Moon's Crescent (Book One)

Seventeen: Dad Pt. 2

***Crescent's P. O. V.***.

We're going to see my daddy today! Moon says he doesn't believe he's my real dad, but I think he is.

"Don't be disappointed if this doesn't work out, okay?" Moon says.

"But it will work out!" I insist.

He makes his lips into a thin line. He really should be more positive! I think he'd be a lot happier if he was.

Moon lets me ride on his back on the way to the hospital. I love it when he carries me this way! I feel a little nervous as we go up the elevator to the room my dad is staying in, but overall I'm excited. Moon opens the door without even knocking. He is kind of rude sometimes. . .

My heart skips a beat when I see the man laying in the bed. He looks so beaten up that tears come to my eyes. He looks kind of scared.

I wiggle a little to let Moon know I want to go down. He crouches down so I can get off. I walk hesitantly up to the bed, Moon following protectively behind. I sniff the air as a nice, cinnamon-y smell hits my nose. This man has to be my dad! He wouldn't smell so good if he wasn't.

"Is it true you're my dad?" I ask, leaning in towards the man.

His eyes fill with tears, "I can't believe it's you. I've been looking for you for so long."

I flinch as he reaches out to touch my hair, but I soon nuzzle my head into his hand. Moon's tenseness radiates throughout the room.

"Daddy, what happened to you?" I ask after a couple minutes.

"You shouldn't worry about it. The people that captured me roughed me up a little, that's all," he replies.

"Oh," I say, wrinkling my forehead. "I found my mate, Dad! Isn't that exciting?"

"Who is it?"

"Him!" I exclaim, pointing to Moon.

He looks surprised at first, but then he says he's happy for me.

***Moon's P. O. V.***

I don't know what it is about this guy, but I just don't trust him. I found out on his paperwork that his name is Medianoche, which means Midnight in Spanish. Even his name doesn't seem trustworthy to me, but I have no idea why.

Crescent and his "dad" talk for another hour before I insist on going home. I'm bored, and tense because of my distrust.

"Come on, Crescent," I urge. "We're going on a date tonight, remember?"

"We are?" he asks, his eyes wide.

We didn't actually have a date planned, but that's how badly I want to get out of here. Besides, since he's been marked now our marks could start glowing at any minute, telling us to hunt together and then mate. I feel like we should get to know each other better before then.

"Yes. Now let's go," I say confidently.

"Okay. . . Goodbye, dad! I'll come back soon!"

Medianoche smiles and replies, "Alright. See you then."

"See ya!"

I nod at the man in the bed and crouch down so Crescent can get on my back. As we head down the hall, I call Miss Sinclair and tell her to have a car ready.

"So where are we going?" Crescent asks, excitement radiating from him.

"Um. . ." I try to think quick. "I know of a really fancy restaurant we can go to, and then we can come back home and swim in the pool. Your mark should be healed enough to do that."

"Yay! I'm so happy, Moon! Thank you!"

"No problem, squirt."

~~~~~~~~~~

He insists on cuddling up to me in the back seat of the car as we go to the restaurant. My driver occasionally glances back at us, and I can sense him fangirling. Why do people think that a big tough guy in a relationship with a little cute guy is so adorable? I just don't see it.

The Italian restaurant we're going to is a werewolf friendly place. There's a. . . curse, I guess you could say, on it that prevents humans from coming.

"Greetings, Alpha Moon. Hello, Luna Crescent. Table for two?" the host asks.

"Yes. Thank you," I say monotonously.

We sit down and Crescent immediately starts chowing down on breadsticks. I notice he's having trouble grabbing them with his hands.

"You wanna come sit on my lap and I'll feed you, Koala?" I ask, surprised as my own kindness. Must be my wolf talking.

He grins, "Yes! Thanks, Moon!"

"No problem," I mutter.

He comes over and climbs onto my lap. He opens his mouth like a hungry baby animal and I feed him bites of breadstick. I order chicken scampi, and he orders spaghetti and meatballs. He acts shy while talking to the waiter, burying his face in my chest as soon as he's done.

During the meal, I alternate between taking a bite of my own chicken and noodles and feeding Crescent. We make small talk at first. I learn his favorite color is red, and he's always wanted a pony. He doesn't like dogs, and he likes lava lamps. It's pretty cute hearing him ramble about random things he loves.

"I'm sorry I've been so hard on you," I say suddenly. "I know I've been saying sorry nonstop since you came to live with me, but I really mean it."

"It's okay, you're a good person. I love you a lot! You shouldn't keep apologizing, because I never stay sad or angry at you. It's fine to be a little bit of a meanie."

I chuckle, "Thanks, Koala. Are you done eating? Do you want dessert?"

"Yes, please!" he exclaims, bouncing up and down. "Let's have cake!"

"Whatever you want," I reply.

His face gets ridiculously messy as we eat our chocolate cake. I'm about to wipe it off, but then my wolf makes me do something unexpected. I begin kissing the frosting and crumbs off his face, tasting both him and the dessert. He giggles as I flick my tongue out.

"Stop, that's weird!" he says, laughing.

I laugh and then bite my lip. This is so unlike me. Maybe they're right when they say the gods have the perfect mate picked out for everyone.

~~~~~~~~~~

Crescent finally got some swim trunks, so he can stop swimming in his underwear. They're a little big, so they keep slipping down to reveal his v-line and hip bones.

"I wanna jump in!" he says. "You get in first so you can catch me!"

"Okay," I say, hopping into the water.

I ignore the chilliness of the water and kick my legs to get used to it. As soon as I give a thumbs up, he runs along the cement towards me to jump in. I get worried for a split second, hoping he doesn't trip and hurt himself. He splashes in, and I catch him under his arms. Damn, he's got such hairless armpits.

"Why are you so hairless?" I ask jokingly.

"Why are you so hairy?" he asks, sticking out his tongue.

He spend the next two hours playing around in the pool. I have to hold him at all times, but it's still fun. At the end of the night, I sit on the pool steps, out of breath. Crescent straddles my waist, smiling. I look at his little crooked teeth, loving his little imperfections. When I zoom my face back to see his whole face, he isn't smiling anymore.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

He takes a shaky, slow breath. I start to get really concerned, when he suddenly smashes his lips against mine. He lips his tongue into my mouth, which makes me grunt in surprise. He's being unusually aggressive. He pulls away gasping for air.

"I-I like you s-so much!" he says, breathless.

"And I like you even more."