Talking To The Moon | Complete |

Blood Promise

Unknown POV

The cave was dark as I shrugged deeper into the shadows, easing my body closer to the mouth of the opening. Almost there!

"Where do you think you're going, boy?!?" The voice froze me in my tracks as I gasped, whirling on my heel to stare into the face of a monster; the monster was my father, but I refused to claim him, so instead, he was simply my sperm donor. In two strides, he towered over me, breath reeking of alcohol, eyes black, soulless pits of nothing. "Answer me!"

Then, my head snapped sideways as his hand connected with my cheek; it hurt like hell, but I was not about to give him the satisfaction of seeing me even whimper. "I, uh, was going to, uh, see if the Luna and Alfa had, uh, had their baby, sir..."

"And why would you do that?!?" His voice was deathly quiet, the calm before the storm, and sent another shiver racing up my spine; I'd rather he yelled at me. When he spoke in that calm, soft voice of his, I knew to be afraid for my life...

"I, uh, was going, uh, to, uh, be a, uh, lookout for you, uh, sir..." Stammering my answer, I practically shook in fear as his eyes narrowed. "Please, sir, let me, uh, help you..."

His dark, beady eyes glared down at me as he nodded stiffly, gripping my head of long, shaggy hair. "If you even think to screw up my plans tonight, boy, I will kill you." Then, he threw me on the cave floor and stormed out into the night.

Rolling my eyes, I picked my bruised body up from the ground and struggled to hurry after him; I knew enough to stay away from him, but nothing could stop me from seeing to the little Luna's safety, not even my own father...

~000~

His shadow loomed out of the darkness, slicing the light in half; beyond him, through the window, I saw the exact same thing he did: the Alfa and Luna with their newest baby, their only baby girl. Watching them, I knew that I had to protect her- I would protect her- from my father. The little Luna deserved a happy life, and she would get it.

I picked my way soundlessly down the footpath, glad for the cover of shadows that kept me hidden. My sperm donor was more stupid than I, and was sure to move around through the light, trying to scare the Alfa and Luna. But they were strong, and wouldn't shy away from a fight, not if, and especially if, it meant protecting their children and their Pack; I wasn't afraid, either...

I, by any rights, should have been scared, and was for the longest time, until I realized that my sperm donor was nothing more than a coward; he liked to inflict pain on those around him, especially me, simply because he was angry at himself. He was vengeful of the Pack that had betrayed him, thrown him out like a filthy rogue, and was hell-bent on revenge.

About a year before my mother had become pregnant with me, the Laughing Wolf Pack was attacked by a group of rogues; my sperm donor fought for his Pack with bravery and courage until the very end, until he'd been bitten and infected by a rogue. Slowly, the Pack watched the infection eat away at his brain, making him just as crazy as any other rogue out there; he became easily irritable, took to the bottle like a babe to a breast, and even began abusing my mother while she was still pregnant with me. Then, I was born, and something in him- the sane, human part of him- snapped.

In a sudden rage, he'd snatched me from my mother's breast and choked the life out of her between his two hands, the infection having taken over completely; as my mother laid there, dead, he'd thrown me on the ground at his sister's feet and demanded that she somehow keep me alive. His Mate dead by his own hands and child adopted by his sister, he had nothing to live for; perhaps that's the reason he'd stormed outside, Shifted, and torn apart the closest Pack he could find...

He deserved to die. He needed to die. I would end his life, before he could end anyone else's life, let alone the Luna and Alfa's lives; I didn't even have any loyalty to them- I'd never even grown up within a Pack- but to wipe out an entire Pack simply out of vengeance was stupid, and I couldn't allow him to do it. He needed to die.

~000~

Mind made up, a cruel smile not unlike the one that my own sperm donor wore tugged at my lips as I quickly followed behind him on soundless feet; if living with him had taught me anything, it was that I was to neither be seen nor heard. I wonder what my sperm donor would think of that, that I was using the hunting tactics that he had taught me on himself.

Grabbing the nearest branch I found, I continued to pick my way after him, watching the ground for dead twigs or fallen leaves, anything that would tell him I was following him. Finally, he reached the window that looked into the Luna and Alfa's rooms, where they lay curled around their newest bundle of joy with three very curious onlookers; the baby girl's older brothers had been awakened in the night by her crying and had stumbled in to see what all the fuss was about.

Before he could take a single step more, I raised the branch with a slow inhale. It ends tonight. No more would I have to be beaten, or watch out so that I was out of his way; no more would he ever inflict pain on anyone else, or laugh at their misery. No more would the Luna and Alfa have to watch their backs, looking towards the hills for any sign of my father. He was going to die tonight.

As I exhaled, I brought the branch down across the back of his kneecaps, then up in an arc against the back of his head; the bigger they are, the harder they fall. He staggered for a moment, then sank to the ground flat on his face. Not giving him time to even move, I scampered as soundlessly and gracefully as a deer onto his back, straddling him.

The pocket knife that I'd found and kept secret was a reassurance in my hands even as I clutched his long, oily head of hair tight in my hand. With another inhale, I poised the knife at the base of his throat. Then, I happened to glance up, and what I saw froze me in my tracks.

~000~

The Alfa's intelligent, butterscotch eyes locked with mine through the plane of glass as he sat beside his family, not moving a muscle. His eyes were everywhere all at once, seeing me, my sperm donor, and the threat that was obviously present; no more, I couldn't help but think, wishing that the Alfa could somehow pick up on my thoughts. He will die tonight.

As I angled the blade further against my sperm donor's skin, my eyes remained locked tight with the Alfa's; his family hadn't seemed to notice me, which was beyond a good thing. I didn't want any more witnesses than absolutely necessary; I didn't want those precious, innocent children growing up in a world of such darkness that I had already known in my mere 10 years of life.

With a final inhale, I dragged the blade across my father's throat; again and again, until the breath of death slipped from his lips and he stilled beneath me in a puddle of his own blood. No more.

~000~

That night, I swore to be a better man than my father had ever even dreamed to be; I would be courageous and strong, a fighter and a lover, and would protect those that I loved with my very own life.

Gazing through the window at the beautiful baby Luna, I made a solemn vow, written in my own father's blood. "No one will ever harm you, little Luna, not if I can help it; you will never know what a rogue is, or the infection that flows through them. You will never have to look over your shoulder in fear, or worry about anything more than what you'd like to wear that day.

I will always protect you, precious little Luna."