Between Secrets and Seduction

The first ray of sunlight pierces through the cold, winter sky. A young girl lay curled up in the rubble of what was left of her home. With no more tears left to cry, the little blonde haired girl stayed pitifully close to the body of an older woman. Somewhere deep inside, the child knew this woman, her mother, would never again wake up. The sunshine struggled to light the sky this morning. There was just too much smoke, too many sirens, and those flashing lights coming closer were just too bright. The sounds of wooden cross beams in the attic were terrifying and loud. Brilliant ember colored eyes glance to the ceiling before robotic movements begin. The young girl makes her way fully outside as the last pieces of her former happy life crash to the ground in a puff of thick smoke. A pair of hands scoops her up and quickly takes her to an ambulance. She looked up to see a man barking orders to others. Others in gear designed to fight fires like the one eating at her neighbor's garage. Tiny lips part open slowly as the blonde haired, orange eyed girl tugged on the man's sleeve. "Why?" The little one began, "did they have to hurt Mama on my birthday?" Fresh tears began to drip quietly down her cheeks. The man held no answers. He had questions of his own about this. A red sports car pulls in with screeching tires. Another man jerks himself free of the vehicle as screams for his wife and daughter tear out of his throat in desperation. "Ashley?! Layla?!" A couple of officers blocks the man from entering the area. The little one nearly spun out of the grasp of her savior, "Daddy?" She cried out and reached for him. "Daddy, over here!" He ran to her and hugged her tight. "Layla, are you ok?!" he managed to rasp out. "Are you hurt?!" Layla held her dad in a tight hug. "I'm ok, but Mama... Daddy, Mama is gone!" She sobbed out. The man stared weakly at the smoldering remains of his home. He watched a stretcher being carried out with a fluttering white sheet over the body that once belonged to the love of his life. He held his daughter tight as he dropped to his knees with a thud. "No... NO!!! This is all your fault!" he shoved Layla away from him violently. Officers and EMTs rush forward to stop any further violence as Layla hits the ground hard, scratching up her right elbow. She began crying even harder in terror, backing away from her father, who was consumed in grief. A red-head paramedic pulled Layla in close and rushed her to the ambulance to begin cleaning the wound. Two officers wrestle with her father. Layla's eyes widen as she watches her father grab hold of an officers gun after knocking them down. Layla's screams of despair are drowned out by shots fired from the still standing policeman. Her father swayed on his feet and stared at his chest with eyes quickly dimming. He crumpled, hard, to the ground as the paramedic tried to keep Layla's focus. "Stay with me, kiddo!" Layla's vision began to fill with flickering black dots. Her chest felt tight, and her lungs begged for air. Layla's last, cynical thought to herself before she fainted from shock was more than understandable! 'Happy birthdays must be a myth!' Her tiny unconscious body was hooked up to an IV line with saline. The paramedic began taking her vitals and writing them quickly on a note pad. 'Layla, last name unknown approx. 8 yo birthday currently unknown heart rate: 98 oxygen level: 99% blood pressure: 185/104 blood type: unknown parents: deceased at place of emergency' The ambulance takes off with full lights and sirens to the local emergency room. A police cruiser races ahead to force traffic over for the ambulance coming through. Meanwhile, though Layla was lost to the outside world, there was a scene happening that no one knew about. A soft-spoken cresent moon slips into Layla's mind, melodious, and loving. "Stay strong, my little one. You must overcome many more difficult times before I believe you are ready for your birth right. I will see you soon!" When the ambulance arrives with Layla, chaos and speculations erupt around the lifeless looking child. She was quickly taken to a room for observation. Doctors, nurses, and social workers keep checking on her through the day. "If she awakes up combative, call me!" shouts a doctor to the current nurse for Layla. This kind woman gently strokes the hair out of Layla's face while waiting for her to wake up. Hours pass by, and day fades back into night without little Layla waking up. The night shift change happens in small groups. Layla was assigned to a middle-aged woman who looked more like a goddess than a nurse. The sapphire like eyes held the sort of pain that could only come from a mother who had laid her baby to rest far too early in life. Her soft pink lips whispered out the little girls name in a loving yet probing tone. "Layla, dear, are you asleep?" When no response came, the nurse sighed heavily whilst deep in thought. She stared down at the face of this angelic child only for a moment before she left to find a social worker who may have answers that she wanted. Eventually, the nurse found herself at the desk of a woman named 'Kitty'. Kitty was good at her job and also happened to be friends with this particular nurse. Kitty looked up in surprise and offered a chair, "Natasha, hey! Im sorry I wasn't expecting you! What can I do for you?" The nurse, Natasha, sighed softly and sat down slowly. "A child was brought in today. A little girl who is only known as Layla on her chart." Kitty nodded slowly as she listened to her friend. Natasha hesitated briefly before she posed a question to Kitty. "Can I apply to foster her?" Whatever Kitty was expecting, it certainly wasn't that! Kitty choked on a sip of her coffee and began coughing. Natasha stood up to help but was waved back down into the chair to sit. Kitty slowly regained her composure, hissing quietly to her friend. "My Luna, we have been here for a very short time. I've been here for three months, and you just started!" Natasha frowned and dismissed the comment with a faint glare, "So?" "So, don't you think you should worry about your job and income, not a random kid?" Kitty spat out sharply. The sculpted woman across from Kitty gave a slow smile. The kind of smile that hid danger behind it. "I believe, Kitty, I can do whatever I want, and what I want is that child!" Kitty sighed and leaned back in her office chair. "Have you already consulted with Alpha Danny?" Several documents and signatures later, Natasha became Layla's new foster mother. Kitty sighed, looking at her friend warily before asking, "What now, Luna?" Natasha smiled softly, "I want her transferred to my vacation home with a pack doctor and nurse, ASAP!" Kitty nodded, "I'll see to it, Luna. Will you be leaving ahead of Layla?" Natasha grinned mischievously, "Of course I am, I have a new daughter to prepare for!" Layla was still in her hospital bed, unaware of anything that had happened since she passed out. She didn't know there were people prepping her for transportation. She had no idea when she left the local hospital or when she arrived at Natasha's vacation home in the mountains. She wasn't even aware that she had been chosen by a werewolf to be doted upon by, but she soon would!