Hell's Consort

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Archdemon Empress Luna

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Luna stared at the ceiling of their cabin in the mountain tops with nothing but the moon's luminescence from the open window and the black cat to accompany her.

The moment she went back from the meadow, riding the brown stallion by herself on her way to the cabin, she laid down the bed and tucked herself in.

That was the conversation she most feared and it made her nightmares come to life: Apollyon leaving her alone in the field while she sobbed her heart out.

When she lost her voice, Luna figured out that no amount of screaming will make him come back.

Apollyon told her that he wanted to be alone for now, to process his emotions and she must respect that whether she liked it or not.

A revolting thought crossed her mind. 'He wouldn't cheat on me with another woman to level the playing field and wanted me to forget about it afterwards, would he?'

She shook her head, refusing to believe that. 'My husband wouldn't dare.'

As she stroked the sleeping black cat curled up in her stomach, Luna tried not to think about the impact of the secret she told Apollyon about.

If Apollyon still wanted to stay with her and remained as his vampire mate then good.

If not… Luna wouldn't know what to do.

She trusted that Apollyon would still accept her even if he was already dirty in his eyes, fornicating with an impostor.

Luna had to give him freedom just like how he had given her because that was how love was supposed to be—giving each other freedom to stand on their own while still giving them loving support from a distance to keep them going especially if they were having a hard time.

Apollyon and Luna were together for a reason—so that they would learn how to better themselves as a person and not to be codependent on the other as a couple.

She hated waiting for a long time as this impending doom settled over her like a storm cloud that wouldn't leave but for her husband, she would be right here where she left him even if she collected dust in this cabin.

Apollyon had waited for her for years while she was in Hell so why she can't do the same?

Luna should have to endure it even if the outcome was bleak.

She loved him, after all.

Now, she just had to stop thinking altogether.

Luna's lips curved upward as she shifted to the side, facing the smattering of white stars in the ink-black heavens.

The black cat meowed thrice when she dropped from her stomach to the bed.

It was a blatant complaint about shifting the black cat from its fixed position.

Nevertheless, the cat opened its golden eyes wide and blinked before it laid its head on the mattress.

Looking back, the 'past Luna' would have been so insecure if this happened to her early in the relationship.

That girl couldn't handle a simple problem when it came to Apollyon, how much more if she encountered this kind?

She noticed too late that there was something wrong with her, and her recent interactions with her husband brought that realization to light.

Why would she think that everything and everyone was out to destroy her when they haven't done anything yet?

Nothing can destroy her if she wouldn't let them devour her whole.

Was she so cautious and distrustful of other creatures that she kept others at a distance?

A tear fell down the inner corner of the eye as it clung to the lashes of her other eye.

Once her tear ducts started to open, her teardrops were like twin dams that couldn't be stopped as she cried in silence.

Was she shifting the blame on the people around her because she couldn't trust herself to regulate her emotions when dealing with pain, agony and betrayal?

Was it imperative for her to live in survival when there was no need to put her walls up all the damn time especially to her husband who only wanted to help her?

If that 'past Luna' was still in there somewhere inside her, that distrustful girl would have run after Apollyon to explain, to fight and to argue until the sun went down, telling him that she was only a victim of her circumstances and Apollyon have no right to express his anger to the situation because it wasn't her fault.

Luna exhaled as she buried her face in the soft pillow.

If she thought about it, Luna had changed so much because of her experiences.

That suspicious girl was still a part of her but she wasn't the same girl, anymore.

She didn't change but she wasn't the same either.

The deafening silence in the area vanished bit by bit if she relished at the sound of the chirping crickets, the howling of the cold breeze and the occasional hoots of the owls clinging to tree branches.

She fought the urge to turn to the other side.

Luna had done that a few times earlier but her mind didn't want to listen.

Still, she looked over her shoulder.

Apollyon was right that she was a masochist, craving the thousands of needles prickling her heart when the sickening reminder accede her mind with silence and madness that her husband wasn't home yet.

How many times had she told herself that staring blankly at the empty space wouldn't make her husband return faster?

He can only return only if he wanted to and she couldn't control that.

Luna closed her eyes as she let her muscles relax, listening to the lulls of the creatures in the night.

She began to lose the awareness of her surroundings as sleep embraced her in its peaceful arms but three loud knocks on her door jerked her awake.

The knocks were so strong that she thought someone was fighting with the thick wood.

Bringing the blanket with her to cover her skimpy nightclothes, Luna got up from the bed to open it but it's too late.

Her husband, who reek of potent spirits, fire and blood, destroyed the door of their house.