Moon Daemon

Chapter Two : Mated

"Are you serious?" Rollins asks, shocked.

"Your mated to a daemon?" The blonde girl asks, moving a step back from Marrok.

I tilt my head at their shock, misunderstanding what is happening before me. "My mate," Marrok says, lightly stroking my cheek, sending shivers down my spine. I watch as he starts to bend down towards my face, panicking at his sudden proximity. I gasp, throwing my hand up, sending a shadow force at him, launching him up into the air and away from me.

We all watch as he is flown backwards, landing on his feet and skidding to a stop amongst the gravel. The two females start growling at me and start to shake, the scent of wolf growing stronger. I throw my hands up, ready to protect myself, when I hear Marrok from behind them yell, "Enough!"

Both females instantly start to calm down at Marrok's words, their eyes still narrowed and their stance ready.

"Alpha," the blonde girl growls. "Permission to punish this daemon for attacking you."

"Enough Accalia," Marrok says, walking back up to me.

I widen my stance, never dropping my hands.

"Calm down," he says to me, raising his hands. "I don't want to fight with you."

"What nonsense are you muttering on about," I say, finally speaking. "Mate?"

"Yes, mate," he says. "You and I are mated."

"I'm not a wolf," I hiss. "I can't 'mate'."

"It's rare, but it does happen," Marrok says. "I am Alpha Marrok Cresent, of Dark Moon Pack, the pack that runs this territory. These are my companions; Rollins is my beta, and he is mated to my sister Accalia. Conan is my Gamma, he is mated to Tala."

Sister!

"What is your name?" he asks me.

"Marrok, wait a minute," Rollins says. "She's an air manipulator."

I scoff, rolling my eyes and lowering my hands so that I can put the hood back onto my head.

"Excuse me, Alpha Marrok, but I really should be going now," I tell him.

"Wait," he says, frantically. "You can't just leave, we're mates."

"I never asked for that," I snap. "Besides, I am better off alone."

"Let her go, Marrok," Accalia says.

"No!" he roars. "This is my mate! I finally found her!"

"She's a daemon!" Accallia yells.

"I don't care if she was a f*****g human!" he growls. "She is my mate!"

"What does that even mean?" I ask. "Mates?"

"It means we have been fated together," Marrok explains.

"By who?" I scoff.

"The Moon Goddess," he says.

My heart stops as soon as the words leave his mouth.

"What did you say?"

His eyebrow raises at my question. "The Moon Goddess?" he asks.

"You speak to the moon as well?" I ask.

"What?!" Tala exclaims. "You speak to the Moon Goddess?!"

I bring my hood back down from my face, looking up at the moon and then back at Marrok.

"I spoke to the moon when I was younger," I tell them. "She is the reason I am alive today."

"What is your name?" Marrok asks me again.

I hesitate, shifting anxiously. "Esmeray," I say.

"Esmeray," Marrok grins. "Do you know what your name means?"

I raise an eyebrow.

"It means Dark Moon."

My mouth drops at his words. I look behind him to the other wolves who look just as shocked as I am.

"We are destined," Marrok says, reaching out for my hand, but I draw away.

"Stop," I tell him. "This is too much," I snap, throwing my hands up and disappearing in the shadows I summoned, vanishing before them in an instant, lowering myself into a tree nearby.

"What the f**k was that?!" Conan asks.

"That wasn't air." "She was devoured by darkness," Accalia says, looking around for me.

"Esmeray!" Marrok calls. "I know you're still there. I can smell you!"

I hold my breath as I hide behind the tree trunk I sit upon.

I hear Marrok let out a exasperated grunt. "Fine!" he shouts. "When you are ready to talk, come to the Dark Moon Pack. I will explain everything to you, and we will help you learn about your past."

Learn about who I am, I think. I watch as they turn away from my cabin, walking back towards the path leading to the lake. Marrok stops before he is completely out of sight, turning around one last time and looking directly at the tree I am sitting in. He offers a small smile before turning from me and walking away.

I sit with my back against the sturdy tree trunk, lifting my head towards the sky, looking desperately for the moon. I think back to what the others were talking about; mated, moon goddess, destined.

"Well?" I call out to the night sky. "Is this what I'm supposed to do now!?"

Nothing.

"Why would you keep me alive as a child if you were just going to abandon me as an adult!" I scream. "Come down here and face me!" I huff, leaning back to against the tree.

"You abandoned me," I whisper. "You left me alone."

I feel the tears start to trickle from my eyes, falling down my cheek and landing on my black cloak.

"I've never abandoned you," I hear.

My eyes shoot open and before me stands a beautiful woman, illuminated in white, her hair is flowing upwards like she was submerged in water.

"You're the Moon Goddess?" I ask, shocked.

"I am Hekate," she smiles. "I am the one who spoke to you when you were a child."

"Hekate," I repeat.

"I have always been with you," she says.

"What am I supposed to do now?" I ask.

"You confuse me child," she says, tilting her head. "I have heard your pleads and prayers, every night you wished upon me. I gave you an answer, and you let him walk away from you."

"Marrok?" I ask.

"Your mate."

"How am I mated to a wolf?" I ask.

"I cannot give you all of the answers, child," she tells me. "Follow your destiny, you will learn all of the answers you seek at the Dark Moon Pack."

I watch as she shimmers brightly, before dissipating before me.

"Hekate!?" I call, looking around for her.

Finally, after years of calling to her, and pleading for answers, the voice finally appears before me, and leaves before answering a single one of my questions. I grunt in annoyance, standing from the tree and leaping to the forest floor below me, allowing my shadows to catch my fall so that I don't hurt myself.

"Where even is the Dark Moon Pack?" I ask aloud, grabbing my pack and following the same path that the others did when they walked away. Usually, when I wander around aimlessly, I feel contentment and at ease, but this time, I am filled with anxiousness.

I walk for what seems like hours, until day break is threatening my every step. I worry that I made a mistake in directions, and consider finding some sort of shelter for the day when I see the gates.

I've never been to a werewolf pack before, but for some reason I didn't think it was going to be like a Kingdom with gates and a castle in it.

I look up to the sky and I see the pink colors starting to form in the horizon and I know I only have a couple of minutes of darkness left until I can't remain hidden anymore, so I cloak myself in shadows and maneuver myself over the gate and into the territory.

I move quickly towards the castle, concealing myself whenever I see a werewolf come by. I know they are suspicious of me, because they keep smelling the air and looking around whenever I walk by, hidden.

Camouflage took me years to master, hiding in shadows and moving in darkness so I was basically invisible. I made my way to the castle and snuck into the open front door.

"Guess they don't need to lock it with so much patrols outside," I whisper to myself, quietly creeping through the dark hallways. I open doors, look around, see sleeping pack members in their beds. When I get to the fourth floor I open a door in the hallway and notice Conan and Tala sleeping.

"This must be his floor," I whisper to myself, going to the end of the hallway and finding two large doors. I open them quietly and enter the room, it's so big I can't see the bed from the door.

I quietly creep around the corner, dropping my shadows from the invading sunlight coming in through the large windows to my right, when I hear something stir behind me.

I turn quickly, throwing my hands up ready to attack, when I come face to face with Marrok, who grabs my arms and pushes me up against the window.

"How did you get into my room," he growls, but strangely doesn't sound too angry.

"I walked," I whisper.

"What are you?" he asks.

"I'm a daemon," I remind him.

"I know that," he scoffs. "What kind of daemon?"

"I can control shadows," I whisper. "Or anything covered in darkness."

"A shadow daemon?" he asks.

"I guess," I breathe, smelling the sweet smell of fresh rainfall from his proximity to me.

"Why did you come here?" he asks, his face moving closer to mine. I realize just how much larger he is than me at this moment, his back bent down so that his face is level with mine.

"She told me to," I whisper.

"Who?"

"Hekate," I say.

His face drops at my words, as well as his grasp on me.

"You talked to Hekate? The Dark Moon Goddess?"

"She appeared to me after you left," I tell him. "A little annoying because she hasn't answered a single one of my questions throughout the years, but appears to me, tells me to follow you here, then disappears without telling me why."

"The Dark Moon Goddess favors you," he says, running his hand among his hair, shuffling that dark hair that was clearly messed up from sleeping around his blue eyes. I finally notice how he stands before me in sweatpants and no shirt, his muscles outlined perfectly in each ab, his shoulders looking more like large rocks, and his chest as even more impressive than what I saw earlier.

"Esmeray," he breathes, suddenly grabbing my shoulders and pulling me into his bare chest. My mind instantly flashes from 'flee' to relaxation. "Don't ever make me walk away from you again," he says into my neck.

My feet are barely on the ground, and though I thought his embrace like this would crush me, I feel strangely secure in his arms.

"I have questions I think can be answered here," I say, gently pushing on his hard core to get some breathing room. "I don't understand this whole 'Mate,' thing, or why I feel this way with you, but I feel like I will find the answers here."

"So you will stay?" he asks, his voice hopeful and eyes wide.

"For a couple nights," I tell him. "I sleep during the day, so I won't be a bother to you."

"You can sleep in here," he says, motioning over his shoulder to a huge bed, tossed on one side.

"I don't know about that," I say, uneasy.

"I won't even be in here most of the day," he says. "This way, I can explain to the others that you've come. I think you offended Accalia a little bit earlier."

"You moved to me so quickly," I countered. "I thought you were attacking."

"About that," he chuckles, making my heart flutter at the sound of his laugh. "Normally, when werewolves find their mates, it is quite hard for them to keep their hands off each other. We're a very s****l being."

"Oh," I say, feeling my face turn crimson red. "I'm sorry, but we just met, and that's way too soon."

"Relax," he smiles. "I know this is different for you. I won't force you into anything you aren't ready for."

"One more question," I say. "How did you know I was in here."

"I could smell you," he says, nonchalantly. "I couldn't see you until you dropped your cloak, but I knew you were close."

"Ah," I mumble. "I got passed everyone else okay."

"Yeah, about that," he groans. "That should have never happened. We wolves have a very good sense of smell, and it's not hard to smell the distinct smell of daemon."

"You don't have to explain that to me," I say. "Wolves don't exactly smell the greatest."

"Well, what do I smell like?" he asks.

"Rain," I whisper. "Fresh rain, like it's just about to fall."

"So I smell different to you," he smiles.

"What do I smell like?" I ask.

"Fresh lavender," he says. "If calm had a smell, it would be that."

"Is that because of the 'mate' thing?" I ask.

"Yes," he smiles. "Mates will always smell something different for their partners. My wolf is screaming in my head right now from just being this close to you."

"Wolf?" I ask.

"Thorin," he says. "The black wolf you saw at the lake last night."

"How do you know I saw him?" I ask.

"I don't," he smiles. "But he does. He said he looked right at you, and you were the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. I could only smell you, but I knew right then and there that we were mates."

"Thorin," I whisper, remembering that huge black wolf, with the piercing blue eyes.

"Don't whisper his name like that," Marrok groans. "It makes him quite excited and he wants to meet you."

"Can he come into your human form, like you his wolf?" I ask.

"He can," he tells me. "He's pushing quite hard right now to come forward, but I don't trust him yet."

"Why?"

"I told you," he says, closing his eyes tightly like he's fighting a headache.

"Werewolves are very s****l beings. His first instincts are to f**k. I know you aren't there yet."

"Oh," I answer.

"Don't worry, Esmeray," Marrok smiles at me. "I will never let anything in this world hurt you."

The sun starts to rise around the mountains, completely eradicating all shadows from the room rendering me helpless.

"I should sleep," I whisper to Marrok.

"Sleep here," he says. "I will leave. I will come back at dusk to wake you."

"I don't know," I mumble.

"I know this is hard for you," he says. "I need you to trust me. The safest place for you to be in this territory is right here in this room. I promise I will not disturb you, nor will anyone else."

I look around to the large bed on the other side of the room, thinking about how tired I am from the journey and how good it would feel to sleep in such a large bed,

"Can I ask for a favor?" I ask.

"You can ask for anything," he says.

"Can I get darker curtains?" I ask. "Just in case."

"Yes," he says, without hesitation. "I will go fetch them now, and install them, so you will have darkness around you. Anything to make you feel more comfortable."

"Thank you," I whisper.

"Why don't you go freshen up in the bathroom," Marrok insists. "I will have the black out curtains installed while you clean up, so you can sleep peacefully."

"Isn't that going to bother you?" I ask.

"I would do anything for you," he whispers. "I'll live in complete darkness for the rest of my life if that's what it takes."

"Sunlight doesn't hurt me," I smile. "It's just harder to defend myself."

"Then so be it," Marrok says. "I will come back at dusk with food. We can talk tonight when you wake up."

"Okay," I whisper, offering a small smile and walking into the bathroom, where I find an abnormally large bathtub and two sinks.

I lock the door behind me, starting the bath and stripping down from my clothes. This is the first bath I've taken in over a year, soaking myself in the hot water to my chin for an hour before the water turns cold. I wash myself more than I have in months, in the tiny shower I possessed in my cottage that barely had any water pressure.

I find a robe hanging in the bathroom and I cover myself with it. I open the door slightly, looking out into the room, noticing it is pitch black, besides candles lit throughout the room.

I step out into the darkness and feel my powers flourish in my body, circulating like they do every night when the sun sets.

I've never had much problem seeing in the dark, my eyes adjust to it extremely fast. I walk over to the bed and notice a box sitting on it.

"Open me," the note reads.

I unwrap the box and notice a cell phone box. I open the box and look around the phone, unsure how to turn it on. I've never had a cell phone before, and after a few minutes of trying to work it and failing, I throw it on the nightstand next to the bed before collapsing onto the large feathery pillows.

I close my eyes, thinking about how this is the most comfortable I've felt take over my body and lead me into the direction of the deepest slumber I've had in as long as I can remember.

I remember the feeling of my eyes being heavy, my head being cradled in feathers, and the fresh smell of rain filling my nose, before succumbing to my favorite thing in the world; darkness.