The Call of the Moon

by Kristy Breckenridge

  “Well. Here we are.”

  “Man.” She spoke softly, while unbuckling herself. However, she did not allow herself to leave the car just yet. “I can’t wait to go take a shower and get some sleep.”

  “I do hope you rest. And well.” He too unbuckled himself, before slipping out of the drivers side. Faye was about to do the same, but before she could, the door was already opening, and she was looking up in Noct’s face with amusement. That sure was fast.

  Stepping out, she grabbed her purse, possibly something that Noct had managed to grab before she went to the hospital. Or he’d come back and retrieved it; who knew really. She headed on up to her front door, found her keys and unlocked it.

  “Faye.” She heard him speak. Allowing her door to open, she stepped inside, but turned to face him. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

  She stared at him with a blank expression. “Okay.”

  “Something rather…personal.”

  Weird, but okay?

  When Faye didn’t speak, he stepped up closer to the door, and watched her. It was quite obvious that he had something very deep on his mind. “Before this rash, did something happen?”

  Another blank expression fell on Faye’s face. What was he talking about?

  “Something. Anything. Did you…come in contact with anyone?”

  Faye slowly shook her head.

  “Nobody from the club?”

  That man from the club…

  But she’d never come in actual contact with him, yet she could not forget the eyes that were like fire, flashing before her own. It was a heat that even she felt. “No. No one.”

  “No one at all?”

  “The woman spilled her drink down my shirt. That’s all.” Faye shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, as she was now in deep thought about it all. “The only other person that I saw was this guy.” She corrected herself with a roll of her eyes. “Of course I saw other people but-”

  “But what?” He interrupted her, now completely in interest of what she had to say.

  She even laughed because of it. “Listen. Don’t worry about me. I never even spoke to the guy, we just sorta…saw one another.”

  “Faye.” He stepped closer, possibly even a little too close. It sort of took Faye aback, as she stepped further back into the house. “Please…if you ever see this man again-”

  “I’m not going to see him again, Noct. I never even spoke to him, let alone got his name and number.” She shook her head, feeling a bit light headed. “I don’t understand why a man matters so much to you.” She paused for a moment, and figured something. Truth be told, it all added up really well. “I get what this is. Now I know why you didn’t have much to say about Lily. No, Noct…I do not like you that way. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, I just-” She swallowed hard. “Lily really likes you, and it would just kill her if you and I-”

  “I know Lily is…fond of me.” He spoke truthfully. “And I would never ever do anything to make you uncomfortable.” This was when he stepped off, just a little bit further back to give them the much needed space that they needed.

  Faye brought her arms across her chest. “Good. Then we are both on the same page.”

  “Painfully so.” Noct stepped further back, and off of Faye’s porch. “I will see you in a couple of days, Faye. Sleep well.” And then he began making his way to his vehicle.

  “Wait uhm. Noct?” Faye called out, bringing her hand against the door frame. When he turned to look back at her, she finally asked her question. “Lily told you about that guy. The one that…troubled me.”

  “No.” He plainly said, with a shake of his head. “Lily told me nothing.”

  Faye had a look of confusion written on her face. “Then why are-”

  “Just because. I know. I believe soon you will understand. Just please…keep your distance away from that man.” And with that said, he abruptly ended the conversation and made his way to his car. Faye was just left there, standing like a bump on a log, and possibly with her jaw hanging out of shock.

  Such an awkward conversation.

  ◆◆◆

  Fenrir awoke to the sound of a knock on his bedroom door, but before he could protest, it was already opening. He had been sleeping off and on for the past two days, and now it was already a Sunday night. “Wake the hell up, brother.” He heard Sam’s familiar voice, but one whiff of the air, he could tell that not only one but two wolves entered the bedroom. The door closed behind them. Opening his eyes, he rolled over sleepily, and flipped on his night stand lamp. Both Sam, and Roy were standing there, as if neither one of them had slept. “This better be good.”

  “Oh it is. Tell him Roy.”

  Roy came over to the window, and pulled back the curtains just to take a glance out. “I found a woman. She is in Argentina.” He turned to look at Fenrir. “She is a witch.”

  That alone made Fenrir snort. Suddenly his attention had been taken by Roy’s claim, and so he draped his legs over the edge of the bed, and sat there with a laughable expression on his face. “Bullshit. We can’t just have any witch. The ones that mattered have all died out.”

  “Perhaps. But…” He crossed his arms over his big buff chest. “I’ve met this woman before, and she knew of the witch who…helped me and my situation.”

  Fenrir’s eyes blinked and then widened. This was definitely good news. “So she has been around for a very long time.”

  “Exactly. And she may know for sure, if this other witch is around or not. And if she’s not, she might be able to cook up the spell we need to fix this shit.”

  Roy had a good point. Yet Fenrir still had his doubts.

  “We have exactly six days until the next full moon. If we can get there within the next couple of days, we can shift there.” Sam spoke aloud, but in a soft tone so that nobody else in the house could hear their plan.

  “Yeah, and I don’t want to be forced to turn in the midst of fuckin traveling.” Roy responded, before taking yet another look out the window. “We need to get the girl and hit the road.”

  “And how do you say we should do that?” This time Fenrir stood up, after Sam asked that question.

  “True.” Roy said and let out a heavy sigh. “She’s not going to just come.”

  “Oh she will.” Fenrir spoke before heading to his closet. He pulled out many shirts and many pants. He would definitely need these on a trip. While any other trip he’d be happy to get to packing, but the only thing he was happy about this particular trip, was the fact that he would have his normal life back and running again. “If I have to make her, she will. And if she is feeling anything like I am…she’ll come as if I’m dangling a big juicy steak in front of her.”

  “Yeah but, how in the hell do we know if she even likes meat or not?”

  All of them turned to Roy, because let’s face it…why would he ask such a ridiculous question?

  “Roy. What the hell are you talking about?” Fenrir asked, while now shoving his clothes into a big black bag.

  “No, he’s right.” Sam spoke up. “If she is virginal…that could complicate things.”

  Okay, so it wasn’t a joke.

  “I never even thought of it that way. Why would being a virgin even matter in this situation?”

  “Because virgin’s don’t even know a taste. All they have are their fantasies that cook up an imagination. They don’t even know the real thing. It wouldn’t drive her on the brink of lust like you are, if she were a virgin.”

  Okay. So, Sam had a point, yet it was still a ridiculous one at that. “So what should I do, if she doesn’t cooperate? Because we definitely can’t get her on a plane all the way to Argentina with her tied up and duct taped at the mouth.”

  “You really wanna know how?” Roy said while grinning. “Give her a taste of what she’s missing.”

  ◆◆◆

  For two lousy days, Faye did nothing but putter around her house, in only a pair of pajamas, an occasional book in her hand, and munc
hing on chips and dip. So much for resting, she thought. Truth be told, she’d been itching to get out and do something, despite the fact that she was not really an outing type of person. She often loved just spending time with herself, and only herself - keeping to herself. Yet, all of those other times, she spent going to school three times a week, and having a job every single weekend night. So technically, if you put two and two together, she did have a somewhat busy life.

  Truth be told, she’d never spent two days straight at home. And now it was Sunday night - two nights after her visit to the hospital. Oh she damn hoped that Noct would have a job ready for her tomorrow. Hell, she’d come in during the day if it meant she could get out of the confinement of her home.

  Lily had come by yesterday morning, bringing her a box of chocolates and a get well card, as if her burn was one hell of a serious injury. She spent the next three hours talking on and off about Noct - the man her best friend so desperately loved. Faye, however, kept everything silent, about Noct’s sudden interest in herself.

  The rash though, seemed to not be getting any better. If she had a form of judgment, she’d thought it was spreading - which was something Noct had feared all along. She never told Lily, nor Noct that, in fear that Noct might make this much of a bigger deal than normal. The last thing that Faye wanted to do, was rack up another hospital bill. No, she just wanted to do the normal thing - wait and see.

  Now, she sat like she had for the past two nights - a book in one hand, and a glass of chocolate milk in the other. There was nothing like chocolate milk. It was sweet, favorable and thick. To her, there was no other drink that could compare to it, for it was her very own comfort drink. Yet every so often, she’d see those eyes. The pair of eyes that were like liquid fire, flashing before her own. Those mysterious eyes that would bring anybody to their knees. For the past two nights, she’d done nothing but dream of them, think of them, think of him.

  But she also couldn’t help but think of what Noct had said to her. Just please…keep your distance away from that man.

  Why would Noct be warning her of a man that she didn’t even know? Let alone Noct? Unless of course Noct had somehow been at the club that night, which she highly doubted it because lets face it - Noct was not a man you’d see in some dance club.

  It was at that very moment, that a knock at her front door, startled her deep thoughts. Who in the hell could be here at this time of night? Was it Lily? Did Noct allow her the rest of the night off? “Just a sec!” She called out, now moving herself into a standing position. If it were Lily, she was definitely not hiding her book, stupidly, under the pillow this time. Quickly, she placed it back into the book shelf, before proceeding to the door.

  Opening the door, she saw him.

  Him.

  The man that was at the club that night. He wore his black leather jacket, just as he did that one night. He wore a simple pair of blue jeans and a green shirt under his jacket. He donned a pair of biker boots, that looked as if they needed a good washing. It was then that she realized she was checking him out, and quickly found herself stammering for words to say. “Uhm…can I help you?” Oh yes he could help her. He could help her by understanding why she had these…crazy thoughts about him. All. The. Time.

  “I need to speak with you about something.”

  Okay, so he was very blunt. And why would he need to speak to her? They’d never even met. They only saw one another by distance. What would they have in common so much that he needed to speak with her about it? Was he going to ask her on a date? Suddenly that thought made a blush creep up her cheeks. “Uhm. Okay.” Okay? That’s all I can get out?!

  “Mind if I come in?” He simply asked. He watched her so intently, and she did the same. This time, she could see his eyes. They were not…golden flames like they were once before. No. This man had deep dark eyes, with possible hints of green in there. Well, technically that was all she could see, since her porch light was broken. Damn it all, she needed to get that fixed.

  But she nodded her head, and stepped to the side. She could not believe that she was letting a stranger into her house. A weird stranger at that, who would not stop staring at her the night of her birthday. Any girl would be slamming the door in this guy’s face.

  “You’re the man at the club.” She finally said, because let’s face it…they both knew that.

  The door closed behind him, and he stood extra close to look at her. “I am. And I have a favor I need to ask of you.”

  She blinked. A favor? Neither one of them spoke at that moment. Instead, she took him in, and if she were betting on it, she believed he was doing the same to her. Those deep hues of his, took her all in. His gaze went from foot to head in a very slow approving manner. Oh he definitely seemed to approve and if she heard correctly was that a….growl?

  “I need to see your mark.”

  Suddenly she blinked, as if she hadn’t heard right. “P-pardon?”

  He reached out just then, and she thought he was reaching for her, and so she stepped back at the same time. However, instead, he brought his palm open, facing upward. His palm, looked red and irritated, yet there was some sort of unsolved, unfinished pattern located right in the center. Faye couldn’t help but stare at it. It was very…unusual. Did he get some kind of new tattoo? And why the heck would he come up to her door step just to show this nonsense to her?

  Maybe he really was a weirdo.

  “You have one too.” He accused her, and when she looked up into his face, she noticed his gaze was very intently on her. He looked to be trying to prove a point.

  “I don’t have a tattoo.”

  He shook his head, and it was quite obvious he was getting angry, but the annoyed expression on his face. “Look, lady. I don’t have time for nonsense. You have a mark. It starts out as a rash-”

  Rash…

  She definitely did have a rash. And it was sudden. So very sudden and random.

  He must have realized the shocked expression on her face, because he rambled on. “I need to see it. I need to make sure that you have the mark.” Reaching out, his fingers grasped her shirt, as if he were about to go looking for this mark himself.

  “Whoa whoa there bud.” She shook her head, snatched her shirt out of his hand, and took a big step back. “I don’t know who you think you are, coming up to my door step, and claiming I have some creepy mark on my body. Because I don’t. You obviously have some kind of odd design on your hand, but mine isn’t like-”

  “So you do have a mark…”

  “No! It’s a rash. And how the hell would you know about my rash?” She grumbled in an irritated tone. “And why the hell is everybody so suddenly interested in my disgusting rash that could very well possibly be contagious.”

  “Because it is not contagious. It’s because…” He bit down onto his lower lip as if he were deep in thought. His gaze traveled down to the floor, having a moment of silence. “it’s a form of bonding.”

  “Look bud-” She started. “-I think that you should just leave my home before-”

  He was suddenly at her, his hands upon either side of her face and pulling her close. He had to dip low in order to capture her lips with his own. At first, Faye thought to fight. Fight at the temptation, fight at the heat, fight at…everything.

  Fight at the need to get away.

  But nothing came, except his lips. Her own hands came up to his leather arms, and squeezed the material. Somehow, he must have pressed her up against the wall, because she could feel it’s cool touch, to her shoulders, which were partially bare due to her tank top. And he stood awfully close.

  His lips moved in such a way, and his tongue brushed up against her lower one, as if begging for entrance. Without putting up a fight, she did just that - opening up to his darting muscle which suddenly found hers and sparred so deliciously with her own. The action caused a soft sound to escape from deep within her throat, a sound that she rarely ever made, and definitely not the cause of what someone else had done to her.r />
  But just like any other kiss, it ended. He hovered there, one of his hands moving to the wall just above her head, but his other lightly gripped her jaw, on either side. Her gaze fluttered open and she looked up at him in a silly manner. Her head did spin, and perhaps that was why she saw his eyes. His eyes that were now a golden fire color.

  Fire.

  “Oh fu-” She caught herself. Never was she one to cuss. Nothing of that serious nature. She managed to get out of his hold, slide under his arm and whip around behind him. She was staring directly at him with caution. “Your-” She swallowed hard, and almost choked on her own spit. “eyes.” She shook her head, as if she were going insane. “Just like they were at the club.”