The Blood Moon

A revelation

Raine

It’s been four months since the incident at the mall.

Sienna was able to heal me by morning, but bruising is harder to heal and I had bruises on my neck and body for a few days. Jared and Marcus noticed it. I could tell they were furious and worried for me, but they didn’t dare speak against their alpha.

At first I tried to hold my own. I attempted to escape a few times. I figured nothing could be worse than what I am facing. He or his guard always caught me, and after every attempt I was beaten again. I could tell Sienna was tired, and I was losing my will to fight him off.

My guard’s name is Kyle. He’s a huge wolf and has made it clear to me that he is on the Alpha’s side in all of this. He has tried to talk to me in the past about just mating with Alpha Pierce. I have tried to explain to him that I do not feel the mate bond.

The past few months have taken a piece of me. I no longer find myself smiling as I go about my day. My willpower is gone. The urge I had to escape this is fleeting, and each day the hope I felt that I would get away from him fades. I’ve lost my appetite and barely eat. I know I have lost weight, making my cheeks and eyes begin to sink in. Alpha Pierce begs me to eat, even tries to force feed me, but I am not hungry. He accuses me of starving myself to get back at him.

Alpha Pierce swings between gentle attempts for my affection and yelling and screaming at me to obey him. One second he is stroking my hair, and the next he is pulling me to the ground by it. He cries when he beats me, begging me to stop making him hurt me.

I don’t know what he wants from me. I no longer mouth off to him. I obey his commands. All, except the ones to mate with him. I can’t bring myself to do it. I want my mate. I want that chance with him or her. Wherever they are in the world, they are longing for me too.

When Talia initially left for school, I was face timing with her every other day until the beatings got worse. She could tell I was getting hurt and tired. She must have called her brother out because he took my phone away and now I am only permitted to face time with her if he is with me, and on his phone. It has turned into a weekly event.

Talia is doing well at school. She attends the Werewolf Leadership College (WLC) in Tillamook, Oregon. She is taking courses on werewolf lore, Luna leadership, and business. WLC is about a 4 hours drive from us. We are located near Morton, WA. I am longing to visit her, just to get away from Alpha Pierce for a few days.

“Pierce, maybe Raine should come visit me for a few days?” Talia says with a smile on her face. I swear she can read my mind. She knows how bad I need to get away from him.

“I don’t know Talia, I don’t know if I can trust her to not run away.”

“Oh Pierce, stop it. Raine will be with me. You can even send your goon with her if that makes you feel better. I have a spare room.” Her eyes are pleading with him through the phone.

He sighs, and shifts me in his lap. He will only let me facetime with Talia if I stil in his lap. It's so uncomfortable, and I can tell she thinks it's weird.

He glares at me, “Do you think you can behave yourself for a few days? Maybe not try to abandon me again?”

I nod my head slowly. I need this, I know I do. But the excitement I once felt about potentially seeing Talia isn’t as strong as it used to be. My heart just feels empty, like there is so little left inside.

“Come on Pierce! Can’t you tell she is miserable? She misses her best friend!” Talia winks at him, trying everything in her power to make him concede.

“Fine!” He throws his hands up and pouts. “Take her for a few days. It’ll be good to get her misery out of here anyway.” He roughly pulls me off of his lap and walks out of the room, slamming the door behind him, leaving me and Talia alone for the first time in months.

“Just a few more days Raine,” she whispers. “A few more days and I’m going to get you help.”

“I should go Talia,” I say flatly. “He doesn’t want me talking to you alone.”

“Raine wait, I found my m--” but before she can finish I hang up the call. I walk obediently to the living room and hand him his phone. He is standing by the fireplace, his tall frame leaning against the wall, waiting expectantly for me. I bow my head to him and wait for him to dismiss me.

“Good girl Raine,” he smiles at me. He places his hand gently on my cheek and rubs his thumb against my skin gently. His thumb makes its way down to my bottom lip. He pulls at it gently, pulling my lip down to expose my teeth. I bow my head to him in submission, letting him touch me. I hate it, but it’s better than the alternative: a smack on the face.

“It seems you are finally understanding my perspective. You may go see Talia whenever you wish,” he kisses the top of my head. As I turn to leave, he grabs my hair and pulls my ear toward his mouth.

“If you run from me Raine, I will make your life hell,” he whispers menacingly. “You think your life is bad now? Just you wait. You will want to end yourself. I will break you until there is nothing left.” With that he pushes my face away and I fall to the ground on my knees. He leans down and pats my cheek twice before pulling me up by the arm and dragging me with him to bed.

****

It’s 1 in the morning, and I cannot sleep. I keep hearing Alpha Pierce’s threat echo through my mind.

I quietly get out of our bed and head across our room to the balcony. I open the glass door and close it gently behind me, trying not to wake him. I sit in a lounge chair and look out at the forest. It's quiet tonight. I lie back the lougher and stare up at the moon. In a few nights it would be full, and Sienna would be begging me for a run.

I close my eyes and reflect on my life. Five months ago, I never would have dreamed I would be here. Talia was still here, I was still in my own apartment and I was planning to go to college with her. WLC had an amazing healing program, and healing was always something I had been interested in. Talia and I even got a two bedroom apartment to share while we were there. I was happy. I was excited to start my life away from Harvest Moon. I was... free. Something I would never be again.

I feel tears streaming down my face. I look back at the moon.

I had prayed endlessly to the Moon Goddess, the mother of our race, when this all began. Recently, I realized my prayers were falling on deaf ears. If she was there, she didn’t care about my suffering. She didn’t want to hear my complaints, and she certainly didn’t want to help me. My prayers had become less and less frequent until I finally gave up.

I sighed, closed my eyes again and sent one final prayer to the Moon.

“Moon Mother, if you are there, I am done. I cannot go on. This is not life, this is imprisonment. You abandoned me, mother goddess. Please accept this as my defeat. My life is over. I will join you soon.”

Sienna howls sadly in my head. She knows I can’t go on. I don’t think she can continue much longer either.

I sob gently to the moon, repeating my prayer over and over again until I see the sun begin to rise. Alpha will be up soon to go train with the other male pack members. I sneak back into our room and crawl back to my spot in bed, before the beast awakens.

***

Jasper

It's 1 in the morning and I can't sleep. My wolf is restless and my heart is aching. I feel a wave of loneliness wash over me.

I get out of bed with a groan, running my fingers through my shaggy hair. I lazily walk towards the balcony and open the double french doors to the forest outside. It’s eerily quiet. I look up at the moon and realize it will be a full moon in just a few days. My wolf would be excited to go for a long run.

I trudge over to the chaise lounge that sits on the corner of the balcony and throw myself down. I just want to sleep. The cool and crisp November air embraces my topless body, sending a chill down my spine.

I open my eyes again and stare in horror at the moon. It’s red. A Blood Moon. I sit up in a panic as the wind begins to shift. It’s no longer cold, but warm, almost hot against my skin.

And suddenly she is there. She is floating in front of me, her long white hair whipping around her face gracefully. Her skin is white, her soft red lips stand out against her skin. Her eyes are purple, not just the irises but the entirety of her eyes are glowing purple. Her long, purple gown is blowing lazily in the breeze. She has a crown on her head made of twigs and flowers. Her bare feet barely float above the floor as she stares at me. The Moon Goddess is nothing and everything like I imagined. I get on my knees.

“Moon Goddess, I am graced by your presence.”

“Stand child and face me,” she says to me. I get on my feet and look up at her.

“The time has come, moon child. Your mate needs you.” She smiles slightly at me.

“My mate? Moon goddess, I rejected my mate 4 years ago.” I am confused. When my mate begged me to reject her, I didn’t think I would survive. The feeling of breaking the bond was agonizing, but it was the best for both of us. She had no desire to be a pack luna. Not just a pack luna, but a Luna Regent, practically a queen. She wanted to travel the world and learn more about our kind. That was not a life I could give her.

I’m lost in my own thoughts about my fated mate when the moon goddess snaps her fingers at me and commands my attention back to this moment.

“Your second chance mate is in need of you, Alpha Regent. She is suffering. She cannot continue much longer. She cries to me, begging me to let her go. There is a purpose for this moon child still.” Her voice is calm and even. “You must help her.”

“With respect, moon mother, I do not believe I deserve another chance. I had given up that dream some time ago.”

Her form begins to darken and grow, her eyes narrow. She is breathtakingly terrifying.

“You dare to question me? Your moon mother? Your GODDESS?” Her voice is no longer graceful and calm, but booming and fierce. “This moon child I have chosen for you is special to me. You are to be her mate. You are to help her heal. There is no one else. It must be you.”

I am shaking, my wolf is crying, as I bow my head to her to show respect.

“I apologize, moon mother. I forgot my place. I accept this gracious gift of a second chance mate. But what do you expect me to do?”

She softens again, and reaches her hand out to hold my chin. She pulls my head up to look in my eyes.

“My son, I have been pulling strings for some time to get my child away from her peril, but I have done all that I can. Her faith in me waivers, and I cannot go to her in her current state. Call Bryce. Go to him now. I know I can trust you with one of my most special children.”

“Yes, goddess,’” I whisper as her form begins to disappear. And as soon as she appeared, she was gone. The moon is back to its former self, pale and almost full. The cold November breeze is gripping me, making me shiver as I pull out my phone and call my dearest friend.