Black Moon

chapter one

Anna was sipping on her café au lait and reading the newspaper. Her large black sunglasses covered her tired eyes as she took in the text. The journalist wrote about the murder that had happened during the early hours, and the signs pointing to a possible wolf running loose in the streets of Paris. As she gazed around her surroundings, she saw signs that the police was taking the threat seriously. There were more men, and women, patrolling the streets than she had seen before. But no human without knowledge of the unknown could guard against the creatures of the night. Werewolves.

Anna knew it had to be a werewolf committing the second murder this week, for more than one reason. As the journalist had written, both victims had died by a brutal bite to the neck. What baffled the humans, however, was that the wolf seemed to have a moral compass and intelligence enough to pick out the people to kill. Both of the victims had abused young girls, and would have killed them themselves if the wolf hadn't interfered. There were already small groups of people protesting the order to kill the wolf, calling the murders a work of god and the wolf a vessel for something divine.

She closed the newspaper as she heard someone approach, but did not make any other sort of effort to greet them. The middle aged man sat down on the vacant seat in front of her, and stared at her for a while before opening his mouth.

"I have what you asked for."

Anna looked at him then, and took off her sunglasses. If the bags under her eyes shocked him at all, he didn't say anything. She picked up an envelope from her purse and handed it to him.

"Your payment." Anna said. "Are you sure the Alpha won't bother me?"

He took the envelope and handed her an identical in return.

"No, he shouldn't. You have not disrupted the peace, and Paris is a large city. What worries me is your next destination."

She turned away from him, watching the people walking by the cafe. They all looked so peaceful, and clueless.

"I can take care of myself. No Alpha has stopped me before."

"Then I'm afraid that you are underestimating the danger." He said, looking at her with a serious expression.

"We'll see."

She rose from her seat, and without a goodbye, she left him. Anna had no other reason to stay and chat with him, and she had learned the hard way that playing nice only wasted time. It was sad actually that her personality, once full of life and colour, had dulled out to a light shade of grey. Now, even a smile drained her energy. Maybe it was the insomnia, or maybe it was something else.

On the way to her hotel, she took a long detour to shake of possible pursuers. Even though the man she had met earlier had told her that she hadn't disturbed the peace, she knew that no rogue was safe while the murders were happening. If the Alpha wanted a scape-goat, Anna would be the obvious choice. A rogue from out of city who just happened to show up when the murders began. Her only chance was to get out of Paris fast.

Half an hour later, Anna arrived at her hotel room and quietly closed the door. She wasn't in a hurry, but she wanted to pack her bag quickly so that she would have time to spare before her flight left. Since Anna travelled light, it only took five minutes before she was finished. Brushing her teeth, she hopelessly stared into the mirror. She looked drained – her skin dull, the hollows of her cheeks prominent, and the bags underneath her eyes were not to talk about. But, there was nothing she could do. On the few occasions she did manage to sleep, she never felt energised when she woke. Anna feared that she would collapse soon.

Maybe it was her drowsiness that had worsened her hearing, but when a knock sounded on her door she was surprised. Anna had heard no footsteps approaching, which either meant that she hadn't been listening that well or that the person behind the door didn't want to be heard. When they knocked again and called out "Room service!", she was sure that it was the latter.

Working quickly, she gathered her bag and walked to the window.

"I'm coming!" She yelled toward the door as she threw her belongings out of the window. She hoped that her words would conceal whatever noise they made as they hit the ground. With a final look back toward her room, she jumped out of the window and landed softly. One of the perks of being a supernatural. As swiftly as she could, Anna jogged toward the crowded street by the side of the hotel, trying to shake of any possible follower. Her best chance was to get to the airport quickly, and she hoped that her escaped had confused whoever had been at her door. The most possible explanation was that the man she had bought her plane ticket from thought that he would benefit more from telling the Alpha about her plans to leave. The Alpha had then probably decided that it would be better to get rid of the rogue on his territory, and a possible killer too.

With her duffel bag in one hand, she tried to hail a taxi with the other. She felt a little anxious just standing on the street, but as a taxi stopped in front of her she stopped fidgeting. It was the second time she had come close to being caught and even though the European werewolves weren't as hard on rogues, she knew that the murders that had happened during her stay would be blamed on her.

"To the Charles de Gaulle airport please." Anna said to the driver. He nodded in response and then they were on their way. She saw the streets pass by in a blur, together with all the tourist sights she had wanted to see. But she was not on a holiday – she was only passing by country after country. Her situation allowed for no pleasure visits, only distractions.

When they arrived, Anna payed the fee and walked quickly toward the entrance. She wanted to get to get through security fast in case someone had insisted on following her to the airport. If the man had told the Alpha that she was leaving, he had probably told him where, too. Anna could either buy a new plane ticket, or just hope for the best. The problem with the former was that she would have to use her fake alias, an alias that Kataleen and Simon knew about. Even though they were miles away in America, helping Arthur run Shadow Pack, she knew that her brother and her best friend would be looking for her. Maybe not intently, but she was sure they would be notified if she booked a ticket. Between facing an Alpha or her family, she would choose the former every time. At least the way she was feeling right now. She had run away for a reason, and she didn't know if she ever wanted to come back. She missed them, but her own demons were stronger than the feeling of longing.

So Anna did what she thought was best, and walked toward the check-in.

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here is the newest chapter, wey! thoughts?

i'm not really sure about how i feel about this chapter, because i really don't think it is the best. i have such an writer's block :-/. anyway - thank you for reading, and thank you for the votes! i can't wait to see what this book has in store.

- emma ♧