The Curse Of The Blood Moon

10: In a New Horizon

~Evelyn~

Another two weeks later, I was as strong as I was before I started taking the poison. Anne had kept to her words of taking care of me and cooking for me all through the time that I was sick. Asher was barely around, and even when he came to see me, he was cold and rarely ever said anything beyond asking how my health was. I was going out for the first time in nearly two months today. Anne said her friends wanted to meet me, and they would rather not come to the place that I had been cooped up in all this time.

"You look very great, Evelyn, and I am so glad you agreed to go out with me for brunch," Anne said excitedly and led me out of the room.

I crossed the door for the first time since I got in. I had not even been conscious when I was carried across, so I haven't walked in weeks. It felt weird, being so helpless. At the mercy of those you do not even know to trust. Anne has been the kindest, healing both my body and my mind with everything that she does for me. It was as if she had known me for years and not as some stranger that her brother had asked her to come and treat.

"Thank you for inviting me. I mean, I should be truly grateful that you have decided to take me out of this room. It was beginning to get depressing just lying down there, day in and day out. The only breaks I got were when I had to shower and change my clothes.

"The king is aware that you are stepping out with me, and he gave his approval. Although he did ask me to bring you back in time for dinner with him. He mentioned that he had some things he would like to discuss with you. Something only the two of you know about?" she asked me, her eyes searching my face for answers.

"Don't worry. I will be in time; just make sure that I do not have too much fun where we are going," I teased, trying to divert the topic from the turn that it had taken. I knew exactly what she was talking about, and I knew that she wanted me to give her the information. It wasn't time yet; I wasn't ready to put my trust in a friend yet.

"I will make sure you do both, strike a balance," she teased back, and we laughed.

The drive to the restaurant took less than an hour, my dress was the best I had worn all week, and I had picked it from my very small wardrobe of clothes. It was a plain black dress that hugged my body. It was soft and light too, making it easy to work with since it was just a simple lunch out with an acquaintance's friend.

"Hey Tribe!" Anne cried out as soon as we entered the restaurant. A group of people, three of them actually, stood up and waved at us excitedly. They all hugged each other while one of them sat down, unflinching. He was the only man in the group, as the other two were girls.

"We have missed you so much, Anne. I feel like the king is intentionally trying to keep us apart. He thinks we are a bad influence for you, doesn't he?" One of the girls asked, and the other one nodded her head in support.

"Hello, ladies, meet Evelyn," Anne said and stepped aside to introduce the rest of the guests. "This is Carrie and Shelly, my friends from childhood, and this one over here is Albert; he was my boyfriend whom I forced to get my friend. It's a long story," Anne said as she introduced the girls and the man to me.

I shook hands with him first as he immediately stood up and took my hand, kissing it gently. I yanked my hands out of his wrist and stepped back, memories of Mason doing the same thing flooding my head.

"I am Albert, madame, and I formally welcome you to the Lycan kingdom." He said and gave an elaborate bow, earning himself a round of applause from the onlookers and even a few hoots from the men around.

"You should not touch me like that without asking. I simply wanted to have a handshake, not get harassed by your tongue on my bare skin. Don't do that again!" I warned as Shelly immediately stepped between us to defuse the tension that was building in the restaurant.

"Anne, I like her. We will be besties; I can already see the future," she said before turning to Albert. "You'd better keep your wandering tongue to yourself next time, Albert. We have warned you that harassment is not the way to go with a woman," she added and scoffed at him.

Albert sat down, his face red with a mix of fury and shame. I knew that he felt insulted by me calling out what he had done wrong, and even now, I do not care. He had no right to do that, use his tongue on me. It irked me.

"I'm glad you are here, Evelyn. We couldn't wait to meet the woman who beat death by staring it in the eye." Carrie said and pulled out a seat for me.

A waiter came to our tables, and the people ordered. Albert made a fake phone call and hurried out of the restaurant, leaving me with just the girls. I immediately felt safe and wondered why they were even friends with him in the first place. He isn't one of the good ones, and it showed. It had not even taken him seconds to show it, and I could only guess what had made his relationship with Anne not work out. It was probably a list of reasons, since she already even tagged it as a long story.

"Now, we are going to show you everywhere in this city! Let's have a fun day, girls!" Shelly said as we all raised our glasses, mine filled with apple juice, and clinked to the beginning of new horizons.