Under the Blood Moon

Family Secrets

Scarlet

The sun is shining brightly across the gardens as Mum and I step out on to the lawn, we walk for a few minutes in silence, taking in the scenery and the warmth.

As we approached a small stream, I turn to her: “Mum, what is going on? How do I not know any of this?”

She lifts her head to me, giving me a soft sad smile.

“I waited for him to come home for so long, that it just stopped being real after a while. You two were growing up so quickly and life just went on.” She takes a deep sigh. “Why don’t we start with the questions you have now?” she shrugs.

The sadness in her eyes breaks my heart, she never really talked about Dad or her life before us and I never really gave it any thought. I feel my own selfishness overwhelm me. I nod and take a moment to gather my thoughts.

“How do you know Cathy?” I ask.

“We went to school together. I was raised around 20 miles from here and there is just the one secondary school for the area, so Cathy and I met when we were 11 and became friends.” She smiles remembering this. “I met your father around a year later when Cathy asked me to come to her birthday party.”

I nod and smile as she starts to giggle “He was such a jerk to start with,. He liked nothing more than to torment Cathy and her friends. He was her brother Mark’s friend and a few years older than us at the time.”

She stops, sadness overwhelming her again as she thinks about my father.

“When did you find out about the whole wolf thing?” I ask.

She giggles again “Scarlet, honey I’m a witch, I always knew about them.”

I shake my head remembering the witch revelation. “Oh yeah, the witch thing, what does that mean exactly?” I’ve an image of my mother and a cauldron that I just can’t shift.

She rubs her hands together, eyes closed, blowing softly over her moving fingers. As she raises her hands from her face, I gasp in amazement, the tiny budding flowers surrounding us suddenly burst into full bloom, stretching towards the sunlight, tiny woodland animals hop out of their burrows and nests to watch, a warm breeze whips around us bringing cherry blossom swirling through our legs and up my mother’s outstretched arms. “We are one with the earth, we worship the mother, we bring out her love and cherish her gifts.” Her voice little more than a whisper of reverence and love.

She drops her hands, and the wind drops with them, the tiny creatures hop and fly away, and she smiles at me.

“Jeez” I exclaim “My mother is a freaking cartoon princess!”

Our walk continues and she talks to me about her school days with Cathy, the day that George changed towards her, and their love started to blossom. The stupid things they would all do as teenagers, running around the countryside with the abandonment of youth.

Her mood changes a little as the story continues.

“One day, George proposed, he told me I was his mate and that he wanted us to have a family and a home together.” Her head drops sadly. “He was going to tell his parents about us that night.”

“We had a good few years where they tolerated me as George’s wife and your mother, then when we told them Andy was on his way. They had a huge argument, he swore that we would leave and we would never return, but wouldn’t tell me exactly what was said between them.” She shakes her head “I’ve never seen him so angry though.”

The sky is darkening above us as she speaks, as though responding to her mood. “Shall we head back?” she asks, noticing the clouds.

Anne

It’s been a while since I have used my magic so overtly, but showing off a little to my daughter feels good. I am actually looking forward to introducing her to the coven and teaching her those things that she should have been learning her entire life. Being back home has lifted the darkness of isolation from my shoulders and I can feel the connection to the earth mother growing strong again.

I explain to Scarlet that she has innate magic but that her brother won’t have. Witchcraft is passed through the female line only. There are a very small number of warlocks found throughout the world but none in the UK. Honestly, I have never met one and the rumours I have heard are not positive, with a deep attraction to dark magic usually accompanying those few warlocks in existence.

We move on to discussing my husband George and his family. I describe the man I remember so clearly, an older version of Andy with a huge love for life, honourable and sweet who would do anything for his family and friends. A man who adored his infant daughter and baby son who had taken a trip one day from which he never returned.

I don’t say a word about the vision that had told me this would happen nor about the hope that I had that this would one day be resolved with me in his arms once more.

We discussed the argument that was had when my second pregnancy was announced, although I couldn’t explain what it was actually about as I was never told. My heart beaks for my daughter as her eyes flood with heartbreak, the few memories she has of her father filling her mind as we talk.

As my own sadness overwhelms me, the sky grows dark and rain starts to fall over the English countryside.

We arrive back at the house as the first drops of rain land. Cathy is stood watching for our return. “Annie” she cries as she sees us. “ What’s wrong?”

Scarlet looks between the two of us confused. Cathy smiles “Whenever your mum got upset it would rain.” She says simply.

“Scarlet honey”, Cathy calls. “Shall we take a little break and then maybe I can fill in a few of the blanks your mother has about that night.” She nods, confused, as not a word has been said to Cathy about our conversation yet. Stefan takes her hand and leads her out of the room.

Cathy tilts her head as she looks at me, “Want to tell me all about it?” her hand settles on my shoulder as she guides me to the sitting room. “They’ll be a while, so we can catch up a little.”

“Ah young love” I sigh. Following my old friend, knowing that this conversation isn’t going to be as easy as the one with Scarlet.

Cathy fusses for a while, brewing a large pot of tea, throwing a few chamomile flowers in with the tea leaves in, she arranges a plate of biscuits and carries the tea tray over to the coffee table by the large, comfortable sofa. “You’ve been gone for so long.” She begins. “You said you would come back eventually, but I was beginning to think you had changed you mind.”

Taking a sip of the sweet aromatic tea, I feel my body relax. Cathy and I had been initially close, but when she had married Carmine, life had become immediately hectic for her and we hadn’t spent as much time together in the few years before I left. I sighed deeply, smiling at my friend, “Visions tend not to lie” I answer cryptically, “I am really sorry Cathy, but there are going to be things that I can’t tell you, but anything I can, I will.”

“Witchy stuff?” she asks, munching on a biscuit.

“Witchy stuff.” I nod over another mouthful of tea.

“OK, let’s start on the basics.” She says with a bright smile.

We chat for around an hour about life in Scotland, the farm, the restaurant, and my lack of love life. She fills me in on life in the pack. Her children, adopted as orphans from other packs in the main, of course, the 2 eldest I know about having been born before I left. Cathy had taken over her mother-in-law's duties in full in the two years after I left, when Carmine officially took on his father’s alpha role after Carmine Snr retired. They had managed to make the major changes they wanted to pack life and society in the next few years.

I was overjoyed to hear Cathy’s description of their first same-s*x marriage and the children adopted by this loving couple, the mixed species couples they had, including vampires, were-bears, and witches. She really had worked hard to ensure that her children only saw tolerance and love surrounding them. I was deeply proud of my friend and her ideals brought to life.

“So tell me about Stefan's brother” I begin as the door creaks open, Scarlet’s head peaking around to spot us. Cathy quickly hushes me and welcomes the new couple into the room.