“Come here,” He stared me down.
“No.” I crossed my arms.
“Don’t make me come over there.”
“That’s not a threat. You’ve changed. You’re not the sweet overprotective guy I knew last week.”
Carson relaxed and leaned against the hood of the car looking off in to the distance.
“Look,” I said walking towards him. “It’s not that I don’t like you. It’s not that I have a problem with werewolves. It’s not that I have Rifle and Galen now as really good friends. It’s that I can’t afford you to leave like you did again. That was my downfall, the darkest days of my life. And I know you’re so, look at you,” I gestured up and down his body. “You chooses me and think it’s your duty to just walk away to ‘keep me safe’. No I just need you to be the guy I once met and stay that way. It’s for both of our sakes.” I ended on a soft note standing in front of him.
“I’m sorry.” He looked down at his feet.
“And I forgive you,” I lifted up his chin so our eyes met. “For now.”
We lie on the hood of the car pointing out constellations. He told me many stories of what they met to the werewolf pack.
“You know,” He said pointing at a cluster of stars. “That group of stars are there every night. The story goes that four million years ago the goddess of wolves, Leto, took a man and a wolf and put them together and they rose from the earth descending to earth. At that time the wolf and human were the two most dominating species on earth. That’s where all the power comes from I guess.”
“Oh. Is there a story for vampires?” I asked curious.
“Yes there is.”
“Will you tell me?”
“If you really want to hear it that much.”
“Trust me,” I placed my hand on his forearm. “I do.”
“Well I don’t know If you guys have a different myth. But the werewolves’ version dates back to four million years ago. They were made by Agra. He was the main enemy of Leto and wanted to create a more powerful creature to go against the werewolves strong forces. He made the vampire which was equally strong. That’s the myth to why our species dislike each other.”
“Oh that makes sense.” I rolled over on my side and kissed him on his forehead. “That’s for telling me.” I giggled.
Today was horribly terribly dull. Carson was in the office with Regan, Dimitri, and Jeremy. Supposedly they went a little overboard including some pictures of John Milton's Paradise Lost. Mine and Loren’s were on some random classic about fish so we were pretty safe. Tarun hadn’t come back to school yet. I haven’t seen her outside of school yet. It was a little awkward being around my old werewolf friends. They rarely talked to me and tried to avoid me as much as they could.
Right now I was staring at an untouched plate of food. Galen told me I only needed to feed once a month. Every phone call I didn’t answer. Every text I didn’t reply. Still I took his tips and advice in to consideration.
“Come on. Let’s go to science.” Loren said rubbing her neck right where her tattoo was.
Science with Stephens was always more exciting than any other class. Today we were looking at pond water. It was so disgusting. But of course me and Mitch were partners just like in every class and got done first. I felt bad for that poor guy. Carson can be pretty intimidating. Loren along with the others went back to the clan since it was a full moon. Carson stayed with me. I convinced Emi to leave so Carson and I could spend one peaceful night together. Wolves are very very comfortable bed accessories even though I couldn’t even sleep anymore. I’m just glad all those myths about coffins, and sleeping during the day were not true. Otherwise I’d really never make it.
The next morning none of the werewolves were there. I got a tray of food and stopped when I noticed Galen. I started having a panic attack. My feet disappeared beneath me. What the hell was he thinking of coming here? I thought as my face met the cold floor of the gym. My cheeks turned red as I stood up to face three hundred pairs of eyes.
That Californian dreamer Galen looked at me and muttered, “Sorry.”
“You damn well be sorry!” I shouted then stomped off to go clean myself up.
“Leslie!” He ran after me.
Both of us were incredibly fast runners, and I had run to the beach by Carson’s house in no time. There was nowhere to go beyond the beach."
“Go away Galen,” I spat.
“Leslie look, I’m sorry I just left that one night. A-and, and I just wanted to make it up to you.”
I swallowed awkwardly. “Galen, it’s complicated. We’ve talked once for-what-five minutes? And I don’t even know you. Here you come walking in to my school and make a damn fool out of m-”
“I go to your school.”
“What?” Did I hear him right?
“I enrolled on your school.”
“Galen! Why? This is only going to create problems between you and Carson and you know it!” I pushed against his chest.
“I was ordered to.”
“But-”
“There are no buts! Just here me out for once, okay? I was told to. I don’t even live in this country In case you haven’t noticed my accent.” I did notice his accent. It was an adorable British accent that was so hard to ignore. “I live in Great Britain with four other vampires. We can see that you are very very powerful because you inherited all the power from the werewolf bite. And our hunting pack is the strongest in the whole history of Vampires. They told me to lure you to them. But I-I- It’s hard to lie to you. Please please don’t cry.”
“That’s not why I’m crying,” I told him, managing to wipe a few tears off my face. “It’s because I don’t know where I belong. I mean Carson, It’s just I don’t know.”
“Sometimes I feel like that. Not to be creepy or anything but I’m about three hundred years old. Technically seventeen. I never even met my parents. I got turned and lost a lot of memory until about two weeks after. I felt as If my world was coming to an end. I tried multiple attempts at killing myself but couldn’t. You are forced to be what you are forever. And I should’ve died a few hundred years ago. Anyways I wandered the earth forever and got rejected so many times by so many vampires. Until this pack of four found me. Audrey, David, Anthony, Grace. They accepted me. The four most powerful vampires in the world besides the other pack who kill innocent humans. Montroy, Tracy, Rayband. Anyways I was accepted as weak as I was at the time because they saw something in me. And in time I became as powerful as them.
“In time I got as powerful as them. Even more so actually. Anyways I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry.”
“Galen I’m sorry and- Is there a way to meet these vampires?”
“Hell yes there is, girl!”
We both started laughing.
Chapter 9
“What is he doing here?” Carson asked me as we were walking to science.
“Oh,” I squeaked. “So you noticed?”
“Is there something I don’t know about?” He asked.
“Oh no he just told me earlier that he enrolled here. And you know that’s all he told me, because I don’t really talk to him. You know. By the way I’m going to be gone for a week.”
“No you are not.” Carson told me.
“Oh but I thought I told you I’m going to New York on vacation with my parents.”
“Since when?” He asked suspiciously.
“My mom got these tickets to some ballet.”
He stopped in front of the classroom and said, “As long as you’re not lying.”
I knew full well I was lying. Galen agreed to take me to England to meet this pack.
“Carson?” I asked.
“Yes babe?”
“Is there a pack of vampires in England?”
“Yes quite a few actually. Which ones are you talking about?”
“Well which is the most powerful?”
“Probably the one that stupid vampire is from. I hope you never ever see them Leslie. I mean it. I k
now you’re a vampire and all but these guys are hardcore and I don’t want you to have anything to do with them.”
I was hyperventilating. I couldn’t promise this.
And then Galen shoved in to Carson and snorted, “Excuse me dog. Blocking the entrance much?”
“That bastard!” Carson whispered hotly.
I rolled my eyes and walked in to the classroom.
“Today...” I heard the teacher. “We will be dissecting several small animals. Shark, squirrel, and lizard. We will be looking at the blood types...”
Carson squeezed my knee so hard that if I were a human I’d surely snap. Galen looked as surprised as me.
I raised my hand. “I don’t feel good.”
“Sir I don’t feel good either.” Galen instantly blurted.
“I’ll have Katy escort you to the nurse’s office.”
There was no way Galen and I could’ve coped with that much blood and kids in one room.
“Thanks Katy,” I said when we got to into the room.
She glared at me. No one at this school liked me. Because I was the odd one out who hung out with the ‘tattoo necked people’. They hated me because Carson picked me over some fake Barbie wannabe.
As soon as she left it came so unexpected. Galen grabbed my hand and ran off campus in literally five seconds. It felt new to be able to run sixty miles an hour. It was one of those ‘Bring on the wind!’ moments. And I didn’t even get tired. I easily jumped over a ten foot bush. Galen held my hand with an iron grip giving me no lead or direction. Until we came upon... a cemetery.
“Why did you bring me here?” I asked.
“Oh come on!” He laughed. “Just the first place that came to my mind. Stop looking so grim. Lemme guess. You think I brought you here to kill you?”
I couldn’t imagine Galen’s beach boy features harming me at all. “No.”
“Then what?”
“No I’m not supposed to be here. Carson told me to stay on campus unless I’m with him. This graveyard-” I gestured. “Is not.”
“Les.” He leaned up against an old tree. “I would never put you in any danger, Love.”
“Well your intentions with me were to lure me to that pack of yours. Which by the way when do we leave anyways?”
“Saturday morning we’ll take a flight.”
“As naive as I’ve been lately I bet your plans are to kill me at the end of this.” I turned my back to him and stared at the ground.
“Make up your mind girl. Who the hell do you think I am?”
“I don’t know Carson, who do you think you are?”
“Let’s see. I’m someone Carson can never be for you.”
“Ga-”
“Shh, don’t interrupt. Someone with a heart. Someone with a piece of mind. With love. Someone you never have to lie to just to do what you want. By the way you still have to tell Carson you’ll be leaving.”
“He’s just caring for me and I did tell him.”
He snickered. “What did you tell that dog?”
“Please don’t talk about Carson like that, especially around me. I told him I’m going to some ballet in New York anyways.
He laughed hysterically. “Since when was ‘Leslie’ and ‘ballet’ used in the same sentence before?” He couldn’t stop laughing.
“Galen!” I slapped him. “This is serious!”
“Whoa Les,” He said still grinning like a child. “Calm down.”
“No I won’t until you can act a little more mature. Why can’t you and Carson just be friends?”
He looked at me with a ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’ look. “Really Les? You know why.”
I tapped my pencil against the blank page of my notebook. Then my head fell. And hit the desk.
White covered everything. No trees. Just a flat plane with some rocks and cliffs. A V-shaped formation of stark white figures with pitch black eyes walk towards the child, One that looked like a young male not more than ten years old. It was definitely a vampire child with one difference. The eyes. The eyes were green. Like a werewolves. Three huge dogs came from the other side. Werewolves for sure. Both forces came upon the young boy, mauling him. The last thing I heard was a scream and my eyes shot open.
I grasped the edge of the desk and panted.
“Ms. Woods.” The teacher tapped his stick against the edge of my desk. I pulled my head up to look at him.
“Just,” I was sweating bullets. “A really bad migraine. “Then got up and staggered out of the classroom.”
“Leslie?” I hear Lorens voice. “What happened?”
I slid down the wall of the empty wall. “I-I don’t know. I just saw it.”
“Tell me, Les, I can help.”
I don’t know where it came from but I felt a sudden rush of anger. “I don’t know okay! I’m sick of this! I’m sick of you! Sick of werewolves! I hate you Loren! We’re not friends! Please don’t ever talk to me again!”
I looked up to see her eyes so full of pain and hurt. Tears.
“I’m so sorry.” I whispered biting my lower lip.
Why’d I just spaz out like that? It wasn’t natural. I turned around and ran out the building completely shattering both glass doors. A wolf ran next to me. Loren had followed me I guess. I didn’t know where I was running but the wolf kept trying to cut me off. Finally I gave up and stopped.
“What do you want?” I cried. But when I looked up I saw Carson.
“Leslie.”
We both stared at each other in the Alaskan summer rain.
“Carson?” My raspy voice croaked out.
“Follow me.” He ordered.
And then we were flying. I realized this was our first time running together more than sixty miles an hour. Carson was the medication I needed right now anyways.
I managed to get into his house in my condition. I don’t know what happened to me. I felt like I was in a total hangover.
“I can’t stand.” I panted leaning over his kitchen counter.
He took me into his arms kissing me gently on the forehead. His parents were in the next room looking at me with sympathy.
“What happened honey?” They asked.
“I’m fine.” I assured them.
“Is there any-”
“Mom,” Carson interjected. “We’re both perfectly fine.”
He led me to his small room. The mirror was the first thing that caught my attention today.
“Wait come here.” I took his hand and led him over to the mirror. “Look at us.”
“Your skin is white as snow and mine is so dark. You’re eyes are a silvery black while mine are bright green. We both have the fangs. Your hair is almost blond while mine is close to black. We can both run at speeds up to a hundred miles an hour. We could both be parkour world champions. I can turn into a whole other animal whenever I want but forced at the moon. The moon is the only time any werewolf can’t control themselves. I’m a carnivore while you have your own diet of blood. We are two different beings but we were meant to be. It’s something new that has never happened before. This is why every pack of both species have heard of this. They all want you for numerous. They want your strength or death. It’s like a purgatory. But you, you are a miracle. The very reason I breathe.”
“Carson. I-I don’t know what to say.”
“Leslie Maia Woods, I love you.”
“How did you know my middle name?” I asked.
“That part doesn’t matter.” He mumbled before leaning in to kiss me. He trailed kisses all over me and pushed me onto his bed. I lay my head on to his warm chest.
It surprised me when his stereo turned on.
“How’d you do that?” I asked sitting up.
“Honestly I have no Idea. It’s a secret in my family. You cannot let it slip. Not even to Loren or the others. Regan Is the only one outside of you and my family who know. If we’re forever then I have to tell you right?”
“Can you show me?” I asked relaxing.
One of th
e Cd's flew up as the stereo opened and they switched out. The music turned on. Of course I recognized the music instantly.
“The Wanted?” I asked.
“Yeah, this song-”
“Chasing the sun, my favorite. I listened to a lot of music back home.” I guessed.
“Yeah I like this song too.”
“Today’s Friday isn’t it?”
“Yeah do you want me to see you off to your ballet tomorrow?”
“No. Time I start doing things on my own.”
“I didn’t mean it like that anyways.”
“Trust me. I can do this.”
“Okay let’s get back to the school.” He suggested.
“Yeah car this time?” I asked.
“Good Idea.”
Lately I’ve gotten really familiar with the red convertible and the west coast guy sticker on the back. Before I turned to what I am now I used it almost daily. Two months in Cordova Alaska. Two months at the summer graduation program and not in my wildest dreams have I imagined all this would happen. My parents black and white world would be too unbearably dull to go back to. But in three weeks I would be wearing a graduation cap and my parents would be here. Carson ‘spent extra time’ making sure both our grades were above average.
It was worse than I thought when I got back to the school. Dimitri, Jeremy, Loren, and Regan were all standing there with disapproving expressions. Faculty and students were crowded around the shattered door along with a couple of news reporters. It was Alaska. They needed something on the news other than freak accidents and people who had to do with them. The occasional criminal. Who knew I would be the nest talk: Teen girl shatters two doors. Were they honestly?
Carson looked like he didn’t expect this either. “What do you want to do?” He asked.
“I don’t know. Just get out and ignore it as much as possible. Apologize to Loren.”
He came around the car and opened the door for me. As soon as I stepped out the small town instantly recognized me. I had to shove my way through news reporters ignoring multiple interrogations. It was awkward once I got to Loren.
“Hi,” I awkwardly said.
“Hi,” she said back.
MoonNight Page 7