Blood Moon

Chapter 11: Shades of the Blood Moon

~ As I succumb to the darkness I find peace in the Blood Moon ~

"What the fuck!" Ryan shouts as my face meets the ground. I look up and watch as both werewolves swiftly flee the scene. I rise to my feet  and hold out a hand for Steven to take. "You..." he starts, looking down at his torn up old trainers. "Didn't have to do that for me" he finishes, finally looking up to make eye contact albeit very briefly. 

"How long has this been going on?" I ask, rather concerned for his well being. Why would werewolves pick on a human? Isn't it supposed to be against the rules or something? Steven hesitates for a moment, lost in thought. "Since, like forever" he answers quite hesitantly. "There's a first aid kit at the diner... your lip is..." he trails off gesturing towards my split lip. Yeah, I figured it would be bleeding...

We both make our way to his mother's diner in complete silence, moonlight being the only light to guide us along the dark unlit streets of Elmbrook. Once we arrive at the barren town centre Steven takes out his keys and opens the door at the front of the restaurant. After turning on the lights he guides me to sit at one of the tables. He leaves me there momentarily as he goes to get the first aid kit from a room out back. 

We sit in stillness; not bothering to make small talk as we help one another clean our wounds. Thankfully, we only have a few minor cuts that hopefully shouldn't take too long to heal. "What did they take from you back there?" I inquire, breaking the silence. "Just money" he says, looking down as he fidgets with his fingers. "Why did they take your money?" I attempt to pry, wanting to understand why they're targeting him. "Just 'cos, it's whatever" he mumbles quietly. Goddess, it's like drawing blood from a stone.

Silence overcomes us once more. I sigh internally, realising that I'm not going to get any answers out of Steven today. The sun begins to shine through the windows, startling me. Oh my days, it's morning already? How long have we been sat here? I say my goodbyes to Steven and hurriedly make my way back to the safehouse to get ready for the impending school day. 

Once back at the house I rush upstairs to have a shower and get changed. While on autopilot I realise something - I didn't put my contacts in earlier before leaving for some fresh air. He couldn't look me in the eye anyway so I should be fine... right? He wouldn't have noticed, right? Surely not. I quickly get changed and grab the book Mr. Boucher gave me during my English Literature lesson yesterday. I then make my way downstairs and into the kitchen where Rue and Scarlett are eating breakfast. 

"Where's Kyra?" I ask, taking note of her absence. "She's not woken up yet. I mean it's understandable, she's an Omega and only 13 years old so Fenwick trying to force his way in must've hurt her pretty badly" Rue explains, passing me a croissant from a brown paper bag that Jacques probably dropped off earlier while I was out. I take a seat next to Scarlett at the table and begin to devour the flakey croissant. 

"What happened to your lip?" she queries, taking notice of the cut on my mouth. "I walked into one of the columns that's all" I reply, sounding unsure of myself. She shakes her head, clearly not buying my blatant lie but doesn't inquire any further. 

"Here, you left this in the hallway yesterday" she says as she chucks me over a black backpack. I quietly thank her as I throw my book in as well as a small packed lunch. I then take my little sister's hand in mine and make my way towards the local elementary school. I drop her off and then make the short trip from there to the high school. 

I walk through the entrance of the school, taking a deep breath and making a mental note to avoid Hunter at all costs for the sake of my sanity. Then, chaos ensues. Everyone seems to be rushing somewhere all of a sudden. Class doesn't start for another 15 minutes. I stare at the swarm of frenzied students, confused out of my mind. Where is everyone going?

Curiosity getting the better of me I decide to follow the crowd. I manage to overhear a couple of students whisper about the sports hall on my way there but am unable to make out anything else. What's going on in the sports hall? 

I walk into the large, spacious hall now packed and cramped with students all whispering amongst one another. I peer through the gaps of the crowd to see two figures. Unable to make out what is going on I walk along the back lines of the throng. Spotting Noah's towering figure peeking above everyone else, I push my way through to meet him in the middle of the gathering of curious students. 

I gasp, now able to see clearly. Ryan lays helplessly on the floor as Hunter beats him repeatedly from above. Why are they fighting? Before I know it Hunter's figure is slowly replaced with Cain's and Ryan becomes Talon. The crowd all disappears leaving me alone in the basement with my brother and our tormentor. I shake my head from side to side, tears beginning to pour from my eyes as I watch on in horror. "No..." I whisper, my voice starting to quiver. My heart begins to accelerate and my inhales become short and sharp.

I can't move. Why can't I move? I have to stop him! I have to stop him from hurting my brother! But I can't... "Cain... stop-" I murmur, my shaking turning violent. "Cain-" 

I begin to stumble as my vision goes in and out of focus. As I start to fall I feel strong and firm arms wrap around my waist, catching me. I peer up, staring into glowing eyes the shade of deep coppery red, just like the Blood Moon. My breath returns to normal as I am captivated by the hues of red and orange that swirl within his eyes. Any pain, any fear, any worry that I have dissipates in his presence. "Blood... Moon-" I say breathlessly before succumbing to the darkness. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's note

How exciting! I wonder who has eyes reminiscent of the Blood Moon?!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As of right now I plan to release 1-2 chapters every Friday. Any feedback both positive and negative will be greatly appreciated. This is my first time writing a story like this so I hope that it turned out alright.

Thank you for reading!

Yours,

xgwenux