CHAPTER 90: CHAPTER 90: THE PAST - I

After a heavy rain, the ground of Moonveil Pack was wet, and in many places the earth had turned into soft patches of mud. The werewolves loved nature, so aside from their houses and the main area, the rest of the land was left untouched. No changes were ever made to it.

And several young children were rolling on the wet ground. One of them was a young girl with two pigtails. She was also rolling in the mud with other pups, not minding how the mud dirtied her pretty clothes. She was laughing cheerfully as she splashed mud on the other children, her face filled with joy. The other pups also laughed with her, their giggles rising into the air as all of them were enjoying it too much.

But suddenly a sweet yet stern voice called out, warm like sunlight but firm enough to make all the pups pause.

"If you don’t come out, I will leave and eat all your snacks myself." These words were actually directed to the little girl with two pigtails.

Selene gasped and whipped her clean face toward the sound; her face was still clean because still no one was able to smack her with the mud. Her lips pushed into a stubborn pout. "Mother, don’t! Please... just a little while longer!" The mud was too much fun; she did not want to go back yet, but she also didn’t want all her snacks to be gone. What would she eat after getting out from here?

Before she could protest further and persuade her mother, something heavy hit her on the face. SPLAT. She fell backward into the mud with a loud plop. Instead of crying, Selene burst out laughing, her small legs kicking as though the ground itself had joined her game.

"You dare!" She squealed and immediately pushed herself up on her two tiny hands and scooped up two fistfuls of mud. With all the strength her little arms could muster, she flung it at the skinny boy across from her. The mud smacked him on the back, as she knew he must be ready to run away after smacking her, but her aim was accurate. No one had ever escaped from it, and her mud indeed sent him falling face-first into the dirt.

Selene clapped her hands together with glee. "You are no match for me, Kay! Admit defeat!" she shouted, her chest puffed in victory. She looked at the other children with arrogance, warning them with her eyes: if you dare to attack me, your future would look like his. Hmph! Dare to sneak attack her.

But before she could launch another attack, she felt herself lifted by the collar. Her arms flailed, her feet dangling helplessly in the air.

"Mother! Put me down!" Selene shouted with a high and indignant voice. "I’m not done yet! I have to teach him a lesson—how dare he attack me when I wasn’t ready!"

Her mother’s soft voice with amusement came back. "Stop bullying him. He is no match for you. Let him breathe, you little devil."

The Luna set Selene on a dry patch of ground, far from the mud, and walked toward the boy. The other pups scattered instantly, running in all directions like frightened rabbits.

They all knew Selene did not fear her mother’s scolding, but if they were scolded by the Luna and their parents discovered it and found that they had been playing with the "little devil," they would surely face a beating. Everyone clutched their little bottoms and ran away. No one wanted a beating on their precious butt; it hurt too much.

Only Kay remained. He sat in the mud, his face so thick with dirt that his eyes could barely open. He was already eight years old, but his small frame made him look even younger than Selene, who was only six.

Luna bent gracefully before him, her hands gentle as she pulled out a kerchief. "Forgive Selene," she said softly. "She isn’t bad." Her touch was tender as she wiped the mud from his cheeks.

Kay’s thin shoulders trembled. His cheeks flushed red as he stared at her, speechless. His small eyes glistened with something he didn’t understand, something he dared not speak. To him, Luna’s gentleness felt like sunlight he could never hold.

It was the first time someone had talked so sweetly to him, and she was none other than the Luna. He could not help but deeply blush, his little heart pounding.

Beside them, Selene stood with her arms crossed, her lips pushed forward in a pout. "Mother, I fell in the mud first. Why are you wiping his face and not mine?"

Luna looked back at her daughter with a smile. "You only fell lightly on your back. But look at him; he fell on his face. How would he breathe if I didn’t clean him?"

Selene stamped her foot. "But still..." Her cheeks puffed even more, but the Luna only chuckled. With the same kerchief, she reached over and smeared it across Selene’s round face, smudging the mud even further.

"Mother!" Selene shrieked, her cheeks burning with outrage. "You’re so mean!" How could her mother be so mean? She actually smeared her face with dirt. Where would her dignity be left? She spun on her heel and ran, her small legs carrying her as fast as they could.

"Oh, my baby is angry?" the Luna teased. She caught Selene easily, scooping her up in her arms and planting noisy kisses on her dirty cheeks. Selene wriggled, trying to stay angry, but her mother’s tickles forced giggles from her lips until her anger melted into laughter.

Not far away, Kay watched silently. His small body stiffened, a hollow ache curling inside him as envy stirred in his chest. He was already eight, but he looked so tiny with barely the strength to fight younger children, let alone the children of the same age.

Unlike Selene, there was no one to lift him up, no one to kiss his cheeks or chase away his sadness. His parents had... His eyes saddened as he thought about them. And he gulped and reminded himself there was no need to remember them. They were no one to him.

On the other side, Selene nestled into her mother’s arms. Even though her face was dirty, she was radiating joy, like only a child who has a mother like the Luna could. Kay turned away, slowly taking small steps, his back hunched under a weight no child should carry.

One child walked toward the grand house that was the most luxurious in the pack, and the other wandered back toward a shack he could not even call home.

Two little children. Two paths already pulling apart.