CHAPTER 64: CHAPTER 63: YOU’RE LETTING A GIRL CLOUD YOUR MIND, SON?

The night air had turned cooler by the time they all left the amusement park. The neon lights dimmed behind them, the laughter fading into tired yawns and soft chatter. The fun had drained them in the best way possible, their hearts full, their bodies aching from too much laughter and too many ridiculous rides and jokes.

Levi was the first to stretch, groaning as he threw an arm over Leo’s shoulder. "I can’t feel my legs," he muttered.

Leo lean his head on Levi’s as he smile mischievously. "Oh...sorry baby."

Felicia yawned beside him and added. "That’s what you get for challenging the roller coaster gods."

Armand’s face remained unreasonable as usual, unlocking his car as he stared down at Felicia. Felicia grinned at him like a fool and when he didn’t return it, she decided to hide her teeth.

Looks like it’s not fine enough.

Why was he giving her attitude when she was only trying to be friend with him. She got in the car and he shut it without sparing her a glance.

Alaric on the other hand, left the way he can, quiet as always or maybe because of the man that came and stole his chance in life, put on his helmet and glanced at the others. "See you all." he said, his voice calm, but his soft plgaze lingering a little longer than it should on Athena before turning away. The roar of his motorcycle soon faded into the distance.

Oliver opened the door for Athena, who looked half-asleep already, blinking slowly.

"Tired?" he asked, leaning down slightly.

She nodded, covering a small yawn. "A little..."

He smiled. "A little, huh? You look one minute away from a coma."

Athena giggled softly, her voice drowsy. "I’m fine..."

But as soon as the car started moving, her head tilted to the side, eyes fluttered shut. Within minutes, she was fast asleep, her breathing slow and peaceful. The city lights passed by, their reflection dancing across her face.

Oliver glanced at her from time to time, a faint smile tugging at his lips. There was something strangely calming about her like this, quiet, soft, vulnerable in a way she never was when awake.

"You’re something else, you know that?" he murmured, his tone low, almost fond.

A small sound escaped her lips, a sleepy murmur. He couldn’t catch the words clearly, something about "no more roller coasters" but it made him chuckle quietly.

When they reached their place, he parked, stepped out quietly, and went around to her side. She was still deep asleep. With a soft sigh, he unbuckled her seatbelt and gently lifted her into his arms.

Athena stirred a little, her face brushing against his chest. "Don’t steal my cotton candy..." she mumbled incoherently.

Oliver stopped mid-step, biting back a laugh. "I’ll try not to, doll," he whispered, amusement soft in his voice.

He carried her inside carefully, her weight light against him. She smelled faintly of vanilla and the amusement park’s sweetness, popcorn, laughter, a trace of strawberry from her ice cream.

As he reached the door, she murmured again, this time more faintly, "...Don’t go..."

His expression softened. He looked down at her sleeping face, strands of her hair falling over her cheek.

"I’m not going anywhere," he whispered, brushing her hair back with his thumb. "Go back to sleep, trouble."

He smiled faintly, carrying her inside like she was something precious. He placed her gently on the bed, her weight made it sink a little.

Meanwhile, the night was peaceful and blissful for some, it wasn’t quite the same for everyone, especially for those with blood cursed by the moon.

The full moon was almost here. Just one more day. Less than twenty four hours. And with every hour that passed, the air grew heavier for people like Rhydric and Azrael.

Rhydric feared it for a reason everyone knew, he had no control. Not even a fraction. His wolf ruled him, owned him, turned him into something savage that tore through anything in sight.

But Azrael... his case was different. He had control, too much of it, maybe and that alone was enough to make his father despise him. His father, Alpha Carlo, had built his name on fear and blood, on bones crushed under his boots. To him, mercy was poison. Compassion was weakness.

Azrael’s mother had been the opposite of that, gentle, kind, the kind of woman who could silence a raging wolf with nothing but her voice. His father never forgave her for that softness, even in death. And he sure as hell wouldn’t forgive Azrael for inheriting it.

"Soft hearts," his father had once said, eyes burning with disgust, "should be ripped out before they infect the bloodline."

So, for every hint of restraint, for every quiet act of kindness, Azrael had paid with scars. Brutal lessons meant to harden him into something he never wanted to be. His father believed that pain could cleanse weakness.

But it hadn’t cleansed him. It had only made him bitter.

Now, standing in the dim corridor of his apartment, Azrael leaned against the cold railing, his gaze fixed on the silver dot hanging in the night sky. His jaw tightened as the moonlight brushed across his face, cold and distant, like it knew something he didn’t.

By this time tomorrow, the moon would be full. And only God knew what state he’d be in, whether he’d still be able to keep his control, or whether his father would find another reason to break him again.

He exhaled slowly, breath misting in the air. "What the hell were you thinking, Moon Goddess," he muttered under his breath, "making him my father?"

The night didn’t answer. It just pressed closer, heavy with silence and the promise of chaos that tomorrow would bring.

He stared right back into the night, letting the silence wrap around him like a blanket, cold, but oddly comforting. The city lights below were faint, distant, like memories trying to fade. He didn’t move. He just stood there, breathing in the night, the soft hum of the wind brushing past his skin.

Time felt strange. It might’ve been hours or maybe just minutes. Either way, he didn’t care. His thoughts had already drifted to someone he couldn’t seem to push out of his head.

Athena.

Her name came uninvited, soft and dangerous all at once. It lingered on his tongue like a forbidden prayer. He found himself smiling before he even realized it, a faint curl at the corner of his lips that felt both foreign and right.

There was something about her he couldn’t explain, something that tugged at him in ways he didn’t understand. She wasn’t loud or desperate for attention; she was... calm, almost painfully so. But beneath that calm, he sensed something wild, something real. She had that quiet kind of beauty, the kind that didn’t demand to be seen, but once you noticed it, it was impossible to forget.

And maybe that’s what drew him in. The quiet. The mystery. The warmth she carried without even trying. It wasn’t lust that made his chest tighten whenever she crossed his mind, it was something deeper, something that made him want to stay still and just look. Like she was sunlight he’d never been allowed to touch.

He had seen plenty of faces before, pretty, perfect, forgettable, but she wasn’t one of them. She made him remember what it felt like to breathe, even when everything inside him was chaos.

He let out a low chuckle, shaking his head, almost amused by his own thoughts. "What the hell are you doing to me?" he whispered to the night.

But before the faint smile could settle fully on his face, something shifted.

The air around him thickened. His skin prickled. Goosebumps crawled across his arms, and an icy shiver ran down his spine. The kind that didn’t come from the cold, but from instinct, from something dangerous.

He froze. His heartbeat changed, slowing, steadying into something sharp. He knew this feeling.

Someone was close. Watching.

The wolf inside him stirred, restless beneath his skin, whispering warnings he didn’t need to hear twice.

The peace was gone, replaced by tension that clawed its way into his chest.

Water began to stir across the marble floor, soft ripples breaking the quiet night. At first, it was just a shimmer, a faint, unnatural movement, as if the air itself had started to breathe. Then, the sound came. A low hum. A vibration that grew deeper, sharper, until the water that had pooled from the balcony edges began spinning violently, twisting upward in a spiral.

Azrael didn’t move. His jaw clenched, muscles tightening as he watched the vortex grow larger, wider until, within seconds, it took shape. A figure began to form in the swirling water, clear as glass at first, then solidifying with every pulse of energy.

When the last ripple stilled, his father stood there.

Tall. Cold. Every inch of him carried that same commanding presence Azrael had grown up fearing. His silver eyes were sharp as blades, his aura thick and suffocating, pressing down on the air until it felt hard to breathe.

Tension coiled in Azrael’s shoulders. His fingers twitched at his side. He just stood there, staring at the man who had made his life a constant battle between pride and pain.

"You letting a girl cloud your mind, son?"