Moon Child

“No!”

She sat straight up, arms wrapping around her as tears escaped her eyes and pain shot through every muscle. She was covered in sweat, hair a mess of slept-on curls, and hands trembling. Another nightmare?

“Shhh, it’s ok. It was just a dream, you’re ok.”

His deep voice broke through her hysteria, making her realize she was trembling and sobbing as more tears flowed free. What was she doing? He was holding her, arms wrapped around her like a safety net, and she was allowing it? She leaned back into him, her sobs quieting as he moved a hand to run over her hair. He felt so warm, holding her with a gentle strength that made her feel protected but not caged.

“This every night?”

He had waited for her to calm down some before he spoke. She hesitated, then nodded and closed her eyes as he ran his hands over her hair once more.

“Wanna talk about it?”

She shook her head, turning to lay on her side in his lap. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want him to be nice to her, gentle and kind in ways that made her melt inside. She just wanted to run, needed to run. Instead she closed her eyes and begged life to stop screwing with her. She was tired of the pain, the torment. She just wanted to feel safe.

“Want me to let you get some more sleep?”

She hesitated, opening her eyes to look toward the wall at their side.

“Can you…hold me for a bit?”

She knew it was asking a lot, especially of an alpha, but her body craved his touch like none other. She wanted to beg him to claim her, fuck her in every position until they both passed out. She wanted him to kiss her again, never let her up for air. She wanted…this.

“Yea, I can do that.”

After a few quiet moments of running a hand over her hair he heard a light snore escape her peaceful features. It was cute, something that had his heart aching. He wanted to protect her, but if she wouldn’t let him in then how could he? Sighing, he leaned back against the headboard as his eyes slowly closed and he emitted a light snore of his own.

When she woke again she was alone. She felt cold, like something important was missing. She knew that her body craved his, but last night she felt something in her chest that hadn’t been there in a long time. A spark of hope, something worth a lot more than sex.

“You up?”

Her door opened a crack, allowing Hazel to peek her head inside. Dawn nodded, but she was still thinking about Kane and the support he had given her the night before. He had been there for her, comforted her, and even asked if she wanted to discuss her nightmares. Truthfully she had hesitated telling him no, but if she elaborated on her fears she would give too much away about herself. She couldn’t risk it.

“You ok?”

Hazel’s soft voice caught her mind, dragging it back into reality as she tried to force a smile and nod once more. The woman standing at the foot of her bed wasn’t buying it, but she didn’t push her either. Forcing her to open up would do no good, she knew that.

“Wanna take a walk with me?”

Dawn pondered the woman’s words. A walk? She didn’t have much else to do and she knew it wouldn’t help her any to stay in this room. Besides, being with the woman gave her a sense of calm she really needed at the moment.

Dawn nodded and Hazel’s smile was genuinely soft.

“I’ll let you shower and dress, I’ll wait outside.”

The woman shut the door on her way out. Dawn let out a sigh, moving from the bed to head for the bathroom. Why did she feel so weird all of a sudden? What was going on with her? One minute she was thinking of running and the next an image of Kane would pop into her head. Why did the animal in her wish to be his so badly?

The lake beside the pack’s community was surrounded by trees. Hazel explained that the kids spent most of their free time here, but they always had to have someone with them. Their pack was protective of the young, nothing like the animals from her past. Dawn felt like she had a lot of things in common with Hazel, yet they were also very different. The woman spoke of love, for her family and for the pack, which was something Dawn hadn’t seen or heard of when it came to changelings. She had simply assumed they were all vicious animals.

Hazel smiled, waving at two children that stood beside a man who was oddly familiar. Dawn’s gaze moved over their simple interaction, watching as the kids smiled and jumped up and down while waving to their mother. The man, Hazel’s husband, smiled and waved as well. They were so happy it was almost sickening. Still, Dawn could remember a time in her life when she was able to smile like that.

“What are they doing?”

Hazel’s smile remained as she spoke.

“Jeremiah wants them to work on their fishing skills, but most of the time when I come out here they’re really just goofing off. May, the one on the right with her arm in a sling, snapped the bone in two places trying to show off to some of the other kids last week. She can’t swim until it’s healed, so I honestly think he is trying to keep her mind off of it with the fishing lessons.”

Her smile was genuinely loving, crystal clear gaze as bright as the blue sky above them. She looked so happy, Dawn wondered if she could ever feel that way.

“Why isn’t it healing faster, like our wounds would?”

Hazel looked toward Dawn in that moment, confusion and then realization coming over her as she spoke in a tone that was gentle but not chastising.

“I must remember that you were not born into this way of life. The children do not inherit the changeling gene until ten years old or so, though it can happen as early as four years of age. They heal faster than humans, their senses are a tad stronger, but overall they are of mortal weakness. I suppose it gives them time to realize they are not truly immortal, as some would call our kind.”

Dawn looked over to the girls, their laughter wrapping her in warmth as their father tried and failed to catch a large fish with his bare hands. In the end he slipped in the mud, flying backwards into the water with a loud splash. Hazel’s laughter joined her daughter’s, but she was quick to hide her grin behind a hand as her mate looked back to catch her eye. Dawn felt fear rush through her as she thought of what the man might do. He would surely be pissed, his female was laughing at him. He would hit her, maybe even torture her until she was begging for mercy and screaming for forgiveness.

His grin lit up his face, eyes shimmering as he jumped to his feet and stuck a hand straight up in the air. Hazel’s eyes lit up, lips parting slightly as her daughters jumped up and down in glee. He was happy? In his hand he held a fish, large and fighting against his hold, but he was stronger and triumphant. He was covered in mud, soaking wet, and grinning down at his girls as they gushed about how cool he had been. He had caught the fish with his bare hands, and he had laughed at his own clumsiness as if it were all in a days work.

Hazel’s smile was brilliant, her eyes still hooked onto the man on the other side of the large lake. It was a large body of water, and she was sure that it was five to six of her deep toward the middle. She could remember a time when she enjoyed swimming, going to the lake on hot summer days. Her eyes began to mist up as memories flooded over her.

Her brother had been a daring boy, swimming too far out to touch his feet to the ground and making her worry day in and day out. He could swim, but not very well. She always felt the need to stick by his side, because sooner rather than later he would grow tired and then what? She had to be able to get to him and swim them both back to dry land. Still, he was a stubborn boy and refused to stay in the shallow water for long.

Hazel’s voice broke Dawn out of the cage that was her past. What was she doing thinking such things? She could never go back to that place, laugh with her brother again or be loved by her parents. She would never feel the sun on her face and shoulders as she cared for the horses and told them her many secrets. It was all gone, lost to her.

“My girls may look alike but I never confuse them with one another. May is outgoing, charismatic and sometimes too daring for her own well being. Destiny, on the other hand, is more laid back. She prefers gardening with Magdelynn over rough housing with kids her own age. They’re still young, just turned seven last month, but I trust that they will grow into themselves when life feels they are ready. I’m simply here to support them, teach them right from wrong and help them understand the workings of the world. No matter their choices, I will always love them, even if they do worry me to death.”

She looked over to Dawn, who was watching her intently as she spoke. It was as if the young woman was entranced by her words, making her blush slightly.

“I’m so sorry. I was rambling, wasn’t I? Good lord I swear if you don’t stop me I could tell you my whole life story and still have things to talk your ear off about.”

Dawn smiled, her past lost in the back of her mind. This woman, a female changeling, was happy and loved. She had children she adored and a mate that worshipped her. Maybe this could be her future as well. What if she allowed herself the freedom to love like Hazel did? Could she truly open herself up in such a way?

“I don’t mind at all, really. It’s nice to know you’re happy here.”

Hazel smiled down at the woman, her green eyes light as shimmering emeralds and her auburn curls swaying in the soft breeze. She was a sweet person, though timid and unsure of herself. Maybe she would be the one to warm her brother’s heart, though it would be a rough journey. Still, she smiled and held out her hand to the woman. Dawn. The friendship that was being forged between them would be a strong one, she could feel it.