Trusting the moon

Rushing through the woods, I could feel the hot rays biting at my already sun-burnt flesh. But that is the least of my worries. Men, but more importantly-more terrifying- werewoves are closing in on me. im not even sure how many at this point, but just one on my tail is a death sentence. I have been on the run for most of my life. I have usually been able to keep myself off the radar of wolves, but they hate a lone wolf like me. At least that is all they think I am. But I'm much more, unfortunately. Pushing past the fire that is raging in my lungs, I see a small cave and, without missing my chance, I use the rest of my dwindling energy to push my scent as far as my magic will allow. The cave is dark and dank. The smell of something rotting far in the back makes my stomach churn and if I have actually eaten anything in the last few days I have something to throw up. Pulling myself up against the rough rock, I could finally try and breathe, and I started thinking the last couple weeks in my head thinking about how it had even come to this. I had just turned 25, working at a bartending job in New Orleans. I had only been in the area for the past year, something compelled me to run there out of all places. The population of the supernatural here was above average, but again, where do you think all the stories came from? There is just something in the soil, most likely coming from all of those that resided in the soil replenishing the magic all around. When I first found myself here, I could feel the tingle of magic kiss every inch of my skin. It was no longer new to me now, the constant hum my body had when I placed my bare feet on the ground, or just touched the cold stone of a historic landmark. Almost as if those before me were feeding me more, to keep me safe. Angies bar was a common hang out for the witches in the area. She is a staple here, kinda like the grandma of these parts, but like a 35-year-old grandma. I don't actually know her age though, but I'm guessing closer to a three with a couple zeros. When I walked in her bar for the first time a year ago, she just looked at me and smiled, and yelled "finally!" over the roar of drunk patrons in her small bar. "Star! I'm so glad you are here. It took you long enough." a glint in her eye "Uh yeah, how do you-" " Oh bunny, there isn't much i don't know around here." she placed a large glass of coke on the counter for me. Sweat dripping from the glass onto the top of the bar. I wonder if it is safe to drink and my body was craving the unneeded sugar. "Its safe bunny, sit drink. I have John dishing up some gumbo for ya. After you eat, we will talk m'kay?" My wolf was silent, something uncommon for her. My body acting before a thought even touched my mind. I needed something other than deer, or a rabbit for that matter. Real cooked food, no blood filling my mouth, no bones crunching between my teeth. Just food, no more than a couple minutes passed before a slender man placed a large bowl of steaming gumbo in front of me. Taking no time, I shoveled the food in, not even minding the burn that graced my tongue. Looking up, I finally looked at the woman that knew me without knowing me at all. She was small, pale in complexion,and had the most radiant red locks that were up in a high messy bun. Dressed in a small black tank and ripped blue jean shorts, what caught my eye the most was the black ink that covered her whole left shoulder that shimmered when she moved. How did a tattoo glitter in the light? " I can tell by the way you are eyein' me you don't know much about your own kind, do you?" placing the second cold coke in front of me and tossing the empty one into a bin under the bar, bringing the straw to my lips, I narrowed my eyes at her. I wasn't going to give anything away. I just stayed silent, sipping my cold drink. Throwing her head back in a fit of laughter,shaking her head, she walked away. Thinking she was just now walking away almost confirmed my thought of her being crazy, until she stopped at the door leading to a back room. She turned to look at me. "Well, come on now, the sun is setting' and I got ta make a living'." Part of me didn't want to follow her, she was out of sight and i could run. I didn't have any money to pay for what i had already eaten. But then again i had a feeling she already knew that, plus a larger part of me wanted to ask her what she meant by "own kind." She looked to be too small to be a wolf. No other wolf was my size. I'm not normal wolf matteral. Slowly, I slid my butt off the stool, pushing my way through the sweaty bodies that seemed to part from the small redhead just moments before. When I got to the door, I took a deep breath and pushed the handle down and looked into the small room. Unlike the dark colors the bar sported, this room was colorful, almost too bright to keep my eyes open after sitting in such a dark place for a while. Looking into the corner, I saw red sitting crisscross on the floor with her eyes closed. "Close the door and come and sit with me, a lot to talk about before you help me behind the bar." bold of her to assume I was gonna do that, but okay. Her one eye popped open as i shut the door. She smirked while closing it once again.Sinking down on to the floor in front of her, I started to feel something within myself that was familiar, like i had done this before. Flashes of me small with my father hit me full force. I had done this before,with him, in the woods while the sky was pink. i could see his smile and his deep brown eyes as his mouth moved. But I couldn't hear what he was saying. Daddy pain bubbled in my throat. The tears i had held off for so many years threatened to spill. "Star, first I wanna say no, I'm not a wolf. So go ahead ask me." Swallowing down the tears and drawing in a deep steadying breath, I ask "Then what are you?" Fully intending to sound strong but instead sounding like the meek little girl that i had been hiding within me for so many years. Red grabbed my hands, turning them palm side up, taking her small index finger to draw circles. Suddenly I felt warm, not the same warmth I'd felt before shifting. This was something different entirely. "Well, I'm a witch, and my name is Angie, by the way. You are a witch too." Well, s**t, that wasn't what i was expecting. I tried to pull my hands from hers but she grabbed them before I had a chance and my wolf growled. " Well, I guess i was right." "About?" she smirked at me. "You are crazy." The witch started cracking up at my statement, rocking back on her butt and shaking her head slowly. "No bunny, I am not. You are a werewolf, a lone one at that,but also a witch. Your daddy is one. "My daddy is dead." "Mmm no, though I don't know where he is. We have been looking for him for ages. That momma of yours is a wolf, his mate or was before that power-hungry mutt rejected him." "Mate ? Rejected? What are you talking about?" "Oh bunny.. a mate, do you not know what that is?" "No, frankly, I have no idea about the things you are talking about!" I screamed. I'm fed up. "I haven't seen my father in about 15 years, and I have never met my mother. I have been running for men for years. i don't even know why they are chasing me either. They just keep finding me." trailing off. I have spent years running for wolves. They almost got me a couple of times. But I manage i never stay in one place too long. No friends, no love, nothing but survival. Angie's eyes glazed over for a second, creeping me out for the millionth time today. Not long after, the slender gumbo man opens the door with a colorful glass bowl and a tray full of herbs, setting it down next to her, then swiftly giving her a kiss, he is back outside the door. " Those bar skills you have will have to wait until tomorrow. We have something to catch up on. It seems that you know less than I thought you would." That was the night I learned all there was to know about me, daddy and the woman that gave birth to me. Apparently, a mate is the other half of your soul. Gumbo Guy, now known as John, is Angie's mate. He, too, is a wolf, but a full-blooded wolf. Where I am half, daddy a witch and my mother a wolf. They were mates. Angie couldn't tell me much about what happened to them, just that he was rejected. We still haven't figured out why I'm chased and hunted by wolves, but Angie has been teaching me how to mask myself completely, not just my wolf scent. I wasn't even aware i had a witch scent. She has been showing me more magic each day and I'm getting pretty good. She says I'm a natural and take after my father. The wolves found me on a Friday night. I was taking out the trash after my shift at the bar. They had the same smell they always did. stagnant water and grass cut on a hot day. One whiff had my wolf snarling in my head and my hair standing on end. I bolted, dropping the trash bag and running as fast as my human legs would take me. Bringing me back to my current situation. I've been here for just about 2 hours, catching my breath, trying to figure out how I'm going to get out of this, this time. An earth-shattering howl to the east of me brings me to my feet, realizing they caught on and are now coming back for me. Crawling out of the small cave and pushing myself up, I didn't even take a chance to look behind. My wolf is nagging at me to shift. something has her on edge and she has become pretty much rabid about it. Suddenly giving in to her, I stripped quickly, dropping my clothes in front of me. Shifting used to take me hours, or at least that is what it felt like, but now it takes her only a few seconds to come forward. Snatching my clothes from her muzzle, she bolts. We ran till the moon was high in the sky, and my wolf slowed us to a trot. Lowering her nose to the ground, she starts to sniff out a safe place for us to sleep tonight. The dead grass and mud that permeates from the ground start to turn sweet and almost inviting. "Packlands"my wolf says to me. "We need to steer clear Moon. Pack wolves don't like lone wolves like us" "NO, we need to move forward, we are safer there than here in the woods even if they lock us up." Moon my wolf doesn't talk very often. But then again, who knows if it could be normal. "I trust you" " I know" she huffed and took off in the direction where the sweet smell became stronger. The closer we got, the more I could feel the men gaining on us. picking up his pace, suddenly I could hear wolves in front of us and not too far behind us. Ignoring the wolves all around, she pushed herself past the shimmering wall signifying the start of an Alpha's territory. Stopping short of the men in front of us, we shifted. Standing up and looking back, moon tells me the men after me are close and will cross soon if we don't do something. Snapping my head towards the crowd of men and women standing around me some have their canines out and dripping. A tall, extremely toned guy with blonde wavy hair and just in shorts looks at me. He exudes so much authority. He's the beta of this pack. "Beta! whose land is this?" he looks at me confused, but it quickly turns to anger. A horrific growl sounded from his chest. "who are YOU? You are trespassing rouge." uhh men, I can't deal with this. I don't have time. "Star, but that doesn't matter right now. I will tell you whatever you need to know, but right now there are about 8 wolves coming this way!" They are getting closer. I can hear each of their paws pounding down on the mud as each second passes. Bearing my own canines, I rip into the fleshy part of my palm, looking back to the Beta with pleading eyes, blood dripping from my mouth and hand. " Please his name!" " Alister Mcoy!", spinning to face the woods, I just ran from i drop to my knees and make a circle of blood in the dirt chanting the Alphas name over and over again. a sudden wave of calm washes over me, even while im waiting for my impending doom the tightness in my chest has lessened by at least half. A burst of light emanates from my chest, sending out a forcefield of magic protecting all that reside here in Alpha Alister Mcoys territory. Landing on my A**, I watched as the men chasing me ran right past the group of us that had gathered, not seeing, smelling or hearing us. The Beta strides over to me, standing inches from me. "what the hell was that?" Lifting my head with the last ounce of energy I had, I simply replied, "protection." Then everything went black.