Moon Bite

20

"What are we going to do out here?" Cerise asked as they all stepped outside the shed and followed Maxy away from it. "Aurum, I want you to imagine yourself as a red, if you ever saw your mother on red fur then think of it, but close your eyes as you do it" Maxy instructed. Aurum was curious but he did what she asked. A moment after Aurum closed his eyes, his fur shifted from gold to red then back again. It took a minute or two for his shift to become stable. "Open your eyes" Maxy softly told Aurum. When he opened his eyes he saw the shock on their faces. "Why? What happened?" he nervously asked. "You're a red Aurum" Aiden told him then Cerise added, "Your fur is golden red, your eyes are bloody red, and your golden mark is showing up." "But should his mark really be gold? Shouldn't it be gray?" Aiden asked which Maxy hesitated to answer. "You seem to know something Lady Alpha, you told us--" "Yes Cerise, I did say, but I'm not quite sure if I should be saying it." Silence. Just silence to let Maxy know that they want her to spill it, anxious as they are, they wanted to know it. "Aurum's younger sibling had the gray mark on his forehead" she told them looking down, she doesn't want to see their reaction. "I see" Aurum chuckled that surprised Maxy. "Thank you, for letting me know that I have no responsibility left to my clan. An heir is an heir no matter what but the mark decides that, exiled, half blood or not" he breathed heavily and shifted back to his original form.

"Now that I'm tied to no fate, I want to tie myself to another that I have chosen" Aurum said and walked towards Maxy. "Let me become one of your pack" Aurum kneeled down in front of Maxy. She got taken aback and just stared at him. She looked at Aiden and Cerise for help and they just smiled at her. She walked towards Aurum and said, "Then I shall accept thee as a member of my family." "I bind myself and loyalty to thee" Aurum said then the middle of his forehead where his mark is suddenly lit up. Aurum shouted in pain and tried to suppress it by putting his paws above it. It lasted for almost three minutes then he passed out. They all gasped when they saw the mark on Aurum's forehead. It's a gray moon with a red outline. Aiden stared at Maxy with eyes wide open.

"You're a red?!" Aiden whispered, "Only reds can give marks with eclipse on them." She smiled apologetically. "Oh boomer" she sighed, "My mother is a red, not a human" she told them. "But how?" Aiden asked and she told him, "You won't know unless the elders talked to you about the history of our clan with the reds." "They did not" he answered and she smiled. "Then does this mean Aurum is your cousin?" Cerise asked who doesn't seem troubled at all. "Probably, yes. I'm not really sure" she answered. "Don't let Aurum know yet, it might raise suspicions that I'm working with his mother" she told them. "Don't you think he should know about it earlier?" Cerise asked. "That's right but I can't tell him yet if Amalga can still possess him. I can't risk it" "I see" Cerise nodded.

"Wait what?!" Aiden hurried to see Aurum closely. "Why, what happened?" Maxy asked. "The mark disappeared" Aiden answered with a soft voice and stepped aside for Maxy to see. "I don't think so" Maxy said and brushed Aurum's long fur up revealing the concealed mark beneath. "How did you know?" Aiden asked. She was quiet for a while assessing things in her head. "Don't tell me that mark has been here ever since—Aiden he might just be the real Lord Heir of the Full Clan!" she sounded very happy about it but Aiden negated her conclusion. "Impossible Maxy, if the mark had been there I would've seen it. I've lived with him for years now. There was even a time when we decided to cut his fur short to convince us if there is really a mark beneath or not. We saw nothing" Aiden cleared out. "That doesn't matter right now, does it? Let's not confuse him any longer" Cerise asked. Maxy nodded and said, "Okay. Let's rest for tonight."

Maxy is back at the meadow and Baron is there waiting for her again. She told him what happened and how the day started and ended. "Amalga huh" Baron said but saying to himself as he think. "Can you tell me something about her?" she asked. "Aside from her being the golden boy's mother? Let's see... She's also a half blood to the Half Clan, she's the half-sister of Aiden's father. Basing from how he reacted on his mother being red, they might not have told him about it. But what you told me about the boy having a mark after he submitted to you has picked my attention. He's a total mystery himself. A yellow mark at birth instead of gray, its mysterious disappearance to one's eye, and now it has been replaced by an eclipse mark of the Dull..." "Do you mean an eclipse mark is possible for all Clans and not just for the Full and Silver only?" she asked. "Yes, if it means submission but not for breeding, the Full and Dull are the only ones capable for it aside from the Crimson Clan itself. A half-blood submitting to another half-blood is so rare that I have no knowledge about it. Continue observing him for the mean time."