Curse of the Moon

"What do you mean with what, Melva?" asked Vance, seemingly amused to watch Melva's flustered face. "I think I made it clear enough."

Melva nervously gulped as she thought about Vance's request to kiss him. "W-Why do you want me to kiss you?"

Vance raised a brow and squeezed her hand to encourage her. "You said a kiss can make me feel better. Then what is stopping me from asking for a kiss from you?"

"I do not think it is a really good idea," whispered Melva as though she was worried someone could hear them. There was another werewolf living in the manor, therefore her concern was justified. She guessed werewolves also had a keen sense of hearing besides smell.

"Why is it not a good idea? Don't you want to make me feel better?" Vance looked like he was in a trance. He was not in his right mind, seemingly intoxicated. It was like last night when he had scented her. His expression was softening as he looked at her like she was everything for him. This was certainly not normal.

"I have never kissed anyone before," said Melva, making up an excuse to give herself time to calm down.

"Then I can be your first. We are going to be married within a month, anyway. It will not make any difference." Vance was rubbing circles on her hand with his thumb fondly. It was not something he was capable of doing. Her touch was also affecting his sanity, so it seemed. The effects had not been this intense before, however, his near death situation might have intensified them.

Distracting him from the effects of her touch, she tried to make him focus on something else. "Before that, I need to ask you something. I have heard something disturbing from Lord Corbett and I want to know whether it is the truth."

Vance's face fell and he looked as if he was actually jealous, but it was impossible. This must be one of the side effects from him receiving her touch. "Corbett again. What is it with you and him? Why are you on his side?"

"You are not thinking clearly, Your Grace. Don't you remember the contract? I am bound to you. I am on your side, whether I want it or not," said Melva slowly to reassure him. She was unsure how to deal with his intoxicated self.

Vance patted the empty space next to him on the bed, urging her to come and sit with him. "Will you climb on the bed and sit next to me? And then we can talk."

Sitting next to him seemed fine for her, so she did just that. She warily climbed onto the bed and sat next to him as he scooted closer to close the distance between them. Just like in the carriage, Vance was resting his head on her shoulder and clinging close to her.

Melva awkwardly arranged her hunting dress on the bed so it wouldn't reveal her skin. They were on his bed now and her heart raced wildly because she was extremely nervous. They were very close and this was much more intimate than what she usually dealt with.

"No need to worry. I will not do anything that you do not want me to," reassured Vance, his eyes closing, basking in her warmth. He could probably tell her anxiety from merely hearing her heartbeat.

She exhaled aloud to calm herself down. Vance gave her a light squeeze to soothe her, though that did nothing besides constantly reminding her about their hands intertwining and how close they were right now. More than that, she had to focus on what Corbett had told her.

"Alright. What do you want to ask me?" asked Vance after a few minutes of silence.

Melva pondered before she decided to ask anyway. "I wonder where the young women who came before me are."

Vance hummed curiously. "Why are you asking?"

"Do you eat them?" asked Melva warily.

Vance widened his eyes in shock at the accusation and straightened himself, turning to face Melva. "What? Where did that come from?"

"I heard from Lord Corbett. You devoured human flesh on every blood moon to make yourself stronger. That is why your wolf form is much bigger and stronger than him. Is that true?"

"Oh." was the only word coming out from Vance's mouth as he realised what she wanted to talk about. He rested his back against the headrest again and stared at the wall.

Melva frowned at the lack of response Vance had given her. "Is that true?" demanded Melva one more time.

Vance took a deep breath as if he needed to muster his courage to answer her question. "If you are asking if I devoured the young women who came before you, then no, I did not. However, if you are asking if I devoured human flesh, then yes, I did. A long time ago."

"So you do not feed on human flesh now?" Melva was making sure that she understood what he meant correctly. Vance had emphasised the last sentence and she appreciated that he was being honest and admitted it to her, which was why she was willing to hear him out.

"Yes, I have learned my lesson," said Vance grimly.

Melva shifted to take a good look at his expression. He seemed regretful about it and he no longer devoured human flesh because of this lesson he had learned. It was not likely that he would be lying about this. He didn't seem like a deceitful man, unlike Corbett. However, this time Corbett surprisingly had not lied about Vance devouring human flesh.

She recalled what Corbett had told her back in the forest. About the story of the Moon Goddess and the consequences for upsetting her. She put two and two together and came up with a guess that probably Moon Goddess was the one who had cursed him.

"Then is it true that you are cursed by the Moon Goddess?" guessed Melva.

Vance shrugged and Melva could feel his shoulder brushing against hers. "To be honest, I do not know. I just woke up one day, freezing in the heat of the summer. And I knew something was not right with me. Father Seymour suggested that it was a curse, basing it from the legend of the Moon Goddess. I do not believe in that legend, though. Speaking of it, did you also hear it from Corbett?"

"Yes, I did. Why do you not believe in it? Lord Corbett also mentioned that he does not believe in the legend."

"Because the Moon Goddess is not real. We have never seen her. I believe in a witch more. This must be a curse placed on me by a witch. I had this condition right after the war." Vance shut his eyes and groaned as if talking about this pained him mentally. "Can we please stop talking about this?" This is not a good memory to recall. Perhaps another day after I recover. And will you stop talking about Corbett? You reek of him." He was almost growling when he said the last sentence.

"Of course. I just spent time in the woods with him before I came here," said Melva matter-of-factly.

"Can I scent you again, please?" begged Vance as he looked her in the eye.

"I am already on the bed next to you. I will reek of you in no time," insisted Melva. She shivered at the thought of him scenting her again. The intimacy would be too much for her to deal with. His outer appearance was already attractive enough for her eyes to see. She didn't want to end up falling for him, too.

Vance rested his head back on her shoulder, sulking. Melva had to look away from him to resist his cuteness. "Will you give me the kiss then?"

"It has barely been three days since I arrived here. We barely know each other. I do not know you well enough to trust you to do intimate things with me," mumbled Melva shyly. It was embarrassing that Vance could probably hear her heart rapidly beating.

Vance groaned exasperatedly. "We will be a married couple in less than a month. We will need to get used to intimacy sooner or later. Besides, doing this saves my life. I do not see a reason why we should not be intimate."

He sounded desperate, probably because he didn't want to experience another near death situation like he had just gone through. Then she was reminded of what the priest had asked of her. Father Seymour had basically told her about the extent of physical touch to save him. Now that he himself had set aside his pride and begged for her touch, she had no reason to further deprive him of the warmth he needed.

After not receiving any responses from her for a few minutes, Vance finally gave up asking her. He sighed hopelessly. "Alright. It is fine if you are not willing. I will patiently wait until you are. I can understand."

'Screw it,' thought Melva as she leaned closer towards him and kissed his cheek.