Dark Moon

ChapterFive

Overall, her life back at her dad's wasn't back with Cheryline there. There were moments when the small werewolf woman would be controlling about things, and Inara and her would get into verbal fights. It would be little things like wiping out the sink after brushing her teeth or taking her clothes to the laundry room. Just stupid things that Inara didn't understand why it was so important. There were bigger things in life.

One day, when visiting her mother after school, Irene lost her temper with Inara. Inara had come over, but her mom wasn't there, so she waited on the front porch to see if she'd show up. It had started to sprinkle a little, and Inara didn't think anything of it.

Her mom showed up with both her parents, the Alpha and Luna. She had brought them to Joseph's for dinner. Irene was not surprised or happy to see Inara; it would appear because instead of greeting Inara, her mother said, "Why didn't you cover my bike!?" Irene was referring to her motorcycle that was parked in the driveway.

Inara replied, "I didn't know that was my responsibility."

That immediately caused Irene to lose her composure, and she closed the distance and grabbed Inara by the shoulder, forcefully bringing her into the house. Inara was taken aback as her mother threw her onto the couch and began to punch her repeatedly. Irene had switched Inara before, thrown pans at her, or emotionally abused her. But somehow, Irene punching her was the worst thing her mother had ever done. Despite the pain, Inara didn't whimper or cry out. Her eyes looked out the window, searching for her grandmother and grandfather's aid, but they ignored what was happening behind the wall. Inara's stomach dropped, and she found strength in her wolf, and both Inara and Alexis became one; at merely 15 years old, Inara's eyes flashed a brilliant green. This caused Irene to stop. The only thing in that moment that stopped Inara from attacking back was the whisper of the Moon Goddess telling her not to. Both Alexis and Inara were sure that was who held them back. It was a calm, steady whisper, but both succumbed to the command.

Later that week, Cheryline helped Inara write a letter to Irene. Inara no longer wanted to be around her mother. As she wrote the letter, she couldn't believe that the Alpha and Luna heard Inara being attacked and punched, but they did nothing. It was at that moment that Inara knew the only one she could rely on was herself. Inara wouldn't let anyone treat her like her mother again.

When Irene got the letter, she called and berated Inara with how she was sure that Inara was acting and changing like this because of Cheryline. Inara explained that was not it, but Irene wouldn't hear it. She was convinced that Inara was changing because of Cheryline. Speaking of the devil, Cheryline, hearing all this on Inara's side, had John unplug the phone. Inara didn't mind and immediately went to her room and cried. It was all so much. Her fifteen-year-old self had gone through so much this year. She was new to High School, moving back with her dad, who now was dating, and now cutting off the relationship with her mother.

Life started to settle down now that she didn't have any obligation to visit her mom. Cheryline and her dad became engaged, and she finally moved in. With that, Cheryline made changes to Inara's childhood home, and it wasn't very pleasant to Inara. The changes took a lot of work to cope with. Once coming home from youth group with Joshua, Inara's room had been changed, and she was taken back. Her old dresser was gone, and she had a bigger dresser, but now she was given a computer in her room. She wasn't upset by it, but when she went to brush her teeth for the night, she stopped abruptly after flicking the lights on. The light fixtures were changed, and the decor was completely different.

Inara wasn't feeling at home.

Despite how delightful Josh was, Inara broke it off with him and somehow crawled back to Corbin. Corbin and she picked up right where they left off, but without him being so dominating over her. He still didn't care much about what her interests were. But Inara seemed to want something familiar. He was it.

Cheryline and John didn't allow Corbin to take up all of Inara's free time. Cheryline made sure Inara kept space for school and her interests. For the first time in Inara's life, someone noticed her knack for artwork. Cheryline found a program for Inara to attend at a prestigious art college where Inara got to learn more about drawing and sculpting. Inara was slowly feeling some sense of self under the guidance of Cheryline.

At the start of her Sophomore year, Inara was taking advantage of all the opportunities available at school. Cheryline even pointed out to the school that Inara's test scores and class participation didn't align with where they had her ranked. Inara was trying to determine how to respond to how much Cheryline advocated for her. She was not used to such attention, but there were times when Cheryline made Inara feel unwanted and confused. One was when John and her got married. They decided to go abroad to be wed, and instead of her being a part of the wedding, Cheryline and John did the one thing that Inara didn't think John would ever allow.

Inara stayed the night over at Corbin's.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but after that, Inara would spend the weekends at Corbin's more often than not, as if she was being put out of the way so he and Cheryline could have their own time. Inara was starting to not put up with some of Corbin's behavior. He would spend much time in the garage tinkering on his latest vehicle. Corbin would work on a car or truck and then sell it to get a new one to play with. The only vehicle he kept was an '86 Corvette. Inara did like the Corvette. The sound of it revving was much nicer than the rice type he'd built.

Corbin, in the past, usually took Inara to car shows with him. When he opted not to take her for the last one of the season, Inara felt something wrong. Inara had called when she knew he should be done with the car show. Nothing. When Corbin finally returned her call, the feeling was screaming in her ears as he sounded off. He said that he and his friend got into an accident. Neither of them had been hurt, luckily. He had been trying to show off. Nothing out of the ordinary for him, but still, something was wrong. At school the next day, she had learned he had taken another girl. Inara approached him and ended it once more with him. Inside, she had wished they'd been harmed in the accident. But she would not say that allowed. It was a feeling she didn't like having. Wishing harm to others wasn't really in her spirit.

The following semester, she had been in study hall with one of Joshua's friends. A big guy. He was probably around 5'8 and an easy 300lb. Inara found him cute despite his size. They talked a lot, and Inara was very childish around him. They flirted back and forth for weeks, maybe even a month, before he asked her. He was also very polite, and she felt this way about him because she'd learned he had asked his friend Joshua before asking her out. His name was Brandon. He had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. She learned he was a year older than her but in the same grade. His wolf was a black wolf with wheat-colored eyes. Inara Brandon was a Gamma, the same rank as Joshua.

Inara had a thing for Gammas as she chose them, while Corbin was a Delta ranking. Gammas were an excellent ranking in Inara's mind. They were more relaxed and fun to be around. Betas were alright, but they always seemed to be trying to impress or please Alpha ranked. Most Deltas were trying to show their worth. Inara didn't know where she belonged. She was born to grandparents who were Alphas. Her mother was treated like an Omega, though, and lived with the Omegas, too. Inara wasn't Alpha material, but she certainly wasn't an Omega.

Inara, for the first time, felt loved. Brandon and her could talk for hours. Often, they'd fall asleep on the phone talking with one another. Brandon treated her very carefully, as if she could break, and Inara found it funny and would often tease him. Inara thought perhaps he could be her one, but her wolf never gave any indication. Brandon was also curious about what her wolf was and felt. Inara would smile and look away with a knowing, shy look. She hadn't shifted yet, but her wolf had shown a flash of itself, so she knew she could do it. The odd part was that she learned from school that when one shifts, it isn't a slow thing. It usually was a sudden thing for the first time. One didn't usually flash a glimpse of their wolf the first time.

She didn't talk to anyone about the day her wolf came forward and flashed itself at her mother. Not out of fear, she didn't know what would be gained by sharing that information.

Brandon was moving with his father to his original pack, and Inara wondered why they didn't wait until Brandon was done with his school year. But Brandon had lost his mother to cancer earlier in the year, and his father didn't want to stay within the Crimson Moon Pack anymore, which was where he was from. They were moving southeast to the Black Water Pack. Brandon planned to stay with her, or so it seemed. When it came time to move, Inara helped them move. Oddly enough, her stepmom Cheryline had started talking about moving, too.

Cheryline asked for Inara's thoughts on moving to her pack, and Inara merely shrugged. In truth, Inara didn't mind as she knew that Wind Runner was closer to Black Water than where they were now. It was decided, and Inara was excited to be able to stay close to Brandon. She also was curious about the new high school as Cheryline talked about how better the school was. Inara hadn't a clue what more a school could offer.