𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒 || ᴛᴀᴇᴋᴏᴏᴋ

Chapter five

Jeongguk waited. He didn't look at her ; he couldn't meet her eyes. He waited for a response but she didn't seem to move. A moment of dead silence passed. Both seemed to be holding in their breath, then suddenly Lisa threw herself on him and nearly knocked them both down the bed. Jeongguk exhaled a deep breath and embraced her back.

"It's alright, Jeongguk. It's alright" she spoke in such a soothing whisper, that Jeongguk broke into tears. He sobbed silently, and held onto her tightly. "It's okay, I'm proud of you, Duri is proud of you. And I'm pretty sure your mom is too" she said. Mom. Jeongguk remembered the vision and it only pained him more. His mom didn't deserve her death. It wasn't her fault he was born like this. It made him think it was his fault.

"You cried too much. You haven't eaten, gukkie, you're draining yourself" she said and slowly pulled away. Jeongguk wiped his tears and chocked back another sob.

"I'm not hungry," he said and Lisa sighed again. "No, you need to eat it's been a day" she insisted and stood up. Jeongguk couldn't protest as he watched her move away. She stopped near a table a few feet away from him and grabbed a closed bowl. She removed the lid and walked towards him. "Here, I made chicken noodle soup for you" she said and placed it on his lap and sat down near him.

"Thank you" he mumbled and lifted the spoon to his lips with shaky hands. The soup was still warm and the noodles were perfectly cooked. Which surprised him since Lisa wasn't a good cook at all. He decided to not comment on it and ate the soup, quietly. Lisa too remained silent and watched him with careful eyes.

At one point her staring made him awkward. So, he set the bowl down and wiped his lips. Lisa watched him expectantly and he turned to face her. "I'll tell you everything that happened" and so he did. He filled her in all the details and all the visions and he ended the story with both of them crying.

"Oh my goddess, I'm so sorry gukkie" Lisa said with a hand over her mouth, tears falling down rapidly. "You don't deserve this" she sobbed. Jeongguk choked back his tears and wiped them. He was tired of crying. He needed to be strong. The moon goddess had said something about ruling Lupine and killing people. If he really was gonna do that then he needed to pull himself together.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. There is nothing wrong with me. There had to have been a reason for this" he said, although he himself didn't believe half of the words. Why would this happen? There was no logical reason. His mother died for what? Where was his father? He had so many questions and his brain couldn't think of any answer.

"Jeongguk! Oh my beautiful Venus, you're awake!" Duri ran in the room. She knelt down on the floor and cupped his face. She looked like a mess. Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were dirty. Her eyes and nose were brimmed red and she had tears pouring out of her eyes.

"Ma!" He managed to not break down again. But he was so glad to see her, that he collapsed onto her. She cuddled him tight, and kept him as close to her as possible. "I'm so happy to see you" he said. She rubbed her hands up and down his back.

"Me too, Venus, me too" she said, calling him by his nickname. Jeongguk wasn't sure how he felt about that name. "We have so much to talk about" she said after a moment of silence. Jeongguk pulled away from her and both of them stood up, after collecting themselves. Lisa followed their actions. Duri turned to Lisa and spoke.

"Liz' I want you to go and rest. It has been a long day for you" she used her Luna voice. Lisa looked like she wanted to protest but instead nodded and left the room. Duri, then looked at Jeongguk and said "come with me, we need to talk" she then walked off and he had no choice but to follow.

They went to her office in the main den and Duri handed him a moon flower. "Eat it, you will feel better" she said and he ate it and instantly he felt a wave of relief and energy wash over him. Moon flowers helped werewolves to regain energy during battles, whether physical or mental. But it also could not be found easily. Those flowers only bloomed once a year and the location changes every year. But their pack had luck and always managed to find the flowers every year. They harvest it and keep it stored in a small shed with an open skylight for the moonlight to pour in, so the flowers don't wilt.

"Alright, so as I was resting I had a dream. The moon goddess appeared again" Jeongguk leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes. Duri noted his grimace but kept her face neutral. "But before I tell you what it is, I need to tell you about the first dream. We couldn't talk about it properly" Jeongguk nodded and she continued.

"So, the goddess told me that I had to tell you about your real identity, which I did. Then she said that you have a journey ahead of you, with Aegis and your wolf and also someone else. She didn't mention who, but I have a suspicion. You are also allowed to take someone you know with you for this quest" she said and paused. Jeongguk took that time to register her words.

"What is this journey about?" He asked. He knew who he was going to take with him but he had to make sure this wasn't going to be a dangerous quest.

"Well, I am not sure. She didn't go into detail but you are to visit the kingdom Narva, something about a warlock who can help you" she ended it with a sigh.

"A warlock?" Jeongguk voiced out. "Is this person dangerous?" He asked. Duri averted her eyes to the window then back at him.

"To be honest, there are only a few warlocks still present in our world. Most are dangerous but some are friendly, still we can't be sure which one you will be encountering" she explained.

"That's all about the dream?" Duri nodded to his question. "Yes, that's all she said that day, but I needed more answers so I tried to summon her today while you were sleeping and I was told to rest" she sounded guilty about it and Jeongguk could understand why.

"You should've just rested" he said and she sighed. "I know, but I couldn't just let you go without some clarity" Jeongguk didn't say anything just hummed. She took that as a sign to continue.

"Surprisingly, she came. Then I asked her where you could find the warlock, but she didn't answer my question, instead told me that you need to give Aegis your bracelet and let him off to the forest" Jeongguk interrupted her with a "why?" Duri continued "she said Aegis will bring you your partner who will help in this quest" she finished.

"I thought I could choose my partner" he countered. Duri nodded, "yes, but like I said there is someone else too. One person who you choose and the other who the goddess chose". She explained.

"Is that all?" Jeongguk asked and when Duri nodded, he stood up. "I need some time to think and prepare" he said and walked out. He heard Duri say one last thing to him before he closed the door.

"You will leave tomorrow noon, but only after we have another talk".

•♡•

I'm sorry for not updating last week. But I'm so thankful for all the readers reading this story. Thank you so much! Please leave comments and votes💜