Chapter 85: Chapter 85

JONEA

I just got back from the studio, had to finish some paintings for clients. The house was completely quiet when I got home. No idea where those two monsters were, and honestly, I wasn’t in the mood to care.

I quietly headed straight to my room. As soon as I stepped inside, I got a message. From Hunter.

"You said we could meet anytime, right? Let’s meet this weekend. There's something I need to tell you."

I read it, but I didn’t plan to reply. Classic excuse to meet up. I let out a heavy sigh and flopped onto the bed.

"I’ve got bigger problems than Hunter constantly getting in my way."

I dropped my bag on the floor and sat down, feeling exhausted.

"Of course, I’m starting to like him—Daran Carver! That’s the conclusion after seriously analyzing my feelings over the last few days. Living together and interacting all the time… I need to remove this seal from my body, awaken my wolf, leave this house, and free Aland from the dragon realm. That’s the only way."

I stood up, too restless to relax. I rushed downstairs to find Daran in his study. I hoped he’d actually be there.

After knocking three times, I heard him say I could come in. I thought he wasn’t home, but turns out he was busy with his books and magical tools.

At first, Daran ignored me. But when I told him why I was there, he turned to face me immediately.

Lately, Daran hasn’t been wearing his mask as much, especially at home when it’s just us. To be honest, I’m still not used to his... ridiculously good looks. He’s too mesmerizing! He constantly makes me nervous, flustered, but... happy.

"What did you say? A progress report?" Daran frowned. Damn, he’s handsome!

"Yeah... didn’t we agree you'd update me every weekend on your magical research or whatever to break the wolf seal? It’s been a while since we talked about it. I got... distracted by other things—"

I stopped mid-sentence. Ugh, stupid me! I just blurted that out.

For the first time, I saw Daran actually showing different emotions. He looked more human. Before, I’d only seen the mask with his blank expression. Now, I saw him look confused, curious, and even... a bit annoyed. But I’ve never seen him smile with his real face.

"I mean, I’ve been busy with school and my painting work. And on top of that, you know, we don’t have much time left. I shouldn't waste time on unimportant things like this, right? What if I die while painting and never reach my actual goal?"

I was so nervous. I messed up again!

"I mean... the blood moon is only a little while away. It seems like you don’t care about that. Didn’t you spend millions of coll to buy me because you wanted my power?"

I stopped, waiting for Daran’s reaction, but he just stared at me, expressionless. I was terrified.

"I just want everything back to normal. Back to how it was," I continued. "Don’t you want to return to your homeland too?"

Daran still didn’t say anything and didn’t show any emotion. He just muttered, "So that’s it. That’s the reason."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Is the seal what's making you anxious, Jonea?"

"I think so," I replied. "Daran, you haven’t found a way to break the wolf seal yet, have you? No leads?"

That’s when Daran looked away from me. "No. Not yet," he said shortly.

---

DARAN

That’s a lie. I lied about not finding a way or not knowing how to break the seal. I do know. I’ve known for a while. I’ve just been... delaying it.

"Forgive me," I said to Jonea. "Please, just give me a little more time."

Another lie. I didn’t feel guilty. Not about keeping this from her.

I’ve never acted this human before. Not once. I’ve never regretted anything!

Jonea said she was going back to her room without saying anything else. I didn’t do anything, just sat in my study thinking about everything she had just told me.

"I already have a pretty good idea why she wants her powers back. Jonea wants to save the dragon rider—Aland Hamilton. But how can I make that happen... and lose her?"

My phone buzzed on the desk. No one ever texts that phone except Jonea. So I picked it up and read the message.

"I’m just worried because you seem upset. I didn’t mean to pressure you."

I walked to the window and opened it. The cold wind hit me, blowing the papers and pens off my desk onto the floor. I didn’t realize the night wind would be this strong.

---

EVANGELISTA

I was at the hotel I’ve been staying at while in Blue Sapphire, watching the news. They were reporting on the werewolf and dragon clans.

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about a series of brutal murders where bodies were mutilated. It’s become a huge terror for the people of Blue Sapphire, and of course, the victims were werewolves.

"The bodies were tortured, their stomachs torn open by an unidentified sharp weapon. All the bodies show similar marks, as if they were attacked by wild animals... in the middle of the city? No crimes were captured on any CCTV or dash cameras. The dragon security forces have announced they will investigate, assuming this is the work of a serial killer."

I turned off the TV after hearing the reporter and started thinking. Could this be his doing?

That night, I grabbed my coat and car keys and left the hotel. As I drove, I tried calling Daran.

"Have you heard the news?" I asked. "Something’s off about this."

"What do you mean, Eve?"

"It doesn’t seem like something humans could do, and it’s not the dragons either. I saw something similar a few hundred years ago while conquering other kingdoms as your general. The type of attack, the wounds—everything matches. What if this is tied to us somehow?"

"You’re always sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, and that’s your biggest problem!" Daran cut me off before I could finish and hung up on me.

"Daran Carver, you jerk! Fine. If that’s how it’s going to be, I’ll just handle this my way. Looks like love has dulled his brain and instincts. Fine, it’s my job to keep everything in order!"

I sped up, driving faster into the freezing, snow-covered night.