Star-crossed Luna

Chapter 6

Marcellus

Dawn was just beginning to break across the horizon. It was unsettlingly quiet, inside and outside the car. No birds, frogs, or anything, only the rumble of the car engine. Tall pines raced by the window, little bits of the bright morning dawn just starting to break through the thick forest. The smell of sea salt was slowly becoming stronger the closer we got to home, its familiar scent soothing my nerves. The drive home wasn’t that long, though it felt like an eternity. I just wanted to sit in a steaming hot bath and rinse away my remorse. The remaining blood I couldn’t wipe off was beginning to dry and the horrid smell assaulted my nose. I needed it off my skin.

The tension in the car was so thick it was suffocating. I could tell Zane wanted to say something, talk about what happened, and I refused to make eye contact or even look in his direction. Zane would steal glances at me, I could feel his eyes shifting to me, but I still refused to look at him. He wanted to say something but he seemed to be working up the courage, or maybe finding the right words to say. There were no right words though, and I hoped he would realize that and drop it. I knew he wouldn’t though. I’d known Zane since we were toddlers and he wasn’t one to let things go.

“Marc…” Zane finally broke the silence. I sighed deeply while holding my gaze out the window.

“Marc, we’ve got to talk about what happened.”

“No. We don’t,” I groan.

“What happened?”

“I just said I didn’t want to talk about it,” I shot back, annoyance starting to bubble up into my voice.

“You just killed them, all of them.That isn’t like you. What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know!” I growled, almost yelled, “Everything just went… black. I became so angry, and I couldn’t control my wolf anymore. I came too and they were all dead.”

Zane didn’t say anything, thinking hard about the situation we found ourselves in.

“I didn’t want to kill them,” I said.

“I know you didn’t. Maybe you’re under a lot of stress and lost control?”

He was right and I sighed deeply.

“We probably only have a few days before the rest of the Eclipse pack finds those bodies and figures out what happened. And maybe only a few more days after that before they come marching into our territory looking for blood.” Zane nodded in agreement.

“So what’s the plan from here?” Zane asks.

“Hope we can make a good impression with the Aurora Borealis pack and convince them to help us. We don’t have the numbers for a war right now.”

“Well, they sent a female and we left Azriel to tend to her. You know how he is with women. He’ll have her swooning in no time,” Zane said, and I chuckled.

“And hopefully she isn’t a looker. I told him he can’t have s*x with her, but you know he can’t help himself.” Zane and I both laughed.

We finally turned into the Madden Estate driveway and drove through the familiar gate. The long gravel road was still dark, early morning sun unable to penetrate through the thick surrounding forest. As we passed under the archway into the packhouse driveway I noticed a jeep sitting by the guest house, I assumed it belonged to the liaison. Zane parked the car in front of the packhouse and I stepped out, immediately hit with a faint but intoxicating scent. Lilac and fresh rain. I wanted to follow it, find the source, but I stifled the urge and went inside where Azriel was waiting for us.

“Welcome ba- Jesus, what happened?” Azriel asks, shocked.

“Not now,” I said and pushed past him and started up the stairs.

“You come home covered in blood and aren’t gonna tell me what the hell happened?” Azriel yells up at me and I let out a low warning growl.

“Tomorrow,” I said sternly, and continued up the stairs.

I locked my bedroom door behind me and immediately peeled off my clothes as I walked to the bathroom. I turned the tub faucet on and steaming hot water began to fill the tub. Grabbing my bottle of OldSpice body wash, I emptied the half full bottle into the water. The strong smell of the soap began to overpower the rancid smell of dried blood. I stepped into the hot water and slowly sank down to sit in the welcoming heat. All my muscles started to release and relax from the soothing hot bath and steam. The water slowly ran a rusty color as the blood soaked off my skin. A deep sigh escaped my lungs that I hadn’t realized I was holding in. The blood was coming off quite easily, though I still found myself scrubbing much harder than necessary, to the point that my skin was turning red.

Once satisfied, I had cleansed myself, I stepped out of the bath and dried myself. The bathroom was misty with steam and the mirror was fogged. Ordinarily, I would have wiped away the steam to check my appearance, but tonight my face was the last thing I wanted to see, so I left it to clear on its own. I quickly rub my towel over my hair before wrapping it around my waist and exit the bathroom. Sudden cool air sent a shock through my body and I made my way to the dresser for a pair of sweats. I tossed my towel into the hamper then turned to the soiled discarded clothes still lying on the floor. Finally deciding on throwing them away, I stuffed them into the trash bin before tying the bag off to muffle the smell.

My bed welcomed me with a comforting hug. I didn’t bother crawling under the covers, my arms and legs suddenly feeling weak. Sleep was threatening to take over, I was exhausted but I had forgotten to ask Azriel how today had gone with the liaison.

‘Azriel? Are you still awake?’ I mindlinked him.

‘Yeah, what’s up?’

‘How did today go with our guest?’

‘Oh! It went great. She’s smart, very strong. Put Garrett in his place and even had me breaking a sweat.’

‘You had her join warrior training? What the hell Az?’

‘She actually volunteered.’ Azirel chuckled.

She sounded interesting, to say the least. I was the only one who could beat Azriel in a fight and if she made him break a sweat, that was quite impressive.

‘I want to meet her tomorrow.’ and I severed the link.

My eyelids felt heavy and couldn’t keep them open anymore. I rolled over and caught the sweet scent of lilac and rain again before drifting off to sleep. A mysterious female shifter haunted my dreams. I could feel her beckoning call but she always stayed just out of reach. She danced among the trees, calling my name, but no matter how fast I ran I could never catch her. I didn’t recognize her, though I felt an odd connection and pull, like I had to get closer. I needed her near me. The sound of her soft cries echoed around me. Her sadness, her despair, was palpable and broke my heart. The urge to go to her, to console her, was overwhelming and suffocating, like if I didn’t get to her soon I would die.

I kept running. My legs started to feel heavy and stiff but she was just within reach. I pushed myself harder. I was so close but still couldn’t see her face. My hand outstretched, I called to her, asking her to stop. Just as my hand is about to make contact with her, a black and gray wolf lunges at my hand, stopping me in my tracks. Though its fangs were bared, it was the most beautiful wolf I had ever seen. A rich black base coat but it had gray highlights and mousy brown undertones. I took a step closer and a growl ripped out of its throat, but I wasn’t intimidated. I reached out my hand towards it and suddenly large fangs were hurdling at my face.