Cold Kisses

41. Peaceful moon

Verity

A fire was lit, burning in the fire place. I watched the shadows dance across the walls and I snuggled into the blanket further, wide eyes keeping a look out for strange activity. 

Aunt Keira sat in an armchair, knitting on a scarf while softly singing on a lullaby. Tristan laid beside me, his head in my lap. I let my hand run through his hair, twisting the strands between my fingers. It distracted me from the haunting of the fire, of its dancing taunting shadows.

A rapid knock came from the door. 

I made an attempt to stand up, but Aunt Keira shook her head and stood up, putting her knitting aside. She walked to the door and opened it, craning her head to look at whoever was at the door.

"Is Luna Verity here?"

"Yes, she is, Delta."

A horde of guys poked their head inside, grinning when they noticed me.

"What's up, Luna?" Enrico practically shouted as he stepped inside the house. I quickly hushed him, looking pointedly at the sleeping boy in my lap. 

"Oh. Sorry." He scratched the back of his neck. "We gotta take you back. Alpha's orders. It's late anyway."

I sighed but complied without any fuss. Carefully and gently, I pulled Tristan into my arms and carried him upstairs to his bedroom. Tucking him into bed, I watched him snuggle into the sheets before I went back downstairs. I gave Aunt Keira a hug before I put on my boots and gripped my dress in my hands. I waved before the door was shut behind us. 

The guys encased me as we walked towards Hunter's house. Enrico and Finnick walked by my sides whilst Ray kept himself in front of me and Mike behind. I rolled my eyes at their antics.

"You don't need to be walking around me like this, you know." I gestured around us. "We are deep within the territory. Only fools would venture this far if they managed to slip past the border patrols."

"It's for safety reasons, Luna," Mike piped up from behind me. I glanced at him over my shoulder. "It's only to keep you safe, in case anything happens."

I snorted. "Nothing will happen. And please don't call me Luna."

"Never say never," Enrico muttered as he gently ushered me forward. 

We trudged through the forest at a steady pace. I suspected they wanted to travel faster, be in their wolf forms, but I was enjoying the night walk. The moon kissed my sunless skin and I had never felt more alive. I peered up at the stars that could be spotted through the tree tops and smiled. The night was peaceful and so was I.

A twig snapped between the trees. Ray stopped in his tracks, causing me to bump into him. Bewildered, I stood on my toes to see over his shoulder. All my eyes could see was darkness, trees and bushes. Everything but a threat; there was nothing there. 

A low, threatening growl echoed around us. I spoke too soon, I realised, as wolves emerged from the shadows. They were huge, with razor sharp canines that gleamed yellow in the moon's fair light; saliva dripped along their canines and down the tips, falling down their pelt. Their eyes, glowing in the ugliest mix of yellow and red you could imagine, sought me out in an instant and stayed transfixed on my tensed form. 

Yellow meant rogues; outlaws in the werewolf society. Red meant vampire, and if wolves had red in their eyes, they were being controlled. Vladimir. His mind control was impeccable, almost as great as Amando's. I had no doubt this was his work.

I narrowed my eyes and clenched my fists, flashing my fangs in a low hiss. 

Unhinging their jaws, the rogues let out vicious howls and lowered their ears. Growls at equal strength met the rogues's howls and in the blink of an eye, Finnick and Ray had shifted into their wolf forms and stood protectively in front of me. Enrico shifted too, I could hear his clothes tear, before a massive wolf stood by my side. 

An arm wrapped around my waist and hauled me away from the trio, lifting me over a broad shoulder. I gasped in shock as I hung over Mike's shoulder whilst the rogues went for the attack. Mike ran fast, but not as fast as he would have in his wolf form. I fought against his hold while he panted. 

Growls and howls echoed from behind him and I stared with wide eyes at the fight taking place a few metres behind us. Canines ripped into fur; yelps echoed in the night. Blood coated the ground. The sight was gruesome. 

"Mike, let me down. I can fight."

"No. I can't. I have to take you to safety first. I have orders," he all but gasped out.

"Dammit, Mike!"

I retreated my growing nails from his shoulder. He would not back down from an order by Hunter, I knew that. 

The whimpers of pain met my ears and I gritted my teeth before raising my head to stare down the path. A pair of yellow ruby eyes met mine and I swore aloud. Its canines were bared and its eyes hungered for the prey it was hunting; us.

"Mike, you need to shift!" I screamed, struggling in his grasp. He shook his head, mumbling a "no". 

"For fuck's sake, Mike, I order you to shift! There is a wolf chasing us and neither of us can do shit about it unless you let me down or if you shift."

For a split moment, Mike turned his head to gaze behind him. In that moment, I felt myself slip down his body before landing on the muddy ground in a heap. I shuffled up on my feet, letting my nails elongate while glaring at the rogue that was racing towards us.

"Luna, run!" I heard Mike say before his voice turned animalistic.

Not this time.

Ignoring him, I widened my stance and spread my arms whilst the rouge neared me. I let it run straight into me before I encased my arms around its neck and pressed the hardest I could. It halted its movements, standing still while it tried to get its jaws around my head. I avoided the saliva coated fangs before getting a grip of the side of its head and snapped it. A furious roar echoed in the forest as the rogue fell limp to the forest floor. 

Something wet touched me and I jerked away in fright, only calming down when I saw Mike's wolf stare at me. He offered me his back and I happily crawled up on it, running my hands through his fur before gripping onto it when he leaped into a run. I buried my head in his neck, closing my eyes as the wind blew around us. My senses were on high alert, trying to locate the others and determine whether they were alive or not. 

My ears picked up the sound of paws hitting dirt and I tensed.

"Mike," I whispered. "There are wolves behind us."

He merely shrugged his head. I took it as a sign to not worry about it. Soon, the house came into view whilst the scent of the others reached my nostrils. The moment they stepped onto the grass, the door flew open and a frantic Hunter rushed outside. He looked furious, his eyes beaming black and his jaw clenched. I could barely utter a word before I was crushed against his chest and brought inside the house. A vague goodnight managed to pass my lips before the door was shut close. 

Hunter held me close as he buried his nose in the crock of my neck, breathing in deeply. I squirmed. It was uncomfortable and suffocating to be held like this. 

"Let him have this," a voice said from our side. "His wolf needs to calm down."

I stared at Beta Dave, who was looking at us with a stiff face. 

Hunter hummed and left a kiss on the side of my neck before lifting his head and turning it to gaze at Dave. "We shall resume the meeting tomorrow."

"Of course, Alpha." He bowed his head. "Goodnight, Luna."

"Goodnight, Dave." I waved the best I could as Hunter still had an anaconda grip on my body. Dave shut the door and it locked itself behind him. Hunter wasted no time and headed upstairs, falling into bed without taking his (our) clothes off. He placed his head over my chest, sighing while his hand gripped my hip.

We spoke no words as we laid there; he fell asleep while I admired the way the moon shone upon his skin.