WHY DOES HE HAVE TWO?

Sixty moons later…

Another winter left the fluffy ground with a thick white blanket of snow, the flakes falling from the clouds shone as the faint rays of the sunset bathed the frozen soil.

"For how long are you going to be here?" Margaret questioned sitting in bed with her book in her hand.

"Why do I have two?" He answered her question with another one without taking his eyes off the falling and melting flakes touching the ground.

"Two what, boy?" She turned another page of her book.

"Two names, I don't understand," he leaned over the window. That has been bothering him and not knowing the answer made him angry.

"Ask who gave it to you. Now let me finish reading my book, I'm in the best part!"

"Another thing I don't understand– why do you like reading these books? They don't even have stickers!"

"They don't need to have stickers, just the good old imagination, which by the way you don't have, "Margaret smiles and turns another page of her romance novel between angels.

"Margaret, Occisor, come eat!" Mary screamed from the kitchen.

Margaret sighed and marked her book, leaving it on the bed. Occisor followed behind his older sister.

Margaret was now a twenty-year-old girl, her long red hair grew down below her buttocks, her eyes were large, a brown like honey and her small mouth adorns her thin and delicate face. But, as they say, anyone who sees face doesn't see the heart, and in Margaret's case, no one saw her fists and her thirst for blood.

Occisor, despite being only five years old, his body appears to be ten years old. His hair was back as the night, his eyes equally black, though again, his understanding grew according to his body and not his age, which was counted in the human form.

Taking care of Occisor as a puppy was not easy; Mary thought that he really was the result of a betrayal and was just a human cub, but soon noticed that she was wrong. She doesn't know why he was born in human form, but now she knows he really is the son of an alpha.

"Was he destined to be an alpha, just as his father was?" Mary wondered when she noticed the cub's strength when he was little. There was no way of knowing; the child to that day never showed his lupino side.

"It smells good!" Occisor said.

"Only you like to eat this thing" Margarets sat in her chair.

The feeding of the three members of the Van Helsing family was totally different. Margaret ate human food; rice, beans, salad, and vegetables. Mary only drank blood collected by the government and Occisor ate almost but not quite raw meat from animals, another proof that he was not a human.

"Mary" Occisor called when he finished his meal.

"Yes."

"Why do I have two names?

Margaret even stopped eating to pay attention to Mary's response. She never told anyone the truth behind the little one's story.

Mary took a deep breath. She knew that he was growing up too fast, and that sooner or later, she would have to have a serious conversation with him about his true past.

"At birth, your mother told me to call you Rudolf, the mighty wolf. To me, that name didn't seem appropriate for you, but out of respect for her I followed her wish. However, I also gave you the name of Occisor. It suits you." Mary said and drank her last sip of blood.

"What does Occisor mean?" he asked even more confused.

"Killer," Margaret answered and finished eating her potato.

"Why would a name that means that suit me?"

"I feel like we'll find out soon," Mary said and stood up from the table, starting to collect the dishes ."The sun has set, better go to sleep," She said and kissed Occisor on the forehead.

"Have a good night," the little one left the kitchen, leaving only Margaret and Mary in the room.

"It's your time to go to bed, too."

"When will you turn me?"

Mary rolled her eyes. Three years ago Margaret decided she wanted to be transformed and since then she asks Mary every single day about it. She wants to be powerful. In her vengeful mind, she needs this strength, if not, she can never avenge her parents and all the humans who died on the hands and for the pleasure of the Lycanthrope monsters.

"Don't make that face, you promised! I've been waiting ten years for this!"

"You still have a lot to enjoy in this life. Meet other people, a guy..."

"I don't want to meet anyone!" she said and crossed her arms over her breasts.

"You love reading novels, don't you want to live one?" Mary wipes her hands on a cloth.

"After we're done with these monsters, maybe."

"And how are you going to live a romance being a corpse? You know we live in this area because the sun can kill me! Do you want to live like this? Stuck in the darkness?"

"If that's the price to pay, yes!" Margaret said.

Mary sighed. For years she has been trying to get this idea out of the young woman's mind, but it seems to be impossible. She's impossible.

Living forever in the darkness, being held hostage of the night, it wasn't a pleasant thing.

But Mary– she's not a pureblood vampire. She was transformed after her father, Julios Van Helsing, sold her to the blood-suckers. Her buyer wanted her to use her as a sex toy, but her human body couldn't take it, so he turned her and forced her to live in the darkness.

"You don't know what you're saying, child!

Mary turned her back, leaving the kitchen.

"I'm not a child!" Margaret cried, and Mary covered her ears. She couldn't talk about that again.

With short steps, Mary walked to Occisor and Margaret's room, opened the door and saw that Occisor was sitting by the window.

"Can't sleep?" she asked, entering the room.

"I'm still thinking. What really happened to my mother?"

"She is now in heaven, my dear, and she asked me to take care of you," she said and embraced him from behind.

"If I... If I hadn't been born, she'd still be alive... I'm a monster, a..."

Mary interrupted him by turning him sharply in front of her.

"Don't say that. Don't ignore everything your mother has done to ensure your survival! She believed the goddess of the moon had a purpose for you!" she said firmly and wiped away the tears that flowed from his eyes to the face of the small and innocent Occisor.

"Who is the goddess?"

"The creator of your kin."

"And what is my kin?"

Mary didn't know what to say. l besides the truth.

"Let's sit down, I think it's time to tell you your true story."

The little boy felt a mixture of euphoria and fear. If she hid the truth until then was it because it was painful? What did Mary keep from him for so long? The question was the only thing on his mind.

He was about to find out.

TEARS OF HATE

At the very moment Mary opened her mouth to begin telling the truth to the young man sitting beside her on the bed, a frosty, strong wind blew opening the wooden windows of the small room in a loud titof, scaring Occisor. Mary rose silently and closed the windows.

Once again she took a deep breath. Though many saw her as a cold, heartless being – as she didn't really have a heart – she cared too much for both Occisor and Margaret. They were her family, and for them she was capable of anything.

"Do you know what a velut luna is?" Mary asked.

"Yes, I read in one of Margaret's books that the female with that title is the companion of the alpha male." he said. He was so smart.

"So you know a lot about the lycanthropes, don't you?" She finally walked again, returning to bed and sitting next to the boy.

"Not much. Margaret said that wasn't a book for my age, I disagreed, but she wouldn't let me read anything else. She's so boring!" He shouted and Mary held the urge to laugh with the little one's sullen face.

"I understand. Have you ever wondered why you like to eat only and almost raw meat?"

"I know why, it's because they're delicious! What I don't understand is why neither you nor Margaret like them." Mary laughed. "Look how strong I am!" he stuffed his chest and crossed his arms, yet in less than three seconds his arms fell, one on each side of his body. "But... What does that have to do with my mother?"

Mary again took a deep breath, and Occisor didn't fail to observe this. Outside the room, Margaret had her ear placed in the door. She also wanted to know the truth about Occisor; all she knew when he arrived was that his mother and aunt had been murdered by the cruel wolves and that Mary saved him from having the same fate.

"She was a velut luna," Mary said bluntly and observed the boy's reaction. Nothing. He didn't say a word, so she continued. "What I'm going to tell you now is not a beautiful story. Are you ready to hear it, or would you rather wait a little longer?"

"I'm ready," he said firmly, but she saw his eyes tremble.

"All right. Five years ago, in a harsh winter, the moon shone brightly in the sky and the velut luna gave birth to a cub. The werewolves, when they generate their proles, they...

They stay in their lupine forms until the cubs reach six months of life, and the cubs only show signs of humanity after those six months," Occisor interrupted Mary and completed her sentence, already losing some of his patience.

"Yes, you already knew that. However, when you were born..."

She stopped for a few moments to look at him. The boy's prying eyes were cloudy.

Does he already know what happened? Mary wondered as she watched him..

"Childbirth forced your mother back into her human form and then you were born, as if you were a baby with only human blood, with no Lycanthropic characteristic.

"Why?" he whispered, but Mary ignored the question.

"Your mother was accused of treason and involvement with the witches to hide the smell of the man with whom they believed she betrayed her mate. The execution took place the same night, but she fought and fled, her sister, your aunt, helped her escape. Your mother and your aunt believed that the goddess had chosen them for some purpose. A luna cimex rebelled against her whole pack and paid the price with her own life. Unfortunately your mother was badly injured and couldn't run anymore. Unable to continue protecting you, she entrusted you to me. The wolves found her and killed her and they hunted for you.

"What... What was my mother's name and my aunt's?" he asked with his eyes closed. He didn't want to cry, not in front of a woman.

"Emerald, that was your mother's name and your aunt was called Ruby."

"How… What were they like?"

Occisor had his eyes closed tightly, the tears wanted to come out at any cost.

"Your mother had long black hair and green eyes. Ruby had reddish brown hair and amber eyes. The two were extremely beautiful, strong and...

"No, they were not!" Margaret finally appeared and opened the door in a bang. "Never will that cursed race be beautiful!" They're all horrible! Cruel! Miserable! They're..."

"Shut your mouth!" Occisor shouted. The burning in his eyes grew even stronger.

"Are you gonna cry? Those bastards left your aunt with an unrecognizable body, trampled her until there was nothing left of her and your mother had her head cut off! They did that to their own kin and they just didn't do the same to you because...

"I said shut up!" This time he released a growl that made Margaret's eyes widen.

"You've got to be kidding me. I don't believe it, Mary!" A tear came down from Margaret's lonely eyes.

"Margaret, listen..."

Margaret didn't listen, she turned her back and ran down the hall. Mary looked at Occisor and decided to let him ingest the whole story, alone. Now she needed to find Margaret.

With her supernatural speed, Mary caught up with her in seconds and turned her around. Seeing the tears in her eyes made Mary sad, she didn't want to see them there. She lied to Margaret saying that Occisor was simply a human baby. But I always knew that sooner or later the day would come that she was going to have to tell the truth and it wouldn't be easy. And it wasn't. Carefully, she lifted her thumb to the young woman's cheeks and wiped away her tears.

"Why did you do that? Why did you lie? He's one of them."

"No, Margaret, Occisor is one of us. He, like you, is a Van Helsing. You're both my children!"

Mary hugged the young woman who cried as if there was no tomorrow. After sniffling a lot, she let go of her guardian's arms.

"What if... If he ends up like those monsters? If he..."

"I'll never be like any of them! I'm gonna kill those monsters! I'll hunt them down one by one, I reject them, just as they did to me, I will do much worse to them!" Occisor uttered every word with his fists clenched and trembling by his side.

Margaret startled, she hadn't noticed the little one's presence. She stared at him hesitantly, but soon any doubt was extinguished from her mind. From Occisor's eyes, tears kept falling, but the firmness in his gaze, the hatred he felt for those who killed his mother was transparent.

"I'm in!"

THE GENUINE ALPHA'S DAUGHTER

The dining table was full. On the dark stone walls of the great hall, every fifteen meters there was a torch lit with the dancing fire on them and the last rays of sunlight illuminated the dining room. The genuine couple was the first to feed, when they were finished, it was the betas couples' turn and then the omega couples'. When the table was practically empty, with not much left, it was released for the last one's meal.

"Now you can help yourself, Bloodstain," ordered the genuine to his cub, who kept her eyes on the table, her mouth salivating and her stomach growling every time she saw someone chew on any piece of meat, but waited patiently for her turn.

"All right, papa."

"I told you not to call me that!" cried the genuine, interrupting the small hand of picking up one of the bones on the table. "Go to your den, you won't eat today!"

"But..."

"You want to get beaten up?" Bloodstain felt her body tremble all over at the murderous look her mother cast upon her.

It has been three days since the little one ate. The first day was because she transformed and ran through the hidden forest, she was caught lying on a tree with large roots that protected her from the snowflakes. The second was because she didn't clean up the blood in the torture room after the genuine one had fun slicing up a middle-aged human, and now this. Tears cascaded through the little girl's almond brown eyes, her belly growling, but the fear was much greater.

"You know I don't like it," Kratos pulled her black hair, almost pulling it out of Bloodstain's scalp, causing immense pain and forcing her to lift her head. "Don't make me lose patience with you, you disgrace!" He shouted and spat in the girl's face, who closed her eyes and swallowed her crying, unable to control some sobs that came out of her mouth without her permission and she knew that this was irritating the genuine even more.

"Sir, she..."

"Stay out of it!" He growled at the luna cimex who tried to intervene on the girl's behalf.

With disgust stamped on his face, Kratos pushed Bloodstain into the ground, banging her head. She was dizzy for a few seconds and felt the blood drip down her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she gathered all her strength and rose from the ground, looked around, and only received looks of disgust and contempt from almost everyone in the hall. The only different look came from the cimex luna called Guila. Bloodstain bowed to the genuine couple and left the dining room. With faltering steps, leaning on the walls, she descended the stairs that lead to the basement of the castle, where her den was. Alone, again. It hurt her, she hated being alone, but loneliness was her greatest companion.

Bloodstain, like the other pack's members, blasphemed against herself, saying that if it were not for her existence, her brother would be alive and would be loved by all for being the next genuine alpha.

Bloodstain didn't die as a puppy thanks to luna cimex Guila, who was the only one who took care of her. Guila was the one who remained in her lupine form to warm and protect the puppy. The hardest part of all of that was when the little one was hungry. The genuine lunam refused to feed Bloodstain; the most she did, and just because it was her mate's order, was to pump her milk and put it in a clay pot.

Guila would wet a cotton cloth with the milk and put it in the little one's mouth, over and over again. She had to do that in her human form, but soon afterwards she would return to her lupine form and nest the little one in her warm fur so that she could sleep peacefully.

The genuine's daughter's den was always cold and not at all illuminated, there was no bed of straw covered with bear skins. There was only the icy floor to lie on, so as not to freeze to death, Gulia could only sleep in her lupine form on the cold floor. When Bloodstain positioned her hands to take off her battered and torn dress, her ears detected the sound of footsteps approaching. It was Guila, the only one who cared about Bloodstain.

"You shouldn't be here..."

"I know," Guila replied softly. She entered the den and sat on the floor next to her. "Here, take it."

From inside the pocket of her dress, Guila pulled out a small piece of dried meat, it was the rest of the food destined for human slaves. But that was better than letting the girl starve to death.

Bloodstain's eyes flashed, she had to control herself too much not to let the drool drip. With eyes fixed on the small piece of dried meat in Guila's hands, she lifted one of her hands and, with her fingers trembling from the anxiety of finally being able to eat something in days, the young woman took it and ate it in just a single bite. It wasn't enough for her hunger to pass and her stomach growled asking for more. It hurt Guila's heart to see her like that.

"Thanks so much, Guila. You saved me as always."

Bloodstain thanked her with her head down and a tear trickled from her eyes. The blood on her forehead was still dripping, but the pain of that didn't compare to the pain she felt inside.

"Why don't you treat me like the others? I know I shouldn't have been born, that because of me, my brother..."

"Don't talk nonsense, girl. The goddess is never wrong. Everything that happens is because..."

"What goddess are you talking about, Guila?" Bloodstain looked at her in confusion.

Talking about the moon goddess was forbidden. Nobody believed in her anymore and the genuine alpha would even kill anyone he saw thanking or talking about the moon goddess.

"The goddess of the moon. It's thanks to her that we exist. She's our absolute goddess, she's the one who dictates our fate," Guila said quietly.

"And why are you almost whispering? You can't talk about it?"

"Your father doesn't like us talking about her."

"Why?"

"You don't have to know now, you just need to know that the goddess has a purpose for you."

"Then why did she let my brother die? She made me born just to be hated by everyone and what's the point in that, Guila? I'm sure she doesn't care about me."

"Stop with this blasphemy. They don't treat you like that because of her! The Lycan race fell into disgrace because they so wished, because they didn't listen to her. They changed their own path. She has nothing to do with the wrong decisions of our kind."

"Then why, Guila? What's the point of living like this? I don't want to suffer any more!" she cried. .

"In time the answers will come, child, one day, I'm sure, the goddess's plans for you will make sense. Until then, don't talk anymore nonsense, and always ask her for protection. She'll listen to you. She's fair!"

"I want to know more about her," Bloodstain said as she wiped her eyes. Her head throbbed, the cut on her eyebrow burned.

"You better transform, so you can heal this wound," Guila said gently and so the girl did.

She got up and took off her dress and transformed; in her lupine form she was still a puppy. Transformed, she was almost the size of Guila's wolf. That was another proof that Bloodstain didn't look any weaker than a cimex luna, even though she was treated worse than one. The girl was a noble Lycan.

Bloodstain lay down beside Guila, who patted her fluffy head.

Bloodstain's fur, in Guilla's eyes, was beautiful, so white. Guila could see beauty even in the small red round patches scattered across the back of the cub wolf in her lap.

On the rest of her limbs, those stains represented her brother's blood. That's why they named her Bloodstain. From Latin, it means bloodstained.

"Sleep, my little one."

Guila said and took the girl's head from her lap. Her heart ached every time she saw the pitiful way in which the genuine's daughter was treated. The girl didn't have any privilege, being treated worse than a servant. And it hurt so much not to be able to do anything. Guila's heart hurt for her. The most she could do was watch and hope that the goddess would rid her of the cruel fate that this poor girl's father had prepared for her.

And the goddess had been watching all along. Her trial was already in progress.