Moon Child

The past was always with her, forever weighing on her mind. She had gone to the lake with her younger brother that night, their parents in town on their usual date. They had raced each other to the water, thrown off their clothes, and jumped in wearing colorful bathing suits.

Hers had been a light pink with yellow straps and ties. It was a cute yet simple outfit, her brother's swim trunks a more flashy green as he hooped and hollered in excitement. They had done cannonballs, swung off a rope tied to the second largest tree on the farm, and splashed one another carelessly.

It had been so much fun that they had forgotten the time. When she looked up to see the sun halfway below the horizon she freaked, yelling at her brother to get out of the water before they got their butts whooped. They had to get home before mother and father did, but the boy wasn’t moving from his spot in the water. No, his eyes had become larger than life and his mouth fell wide open as his older sister stood on dry land with her hands on her hips.

She could still feel the hot breath on her neck, how fear had gripped her tight as she turned to face what would soon be the end of everything. A wolf the size of a bear was standing before her on four paws the size of her face. She stumbled back a few steps, her voice coming out rushed and shaky as she tried to think of what to do.

It took two times yelling at her brother for the boy to finally listen, and when he did her heart skipped a beat. Tears filled her eyes as she looked up into the face of a blood-thirsty monster, but he never took his golden eyes off of hers. The young boy was safe as he swam to land and took off running, the wolf never chased after him. He didn’t want a small, scrawny boy when he had something better in his sights.

A shiver ran up her spine as reality crashed over her like a tidal wave. That was in the past, but her hands still trembled at the memory. What if he came for her, the monster in wolf’s clothing. He would surely kill her, but if she stayed here he might kill all of them. Marcus; stern but sweet, Julie; always smiling and calm, Jeremiah; supportive and loving, Magdelynn; like the grandmother Dawn had never had, and then there was Hazel.

Kind Hazel, with two beautiful daughters and one on the way, she was the best friend Dawn had ever had. How could she risk their lives? She felt sick to her stomach as she turned toward where Kane had gone, his scent still fresh on the looming midnight air.

The moon was rising into the sky now, making her heart race and her hands shake. She needed to make a decision, fast. Stay or go. It sounded like a simple choice, but nothing was easy in life. If she left she would regret it, but if she stayed she would be risking the safety of the whole pack.

She sighed, running a hand over her face. She felt so exhausted, legs moving forward as she tried to reason with herself. She should just leave, yet she continued back toward the village. Reality was cold and she wanted to live in this dream for a moment more. So one step after another pulled her toward Kane and the others. A new life. She could finally start over and have everything she had ever dreamed of. Besides, who could say if her old pack was even thinking of her? She was nothing really, easily forgotten.

Her smile was soft, just beginning to form when she smelled something that chilled her to the bone. Lips turned down into a frown as she spun to the right. What was that? A noise caught her attention as her animalistic senses grew stronger and caused her irises to shift into a silver hue. Something was wrong. She could feel it in her gut as her feet turned to take her down a different path. Another soft noise and she was running, bare feet hitting the ground as quick as hummingbird wings. Something was pulling her forward without restraint.

She burst out of the line of trees into a small open field. It was a small oval of space the trees had neglected to protect from the sky above, and in it lay a wounded animal. She had no way of communicating with anyone else in a reasonable amount of time. She needed to help the poor creature and she didn’t have the time to debate right from wrong.

She made sure to move toward the spotted beast cautiously, agonizingly slow steps bringing her closer to the target at hand. She was no animal expert, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out what kind of creature lay before her. It was twice the size of a normal hyena, but it was a hyena nonetheless. She didn’t even think of the possibilities its size brought to the table, only that it was bleeding and obviously injured enough to stop it from running.

“It’s ok. I won’t hurt you.”

It was breathing hard, tired looking but still on guard as she moved forward. She kept her hands up in a way that proved she carried no weapon on her. Hopefully the poor thing would accept her help.

…

Kane was standing with Hazel, waiting to light the bonfire, the moon rising high in the sky. The rest of the pack was huddled into groups, all of them with drinks in their hands as they laughed and carried on. It was an inviting environment, but would it be enough to bring Dawn back to them?

Kane had watched her interactions with the others. She was doing amazingly, integrating herself into their community almost unconsciously. They all spoke highly of her too. Julie and Marcus were loving the help in the garden and had said Dawn clearly had the skills needed for such an important job. Jeremiah told him of how Dawn interacted with the children, socializing with them around the lake almost effortlessly. He wondered if she had younger siblings, like himself, because it was clear she knew how to handle the youngsters.

An image of Dawn carrying a young child slipped into his mind, making him frown slightly. He knew he loved the woman, hell it was obvious they were mates, but was he already thinking of children? May came over to grab her mother’s hand, gabbing on about how excited she was to get the celebration started. She was talking on and on about lighting the bonfire, and Hazel smiled in good humor until the girl mentioned Jeremiah said she could help start the bonfire by herself. Suddenly her shoulders went rigid and she marched straight for her mate, who was already trying to escape by using one of the other men to hide behind.

Kane shook his head, grinning from ear to ear as the man acted as if he were about to face off with the most dangerous creature known to man. Hell, maybe in his mind he was. May stood back with Kane, whistling low as she shook her head as well.

“Boy oh boy, when momma gets mad I can almost see her tail.”

Kane laughed at that, ruffling the girls hair as she playfully swatted his hand away and ran off again. He had never felt more at home then when he was with his pack and he only hoped Dawn could feel the same. Hell, she had won Magdelynn over and that was a feat in itself. If she didn’t stay it might break the old woman’s heart.

He was watching Hazel scold the grown man that was her mate when something made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He wasn’t the only one. Keith, one of the single males in the pack, and Jeremiah also sensed it. Hazel immediatley quieted down when she noticed the change in her mates appearance.

“Jay?”

Her nickname for him didn’t soften the mood any. They all looked to Kane in that moment, because no matter what they wanted to do they wouldn’t move until he spoke.

“Hyenas. Get the kids as well as Magdelynn and Hazel into the safe house. Henry and Keith stay with them for protection. The rest of us will spread out. Marcus and Jeremiah, you’re with me at the front. Lauralie and Jason, you head to the left and Osiris and Benny go to the right. Greg and Ren will stay here as our last line of defense.”

They all nodded, following his commands without complaint. They knew that his every choice was in the best interests of the pack. The kids would be defenseless against enemies, not yet old enough to change and still weak in a very mortal way. Hazel was pregnant, which meant she needed just as much protection as the children. Though older than the rest of the pack members, that was not the reason Magdelynn would stay in the safe house. She was their medicine woman and if they were to be injured she would need to be able to care for them.

If she was hurt, it could hurt them all. Henry held the position of second oldest in the pack, but he had plenty of fight left in him if the need did arise. Keith was one of the newer pack members, barely over a year with them, but he was young and strong and could hold his own. He also held a deep loyalty for the pack through a bond he seemed to immediatley have with Ren. Marcus and Jeremiah were the first picks for Kane’s right hand men, because they were the most skilled in hunting and the most dedicated to the pack. Their families lives would drive them to do just about anything to protect the group.

Lauralie was a single female in her early thirties. She had never found her mate, leaving her life in the city behind to find peace in the quiet of the woods. She had tried for years to find the other half of herself, as so many described finding a mate, but to no avail. She had been pretty rough around the edges when she joined them, but proving to be an amazing asset Kane never questioned the worth she brought to the group as a family and as a working community.

Then there was Jason, a hot headed man in his mid-thirties. He was the lone survivor of a pack that was brutally slaughtered while they slept. It was a blood bath, but he never would say what had truly happened to his people. At the end of the day Kane understood his need for privacy on certain subjects and respected that. He was a good hunter and a great teacher to the kids. He was a little strict sometimes, but when he let loose he was one hell of a party guy. Qualities of a father could be seen in him, but Kane would never dream of speaking of such a thing. Who knew, maybe at one point he had fathered some young.

Osiris and Benny were a crazy pair, twins. They had blonde hair and blue eyes, but Benny was a little different than his brother as he held one eye that always remained pitch black. It was like he was always on the line between wolf and human. They both remained light hearted, quick to poke fun at one another in order to get a laugh from the rest of the group. It was all in good fun though and they shared an inseparable bond that you simply had to admire. Good kids, in their early twenties.

Greg was in his late forties, never mated and always in his own little world. He was an artist at heart, caught painting the sunrise or sunset on multiple occasions. He wrote poems that made the women weep and even had Magdelynn swooning over romantic ideals. He was a staple in the pack, someone who seemed adamant on making every day worth waking up for. He would hunt with them, garden, play with the kids, and just about do anything that held his interest in the moment. All around he was a great guy, someone to be relied on.

Then came Ren, a woman in her mid-twenties with quite the chip on her shoulder. She had been mated before as well, but it was to an alpha who had been power hungry and far too head strong. He charged into a territory too large to obtain on his own, being picked off without a second thought by the defending clan. She had warned him not to go, but he refused to listen and threw caution to the wind. His head was the price for such a careless mistake.

Keith had a thing for her, anyone could see it, but she feared bonding with another that may lead her down the same dark path. Their lives intertwined within the pack, but she continued to reject his attempts to mate or even become friendly. Kane could feel the tension between them, but it wasn’t something he could help with. They would have to work it out between themselves and only time would tell the end results.

As they all moved out he followed the scent of the changelings that had crossed into his territory. It was a pack of hyenas, but he could sniff out the blood before it ever touched the ground. He soaked in the air, ears perking up as the men to his sides began to shift. They could sense it too, the danger of hunters.