The Silver Luna

THE CRIMSON ROOM

CHAPTER 2

My eyes opened slowly, trying to readjust to the darkness that surrounded me.

‘did I pass out?’ I asked myself.

It didn’t surprise me. I was beyond terrified. The shock must have been too much for my body to handle. I slowly sat up and stiffened when I heard voices just below me.

‘they’re back! … he promised he’d be back,’

Tears filled my eyes when I heard the small door click open. Without hesitation or any thought, I lunged myself at my would-be attacker. We both went down slamming his back into the wood flooring below, I scurried myself off his body and crawled along the floor when my hand hit something wet… I looked down at my hand and a tear fell to the floor as I realized I was sitting in my moms blood. My head raised to see her lifeless body covered in tattered clothes stained with red. Inching my eyes up further, I saw her face. Stone cold, not moving. Her skin looked grey, her deep sapphire eyes glazed. It was then that I saw her neck… her jugular ripped open like a bear had taken a generous bite; she looked almost decapitated. I’m not sure what came over me. My blood boiled, my ears rang, and i just saw red. The once pure white walls were now crimson. It became a crimson room. Before I knew it, I was on my feet. It was like some animal had taken over me. My teeth were bearing, my fists clenched so hard my nails were causing my hands to bleed.

“HOW DARE YOU….. HOW DARE YOU” it felt like the walls were shaking as I yelled.

“I’LL KILL YOU … I’LL KILL YOU ALL,” I screamed

I whipped my head around and saw one very tall guy standing there. He looked shocked, scared, almost like I was some kind of monster. Our eyes met, and for a split second, I felt calmness wash over me.

“he wasn’t the one who did this,” a voice said from inside my head. She was right. I stood there, teeth still bearing while the guy slowly walked towards me. Our eyes met again, prolonged this time. All my anger faded away, and I took a hard look at this stranger inching forward.

He was tall, very tall, around six foot 3, a whole foot taller than me. He had healthy peach coloured skin slightly tanned. huge muscular arms trying to hide, but failing, behind his long black sleeved shirt. His chest was huge, with strong pecs perfectly outlined by the tightness of his shirt. My eyes scaled up past his thick neck and perfectly chiseled jaw where full deep pink lips followed. Continuing upward, I saw a slightly crooked nose, as if they had broken it once before. His wavy, jet-black hair fell slightly in front of his long, narrowed eyes. They were beautiful, a deep, rich amber color, almost red. I couldn’t stop myself from looking. He was older than me, but not by much. Couldn’t be older than twenty. Before I knew it, he was right in front of me. He lifted his hand and placed it on my shoulder; he opened his mouth like he was about to say something when the room went black.

***

Hreafn's POV (h-ray-fen)

“Are you sure this is where your father wanted us to go Hraefn,” asked a husky voice

“yes I’m sure, Beta Dax. This is where she lives, or at least where she used to live,” I answered.

Beta Dax was my fathers most trusted beta, so it was an easy decision to ask him to accompany me on this mission, he was tall and muscular built with dark brown hair and mocha colour skin with brown eyes, he was much older than myself at eighteen, probably around his late forties.

“She must be someone very important for him to risk sending our future alpha to the scene,” exclaimed Dax

“It’s what she’s hiding that is so important,” I answered

“Any idea what that could be, or are we going in blind?” rebutted Dax

“my father just said we would know it when we saw it,” I answered reluctantly, knowing it was not what he wanted to hear

“going in blind, got it! This should be a piece of cake,” he said sarcastically

I mean, he wasn’t entirely wrong. I wished my father had given us some kind of clue to what we were looking for. I let out a sigh, and we opened the door. It did not prepare me for what I saw. The house trashed, furniture overturned, and the walls smashed in and claw marks all over the walls. I sniffed the air. I could smell three scents. Two were faint, but still all over the house. The third was stronger but stayed in the living room and the hallway. It seemed to stop at the first door, as if something scared them.

“male werewolves,” I pointed out

“be on guard Hraefn” beta Dax said while standing protectively in front of me. I shook my head while grinning.

“they are gone, have been for a while,” I stated

He relaxed slightly, but I knew he had known that. He was just being cautious. We walked slowly down the hallway, following the metallic smell of blood, turned into the first room, and saw a horrific scene. A beautiful woman laying there, her throat ripped open, unmistakingly by one werewolf. I looked around the room. It was pure chaos.

The walls smashed in, claw marks everywhere you looked, smashed glass from ornaments that once lined the windowsill. They tattered the bed to nothing but some white fluff and split pieces of wood on the floor. Every inch of the place splattered not only her blood but the attackers as well.

“looks like she put up one hell of a fight,” Dax said with the utmost respect

“But what for?” I asked. We both continued to look around the room, stepping over all the debris that filled the floor.

“Dax, you go check the other room to see if you can find anything there,” I ordered

He sighed and walked out of the room, continuing down the hall. I sniffed the air and got a slight sweet scent before hearing a small rustle come from the closet. I stepped forward, following the noise

“THERES NOTHING IN HERE!” yelled Dax from the other room. I could have killed him. I lost the element of surprise.

I inched forward as quietly as I could. The sweet smell is getting stronger with each step. Whatever it was, it smelt so good, like a field of wildflowers. The closet wasn’t big. I was able to walk in, and on either side of the walls, the shelves were lined up almost like steps towards the ceiling. I looked up to find a small door.

‘its locked’ I thought to myself.

I held the small padlock in my hand and crushed it easily. With a small click, the door opened. Before I knew it, the smell of wildflowers was overpowering me, and I was lying on my back with a small body atop of me. It didn’t stay long before it was continuously kneeing me before sliding off. In one quick motion, I get to my feet and turn to see a small girl sitting in a pool of blood. It was indisputable. This is what my father wanted us to collect.

‘poor girl, she must be terrified,’ I thought to myself.

I stepped forward to console her. Just then, she sprang to her feet. A hot wave filled the room before she yelled.

“HOW DARE YOU……HOW DARE YOU” the walls shook as if she was using an alpha’s voice, but how was that possible…

“I’LL KILL YOU…. I’LL KILL YOU ALL,” she screamed

“Dax, I need you in here,” I said over mind link

She turned, and it was then that I got a good look at the situation. She was half shifted. Her canines were over her bottom lip. Her wolf’s ears, silver as could be, were protruding from her head. I’d never seen fur that color before, her claws drawn piercing the skin of her hands drawing blood. Her eyes took me by surprise the most.

“they’re glowing,” I thought to myself, glowing purple.

“How could she be shifting?” I asked myself.

She didn’t look eighteen. At the most, maybe sixteen, how is it even possible….

Our eyes connected, and I felt her anger dissipate almost immediately. She calmed and shifted back into a young girl. I walked toward her, taking the time to get a good look at who this stranger was standing teary-eyed in front of me.

There was only one word I could use to describe her… Ethereal. Something out of a fairy tale. She was small, around five foot two or three. Her skin was pale, as white as the moon, at least the parts that weren’t covered in blood. Her tiny body was curvy, with a sharp hourglass figure and perfectly per portioned. she was still wearing her pajamas, light pink cotton shorts with a buttoned up shirt to match, both slightly stained with blood. Her neck was slender and long. Her face, oh my god, her face, it was probably the most beautiful face I had ever seen, almost doll like. her cheeks flushed with a blush red, her lips were plump with a slightly rose color to them, and a cute button nose. She had shimmering silver hair that cascaded effortlessly down to her hips. It was her eyes I got lost in. Big round almond shape eyes with a deep mysterious violet color.

It was at this point that I realized I was standing right in front of her. I lifted my hand and gently placed it on her shoulder. My hand tingled. I opened my mouth to speak when I noticed Dax come up behind her and hit the back of her neck with a karate chop motion. She fell into my chest, completely knocked out.

“Who’s this then?” asked Dax

“she is what we came for,” I replied

“her? ….. what’s so important about her?”

“I’m not entirely sure …. but she’s something special. I’ll tell you that much,” I replied, trying to shut down any more questions.

“Dax, mind link a couple of trusted betas and get them to come here and collect the body and burn the house,” I ordered as I threw the silver hair girl over my shoulder.

I walked out of the bedroom and into the destroyed living room and heard glass break under my foot. I lifted my foot and saw a picture frame. Bending down, I turned it over and saw a picture of the young girl and her mother smiling, as happy as could be, in front of cherry blossom trees with petals falling all around them. I pulled the picture out of its broken frame, shook off the remaining glass, and stuffed it in my pocket.

“I know it’s not your mom, but at least you’ll always have this happy memory,” I whispered to the young girl on my shoulder.

We walked out the front door, Dax shutting it behind us as I lay her in the back seat of the car, stroking her silvery hair gently out of her face, caressing her cheek.