Chastine¡¯s eyes widened in a mix of fright and awe as he saw Maxill¡¯s animal form. Maxill used echolocation to hear what way was the shortest distance above ground. He released ultrasound onto each passageway to bounce it back to him. The longer time the frequency bounces back, the farther the trail. ¡°We should go for the middle one.¡± He turned back into his human form and fell to the floor on his feet. He then continued leading the way. ¡°Ok.¡± Chastine agreed and they followed Maxill behind. They had walked a few steps when suddenly Maxill stopped to his tracks. ¡°Juste¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, something else is in here¡­¡± Without warning, something grabbed Chastine by the foot. ¡°Aaah!!! Blurbbub blurbub¡­¡± Chastine was fully submerged in water. She was gasping for air. ¡°Chastine!¡± Juste and Maxill shouted in unison. They then ran as fast as they could to follow her down the pipe. Juste turned into wolf, while Maxill shapeshifted again into arge bat. The end of the pipe expanded into a dome-like structure, but the sludge was now up to Juste¡¯s lower waste. Juste and Maxill reached the entrance to the dome-like area, but there was no sign of Chastine. ¡°Chastine! Chastine!¡± Juste called for her out of extreme concern. Just then, arge creature emerged from the sludge! It swayed its long, heavy tail where it showed it had wrapped Chastine by the foot. ¡°What the hell is that?!¡± Juste couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. Maxill observed the creature¡¯s tail. It seemed to have mechanical parts, with tubes and gears supporting its moves. ¡°I believe it¡¯s a mechanical robot,¡± Maxill let Juste know about his observation. The robot looked like a devilfish,plete with devil horns. It had side fins that looked like wings and a wide mouth that can gobble down a witborn in one piece. Fortunately it doesn¡¯t eat humans. But it had quite a powerful pair of fins that is capable of smacking one into bits, and a tail that is as deadly as a poisoned whip. The enraged Juste gravely bit the raybot on one of its fins. It let out a shriek, as if it was really alive, and swiftly swathed Juste to the wall. Maxill¡¯s mind control skills couldn¡¯t do a thing because it was only an animate thing. He was in defensive mode, trying to barely avoid the raybot¡¯s attack. Chastine was released from the robot¡¯s grip, as the robot was now interested in Juste. She wiped the sludge off her face and analyzed the berserked creature in front of them. Chastine realized it was running on waste material. It was a new technology recently developed by the witborns. It must be guarding the sewers from intruders like them. ¡°Maxill, do you know how to put up a barrier? He nodded. ¡°Then kill it will fire.¡± Maxill understood where Chastine was getting at. He swiftly grabbed her and Juste and set up a barrier around them. He then flicked his finger and out came a strip of me suspended in mid-air. ¡°Burn in hell.¡± The me quickly darted through the raybot¡¯s direction and it let out arge screech, which must be from its stressed and pressured mechanical parts. And the whole underground sewage exploded. ¡ª There was a screeching sound of floor grate opening along the streets of Makina City. Juste¡¯s wolf head began to protude in that opening. He quickly hoisted himself up while Chastine followed him after. Maxill flew out of the sewage hole and perched himself in one of the city lights. ¡°Eww it¡¯s been mid-day.¡± He stressed his annoyance to sunlight. ¡°We went our way to a literal sh*thole and youin about the sun? Unbelievable.¡± Chastine was annoyed at the dirty state she was in. Juste then wiggled around to get most of the sludge out of his almost blonde and brown fur. Maxill did the same to get rid of the sludge off his wings and body. Chastine sulked in envy. Just then, a Makinarian spotted them in their location. 14 A Moment鈥檚 Rest Chastine¡¯s jaw dropped in shock. Will we be found out? This thought immediately lingered in her mind. It was fortunate that even though Maxill hated sunlight, he chose to perch up above them. The local wasn¡¯t able to see him at all. Maxill, being a ck bat, hid in the shadows in the little alleyway they had just emerged into. Meanwhile, Juste was also spotted so he remained a wolf. He started scratching his body with his hind leg and then came sniffing Chastine while wagging his tail, making an impression that he was Chastine¡¯s dog. ¡°Wow, is that your dog?¡± the local began the conversation with her. Being quick witted that she was, she responded, ¡°why, yes, yes! This is my dog, Juste.¡± She happily smiled back at the Makinarian and patted Juste at the head. Juste barked happily. ¡°Is it an aggressive one?¡± ¡°Uhm, no, no! He¡¯s a friendly dog ahehe!¡± Juste then came sniffing the local on the foot. ¡°Arf, arf!¡± Juste yed along with Chastine¡¯s n. He was wiggling his tail after sniffing the local. Chastine noticed there were rows of bunting high up on the roofs. There were also fireworks lighting up in the sky. They were beautiful to watch. ¡°What¡¯s happening in this ce?¡± Chastine questioned the local. ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re a visitor then? Were you lost?¡± The Makinarian had no hint of doubt that she was an innocuous visitor in their city.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Ah, yes! Do you know were the library is?¡± Chastine¡¯s retort was straight to the point. ¡°Why do you want to go to the library? Everyone¡¯s at the bazaar having some fun. It¡¯s Makina Festival Day today. Look at me, I¡¯m wearing a werewolf costume for the partyter.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice hehe! Well I uhm I happen to meet someone in there.¡± She grinned at the local. ¡°Arf, arf!¡± Juste acted to agree with what I just said. ¡°Oh, right. Just go straight here, turn to the right and you¡¯ll see some signs that¡¯ll lead you to the Makina Library.¡± ¡°T-thank you!¡± Chastine bowed down in gratitude. The local caught a whiff of her hair. ¡°No offense, but have you had a bath after your long travel to this city?¡± ¡°Oh god, It would be nice to have one.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a bath house you will happen toe across as you head to the library. It¡¯s a few blocks from there, you won¡¯t miss it.¡± The old man smiled after he replied. He added, ¡°They sell clothes too!¡± With the good news Chastine heard she thanked the old man again ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough, mister.¡± ¡°No worries, youngdy. You remind me of my daughter.¡± He smiled fondly. ¡°Well, I¡¯d be going along now. Take care.¡± ¡°Ok, mister. Take care, too!¡± She waved at him while he walked opposite to where they were heading. Maxill then shifted back to human form; so was Juste. ¡°Well if it isn¡¯t right timing¡­¡± Maxill said. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s safe for us, Maxill?¡± ¡°If he¡¯s wearing a werewolf costume, I bet it¡¯s safer to roam around in our human form. Let¡¯s pretend to ¡®wear¡¯ a werewolf and a vampire costume.¡± Maxill then continued, ¡°by the way, let¡¯s get to the bathhouse, quick. I¡¯m also dying to cleanse myself.¡± ¡ª ¡°What? Amunal bathroom?!¡± Chastine¡¯s whole face turned crimson red. ¡°Ah, hehe, yes, ma¡¯am.¡± The attendant was pardoning herself while she weakly smiled at Chastine. ¡°Well, Chastine, old geezer said you stink.¡± Maxill was teasing him. ¡°D-don¡¯t worry Chastine, I-I won¡¯t look.¡± Juste¡¯s face also looked flushed. He bowed his head and tilted it sideways. ¡°Let¡¯s get inside you two!¡± Maxill was giddy with enthusiasm and put his arms around Juste and Chastine¡¯s shoulders to push them to go inside the steamy pool. After they have had some bath and put on some new clothes, Chastine nned to head to the library immediately. She was still embarrassed about seeing Juste¡¯s half naked body. His lower half was submerged in water. On top of that, she was worried that they¡¯ll be found out. But the boys were having quite some time in the city instead. ¡°How cool is this ce!¡± Juste enthusiasticallymented. ¡°You should try human food, especially their strawberry cheesecake!¡± Maxill was convincing them to go to a caf¨¦. ¡°Yeah? I think I want to try them all!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you carnivore?¡± Muttered Chastine. She was getting anxious about their decision to eat at a caf¨¦. ¡°Nope. We¡¯re actually omnivores.¡± Juste smiled as he spilled out this fact. ¡°Rx, Chastine. Live a little. It¡¯s your time to chill for a while. Let¡¯s seize this chance to do what we want in a human city.¡± Maxill pointed these to Chastine. ¡°¡­ok.¡± She said those words while trying out a smile. ¡ª ¡°Your costume looks real mister!¡± Somedies were crushing on Maxill. ¡°Thanks. I took some time working on it.¡± He then posed handsomely for thedies. Onedy almost fainted. Maxill then sat at their seat and started to eat his order. ¡°Yum.¡± Maxill was slicing through his cheesecake. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had sweet tooth.¡± Juste was swirling his spoon in his parfait.¡± ¡°Haha! Sugar gets me excited. You seem to be the same.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my first time tasting something sweet as this. All we had were fruits and berries. There¡¯s little aftertaste but I dunno, it tastes good to me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s special sugar for you.¡± Meanwhile, Chastine ordered the heaviest meal on the menu. It was just practical of her, as she gets tired easilypared to the two. She must consume a big amount of food for an extra dose of energy. Chastine had already whisked away her shyness before. She was happy that the three of them were getting along nicely. ¡°Thanks for treating us, Juste.¡± ¡°Of course. I tagged you along on this quest. It¡¯s just appropriate. Besides, you guys don¡¯t have any coin on you.¡± He didn¡¯t mince his words. Maxill then demonstrated his mind control skill on the waitress. ¡°Hi, will you give me your tip?¡± The waitress quickly handed her coins to Maxill without hesitation. He then snapped his fingers and the waitress snapped back to reality. She didn¡¯t remember what happened. ¡°There, I have coins.¡± Maxill then flipped the side of his hair. ¡°Show off.¡± Juste smiled in the process. He had now warmed up to Maxill like Chastine, being brutally honest but unoffensive towards him. ¡°By the way, why were you hiding the book from me? I would know eventually because you tagged me along with you.¡± Maxill grew curious about this secret. ¡°I was going to tell you, I was just looking for the right time,¡± Chastine pointed out her reason. She then added, ¡°I know Juste won¡¯t initially approve, but here we are.¡± ¡°Hmm, point taken,¡± Maxill nodded then sipped some of histt¨¦. ¡°Anything else you want rified?¡± Chastine asked Maxill. Maxill then smirked and asked them, ¡°When will you two decide to be a couple?¡± Juste coughed out his drink, while Chastine doused out what she just drank at Maxill¡¯s face. Maxill didn¡¯t get angry, but he stopped poking them with embarrassing queries. ¡°No further questions.¡± After they ate at one of Makina City¡¯s caf¨¦, they headed back on their way to Makina¡¯s library. They stood in awe about the building. But confusion had set inside their minds. Because it looked like a casino instead of a library. 15 Duke-X Makina ¡°Is this really the library?¡± Maxill pointed this out at Chastine. He happened to be familiar with the urban environment. ¡°Why, what¡¯s wrong about it?¡± Juste was innocently curious at Chastine and Maxill¡¯s behavior towards the edifice in front of them. Chastine mulled over their current situation on whether they would step inside the unconventional book building or not. She told to Juste, ¡°Libraries don¡¯t usually look like these¡­¡± ¡°Hello there!¡± There was suddenly a tall man with a steampunk suit and an over-the-top top hat who sneaked up behind them. Chastine and Juste were startled, while both of Maxill¡¯s brows raised up. Maxill was eyeing the mboyant witborn on his peripheral vision. The tall witborn then rested his hands onto Juste and Chastine¡¯s shoulder, his right hand on Juste¡¯s right shoulder, and his left hand on Chastine¡¯s left shoulder. ¡°W-who are you supposed to be?!¡± Juste asked while he was still freaked out by the sudden entry of the strange witborn. ¡°Why, I¡¯m Duke-X¡¯s Makina! And I keep the library up and running.¡± He smiled after he introduced his name to them, the tone of his voice cheerful. Chastine had weird vibes about Duke-X, so she made sure that they were speaking to the right person, whatever quirks he or she may have. ¡°The-heh, so you¡¯re the librarian then?¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m absolutely am! Come,e, and see that we have books that might suit your aching interests.¡± Duke-X nudged them from behind and they started to go where their feet was taking them: inside the casino-like library. They settled in a lounge area where they get to drink tea or coffee with biscuits on the side. ¡°What happened to this library?¡± Chastine was asking Duke-X about the backstory of the interiors of the current book building. The strange librarian heaved a sigh. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve mentioned it, I now have the responsibility to tell the tale.¡± Chastine sat up straight, while Maxill crossed his legs, and Juste leaned forward while sitting on the couch. ¡°I was really a showman at a casino. But because there were more people in the slots that in the library, the town leaders asked for my help to pull in people to enter this building.¡± Duke-X sipped some coffee and went on in his story. ¡°Makinarians were forgetting the essence of how the city was built: through knowledge. So, I made some redecorating to attract both visitors and townspeople.¡± He leaned backward on his seat and concluded his tale. ¡°So there you have it. The Makina Library looks like what it is now because people lost interest in reading books.¡± Duke-X¡¯s story tugged at Chastine¡¯s heartstrings. She wanted to help the peculiar witborn but they needed to get what they came for in there: the Herb Codex. Maxill was straight up focused on this motive of theirs. So he immediately brought it up in the conversation. ¡°This might cheer you up: we¡¯re looking for a book that might be avable on your shelf.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± Duke-X went suddenly giddy with joy. ¡°Sure, sure, but I made sure that every reader will feel rewarded for their efforts.¡± Chastine was puzzled at what he said. ¡°Rewarded? What¡¯s the reward?¡± Duke-X exined about his new archive storing system. ¡°The book itself.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Juste was more puzzled than Chastine and Maxill. ¡°You see, I made modifications about the archival system in this library. Books are now shelled inside each egg that keep them in their top condition.¡± He added, ¡°you have to get the book that you want from the box machine where the eggs are stored. The box machine has ws that you use to get the egg from the box.¡± ¡°Hmm, sounds like a gacha-machine.¡± Maxill smirked at the thought. ¡°Exactly! I made it like this because of what I learned in the slots. It¡¯s gamification, but for books!¡± ¡°Ok.¡± Chastine smiled; she was ready to y the box machine so that they could get the codex in no time. ¡°What book are you looking for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called the Herb Codex,¡± Juste answered Duke-X as he waited in anticipation whether it was avable at Makina¡¯s library or not. ¡°I¡¯ll go check.¡± He was grinning from ear to ear. Duke-X turned to the corner of the lounge room where a slot machine was situated. He browsed through a catalog, typed the book name on a connected typewriter, and pulled the lever. Out came the color green on the slot machine¡¯s roller, which means that the Herb Codex was avable at the Makina Library. Duke-X happily announced that the copy of a book they were searching for was under his care. ¡°Good newsds, The Herb Codex is hidden in one of these eggs!¡±This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Great! Now we¡¯ll y. Pick me!¡± Chastine was excited to try out the gacha machine. ¡°Not so fast, youngdy,¡± Duke-X told her while winking his eye. ¡°Because the book you want has limited copies, you need a password to unlock the gacha box.¡± ¡°Hmmp, so many obstacles.¡± Juste pouted his healthy-looking lips in dismay. ¡°Aah, but once you get the book it would be ten times as rewarding,¡± this was Duke-X¡¯s words of encouragement to Juste. Chastine frowned. ¡°How will we know the passcode?¡± she had disappointingly asked the peculiar witborn. By then, Duke-X was humming a tune and sang out the instructions for them to know the password: ¡°Looky here, o curious mind Enter the depths of this thing behind From side to side you¡¯ll see fun But it gets better as no coin is run Take your pick from these books in the box But some volumes need a code to unlock You¡¯ll find out the rightbination From the catalogue in this direction The good thing is that if you fail You can try until you hit the coffin¡¯s nail So what are you waiting for, oh curious fellow Browse through the catalog until your eyes yellow.¡± ¡°Long song, but it¡¯s quite draggy. You only need to tell us to search into the catalogue,¡± Maxill said blunty and didn¡¯t mince his words ¡°Anyone knows the decimal system?¡± Duke-X then started to hum a tune. ¡°Err, nevermind. Lemme just think¡­¡± Maxill looked into the tall man¡¯s eyes. He was looking into the memories of Duke-X! Maxill then pretended to browse through the catalog. He then blurted out what he had extracted from Duke-X¡¯s mind. ¡°580-53 is the passcode,¡± he told everyone in the room. Maxill then snapped his fingers and the foggy expression of Duke-X vanished. ¡°Ugh, well, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s in the nt section..¡± He couldn¡¯t believe they found out the password so easily. Duke-X taught them how to read and use the code that they have uncovered. They went to the fifth floor of the gacha machine room and looked for box 80. ¡°There!¡± Chastine hurriedly went in front of box 5. She scanned through the ss window of the box and saw a transparent egg with the words: The Herb Codex. The eggs were arranged like actual eggs in an egg carton. She adjusted the numberbination to 53 in the numbered knobs. The cover on the controls quickly opened. She tried to move the controls, but it was too hard and stiff. Juste noticed and offered himself to take her ce instead, ¡°let me have a hand at this, Chastine.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yeah, I got this. Just tell me what to do.¡± When Chastine had taught Juste about the controls, Juste started to try his luck to move the w. ¡°Ok, Juste, ready?¡± ¡°Alright. Here goes nothing¡­¡± 16 Clawed Juste started to move the w with the directional controls. It was tricky to maneuver as it sometimes wouldn¡¯t budge at the exact ce one wanted it ced. But sometimes, it was sensitive enough that a little nudge would get the w from going out of bounds. Juste was studying how he should control it with just the right amount of pressure. The inner ends of his eyebrows met at the middle. Chastine noticed his struggle with the controls. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Juste?¡± He exined his predicament, hoping Chastine would be able to provide a tip at least. ¡°It¡¯s a bit tricky to move. Sometimes it goes slow, sometimes fast, even if I apply the same amount of pressure.¡± ¡°Duke-X, do you think the w is broken?¡± Chastine asked the peculiar man beside him. Duke-X held the brim of his hat and ran his fingers around the its edge. ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid not. It¡¯s just that the level of difficulty for this machine is high.¡± ¡°Tough luck, my friend,¡± Maxillmented these words to Juste. With nothing else to fix on the machine, Juste prayed for dear luck that he would be able to swing the w in the right direction to get the book at first attempt. He groaned at the challenging task. He realized that it was actually harder to do than said. He closed his eyes and deeply sighed. He recalled what his father taught him when the ax was dull. ¡°Skill will cut the wood, Juste, even if the de is blunt.¡± It was one of the practical advices Lord Abirham told him. He mustered his confidence in his athletic intelligence and tried the w to move again. Juste¡¯s reflex had now amplified. His foresight also gained some momentum, predicting on whether the w will act normal or cranky. The w sessfully stopped exactly at the top of The Herb Codex. Chastine was giddy with delight, while Maxill smirked at the thought of Juste pulling through the challenge. He grabbed the egg from the receiving bin and handed it to Duke-X. ¡°Congrattions, chum!¡± Duke-X carefully opened the egg and handed the book to Chastine. ¡°How¡¯d you do it, Juste?¡± Chastine was brimming with curiosity. Juste exined it confidently at Chastine, ¡°Heh, every 2-inch pace will get the w to go cranky. So when it gets there, I needed to carefully move it with precision.¡± He then turned to Duke-X and said, ¡°Yo, Duke, your crane machine sucks! If you wanted more people in here, you could¡¯ve made things easier.¡± Duke-X smirked at Juste. ¡°But then again the reward wouldn¡¯t be that rewarding. Besides, only avid readers are interested in the book you wanted to borrow. Whether it¡¯s easy or hard, they will certainly want to have it. So I choose to make it hard, hahaha!¡± Juste just rolled his eyes. Maxill was amused at him. Meanwhile, Chastine was quite happy that they were finally able to continue with their quest. Now that they have the codex, she was excited to look for the nts in his mother¡¯s diary. She held Juste¡¯s hands in hers, and looked at him saying, ¡°Thank you, Juste.¡± Juste couldn¡¯t look away at Chastine¡¯s gaze. He also didn¡¯t realize that he was smiling from ear to ear. ¡°Ehem!¡± Maxill suddenly butted into their sweet moment. ¡°There are other people in this room.¡±This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Chastine quickly released Juste¡¯s hands from hers and they turned their gaze opposite of each other. ¡°Now that you have the book, may I suggest that you all go to the reading room.¡± Duke-X raised his brow while he had a smirk on his face. ¡°No, we¡¯ll borrow it,¡± Chastine boldly told the eerie librarian. ¡°Oh? So then, your library card, please?¡± Duke-X put out it hand, demanding that tiny piece of paper from Chastine. She was quickly disheartened. ¡°Uhm, I-I don¡¯t have one¡­¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, youngdy. You can register your name to get one, right this instant.¡± Chastine¡¯s sad expression quickly turned to joy. ¡°Ok, yay!¡± ¡ª They have gotten what they wanted from the library. They were now walking along the empty streets of Makina City, because the citizens were all at the grand bazaar in the center of the town. ¡°I wonder whatst name did you jot down¡­¡± Juste asked Chastine. ¡°None.¡± She revealed it outrightly. Juste was surprised, both of his brows raised up and his eyes widened. ¡°Really? Duke epted it?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess they really needed people in there,¡± Chastine shared a piece of her spection. Maxill was holding the book. He flipping through the pages to get a glimpse of its contents. As they were strolling by a narrow alley, someone stopped them on their tracks! The tall and broad silhouette of a man showed up in front of them, blocking their way out of the city. ¡°Pleasure to meet you again, dear prince.¡± Juste quickly recognized that deep and mature voice. It was Scion, the armymander of Lord Abirham. The werewolf prince immediately told Chastine and Maxill and signaled them to run the opposite direction, ¡°It¡¯s Scion, run!¡± But it was toote. The opposite side had also been blocked. They were cornered by Scion¡¯s minions. ¡°I won¡¯t hurt you this time, dear prince.¡± Scion confirmed that he really was the shadow caster back at that small vige. ¡°If only you¡¯d cooperate, we¡¯ll treat your dear friend the same way as you.¡± Friend? Juste wondered. He then looked around. He didn¡¯t find Maxill anywhere. ¡°Maxill? Maxill!¡± He surmised that Maxill left them at that dire circumstance. Juste felt betrayed and furious at the bloodhunt. ¡°Tsk, damn, traitor,¡± Juste mumbled under his breath. Maxill left them to fend for themselves. ¡°Juste, iing!¡± Chastine warned the young fellhound about one of the henchmen¡¯s attack. He dodged it with ease. But as soon as he avoided the blow, there was another behind him, fastening his neck with a special shackle. Juste writhed in pain. He was down on one knee because the shackle was also quite heavy. Meanwhile, Chastine¡¯s hands had also been bound. She was easier to be caught because of her frailty over the fellhound henchmen. Scion had sessfully captured the two escapees. Bound in special chains and without Maxill to help them, Juste thought that it was the end of their journey. ¡°Chastine, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± One of Scion¡¯s men pierced a sleep serum on Juste¡¯s neck, right above the shackle. ¡°Juste!¡± Chastine was also given the same serum, also in the neck. They both fell to the ground, while Maxill just watched from a distance while hiding in the pitch ck shadows of the small alleyway. 17 Wrapped Chastine regained consciousness. She slowly opened her eyes and felt her head pounding in pain. ¡°Ugh¡­ow!¡± She held her head while her hands were tied up in chains. The chains were light, but it restricted her movement. ¡°W-what happened? What is this ce?¡± She slowly scanned the slightly dim room; her eyes fell towards the young fellhound. ¡°Juste!¡± Chastine shouted out of concern. Juste was still knocked out of his senses. His head was bowed down and his limbs were pinned to the wall. The shackle around his neck was now reced with a lighter but firmer chain. The expression on his face looked pitiful; it¡¯s as if his whole body was in pain. This misery of his was wholly attributed to his neck chain because it was made of pure silver. Silver is the metallic bane of werewolves. They get weak when the shiny metal touches their skin. Chastine hurriedly went near the fellhound¡¯s side. She tried to see if she¡¯d be able to find its lock, but to no avail. Juste felt Chastine¡¯s dainty hands on his skin. He couldn¡¯t mistake it for someone else because he remembers well of her soft, caring touch. Juste then opened his eyes. He was still feeling the pain from the silver chain coiling his neck. ¡°C-chaas-tine¡­¡± He found it hard to utter her name, like his throat was severely parched from dryness. ¡°Juste, just hold on!¡± Chastine was still examining the silver coil for a keyhole. ¡°Y-yooouu mmmusst sqquueeze iit in, faassst..¡± It seemed that Juste knew how to unlock the specialized chain. Chastine didn¡¯t understand Juste¡¯s instruction clearly, but she didn¡¯t want him to repeat it again for her. It was quite a challenging feat to know how to unlock Juste¡¯s neck coil. The coil was designed in a crisscross manner. It was made this way so that it can expand and contract ording to the size of one¡¯s neck. Once the ideal snug is attained, one must quickly wring it inwards so it fastens tightly. Chastine found out about its mechanism by trying out what Juste said in the literal sense. She squeezed it inwards with her bare hands, and the coil unfastened from Juste¡¯s nape area. Juste groaned and writhed in more pain because he felt the silver metal had dug deeper around his neck. But he then gasped for air and feltfort after Chastine sessfully removed the shackle ¡¯round his neck. ¡°Haaah haaah haaah, thanks Chastine.¡± ¡°Juste!¡± Chastine wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She almost broke into tears. ¡°I¡¯m fine now, don¡¯t worry.¡± Juste was still pinned to the wall, so Chastine repeated the method to unlock the binds around his wrists and ankles. When the blue-eyed fellhound broke free from his shackles, he then started to unfasten Chastine¡¯s cuffs with the same method. Juste quickly recovered from his pain. Meanwhile, Chastine was still left with questions. ¡°Where are we?¡± Chastine repeated this inquiry of hers. Juste replied, ¡°we are inside one of Scion¡¯s airship carriers.¡± ¡°How do we get out of here, Juste?¡± ¡°We¡¯re airborne now, so there¡¯s no escape. Not until wend onto something.¡±This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Then we best ready ourselves then.¡± The airship sped at a faster rate. Juste and Chastine almost tripped forward because of the eleration. ¡°D*mn, here we go again. We¡¯d be back in the castle in no time.¡± ¡°By the way, where¡¯s Maxill?¡± Chastine suddenly remembered the tall bloodhunt. Juste banged his fist on side of the wall where he was pinned onto. ¡°He¡¯s a traitor, he left us at thest second!¡± He channeled his anger and frustration towards the wall. It created a small crack upon Juste¡¯s force. ¡°No, it can¡¯t be?!¡± Chastine had mixed feelings of confusion, devastation, and sadness. She had now beaded up as Juste¡¯s words sunk in her head and within her heart. ¡°Maxill, why¡­ we trusted you¡­¡± Chastine tried to hold back her tears as she sobbed andmented on their current situation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Chastine. I¡¯ll protect you at all cost.¡± Suddenly the only door to their room bursted open. A couple of fellhounds walked inside, both carrying a baton. ¡°Well, well, well, did wee at an inconvenient time?¡± This one fellhound was toying with his baton. ¡°I thought you¡¯d never hurt Juste again.¡± ¡°Oh, did we say such a thing?¡± He thenughed maniacally. ¡°I think you¡¯ve mistaken us for ourmander.¡± ¡°It was him who promised it¡­¡± The other fellhound swung his baton to extend its length. ¡°But not us, ve girl, not us.¡± ¡°Now, now, can we start the fun? I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯ll have some good time when we start beating you two to a pulp, especially the rebel prince!¡± ¡°This is our chance to get revenge on what you did! Hyaaaa!¡± One fellhound charged at Juste, while the other cornered Chastine to the edge of the room. ¡°Don¡¯t lift a finger on her! I swear I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Juste was furious at the one who lunged at the petite witborn. He quickly dodged the baton and headbutted the fellhound that ganged up on him. Juste¡¯s headbutt was so forceful it KO¡¯d the enemy fellhound at first hit. He didn¡¯t care if his head will bleed. He needed to get to Chastine and save her asap. ¡°Hey, pick up someone your own size!¡± Juste shouted at the other fellhound. The arrogant fellhound turned around to face Juste. His face was soon weed by Juste¡¯s fist that had the feel of a bite force of the dire wolf. Ouch. The fellhound flew midair before he hit the ground face first. He, too, was knocked unconcious. ¡°Chastine, are you ok?¡± Juste held Chastine¡¯s arms. The feeling made her blush slightly. ¡°Yes, thank you Juste!¡± She tiptoed, reaching for his shoulders. She wrapped her hands around him. Juste wrapped his hands around Chastine¡¯s back and embraced her tightly. They both felt the beating of each other¡¯s hearts; they found itforting and at the same time intimate. Juste didn¡¯t want to let go. He even closed his eyes to feel Chastine¡¯s warm and inviting embrace. Chastine also didn¡¯t want that moment to end. But she was aware that they needed to escape Scion¡¯s clutches again. The cuddling would have to wait. She broke the embrace and conversed with Juste, ¡°we need to know where we are right now. Juste, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Juste understood what Chastine said, but he still let out a sigh out of dismay. ¡°Do you know where are we exactly in this airship?¡± ¡°Probably we¡¯re at the bottom floor. We need to get to the upper level so we can have a look of what¡¯s outside.¡± ¡°So, stairs, ok got it¡­¡± Chastine was reaching out her hand in the dim floor to avoid bumping onto something. ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll lead the way, just hold on to me.¡± Juste held the other hand of Chastine. His right hand was touching the wall, while his left hand was gripping Chastine¡¯s right hand. Juste managed to spot thedder leading to the upper floor. He nimbly climbed up and carefully peeked on thedder¡¯s opening for guards. Luckily, there was none. ¡°Coast is clear,¡± he whispered to Chastine. Chastine then climbed up thedder; Juste helped her to pull herself up from the opening. They looked at the viewing deck of the upper floor and was dumbfounded at what they saw. They were high up in the air. An expanse of beautiful, dense forest was seen from their view. It was breathtaking and at the same time rming. Because they were now near the Isaacs Castle. ¡°What took you so long, my prince?¡± Someone greeted them from behind. 18 The Army Commander ¡°20 minutes. Took you twice as long to bust out of your room than thest time I trained you.¡± Juste and Chastine were startled at the greeting of a male voice. They suddenly turned around their backs to know of the man who had been waiting for them. It was the armymander, who was sittingfortably while spending his time nibbling on a luscious fruit. He took onest big bite from it before putting it back on a dessert te on a coffee table next to his chair. Scion then uncrossed his legs, stood up from his seat, and started to dust off his hands. ¡°For awhile there, you looked like you¡¯ve seen a ghost,¡± uttered the army chief. Juste was breathing heavily, while Chastine¡¯s eyes were pried wide open because of the tense atmosphere. She looked at Juste, then at Scion, then back at the blue-eyed fellhound. Juste signaled for Chastine to go behind him. She quickly obliged. The young werewolf looked furious. ¡°Release me, Scion. Release us. I don¡¯t n on going back to father.¡± Scion paused for a moment with arms akimbo and eyed Juste with a smug expression all over his face. He then scoffed; his deep, sinister voice irritatingly reverberating in Juste¡¯s ears. Juste¡¯s eyes narrowed. The impact of Scion¡¯s scorn had caused him to clench his fist and grit his teeth. ¡°You think that¡¯s the reason why I carried you of?¡± Chastine became suddenly confused. Juste was also confused, but he was more angry than perplexed. ¡°Think again, dear prince. I have a surprise for you back at the castle.¡± Scion has a malicious smirk about his face. Thoughts came running inside Juste¡¯s head. What¡¯s he talking about? Juste asked himself silently. The young fellhound knew the armymander to be a serious and ruthless fellow. But it seemed to be that Scion was filled with mirth and was enjoying the moment. ¡°Why, what happened back at the castle?¡± Juste couldn¡¯t hold back his curiosity. ¡°If I¡¯d tell you right now, you might bump up the speed of my airship.¡± Scion had a glint of excitement flickering in his eyes. What could it be? Juste¡¯s mind was growing with curiosity. ¡°Now, young prince, while we¡¯re at it, keep me entertained.¡± Scion drew out his two kukris that was mounted on his back. He then threw one kukri to Juste. It was Scion who personally trained him to wield the weapon at hand. Juste skillfully caught the broad knife by its handle. The young fellhound knew what was about to unfold.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°There, young prince, just likest time.¡± Chastine tried to talk it out with Juste. But Juste took on the armymander¡¯s challenge. He was determined to win and was at the point of no return. She strode backwards to avoid getting hit. Scion then quickly charged at Juste in the blink of an eye. ¡°Aaaah!¡± Their knives crossed. Metal on metal, tiny sparks flew from the friction created between the two kukris¡¯ point of contact. Then their fatal dance started to be apparent. Juste ceased the lethal blows of Scion¡¯s swings and thrusts. He countered it with either the knife in his hand, or the leather brace fastened on his arm. At times he avoided the blows for they were too powerful to break. But Juste knew Scion to be an experienced and seasoned fighter. He was aware of the risk he involved himself in. Without doubt, this could get out of hand because Scion was ruthless enough to kill him if the war veteran went overboard. Nheless, Juste was determined to win in that little battle they were having on Scion¡¯s airship deck. It would mean a lot for Juste if he were able to defeat the armymander. Juste believed that he might leave them be if the young fellhound would win in the duel. ¡°Hyah!¡± Scion¡¯s swing destroyed the barrel where Juste had just leaned on to. He was getting crushed by the assaults of the war veteran. Juste knelt on one knee while he prevented Scion¡¯s kukri from hitting him. The young felhound was catching his breath. Meanwhile, Scion hadn¡¯t broken into a single sweat. ¡°Tired, young prince?¡± The army chief was towering above him. He contemptuously red at Scion. Then Juste skillfully maneuvered to break free from their stance and retreated at a distance. ¡°You¡¯re getting weak, prince Juste. You should just eat your tribute.¡± These very words from Scionpletely enraged Juste. But it was a fact: the young fellhound¡¯s physical power had started to decline. Juste¡¯s knife flung on air as Scion effortlessly dismantled it from the teen¡¯s hand. The knife hit one of the poles and it got stuck in that pole. Chastine thought that they needed to end the fight, or else someone could get really killed. With nothing on hand but a desperation to put a stop to the little battle, she bravely lunged at the experienced fighter. Scion didn¡¯t manage to dodge her attack from behind. They both fell over the ledge of the deck, with Scion¡¯s foot getting caught by the mesh of aeronautical ropes. Chastine grabbed onto Scion¡¯s arm for dear life. They were both in an inconvenient position and were seconds to falling down from the airship. Scion found their position to be advantageous. ¡°Chastine!¡± Juste stretched out his hand to Chastine. He was leaning on the ledge for added breadth. ¡°Idiot ve. This is where your journey ends.¡± Scion punched Chastine¡¯s hand until it bled. She held back her cries from the pain, but she could no longer hold on for long. Chastine¡¯s grip slowly loosened and she started to fall. ¡°CHASTINE!!!¡± Juste let out a pitiful cry. His eyes began to bead up as he watched Chastine began to look smaller and smaller and farther from them. Clouds began to pass through, hindering Juste¡¯s view of Chastine. After the balls of vapor left within Juste¡¯s viewing periphery, Chastine had also vanished from his sight. Juste felt utterly defeated. Not only did he lose to Scion, he also lost Chastine in the process. He started to loathe himself, crying out Chastine¡¯s name while regretting the reckless thing he did because of his ego and poor nning. ¡°That¡¯s what you get, dear Juste. That¡¯s what you get when you defect from our n.¡± Scion continued his boring monologue, ¡°If you had just followed your wolf instincts, things wouldn¡¯t be like this for you. Here you are n-¡± The airship suddenly tilted to its side. It tugged violently as it sped its way to the castle. Juste grabbed onto something out of reflex. He wondered what was happening. ¡°Guards! What¡¯s happening?!?¡± Scion was also puzzled about the situation. Then arge shadow hovered over Scion and Juste¡¯s heads. Juste¡¯s eyes opened wide out of surprise. He was ecstatic at what he had just seen. 19 Sky Dance ¡°Am Ite for the party?¡± The shadowy figure let out a mischievous smile, his confident stare taunting at Scion¡¯s pride. It was Maxill-in bat form-and he came to the rescue. His ws were clutched on Chastine shoulders. ¡°Thanks, Maxill!¡± Chastine¡¯s smile was beaming from ear to ear. ¡°Missed me already, Chas?¡± Maxill drew out an amusing smile on his face. The female witborn touched one of his ws. ¡°Hyeah.¡± Maxill was pping his wide wings high up in the air. His bat form was quiterge he looked like a harpy eagle.N?velDrama.Org content rights. The turbulence his wings were making made the airship tilt and sway. At such a high altitude, the wind grew more violent than it was before because of his pping. Juste covered his face with his arm, while his other hand held on the ledge. It was dangerous for them at the deck, as they might get blown by the strong force of the wind. But it also was dangerous for Maxill to hover that high in the air because of the sun¡¯s rays. Even as a hybrid, he was still susceptible to getting literally burned. What Maxill did was heroic and sacrificial. He was willing to endure it for the sake of hispanions. Scion managed to release himself from the mesh of ropes. He then ordered his guards to capture Maxill in his bat form. ¡°Get the bat!¡± But as soon as Maxill ced down Chastine on the deck¡¯s tform, he transformed back to his human form. ¡°Seize the bloodhunt! Seize the bloodhunt!¡± cried Scion¡¯s henchmen. Vampire magic doesn¡¯t entirely work on fellhounds. Although they have mutated to persist the effects of the darks arts, sometimes bloodhunt sorcery can work effectively against them. With Maxill¡¯s overpowered skills, he managed to effortlessly affect all of Scion¡¯s henchmen with his hypnotic ability. ¡°Fight each other.¡± He calmly ordered the war veteran¡¯s henchmen to raise their fist against each other. The sight was too disorderly to describe. Mayhem was happening on the airship¡¯s open deck! Brother was fighting against brother. Things were getting out of hand. Scion was almost hit in the face. He was looking for Juste amongst the melee of fellhounds. But Juste, Chastine, and Maxill was nowhere to be found. They seized the opportunity to exit the mob fight and escape Scion¡¯s clutches. Maxill was trying out the controls of the airship. He quickly looked for the red button and intently pressed that emergencynding button for them to get away. Maxill warned Juste and Chastine, ¡°guys, brace yourselves, this could get dicey.¡± The airship was already getting off course, but with Maxill pushing the emergencynding, it suddenly plummeted downwards at a growing eleration. The drag of the wind burst open the gas bag of the airship. It was located at the upper part where the hot air was stored to lift the vehicle from the ground. Boom! The airship began to catch fire because the hot air was mmable and it had gotten out of hand. ¡°Juste! Maxill!¡± Chastine cried for them out of concern ¡°Maxill! Where to?!¡± Juste made his voice louder, asking Maxill how will they be able to escape from the crashing airship. Maxill stretched out his hand and made up a sign on air, as if he was writing some sort of symbol in the aether. ¡°Just rx.¡± He finished drawing the symbol in the air. Bam! The loud and explosive impact of the crashing airship on the ground made the perching birds fly away. Thick, ck smoke came out of the airship¡¯s engine, but the other parts of the vehicle were still on fire. The destroyed airshipnded in a t and barren area of the forest. It would seem that no one survived the dangerous fall, but Maxill have had some tricks up his sleeve. He set up a protection barrier around them as hepleted the mark he was writing in air when they were about to hit the ground. They were suspended in space inside that bubble, time standing still, them stopping in motion. Pop! The barrier around them popped like a dense bubble after the airship recklesslynded. It had served its purpose, with them breaking free unscathed from the explosion and the crash. Theynded on their backs. ¡°Hah, hah, hah,¡± Maxill was catching his breath. Out of them three, he gave the most effort and energy for them to escape Scion¡¯s clutches. Coupled with being exposed to sunlight at a good distance, Maxill was quite exhausted. It¡¯s as if he was on the verge of death, with one foot stepping deeply on the grave. ¡°Maxill? Maxill, are you alright?! How do you feel?¡± Chastine quickly noticed the bloodhunt panting with all his might just to catch his breath. ¡°Muusst¡­ bbloodd¡­¡± he weakly uttered this plea towards the beautiful witborn. Without any further ado, Chastine offered her wrist to Maxill. ¡°Maxill, here.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± Juste quickly grabbed her extended arm to temporarily halt it from reaching Maxill¡¯s fangs. She grew too confused at Juste because she was met with disapproval from the young fellhound. ¡°What are you doing, Juste? Maxill says he needs blood! Can¡¯t you see he¡¯s dying?!¡± Chastine was holding back her tears. But Juste was keen in preventing Chastine¡¯s blood from getting sucked by Maxill. ¡°I didn¡¯t say no, I said wait.¡± Juste hissed at Chastine. He was greatly concerned for her. He was aware that bloodhunts may not be able to control their craving once they tasted witborn blood. Juste removed his jacket and tied Maxill¡¯s hands with it. He then held Maxill¡¯s tied hands with one hand, and grappled Maxill¡¯s neck with his other hand. ¡°Juste!¡± Chastine felt offended at what Juste did. ¡°I¡¯m just protecting you, Chastine, in case Maxill goes into a drinking frenzy.¡± Chastine solemnly nodded for she understood what Juste was saying. ¡°Ok¡­¡± The female witborn then drew her wrist near Maxill, who was still lying down on his back. He was still heavily panting and his eyes were half opened. ¡°aann¡¯tt¡­ttooo¡­weaakkk..¡± Chastine then grabbed a sharp stone on the ground and made a slit on her palm with it. Blood oozed out of the slit. ¡°Here,¡± Chastine told Maxill while her palm touched his lips. As soon as blood dropped freely inside his gaping mouth, he regained little strength, enough to lift his head a little to reach and bite Chastine¡¯s hand. Chastine winced from the pain. She felt like she was bitten by a hangry dog. Not so many seconds had passed when she felt nauseous and was about to faint but she hid what she was feeling to Juste. Maxill¡¯s mouth was stilltched onto her hand and was vigorously drinking her blood. He still didn¡¯t want to stop any time soon. Chastine¡¯s head was getting foggy. When Juste noticed her slight expression of fainting and nausea, he warned the now envigorated bloodhound and forcefully pinned his head to the ground. ¡°Maxill, enough!¡± Juste repeated his words, ¡°I said enough!¡± But Maxill kept on drinking Chastine¡¯s blood. 20 Bloody Sun Juste was keeping himself from panicking. He had a furious and a shocked look upon his face. Both of his hands were upied in holding down the thirsty bloodhunt. So he quickly ordered Chastine to pull her hand away from Maxill¡¯s mouth. ¡°Chastine, pull away your hand!¡± Juste¡¯s eyes were fully opened. He was looking at Chastine in an rming way. The beautiful witborn weakly tugged her bitten hand away from Maxill¡¯s lips. She had dramatically weakened and was on the verge of copsing, so she had no ample strength left to release her hand from the vampire¡¯s fangs. Maxill could not control his craving and apparently had no n on letting go of Chastine¡¯s hand anytime soon. With the rming situation they were having, Juste took it upon himself to force Maxill to let go of her hand. He aggressively squeezed Maxill¡¯s neck so that he would choke and gasp for air, releasing Chastine¡¯s hand in the process. Maxill felt Juste¡¯s powerful grip that was suffocatingly digging around his neck. He first moved his hands but they were tied and subdued by Juste. He then used his long lower limb to kick or knee Juste from behind.N?velDrama.Org content rights. Maxill was able to knee Juste from behind a few times, but the young fellhound was physically strong enough to endure the pain of Maxill¡¯s blows. It then started to be a battle to see who was stubborn enough to win. Maxill continued to hit Juste from behind with his knee, while Juste squeezed Maxill¡¯s neck tighter. Maxill had now regained his strength and had been rejuvenated by Chastine¡¯s blood. It was evident that the burns on his exposed skin was gone as it was healed because of the life-giving liquid. His blows against Juste increased in power. The sound it made upon contact to Juste¡¯s torso became louder and more painful. Juste began to bead up sweat from the pores of his skin. A few trickled down on his face and dropped towards Maxill¡¯s upper torso. He started to feel angry at the bloodhunt. Even if they were chummy with each other, his utmost priority was to protect Chastine at all cost. Maxill then began to show signs that he was losing their little battle. The handsome bloodhunt started to ran out of breath because of Juste¡¯s tight grip. He had also choked on Chastine¡¯s blood. He did try to resist it, but the involuntary movement of his body to let out a cough had won over. Maxill finally opened his mouth; Chastine then pulled away her bitten and wounded hand as quickly as her might could offer. She inhaled deeply as it had now ended. She felt relieved but at the same time weak and exhausted. Chastine thenid down on the ground to at least conserve her remaining energy. Juste had not yet let go of Maxill, though he had already loosened his grip. He instead lifted the vampire on the neck to sit him up straight so as not to choke on blood anymore. Maxill stopped coughing out blood. He then gasped for air as his eyes met with Juste. They stared at each other for a long while. ¡°Do this again and I swear I¡¯ll be the one to kill you.¡± Juste seriously warned the tall bloodhunt. Maxill¡¯s eyes then fell on Chastine. He saw her lying down on the ground, catching her breath while at it. The vampire began to feel remorseful at what he did. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry-¡± ¡°Sorry? Sorry won¡¯t cut it, bloodhunt.¡± Juste¡¯s tone sounded cold and furious. Maxill then remembered that she needed to replenish her energy. ¡°She needs to eat, Juste. Chastine needs meat right now,¡± he informed the fellhound about this fact. It was only then that Juste had let go of his grip on Maxill. Because of remorse, Maxill offered to hunt for food for the weakening witborn. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for game. Stay here and look after her.¡± A few minutes have passed and Maxill was back with the spoils of his hunt. He had brought down a wild boar. He was also the one who prepared the meal, slicing bits of hog meat using his sharp nails so it would cook faster. While the meat was roasting on open mes, he went his way to collect water from a clear stream nearby. Maxill handed out the bamboo-like container filled with water to Juste, which he had gotten and made during his search for the stream. Juste supported Chastine¡¯s neck and back for her to recline so that she can drink water. Her right side was leaning onto Juste¡¯s chest. ¡°Here, Chastine, drink this.¡± Juste held the container and drew the rim near her lips. She managed to take a sip of the cold, refreshing water. When the meat had been cooked, Maxill handed some bits to Juste, and Juste slowly fed her the meat. After Chastine had eaten enough food and drank enough water, Maxill went his way to gather more wood and twine for her makeshift tent and bed. But in actuality, Maxill wanted to distance himself from them, even for just a little while. He needed some time for himself, away from anyone that had eyes to see and ears to hear. He found a deep cave and settled himself in there. He didn¡¯t illuminate the pitch ck darkness of that cold and dreary hole. Because what he was about to do would be embarrassing should anyone would see him. Thoughts and memories filled his depressed mind. Tears ran down his cheeks. He was like a little boy that was still too fragile to cry over painful things, but was big enough to be aware that boys shouldn¡¯t cry over the small stuff. Oh, but was it small? Maxill was negatively conversing with himself inside his head. He was self-loathing. He was self-pitying. The only friend he had was Chastine, and he felt that. All the other people he hade across with either just needed something from him or was hellbent in killing him. No matter how good he does, he will still hurt the ones dear to him because of his instinct and nature. He remembered how he felt his life was totally cursed from birth. Having a witborn mother and a bloodhunt father, although not entirely umon, had put him through all sorts of pain and suffering. He might have enjoyed the best of both worlds, but that was far from the truth. In reality, he realized he couldn¡¯t fit in both societies because both cultures can only see his imperfection and ws, and not his strengths. ¡°You despicable half-blood! How dare you hit my sister?!¡± From memory, Maxill recalled this very words from his cousin. He was pped on the face for swatting a fly thatnded on his female cousin¡¯s hand. ¡°Sell him to the witborns! I¡¯m sure even if he¡¯s bloodhunt scum, they¡¯d pay a hefty price for his low grade magic. They won¡¯t know the difference, haha!¡± His uncle spewed these words and also came up with the sinister n. Maxill cried in silence as he recalled the bullying he received from his blood rtives and his cursed life, hurting the ones whom he cherishes the most: his mom, his dad, and Chastine. 21 Mutual Bond Maximillian Vikander, a. k. a. Maxill, is not like any other bloodhunt. He¡¯s a special vampire hybrid that has surpassed his kind in skill, intellect, and power. One would probably think that because he¡¯s half-blood, his bloodhunt gifts would be diluted. But it turned out the opposite As his gene pool became diverse, it enabled his mind and body to evolve and resist the weaknesses in both of his vampire and human genes. Add this to the fact that her sacrificial witborn mother constantly fed him pure human blood. He became stronger, more agile, and his intelligence had reached a higher level of geniuspared to his peers. He¡¯s aware of his exceptional abilities, but Maxill doesn¡¯t know if his talents have served him well. Physically and intellectually he has definitely buffed up, but it left a big blow into his social life because many are afraid to admit that half-bloods would do better than full-bloods, and they were utterly envious that he had a constant supply of fresh and delicious life-giving liquid from infancy. That was why he was bullied, ingraining in his head that he¡¯s the total scum of their bloodline. So he chose to be a lone wanderer after breaking free from his initial witborn masters. When he was caught again, that was when he met Chastine at an inconvenient time. Then the rest is history. Maxill have a soft spot for the smart witborn. Other than her having spunk, Chastine reminded him of histe mother. She did sumb to consumption, but it also reminded him that he almost killed his mother from drinking her blood many times. And now his self-hate and deep guilt were growing in him again. ¡ª Chastine finally awakened after she had fallen asleep from dizziness and exhaustion. Juste fed her as per Maxill¡¯s instruction, and she then quickly fell asleep to replenish her blood loss. Her eyes slowly opened and she first saw the caring fellhound cutting up long twigs into smaller and shorter twigs for extra tinder. ¡°Juste¡­¡± He quickly nced at Chastine and went near her to attend to her as soon as he heard her call for his name. ¡°Chastine, you¡¯re awake. Are you now ok? What are you feeling right now?¡± His caring nature and sincere stare made her heart skip a beat. Chastine held one of his arms and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine, Juste. Thanks for asking.¡± She put a weak smile upon her face, a weak but charming smile usually seen when someone just woke up from sleep, saw their loved one, and do the gesture. Juste couldn¡¯t help but blush. His body temperature also rose up the second Chastine put her hand on his arm. Juste thought that he wouldn¡¯t fall for the witborn, as his offer for that one-time s*x was purely for his escape and her survival. But it turned out that his feelings were growing for Chastine, as he found her to be wholly beautiful inside and out. Chastine noticed they were staring at each other for too long, so she broke the awkward moment between them; she nced to her left. Then, having noticed the tall bloodhunt nowhere in sight, she quickly asked his fellhound crush about their vampire hybridpanion. ¡°Juste, where¡¯s Maxill?¡± She asked with a sense of urgency. ¡°Maxill? Uh, yeah, right¡­¡± the fellhound sounded a bit disappointed because he wanted to look at her for longer, ¡°Maxill said he¡¯d look for more twigs so he can make you a makeshift shelter. You¡¯re prone to getting cold, so there.¡± ¡°How long was I asleep?¡± Chastine¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°The sun is about to set right now, so about four hours?¡± ¡°Four hours and he hasn¡¯te back? Where do you think he¡¯d go?¡± Juste shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But I think he needed some space alone to think about what he just did to you.¡± Chastine tried to quickly stand up. Seeing her struggle, Juste helped her to her feet. ¡°I need to find him. He must¡¯ve been thinking that I¡¯d hate him-I don¡¯t.¡± At this point Juste couldn¡¯t do anything but oblige to what Chastine wanted. His anger towards Maxill had already subsided, but he was still wary of what would happen should Maxill go into a drinking frenzy again, whether out of necessity or from pure craving. Chastine had already gone a few steps away from their camp when Juste came to his senses in apanying her to find Maxill. Scurrying, Juste said, ¡°Chastine, wait! I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡ª ¡°Maxill? Maxill!¡± Chastine¡¯s slightly curled hands were ced near her mouth as she called for Maxill. ¡°Maxill, Maxill¡­¡± Juste was also calling his name. The sun was soon setting down. It was dusk, and the darkness was slowly creeping into the woods. They needed to find Maxill before it will get harder for them to look for him in the dark. It then dawned on Juste to search for the bloodhunt using his spatial senses. ¡°Chastine, wait, I have an idea.¡± ¡°Ok, what is it?¡± She stopped shouting Maxill¡¯s name and stopped to her tracks. ¡°Just stay where you are. I¡¯ll use my hypersense on him.¡± Juste closed his eyes a breathed deeply. He then reached for the ground with his palms touching it. He can feel nature moving and flowing in harmony with each other: the trees swaying, river freshly streaming, birds chirping, four-footed animals gently walking, rabbits hopping, insects making sounds. And then he sensed the tall bloodhunt, crouched within the recesses of that deep cave where it was hiding Maxill¡¯s cries of guilt and pain. He was tall and majestic and unique enough to be spatially sensed by his keen fellhound friend. ¡°I found him,¡± Juste dered it to Chastine with a smirk about his face. He strode towards Maxill¡¯s direction, in an agile manner but slow enough so that Chastine could catch up. Chastine reached for Juste¡¯s sleeves because she now found it hard to see in the dark. When she caught the edge of his hem, the young fellhound held her hand instead. They were holding hands while they make their way to their vampire friend. Maxill could hear footsteps nearing his location. He was aware that those where from Chastine and Juste. He quickly rubbed his red-colored sockets, the scleras of which were also enveloped with bloodshot redness from his lengthy session ofmenting. His eyeballs were red all over. ¡°Maxill! There you are.¡± Juste spotted the handsome bloodhunt inside the cave. His hypersense enabled him to see in the dark.N?velDrama.Org content rights. Chastine then hurriedly but carefully went near Maxill and hugged him tightly. ¡°Where you at? You were gone for too long. I missed you already Maxill.¡± Maxill cannot keep his feelings from releasing a torrent of droplets from his eyeballs. But this time, the feelings were from being touched by the sincere gesture of Chastine. It was his first time experiencing such a heartwarming gesture. He then held Chastine¡¯s nape and wrapped his arm around her back, embracing his beloved friend like they hadn¡¯t seen each other for years. 22 Instinct ¡°Chastine, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Maxill embraced her tightly as he softly spoke those words. His face was buried in his shiny locks, but he still wasn¡¯t able to hide his tears. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Maxill. I know about the risk. Don¡¯t feel bad about it, ok?¡± Chastine¡¯s reassuring voice calmed down the bloodhunt. Chastine added, ¡°Actually, if it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t be alive right now.¡± Noticing that the mood had lightened up, Maxill came up with a humorous quip, ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re quite heavy, you know.¡± She was astonished at the bloodhunt¡¯sment, because the fellhound had always said that she was petite and skinny. Chastine broke their embrace and sheepishly giggled. But Juste giggled all the more. ¡°Work out your butt, Maxy,¡± Juste was taunting him, even calling his nickname in a cute but mocking fashion. ¡°Are you blind? Chastine¡¯s just light.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me Maxy. Ugh, I hate it.¡± Maxill started to roll his eyes. He was genuinely irritated at the appetion Juste just gave him. ¡°Maxy the crybaby. It quite fits, it rhymes.¡± Juste then smirk at his own quip as he figuratively jerked Maxill¡¯s knee. Maxill then red at Juste. Juste was feeling Maxill¡¯s healthy and friendly invitation for a brawl. Without warning, the hybrid vampire lunged toward Juste at a remarkable speed. He moved so fast it created a swooshing supersonic sound inside the cave. Juste then countered his attack, shielding his face with his arms forming a cross. Chastine¡¯s hair roughly bellowed in the air as Maxill made his move. She was starting to panic because it was out of her control that they would fight. Little did she know that it was just a light duel between two dear friends. ¡°Juste! Maxill!¡± Chastine cried out their names, but the two were already outside breaking twigs and parrying fists. She found it hard to get out from the cave as it was quite dark already. She carefully leaned onto the cave of the wall or touched the ground with her fingers as she made way for the cave¡¯s exit.Material ? N?velDrama.Org. When she had gotten out of that dark hole, her pitch ck view suddenly went a bit bright because the forest was illuminated by the moon and the stars. She felt relieved at her vision as she was now able to perceive some objects around her, but she was also rmed at what was happening between her bloodhunt and fellhound friends. Juste and Maxill were busy with their mutually-agreed upon practical exercise. The fellhound was strong with his fist so he was on the offensive, while the bloodhunt was fluid and agile in nature so he was the one evading and countering the fellhound¡¯s attacks. Twigs crackled, leaves tussled, and tree trunks hollowed in as Juste¡¯s blowsnded on them. But Juste¡¯s forehead began to bead out sweat. He always failed to make contact with Maxill¡¯s vital parts, finding it hard tond a blow to the vampire hybrid. He then started to use his lower limbs, swinging it with mighty force to at least have a chance to hit Maxill. ¡°Hyah!¡± Maxill, on the other hand, began to catch his breath. The vampire hybrid internally admitted that although he¡¯s quite a genius in many ways unimaginable, the fellhound was proving quite a challenge for him. After their biggest sh yet, Juste and Maxill distanced themselves and both fell into defensive stance. Then Chastine finally caught up with them. ¡°Guys, stop! Stop it! The joke just got out of hand.¡± She was waving her arms in a dismissive and prohibitive fashion. Juste and Maxill simultaneously looked at Chastine, then they nced back at each other. Then Juste and Maxill beganughing at the same time, ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± She started to be confused at the current situation. Maxill finally told Chastine about what was really happening. ¡°Chill, Chas. Ahahahahaha this is just a friendly fight.¡± Her brows furrowed and her jaw slightly dropped, opening her mouth by a small fraction. She then stormed out of the vicinity. ¡°H-hey, Chastine, wait!¡± Juste reached out his hand towards Chastine, who was now getting farther from them as she was going back to their camp. ¡ª All three of them were back at the camp, sitting around the little clumped up embers that Juste made beforehand. Chastine was still furious about the two of them because she was totally worried that they might kill each other because of one bad joke. She was in a squatting position with her arms settled on her knees and supporting her chin. She had a frown about her face when she said, ¡°You both stink.¡± Because of Chastine¡¯sment, Maxill then came up with the idea that they should go to the river near them and bathe. Maxill stood up and said to them, ¡°Right, good idea.¡± Chastine began to express on her face a look of astonishment. ¡°Wait, what?¡± She just said it out of spite, but Maxill took it as a good idea. The vampire hybrid ced his arms akimbo. ¡°There¡¯s a downstream river about a mile from here. Let¡¯s go take a dip.¡± Maxill began to walk to lead the way. ¡°I¡¯m in,¡± the fellhound agreed with the bloodhunt. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Chastine. Getting naked is an option. We just need to wash away dirt and sweat off our skin.¡± Chastine didn¡¯t say a thing, but she slowly walked towards Maxill¡¯s direction, making a statement that she agrees with their decision. The fellhound went beside her as they make way for the river. Juste couldn¡¯t hold his desire for Chastine any longer. He felt the need to confess his feelings to her, as he thinks that the longer he dys it, he will burst and get all crazy if it would still remain a secret from her. He was nning to surprise her with something by the river, then he¡¯ll tell her about what he feels. The three of them arrived at the edge of the river. Maxill quickly undressed and got naked, throwing away his garb carelessly along the bushes. The tall and handsome bloodhunt was a bit on the skinny side, but he still had bulges and a six pack to boot, even if small. His skin was glistening in the moonlight as it was quite paler and whiter than Chastine¡¯s already fair skin. ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead you guys.¡± Maxill dived into the river. Then he was gone from Juste and Chastine¡¯s sight. Juste started removing his clothes. Chastine caught a glimpse of his already half-naked body again. She tried to resist staring at Juste, but her desire to be polite and proper was overtaken by her hidden desire for the muscr fellhound. ¡°Liking what you see?¡± Juste¡¯s eyes and lips smiled as he started to make his move. Chastine could only blush in embarrassment. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Chastine, I¡¯ll show you more.¡± Chastine hated to admit it, but Juste¡¯s sudden suave disy of confidence made her wet between her legs. ¡°But first you should strip some of your clothes off. We need to dip ourselves in the river and clothes get heavy when wet.¡± Juste maneuvered to help Chastine take off her jacket. He then started to unstring and unloosen her corset from behind. The feeling was all new to Chastine. She liked what she was experiencing, but she just let Juste lead in whatever they were headed at that moment. Chastine was barely naked; she was sheerly covered with a white sleeveless tunic undergarment. Herdy bits were proudly protruding underneath that garment. Juste noticed it and he just smiled at what he was satisfyingly seeing. 23 End of Innocence Chastine exhaled deeply and looked sideways to shake off the scorching sensation she felt all over her body. She then sat on a very small boulder so she could untie her shoces and remove her boots. As she finished, Juste extended his hand to Chastine. ¡°Take my hand, Chastine, I want to show you something.¡± The smitten witborn couldn¡¯t take her eyes off the fellhound stud. There she was, starstruck and was out for words even though her heart and mind were screaming to be consumed and devoured by Juste¡¯s fiery stare, though this desire of hers was still fully unrealized within. Chastine was still seated on the small boulder. She could only lift her chin and make a small nod to Juste, to show that she agreed to what Juste was leading her to. Juste smiled. Even the slit of his eyes curved upwards which indicate that he was genuinely happy about how the circumstances were unfolding. Because the beautiful witborn just froze from her position from being mesmerized, Juste was the one who reached for her hand to guide her to stand up. He led the way and they started to tread the cold river that was being illuminated by the dim moon and the stars above. It was a majestic sight to behold. Chastine slightly shivered, but the heat deep within her from her current passionate feelings warmed her up instantly from the cold. ¡°Are you ok, Chastine?¡± Juste¡¯s voice had be sexy and deep. She heard this before from him, back at the secret passage inside the Isaacs castle. Juste chuckled a little. ¡°Rx, Chastine. I won¡¯t surprise you with a prank.¡± Chastine¡¯s nervousness suddenly vanished. She shyly grinned in response to Juste¡¯s attempt to break the tension. ¡°Where are we going anyway?¡± Chastine finally started to speak. Juste half-nced to his back and winked at her. ¡°I told you before, it¡¯s a surprise.¡± Chastine giggled a little and began to tease him. ¡°What¡¯s with the wink? A sty in your eye?¡± ¡°Hehe! I was just awestruck by looking at you, so I had to close my eyes.¡± ¡°And you think you¡¯re that charming, huh?¡± Chastine rolled her eyes, but she was grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Well I didn¡¯t know in the itsiest bit you thought of me as charming. But thanks for letting me know.¡± He slightly tightened his grip on her hand. Chastine¡¯s motive to make fun of Juste¡¯s advances towards her was only met with the opportunity to make the fellhound even more assertive and suave. But she didn¡¯t think for a second that it was gross and done in bad taste. Inside her heart and mind, she was totally enjoying the moment with the fellhound hunk. Their bodies were half-submerged while they were treading the river water. Then Juste halted treading so Chastine did the same. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± dered the now cheerful fellhound. Chastine waited for something to happen before she made her reply. She looked around her surroundings but it seemed that everything was normal. ¡°What now, Juste?¡± The tone of her voice started to echo a sound of disappointment. ¡°They¡¯ll show up. Any minute now¡­¡± He was confident of the fact that whatever they were waiting for along the river will reveal itself. ¡°Who are they? What are they?¡± Chastine¡¯s brows curled down out of curiosity. ¡°Well, while waiting for them, do you know they only gather and show up every new moon?¡± Chastine grew even more curious at what Juste was saying. He continued, ¡°they mark the start and end of the lunation cycle.¡± ¡°Lunation?¡± ¡°Yes. A lunation is the cycle of the moon, starting at a new moon phase and ending at a new moon phase. Haha, somehow these fes know how to hunt during those times. Cool instinct, huh?¡± ¡°Hunt? As in kill?!¡± Chastine was suddenly rmed at what Juste had said. ¡°Ahahaha, no-wait, I think they¡¯re starting their dance¡­¡± Hunt? Dance? Juste¡¯s choice of words was getting more and more strange to Chastine. Then, suddenly, a tiny sparknded on Chastine¡¯s arm. She looked closely at that spark, and it turned out to be a living creature. Chastine¡¯s eyes widened in awe. Juste saw her reaction and quickly told her about the glowing insect. ¡°Beautiful creature isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s called a flickery.¡± Then one flickery glowed its shiny butt midair, then another, until there were many flickeries glowing and hovering over the river water. ¡°Wow, Juste. How¡¯d you find out about them?¡± He heaved a sigh and smiled. ¡°Well, I just happen to live in the mountain forest all my life.¡± Chastine was still mesmerized by the glow and beauty of the flickeries. ¡°I¡¯m just curious, why do they glow in every new moon phase?¡± ¡°Apart from instinct, it¡¯s because they only have a short lifespan. They needed to gather by a river to hunt or seek each other¡­¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Close your eyes, Chastine.¡± Chastine obediently followed what Juste had said.This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Juste closed in on her. He was now in front of her and his lips was almost touching hers. ¡°It¡¯s for them to mate.¡± Then Juste brushed his lips with hers. They both felt the indescribable feeling of longing for one another¡¯s kiss. Their initial smooch was quite sweet, light, but long. Then they broke their kiss and looked into each others eyes, both of which were zing with uncontroble desire for one another. ¡°Chastine, I really like you.¡± ¡°Me too, Juste.¡± Before Juste could say another word, Chastine wrapped her arms around Juste¡¯s neck and kissed him again. Juste put his arm around the small of her back. His other hand was cupping her nape. Even if she was clothed with white sheer linen, Juste felt that her skin was warm with s*xual thirst. It was burning, and every inch of her flesh that grazed his skin sent bolts of that unquenchable craving within Juste. He longed to touch her like this. He longed to kiss her again like this. Her lips were refreshing to his inmost soul, as if it was an oasis that had brought a drop of cold relief to his dry romantic spell. Chastine had also felt the same towards Juste. He was a breath of fresh air to her suffocating life. Juste¡¯s tongue made its move into her mouth; she weed that pleasurable flesh inside her as she opened her mouth wide with longing. Chastine moaned from the wild sensation Juste¡¯s tongue brought about her. He clearly knew how to pleasure her with his tongue. Juste¡¯s hidden beast began to get harder because of her moan. He thought he¡¯ll explode sooner than he had expected. The flickeries had encircled around them as if blessing their intense love-making. These creatures too, were looking for their mate to continue their existence in the world. Indeed, it was beautiful and majestic. They were one with nature as they act upon their feelings and instincts, ending their innocence in the process. The desire of love has been opened, and Juste couldn¡¯t symbolize it more than him ripping Chastine¡¯s sheer undergarment apart to devour her soft round breasts and perked updy bits. ¡°Aaahh, Juste,¡± was only Chastine¡¯s words as he continued to consume her because of his inner me zing beyond his mind could process. 24 Isn鈥檛 it Beautiful In the shallow waters by the river¡¯s edge, a beautiful awakening of love had been brought to reality. Juste continued to devour Chastine¡¯s soft breasts. He was gently fondling one, while he was encircling her hard and pink bit with the tip of his tongue on the other. Chastine couldn¡¯t hold in the good burning sensation she was feeling as Juste caressed her breasts. It was her first being fondled, and she realized that it was an all too good experience. Every touch of Juste¡¯s flesh from hers brought warm shivers and tingling down her spine. She closed her eyes, bit her lower lip, and her hands gripped Juste¡¯s manly locks. Whenever Juste touches her skin with passion, Chastine¡¯s body responds with heavy breathing and deep moaning. And every time their skin deeply press against each other, she arches her back from the raw irresistible sensation it was giving her. They were like a couple of caterpirs squiggling together as they engage in a cuddling rhythm. The lighting was dim-only the moon, stars, and the little specks from the flickeries illuminated them-but the dim light was beautifully casted onto the prominent features of their heavenly figures. The low light setting made their love-making demure, mysterious, and romantic. It was lovely and at the same time arousing to watch. Juste began to hoist Chastine up and sit her onto a raised rock on the water¡¯s surface. Chastine wrapped her arms around his neck for support. From the delicious witborn¡¯s breasts, the in-heat fellhound leaned lower and began trailing his tongue down to her stomach. He began to peck some gentle kisses as he moved further down her t tummy. The good burning sensation Chastine was feeling was unparalleled from her past happy experiences. She wondered and realized that this was the desire of the flesh, the kind of craving that could only manifest when you have deep feelings for your make out partner. Chastine then began to feel lightheaded. The moves Juste were making sent a sudden rush of blood within her that made her want to pass out. But she could only let out an erotic moan and inhale deeply to catch her breath. She inhaled deeper as Juste spread her legs and touched her love button with the tip of his tongue. He yed with that erogenous zone of hers: licking, sucking, and moving his tongue around it so fast that Chastine was greatly aroused she bucked from the jolt of pleasure it gave. ¡°Aaah, Juste, f*ck, so good,¡± was Chastine¡¯s remark about Juste¡¯s yful disy of affection. The young fellhound lustfully liked what he heard from the witborn¡¯s lips. He lightly chuckled as his efforts have been satisfying to the beautiful witborn, and also that it was first time to hear Chastine sharply cuss. He then performed more passionately and aggressively as he prepared Chastine¡¯s love hole to wee hisrge and fully erect beast as smoothly as possible. Juste couldn¡¯t contain his excitement and desire of caressing Chastine¡¯s dainty body. In every move he made, he thought he was going to go crazy. Touching the soft and supple skin of Chastine sent a flood of lustful warmth within him. His hunger for her flesh drove him to the point of no return. He was ready to release his warm white stain, but he kept his control as he didn¡¯t want it to end abruptly. Juste prated Chastine¡¯s love hole with two fingers. His two fingers were ying with her opening, entering and exiting it at a quick but gentle pace. Chastine¡¯s lovely paradise then released more love fluid. She then began to feel conscious. ¡°Chastine, rx,¡± Said Juste. He then withdrew his fingers and let out his tongue to enter the said juicy hole. He was flicking his tongue as fast as he could around its rim. He then licked the inside as if eating cold ice cream. But this one was zing hot to touch. The flicking and licking made Chastine buck and she gripped Juste¡¯s hair harder.This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Juste felt the annoying tug on his scalp, but he didn¡¯t mind it as he knew Chastine was having a good time as him. He was sucking her intimate flesh and the love juice out of her opening. The sound it made prompted Chastine to release more liquid down there. Juste touched and yed with her love button with his finger while toying her love hole with his tongue. No sooner, Chastine let out a session of moans as the orgasmic feeling had gotten more and more intense. She was feeling the peak of its arousal, the climax, the c*mming. ¡°Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh, aaaaahhh!¡± And then her pelvic area twitched as she felt the climactic sensation have been reached. But Juste knew it was just the start of Chastine¡¯s fiery feeling. He knew that a woman¡¯s pleasure can go on. Juste pulled out his fingers and withdrew his tongue from her soft and bulgy love button. He then started to slide in his throbbing b*ner into her pulsating opening. Slowly he entered Chastine¡¯s paradise. His 7-inch c*ck hit her womb and it brought her another level of pleasure. He then started the thrusting motion, his long shaft in and out of Chastine. He deeply moaned as he enjoyed the elerating pace of his lustful pounding of Chastine¡¯s dainty but gorgeous body. It was a cold night and his legs were submerged in water, but trails of sweat started to form underneath his locks. It started to trickle down his neck. ¡°F*ck, Chastine, you¡¯re tight. Ah, so goood¡­¡± Chastine was aroused at Juste¡¯s deep-set and coarse voice. Ripples were forming on the water¡¯s surface as Juste banged Chastine. His hands were clutched onto her thighs so her legs were spread from beginning until the end of their s*xual escapade. ¡°Ahh, ahh, ahh¡­¡± Juste tried to hold his moans by biting his lower lip. But he couldn¡¯t hold his pleasure any longer. Chastine went to nirvana for the second time in a row that night. Juste climaxed after. Their first real love-making for the night had sessfully happened. They were both exhausted but they felt that it was the best s*x that they have ever had. Chastine rested her back on the moist grass behind her. Juste followed suit as heid half of his upper body on top of hers. They were both catching their breaths. ¡°Hah, hah, f*ck Chastine, your p*ssy feels really good.¡± Juste still haven¡¯t pulled out his c*ck inside her p*ssy. He then kissed Chastine¡¯s smirking lips. Chastine returned the favor. She wrapped her hands around his neck and they were smooching again to their hearts content. When suddenly, out of nowhere, something was hissing behind them. But they were too busy with each other to even notice. 25 Red Field The flickeries soon ceased in emitting their romantic glow. Each had already found their mate and each pair had settled down to somewhere far away. The ripples and tiny waves in the shallow river water turned calmer and calmer as soon as Juste stopped his motion. The surrounding area became dimmer and silent. If one listened closely, only the hissing sounding from the tree was evident. But Juste and Chastine were still too engrossed with each other to even notice that lone bothersome sound. Only their breathing were palpable within their earshot. The slithering viper drew closer and closer towards them, carefully sliding its way so as not to be noticed. It made its stance to ready itself to bite Juste¡¯s arm. *Hiss!* Juste had quick reflexes, but he wasn¡¯t able to dodge the hungry snake in time. Still, the young fellhound was spared from being injected with a potent enough venom to let him have a cruel death. It was all because of Maxill¡¯s speedy response to save them from the famished viper. Maxill one-handedly grabbed it by the head and quickly squeezed it so hard, its head bursted and its cranial innards sttered all over the area. He then swung his arm in an abrupt motion to rid his limbs of the snake¡¯s blood and carcass. It was only afterwards when the handsome bloodhunt noticed Juste and Chastine¡¯s position and surmised that they were doing the deed. Juste and Chastine quickly broke off their bond and covered themselves with the few clothing they have had at that time. Chastine wrapped her torn tunic around her body to cover her nakedness, while Juste pulled up his white boxers to hide his still standing shaft. In a ssy Maxill-style of sarcasm, he said, ¡°sorry for the interruption you two, I was only making sure that the snake won¡¯t kill you after you¡¯re having your time.¡± Juste and Chastine were both bbergasted and at the same time humiliated. Then the fellhound bravely confronted the bloodhunt sleuth. ¡°You were watching us all along?!¡± Maxill denied the whole idea, ¡°eww. HELL NO. I was perched on top of a tree somewhere far away thinking about your mom¡¯s poetry.¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d gone for a swim?¡± ¡°I was. But then my mind wandered off into solving the poetic puzzle so I turned bat, flew up to a branch, and closed my eyes to think clearly.¡± Maxill added to his statement, ¡°that was when I got disrupted by the sound of the loud hissing. It was meters away from me, but I still had gotten annoyed by it I checked to see what the snake¡¯s fuss was about. So, lo and behold.¡± Maxill snickered at his mention of ¡®lo and behold¡¯. Chastine was too humiliated she bowed her head and looked away from Maxill to hide her crimson-colored face. ¡°Rx, you two. Of course I¡¯m happy, now you¡¯re finally at it. I thought it will take longer, but you finally set yourselves free from holding back.¡± Juste didn¡¯t know what proper expression or words he would say to the proud bloodhunt. He knew Maxill to be supportive of their rtionship, but this was such an awkward moment for the three of them to be in the same ¡®room¡¯. All he could do wasugh with mirth upon his face. ¡°Hah hahaha, dear lord!¡± Juste wiped a few tears of joy away from the corner of his eyes. He also felt proud of himself as he courageously confessed and confess in romantic fashion. Chastine was also happy at the oue of his confession. Her embarrassment dwindled down when she saw Juste¡¯s smiling face looking upon hers. She then openly cupped his neck and put a gentle peck on his lips in front of Maxill. Juste held the small of her back while at it. ¡°Ehem, I¡¯m still in the room.¡± Maxill red at them with an amusing smirk on his face. But his face turned serious after. ¡°The cuddling will have to wait. There¡¯s a pressing matter we need to solve.¡± Juste downright agreed with the now serious bloodhunt. ¡°You got something?¡± Juste asked with anticipation. ¡°You bet. So now we have to go to the Field of Ojor.¡± ¡°Now that we¡¯re almost back to square one, that¡¯s quite far from here.¡± ¡°Ah, but your nimble feet can manage getting there. You can carry your girlfriend to the field in your wolf form. Meanwhile, I¡¯ll fly my way in there.¡± Juste agreed to Maxill¡¯s n. ¡ª The field of Ojor is a vastnd of tall eeriely crimson-colored greenery. Ojor Field is called as so because it is home to numerous carnivorous nts, hence its name. Some say it¡¯s the location dump for unwanted bodies, dead or alive. Blood is spilled onto the field as the nts munch on the unassuming corpse, sometimes from melting the flesh with acid, while others were swallowing the flesh whole. What the trio troupe was looking for in the field was the rabid eater nt. This giant carnivore shrub could go as 2 meters in height when its body is stretched upright. When rested, it curls up into a ball of thick shrub. It is shallowly buried on the ground because its root base can also serve as feet. Yes, it can be mobile and moving. It can run at a speedy pace, especially when it is chasing its prey, hence the name. The trio arrived at this destination, to capture one as they needed to cut the leg root of the said shrub. As Maxill had pondered and studied, the rabid eater nt was the most ideal candidate in the description of the first line of the poem. ¡°So, where¡¯s that thing we¡¯re looking for?¡± Juste was quite inquisitive of the said matter. Maxill closed the herb codex on his hand. ¡°Book says they are just lying around here somewhere, assuming a form of a harmless shrub.¡± Juste took a few steps towards the strange field. But just before one of his feet touches the red ground, a vine of carnivorous nt tried to twist itself around his foot to snatch him and eat him. ¡°Whoa!¡± Luckily, Juste¡¯s reflexes saved him this time. ¡°Easy. We¡¯ll lure out that rabid eater out of that field¡¯s area.¡± Maxill wasing up with a solid n. Before there was Ojor Field, there was a long stretch of wheatfield around the edge of that field. It has a taller-thanmon wheat grass that when people trek it, they are like walking into a corn field; only the vegetation is finer than corn nts. ¡°Maxill, I think I have an idea.¡± Chastine hade up with a n. ¡°Yeah? Let us see then.¡± Chastine went near the edge of the depressed field. She drew out Juste¡¯s pen knife and she tried to cut her palm with it. Drops of blood trickled down her hand, continually dropping on the field¡¯s bloody ground. Maxill and Juste were startled at the move she did. The young fellhound quickly grabbed her by the crook of her other arm and pulled her away from the field.This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°What¡¯re you doing? Are you crazy?! You could¡¯ve been dragged away and instantly eaten.¡± Juste began lecturing Chastine. But Chastine hadn¡¯t had the time to react. The field of Ojor began to get agitated. The nts shivered and shrieked in unison and tried to suck Chastine¡¯s precious blood that dropped on the ground. Then the unthinkable happened. The trio noticed; they were covered by a shadow above them. It was the nt that they were looking for. 26 Plant vs Party The rays of the sun suddenly went dark above them as the giant foliage hovered over them with much ravenousness. It started drooling acid from its carnivorous mouth filled with thorns as teeth. Its aubergine-colored head was quiterge for its slender body and it was the part that was blocking the sky¡¯s view of Juste, Chastine, and Maxill. Chastine was quite scared and shocked as she tilted her head up and stared at the rabid eater nt. Her jaw fully dropped and her were eyes fully wide open. She tried to scream but not even a single weak tone was heard from her widely gaping mouth. She had no idea that the simple ingredients in the poetic list would turn out as dangerous and threatening as this. *Kksshh kksshh!* The umonly enormous rabid nt eater let out a sound simr to a snake¡¯s, but it was much coarser that it sounded like a screech. Juste, Chastine, and Maxill covered their ears. After the screeching sound it made, it was readying itself to go its way to grab any one of them to have its lunch. Itswork of thick red root base served as its feet. And as it started to take a step outside the perimeter of Ojor Field, Juste was quite keen to warn his other twopanions that they should turn tail and fast. ¡°Run. Run!¡± He noticed Maxill was just as alert as him but Chastine was still standing hard as a rock on the wheat field. Juste then grabbed her hand and tugged her to move and run away, against the direction of the now rampaging nt. The bloodhunt and the fellhound were quite agile and fast; Chastine couldn¡¯t keep up with them, so Juste carried her on his shoulder as akin to lifting a sack of rice. Juste had quite strength and stamina that he managed to keep his speedy pace simr to Maxill¡¯s even though he was encumbered with an 80-pound weight. But the rabid eater nt was also quite a runner. Though its head was wobbling from side to side due to improper bnce of head to body ratio, it managed to gain a steady gap enough for it to sense where to trio were heading. The wheat field was vast, but itcked enough cover for Juste and Maxill to hide in. Maxill couldn¡¯t turn bat as he ran the risk of burning himself again, while Juste couldn¡¯t properly shapeshift into wolf because he was carrying Chastine by his shoulder. Their human forms would just have to do. Maxill-although calm and collected-was frustrated at the recklessness of Chastine¡¯s actions. ¡°I do not wish to mark you as an idiot, witborn, but you did cross the line on this one.¡± ¡°Well I didn¡¯t know it would turn out to be 20-ish feet!¡± was Chastine¡¯s words as her voice get disrupted with every step of Juste hitting the ground. ¡°Tsk, what were you thinking?¡± ¡°I wanted to draw him out of the field. You know, because the book says it¡¯s camouging.¡± ¡°Nevermind, it¡¯s been done! What now, guys?!¡± Juste louden his voice to let the two hear him clearly. ¡°Wait I¡¯lle up with something. I¡¯ll try to reverse the damage.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t just try, make sure it works.¡± Maxill¡¯s frustration died down and was turned into a strange sense of encouragement. Chastine was facing the ginormous rabid eater nt. She noticed its scrawny stem of a body barely supporting its big wobbly head. ¡°Guys, I¡¯ve an idea!¡± ¡°Oh this better be good.¡± Maxill was running like the wind. ¡°Let¡¯s confuse it. Maxill, run in the opposite direction.¡± Maxill sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re up to but let¡¯s give it a try.¡± The agile bloodhunt signaled to the fellhound to where he was headed. Juste then ran opposite Maxill¡¯s direction. ¡°What now, Chas!¡± Maxill didn¡¯t nce at her and was busy sprinting to his heart¡¯s content. ¡°Rinse, repeat. Just like ying tag, don¡¯t get caught. And keep up the pace.¡± Juste ran an extra few meters away from their yground. He put Chastine¡¯s feet on the ground to let him move easier. By this time, Juste and Maxill were running at supersonic speeds that Chastine began to lose sight of them. They were like two dense winds cutting through grass and swooshing through the wheat fields. The rabid eater nt began to get confused who among Maxill and Juste it would trail. It was running towards one side. But as soon as it was gaining up on either Juste or Maxill, one of them would cross paths with the other resulting in the nt to chase the nearer and more mobile prey. Maxill then realized what Chastine was up to. And he knew it was only a matter of time before the ravaging nt trips itself as its root-feet couldn¡¯t keep up with their speed and tactic. Maxill added to Chastine¡¯s idea as he modified her n to speed things up. He swooshed behind Juste as he exined to him of his n. ¡°Juste, let¡¯s run around the rabid eater, you and me moving in the opposite direction.¡± ¡°What? Why, what for?¡± Maxill squinted his eyes and let out a smirk. ¡°We need to let the mighty fall.¡± The rabid eater nt then hurried forward to Juste and Maxill¡¯s direction. The bloodhunt and the fellhound started to act upon their n. Maxill moved clockwise, while Juste moved counterclockwise as they encircle the rabid nt. The vicious live shrub started to twist and turn. Its roots for feet couldn¡¯t keep up with the nt¡¯stest decision that its thickwork of crooked rods started to get tangled up in the process. Then the towering nt-beast totally lost its bnce and started to fall down loudly on the wheat field grounds. It was like a log that was soon cut and was about to fall. ¡°Timber!¡± Juste couldn¡¯t help but express his humor while at it. Juste and Maxill avoided being buried below the falling foliage. *THUD!* And the rabid eater nt had finally fallen down. Chastine ran to Juste and Maxill¡¯s location. ¡°Good job guys.¡± She pat them on the back and was grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Thanks.¡± Juste was panting, but he still put out a smile as he looked at Chastine¡¯s beautiful face. ¡°Haha, so much for not having a rope.¡± Maxill was also catching his breath. The rabid eater nt was still alive. It was madly squiggling but it cannot lift itself up to stand. ¡°So, Maxill, do the honors.¡± Chastine told Maxill. ¡°Pleasure.¡± Maxill stretched out his palm with upright and unspread fingers, and then quickly swung his arm so as to cut the nt¡¯s head by the receptacle. Slimy fluid gushed forth from the cut, and the rabid eater sumbed to death.This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Juste then borrowed his pen knife from Chastine and started to cut pieces of root from the nt¡¯s base. ¡°Part one of five, done.¡± The fellhound smiled at the spoils of theirbor. 27 Two Wolfbanes Juste, Chastine, and Maxill couldn¡¯t be prouder of themselves for getting the first ingredient of the Remedium. No doubt, the root was crimson colored, from the tips to the base. Even its insides were bloody red.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org. They went to a nearby small vige where the three species are weed: freedom to eat, sleep, and trade. Juste, Chastine, and Maxill quickly headed to that small town¡¯s apothecary. The hospitable assistant lent them the things that they needed to prepare the root for storing and keep it from getting moldy. Juste prepared the root by drying them out in a dry oven, then after drying, patiently grinding it with mortar and pestle. Just as the fellhound meticulously processed the red root of the rabid eater nt, Chastine and Maxill were trying to figure out their next target nt for the ingredient in the Remedium serum for Juste. ¡°It says crown of thorns¡­¡± Maxill was rubbing his chin, pondering what specific thorny nt was the poem referring to. ¡°Ugh, there are so many thorny nts here in the codex!¡± Chastine was beginning to feel frustrated. ¡°And what is this pyre about?¡± Maxill¡¯s intellect was getting more and more challenged as he mused about the hardest line in the poem yet. ¡°Pyre is for dead people.¡± Chastine was trying to help Maxill get his wits going. ¡°But buried on pyre? What does that mean, Chas?¡± Chastine was clearly the thinker of the group. She had saved them from dangers using her reliable wits. After all, her species is termed a witborn. ¡°Fire is used on pyres. Maybe we need to burn it deep in an open me?¡± She raised one eyebrow from being unsure of her answer. ¡°Hmp,¡± Maxill muttered, ¡°it would seem quite impossible as it is a nt and it would literally burn to ashes if we burn it in an open me.¡± Chastine wasn¡¯t really adept inboratory science. But her wits were working; she thought that they needed another brain to get them thinking, one knowledgeable about such scientific technique. The female witborn then called forth for the apothecary assistant. He was a bit shy, and he probably was also crushing on Chastine as seen on his face every time he catches a glimpse of the beautiful witborn. ¡°W-what c-can I d-do for you, ma-am?¡± He was stuttering as Chastine was staring at him. ¡°Rx, young sir. I only need some help with something.¡± Chastine let out a gentle smile to calm his nerves. ¡°I-I¡¯ll t-try my b-best¡­¡± He tried to calm himself down but his nervousness wouldn¡¯t go away. ¡°What are some ways to heat a delicate material without it getting burned to bits?¡± By this time, the assistant¡¯s confidence outshine his timidity. ¡°Well, you can do a water bath, an oil bath, a sand bath, or a dry bath.¡± Chastine took careful interest when the assistant mentioned the word ¡®sand bath¡¯. ¡°Sand bath? Could you tell me more about it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a heating te and a metal pan filled with sand. You get to submerge the material deep in the sand and set the temperature for it to heat up. The heat¡¯s higher than the water bath and the oil bath.¡± ¡°For real?!¡± Chastine was feeling that she was on the right track. ¡°Yup.¡± The assistant put out a confident smile at Chastine. ¡°Do you have a heating te around here that we can use?¡± ¡°Yeah, as a matter of fact we do.¡± ¡°Great. Thanks a lot, young sir!¡± And she threw her arms around the young man in a friendly way. Juste¡¯s twitched a little while ring at the assistant. He got a little bit wary of the young man. The assistant noticed his stare and began to feel nervous again, much more than before. ¡ª ¡°So, we need to bury the thorny stem in a sand bath, is that what you¡¯re saying?¡± Chastine nodded, ¡°Uh-huh. But first we need to find out what actual nt is the poem referring to.¡± ¡°Funny, upon reading the entire codex, there¡¯s not a single thorny brown stem in the wholend of Dianium. All of them are green, some ck, some even red, but not brown.¡± ¡°So we really need the use a sand bath to reveal what the actual nt the poem¡¯s talking about.¡± ¡°Got any leads for the next one?¡± Juste just finished preparing the red root. He put it inside a thick envelope, in the size of what apothecaries use for their medicines. ¡°So far we know what method to use to the nt. What we don¡¯t understand yet is what the actual nt is.¡± ¡°You might want to check it out, Juste. After all, it¡¯s your mom that had wrote it. She might have given you clues that only you can figure out.¡± This was Maxill¡¯s brilliant point as he handed over the diary to Juste. The fellhound thought long and hard as he read the second line in the poetry. The phrase crown of thorns resonated within him. ¡°Crown of thorns¡­¡± murmured Juste, as he spaced out while remembering what his mother often used to tell him. ¡°You have to be careful with these, Juste.¡± Saraise Isaacs was holding a thorny brown dried up stem with her gloved hands. The 4-year old fellhound child tilted his head. ¡°What is it, mother?¡± ¡°This is quite poisonous for you, Juste. Now, even for me.¡± She put the crown-like roll of stem inside a thick bup bag. ¡°This is the bane of our existence.¡± ¡°Juste? Juste?¡± Chastine was waving her hand with syed fingers in front of his face. ¡°Sorry, I got quite absorbed. My Mom said it¡¯s the bane of our existence.¡± ¡°Bane¡­? Wolfbane!¡± Maxill and Chastine shouted in unison and pointed fingers at each other. The tall bloodhunt flipped through the index of the codex and was surprised at what he saw. ¡°D*mn, there are three wolfbanes in here.¡± Chastine took a peek at the index. ¡°Oh look, two species say thorny wolfbanes. That leads us down to two: the southern thorny wolfbane, and the northern thorny wolfbane.¡± ¡°Juste,¡± Maxill asked, ¡°do you happen to remember if it¡¯s from the north or from the south?¡± Juste closed his eyes and recalled his memories harder. ¡°Argh, I¡¯m afraid not. I really can¡¯t remember this one.¡± Maxill then decided, ¡°then this leaves us no choice. We need to get the two kinds of wolfbane. Your mom might have done it so intentionally.¡± ¡°The question is why?¡± Chastine began to be perplexed. ¡°I do not know exactly. But I think it must be for added confusion. His mom¡¯s quite secretive of things.¡± ¡°Maybe that¡¯s one reason¡­¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s no time to lose. Juste, what do you think we should do?¡± Maxill was giving the final word to Juste as it was greatly his concern. After all, their quest was wholly about Juste¡¯s need to turn into a human. Juste looked at Chastine and Maxill, and said, ¡°OK, then let¡¯s split up.¡± 28 Hybrid ¡°Agree,¡± Maxill retorted to Juste. He was determined to help the fellhound anyway he can. ¡°I¡¯ll go north. I know my way around there.¡± The handsome bloodhunt had a confident smile upon him that was hard to let down. Maxill continued, ¡°Chastine, you go with Juste. Knowing that he¡¯s quite sensitive to the nt, he needs to have apanion to handle the southern thorny wolfbane. Capiche?¡± ¡°Yeah, got it.¡± Chastine was also serious and determined to help Juste as seen on her expressive face. Maxill butted in further into their conversation, gesturing his hand in the air while exining himself, ¡°Well, y¡¯know, besides me disrupting your smooching sessions, it¡¯ll be better for the two of you to team up. Well, just sayin¡¯¡­¡± ¡°Maxill!¡± Juste and Chastine cried in unison as their cheeks turned red when they remembered the bloodhunt witnessing their love making session by the river. The teasing bloodhunt grinned broadly, baring the set of his sharp canines in the process. ¡°Anyway, south is where you¡¯re at, so you need to double up to catch up because we¡¯re around here right now.¡± He pointed somewhere on the fringy map with raw sketches ced above the t surface of a furniture, indicating that they were somewhere north-east at that moment. He rolled back the map and handed it to Juste. ¡°Here you go, lover boy. Make sure you get to Chastine not only in one piece, but in pristine condition.¡± He squinted his eyes and red at Juste, implying that he was warning the fellhound about Chastine¡¯s welfare. Juste raised his chin and put a smug stare upon his face. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me that, bloodhunt.¡± Chastine then began to feel worried about the two fighting again, but Juste and Maxill both understood deeply that it was just a yful banter between them. Because of this, they both grinned at Chastine; and Maxill told her, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Chastine.¡± Momentster Juste and Chastine prepared to head for south, while Maxill flew off as fast as he could northward where the sought for herb was endemic in the specified area ording to the codex. ¡°You sure you want to travel this way?¡± Juste asked Chastine of the mode of travel she opted for: a horse. ¡°What do you mean, Juste?¡± the curious witborn didn¡¯t get Juste¡¯s implication. ¡°Well, y¡¯know, I could travel faster in wolf form, just sayin¡¯,¡± Juste replied to Chastine with an air of defiant arrogance. ¡°Why, can you carry me and the rest of my pack for 20 miles?¡± Chastine leveled up to Juste¡¯s ir of arrogance with a snobbish retort. ¡°We won¡¯t need the pack if you¡¯d just let me carry you.¡± ¡°20 miles? 20 effing miles?! You¡¯re insane.¡± ¡°You¡¯re doubting my skills?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just worried that your knees might give in. After all, you need to cover both ways. If we won¡¯t bring a beast of burden with us, chances are you¡¯re gonna overwork your little wolfie legs.¡± ¡°Thanks for the concern, but really, ¡®little wolfie legs¡¯?¡± Chastine snickered. ¡°Sorry, wolf paws are really cute to me.¡± Juste didn¡¯t know how to react to how Chastine described his wolf legs. He found it amusing but there was a tinge of insult that he felt hearing about how cute it was. He realized it was their first time to argue about such little stuff as a couple. He wondered how he would be able to die down such arguments incase they show up again. Juste remembered his father and mother. He was only 5 then, but it was vivid to him how his father always gives in to his mother¡¯s whims just to prevent a brooding fight. He realized that his father was doing it because he dearly and clearly loved Saraise Isaacs. Juste avoided responding further to Chastine. But he has his sleek way in turning their little silly fight into an endearment. ¡°Hyah!¡± Juste raised the reins of the horse swung it into whiping motion to make the horse move faster. The action made Chastine to whimper and her embrace around Juste¡¯s torso tighter, with her face automatically digging into his back.Material ? N?velDrama.Org. He nced halfway and said, ¡°and you sound too cute back there.¡± This made her cheeks fluster and her lips curl upwards. She could smell Juste¡¯s natural scent which had woodsy musk notes to it from hunting game. Juste felt Chastine¡¯s grip on him. He also felt her breath on his back. This made him smile from ear to ear also. He praised himself in this thoughts, ¡®There, argument over. Nice one, Juste¡¯. They were savoring their sweet moment together that the task felt like it was a walk in the park. But it was too long that their happy circumstance quickly turned into something suspenseful and concerning. Scion arrived at the scene, alone. He had bandages around his head and arms, but he was mobile enough to man a horse and stop in front of Juste and Chastine. He survived the airship crash, but looked like he was still recovering from his wounds. The couple¡¯s horse bucked from the sudden appearance of the armymander. Good thing Juste was in control of things that he calmed their horse down in an instant. ¡°If you¡¯re going to stop us, Scion, then be my guest. Your schemes won¡¯t stop us from getting what we need,¡± Juste¡¯s words were grave, challenging and furious but calm. ¡°Oh? You think I¡¯m going to stop you while I¡¯m alone? Hahaha, think again, wolf prince,¡± Scion¡¯s words were taunting and sarcastic, and he was going beyond disrespect when he referred to Juste as the ¡®wolf prince¡¯. Juste didn¡¯t care about the slur. His mind was quite upied with their aim at hand to get some southern thorny wolfsbane, a possible ingredient for the Remedium. ¡°So what are you here for? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve given up and want to join me for the search.¡± Scionughed hard at Juste¡¯s sarcasm. ¡°I¡¯d be insane if I believe such child¡¯s tale. That book is a worthless piece of sh*t!¡± Then he spat on the ground. Juste wasn¡¯t insulted at Scion¡¯s taunt on him, but he just won¡¯t let things pass when the armymander insulted his mother¡¯s work. He was managing his anger, so he told the truth of her mother¡¯s true identity that only he and her father knew. He heaved out a sigh and stared at Scion straight in the eye, ¡°Mother was a witborn before father invited her to spend the rest of her life with him. She was a genius toe up with the means to turn herself into a fellhound. It was all her life¡¯s research, just so she could have a family with father.¡± Juste was waiting for a reaction from the armymander. It became silent, as Scion listened to his tale and contemted on it deeply. Scion pped afterwards. ¡°And so, the hybrid wolf prince was born. Not only did the wolf king did what was taboo for the n, but he also reared a disobedient half-blood in the process.¡± ¡°You knew?¡± Juste was rmed at Scion¡¯s knowledge. He started to worry for his father. ¡°Rumors, Juste. But I get to prove that rumor to be true.¡± Scion smirked at the thought. ¡°But, let me tell you just one thing: it won¡¯t work for you. That silly recipe on her diary won¡¯t work for a fellhound like you. You¡¯re just chasing wind.¡± Juste¡¯s eyes widened. Although he was deadset in believing for a cure, he was shocked at themander¡¯s words as it suddenly crumbled his hope to turn into a human. He was doubting his beliefs. Scion sensed that his words had gotten into Juste¡¯s. ¡°Now, dear prince, go back to our n, the throne is waiting for you. I also have a big surprise for you back at the mountain castle.¡± Then as Scion was leaving them, he said his final parting words to them, ¡°by the way, I¡¯ve burned every southern thorny wolfsbane in their own habitat. So long.¡± And he maneuvered his horse back to where he came, while Juste just bowed down his head with his bangs covering his shocked face. 29 Quicksand Maxill was quite swift on his arrival to the north of Dianium. The herb codex indicated that the northern thorny wolfbane was along the outskirts of the Dianium, just between their country¡¯s jurisdiction and the uncharted frost beyond. In that boundary, the terrain was filled with tall and cone-bearing trees, and the climate in that region was indeed bone chilling and thin aired. But these were no match for the powerful bloodhunt. Maxill was breezing through the cold winds like it wasn¡¯t even cool season. He was still pping his ominous pair of wings with elegance and effortlessness. The sound of swaying branches was heard. Maxill perched on one of the lower branches and began to scour the ground with his supersonic senses. As he turned human and was in a sitting position along the high branch, he closed his eyes and activated his sound wave detection to search for the herb. The northern thorny wolfbane is one tricky nt to acquire, both in location and in physical attributes. But because of the codex¡¯s description and guide, he knew he was the right candidate to look for the said herb-he sure knew his way around it. One distinct feature of the northern thorny wolfbane is its broad heart-shaped leaves. It is also considered a runner and spreads along the ground, below other nts. Just one misstep and it could spell danger to humans and other animals, while death to a wolf and to a werewolf. His flight skill is all that was needed to prevent this from happening. Maxill deduced that the said nt is either an absorber of sound. He would just have to wait for a certain sound wave to not bounce back at a certain amount of time. The forest is thick with foliage from other nt species. Luckily, that herb was the only thorny ground vine within that region. Along with his magic, he used these to his advantage without hurting himself to look out for a bunch. He was full on focused on his searching that he wasn¡¯t able to detect another being slowly approaching him from behind. It was toote when he noticed the creature about to stab him directly toward his heart. But with good fortune, Maxill was able to deflect the metal stake by a hair¡¯s breadth. But with this defensive motion, he then lost his bnce causing him to fall to the ground. The ground was quite soft and muddy. The agile bloodhunt then realized that it wasn¡¯t just an ordinary deep puddle on the ground he fell in. ¡®Quicksand!¡¯, he muttered to himself. Maxill¡¯s never before seen facial expression began to manifest; it was the look and feel of fear-and of course he had immediately panicked afterwards. He was pping both his lower and upper limbs, trying to hoist himself up to reach for safe ground. But to no avail. Maxill was stuck on the hungry quicksand, slowly swallowing every inch of his body and devouring his sense of confidence and presence of mind. ¡°Serves you right, traitor.¡± A thin and taunting voice echoed within the pine forest. Maxill stopped his clumsy paddling and waddling. He suddenly noticed that familiar voice that was waiting for him to be eaten alive by the ground. The handsome bloodhunt was quick to deduce that he was under the dark spell of that familiar speaker. He tried to get out of that dark spell. He thought of countering it with his powerful magic. It was a battle between two powerful minds and magics. Maxill battled this quicksand illusion with some facts. One, that there is no spring of water nearby causing a quicksand to ur. And two, that he knew he was more powerful than this filthy bloodeye toying with his perception. Within seconds, Maxill broke out of the quicksand illusion. He simply stood up from the ground like he was standing on water. And the quicksand vanished before his eyes. ¡°You bloodeye! Show yourself!¡± Maxill was now quite enraged at the trick he was yed at by the thin-voiced bloodhunt seer. ¡°Ku ku ku, and why would I want to show myself to you, you filthy half-blood?¡± ¡°What do you want with me, Dreon? Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m busy with things?¡± was Maxill¡¯s sarcastic reply. He knew what the bloodeye-what a vampire seer is called-wanted from him. ¡°Ahahaha! Don¡¯t make meugh, Maxill. You obviously know what we want for you.¡± ¡°No matter how many times you lot sell and imprison me in every way, I will manage to set myself free, one way or another.¡± ¡°Ku ku ku, who are you kidding half-blood? Your most recent imprisonmentsted for-¡± Maxill threw a heavy punch to his face. It was the smart bloodhunt¡¯s tactic to get him talking. While the bloodeye was at it, Maxill used this opportunity to locate Dreon the Bloodeye. Dreon was standing in one of a not so steep branch. When Maxill pummeled his face, he came hurling straight to the ground. It had quite a strong impact that smoky dust flew off in all directions as Dreon hit the ground. ¡®Too bad. It has no wolfbane where hended.¡¯ Maxill was smirking as he amused himself with this thought. Dreon tried to stand up, but Maxill¡¯s heavy blow micro-fractured his bones and hemorrhaged his innards. These were hard to regenerate into and heal. The bloodeye coughed up blood in the process. Maxill walked toward him. ¡°Mess with me again, and it¡¯ll be the death of you.¡± ¡°The prophecy¡¯s right. You¡¯ll be the death of us bloodhunts!¡± ¡°Then it will be reasonable. You¡¯re meddling with my affairs!¡± ¡°We¡¯re jut t-trying t-tto c-con-t-tain you¡­¡± ¡°Then stop it now! Of course I¡¯ll protect myself. It¡¯ll be a self-fulfilling prophecy for all of you if you continue to bother my life. I don¡¯t care about vampirekind anymore, so just let me be.¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org. Dreon couldn¡¯t make a sound as he was slowly breathing hard because every inhale and exhale was hurting his lungs from his broken ribs. But he still tried to warn Maxill. ¡°S-s-some-b-bo-d-dy e-lse wwant y-y-you¡­¡± Then Dreon breathed hisst. Maxill closed Dreon¡¯s eyes. He never thought Dreon would be too weak to die from his blow. He was also suddenly confused at the bloodeye¡¯sst words. Dreon¡¯s appearance made Maxill¡¯s mode to be irate and dark. Because of this, he just went in pure rage, unmindful of the effects he would do in that forest just to get a northern thorny wolfbane. He reached out his hand towards the forest and shaped his hand into a w. There suddenly came a violent wind. The foliage on the ground of the forest slowly disappeared, as if they were being ran by a glowing shadow and then disappearing as the shadow hit them. Maxill transported the unnecessary nts into another dimension. Only the thorny wolfbane endemic in the north was left on the ground. The powerful bloodhunt grabbed a bunch of the herb and put it in a sack. Still irate, he then quickly shapeshifted into bat form and darted across the wind to make his way back to his, Juste¡¯s, and Chastine¡¯s rendezvous point. 30 New Course Everything was not going well with Juste, Chastine, and Maxill. The bloodhunt did acquire what he had nned in getting from the north, but it costed him his peace andposure. He even identally killed one of his own, even if he only wanted to beat the h*ck out of Dreon. Not that he cared about the snoopy bloodeye, but he realized that he wasn¡¯t able to control his strength and went overboard just because he was led by his feelings. Meanwhile, Juste and Chastine have had some bad encounter with none other than Juste¡¯s current nemesis, Scion, the armymander of their n. Not only did Scion burnt each southern thorny wolfbane he could find around the region, he also decided to revisit the pair and take the diary of Juste¡¯s mother to burn it before his very eyes. Among the three, Juste was clearly the most devastated. He was starting to feel that their quest was all for naught. Without any substantial guide to continue their mission, Juste was thinking how they would be able toplete the needed ingredients and their way to make the Remedium.This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. And on top of that, what Scion had said earlier to him and Chastine was creeping deeply into his very psyche. Maxill was the first to arrive at their meet up point. Granted, he was nearer the area and was a little shaken inside that he sought thefort of his friends and shake off being consumed by that bad feeling. He knew that when he would see the two love birds, his current foul mood would change and that he would be himself again. But an ample time had already passed. Juste and Chastine were still nowhere to be found. So he ced a spell on the door of the apothecary in that vige, a hidden talisman to detect his couple friends when they arrive at the front door of that store. And from there, Maxill looked for a nice small caf¨¦ within that small open vige to try to calm his tension and stress with strawberry cheesecake, his favorite human food. So far, hisfort food was getting him to cool his head down. Though he still preferred seeing Juste and Chastine. He was beginning to feel half excited about telling and showing the spoils of hisbor to them. Minutester, Juste and Chastine finally arrived at their meet up location. As they stood in front of the apothecary store, one can feel the gloomy mood they were in. Tired, droopy eyes, hunched backs, and heavy sighing, these were seen of Juste and Chastine as they outwardly expressed their disheartening encounter with their armymander. Even Chastine¡¯s positive demeanor wasn¡¯t able to overpower the current miserable mood they were feeling. They just stood there, raising their head up high, and looking at the signage of the apothecary. They both wondered if they would ever step inside to look for Maxill and tell the bloodhunt that they didn¡¯t get any southern thorny wolfbane and that their guidebook had been burned to bits. The hidden talisman Maxill set up glowed, indicating that Juste and Chastine had been detected within that area. Maxill felt his spell activated. Luckily, he had finished eating and was just reading a newspaper just to kill time. He hurriedly went back to the drug store. He couldn¡¯t wait to see his friends to converse with them about how he had gotten the type of wolfbane he needed to acquire. He was a few feet to the drugstore door, and as he saw the devastated look of both of his friends, he retracted to tell his tale and was more worried about theirs. ¡°What happened?¡± Maxill¡¯s eyebrows furrowed as he spoke in a serious manner. No exnation was heard from the two. Chastine¡¯s head started to bow down, while Juste tried so hard to make eye contact with Maxill. He nced at the tall bloodhunt and the bloodhunt knew what Juste wanted to tell him. The mission has failed. ¡°Sorry, Maxill¡­¡± Juste finally croaked, albeit weakly, and broke the silence upon them. Maxill knew it was his time to encourage his disheartened friends. Even though it wasn¡¯t his forte because he prefers sarcasm and snobbishness, he knew he needed to set them aside and uplift the downcast feelings of hisrades. He lifted the sack containing his spoils and told the pair, ¡°Here, there¡¯s still hope, Juste.¡± Then Maxill gently grabbed Chastine¡¯s hand and led them inside the apothecary. The door swung open, ringing the bell above it. They were attended by the pharmacist assistant which allowed their request to use the store¡¯sb equipment. Money does talk. Juste and Chastine sat down inside, near the door of theboratory. While Maxill prepared everything to test his specimen to see if it was the wolfbane they were looking for. The sand bath is almost often used on liquid solutions, but this time, an inconvenient method of using a sand bath was called for to know which type of wolfbane was needed to make the Remedium. While waiting for the sand on the hot te to heat up, Maxill wanted to talk to Juste. So he asked Chastine to look out for the setup, while he asked Juste that they have a one on one talk in somewhere more private, out of Chastine¡¯s earshot: on the balcony outside next to theboratory, facing a great view of the mountains. ¡°Do tell me, Juste.¡± was Maxill¡¯s opening remark to break Juste¡¯s cold and distant mood. Juste was finding it so hard toe up with the words to describe what happened. But he still managed to exin to Maxill about their predicament. The sinewy fellhound heaved out a heavy sigh, looked towards the horizon, and said, ¡°¡­book was burned¡­ Everything was burned¡­ Scion did it.¡± ¡°You mean every bush?!¡± ¡°¡­he seems to know what was inside the book, every detail of the Remedium.¡± ¡°No shit.¡± ¡°We were being yed. From the start.¡± ¡°Then why? On what end?¡± ¡°Beats me, Maxill, but I know something strange is happening back home. Maybe Scion¡¯s just buying time to make it happen.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s your n?¡± Juste started to nce at Maxill, whose scarlet eyes were glistening like fire as it touches the sun rays. ¡°I need to go back in there. I fear for my father. My gut instinct is tugging me inside.¡± Maxill couldn¡¯t believe what Juste had just spewed out. ¡°What about our quest? What about the Remedium?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, Maxill¡­we lost half our chance.¡± Juste¡¯s eyes were beginning to look hopeless and at a loss. Maxill was a bit angry at Juste. It had never urred to the bloodhunt that this fellhound of a prince was weak by noble standards. But he needed to handle this situation as level headed as possible. Maxill needed to convince Juste that they should continue on their journey to look for his cure. ¡°¡­is this what you really want? I¡¯ve heard from Chas, you already bade farewell to your father.¡± ¡°I thought he was safe in there¡­ Scion was very loyal to him.¡± ¡°Well, Juste, fact is, people do change. One day they¡¯re celebrating with you, next day they¡¯re going to stab your back. No matter what, you must stay on course. Do you still want to be human?¡± ¡°Definitely. I hate being a fellhound. I don¡¯t like to eat humans.¡± ¡°Oh, so there lies the problem. You think being a fellhound not eating humans, you would be less of a fellhound?¡± Maxill started to raise his hands in disapproval. ¡°It¡¯s an unbreakable tradition amongst fellhounds.¡± ¡°Look, Juste, you¡¯re a prince. You can just issue a decree preventing this cannibalism in your n from happening.¡± With Maxill¡¯s words, Juste started to raise an eyebrow. He felt like a total bonafide idiot for not realizing the power he holds amongst his n. ¡°So what are you saying, Maxill?¡± Maxill didn¡¯t bother to say anything. He merely smirked at the anticipating fellhound. 31 Brown or Black ¡°You think this is gonna work on him?¡± Juste asked Maxill, thinking if they would be able to be sessful in their n. ¡°Trust me, I¡¯ve memorized the whole guide.¡± Juste was quite surprised at what his bloodhunt friend just said. His eyes widened and his eyebrows raised up. ¡°Woah, you did?¡± ¡°Yes. And I bet on my 75 years of life that it¡¯ll work on him.¡± ¡°What the-you¡¯re 75 years old?!¡± Maxill added, ¡°And forget about what Scion said. He¡¯s just toying with your head.¡± He also bothered toment on Juste¡¯s astonishment regarding his age, ¡°look at me, Juste. For us bloodhunts, age is just a number. I could pass as a teenager just like you. Heck, I¡¯m even young by vampire standards.¡± ¡°Ugh, well, I just thought you¡¯re around 40 years old, heh.¡± Juste¡¯s nose showed wrinkles and lines as he smiled in an awkward way out of disbelief and amusement. Maxill couldn¡¯t help but wonder, ¡°¡­are you ttering me, or insulting me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s apliment.¡± Juste snickered at what he just said. The bloodhunt was tempted to look into the fellhound¡¯s mind. He stared at Juste¡¯s eyes and started to read inside Juste¡¯s brain. Surprisingly odd, Maxill couldn¡¯t find any thought lingering inside his friend¡¯s mind. ¡°Strange. Either that, or you¡¯re not thinking about anything at all.¡± ¡°Your mindread won¡¯t work on me, Maxill. I happen to mostly rely on my gut feeling rather than my intellect. I act out of my inner nature. I don¡¯t think that much.¡± ¡®F*ck, I thought my mindread was invincible.¡¯ Maxill thought to himself. ¡°Heh, that actually exins a lot,¡± the bloodhunt told Juste. ¡°I thought you¡¯re just an airhead whenever I try to look inside that skull of yours.¡± ¡°What the h*ll?! Hey, when was that-¡± Maxill cut Juste¡¯s sentence to further discuss about the more important matter at hand, ¡°Anyways, we need to make the Remedium work. The purpose did change, but the aim is the same.¡± Juste couldn¡¯t believe that all he ever needed was Maxill to open his eyes to the opportunity he has. Their new n had a very long shot, but he wanted to try and shove his luck to make it happen. ¡°Just don¡¯t cop out on me, Maxill. I can¡¯t pull this off without you.¡± ¡°Heck, Maximillian Vikander doesn¡¯t know a thing about abandoning his friends.¡± Juste opened his palm, ced it near his face, spat out a drool on it, and offered it to Maxill. ¡°Seal your promise.¡± Maxill was outrightly disgusted at Juste¡¯s form of pact. It was quite evident in his facial expression, his eyes winced and turned to slits and his lips gaped and stretched with the tips curled downwards. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Juste asked. ¡°Err, I prefer blood pacts, fellhound.¡± ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll do it in two kinds of pacts.¡± Maxill had no choice but to respect Juste¡¯s form of sealing the promise. He then readied his contract with Juste that was sealed with both of their bloods. After their rituals of sealing their promises, Juste couldn¡¯t wait to tell Chastine about their n. ¡°Great. Now we just have to tell Chastine everything about this.¡± But Maxill had other things in mind. ¡°Ah, no. Bad idea.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Juste immediately dropped the big question.N?velDrama.Org content rights. ¡°Being a witborn, she¡¯s quite vulnerable. Our n must be kept from everyone else. We will tell her, but do not blurt out the specifics. It¡¯s for her own good. Got it?¡± Juste got Maxill¡¯s point. He nodded in agreement. As they about to head back into theb room, Chastine banged the door open to the balcony. ¡°Guys! Ah, thank God I¡¯ve found you.¡± She was panting like crazy while she was speaking to the two guys. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Chas?¡± ¡°You need to see the reaction!¡± Chastine¡¯s face was beaming with delight. What was once gloomy and dull in the beautiful witborn¡¯s face turned back into a lively and cheerful look. ¡°Lady luck must be smiling upon us.¡± ¡°Damn right, Juste. Damn right.¡± ¡ª The trio was back at theb room. Chastine buried the tip of the forceps into the sand bath, and within a short while she pinched something and lifted it, revealing the fuzzy stem of the northern thorny wolfbane. ¡°See, guys? Hurray!¡± Chastine¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t even get any cuter as her pair was more rounder and they were shimmering. This was evidence that Chastine was d from the inside. ¡°Brown. Brown indeed, haha!¡± Juste¡¯s eyes and mouth opened wide in delight. Maxill, on the other hand, smirked with joy. ¡°Now let¡¯s get on with the next ingredient.¡± Chastine then suddenly remembered that the book was burned. Her joyful face went immediately sad again. Maxill then reminded his best friend of his extraordinary ability. ¡°Rx, Chas. I got it all in here.¡± He tapped his temple with his forefinger. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. And I just told Juste about it a while ago. Now, for the next ingredient¡­¡± Maxill closed his eyes and mentally envisioned the look and shape of the diary of Juste¡¯s mother. He then imagined it to flip through the mental pages to look into its contents. Lo and behold, Maxill had quite an urate depiction of the diary. He recited the poem to Juste and Chastine, all from memory: ¡°root of red, drool of flesh, tall as pir stem of brown, crown of thorns, revealed on pyre leaf of green, thick of water, at one¡¯s behest petal of white, rise of giants, at peaceful rest seed of ck, depths of earth, one in all.¡± Maxill slowly opened his eyes. He saw Juste and Chastine¡¯s face, who were both amazed and fascinated at Maxill¡¯s recitation of Juste¡¯s mom¡¯s poem. The bloodhunt quickly flicked his finger so the two would break free from their mesmerizing spell. Not that Maxill had casted them such magic, but it was from his ethereal and soothing aura that his friends suddenly gazed at him with such wonder and attention. ¡°Hey!¡± Maxill was flicking his fingers. ¡°Amazing, Max.¡± Chastine pped her hands, as if Maxill had performed in front of a theater and would take home the winning prize for his performance. Juste thought that Maxill gave justice to her mother¡¯s work. He had forgotten the pain from seeing the book burning in front of him. ¡°Thanks, Maxill. My mother would be proud.¡± ¡°Wee. Now, to business: leaf of green, what could it mean?¡± Chastine retorted to his question, ¡°I think it¡¯s the easiest one, Maxill. It looks like the recipe is calling for a sulent nt.¡± ¡°At one¡¯s behest?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably its distinction among the other sulents out there. Let¡¯s consult the codex for it.¡± Maxill pulled out the codex from his breast pocket. He was the one carrying it so it wasn¡¯t burned by the armymander. He flipped through the pages and meticulously scanned the sulent section of the book. ¡°Hmm, Juste, why don¡¯t you try. It might be familiar to you, at least by looks or by name.¡± ¡°Lemme see,¡± Juste sneaked beside Maxill. Juste flipped throughout the section and something caught his eye. His mouth slightly opened but was out for words when he saw the scientific name of the prospective nt. It was named Saraisium ordinem. 32 The Mysterious Pilot Juste remembered one his mother¡¯s greatest work. Being a herbalist herself, he never would imagine the vastness of Saraise Isaacs¡¯ scientific aplishments if he didn¡¯t look for the ingredients of the Remedium. Her mother¡¯s discovery and breeding experimentsnded her a ce in scientific books. He started to feel enthusiastic and excited about getting the next ingredient. Saraisium ordinem, also known as ice rose, is a sulent nt that had been specifically bred for the very purpose of making the Remedium.This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. It was fed with a special liquid while being exposed to the sun, and then nipped and attached to a base nt. Repeating this technique many times, Juste¡¯s mother was able mutate a specialponent in the nt which was one of the ingredients needed in turning a human to a fellhound, and vice versa. Maxill spread the map again on a t surface to know where to look for the ice rose. ording to the codex, the ice rose is endemic to the Ham Desert. Maxill started to move his eyes, following a trail on the map, until he reached this so-called Desert of Ham. ¡°You sure that¡¯s the nt we¡¯re looking for?¡± Maxill questioned Juste¡¯s pick. He intended to rify and confirm to Juste to erase all doubts. The athletic fellhound blurted out a resounding yes. ¡°Yes, definitely. Kind of remembered her experiments of the ice rose many years back.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Maxill raised an eyebrow while being a big disappointed about the fellhound¡¯s memory. ¡°¡­you seem to forget almost all of the important things in your life.¡± ¡°Oh, but I do remember now. I only need a certain object to let me remember what happened in the past.¡± Juste defended his recall ability. ¡°And his each of his memoryes back to him just when we needed it most.¡± Chastine seconded to Juste¡¯s valid alibis. Maxill was assessing how they would get to Ham Desert. He thought of other means of transport, but every good point he could think of just led him back to employing an airship. ¡°Uh-uh. D*mn, we have no choice left¡­ so guys, I think we need to rent an airship¡­ there¡¯s a hangar nearby this shop. Juste? Chas?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine with me,¡± Chastine said. ¡°Me too. Budget¡¯s not a problem,¡± said Juste. ¡°Ok, but let¡¯s be careful about picking an airship.¡± Maxill rolled back the map and put it in one of his top¡¯s pockets. ¡ª The trio arrived at the hangar nearby. Juste and Chastine were amazed at what they saw. Huge airships were sitting along a long stretch ofnd, while some were refitted to be ready for their next flight. But Chastine was little worried about Juste and loud sounds. She gently squeezed his hand and told her fellhound boyfriend, ¡°Are you going to be ok, Juste?¡± Juste became suddenly confused about her question. ¡°What do you mean, Chastine?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I just thought you¡¯re sensitive to smell¡­ and to sounds. You think you¡¯re going to be ok?¡± Her beady eyes looked straight at his blue-colored pair. Juste smiled at her girlfriend¡¯s thoughtfulness. He smiled at her while also gently squeezing her hand back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, Chastine. I¡¯m going to be fine. It¡¯s Maxill that¡¯s going to have a problem, specially if he turns bat.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± It never urred to Chastine that her best friend was the one to suffer from the loud sounding airships. This might be the reason why Maxill was thinking of other ways to avoid using an airship at all costs. Granted, he survived the armymander¡¯s vehicle. But he was just lucky it was using a huge balloon instead of those noisy turbines. Still, there was another reason why the tall bloodhunt was avoiding an airship as transport. ¡°We should avoid colorful and outrageous airships. It would be annoying and it¡¯ll attract birds.¡± ¡°We should also pick arge AFV-one with two rooms minimum and have no fancy decors.¡± AFV stands for armored flight vehicle. ¡°Maxill, are you ok?¡± Chastine was starting to be concerned about the bloodhunt. She felt that her best friend was feeling uneasy about the whole affair of looking for the right airship, especially now that she considered what Juste had told her. Maxill reassured her that he was alright. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine.¡± He brushed up his wavy locks using his long fingers while heavy sighing. He then closed his eyes to keep what¡¯s left of his cool and calmposure. ¡°Hey guys, I think I just found the right ride for our trip.¡± Juste happily dered what he found to Chastine and Maxill. Because of the bloodhunt¡¯s preupation and anxiety, he wasn¡¯t able to notice that Juste already reached the end of the huge paved lot. When Maxill viewed the chosen airship from afar, he felt relieved that it wasn¡¯t fanciful looking and wasrge enough for his liking. But his momentary relief suddenly crumbled just in seconds when he heard a familiar voice behind him. ¡°Maxill? Is that you?¡± a feminine voice was calling out his name, and confirming whether her hunch was right. Maxill suddenly twitched his eyes and his body stood still like a petrified statue. Goosebumps appeared all over his skin. He didn¡¯t move an inch. He was nning to just ignore what he heard and walked towards hispanions. But hispanions made things worse for him. ¡°Hey, Maxill, over here!¡± Juste called out for the now anxious bloodhunt. Chastine also mentioned his name, ¡°Max, let¡¯s go.¡± She was about to grab Maxill¡¯s hand when suddenly, Chastine noticed the female figure behind Maxill. ¡°Hello?¡± The pretty witborn waved at the feminine figure. From the looks of it, Chastine thought that her fellow female witborn was an AFV technician of some sort. Chastine repeated her greeting. ¡°Uhm, hello. We¡¯re looking for the owner and pilot of that airship.¡± She pointed towards the far edge of the hangar where Juste¡¯s chosen ride was sitting. ¡°Oh? That? That¡¯s mine.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± Chastine was wholly amazed about finding out that a female witborn can man and own an airship at the same time. ¡°Yes, no BS. I¡¯m the owner of Sweet-16.¡± Maxill couldn¡¯t help but dismiss the fact that it was indeed that woman¡¯s airship. ¡°Bollocks! That¡¯s not Sweet-16! Every inch of it looks ssy.¡± Because of his bbing, the female pilot confirmed that it was indeed the bloodhunt that she knew and grew fond of. ¡°Maxill, it is you!¡± She hurried to get near him, and hugged him from behind. ¡°Thanks for thepliment!¡± Maxill couldn¡¯t move an inch. He was still finding it hard to process what had transpired in their search for their chosen transport. ¡®What are the f*cking odds. To hell with the f*cking odds!¡¯ was Maxill¡¯s inner monologue. He tried to move with all his might, grabbing the woman by the head and pushing her away as fast as he could in his current state. But the woman¡¯s grip was quite strong. She then observed Chastine and looked at the pretty witborn with suspicion in her squinty eyes. Chastine detected it so she made sure to dismiss whatever romantic rtionship she looked like she has with Maxill. After all, she undoubtfully knew Maxill to be 100% gay. ¡°Uh, my boyfriend over there wants to hire you and rent your airship.¡± She loosened her grip on Maxill, sighed for relief, and then stretched out her hand to introduce herself to Chastine. ¡°Oh, alright. Well, well, you¡¯ve arrived just at the right time. I overhauled my baby.¡± Chastine reached for her hand to shake it, as a form of greeting. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Chastine. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°And you can call me Bunny.¡± Maxill ced one of his palms over his face. He knew things will no go smoothly as he had nned. 33 SWEET-16 SWEET-16 is considered an armored flight vehicle by national standards. It has a thin metal alloy for its exterior, and thick fabric panels for its interior. There are offensive and defensive mechanisms attached to the aircraft like the smic EMP barrier (for repelling thunders and sun res), bomb assemblies and small firearm mounts. SWEET-16 stands for Sky Wings Embedding Etherial Technology, with the number as the sessful prototype count of the said flight vehicle. It runs on Etherial fuel, an easily melted mineral deposit harvested under the sands of Ham Desert. Bunny Lang was the chief designer for the SWEET-16 project. But because of its high-cost and maintenance, the aircraft was scrapped off by witborn military. She overhauled thest prototype to make it stealthy, and was had finished upgrading it when Maxill and his friends popped out of nowhere. Bunny weed them inside the aircraft¡¯s cabin. Inside, there was a small round table with four chairs around it. Thepany of four sat around the table to discuss about their business. ¡°So, why do you need SWEET-16 for exactly? So many interested renters call off the deal when they find out about the leasing costs of this airship. Did Maxill tell you how expensive this baby runs on?¡± ¡°Is this for rent?¡± Juste quickly asked to confirm his million dianor question (dianor is the universal currency in Dianium). Surprised at Juste¡¯s high-adrenailne urgency, Bunny decided to reply in a calm manner, ¡°Yes, sir, SWEET-16 can be leased, but-¡± But before the brte pilot could continue, Juste quickly stood up and smacked his leather hip bag on the table, revealing diamonds, gold, and paper money when the zipper slightly opened. Chastine and Maxill were both bbergasted at Juste¡¯s impulsiveness, with Maxill understanding that the athletic fellhound is indeed royalty and is loaded, but he still has idiotic tendencies. ¡®He sure gets what he wants¡¯, thought the handsome bloodhunt. Bunny¡¯s eyes were glistening from the reflection of the diamonds and gold before her. When Juste shook off the bag to empty it, she almost drooled from the value it possessed as she mentally counted their total amount. It amounted to 98 diamond pieces, 121 small gold coins, and a thick stack of bonds estimated to be 2 million dianors. ¡°Wait, Juste, you serious?¡± Maxill looked at Juste¡¯s face reminded him about spending on impulse. Maxill thought that the fellhound must¡¯ve fell in love at first sight to the SWEET-16. ¡°Juste, are you going to lease the ship or buy it?¡± Chastine was a little bothered about her boyfriend¡¯sck of self control. Juste, on the other hand, was looking directly at Bunny and was waiting for her answer. Bunny cleared a lump on her throat. She carefully thought of what she was going to tell the anticipating fellhound. ¡°Alright, sol-I mean leased. Leased!¡± She stretched out her hand to seal the deal between her and her lessee. ¡°Good.¡± Juste was about to shake his hand with Bunny¡¯s. ¡°Wait, just wait!¡± Chastine butted into their conversation, extending her arm and gesturing to stop their handshake to rify the details of the deal first. Juste nced at his girlfriend, who was now looking at him furiously at his senseless burning of cash. She asked the money-mongering pilot about the specifics, ¡°How much are you going to lease it for?¡± ¡°A hundred thousand a day.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± Chastine couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard. ¡°It runs on Etherial fuel.¡± Maxill exactly knew what Bunny was up to. She was often hungry for coin to keep her airship up and running. Her greed for money was sometimes ovee by her feelings for the bloodhunt. He tried to read her mind to know the actual cost of the airship¡¯s overhead. It confused him that she wasn¡¯t thinking about anything at that moment. Maxill then tried to hypnotize her, so that he could look into her memories for the actual cost of the operating expense. He was suddenly surprised that his magics were not affecting Bunny at all.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org. She looked at Maxill and taunted him, ¡°Hah, try harder, hunnybun.¡± ¡®D*mn pesky witborn¡¯, Maxill murmured a cuss under his breath. Chastine realized what her bestfriend had been doing, and she surmised that he failed at his attempts. It was up to her to find other ways so that the bargain was done fairly. Chastine began her inquiries. ¡°What¡¯s Etherial fuel?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a special kind of fuel discovered under Ham Desert.¡± ¡°Why are you using such kind if it¡¯s expensive?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the engine¡¯s fuel, and for the smic EMP barrier to run.¡± ¡°Why do we need the barrier for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite important. It¡¯s to keep off sr res and thunder from hitting the airship.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just soar higher to avoid thunder while fly lower when sun res show up?¡± Bunnyughed at Chastine. ¡°Oh, dear pretty, you don¡¯t know anything about flying an airship.¡± Chastine was insulted at Bunny¡¯s retort. She knew she was going to pull off her game n. Lasty, she asked, ¡°OK¡­ how many bed rooms are in here?¡± She knew this already but asking about it was part of her scheme. ¡°Two rooms.¡± ¡°Since we have only two rooms, one of us is going to share a bed with you.¡± Bunny was confused at Chastine¡¯s sudden proposed idea. ¡°What are you on about? You want to share a room with me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the first choice. BUT-there¡¯s a big but-but that is if you¡¯re only going to use the EMP barrier.¡± Bunny was starting to be interested at Chastine¡¯s idea and was going along her ride, ¡°¡­and what if I won¡¯t use it?¡± ¡°We pay half of your rental fee and Maxill will share a room with you.¡± Chastine grinned at her proposed idea. ¡°Chastine!¡± Maxill¡¯s blood pressure suddenly burst out high like a geyser. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re going to sell me out. Screw you!¡± But Chastine was just looking at Maxill in a calmly manner. She was staring at him and gesturing at the bloodhunt to read her mind. ¡®Maxill, don¡¯t worry, I got this.¡¯ ¡®What are you up to, you sly witborn? I certainly do not want a p*ssy for a f*ckbuddy. Eww!¡¯ He replied to Chastine telepathically. ¡®Sorry, but I¡¯ll exinter, OK?¡¯ Chastine winked at her gay best friend. After pondering on Chastine¡¯s win-win situation for Bunny, the pilot replied, ¡°Deal. I¡¯m in.¡± ¡°Alright, 50, 000 dianors a day, and Maxill for your bed mate.¡± ¡°Heh. Chastine, can I shake her hand now?¡± Juste tilted his neck to look at Chastine. ¡°Wait, no contract?¡± ¡°Yes, only word of honor.¡± Bunnymented on Chastine¡¯s by the book method. The pretty witborn heaved out a sigh. ¡°Alright, seal off the deal.¡± Juste and Bunny shook hands to strike at an agreement. ¡°OK, I¡¯ll warm her up now, then we fly in no time. Where to, by the way?¡± Chastine was the one to reply, ¡°Ham Desert. And don¡¯t ask. It¡¯s none of your business.¡± 34 Roommate ¡°So what¡¯s your n, Chastine? And why are you suddenly so snobbish with our pilot?¡± Juste asked his girlfriend with utmost curiosity in his eyes. Chastine wished to tell her beloved about it, but it might spoil all the fun. She merely winked at Juste and said, ¡°sorry, can¡¯t blurt it out to you. But you will know soon¡­¡± ¡°Besides, even though I already halved the cost of our flight, I still think she¡¯s charging us way more than the standard rate.¡± ¡°Money¡¯s not an issue, Chas, as long as I¡¯m around.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about that, Juste. We should be practical with money matters. And why are you calling me ¡®Chas¡¯ suddenly? Only Maxill calls me by that name.¡± ¡°Heh, it sounds cute enough, and there¡¯s this feeling of closeness to it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine by me, but Maxill might get a little bit jelly about it.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, about Maxill, how did you convince him to agree with your n? After all, I can see our pilot to be head over heels about him.¡± Juste sneered. He was quite amused how his girlfriend managed to persuade the finicky bloodhunt. ¡°Hahaha, you know sometimes, you deserve a reward for your bluntness.¡± Juste ced his hand around the crook of Chastine¡¯s waist. He pulled her in, touching his body, and looked into her twinkling eyes. ¡°Can I get my reward tonight?¡± Chastine was surprised at Juste¡¯s sudden assertiveness. She was aware they¡¯re going to share one bed that night. She was getting in the mood for some fun and lovin¡¯. She smiled at Juste, biting her lower lip, as her retort to his invitation. Meanwhile, in the background, Maxill and Bunny had a thing going on for them as well. Though it was more of an avoidance tactic on the bloodhunt¡¯s part. ¡°Eeek. Bunny, stay away from me!¡± Maxill¡¯s arms were extended and he was waving it in front of the smitten pilot. ¡°I was just trying to rid of that food near your mouth.¡± ¡°With your tongue!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you find it sweet?¡± ¡°Only cheesecake¡¯s the sweet food allowed to enter my mouth!¡± ¡°But we had a thing.¡± ¡°I was heavily drunk that time. If it weren¡¯t for my conscious drinking, the thing we did would pass as rape.¡± ¡°Hah, so you admit to the fact that we really had a thing.¡± ¡°D*mn this woman. I was only trying to avoid that word.¡± ¡°You mean we had passionate s*x?¡± Bunny¡¯s smile were evident from ear to ear. ¡°Eeep!¡± Maxill couldn¡¯t believe he really did it with the smitten pilot, deep pration and all. Juste and Chastine overheard Bunny¡¯s words. After all, hearing the ¡®s¡¯ word is far too arousing even if it is heard faintly. ¡°Maxill, you what?¡± Juste had a grin on his face that appears like a taunt and a shamebined. He knew the bloodhunt was too gay to even touch a woman¡¯s bosom out of urges, as he prefers p*nises for his sexual satisfaction. ¡°Shut up, Juste.¡± Juste couldn¡¯t hold back his taunting. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, our dear pilot, you might getid again tonight. After all, it¡¯s one bed for you two.¡± ¡°Hah, in your wildest dreams!¡± Maxill replied out of spite. ¡ª That night, Maxill just took a shower. Only a small towel was wrapped around his lower torso. One can not unsee the big bulge in the middle of it. Maxill¡¯s was quiterge, maybe because of his height, or maybe he was just gifted to have one. Bunny prepared her sexiest night gown. It was very revealing-herdy bits can be seen whenever she slightly bend forward. She was also only wearing a g-string, the pair that came with hercy babydoll night dress. The smitten pilot was already lying on the bed, posing provocatively so that Maxill could be turned on at the slightest arousing view. But the tall bloodhunt¡¯s big beast wasn¡¯t even getting a hard on. It knew too well what it wants.This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Bunny started to make her move. She started the conversation in the four corners of the heavily perfumed room. ¡°So, Maxill, I¡¯ve heard from Chastine that you sleep naked nowadays.¡± Maxill was quite dismissive about his bestfriend¡¯s n. In his mind, he feels like he was betraying his own self. But yet, there he was, ying along with Bunny¡¯s provocation. ¡°Quite. It¡¯s getting hot in here.¡± But in Maxill¡¯s mind, his thoughts were wrestling with his words. Bunny stood up from her position. She went near Maxill and started to caress his shoulder then down his arm. It was a good thing Maxill kept his control and didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°Do you want to get hotter?¡± His mind startedughing because he knew too well he can¡¯t be bothered with this kind of heat, but he held his sneer and managed to convert it to a sexually aroused smirk. Maxill wanted it to end soon so he quickly dove in into their n, ¡°Well, Bunny, no time to waste.¡± He dramatically removed the towel wrapping his lower torso. Bunny¡¯s eyes were wide with longing and surprise. And that had been a long night for Maxill and Bunny. ¡ª ¡°You!¡± Bunny mmed her palm onto the table where Chastine and Juste were situated. The pretty witborn was quite startled but she automatically slightly smiled because she knew what the angry pilot was talking about. ¡°Double-crosser!¡± ¡°You knew it too, right?¡± was Chastine¡¯s short, simple, and meaningful retort. The mad pilot stormed out of the room to let her head cool for a bit. ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening? Is it aboutst night?¡± was Juste¡¯s ignorant query. ¡°Yup.¡± Maxill finally went out of his and Bunny¡¯s room, still all naked and groggy. ¡°Oh? So you slept in your bat form.¡± ¡°The whole night, Juste. The whole night.¡± ¡°And this was Chastine¡¯s n? Hmmm, clever.¡± ¡°Well, what do you expect from Chastine. She must¡¯ve a brain asrge as a dolphin¡¯s.¡± Maxill went to the bathroom to shapeshift and suit up. Then he went out and sat next to the couple. ¡°Pass me some coffee¡­¡± Chastine ced a cup in front of Maxill and poured a strong ck into the cup. The groggy bloodhunt downed it in one chug and returned the cup to the table. ¡°This, however, is a one-trick pony, Chas. I cannot turn bat form this night. She¡¯ll go ballistic and she¡¯lle up with her own little schemes.¡± Maxill sighed. ¡°Besides, she looked so lonely that night. Must¡¯ve been years since she got the thrill she wants.¡± Chastine felt a little guilty at what she pulled off. ¡°What do you want to do, Maxill? Do you want to give her what she wants?¡± ¡°Even if she¡¯s that annoying, I still consider her an acquaintance. We did have fun moments, well, before that thing happened.¡± Maxill was brewing a n of his own, this time, out of respect for his and Bunny¡¯s friendly rtionship. ¡°Might as well fix our friendship.¡± ¡°Aww, how sweet¡­¡± was Chastine¡¯sment about Maxill¡¯s resolve. ¡°I just hope she¡¯d appreciate it.¡± So Maxill started to make his move. 35 Amends ¡°Bunny, can we talk?¡± Maxill approached Bunny along the open deck of her airship. Bunny closed her eyes and heavily sighed. ¡°What now, Maxill?¡± Maxill wanted to say sorry, but he wasn¡¯t sure if it was the appropriate word to tell her. He¡¯s not apologetic of his identity, and yet he felt he needed to tell her otherwise. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll make it up to you tonight.¡± Bunny scoffed. ¡°Maxill, no, I get it. You don¡¯t like me. Wait, let me reiterate-you don¡¯t like girls.¡± Maxill was rare to speak out his feelings. Feelings of disgust and apprehension, yes, but his sincere feelings, rare. He finds it hard to do so. Still, he really tried hard, just tofort Bunny in her disappointment. ¡°But as an acquaintance, I kind of like you.¡± The sulking pilot was a bit surprised. ¡°¡­you do?¡± ¡°Yeah. You¡¯ve been supportive and understanding, at least to me. I have my toxic traits, but you still put up with me for, like what, 2 years? You saved my butt too many times, too.¡± He added, ¡°And for a pilot, you¡¯re quite a genius. Look at this thing you¡¯ve made.¡± Maxill is indeed fascinated with smart women. Bunny reminisced their time together. She couldn¡¯t help but let out a smile. ¡°That was the peak of my thrill and adventure. You were too reckless to live a life like that.¡± ¡°I guess I really am a wanted fugitive within my race.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t asked before, and I have to ask now: why did they keep on imprisoning you?¡± Maxill didn¡¯t want to answer Bunny¡¯s question, but because of the flow of circumstance, he needed to continue to be polite to Bunny. ¡°¡­it¡¯s my blood.¡± ¡°I havee across hybrids, Maxill, and they didn¡¯t pursue them like they¡¯ve pursued you.¡±This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Maxill found an opening toment an arrogant and condescending reply, to break the seriousness of their conversation. With a smirk on his face, he half-jokingly said, ¡°I guess I¡¯m too intimidating for my kind.¡± Bunny chuckled at his answer, amused that he was still the Maxill he had known before. Maxill finally got what he wanted from her: to set her mood back into a good one. ¡ª ¡°Chastine, I think this is the best route for us to go.¡± Bunny pointed at the map ced onto the dining table in the airship, the same one where the mming of palms and things have happened. ¡°Chas, trust Bunny. She knows what she¡¯s doing.¡± Maxill agreed to the now high-spirited pilot. ¡°Yup, Chas. Trust our pilot.¡± Juste seconded to Maxill. Chastine was still a little doubtful of the pilot¡¯s intentions, but it was 2 to 3 so she just decided to follow the majority. ¡°¡­alright. But make sure wend on the nearest possible oasis.¡± ¡°No, problem, ma¡¯am.¡± Bunny was all smiles. Even her eyes appeared to have a Duchenne look to it. Bunny flicked through the switches on the cockpit¡¯s dashboard and turned some knobs. She seemed to set the airship on autopilot. The pilot decided that she and Chastine settle their friction-y disagreements, however small. ¡°Ma¡¯am Chas, may I speak with you? That is, if you may?¡± Bunny hoped she picked the most polite words for Chastine, as her passenger witborn still had an attitude towards her. ¡°You can drop the ma¡¯am. I really don¡¯t like formalities.¡± ¡°Alright. So, Chastine, I¡¯ve something to tell you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re headed to Ham Desert, I¡¯ve decided to halve the agreed to price for my services. I¡¯d consider your trip a mere hitch ride while the main course is to get some Etherial fuel, instead of the other way around.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Think of this as a good gesture from me. I¡¯ve started this feud anyway. So, my bad.¡± Chastine couldn¡¯t believe what Bunny had just offered them, especially to her. It was quite a deal, considering Etherial fuel to be really expensive. Chastine couldn¡¯t say no to Bunny¡¯s peace offering. ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t say yes to that. I ept your offer. Well, sorry if I¡¯d also had been a difficult one. To tell you the truth, I¡¯m not really like this. I just don¡¯t want Juste to be shortchanged, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°So, should we restart?¡± Bunny extended her hand. ¡°Yeah, why don¡¯t we?¡± Chastine shook her hand and they¡¯de at an agreement. Chastine¡¯s curiosity got the better off her, though. ¡°I¡¯m just curious, why do you like Maxill so much?¡± Bunny was happy that finally someone cared to ask that about her feelings for the handsome bloodhunt. ¡°Ah, Chas, if you could only spend a night with him in bed, you might understand what I¡¯d say.¡± Chastine¡¯s eye suddenly twitched. ¡°B-but he¡¯s-¡± ¡°Yeah! But he¡¯s quite good, I mean really. I¡¯d never forget how he f*cked me seven times that night. It was the best s*x of my life. I haven¡¯t met anyone as good as he is.¡± Chastine was shocked at Bunny¡¯s revtion. Her mouth was gaping the whole time Bunny started mentioning the ¡®f¡¯ word. ¡°And that was around 10 years ago.¡± ¡°Oh my god.¡± ¡°I moaned at his every thrust. My hips were shaking like crazy after that. It was that awesome.¡± Chastine thought that she and Juste just hadn¡¯t some more action, but it seemed that Juste needed more experiencepared to the 75-year old bloodhunt. ¡°No sh*t¡­¡± Chastine muttered under her breath. She rarely cusses but she couldn¡¯t control herself out of unbelief. ¡°Yes, Chastine. Believe it.¡± ¡°B-but was it all just lust?¡± Chastine had gotten her full attention on the subject matter. She quite wondered if there ever was a tinge of passionate love between the two when they¡¯ve done the deed. ¡°I could feel that kind of body heat. And I think he felt mine too.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°So I guess that¡¯s why I¡¯m still stuck on him. I still think there¡¯s 1% chance he has those feelings for me.¡± Bunny¡¯s gaze were distant and she frowned a bit at her hopeless sense of longing. She almost shed a tear. Meanwhile, Chastine was downright determined to flesh out the truth from her best friend. ¡°I guess there¡¯s only one way to find out, Bunny.¡± So Chastine went to where Maxill was, beside Juste as they were ying a board game of sorts. ¡°Maxill, can I have a word?¡± Maxill was outrightly surprised. ¡°What is it, Chas?¡± Chastine pointed at her temple. She was gesturing at Maxill to read her mind. ¡®Do you have feelings for Bunny, even slight?¡¯ Maxill telepathically retorted, ¡®What are you saying? Hell, none.¡¯ ¡®She said when she had s*x with you, she felt the heat between you two.¡¯ ¡®Oh, that. It was the booze.¡¯ ¡®Are you so sure? Or are you hiding your feelings for her?¡¯ Juste found it awkward again that he was left out again with their conversation. He couldn¡¯t help but butt into their small telepathic talk. ¡®Guys, wazzup?¡¯ Juste spoke in his mind. Maxill sensed it and nced at him. ¡®Nevermind, Juste. Chas was just telling ridiculous things anyway.¡¯ ¡®Hmm, about what?¡¯ Chastine and Juste nced at each other. From the flow of things, they¡¯ve thought they could listen to each other¡¯s thoughts. Maxill snickered at what he observed between them. ¡°Ehehe, woops. Let¡¯s just talk normally, OK?¡± Juste raised both his eyebrows and closed his eyes. Meanwhile, Chastine med Maxill for it. ¡°Well, Maxill, you really need to know the truth.¡± ¡°What truth?¡± ¡°You need to do the deed with her. Tonight. And sober.¡± The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!