Blue Moon

Zarek lifted his gaze from the magazine he was reading and sighed. He placed the magazine down on his lap. His friends—Axton, Logan, Damon, and Romulus—were busy on their phones as they lounged on the couches.

He raised his hand, pulling back the sleeve of his suit to reveal his wristwatch. It was exactly eight o’clock.

“Romi, aren’t you done?” he shouted, loud enough to be heard from her room.

“I’m done, Uncle Zarek! Five minutes!” Romi shouted back.

He returned his attention to the magazine he was reading. The five minutes turned into ten before Romi emerged from the room.

“Do I look good in this gown?”

“No!” everyone answered in unison, their faces twisted into disgusted expressions as they stared at Romi.

“Your dress is revealing, Romi. Change,” Romulus, Romi’s brother, said in a stern tone.

“What!?” Romi looked down at herself. She was wearing a nude gown with a deep plunging neckline. It had strings across the chest, presumably to keep it from opening up and exposing what shouldn’t be seen. Zarek shook his head. Women’s clothing was complicated. Why not just cover the front? Why did there have to be such a deep plunge? Even the lower part had a slit. Women were unbelievable.

“Uncle Logan, doesn’t my outfit look good?”

“Huh?” Logan closed his slightly parted lips. He looked like he was spacing out.

“Doesn’t it look good?” Romi repeated.

“It’s beautiful, but it’s indeed too revealing.”

Romi crossed her arms and frowned.

Zarek stood up. “Let’s go. It’s fine. If you make her change, it’ll take another two hours.”

Romi smiled broadly at what Zarek said. She approached him and linked her arm through his.

“This is why you’re my favorite out of everyone.” He frowned at her, and Romi laughed softly.

Riding in a limousine, they arrived at a hotel where the birthday party of Romi’s friend, a senator’s daughter, was being held. Everyone stepped out of the vehicle except Romi. Zarek peeked at the young woman inside the car when she didn’t move. She just sat there with her arms crossed, scowling.

“Romi?”

Her pout only deepened.

“Fine. Let’s just go home.”

“NOOO!”

Zarek winced at her shriek. She stomped her way out of the car.

“What is your problem, kid?” Romi swatted away Axton’s hand as he pinched her cheek.

“I don’t like this!” Romi stomped her feet while examining her own outfit.

“Your outfit looks fine, doesn’t it?” Zarek reached for the zipper of the leather jacket he had personally draped over Romi and pulled it all the way up until her neck was completely hidden.

“Perfect!” Romulus declared.

“You are all so annoying!” She stomped into the hotel entrance. The glass doors automatically opened. The five men followed Romi, chuckling. They weren’t all actually invited. Only the Salvidar family—Romulus and Romi’s family—were. Romi’s parents couldn’t make it, so the five of them tagged along to act as her bodyguards.

But the kid was incredibly annoyed.

Upon entering the function hall where the grand gathering was taking place, Romi was immediately greeted by two of her friends. They hugged and dramatically air-kissed, complete with sound effects.

“What fashion style is that?” her friend asked dramatically, giving Romi a once-over.

“My old-fashioned brother and uncles are with me. They are such meddlers!” The two girls’ gazes drifted past Romi to look at them. Their eyes widened, and they let out suppressed squeals. They even grabbed Romi by both arms and shook her.

“O. M. Gosh! They are so handsome in person. Introduce us, Romi.”

“The grey-haired one is such a cutie! The type of guy that I fall for.”

Frowning, Romi glanced at Logan, whom the girl was referring to. Romi rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to her friend.

“He’s not your type. He has a small dick.” Before Logan could even react, Romi had already dragged her friends away.

“What about the blue-eyed man? Is he big?” one of them asked as they walked away.

“Kids these days! Their standards for men are so different. So high,” Damon reacted.

Zarek patted Romulus’s shoulder and took the lead to fully enter the function hall.

“Fuck,” Zarek clicked his tongue softly upon noticing how people, especially women, were looking at them. There was clear admiration on their faces, while insecurity washed over the faces of several men.

They were used to women openly ogling them, but they avoided it as much as they could. They didn’t want to expose themselves—except for Romulus, who reveled in the attention of every woman he crossed paths with. He was the most popular among them, proven by the famous actress currently approaching him.

“Hey, Romulus!”

“Catya!”

Zarek stepped away from him and searched for Romi. He grabbed a drink from a passing sommelier, but instead of finding Romi, he bumped into Octavia, his sister.

“Brother!”

“Octavia? What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” she fired back.

“We just accompanied Romi.”

“Oh, God! Stop babysitting her. She’s all grown up. You guys are suffocating her.”

“Yes. Listen to Octavia!” Zarek turned around and saw Romi, still looking irritated. Octavia laughed at Romi’s outfit.

“I don’t understand! I’m of legal age, twenty-one to be exact. The same age as Octavia. But you restrict me so much; why not Octavia?”

Romulus approached Octavia from behind and held her by both shoulders. “Octavia is more responsible than you—in choosing clothes, friends, and boyfriends. You should be wearing clothes like Octavia’s.”

“Brother Romulus, you can’t judge if a person is responsible based on their clothing. Can you guys let Romi decide for herself?” Octavia stepped over to Romi, reached for the zipper of the leather jacket, and pulled it down.

“Oh, the gown is too beautiful to hide.” Octavia completely took the jacket off Romi.

“Wow! You look sensational in this elegant gown. Go and show what you’ve got, girl.” Octavia winked at her.

Romi mouthed, “Thank you,” before rushing away. They weren’t given a single chance to stop her.

Romi and Octavia were the same age, but Octavia was far more mature. Romi was a little—no, she was indeed a spoiled brat. Her actions couldn’t be trusted.

Octavia hooked her arm through Zarek’s. The two strolled. Octavia reached for a glass of wine from a passing sommelier, but Zarek immediately snatched it away and sniffed it.

“Safe.” Octavia laughed, taking the wine glass back from him and taking a sip.

“Octavia!” a woman greeted his sister.

“Oh, hi, Melissa!”

“Who’s that?”

Octavia tightened her grip on Zarek’s arm. “My boyfriend.”

“Oh! Lucky biatch!”

“I know, right!” The woman quickly said her goodbyes.

“If I had told her you’re my brother, she would’ve been so annoying.” Octavia took another sip of wine. She was a bit mysterious. She kept her life so private that even her friends and acquaintances didn’t know her family. She was solely known as the sister and daughter of one of the owners of Lua Azul, the famous liquor company.

“Anyway, Brother, aren’t you coming with me to Portugal?” They stopped on the sidelines, and Octavia let go of his arm to face him. Her friends had already headed to the table reserved for the Salvidars.

“I’ll just follow. I’m finishing up some work. Or, if you want, you can just wait for me.”

“My flight is already scheduled. Just follow after me. Besides, I miss Dad. He’ll sulk if I’m not there.”

Zarek gave a curt nod in agreement. “Come on, let’s go to the table. There is a designated table for the Salvidar family.”

As he turned, Zarek bumped into someone—a middle-aged man.

“I’m sorry, Sir.”

The man gave a terse nod and walked past him. Zarek suddenly froze when he heard something drop to the floor. The function hall was incredibly noisy, but he distinctly heard the sound of that specific object falling. Yet, that wasn’t the real reason he stopped—it was the scent of a creature he hadn’t encountered in decades.

A witch!

He looked over at the man he had bumped into, who was now talking to two women. He looked down at the floor. His forehead creased when he saw a men’s brooch resting on the ground. He picked it up and examined it with curiosity. It was a vintage collar brooch, but it looked more like an amulet to him—an oval-shaped amulet with a black stone in the middle.

“What’s that?” Octavia asked. He quickly concealed it in his clenched fist.

“I’m just going to return this to that man. He dropped it.” He handed his wine glass to Octavia and approached the man. His jaw clenched as he drew near. He could feel a potent power emanating from him.

Only now did he recall who this man was—Maximiano Navarro, the chairman of Moon Lust, the leading jewelry company in the country.

“Excuse me, Sir,” he caught his attention politely.

The man turned to him. “Yes?”

He raised his hand to display the brooch. “You dropped this.”

“Oh, thank you!” The man immediately took the brooch from him, and the woman beside him—Felicia Navarro, his wife—took it from her husband’s hand.

“You really are something!” She was the one who pinned it back onto his collar. Instantly, the strong power Zarek felt radiating from him vanished. He was right. It was an amulet designed to hide their true nature.

“Thank you,” the man said, turning back to him. “This brooch has sentimental value. My mother gifted this to me.”

“No worries, Sir. Excuse me.” Before completely turning away, he stared at one of the women the man was talking to, the younger one. It was Aurora Navarro, the Navarros’ daughter and CEO of Moon Lust.

He returned to where Octavia and his friends were seated. He sat next to Axton. He noticed that Axton was staring fixedly in the direction of the Navarro family. His brow was furrowed, and deep confusion marred his face.

“They are here,” Zarek said firmly. Anger instantly flooded his chest at the realization that these wicked creatures had also migrated to the Philippines.

“Who?” Even as he asked, Axton never let his gaze leave that direction.

“The Pagans.”

Axton turned to him sharply.

“It’s true then that they might have headed here to the Philippines, too.”

Zarek scattered all the photos across the long table. Logan, Damon, Romulus, and Axton each took a photo and stared at them.

“Maximiano and Felicia Navarro are the owners of Moon Lust Incorporated, the leading jewelry company in the country. They are well-known even abroad,” Zarek began explaining as he remained standing at the end of the table. “Aurora Navarro is the twenty-nine-year-old CEO of the company, and Maximiano is still the chairman. She’s the eldest. There are two siblings, but I couldn’t get a picture of the Navarros’ youngest child, only her name—Lucienne Nariah.”

Zarek pulled out a chair and sat down. “I informed the council about this matter, and they are all troubled. This means something bad. Perhaps a warning that the prophecy is near fulfillment.”

“A race will be wiped out in the coming war,” Damon muttered. There was raw nervousness mixed with intense rage in his voice, causing his eye color to rapidly shift—from pitch black to a glowing neon yellow.

“And that will be us if they attack on the blue moon.” The four of them simultaneously lifted their gazes from the pictures and stared at Zarek.

“I will absolutely never let that happen. We need to find out what will break our curse. Only those witches know how we can be freed from it.”

“What are you planning?” Logan asked.

“Kidnap the Navarros’ daughter. Aurora Navarro, in exchange for them lifting our curse.”

“Are you sure about this?” Axton asked, looking highly opposed to Zarek’s plan. “What if it just triggers a bigger war?”

“A prophecy is a prophecy. Whatever is destined will happen, and it is approaching rapidly. We just have to beat them to it. We might even acquire the alpha—if he’s still alive—if we succeed with this plan.”

Axton nodded slowly. He leaned back and stared at Aurora’s photo once again.

“I got this!” he said emphatically a moment later. “I will work for Aurora Navarro!” he declared with fierce determination.

The door suddenly swung open, and Logan and the others hastily gathered the photos as Octavia entered the conference room.

“Are you guys busy?”

Zarek immediately stood up and walked over to greet his sister. “Not really. Do you need something?”

“I wanted to ask a favor.” Octavia hugged Zarek around the waist, smiling broadly. He placed his palm gently on top of her head.

“What does my ugly sister need?”

Octavia scowled, and Zarek chuckled.

“Fine! Beautiful.”

Her frowning face brightened instantly. “Let’s go on a date? I want to eat pizza and ice cream.”

“That’s why you’re getting fat,” he teased, though he was already guiding her toward the door.

“I’m taking her on a date first, alright?” he told his friends, draping an arm over his sister’s shoulders. Zarek smiled at his sister’s visible joy. It really didn’t take much to make her happy.

They went to a pizza parlor. She had an immense appetite, acting as though she couldn’t ever get full. Zarek noticed the red birthmark on the side of his sister’s neck. It was heart-shaped. He reached out and lightly stroked it.

“Why does it look like it’s getting redder?”

Octavia touched her neck. “I know, right, Brother. Do you know there are myths about birthmarks? And one interesting myth is that the placement of a birthmark could indicate where one was fatally wounded in a past life. But my friend said it could happen again, especially if I was cursed in my past life. What do you think, Brother? Will I be stabbed in the neck? Or shot? Or maybe I’ll get beheaded!” Octavia covered her neck protectively with her hands. “Oh, my God! I don’t want to die ugly! My beautiful neck!”

Zarek’s brows knitted together. He didn’t like what his sister was saying. “Nonsense! You know, there’s a much better meaning for that mark. Not death.” He took a small paper bag from his side and handed it to Octavia.

“What’s this?”

“Open it!”

Octavia excitedly took the box from inside the bag, and when she opened it, not only did her eyes widen, but her mouth dropped open in shock.

“See. That is what that birthmark means. It means you will receive a beautiful necklace from your handsome brother.”

“Oh, my God! This is the former Queen of Portugal’s necklace that was sold at an auction in Lisbon! It costs an arm and a leg!” Octavia muttered in sheer awe as she delicately touched the necklace, crafted from almost 6,000 emeralds and diamonds. The centerpiece serving as a pendant was a rectangular diamond of 163.41 carats.

“Yeah. And you deserve that because you are my and Dad’s princess.”

“Aw! Brother! You are making me cry!”

“Don’t you dare! You are not that cute when you’re crying.”

Octavia held back her tears and just ended up laughing brightly.