"I WISH I could punch this bad gochujang," Eclaire whined to herself while reading the latest volume of the novel called 'The Unwanted Wolf King.' The character that she wanted to punch was the Wolf King's half-brother aka the Crown Prince. The bad Crown Prince's hair was described to be bloody red, so she gave him the moniker 'gochujang' (red chili paste). "Doesn't he know that as a hyung, he's supposed to take care of his dongsaeng?"
'Hyung' was an honorary title used by younger males to address their older brothers or males older than them. 'Dongsaeng,' on the other hand, meant younger sibling. As a Korean, she couldn't help but think in her language even though the novel she was reading was in English.
"How could he send his dongsaeng to an S-level Cage alone?" she complained while flipping the next page. If she wasn't lying down on her bed, she would be eating desert by now. Every time the Crown Prince had a scene in the novel, she felt like eating sweets to calm her upset heart. That was how annoying the Crown Prince was. "The Wolf King hasn't fully awakened as a Fang yet."
The book was set in an alternate universe where dungeons called 'Cages' appeared in the world one day. Those dungeons were infested with man-eating monsters. Fortunately, the same day that those dungeons appeared, a select few humans awakened their abilities to fight and kill the monsters coming out of the Cages.
Those who awakened with superhuman strength and abilities were called 'Fangs' because they literally grew fangs that resembled the canine teeth of wolves. Others said that those fangs also resembled the fangs of a vampire.
And thus, the two strongest types of Fangs were called Vampires and Werewolves.
[But there's another reason behind those titles.]
The awakened Fangs called Vampires were named that way because they craved the blood of the monsters from the Cages. And that blood would give strength to the Vampires.
On the other hand, the Fangs called Werewolves were named that way because they craved the flesh of the monsters. The more monster meat the Werewolves consumed, the stronger they got. Most of all, this type of Fangs could transform into an adult wolf. Thus, they were called Werewolves.
"Just you wait, you bad gochujang," she whispered to herself with clenched fists. "Once our dear Graham awakens his ability to transform into a wolf, you can no longer bully him."
Graham Wolfenstein, the son of the previous Wolf Queen, awakened as a Werewolf naturally. Unfortunately, even though he was already considered an adult in his world, he still couldn't transform into a wolf.
People had high expectations because Graham was the son of the late Wolf Queen. And so, people expected him to be the next Wolf King since the position had been vacated when his mother died. But he fell short of what the people around him had hoped for.
[But since the novel is called 'The Unwanted Wolf King,' it's certain that Graham will become the Wolf King in the future.]
"It's not your fault, Graham-ah," she consoled the Wolf King who was being berated by the bad Crown Prince from the scene she was reading. "There's nothing wrong with being a late bloomer. It's more important that a growing boy like you is healthy…"
She trailed off when she read the Crown Prince's inner thought after he yelled at poor Graham to get out of the Student Council Office.
<"I didn't tell Graham that the boss of the Cage I sent him to is a Lycan.">
"Lycan Boss?!"
The most fearsome monster race that appeared in the Cages was the Lycan Tribe. A Lycan was a wolf-like creature that only ate human flesh. Since the Lycan and the Werewolves looked similar in appearance, the Werewolves treated the Lycans as their nemesis.
An adult Werewolf could fight a Lycan and win.
But Graham wasn't fully awakened yet! The poor boy was physically stronger than average humans. His nails were also as sharp as a blade. But those weren't enough to kill a Lycan– let alone a Lycan Boss!
<"Maybe if Graham's life is threatened by the Werewolves' nemesis, his full potential as a Werewolf would manifest.">
You know what was worse than the Crown Prince's evil plan?
She already reached the last pages of the book!
Yes, it was the last page and the ending was a major cliffhanger. What would happen to Graham? Would the future Wolf King really enter the dangerous S-class Cage alone? And would he be able to defeat a Lycan Boss?
She was very upset that her questions would remain unanswered until the next volume comes out.
"What a bad guy!" she complained while clutching the book tight. She wanted to curse so badly but she refrained herself from doing so because speaking bad words wasn't her style. "Can I punch you just once, Your Royal Highness?"
It wasn't also her style to resort to violence.
But when the round reddish birthmark on her inner wrist felt warm all of a sudden, she just found herself punching the last page of the book.
She thought her fist would hit the page and it would be over.
But much to her shock, her fist went through the page of the book that suddenly pulled her in! The violent air that hit her face made her close her eyes so she didn't know what exactly happened to her.
And then it happened.
She felt and heard the impact of the unexpected collision of her knuckles and someone's nose.
[Oh, no!]
"Dammit!"
She immediately opened her eyes when she heard the voice of a young man and his string of profanities. To say that she was shocked would be an understatement.
[What a shocking visual.]
The boy who looked around her age was very handsome– a face genius with a chic style. His school uniform consisted of a black blazer over a black dress shirt, black pants, and shiny black Oxford shoes. It looked plain at first but the golden school crest on the left side of the blazer looked elegant.
Although for her, the uniform's selling point was the bolo tie– it was the type of tie consisting of braided leather with decorative metal tips and secured with an ornamental slide. The bolo tie had a silver-plated ruby brooch that looked posh.
[That uniform looks familiar…]
Ah, scratch that.
The boy with a bleeding nose in front of her looked familiar and not just his uniform.
Red hair, golden eyes, bronze skin…
[Wait, golden eyes?!]
"Who the hell are you?" the red-haired boy asked angrily while glaring at her. "What kind of lady wears such a scandalous outfit in the presence of the Crown Prince?"
Huh?
Her outfit wasn't scandalous!
She wore an oversized cream sweater and a pair of black biking shorts. Since it was cold in her room, she also wore a pair of thigh-high long socks. But she realized that her outfit wasn't important when she remembered what the boy said earlier.
["In the presence of the Crown Prince…"]
Eclaire gasped when the realization finally hit her. "Nathaniel Ystraughffe?!"
Nathaniel Ystraughffe was the bad Crown Prince from the novel The Unwanted Wolf King. He was also Graham Wolfenstein's half-older brother. The two brothers had different surnames because the king didn't grant Graham the right to use the Royal Family's last name.
"It's 'Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince' to you, lady," Nathaniel Ystraughffe snarled at her. "Who sent you here?"
She was bewildered by the fact that she could converse with the Crown Prince using that world's language.
Was this a dream?
Her heart thumped hard against her chest.
She was still confused as to how she entered the world of the novel that she was just reading a moment ago. But when she saw how the Crown Prince's nose wouldn't stop bleeding, her conscience kicked in.
"I'm very sorry for giving you a sucker punch, Your Royal Highness!" she said in a panic while bowing deeply. Even though Nathaniel Ystraughffe was only a character from a novel, he looked very real at the moment. And she just punched him! "I didn't mean to…"
She concluded that she might have fallen asleep while reading. Thus, she ended up in this weird dream. But now that she was aware that she was dreaming, she would probably wake up soon.
[Even though this is just a dream, I can't believe that I punched a person!]
She scolded herself for being violent.
"I know all the students here at Polarise Academy," the Crown Prince said, obviously ignoring her sincere apology.
[This is only a dream and yet, he's still in character?]
"But this is the first time I've seen you," Nathaniel Ystraughffe continued. This time, he didn't sound pissed anymore. "Honey blonde hair, ruby eyes… yes, you're a new face."
Honey blonde hair?
Ruby eyes?
Was the Crown Prince talking about her?
[I have black hair and black eyes though?]
She raised her head in confusion.
Nathaniel Ystraughffe had his arms crossed over his chest now while observing her. And it seemed like he had his guard up because his fangs were showing in an intimidating manner.
[Ah, right. The Crown Prince is a Vampire.]
But since it was only a dream, she didn't get scared.
"I don't have honey-blonde hair and ruby eyes, Your Royal Highness," she said, confused. She was trying to remember if the Crown Prince had poor eyesight or something. Then, she gasped when an awful thought crossed her mind. "Omo. Did I hit you too hard that your eyesight became like that?" She raised her sinful left hand and slapped her knuckles. "You bad hand!"
"Stop!"
She stopped punishing her bad hand when she heard the panic in the Crown Prince's voice. When she turned to him, she was surprised to see that he was already in front of her.
"You!" Nathaniel Ystraughffe said, then he rudely grabbed her left arm while looking at the birthmark on her inner wrist with wide eyes. "This mark…" The Crown Prince looked at her with a look of disbelief on his face. "You're a Luna?"
Eclaire tilted her head to one side. "No– my name is Eclaire Song."
***
NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'MOONSTRUCK WOLF KING' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3