Tears of the Moon

Samhain Thrills and Kills

The wind whispered through the nearly barren tangles of branches overhead, making them rattle and moan before the waning gibbous moon. Dull and shriveled leaves shivered against the chilling touch of the breeze, until their weak grasp on their tragically ephemeral lives succame to death's cruel hand, pulling them from the twigs and across the darkened skies, then forever down into quiescent slumber. And like the leaves, I too shivered in the breeze.

Haiden's fingers were interlaced with mine as we strolled hand in hand through the ghoulishly decorated forest. Candle shrines left to honor the dead embellished the bases of elden trunks, casting eerily flickering glows and eldritch shadows dancing through the trees. Carved pumpkins wickedly grinned on the ground, sheet ghosts sinisterly swayed from strings, and a variety of animal bones laid unburied all around. I smiled up at my mate, taking in his festive appearance.

Two thick french braids wove their way back from his temples to meet in a high half-up hairstyle, with little bone beads threaded throughout a few smaller braids dangling over his shoulders. Sharp black eagle talons menacingly curved down from his earlobes and draped upon a thin black leather cord around his neck. He wore black smudging around his eyes and black attire with hints of blood-red trimming, giving him an overall gothic Halloween vibe.

Hot damn, he looks sexy...

Tiny twigs and crispy leaves crunched beneath our feet as Haiden smiled back while leading me over to an old gnarled hemlock tree. The thing was freaking massive, stretching its thick and irregular evergreen branches up to the ghostly clouds which ominously floated across the moon. Its aged and mossy roots slithered down from the trunk like coils of serpents seeking the soil, frozen in time as they writhed in agitation. 

"This is the one." His deep voice murmured as he gently tugged on my hand, silently asking me to kneel with him before the tree. 

I fanned out the base of my black dress as I knelt, with my equally black leggings protecting my knees from the dirt. He solemnly placed a darkly ornate wooden box he was carrying upon one of the twisted roots, making it glow in the moonbeams. The mumbles of other pack members echoed in the distance and a couple of owls were hooting back and forth to one another.

"Wow... This tree is incredible." I placed my dainty hand on the tree's rough flakey trunk, practically feeling its ancient wisdom whispering just beyond the bark. "How old do you think it is?"

He shrugged, making the little bone beads threaded through his hair clank. "At least six hundred years. Hemlocks can live nearly a millennia." His clawed fingers unlatched the top of the box with a click. "I like this one because it's always felt strangely familiar. Like an old friend." He softly laughed while gazing up at the mighty trunk. 

Then just as the moonlight kissed his handsome features, he leaned over and lovingly pressed his lips to mine, pulling my body flush against his warm frame. The chilling breeze grievously twirled through our hair while our lips passionately danced upon one another. My hand gently squeezed his bicep and he threaded his fingers through my dark tresses. Strange and frightening feelings of affection fluttered within my heart as I slowly fell prey to his deadly charms. 

With a faint growl, he nipped my lower lip and smiled out of the kiss. His feral eyes softly glowed with a crimson hue, filled with an overwhelming amount of devotion and fondness for me. "Te iubesc, my mate." He whispered his native proclamation of love with a tender tone that seemed to warm my soul.

Shadows from the trees marred the moonlight as they flickered over my face. I bit down on my tongue, feeling the need to return the affectionate words. Yet, I wasn't sure if I could or should. My brows knitted together as I briefly pondered my feelings for the giant bozo, wondering if I did in fact love Haiden in return, and so soon at that. Or was it just the mate bond messing with my mind? The full moon had risen only a few days prior, and I thought back to the way I'd been tormented with fear and worry all night. And the relief which had swelled within my heart upon seeing him finally emerge from the woods and into the glittering morning light.