Lunar City

by Samantha Cross

  “Because it sounds really cool.”

  “Well, then,” I replied with a chuckle. I expected a little bit of a deeper explanation than that, but I appreciated his honesty. “Daggett does sound like a detective in a film noir.”

  “Sweet,” he said with a head nod, overjoyed that I played into his fantasy.

  She wasn’t saying anything, but I could feel Melanie’s boredom seeping out of her and annoyingly swatting at the back of my head, begging me to take this nerd conversation into something she could relate to. To my relief she was too busy stuffing her face with the turkey sandwich, so I was free to ignore her.

  “Maybe she could join in on one of our gaming sessions,” Kerry said, his voice nasally and his eyes unable to look directly at me.

  “We have to know if we can trust her before allowing her in our palace,” Daggett responded.

  “Is there some kind of secret handshake you have to do in order to get in?” I asked.

  “I think having skin that’s never seen daylight is the only requirement,” Brinly teased, and both the boys chuckled. I got the impression they were all good friends.

  “The sun is our friend, remember that,” Daggett responded to Brinly, shaking his index finger in her face.

  “Speak for yourself,” Kerry interjected. “Once the sun hits me, my freckles fuse together like T-1000.”

  “At least you can get a burn,” I told him. “My skin just absorbs all heat like some mystical sponge. I half expect one day for my chest to burst open and a portal to another dimension leaks out.”

  “No, no, no, you’ve got it better, believe me. I’m an Andy Pandy, I light like a match. It doesn’t help having these two around who get to keep their glowing skin even through winter.”

  Brinly playfully fixed her hair. “I do all right, I do all right,” she responded with a big pearly white smile.

  “I look like a dang white board…”

  Daggett slapped his hand onto his buddy’s shoulder and gave him a good pat. “You’re our white board, Kerry. Whenever it’s a dark and stormy night and we need to find our way out of the woods, we’ll use the radiation from your skin to guide the way.”

  Kerry jerked away from Daggett and tried not to smile. “Oh, shut up.”

  “So, how’d you end up a werewolf?” Melanie blurted out. Just like that. No build, no formal introduction, just an immediate intrusion on what could have been a painful memory for him.

  “Melanie!”

  Melanie jumped back and gave me a stink face. “What? What else are we supposed to talk about?”

  “No, it’s all right,” Daggett said sincerely. “I’d be curious, too, if I were an outsider.”

  “She still shouldn’t be so nosy,” I apologized. “God, Melanie, we’ve been talking to him for five minutes and you ask him this stuff. You want his medical records while you’re at it?”

  “It’s all right. Besides, my medical records are a mess,” he said with a deep breath, and then I could tell he was settling in for a story. “It happened three years ago. My friend convinced me to go camping with this group of people I didn’t know. It was the typical college crowd full of dumb jocks who only got into the university because of a football scholarship. They all got wasted on cheap beer and told my friend it’d be funny if they got the dweeb to drink out of a beer bong. I did it, for reasons unknown to me, and twenty minutes later, I went out in the woods to take a leak. I stumbled on this baby wolf—or what I thought was a wolf, and I must have startled it because it nipped at my ankle and ran away.”

  “So, a human baby in werewolf form bit you?” Melanie asked.

  “It wasn’t human. There are pure werewolves and they’re the ones that infect us. We’re technically hybrids, if you think about it.”

  “Whatever. What happened next?”

  “I camped another day, went home, and the bite was so small, I didn’t have my first turn for a week.”

  “And then what?”

  “And here I am,” he answered.

  “That’s it? A baby werewolf bit you and ran away and that’s your big tale?”

  “I’ll admit it’s not as impressive as having a battle to the death using my bare hands, but you can’t exactly choose your origin story.”

  “I hope you got to pee first, at least,” I said.

  “Didn’t make much difference. Nearly pissed myself when I saw the thing.”

  “So, how long have you been here?”

  “About two years, give or take a few days. First six months here were kind of a blur,” he admitted with a humorless laugh. “The first night, I ended up sleeping outside because I couldn’t find my bedroom. I just gave up and went into the fetal position and hoped somebody would find my pathetic corpse.”

  “And I did,” Kerry said. “I poked him with a stick.”

  “I had to tell him I wasn’t dead twice before he’d stop.”

  “I had to make sure.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t have to poke it there.”

  “It woke you up, didn’t it?”

  Melanie interrupted once again. “So, what happens if you have to go to take a dump and you’re a werewolf? Do you just pop a squat in the forest?”

  Oh, my God, Melanie needed to stop with these outbursts of ridiculous questions.

  Daggett laughed really hard, but I think he thought she was making a joke. “What kind of question is that? You’re kidding, right?”

  “Oh, no, she’s not,” I apologetically answered.

  “Is your cousin on some special medication?” Brinly asked with a narrowed brow.

  “No, but she should be. Melanie, why would you ask something like that?”

  Melanie shrugged. “You never think about that kind of stuff?”

  “Nope, can’t say I do.”

  “Hey, you’re not asking any interesting questions, so I’m coming up with what I can.”

  “I don’t think they’re bothered by silence.”

  A devilish grin came over Melanie’s face as she asked, “You guys ever do it doggy style?”

  I covered my face with both hands, wishing I could disappear.

  “Brinly, you got a boyfriend—you two ever get experimental, get festive, get freaky under a full moon?”

  “You do not have to answer her,” I politely told Brinly.

  “Brinly wouldn’t know, anyway,” Daggett interrupted.

  Melanie’s face contorted with repulsion and looked at Brinly. “Oh, God, don’t tell me you’re a virgin.”

  “That’s not what I mean.”

  Brinly lowered her eyes, unable to look at any of us, and it became abundantly clear in that moment that whatever Daggett was eluding to made her very, very uncomfortable.

  “Well, what are you talking about?”

  “I’ve, uh…” Brinly hesitated. “I’ve never turned before.”

  I was so confused, my face hurt from the ridiculous faces I was making. “You’ve never turned? But you said you were a werewolf. How is it possible you’ve never turned?” I asked.

  “I’m werewolf born, not bitten.”

  “That makes a difference?”

  “Everyone else here triggers the curse when they’re infected with werewolf venom. It all happens with a bite. I’m a pureblood, so the only trigger is puberty, but I was trained for years to make sure I could control it. I was taught meditation, anger control, how to get into my own peaceful zone, so when puberty came, as well as the first full moon, I was able to control it. I was able to prevent it from ever happening.”

  “So, you’ve really never turned into a werewolf? Even when there’s a full moon?”

  “Never.”

  “That is incredible,” I said excitedly. I felt like I was in the presence of greatness. “You have all of their strengths and none of their weaknesses.”

  “It’s not something I like to brag about, so if you could not talk about it, that would be appreciated.”

  “Why?”

  “Because some people don’t see
her as a real werewolf,” Daggett filled in. “She gets a lot of backlash because she was born and not turned.”

  “Backlash?” I asked, completely puzzled. “Shouldn’t she be revered for what she is? She’s about as much werewolf as you can get.”

  “It’s because she’s never turned. Some people say she’s not a real wolf until she’s actually triggered it and that she couldn’t possibly understand what we go through, since she’s never had to endure the pain of a transformation.”

  “Yeah, but isn’t the point of being here to learn how to control your turning like she does?”

  “But they’ve all had to go through it,” Brinly replied. “To them, I’m just an entitled werewolf princess who doesn’t know the meaning of struggle. They’re earning their ability to fight it while I was born with it.”

  “It doesn’t seem fair to judge you for that.”

  “Nothing about any of our situations is fair.”

  “Couldn’t you just turn into a werewolf and get it over with?” Melanie asked. “Then they couldn’t rag on you anymore.”

  Brinly’s eyes grew in size and she shook her head. “I have no interest in turning. Ever. I’ve seen enough and heard enough to know that is one part of myself I want nothing to do with. I grew up dreading the day I might turn into one of these and I worked harder than anyone to make sure it didn’t happen. I didn’t study and practice relentlessly just to put my body through all that stress.”

  “I completely understand,” I told her. I had seen a man transform for the very first time—that night in the police station a year ago—and I couldn’t shake the high pitched screams from my brain. His back looked like an egg being cracked open. I knew I definitely wouldn’t want that for myself.

  I decided to shift the attention away from her, since it seemed to be causing her a lot of discomfort. “Have you guys been able to control your turns?” I asked the boys.

  “No,” Kerry replied.

  “Nope,” Daggett echoed. “The first time I came here, I thought it was going to be a couple simple breathing procedures and I’d have it in the bag. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. My biggest achievement was delaying it by ten minutes. Big deal, huh?”

  “It’s a victory,” I said with a shrug.

  “I’m not sure I’d even get a bronze medal for that one.”

  Out of nowhere, just inches to my right ear, I hear a deep, masculine voice say, “Are you Cora and Melanie?”

  I looked to my right and my jaw dropped. Standing at the end of our table, his hands resting flat against the corners in a relaxing lean toward us was one of the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen.

  He was built like a football player, perhaps six-foot-five, broad shoulders, chiseled muscular arms with a black sun tattoo on the shoulder—all on display, due to his sleeveless dark teal shirt. He sported a matching hair tie pulling together his long black dreadlocks that hung to the middle of his back. I noticed the tips were a light shade of brown, natural or dyed I couldn’t be sure, but it was pleasing to my eyes nonetheless. This guy’s sheer size and insane, gorgeous hair made him stick out like a sore thumb. Wearing a dark brown wooden bead necklace, tank top and baggy dark pants, he looked like he should have been on the cover of a magazine instead of hanging around a werewolf compound.

  To put it in layman’s terms, he was a hunk. If only Priscilla were here to see him. She’d go nuts.

  He stared at us, waiting for one of us to wipe the drool from our mouths in order to give him an answer. I looked to Melanie to see if she was in the process of speaking, but she, too, looked lost for words.

  I managed to roll my tongue back into my mouth and say, “Uh, yes, that’s us.”

  He nodded, oblivious to our pathetic stares. “Aga told me I was to escort one of you ladies back to your hotel to get your belongings.”

  His voice. Smooth as butter.

  “I can only take one of you, though. As a precaution.”

  “And who are you?” I asked, and swallowed deeply. I had been around many men I found attractive, but this was something different. This was like looking at a movie star.

  “The name’s Lincoln,” he said with a big smile and then threw his hand out for me to shake. We shook hands, but before he let my hand go he gave it a quick kiss in the most gentlemanly way. My face turned every shade of red and I did some weird donkey laugh.

  “So, which one of you will I be taking?” he asked.

  “Me!” Melanie shouted at the top of her lungs, jolting out of her seat so fast she knocked into her plate and it flipped onto the table. She ran to his side and beamed at him.

  Lincoln looked to not know how to deal with her and awkwardly smiled. “Well, then, I guess we best be leaving.”

  “You don’t happen to have a motorcycle, do you?” Melanie asked with stars in her eyes.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “It’s how I imagined it in my dreams,” she swooned.

  “A motorcycle wouldn’t be best for hauling your things here. Best to go with practicality,” he said with a wink.

  “Sure, we can take a van. Much more cozy.”

  Lincoln looked at the four of us at the table and then back to Melanie, his gray eyes looking regretful that he had agreed to do this odd job. “Let’s get the show on the road, shall we?”

  “You lead the way,” she said with a dizzy look on her face.

  I jumped out of my seat and rushed to Melanie’s side. “Make sure you get my things, okay?” I whispered into her ear.

  “Duh, that’s why I’m going.”

  “We both know why you’re really going.”

  She quickly glanced at Lincoln, who had stepped a few feet away from us. She then grinned like a moron and said, “Maybe I’ll be getting a little tail tonight.”

  “How long have you been waiting to make that joke?”

  “No time to chat. Later, loser,” she said and then jogged after Lincoln.

  I sat back down at the table, convinced Melanie was going to be too busy man hunting and forget to grab my belongings, and I dreaded her coming home. I needed a change of clothes more than air at this point.

  I had to admit, I was a little envious of Melanie, and not for running after a gorgeous man, but for being able to leave the premises. Even if she was being dragged there by security, she still got to go out and enjoy a little freedom. I didn’t know how restricted things were going to be for me these coming weeks, so a trip to our motel sounded really alluring.

  I caught Brinly watching Melanie and Lincoln leaving together, and when our gazes locked, she quickly turned away and focused on her meal. “Your cousin is awfully forward, isn’t she?” she said, and I could tell she was refraining from calling her what she had called Kat.

  “She went through a divorce, so…” I said it like it was somehow the thing all divorced women did—you know, running after werewolf models hoping to score. I don’t even know why I was defending her. Lord knows she never defended me.

  We all returned to eating our meals in silence.

  Out of the blue, Kerry looked up from his plate and said, “So, your cousin is single? You think—you think she’d go out with me?”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  After my items were retrieved from my motel room and dropped off at my door, I spent the rest of the evening folding my clothes and placing them inside the drawers of the dresser I suppose I could now call my own. Melanie had been all smiles when she brought me by belongings, no doubt put into this great mood by Lincoln’s company. No matter the situation, you could count on Melanie getting through it if an attractive man was nearby. I don’t know if she had great coping skills or if she’s just a horn dog.

  Night had fallen and I realized this would be the first time I’d sleep here without being completely afraid. Because of that I was allowed to really take in the grandness of this bedroom. It was like a dream or something I would see in a movie based in the 1800’s. Never in my life did I imagine I’d be staying in a room like this. />
  After I threw my clothes off and changed into a clean pair of pajamas, I found my purse on a night table and started going through it. It was heavy, and when I reached my hand inside I felt something metallic. What the hell?

  My wind chimes. I had forgotten all about them.

  As soon as I pulled them out, the wind from outside brushed into them and they began to sing. My room was perfect for wind chimes. I popped open the balcony door and hung them on the railing. The night winds blowing in from the lake spun the chimes uncontrollably and it made the most beautiful music.

  There, listening to the chimes and the waves crashing, feeling the cool breeze against my skin—I was almost happy.

  Someone knocked at my door twice and, a second later, opened it right up. Good thing I wasn’t in the middle of changing.

  “You’re back,” I said as Max entered the room, quietly shutting the door behind him, dressed in an opened red flannel jacket with a white t-shirt underneath. “Must have been some hunting trip for you to be gone until the sun went down.”

  His face flinched slightly like he was trying to remember if he told me he’d be out hunting. “How much do you hate me right now?” he asked. He hadn’t forgotten about my vegetarian ways.

  “If you have any blood on your hands and touch me I will kick you where the sun don’t shine.”

  He grinned flirtatiously. “So, are you giving me permission to touch you if my hands are clean?”

  I shook my head, trying not to grin.

  “So, how was your first day of school?” he asked, teasing.

  “You joke, but that’s what it felt like. Walking into a cafeteria with a bunch of judgmental eyes on you who are waiting for you to screw up so they can hold it against you.” I sat down on the edge of my bed to relax. “Seven billion people on this planet and I’m pretty sure only two of them like me.”

  Max scoffed. “I think you have me beat there.”

  “At least the people here have welcomed you. I’m the enemy.”

  “They don’t know you. It’s as simple as that.”

  “At least Brinly seems to be giving me a chance. I’m not sure why, but I won’t question it. It’s not really wise to start probing people on why they like you or they might overthink it too much and find the flaws.”