A True Luna

Another World

Layla paced back and forth in the hall while Adrian finished his conversation with little miss princess. Why hadn’t the potion worked? She took a huge risk going to bat for this girl and Evee didn’t even know it. This girl could destroy everything they built in this city and their way of life. Layla was impressed that Evee wasn’t in a panic but maybe she didn’t believe what she had seen. While lost in her thoughts spiraling into the worst case scenarios a petite woman came out of the bathroom. She had on numerous shawls with several necklaces made of various beads and crystals over top, and an ankle length skirt with a sash bag tied across her hip. She had darker skin with wavy light brown curls framing her face with big chunky colorful streaks throughout. “What do you mean my potion didn’t work!?” The small woman stomped up to Layla waving her hands about in front of her. Layla hurried to shush her “Cali! Keep it down, this is a HUMAN hospital.” Cali snorted at her. “Point me to the girl, I need to look at her.” Cali began mumbling some witchy non sense that Layla didn’t understand at all while rummaging through her bag. Adrian slid out of Celeste’s room to join them in the hall. “Oh good! Addy hold this and take me to the girl, she needs to be studied” Layla scowled at him,

Cali could get away with calling him that but she gets a lecture.

Adrian held up what looked like a peacock feather and stared at it for a second before regaining his train of thought. “Cali, you can’t ‘study’ her, she’s awake, and she’s not from either of our worlds we can’t just go in there waving feathers and crystals around telling her some potion failed to erase her memories, she’ll freak out. This needs to be approached with some kind of tact.” Cali narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips “Then you better do the talking” She sarcastically bowed gesturing for them to proceed. Layla laughed; Cali had always been dramatic even when they were kids.

There were not many witches left to begin with, let alone ones that openly interacted with anyone, especially wolves. Layla watched as Cali and Adrian bickered back and forth remembering how they’d fought when they were all younger, everyone especially their mother, thought Cali had to be Adrian’s mate. They would argue over everything, down to what path they should take through the woods, but Adrian defended her fiercely when anyone would dare to tease or harass her. He found his mate not long after he turned 17, but he’s always held Cali in high respects. Cali had lived with her grandmother on the outskirts of their pack. Layla and Adrian would very often go to spend the days with her after lessons and to escape their home life after their mother had passed. Layla didn’t like thinking ill of her father but when their mother died, he lost himself and gave up on everything. Their father had been a top Lieutenant in their pack’s guard due to his abilities. He had also led the resistance against the neighboring pack in the war that took their mother. After that the resistance and his sanity slowly fell apart. Their mother had been very close with Cali’s grandmother and their father protected them both as though they were family, and still after Cali’s grandmother passed but things were never the same.

Evee

Christine was still leaned up against the wall looking annoyed. Dr Howard was checking Evee’s blood pressure, when she had finished, she exited the room and Layla came back in joined by 2 the others. A tall intimidating, albeit tired looking, man spoke first, “Hello Ms. Taylor, I don’t think we’ve properly met...” She cut him off mid introduction “You’re Adrian Sarks, owner of the company I’m guessing I’m fired from if you came all the way to the hospital.” He appeared to be trying not to glare at her, Layla stifled a laugh. “We can discuss your employment later, I am actually here because I want to know about what you saw in the alley.”

Evee’s gaze shifted between the four people in the room. “I don’t know what you mean, I told Layla everything I saw from the fight.” She was starting to get panicky, the blonde girl had said ‘she remembers everything’ how could she know she was omitting things. Adrian gripped the bed rail and looked her up and down, this made her very uncomfortable, she shifted away from him a bit and hardened her face. “Ms. Taylor, no one here thinks you’re crazy, in fact there are things everyone in this room could show you that would make your story seem boring. My goal is to find out how I can help you, but I need to know what you saw, and it’ll be much easier and far less traumatizing for you if you just tell us.” Evee immediately became defensive, she sat up straight and glared down the bridge of her nose directly into his slate gray eyes ready to tell him off for threatening her when the picture of those eyes shot through her memory. Her eyes got wide as she stared into his remembering the same salt and pepper pieces of hair falling into his face. “I’ll tell you, but they all need to leave” She said very quietly and he gestured for Layla and Christine to leave the room, much to Layla’s irritation. “If you need me just yell hun, he can be a jerk” She stuck her tongue out at him as she shut the door behind her. Evee looked to the other woman that had come in, she seems far more interested in the discarded IV bag than anything Evee had to say. “What about her?” Evee nodded toward the strange woman. “This is my oldest friend, Cali, she’s something of a specialist. If we want this resolved she’s going to have to stay.” Cali turned to face her, “Don’t worry kid, weird is kind of my thing.” She did a little twirl and gestured to the necklaces hanging over her shawls. “Fine, but if anyone says anything about psychiatric anything, I’m bolting and I swear I’ll fight anyone who tries to stop me.” Adrian smirked, much to Evee’s irritation, she did not like being underestimated.

Evee took and deep breath and then described the scene that unfolded in the alley, giant wolf fight and all, then paused when she got to the part about the silver wolf. Adrian just watched her, no shock in his eyes, just listening. “…the silver wolf that stopped the fight, I saw him change… into you.” Adrian lowered his head a bit and softened his gaze. “That’s because it was me.” Evee looked him up and down, he was a handsome well-built guy maybe mid to late 30s, certainly not a hulking silver wolfman. “That’s not funny.” She said shaking her head at him glancing at the door mentally preparing for her escape. “I’m sure you’ve heard of us in stories...” Adrian spoke softly, but Evee heard nothing but malice, that’s what it had to be this was insane. She tried to breathe normally, if what she saw was true, and this man was telling her it was, that means all the people fighting in that alley were…. “Werewolves” Adrian finished her thought and released his grip on the bed rail sinking back into a chair as to appear less threatening.

“That’s just insane, that stuff isn’t real, I don’t…” she was getting frantic. Cali suddenly handed her a piece of gum, Evee had forgotten she was even there, but now became aware that she was sprinkling some kind of oils around her head. “The gum will help kid take it” Cali wasn’t even looking at her, she was just casually speaking while she concentrated on the space above Evee’s head. She flinched away from her nearly panic stricken “Are you a wolf too?! IS THIS WHOLE PLACE FULL OF MONSTERS?!” She felt like she might pass out but she couldn’t she had to get out of there, her mind raced. Cali put the oils down and rested her head in her hands leaning on the bed rail. “Addy’s a bit of a stuffy jerk, but hardly and monster, and if the day ever comes that I have to live as a stinking mutt Goddess take me because I refuse!” Cali remained serenely calm as if this were a completely normal conversation. “This can’t be real, you’re all crazy, I’m going crazy, how…” She began breathing way to hard and the monitors began going off. Dr Howard rushed back into the room and began trying to attach a new bag to the IV drip. Evee panicked, was the Dr. a monster? Nothing made sense she needed to get away from these people, NOW. Evee grabbed the IV and pulled the tube out disconnecting it and pushed the doctor to the side clamoring over the bedrail. She bolted for the door and out into the hall past Layla and the blonde. She frantically searched for an exit and saw a sign above a door leading into a stair well. This was as good a guess as any, she stumbled down the stairs, she could hear Layla’s voice calling out to her to stop and come back, but she had to escape. Two flights down her vision started to haze, she heard numerous footsteps above her in the stairwell.

Just keep going, there has to be a way out.

She stumbled over her hospital gown and fell forward grasping at the railing for balance. She made it to the bottom but she couldn’t stay standing, she would crawl if she had to but she would not give up without a fight. The footsteps were to close now, as she reached for the door handle, she felt two strong arms pick her up from the ground and cradle her like a child. She tried to struggle against it but shaking her shoulders side to side was all she could do. “put me down…” She craned her neck back away from her unwanted rescuer as hard as she could but he effortlessly kept her secure against his chest. As she began losing consciousness, she couldn’t help but think how warm it was and how nice he smelled.