Marceline pounced on Raizel, causing him to fall back.
Grrrrr!
Marceline was on top of Raizel as she was pinning him down. Her claws were pressed against his shoulders, holding him in place. Marceline revealed her sharp teeth as she faced Raizel. Her body was so big and Raizel couldn't move his hands because of her weight.
Growl~ [ "Where is Kira! Tell me where he is." ]
But Raizel just continued sneering at her with his mocking eyes.
"You and Kira could never be together. Stop dreaming Marceline. A werewolf has no place in our Clan. You can't deceive him again." Raizel struggled against her. He was pushing her but Marceline pressed him on the ground further.
Marceline moved her head down to bite Raizel's shoulder but at the last second, she changed her mind. She just stared at Raizel's face, meeting his gaze.
Growl~ [ "I'm different from you. I will not hurt you, Rai. You are important to Kira. And I know you won't do anything to harm him. He will show up. And he will be the one to stop you." ]
After saying that, Marceline finally let go of Raizel. She allowed him to stand up, without harming him.
Growl~ [ "Leave our kingdom now. This is my last warning." ]
Marceline could tell that the werewolves were still fighting the vampires from the other side of the palace.
"You are so naive, Marceline. There will never be peace in this kingdom… unless Dominique Silvano will step down from the throne." Raizel said meaningfully.
[ "Go take your vampires with you. Kira and I are working on the peace treaty. I will not allow my father to intervene." ]
"You can't control him. He is a cunning werewolf. He is willing to sacrifice his family just for power. He is greedy!" Raizel said through his gritted teeth. "He used his mate to deceive our King, Kira. I won't be surprised if he will use you again to defeat Kira."
[ "I will protect Kira with my life. I can assure you that. I'll give you my word." ] Marceline's words were filled with emotions and sincerity. Raizel could tell that Marceline was not lying. And for the first time, Raizel was moved by her words. He was slowly being swayed by her.
Raizel didn't say a word. He was trying to assess whether he made the right decision of sealing Kira and putting him into a deep slumber.
Raizel was about to turn around and leave when Marceline spoke to him again.
[ "Even if you don't want to believe Kira and me… There is someone powerful on our side who is in favor of the peace treaty. The Moon Goddess! She is back." ]
Raizel's eyes widened when he heard that. He turned around to face Marceline once more. Her amber eyes were filled with hope.
"The Moon Goddess? She is back…" There was a hint of disbelief in his eyes.
Marceline nodded her head. [ "I saw her. I talked to the Moon Goddess. Join us, Raizel. We need to help each other for the peace treaty between our clans. The vampires will listen to you." ]
Marceline continued convincing Raizel. He was still shaken by this discovery. The Moon Goddess showed up. He wondered if Marceline was bluffing. However, he could feel conviction in her every word. There was no way she was making up a story.
[ "Please, reconsider it again. Think it over, Rai." ]
Raizel stood frozen in his spot. He was still undecided. He didn't expect that Marceline would make him waver. The all-out war was their idea. Victoria and Raizel already agreed that there was no turning back.
"If the Moon Goddess truly cares, she should have stopped the war a long time ago. Why did she let us suffer for a thousand years? My fellow vampires suffered under werewolf cruelty and slavery. She never showed up… to help us. The Moon Goddess had forsaken us… She abandoned us… my vampire clan."
"I don't want to believe her. We will no longer worship her. She abandoned us a long time ago… Where was she when she was supposed to maintain the peace in this kingdom? Even if she came back, she was already too late…" Raizel expressed his resentment towards the Moon Goddess.
Unknown to them, the moon fairies were there, watching and listening to everyone's conversation. The Moon Goddess sent them to monitor what was happening in the palace. By now, the Moon Goddess was listening to Raizel. She couldn't blame him if he resented her that much.
Marceline and Raizel were still in the middle of their conversation when Victoria communicated with Raizel through their mind link.
'Raizel, can you hear me? We have to leave now. We accomplished the mission. It is time to retreat.' Victoria was near their location. But she had no idea that Raizel was talking to Marceline.
The vampires were leaving the palace one after another. They pulled back after they got what they needed.
Getting Victoria's cue, Raizel began to move. This was not yet the right time for the finale battle between the werewolf clan and the vampire clan.
"I will go all out the next time we meet. It will be the final battle of our clans," Raizel said before disappearing from Marceline's sight.
Marceline felt a little bit disheartened. She failed to convince Raizel. And she just learned that Raizel was keeping Kira somewhere. She needed to find him.
Without further ado, Marceline ran inside the palace to look for her mother and father. She wanted to make sure that her parents were trying to rescue the wounded warriors. She could smell blood everywhere. Many casualties!
It did not take long before Marceline reached the palace hall. Many werewolves assembled there. Some were treating their wounded comrades. The witches began to build a barrier so that vampires couldn't enter the vicinity of the palace. Other werewolves were roaming around to hunt the remaining vampires.
Marceline shifted back to her human form and grabbed the curtain nearby. She wrapped it around her body as she approached her father and the elders. They were having a serious discussion and Dominique's expression didn't look good. There was a frightening aura surrounding him.
"Father… what's wrong?" Marceline asked Dominique.
"Your mother… she was taken by the vampires."