Love Blossoms under the Blood Moon

In the forest, Yvette Hawthorne raced through the trees, trembling, and did not dare to stop. Terrifying roars kept coming from behind her.

She had never expected that her stepsister, Lena Hawthorne, whom she had always thought to be gentle and kind, would have tricked her to the werecreatures' turf, where humans were not allowed to enter, and a place from which no one had ever walked out alive.

And a male werecreature who had lost control and was in beastly form kept closing in on her, pressed his burning hot body against hers, and all she could do was endure what he did to her.

Afterward, she fled in panic, trying to hide everything crazy had happened the previous night.

Then she discovered that she was pregnant.

Her father, Brenton Hawthorne, however, for the sake of a small benefit, gave her to Calvin Travon, the notoriously brutal earl who was said to kill without mercy.

The moment the gates of Travon Manor closed behind her, a pair of golden, beastlike eyes fixed on her.

"Whose child is this?" Calvin demanded, his voice sinisterly intimidating.

But the familiar scent on him made her eyes widen in shock.

...

Some werecreatures yelled, "No matter where you go, I will catch you, you human!"

Barefoot, Yvette sprinted through the forest.

Her dress was already torn to shreds by thorns, blood streaming down her calves; the pain shot through her legs as she ran, nearly making her collapse.

But she dared not stop. Those werecreatures behind her had been chasing her for a long time.

They were not ordinary werecreatures from any packs. They were outcasts, banished from territories of their packs.

Not bound by any pack laws, these outcasts delighted in torturing and slaughtering humans, especially human women, who were weaker.

They would sexually assault those women, tear them apart, then dump their corpses deep in the forest.

Above her hung a bright, eerie bloodred moon, making it hard for her to see the path ahead clearly with its dim light.

When the Blood Moon hung in the sky at night, humans absolutely must not approach the edges of werecreatures' turf.

Though humans and werecreatures shared the same continent, they had despised each other for generations.

Many ordinary people who accidentally wandered into werecreatures' turf never returned.

Yvette knew this perfectly well.

Yet she had gotten here anyway, because just a few hours earlier, Lena had told her that her fiance, Edwin Bailey, was waiting for her at the edge of the werecreatures' turf, and that he had something important to say in person.

Yvette believed her, as Edwin had never lied to her before.

But instead of Edwin, she found herself surrounded by a group of outcast werecreatures who had long hungered for human prey.

In that instant, Yvette realized

that Edwin would never deceive her, but Lena would.

"Why are you running so slow? Tired already?"

One of the pursuing werecreatures taunted her, his laughter rough.

"Human women really are soft and weak."

Yvette turned pale and found the taste of blood in her throat.

She knew she could not be caught.

If they seized her, she would certainly die.

She squeezed her eyes shut and dashed forward with all her strength.

But the footsteps behind her only grew louder and closer.

Just as despair was about to overwhelm her, Yvette spotted a faint glimmer of light deep within the Dark Forest ahead.

It was a cabin, standing alone in there.

She had no idea what lay inside.

It could be her salvation, or something even darker and more horrible.

But she had no other choice.

Gritting her teeth, she forced her legs to move, running toward the cabin with all her strength.

Still, she was too slow.

After only a few strides, a sharp claw got hold of the back of her neck.

The searing pain made her vision blur, and she stumbled and fell into the mud.

The werecreature with dark gray fur watched her fall, a sneer curling his lips.

His gaze fell on her body, filled with lust and contempt.

Yvette's fingers dug into the dirt, and her heart gradually sank.

She thought sadly that maybe she really would die here today.

As the werecreature raised his claw to strike again, Yvette closed her eyes.

Strangely, she thought it was somehow a good thing that she could die today.

But just then, an intimidatingly overwhelming power emanated from the cabin.

All the werecreatures squatted down and froze in place, fear flickering in their eyes.

"Damn it,"

the werecreature with dark gray fur muttered. He shot Yvette one last grudging glance, then raised his claw again.

Yvette's lips twitched stiffly, and then she glanced toward the cabin from the corner of her eye.

Softly, she whispered, "Could you save me just once more?"

But it was already too late. The werecreature with dark gray fur had slashed across her neck with his sharp claw.

Suddenly, Yvette smelled a thick sense of blood.

Yet the werecreature with dark gray fur before her instantly disintegrated into a spray of crimson mist.

He did not even have the chance to scream.

Yvette stood frozen at the cabin door, breath caught in her throat.

The remaining werecreatures turned pale and shrieked as they fled into the depths of the forest.

The entire forest fell deathly silent. Only the crackling of firewood in the hearth remained.

Slowly, Yvette turned her head.

Inside the cabin, there was no hunter nor border guard, only a man seated in shadows.

He was tall and imposing; the black robe hung open and unrestrained, part of his face concealed by a dark silver mask.

And the only thing of him she could see clearly were his golden eyes.

The dangerous aura radiating from him made Yvette realize instantly that she had not gotten to a safe place.

She had merely run away from a pack of outcast werecreatures to a highranking werecreature who was even more dangerous.

The male werecreature sat slouched in his chair, long fingers gripping the armrests so tightly his knuckles had gone pale.

The fleeing werecreatures had not gone far; they lingered at the edge of the forest, pacing restlessly there.

But they did not dare approach, only letting out low, fearful growls tinged with frustration.

Yvette stood rooted to the spot, trapped between two choices.

She knew that if she stepped outside, the werecreatures out there would snatch her immediately.

But if she stayed, she knew she would face an even more terrifying monster.

Firelight from the hearth flickered gently.

Finally, Yvette had made up her mind and then carefully walked toward the male werecreature.

Cold sweat broke out across her back.

His voice was low, hoarse, and icy, as if he were barely restraining something.

"Get out of here," he snapped.

Yvette's face turned ashen, and she instinctively wanted to run.

But she quickly sensed something was off.

Just as she neared the male werecreature by the fireplace, his aura of malice and aggression briefly weakened for an instant, and at that moment he became much calmer.

This change was subtle, yet clear enough for her to notice.

Yvette froze in place.

The male werecreature, seated in the shadows, slowly lifted his eyes, his gaze falling on her for the first time.

The next second, his aura became intimidatingly chill again.

A thin crack split the wooden table beside the fireplace, and the flames suddenly shot higher.

Yvette's breath caught in her throat, and she felt her legs nearly buckle beneath her.

The male werecreature gripped the armrests so hard his knuckles turned pale, veins bulging along his temples because he was trying to control himself.

His eyes slightly turned red, making him look utterly dangerous.

"I will say this one last time," he said, his voice low and hoarse, thick with barely contained patience. "Get out."

Yvette knew that she should just leave immediately.

But the moment she turned, beasts' roars echoed from outside the door.

Those outcast werecreatures dared not barge in, yet they refused to give up on her as their prey.

Yvette clenched her fists tightly.

If she stepped outside, the outcast werecreatures would drag her away. If she stayed, she would be facing a highranking werecreature who was losing control.

Either choice was extremely dangerous.

But she found that at least for that one fleeting moment, she had genuinely calmed him.

Seeing that she hesitated, the male werecreature's gaze darkened completely. "Do you really wanna die?"

Yvette trembled under his glare, yet she forced herself to speak. "I can help you."

Silence fell over the cabin for a heartbeat.

The male werecreature let out a cold snort, as if what she said was laughable. "You can help me?"

He rose slowly to his feet, his towering frame blotting out nearly all the firelight from the hearth, and advanced toward her step by step.

He was cold and dominant, radiating an unmistakable aura of aggression.

Yvette's breath caught, but she did not retreat again.

The male werecreature loomed over her, his voice icy. "You're just a fragile human woman, yet you dare to claim you can help me?"

As he spoke, his eyes had already turned fully red, as though he might lose control at any second.

Yvette trembled all over out of fear; even her fingers did. Yet she slowly raised her hand and carefully reached toward his arm.

Her fingertips finally touched him.

The male werecreature's body went rigid instantly.

Yvette froze in place.

She could clearly sense that the male werecreature's raging beastly instincts calmed a little as he drew near her, as if instinctively drawn to and soothed by her presence.

But this calm did not last long.

A few seconds later, the male werecreature's breathing grew heavy again, and a suppressed growl was forced out from his throat.

He seized her wrist abruptly and yanked her close.

Yvette crashed into his chest, instantly enveloped by his strong scent.

She noticed his body temperature was abnormally high.

Outside the cabin, growls kept echoing in the woods, mingling with the sound of claws scraping against tree trunks, enough to send chills down anyone's spine.

And the cabin's wooden door was pounded again and again, while the whole cabin was shaking.

...

In the grand hall of the Hawthorne family, Lena sipped her tea slowly and deliberately.

Vera Hawthorne, Yvette's stepmother and Lena's mother, stood by the window, looking utterly at ease.

"It has already been a whole night," Vera murmured. "Once a woman loses her virginity, she is utterly ruined. Edwin will not want her, and the Hawthorne family will never acknowledge her again."

Lena curled her lips into a smirk, malice gleaming in her eyes. "If she is foolish enough to bring this on herself, she has no one to blame but us."

Vera smiled faintly. "Besides, that is werecreatures' turf. She might not even make it back alive."

At that very moment, inside the cabin in the Dark Forest, Yvette found herself pinned against the cold wall, while the male werecreature had wrapped his arms around her waist tightly.

He lowered his head toward her, his breath alarmingly heavy, the last trace of clarity vanishing from his eyes.

Panic finally gripped Yvette.

"Calm down," she pleaded.

The male werecreature stared at her, his golden eyes now filled only with desire that he could barely suppress.

In the next instant, he slammed Yvette onto the ground, and his hand touched the hem of her clothes.

Dawn crept in gradually, and Yvette slowly regained consciousness.

To her horror, she realized she was still tightly cradled in the arms of that dangerous male werecreature whom she had stuck with last night.

Fragmented and eerie memories from the night before flooded her mind all at once.

She also felt sore in her body and deeply unwell.

Her face turned pale immediately, and her breath quickened.

The male werecreature seemingly remained asleep, eyes still closed.

Yvette stiffly lowered her gaze.

She remembered how, last night, he had crazily and ceaselessly bitten and nipped at her neck.

When her fingers brushed against the distinct teeth marks on the back of her neck, her breath hitched.

Her fingertips trembled slightly as she frantically tried to wriggle free from his embrace.

But when she was doing that, she suddenly noticed the dark silver mask covering his face.

Everything had been too chaotic the night before; she had never gotten a clear look at him.

Yvette's breath slightly caught.

After a brief hesitation, she slowly reached out her hand.

She had to see what he, who had taken her virginity, actually looked like.

She touched the edge of the dark gray mask.

Just as a flicker of excitement sparked within her and she began to lift it off, a huge force hurled her across the room.

"Ah!" she screamed.