violetperiwinkle: thanks! and I'm glad that you place your bet on this story and not regretting it ^^

teamBLAZE: hmm... that's an interesting take on Allen's behavior hehehe but no spoiler!

Peachie: yeah, sometimes I think so too! (the reincarnation stuff) Thanks for loving them ^^

Rod ran to the town plaza when he noticed the pink head. "Reineeee!" he called, waving excitedly.

"Be careful," Neil reminded him, but went unheeded. Well, Rod had the agility of a gray wolf; he should be fine.

Rod trotted towards Reine and went behind her counter. Reine had learned to just take Rod's behavior in stride; he wasn't bothering her during business, anyway. "Anything I could help you with today, Reine?"

"No, it's okay, I got it."

Rod pouted and Reine couldn't help but to chuckle; somehow, she couldn't get angry at Rod's enthusiasm to help her out. Perhaps it was because she knew he didn't do that out of doubts towards her capability.

When Neil reached his usual spot, Rod helped him to set up the stall while Reine was content with simply watching them. She had heard about Rod's claiming to be previously acquainted with both Allen and Neil while Neil claimed he had never seen a real werewolf before this. Nevertheless, it seemed that they had become fast friends—most probably thanks to Rod never pressing the matter although he seemed to be hurt knowing Neil didn't remember him.

"Hello, everyone!"

They turned around to find Dunhill walking towards them. "Tonight the the Moonlight Festival."

"Moonlight?"

"Yes, we gather at the Festival Ground and watch the moonlight."

"I'll pass," Reine replied without batting an eyelid. "Gwen's not strong enough. Gonna go watch over her."

Unsurprisingly, Rod shuffled on his feet nervously. "Er… I'm sorry, I know this is my first festival and all… but I'll pass, too."

Dunhill smiled sympathetically. "It's okay, Rod. Do you need anything?"

"Just someone to watch over my house," Rod replied. "I'll be back after sunrise."

"I'll do that," Neil volunteered.

"Are you serious?" Rod asked, his eyes bright and hopeful.

"It's just next door, dumbass," Neil snorted, looking away from him. "It's not like I saved your life or anything!"

"But you did!" Rod exclaimed.

"Don't make such a big fuss over simple things," Neil growled.

It seemed to throw Rod off guard, but he quickly composed himself and said, "In any case, thanks man."

That night, the moon seemed to be closer and gloomier. It glowed in broken white—soft but dangerous. Now that the secret was out to them, there was no need to explain why they celebrated Moonlight Festival each month during full moon; Reine still trembled when she thought of what had happened to her and her sister.

What did we get ourselves into… she groaned mentally.

"Reine," Gwen called from their room.

"Yea? You need anything, Gwen?"

Gwen walked out from the room in her nightgown. She had gotten stronger these past few days, thanks to the nagging doctor's assistance; his herbal concoction seemed to work for Gwen, too. Reine was actually wondering how long it would hold together… hopefully, with all this magic theory, this concoction would last long.

"Are you sure you're not going to the festival?"

Reine turned her whole body around. "No, it's okay, I want to stay here."

"It's not because they're… those, right?" she asked carefully.

"To be honest, partly," Reine admitted. "But I'd really rather watch over you, Gwen."

Gwen puffed her cheeks. "I'm a big girl, Reine, I can take care of myself."

Reine smiled and messed Gwen's hair affectionately. "You'll always be my little sister," she said. "Got it?"

Suddenly, they heard something from up above; it was like something was dropped on their roof. "I'm gonna check that out," Reine said.

She walked to the back of the house and took the ladder. She leaned it against the wall and began to climb. A pair of combat boots was the first thing that came into her vision when she reached the top.

"Neil?" she asked. "You know a front door is there for a reason, right?"

"I was about to go down when you came up here," Neil replied nonchalantly. "Where's Gwen?"

"Down, of course," Reine rolled her eyes. "Don't call her up here, it's too chilly."

Neil sat down on the roof. "I guess so…"

Reine climbed up and walked carefully towards him. "What are you doing on our roof?" she asked. "Didn't you volunteer to watch over Rod's house?"

"I can see that just okay from here," Neil replied, his head nodding to the direction of the said building. "I'm just…"

At that time, Reine was already settling down next to him, folding her legs in front of her body and wrapped them in her arms. She looked sideways, at Neil, and watched his features. She had admitted that he was good-looking, but up close, he was dangerously so. Plus, the golden part of him wasn't just his hair—his heart, too, and that's what had really drawn her to him no matter how hard she tried to deny it.

She was falling for him… fast.

"Are you… those kinds, too?" she asked. "You know, getting stronger during full moon?"

"No," he replied. "Just the same."

Inwardly, Reine wanted to believe that he was human; that her story with him—if there was at all—would just be a normal, almost boring, kind of story. Besides his ability to communicate with wolves and his speed, he was so human that she really wanted to…

Kiss him.

She didn't know when he realized that she had been staring at him… from the beginning, perhaps?

"What are you looking at?"

Reine looked at his deep, magenta eyes. For once, she could be grateful to her half-blindness because that cut away the portion of the scenery and allowed her to look at him better. "You…" her reply came softer than she'd admit, even to herself.

This time, under the moonlight, she could see his cheeks turned to a faint shade of pink. "What's there to look at?" he mumbled nervously.

"Everything, dumbass," she replied. "Just… everything."

The next thing she knew was the feeling of his hand on her left cheek; it was warm. His hand travelled up to her eye and she lowered her eyelids slightly and felt his fingers brushed against her eyelashes. He swept her bangs sideways. "I'd rather look at you instead," he said just a moment before she saw him leaning in. She closed her eyes and felt the light pressure on her lips.

It was brief, before he pulled back just as quickly as he had advanced earlier. She opened her eyes and found him, still holding her face. For a moment, Reine found herself asking what was the meaning of this—the kiss—and that this was too sudden, too… accidental?

But, then, she found that she couldn't care less about that. There was her and there was him.

There were they.

She reached out to him, cupped his face in her small, calloused hand, and before he could make a comment on how rough her skin was—if he wanted to in the first place—she leaned forward and kissed him.

Neil pulled her closer and deepened their kiss and that moment he knew that Reine was:

His moonlight, or whatever source of his power was.

His kryptonite, his Achilles' heel.

His life and death.

Was it heat of the moment kind of thing or was it something more?

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

Thanks for reading, please rate and review ^^