Chasing Moon

23

As far as Markus could remember, the five of them had always been together since they were pups—Justin, Elisiah, Marelynn, Crystella and himself.

Alpha Kelsey would make his way to the mansion once a week, leaving Justin for the weekend. Alpha Craw would do the same too but never leaving Crystella for the night. Alpha Fauve had never been strict about these things, sometimes even leaving Elisiah here for a few months before taking her back.

And Markus had always been Marelynn's servant and companion, tending to her since she was born, destined to do the same until she no longer needed him.

As a boy, the weekends were what he looked forward to, when he could strip away the label of being Marelynn's servant and just have fun as equals.

The sequence would always be like this: Alpha Fauve coming over the earliest, greeting Alpha Hart before visiting his daughter for a quick moment, then proceeding to the room where the Alpha is waiting. Alpha Kelsey would then arrive not long later, dropping Justin off before entering the room.

And after a few hours, Alpha Craw would arrive, greeting the children first and waved goodbye to Crystella, before making his presence in the room. The five children would then proceed with whatever plans they had made for the day, before the meeting of the Alphas ended, where they had to bid farewell to a few of them.

Markus' memories of their playtimes were hazy. But besides the incident that broke apart the five of them, there was still another memory that stayed fresh and clear in his mind.

It was a Saturday evening and there was a heavy downpour. The five of them was in the middle of a game of hide and seek when a maidservant had let off a bloodcurdling scream.

They were so alarmed that neither of them had moved from their hiding position, and Elisiah was the only one brave and quick enough to find where the servant was, as right after a few seconds later, her screams were heard, echoing through the entire mansion.

When Markus had finally managed to bring himself to where all the screaming came from, the first thing he noticed was the pool of blood that spread far and wide on the wet floor, the rain hitting furiously on the red puddle.

He walked closer, noticing that right in the middle of the puddle was a familiar-looking body lying face down, as though it was dropped from the balcony that faced the forest (the one that Markus loved), which was a few stories above the open area.

He looked forward.

Marelynn was clinging tightly to Elisiah while the two of them sobbed, the maidservant unsure of what to do as she stepped in and out of the shelter that the corridors gave. Crystella was staring at the body, eerily silent as she made no readable expression. Behind her were a few people running in and into the rain, flipping the body around, and checking for its pulse.

They gasped, and it was then did Markus started screaming. When the body was turned, the unmistakeable face was shown to the crowd, confirming their doubts on who the body and blood belonged to.

Then, medics appeared and scooped Justin up, taking him to the nursing wing.

-

Alpha Kelsey's eyes were red when he took Justin away from the nursing room, insisting for him to be treated back home. The Alphas had given each their own condolences before bidding them goodbye.

Alpha Fauve had wanted to take Elisiah back, but Elisiah refused, saying she had to stay by Marelynn, who was so shocked that she cried herself to sleep, unable to send the Kelseys off. Alpha Fauve reluctantly agreed, before making his leave too.

Crystella, however, stayed extremely quiet and offered no objections when Alpha Craw beckoned for her to follow him out. By then, Elisiah had already stormed off to Marelynn's room, evidently annoyed at Crystella's indifference.

"Bye," Markus had squeaked, just when Crystella was about to walk out of the gates.

"Goodbye," she offered back. It may be a figment of his imagination, but Markus swore he saw a slight passing of emotion in her eyes. Was it remorse, empathy... or guilt?

Before Markus could say any more, Crystella turned and walked towards her father, never once turning back. It was a normal goodbye, one that Markus was so used to every Saturday when the ice princess had to return to her ice palace with the ice king.

But Markus only wished that he had turned around back then, and not stared while the duo walked further and further away from the mansion.

Because what would have been a normal farewell became one that Markus would never forget when Alpha Craw looked back and smiled.

And it wasn't the kind of smile that made you warm inside.

It was a smile of malice.

And two weeks later, the incident happened.

// hoho some backstory before we dive back into the Hart's territory :D 
p.s. don't worry about Chase, we know he's badass enough to take care of himself

avocados,
Jia Yue