AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Then don’t die for him,” she finally said. She’d calmed down a little bit, but her words were still as sharp as a knife. “No matter what you see in your vision, don’t do anything about it. Just ignore it. Don’t make the same mistakes your father did.”
“My father? He had visions too?” I could feel my voice getting smaller, my gut twisting.
“How many times have you saved Gray?” she asked, brushing me off.
“You’re not answering my question.”
“How many times have you saved Gray, Aera?” she demanded, unfazed.
I gave up. “I lost count, okay?”
“Aera, that isn’t good,” she cautioned, her intense glare never leaving mine. “Have you been having dizzy spells? Have you ever blacked out?”
“I don’t know. Maybe?” I fathomed, her actions making me increasingly uncomfortable. “Eomma, you’re scaring me.”
“Stop trying to save him. I’m begging you. If he has to die, let him die.”
“No!” I yelled. “I’m not gonna do that.”
“Do you want to end up like your dad?” She blinked back tears and ran her hands through her hair. “I can’t believe this. First, your father. I saved him from making the biggest mistake of his life. Now you? Are you just like him? A foolish man who kept on saving Gray’s mom, even after knowing what it would do to him?”
My eyes doubled in size. “Wait a sec, Gray’s mom? What are you talking about, Eomma?”
“He was a fool. He tried to prevent her death,” she revealed before laughing in disbelief. “Then he started getting sick, and not long after that, he was turning into this freak, a monster … some sort of raven-like creature. You know why that is? It’s a punishment from God because he interfered with Fate. You don’t remember because you were only four back then when I drove him away. He cheated on me, on us, and tried to stop his vision from coming true. When your father left, I swore I would protect you and that you wouldn’t have the same fate as him. I trained to become a hunter and learned about your father’s curse, in case you ended up inheriting it. That’s how I knew—the only thing he could do to get away from his curse was to let Fate carry on, to let Gray’s mom die instead of allowing her to roam free. I told your father about it, but instead, he came running back here to try and save her. You should’ve seen what he looked like. He was already hideous and yet willing to become something more hideous for another woman. He gave me no choice. That’s why I killed her,” she finished, her eyes wide and demented.
A chill crept up my spine. “What?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“That’s right. Ten years ago, I killed Gray’s mother. Of course, his dad got in the way. But I had some help, and we ended up killing them both. I know it sounds terrible, but it’s okay! I broke your father’s curse. I did it so I can break yours too. Do you understand what I’m trying to say, Aera?” She darted forward and grabbed my wrists, making me recoil. I couldn’t even recognize my own mother anymore. She seemed so different, so wicked. “If you don’t want history to repeat itself, then I need you to stay away from Gray.”
“Eomma, this isn’t funny,” I mumbled, cold fear rising up in my throat as I struggled to get away from her grip.
“Aera, listen to me. Please,” she pleaded with tears running down her cheeks. “I’m not the monster here. They were werewolves, you know that, right? Gray’s mother was supposed to die. She was destined to. I was just following the rules of life, okay? Honey, if you don’t stay away from Gray, if you don’t stop saving him, then you might leave me with no choice. There’s no other way out of this, baby. I’ve tried looking for years. Please, just … stay away from him, okay?”
“Let go,” I said, taking a fortifying breath as I attempted to hold my tears back before they could betray me, just like Mom had.
I finally understood her. She’d acted like she never believed in me or the curse, when the truth had always been the opposite. She knew all about it, and all the other things I should’ve known but didn’t. I hated her for every lie and for everything she shouldn’t have done.
“You’re despicable,” were the last words I uttered out of spite before storming into my room, leaving her with her mouth hanging open.
After that, I was a mess all through the night. My heart raced as I thought about her betrayal; it pounded against my ribs, threatened to burst out from under my skin and abandon me completely. Her words, her actions—all swirled around my head as I tried to come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t who she said she was.
And on that same night, as soon as I drifted into a restless sleep with my eyes swollen from crying, I had the longest, most horrifying vision I’d ever had.
The Nightstalkers
Something was wrong.I sensed it the moment Aera approached me at the school gate, tight-lipped, brows knotted in concern. I decided to leave it since it could have been personal, and I didn’t want to push my boundaries so early in the relationship.
But the silence was torturous. The only sound I could hear was the purr of engines on the road but nothing else between us.
I finally caved and said, “Hey, small bean. Is everything okay?”
She blinked, waking from her dazed state, tearing her eyes away from the concrete ground. Her expression shifted far too quickly when she turned to me with a smile worming its way on her face. “Yeah, everything’s fine.” Her voice quivered. It was small and almost unnoticeable, and I thought I had somehow imagined it. Had it not been for her rapid heartbeat and uneven breathing, I probably wouldn’t notice.
“Something’s wrong,” I discerned, my voice low and cautious. I gave her a comforting glance, encouraging her to tell me. “Aera, I want you to know you can always trust me. You don’t have to tell me, but—”
Her face suddenly collapsed into her hands and her body shook with a gasp. “I’m sorry, Gray.”
“What? What are you sorry about?” I asked. So early in the relationship and she was starting to worry me already. I resisted the urge to place a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down. “Did I do something wrong? What is it? Do you think … this is not the right time for you and me? Did I make a mistake, Aera?”
