Moon Child

When Dawn woke the next morning she felt achy but better. She was glad everyone was ok, but the worsening night terrors she was experiencing made her worry. What if they kept getting worse? She moved to sit on the edge of the bed, sighing as she moved both arms and then both legs to make sure everything was working alright.

When she was satisfied with the results she stood to make her way to the bathroom. She was in desperate need of a shower. All she wanted to do was relax under the stream of warm water and wash her worries away.

As she stood in front of the mirror she was forced to look over herself. She didn’t look too roughed up, but the bandages around her torso and shoulder would have to be removed so that she could shower. She wondered how bad her wounds looked. Would she be left scarred? Her hands moved toward the soft fabric, fingertips barely holding onto the end as the bathroom door burst open.

She gasped, jumping in surprise as her feet spun to face the intruder.

“Kane? What the hell?”

He was on her like a vulture on a carcass, hands grabbing hers as he frowned.

“What are you doing?”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I’m going to shower.”

He shook his head, clearly not ok with the situation.

“Your wounds aren’t healing like they should be. You’ll have to use a cloth and wipe off as best as you can.”

She slipped her hands away from his, positioning them on her hips in defiance.

“You can’t be serious. I feel fine.”

He shook his head once more, as if talking to a child.

“You may feel fine, but you’re not.”

She turned back to the mirror, moving her hands to the bandages once more. He moved to stand behind her, hand moving around her to hold hers once more.

“I mean it Dawn.”

She frowned, looking down at their intertwined fingers.

“I missed the ceremony.”

He was taken aback by the sudden change in topic, but was quick to recover in time to reassure her.

“It’s not a big deal. We can always have another one.”

Another one? That meant she had another chance of becoming one with this pack. Did she want that? She did, but a small part of her worried over whether or not it was a good idea. Maybe it was better if she stayed separated from these people. They might be friendly toward her, might even like her, but did that give her the right to put their lives at risk? No. Never.

“Dawn, why won’t you shift?”

She knew it had been coming. When she spoke to Lauralie about her reasons against shifting forms she knew it would come back to Kane. She didn’t mean for it to sound like a threat, or to frighten the woman, but she hadn’t been in her best mind. She took a deep breath, tired of hiding her past from the man she felt so strongly for.

“I was forced into this life. This curse…a gift in your eyes, was never something I wanted.”

She moved away from him, turning to face his beautiful blue eyes as she continued.

“Before I met you and your people I thought changelings were monsters. Murder, rape, torture, the whole nine yards. I was never taught how to shift or how to control the animal when I do. When I shift I have to make sure I’m nowhere near anything living, because I’ve never been able to stop the need to hunt. To kill.”

She was giving him a glimpse into her old pack, but what did it mean for her? What kind of monsters took her? He felt sick as he thought over her every word a million times in his head. She hadn’t been a virgin when they made love, but he never thought that her first time might have been forced. His hands clenched into fists.

“Who made you?”

She frowned, sensing his change in mood as charcoal spots swirled through azure irises. What was he thinking?

“Why do you want to know that?”

He took a step toward her, hand moving out to touch her hip. She felt a warmth spread through her every muscle. He could make her feel calm in any situation, but this was different. He looked ready to kill, just like he had the night she risked her life for the pregnant hyena. She wanted to be able to tell him everything, but something was holding her back.

“It doesn’t matter now Kane, I…”

His irises were pure darkness as his words came out in a low growl.

“Is he the reason you can’t sleep? Is he the reason you were so scared of me that first night?”

She couldn’t speak. How could she answer him? She needed to defuse the situation before he really flew off the handle. She closed the space between them, laying her head and hands on his torso as she spoke.

“I was scared that first night, but you made me realize you aren’t like my old pack. None of your people are.”

He stood stalk still, one hand still on her hip. Standing like this, her body fitting against his like a key to a lock, she realized just how good he was. He wanted the best for her, she could feel it in her bones. Maybe she was crazy, but in that moment she wanted nothing more than to be with him and his pack.

“I love you Kane, but I don’t think knowing him would help you any.”

His grip on her tightened ever so slightly.

“It would help me rip his throat out.”

She shook her head, moving back to look up into his eyes.

“He’s dangerous. They all are. Please, don’t ask me to risk you. I can’t.”

He felt his heart ache for her, his eyes dark with the need for vengeance. She refused to put him in any danger? Fine, he wouldn’t worry her. Still, he would find the bastards. Every single one of them would pay for the pain they caused her. Wiping them off the face of the planet would be his pleasure.