Maggie began to recount everything related to Peirene in detail-the Moonlight Forest, her dual vampire and werewolf nature, her partner’s infidelity and betrayal, and her yearning for her cub.
“She only regained consciousness at the very end. She didn’t tell us who she was, only mentioned that she had a prominent status but was betrayed by her partner, exiled to this forest, and left without thoughts, wandering in the shadows. Her partner feared her ambitions and power, so he used a spell to trap her, imprisoning her in that forest. The spell continuously erodes one’s sanity, so only at that last moment did she regain clarity.”
“The last moment?” Grace accurately grasped the key point, her voice trembling. “She died?”
She couldn’t help making a sound.
The last bit of hope holding someone up shattered. What should she do?
“Yes,” Maggie’s voice also gradually lowered. “I wanted to save her desperately, but the spell’s corruption was too deep. I couldn’t do anything. I could only barely restore her consciousness, but I couldn’t forcibly bring her back to the world of the living. By then, about half of her life had already stepped into the underworld; there was nothing I could do.”
“Did she mention Alexander? Hatred or any other emotions? What about Ethan? Did she say she wanted to see Ethan?”
“I think she was probably still concerned about Alexander in her heart. Although she also wanted to question why he betrayed her, she was more interested in asking how he was doing. As for Ethan, she definitely wanted to see him. Ethan is her cub. How many mothers wouldn’t want to see their own child?”
Grace fell silent. She didn’t know if she should tell Ethan this news.
“At least in that last moment, her consciousness was clear. She wasn’t a nameless wandering soul anymore. She could choose to take one last look at her favorite sunset and end her life under it. For her, it was a good thing. At least she no longer had to be tormented by the spell.”
“Couldn’t you take her out of the Moonlight Forest?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. Her body was really weak at that time. Marvin carried her on his back, running quickly towards the edge of the forest, and she had a chance to see the last glow of sunlight in her life. I’m also very sorry. I should have saved her no matter what, but my abilities fell short.”
Grace comforted her softly, “Don’t blame yourself, Maggie. We all know it’s not your fault. If it weren’t for Alexander, none of this would have happened. He’s the one we should blame.”
Maggie was amused, “You’re right; that’s how I see it too.”
“I know I shouldn’t blame you because you have no obligation or necessity to help a stranger. I just… I haven’t figured out how to tell him yet. The hope he’s been longing for is right in front of him, yet he can only watch it shatter. I know exactly what this feels like. How many times have I gone through it myself? Thinking I could get something, so I kept striving for it. Even if the whole world said you were wrong, as long as you thought about that goal, you could convince yourself to continue. Now that rope is gone, and we no longer know what value our lives have.”
Once, her value was placed in the Blue Moon Pack; her worth was measured by what she could achieve for her kin. Only when their hopes materialized did her existence hold value. Ethan’s value rested in finding his mother and gaining his father’s approval; as long as one of these happened, all his efforts wouldn’t be in vain.
Unfortunately, both of their hopes had now been dashed.
“You seem to empathize with Ethan’s background more than I thought. Why? I thought you hated him.”
“I thought I hated him too.” Grace sighed. Human hearts and thoughts sometimes didn’t align. Logic might tell you that this person was a scoundrel, that the terrible things he did were enough for him to die ten times over, yet the heart inexplicably gravitated toward him. “He did so many things that made me go against my principles, but in the end, I still couldn’t truly hate him.”
Maggie hesitated for a moment, unsure if this term was appropriate to describe their relationship. “Isn’t this a bit like Stockholm Syndrome?”
“Stockholm?” Grace hadn’t heard this specific term before. “What does that mean?”
“It’s when the perpetrator inflicts harm and violence on the victim to control them. In such cases, victims, under the dual pressure of physical and psychological factors, actively fall in love with the perpetrator to reduce the harm they might suffer. As long as the perpetrator shows them even a bit of kindness, they sink into their fantasy of an irresistible love for the perpetrator.”
Grace found it unbelievable. “Victims fall in love with their abusers?”
“According to psychology, this falls under risk avoidance. Being an accomplice to the perpetrator is often more beneficial than being the prey. But I think people of this type are generally cowardly, unable to bear the risk. So, they’d rather defy universal values, even betray their own conscience, to help the wrongdoer.”
The logic made sense, but Grace, though not considering herself an extraordinary person, wasn’t the type to be cowardly.
“I guess I’m different from this Stockholm thing. It’s not because he inflicted violence on me that I feel sympathy, maybe more like pity. It’s because when I first became different from a regular werewolf, he accepted me. He reached out to me and asked if I needed help. Although what followed was a nightmare for me, in that moment, I felt that I wasn’t alone anymore.”
The first time Ethan extended his hand to her, she didn’t know what it meant. She only knew that at that moment, she had no retreat, no other options. She stupidly reached out her hand, thinking that no matter what kind of place this was or what evil intentions this person harbored, she had nowhere to escape.
The relationship between them was too complex to be explained in a few words. Grace often looked at Ethan’s face, wanting to scratch it off with her claws, but occasionally, when her nails actually touched Ethan’s skin, she stopped. Just another centimeter forward, and she could shred that face. In the end, she retracted her hand.
Although Ethan often spoke to her with a mocking tone, threatening to kill her if she didn’t obey, pull out her tongue, strip her naked and execute her in the square, he never actually did any of those things.
They maintained a very subtle understanding-hostile yet with a hint of tolerance and tenderness.
“I and him have a kind of mutual understanding, like sitting together on a ship that could capsize at any moment. It’s a feeling I find hard to describe. But it must be different from Marvin. Marvin and I grew up together, and I love him. But Ethan… Sometimes I know it’s wrong, but I can somehow understand him.”
She felt sorry for Marvin, but her wrongdoing toward Marvin wasn’t just about this one thing.
“I know it’s wrong, but I can’t control it. Do you understand, Maggie?”