Lured by the Moon

Sebastian steps into the living room, where Atlas would be able to see him once he comes down the stairs.

He could see his older sister, Sarah, who was sitting on the couch as she was sipping the blood champagne. She looks toward him as she wipes her lips, the last trace of blood on the corner of her mouth.

She said in a soft voice, "Sebastian, you're up more than usual."

Sebastian grins, "Well, I have to take a little puppy out to eat."

Her forehead creases as she looks at him suspiciously. "A puppy?"

She crossed her arms as she stood up, leaving the glass on the table. "Which poor girl did you kidnap?"

Sebastian could see a judgmental flashing across her eyes, then her eyes narrowed at the sound of someone coming downstairs. Sebastian turned around as he could, and Atlas was in black clothes that suited him.

His eyes look at the rosy cheeks, where his hair was damp. He must have washed his face. He could see a flicker of apprehension in his eyes toward his sister.

He walks slowly beside Sebastian. He tilts his head as he asks, "Who are you?"

Sebastian grins as he introduces his sister, "That's my sister. You can call her Sarah." Sarah squints her eyes before looking at Sebastian with that same judging look. "Wow. I didn't know you're a pervert."

Sebastian looks at her with a glance that silences her, so she chuckles nervously, "Well, I'll be leaving."

Sebastian calls out before she has a chance to leave the room, "Where are you going?" She crosses her arm as she curls her lips into a sly smile that Atlas was able to catch but didn't understand. "I'm getting some snacks." Oh, she's going to find someone to feed on. Sebastian realized, so he smiles as well, "Don't get home too late."

She waves her hand as she replies sarcastically, "Don't worry about me. You got more things to deal with."

The room was silent for a moment until Atlas spoke up with an annoyed tone. "Can we get something to eat now?"

Sebastian narrows his eyes at him, so Atlas adjusts his attitude with puppy eyes and a respectful tone, not the snobbish he spoke before. "Please?"

Sebastian rolls his eyes before he reaches out to squeeze his cheeks. "Alright. Let's go."

Sebastian walks out, although Atlas lingers behind. He saw something strange from the corner of his eyes—a red liquor in the champagne cup lying on the table.

At first, he thought it was wine. Walking closer, he furrows his brow. Is that b—blood? Lifting up the cup, he recognized that it was blood. Not wine or liquor.

Why is there blood in the cup?!

A thousand questions ran through his mind like a storm, until a voice called out for his name.

His instinct screams to him that he needs to run. Something's not right. He knew that Sebastian isn't an ordinary human. Otherwise, how would he snap that wolf's neck with unnatural speed and strength? Now this, there's blood in the cup.

What's the hell has he gotten himself into?! He felt suffocated and isolated, like he had nowhere to turn to, no one to trust, or where to go.

A flash of purple double pupils appears in his eyes, giving him a sinister aura that makes him look less than a human, yet he looks so lost.

He rubs his head that started aching, pounding, and throbbing that doesn't end. Before the purple double pupils disappeared, the headache went away as if it never happened in the first place. "ATLAS, let's go!"

Atlas was startled by his name being called out again, so he set the cup down on the table in the same place he remembers before, so it wouldn't look like it was moved.

Following the voice out of the room, he found Atlas outside covered in white snowflakes, holding the door for him with furrowed brows. "What's taking you so long?"

He gives a sheepish grin, "Sorry. I was looking at the painting on the wall."

He strode across the hall as he passed him out the door. His heart pounding like a drum; he didn't know why he lied, but something in the back of his mind tells him not to reveal what he had just found.

Sebastian gazed at the boy who was taking too long. Did he just lie to me? His eyes narrow in suspicion.

When Atlas said he was looking at the painting, he could hear that his heart raced ever faster than normal.

Usually a person's heart races faster than normal when they are terrible at lying. Additionally, what painting is he talking about? He doesn't recall any painting in the house.

I'll look into it later.

He thought as he shut the door behind him. He walks next to Atlas, who was walking ahead of him. "It must have been a beautiful painting if it took you so long."

Atlas grins with a nervous smile. "Yeah, it was beautiful."

I know you're lying. There's no painting.

His mind just recalls the incident when he was talking to his sister before Atlas came down the stairs.

His sister was drinking blood out of the champagne cup. Before she left, she left the cup on the table. For anyone to see it.

His heart slowly flutters at the realization. He looks at Atlas, who was looking around him, the trees, bushes, and the snow. He must have found the blood. But does he know what I am?

Atlas's body started to shudder due to the cold. He rubs his arms up and down to seek warmth. Sebastian started to feel uncomfortable; he didn't like the fact he was cold.

With an annoyed sigh, he slowly took off the jacket he was wearing and wrapped it around the boy's shoulder.

Atlas's eyes widen in bewilderment. His lips open in protest, but Sebastian beats him to it before he could say anything. "Don't! I don't want you to get sick. If you get sick, that means I have to buy medicine, which costs money and is a waste of time."

Atlas stares at him with unblinking eyes. "How about you? Won't you get cold?"

At the innocent question, Sebastian didn't know whether to laugh or pity the boy for being naive.

I can't get cold.

Sebastian gives a naughty smile, making Atlas feel nervous, "Little fool, worry about yourself first."