Under the Blood Moon

1. The little boy was holding tight to his mother’s hand as she wound in between the gathered crowds at the market. She was heading towards the fishmonger in the corner of the bustling square, his chef father had left a list of ingredients for the weekend on the kitchen table this morning and his mother was happy to oblige looking forward to one of his famous feasts. Dark blue eyes, sun drenched skin and a shock of black hair, he was trotting at her side to keep up. For a tiny woman his mother moved quickly. She shared his colouring except for the hair. Hers flowed across her shoulders shining gold in the spring sunshine. She was a friendly and open person, a smile for everyone and kind words for most. The perfect partner to her husband’s bear like stance, both in stature and approach. The little boy’s mouth would fill with saliva when he thought about his father’s weekend cook outs, even at the tender age of 6 he loved nothing more than to help out in his father’s kitchens. Often running home coated in flour from making bread and pizza dough with his father, after being chased out by his mother calling him to join the family for bath and bedtime. Father was simply the best in his eyes, there was no one he would rather grow up to be, not a superhero in any comic could compare to his bear of a father. He would stand proud beside him as he addressed the town from their community hall podium. Watch with a huge grin as he served up meal after meal in their family restaurant and run alongside him through the woods as they foraged for wild garlic and mushrooms. The older man was tall and broad, a serious looking man with a wicked sense of humour who loved nothing more than to play with his boys. He was a fearsome leader in his kitchen and his community. The little boy hoped he would grow into even half the man his father was. Today though, the little boy had wanted to stay with his siblings and play, the market was no fun, not even when he was doing important errands for his father. Having reached the stall, his mother let go of his hand to inspect the seafood the fishmonger was handing across the counter. This gave him a little freedom to look around for anything fun to do while she was negotiating prices. Squinting into the southern sky, he couldn’t see a single cloud, maybe he could convince his parents to let them play in the pool later. It was still spring and more than a little cool, so they were at least 6 weeks from the covers coming of the pool for the summer, but he and his siblings never minded the cooler water. His eyes came to a rest on the herb stall three stalls away from him and his mother, the range of dried and fresh leaves always amazed him, their smells and flavours were mind blowing. In front of the stall stood a woman with the brightest red hair he had ever seen; she held the hand of a little girl with equally red curls and a bright green sun dress. As he watched the pair, musing on the red curls that seemed to bounce as they fell down her back the girl turned to face him. Her eyes zeroed straight in on him as though she knew he was watching her, the sun glinted in her face, making her eyes shine like tiny green spotlights. Her tiny mouth twitched up in a smile and she waved shyly at him. He smiled immediately. “Mommy” he tugs at her arm “I’m just going to play” She pats him on the head distracted by a large piece of swordfish, “Don’t go too far” He skips over to the red headed girl and says hi, she grins widely at him again, before her mother turns to them both. The older woman frowns and looks around, her hand tightening around her daughters. She shakes her head and pulls the little girl in closer. “Sorry sweetie, we haven’t time to play today, next time?” The little red head peers around her mother’s skirts with sad eyes as he turns and heads back to his mother. His little shoulders slump as he kicks at the cobblestones on the market square slowly making his way to the fish stall. “What’s up little man?” his mother asks when he reaches her side. “She couldn’t play.” He sniffs looking over his shoulder at the pair talking to the herb stall owner. “Ah I see” She takes a look at the woman and waves smiling at her. “That’s Anne and her little girl want me to set up a play date?” His face lights up immediately, of course his mother knew them, mother and father look after everyone here. “Please” he nods. Later that night… “Carmine” mother calls as father heads down the stairs. The boys are all sat around the table shelling peas for dinner. “Boys we need some of those for dinner, don’t eat them all” Father walks into the kitchen drying his hair before catching mother in his arms, “Yes Cathy amore mio”. The boys balk at their parent’s public display of affection but it doesn’t stop the gruff Italian from capturing his wife’s lips with his own. “Carmine!” mother squeals as he lifts her covering her shoulders in butterfly kisses. Flicking at him with her kitchen towel she wriggles out of his grasp “Later my love!!” “You called?” he chuckles as he sets her on the ground. “Mm yeah, can you reach out to Anne and George for me?” she adjusts herself from the affectionate assault. “Our little man has taken a liking to their little girl and I want to organise a play date” The little boy grins up at his mother. “Might be a while mia dolcezza” he shrugs “George is taking them away for a while to let the whole mess with his parents and hers calm down.” “That bad?” mother asks. “Worse than we could ever imagine” father replies “I mean I know they’re different, but it’s not worth tearing apart a family over.” “Hmm witches are reclusive creatures though, coming into a pack like ours must be difficult for them” Mother sighs. “Right boys how are my peas coming?” The conversation was forgotten as the family gathered together busy in the evenings activities. Bedtime… “Mommy what’s a witch?” the little boy asks as his covers are tucked around him that night. His room was dark with a bright moon shaped nightlight gleaming in the corner, a dark blue ceiling glittered with glow in the dark stars and teddy bears lining every possible surface. He snuggled down into the soft blankets watching his mother for a response. “Well little man.” His mother begins “The moon goddess Selene has three forms, the maiden, the mother, and the crone. In the first year she created us all, in her maiden form she birthed the vampires, the mother birthed the Were’s like us, and the crone gifted magic to the witches.” “There are other Were’s?” the boy asks with his eyes wide. “Mhmm” she nods “Wolves, Bears, Cats and Foxes. Some people even talk about there still being dragons out there somewhere.” “Dragons aren’t real mommy.” the little boy yawns. “Have you ever met a vampire?” “Your Uncle Drew is a vampire honey” she strokes the hair from his eyes “And Anne and her family are witches” “Really?” he yawns again “That’s so cool” “It is baby boy, but not everyone thinks so sadly. Some people think that we shouldn’t mix” Her eyes are sad as she explains just how unfair the world can be to her unsullied child, as far as she could see they were all children of Selene, it didn’t make sense to stay apart, and it made less sense to punish your own children for falling in love. Her pack having any members who would drive their own child away rather than accept their partner set her teeth on edge. That was a job to be tackled tomorrow though. “That’s so sad mommy” he murmurs before his eyes flicker shut. “It is baby it really is” she places a kiss on the sleeping boy’s forehead before leaving the room. Her bear of a husband is waiting against the door frame watching his little wife talk with their eldest son. His eyes are soft as she explains the world in which they live to him. She smiles widely as she turns away from the bed spotting her husband waiting for her. “He’ll make a good Alpha that one” Carmine whispers into his wife’s ear as he scoops her into a bear hug. Ten years with her as his partner and wife hadn’t stilled the love he felt every time her smile lit up her face. “Mm” Cathy breathes into her husband’s shoulder “What about his brother?” “When he comes home from the hospital, we’ll work it all out” His eyes are sad as he lifts his wife up and walks her to their bedroom “It will all work out.” Morning… “George, Anne, you here?” Cathy calls into the cottage. She raps on the door once more before walking through the open entryway. “Hello” she calls out as she walks into the hallway, peaking tentatively around the corner. The room was empty. Not just of people, of everything. Not a stick of furniture remained in the room. Each room she entered afterwards was the same. The curtains still hung in the windows but nothing else remained. Entering the master bedroom Cathy noticed an envelope stacked up against a small wolf teddy bear. She bent to pick it up and noting her name she scoops the small stuffed toy up and heads out to the tidy garden. Sitting in the early morning sun she opens the envelope and begins to read. “Cathy, Sorry to leave so suddenly, but I’m sure you can understand that life has been difficult for us since Scarlet came along, with more and more accusations being thrown at me by George’s parents each month. We have come to realise that neither my family nor his will ever accept us being together, and as sad as that makes us both we have decided that it is no environment to continue to raise a child, never mind two. As our second child is due in the coming months, we have chosen to find somewhere safe to live, somewhere where nobody knows about us and cannot judge our relationship or our children anymore. I know that you have tried your best to stop this but sadly prejudice is hard to fight when it is so engrained. So incredibly sorry about not letting the children play yesterday, but we were in a rush to get everything sorted. Please pass the wolf on to your little man, Scarlet asked that he have it. I know I will see you again at a better time, a much better time, and that the children will have the opportunity to become very good friends in the future. All my love Anne” A tear slipped down Cathy’s nose as she folded the letter back up slipping it into the envelope. She had never failed her pack before, it hurt. She will never fail them again.