Chasing Moon

19

She had to rush back to her room before her face betrayed her.

What exactly was she thinking, spitting out her thoughts to the rogue—

Her mind went back to that morning, when she woke up with him beside her, to just now, when he had so familiar, as though she had seen him somewhere years ago, during a time that she could not remember—

Get a grip, Crystella.

She was the Alpha's daughter who was visiting a neighbouring pack because hers was falling apart. There was no time for walks down the memory lane.

But a nagging feeling still tug Crystella by her heart, persuading her to feed her curiosity, as though there was something crucial to be found that was locked in her memories.

Get a grip, she thought to herself again, mind over heart. Mind over heart.

"Oh!"

Crystella looked up. Lost in her thoughts, she did not see the young lady who had almost bumped into her.

"Sorry," she offered before she continued to walk ahead. The lady, however, stopped her before she could do so.

"Crystella?"

She stopped. Looked at the unfamiliar lady and frowned. What's with this pack and everybody claiming that they knew her?

"Sorry, do I—?"

"You're kidding me," the lady, who, on closer look, seemed about Crystella's age, said.

Crystella simply raised an eyebrow.

"Elisiah. Eli. Any bells rang?" the lady, Elisiah, prompted. The Alpha's daughter remained with a straight face.

The lady rolled her eyes.

"Of course. Why would the high and mighty Crystella remember us? And I'm assuming the names Marelynn, Justin and Markus seem unfamiliar to you too."

Crystella took in a deep breath.

"I apologise for not recognising you, Elisiah. As for the names you've mentioned—yes, I do know about Marelynn and Justin but not in the way that you would've liked. Markus, however, is indeed an unfamiliar name," she replied coolly, "I hope I've answered your questions, so if you will."

She gestured for Elisiah to move out of her way.

"Wow. Wow. I knew you would be distant, but I never would've pegged you as bitchy. Guess this conversation does it. So much for a happy reunion," Elisiah spat as she shifted to the side.

"I hope this is enough space for you to proceed, my Lady," she continued, her mockingly sweet voice laced with malice, her eyes shooting daggers.

Crystella forced herself to put up a small smile as she clenched her fist, keeping herself from doing something such as slapping the girl in front of her. Was everyone in the Hart pack this dysfunctional?

Her only guess would be yes, the Hart's are a bunch of screwed up wolves.

She could only hope that Joseph was the sane man in all this madness and more than ever, she hoped that there wouldn't be any more wolves coming to her, spitting at her for forgetting them.

It wasn't her fault that she had no childhood memories. For some reason, Crystella held no detailed recollection of anything that happened before she turned thirteen.

Sure, she could remember bits and pieces, hazy impressions such as what her life was back when she was a child—but the older the memory, the foggier it gets. Anything before nine was a mystery to her.

But Crystella was fine with that. She hated mysteries. And she absolutely hated the one that she was thrown in, the current one that involved her father's disappearance.

Returning back to the room that Joseph had kindly provided her with, she made herself comfortable by lying on the king-size bed, closing her eyes and keeping her mind free from thoughts.

It was the only peace she had been getting recently, really.

But unfortunately, it was cut short when someone knocked on the doors of the room.

She let out a breath before getting off the bed and unlocking the doors.

It was the Alpha's niece that greeted her.

"Dinner," Marelynn simply stated, her eyes devoid of any emotions. Crystella was reminded of what had happened a few moments ago when she had lost control of her temper and made the girl wept.

Offering a nod, Crystella walked out of the room and followed the Alpha's niece to wherever dinner was taking place. But strangely enough, her feet followed fast behind Marelynn's and soon enough, she walking next to her.

"At least your feet remember this place," Marelynn stated suddenly, not bothering to hide her disdain for Crystella. Crystella frowned. This wasn't the first time her feet had taken her to places. Just a couple minutes ago, they had taken her to the balcony where she viewed the sunset.

With Chase.

"We're here," Marelynn announced, just as Crystella gritted her teeth to stop herself from thinking about the rogue.

Looking up from the ground, Crystella was greeted by a sight that made her hold her breath. Her father was never the Alpha to believe in displaying luxury, but Hart's Alpha clearly had a different view—the dining room was more of a hall than a room, and Crystella only ever had dinner in places this big during organised parties or social functions.

But here they were, having normal dinner in a 'room' big enough for the entire pack.

"Pretty big, huh."

Crystella turned around. It was Chase.

"And here I thought the room offered to me was fancy," he continued, still eyeing at the hanging chandeliers in awe.

Crystella nodded, but said nothing as she surveyed the room too. All the lights and crystals had distracted her from the actual dining table (which was abnormally huge) and the people sitting around it.

"Done staring, Crissy?"

Crystella breath hitched when she heard the nickname again. The Alpha's niece had used it on her, claiming it was their childhood nickname for her. And now, she almost wanted to send herself to her deathbed when she saw the owner of the voice.

"But you must be familiar to all these—after all, the Craw has always been richer than any of the other packs, aren't you?" Elisiah continued. She was all dressed up—clad in a tight red dress, lips coated red and her hair let loose in natural waves. The red-style that she had chosen to put herself in made her eyes stand out exceptionally. Crystella then realised for the first time that they were lilac in colour.

"You're an Alpha's daughter?" Crystella asked without a second thought, then cursed herself for being so rash. Of course she was an Alpha's daughter, her coloured eyes had already told her that. And before she could reply her, Crystella already knew what would come out of her mouth next.

"Glad to have you remember that. I'm Elisiah Fauve, and it's nice to meet you again, sister-in-law."

// double update :)) Elisiah is clearly a pain in the ass, but soon we'll find out why ;)

don't kill me (again) for not putting in more of our mysterious Markus; I promise he will have more screentime the next update :'D

avocados,
jia yue