Secrets of the Moon

by Kristy Centeno

  His collar was open to reveal a smooth neck and a silver necklace with a circle-shaped medallion with some kind of animal engraved in it. Because of the dim lighting, I couldn’t see what it was. Despite the fact that I could barely make out the silver medallion, I couldn’t stop staring at it. At least it gave me something else to look at.

  “Nice to meet you, Marjorie.” His deep voice sounded like a growl.

  “Hello.” That was as much as I wanted to say to the monster before me. “Trace, shouldn’t we get going? It’s getting late.”

  Tracy turned to look at me and I silently prayed she would take the hint and rescue me from their leering gazes before I made a fool of myself and started running frantically toward her car.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  Thank God, she decided not to flirt with these guys. I could tell she was completely oblivious as to how much the men kept staring at me.

  “What’s the rush? Wouldn’t you like to stay and chat?” Santos took a step forward as I took two back.

  “Sure, why not, I guess we can stay for a little while longer.”

  Damn it, Tracy! “Tracy, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” I whispered so only she could hear.

  Tracy could be completely oblivious sometimes and now was one of those times. I silently prayed she would take the hint, but she didn’t.

  “Why not? Come on, Marjie, they’re so cute. And that big one is so hot.”

  “No, I don’t feel comfortable. I want to leave.” In a move that resembled a predator moving in on its prey, the group of men still sitting on top of the black car slid off it. I felt my heart jump instantly. “Come on, Trace.”

  Something wasn’t right. I felt it. Was almost certain of it. And I didn’t want to be anywhere around these strangers.

  “Hey Tracy, want to see something funny?” Jack asked.

  Of course, she didn’t miss an opportunity to jump at it. Tracy walked away from me and nearer Jack, who stepped around to the driver side door and opened it. Angry that she would leave me alone, I turned and started for Tracy’s car. Behind me, I could hear Tracy laughing but I didn’t stop to see what she was laughing at.

  “Whoa! Where are you going?” Santos’s big white hand pulled at my arm and stopped my escape.

  I slapped his hand away and glared at him. “If you don’t mind, I’m waiting for my friend in her car.”

  The rest of the men joined us and I began to grow more nervous when they circled around me.

  “Your friend is busy.” His sneer caused me to flinch. “Besides, what’s the hurry?”

  “We have classes tomorrow.”

  The men were openly staring at me and much too close for comfort. One of the men reached out and snatched a lock of my hair between his index finger and his thumb. Scared and angry that he would even dare touch me, I slapped his hand away. He tossed me an amused look but said nothing.

  “I can take you home if you’re in that much of a hurry.”

  “No!” My outburst only caused Santos to smirk at me. “I came here with her and I’ll leave with her.” I felt a hand touch my back and I shrugged it away.

  Their behavior only served to confuse me further, because they seemed drunk but I couldn’t smell any alcohol on their breath. Then again, they weren’t close enough for me to tell for certain. They could be drunk, and behaving like total jerks because of it, or they could just be complete assholes because that was normal for them.

  “Well, what a mean little princess you are.”

  Annoyed, I tried to sidestep him but he prevented my escape once again by stepping in front of me to block the way. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back. It took a lot of effort for me not to scream my panic out when Santos pulled at my arm and practically pushed me into one of the other men.

  For some reason this whole scenario brought up a case of déjà vu.

  “Don’t touch me!”

  The rest of the men started to close in on me and I felt panic start to rise with the speed of a racecar. Another hand touched my arm and I slapped it away. What the hell did they want? Was this some kind of game they were playing, to see how far they could push my buttons? Turning my head sideways, I tried to locate Tracy, but due to the position the men were standing in, I couldn’t see her. Santos stepped closer and looked me up and down. His gaze felt degrading somehow.

  “Move so I can leave,” I barked at him.

  “And if I don’t?”

  I was going to kill Tracy for this.

  “Well, what’re you going to do if I don’t move?” He lowered his face so close to mine that I could feel his hot breath brushing my cheek.

  “I’m going to slap that smirk right off your face,” I snapped, irritated by his attempt at intimidation. The intimidation made me angry. I didn’t know what the deal was with them. They were deliberately picking on me for no apparent reason. The way they looked at me scared me senseless. Something about them wasn’t right. Again that feeling of déjà vu came over me.

  My eyes darted from one individual to the other, keeping them within view in case they made any sudden movements. For some reason, I kept thinking they were going to pick me up and carry me away. My hand slid inside my sweatshirt pocket in search of my cell, just in case. Thank God I’d decided to wear a hoodie that night to ward off the chilly night air; the front muffler pocket served as a perfect hiding place for my cell phone.

  “Are you, now? You honestly think that a puny little thing like you could do something to me?”

  Hot raging anger exploded inside of me and before I could stop myself, I raised my hand and did just as I had threatened him I would do. I slapped him so hard my hand hurt; it actually went numb after contact. I wanted to shake out the pain but I didn’t want them to laugh at my expense, so I lowered my hand and clenched it into a tight fist beside my body. The men were all staring at me in awed silence. Santos had a look of utter disbelief on his face.

  Not knowing what to do next, I just stood there and watched Santos closely.

  With an angry snarl, he rushed forward, grabbing my arms and pulling me to him. So quick were his movements I scarcely had time to react. “Well, what do you know, the princess is bolder than I thought.” His sneer frightened me to silence. “If you were a man, I would rip your head clean off. You don’t know how much you’ve pushed your luck tonight, honey.” He shook me so hard it caused my teeth to rattle.

  “Don’t threaten me, you stupid animal!”

  “Santos! Santos! Leave her alone,” Jack called from somewhere near us.

  “Marjie, are you all right?” I could hear the panic in Tracy’s voice.

  Jack pushed himself between the men to gain access to where Santos and I stood facing each other. He pulled on Santos’s arm to get him to release me, but he wouldn’t let go of me. Instead, he gripped my forearms even harder and I winced from the pain. I fought to keep the fear bubbling up inside me under control.

  “Come on, Santos, that’s enough,” Jack barked, obviously angry at Santos.

  Santos released me and took several steps back, his gaze never leaving mine.

  “Come on, Marjie, let’s go home.”

  I nodded and followed Tracy to her car without looking back at the group of men.

  “It was nice meeting you, Marjie,” one of the men yelled and I could hear them barking in laughter afterward.

  “Your friends are jerks, Jack.” Tracy shouted loud enough for the men to hear.

  Jack, who was accompanying us to Tracy’s car, nodded. “I’m sorry, Marjie. They’ve had too much to drink tonight.” He handed me my shopping bags, which I’d dropped when Santos shook me, and I placed them on my lap after climbing inside the car.

  “They’re lucky we don’t call the police! What the hell is their problem anyway?” Tracy was completely pissed and I couldn’t blame her. I was too.

  “That won’t be necessary.” Jack sounded a little irritated, but I wasn’t sure if it was with us or his friends. Once we were bot
h inside the car, Jack closed the door and stalked off back to where his friends were silently waiting for him.

  My hand ached mercilessly, and since we were no longer in the presence of that vulgar group, I began to rub it softly to alleviate some of the discomfort. I sat in silence as Tracy practically flew out of the outlet parking lot and onto the freeway.

  “What happened, Marjie? What was that all about?”

  “I don’t know… He got a little frisky with me so I smacked him.”

  She stared at me for several seconds before turning her gaze back to the open road. “I thought that big one was going to pick you up and break you in two!”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  She let out a nervous laugh. “I swear you surprise the hell out of me sometimes.”

  “I think I surprised myself,” I admitted.

  “I guess now we know why Jack hasn’t been around.”

  “Yeah, he’s been hanging around those losers.”

  The rest of the ride home was relatively quiet. Tracy dropped me off, saying she was going home to soak in the hot tub for a while before she hit the sack. Feeling weary myself, I ran upstairs and showered, brushed my hair and teeth, and curled up under the comforter, hoping to relax and forget the very unpleasant encounter with Jack’s friends.

  Unfortunately for me, that night was full of unpleasant images of Santos and his minions. I kept having flashbacks of his dangling medallion as it hung around his neck like a bad omen. Even though I couldn’t see the engraving on it, I saw the shining object rotating in circles, followed by his menacing smirk and his evil laughter. In retrospect, the dream was horrible and I found my insomnia problem growing at an alarming rate.

  Restlessness was taking a dramatic toll on my life and not in a good way. Everyone noticed the way I stumbled around as if in a drunken stumper and kept questioning me about it. I was afraid my father and Vicki would notice and send me back to the doctor I had completely ignored for the past three weeks. Trying to keep up with schoolwork was hard and I often had to team up with my friends or the Rousseau’s just to keep up.

  One afternoon while visiting the Rousseau’s, I almost fell asleep on the dining table and Marquis, who’d been sitting down next to me reading a newspaper, noticed my state immediately.

  “Marjorie, I hate to say this, but you look awful.”

  Unable to refrain myself, I yawned heavily and leaned back against the chair to look at him. “Gee, thanks.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

  Alexis and Simone soon joined us at the table, each holding a glass of orange juice.

  “I’m having nightmares again.”

  “Nightmares about what?” Marquis set the newspaper down on the table and turned his full attention to me.

  “About killer werewolves, people dying, me being taken away…deep into the dark, scary woods.”

  Gage came into the kitchen carrying some groceries. He placed them on the counter next to the sink and took an apple out of one the bags. “How long have you been having these nightmares?”

  “For a few days now. Why? Is there something I should know?”

  Marquis’s eyes shone with interest. “No,” he said. “Maybe you’re experiencing some kind of psychic connection of some sort.”

  I stared at them for several seconds trying to figure out whether they were being serious or not, and after noticing that no one laughed or smiled, I assumed they were.

  “I don’t think I have any psychic anything at all. How can I? I have no premonitions, or visions, I don’t see dead people, and I most certainly don’t speak to them.”

  “There are other ways of being psychic, Marjorie.” Marquis said matter-of-factly.

  “Like what?”

  “Dreams. Many people have revelations while they sleep.”

  “How is having a revelation while sleeping of any importance?” I asked.

  “Well, our kind has psychic connections to one another sometimes. It’s how we maintain communication with one another when we’re too far away to speak to each other.”

  “Well, that’s great. But the problem here is I’m a human, not a werewolf. Besides, haven’t you people heard of a cell phone?”

  Alexis and Gage laughed.

  “Of course we have, smarty pants.” Alexis laughed again. “But it’s not necessarily intimidating to warn off another male encroaching on your territory if you do it via cell phone.”

  Ah, of course. I keep forgetting these people are half-animal. “Okay, I get it. But I don’t think I have any psychic connections of any kind. That is, if such things even exists.”

  “Maybe you do but don’t know it.” Gage suggested.

  “I don’t think so. But maybe it’s time for me to change my entire opinion on mythology and crypto zoology since I now know for a fact that werewolves exist.”

  Marquis spared a glance at me then smiled.

  “I’ve even made out with one.” I grinned.

  “Two. You’ve made out with two,” Alexis retorted.

  “I didn’t make out with you. You kissed me, remember?”

  “Either way, I didn’t exactly see you put up a struggle.”

  “That’s a cheap shot, Alexis.”

  Gage and Josephine chuckled. I merely scowled at the three of them. I was just about to hit Alexis with a snappy reply when I heard a loud growl from upstairs and then a crashing sound. Marquis immediately rose and ran out of the room, Gage following closely behind him. Unsure of what was going on, I merely sat there in stunned silence as everyone else waited.

  Alexis frowned deeply and I knew by his expression that something was wrong with Kyran. Before long, Alexis rose and headed for the stairs.

  “Alexis! Alexis, wait!” Josephine yelled after him but he was gone before she even rose from the chair and made it halfway across the room.

  “What’s going on?” Within seconds, I heard another crashing sound and then two angry voices arguing, Kyran and Alexis.

  Josephine turned to look at me, her eyes full of concern. “It’s Kyran. He heard.”

  I could have sworn my heart stopped. “He heard?”

  “Yes.”

  Ah, damn! Werewolves and their keen sense of hearing! “But—”

  “The day he sneaked out to see you he caught a whiff of Alexis’s scent on you.” Her eyes grew wide. “He suspected something, but now he knows for sure.”

  “But it was a meaningless kiss! Alexis was just teasing me. I never…it…I have to go talk to him!” I started for the stairs but Josephine’s strong hand stopped me.

  “No! Marjorie, you could get hurt. Wait until he settles down.”

  I pulled my hand away and starting running up the stairs before she could stop me. “No, by then he won’t want to talk to me.” I hurried up both flights of stairs and down the hall to Kyran’s room. Josephine didn’t try to stop me; instead she followed me to Kyran’s room.

  “You just couldn’t keep your hands off her, could you?”

  I didn’t have to be inside the room to feel the wrath of Kyran’s anger.

  “You can’t push yourself on her. She has to decide on her own, you know that!”

  What the hell? Push yourself on her? What the heck does that mean?

  “It wasn’t like that, Kyran. If you would just listen I could explain!”

  I reached Kyran’s room, opened the door, and stepped inside. Gage and Marquis were holding Kyran by his arms in one corner of the room while Alexis stood near the bed, his lower lip split open and bleeding. A single cut above his right eyebrow was the only other injury I could see. He kept rubbing his jaw with one hand and I assumed Kyran had landed a few good blows to his face.

  All of them stopped to look at me but no one tried to stop me. Kyran’s eyes held a mixture of hurt and anger. I was a little disconcerted by the scene before me and for a split second, I thought about running back down the stairs, out the front door, and all the way back home.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN
/>   “Can we have a moment alone, please?” I needed to try and explain things to Kyran.

  “I don’t think that is a very good idea, Marjorie. Kyran is—”

  “I’m fine!” Kyran snapped at Marquis.

  “You aren’t fine! You just attacked Alexis.”

  “Let me go and I’ll do it again.” He sneered at Alexis but Alexis didn’t even flinch.

  “Please, Marquis, I need to speak to Kyran alone. You’re all here in the house with us, so if I’m in any danger you’ll be able to get here before he hurts me.”

  Marquis didn’t seem very convinced but Gage did, for he let go of Kyran’s arm and started for the bedroom door. Alexis followed him but not before he shot me one last weary look before he disappeared.

  “I’ll be at the end of the hall if you need me, Marjie.” Josephine squeezed my hand affectionately before leaving.

  “Kyran, you won’t hurt Marjorie, do you understand?”

  Kyran gave Marquis an irritated look. “Stop talking to me as if I was a child, Marquis. I won’t hurt her.”

  Still feeling apprehensive but having no choice but to trust, Marquis left, closing the door behind him. Once we were alone, I took a minute to observe the room. A nightstand and his desk were completely destroyed and I realized then the extent of his anger. Alexis could go places he couldn’t. Alexis could do things he couldn’t. Alexis was the other, more human side of Kyran and it was obvious Kyran hated that about his twin.

  As I approached, I began to wonder if he’d actually flung those things at Alexis or if he’d destroyed them out of rage right before he pounded his fists into his twin’s face.

  Kyran had his back to me, breathing hard as he stared out the double French doors. By this point, I wasn’t sure if he was physically exhausted because of the fight or rage. But I had the feeling it was the latter.

  “Kyran…” The moment I spoke his name he tensed up but didn’t turn around. “It’s not what you—”

  He turned around so suddenly, I jerked backwards, startled by the anger I saw in his eyes.

  “What? Think?” He shook his head angrily. “I knew it, that day at the barn, I knew what he did…I knew this would happen.”