The Call of the Moon

by Kristy Breckenridge

  Faye simply rested there. There was nothing else she could do. From what she could tell, she couldn’t even move. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. Even when she broke a leg as a child, she was still able to get around. Right now, she was completely immobile from the legs down.

  “Alright, I found a little something.” Roy had returned with a box of band-aids. Kneeling down in front of her, he unwrapped them. Apparently they were new, never have come out of the box. Not until now. “Hold still.” He said, and suddenly he leaned in. His tongue swiped at her forehead.

  “Uhm…”

  It was quick and easy, and before long he was sticking a band-aid right there on her forehead. She still had a look of confusion on her face, and he must have realized it. “Our saliva is basically antibacterial. We can clean anything with it.” He sighed heavily, looking up at her. “What am I going to do with you, Faye? You just seem to be getting sicker and sicker.”

  “It’s not like I chose this.” With her elbow on the couch, she allowed her head to fall into her hand. She rubbed at her eyes, feeling moisture there. “I just feel like a failure. A complete and utter-total failure.” She nodded, keeping her eyes in the palm of her hand.

  “Don’t feel like that. We all feel like we failed. I mean shit…” Roy shrugged his shoulders. “We failed you. Big time.” The sound of Roy’s phone went off, and he immediately stood from his spot. When he brought his phone down, he brought his index finger up, as if to silence her from any words, and also another means to be back with her in a minute. And he did just that, stepping away from her and back outside.

  It was then that she wondered where Lothos had wondered off to. He didn’t show up after her big fall. In her mind, she laughed at how ridiculous that sounded. Big fall. But then she started quickly feeling…depressed. What did this mean? Would she ever be able to use her legs again? The thought stunned her. That is…if she lived to be able to know.

  Approximately five minutes went by, and Roy came back in with a smile on his face. “Good news is, they did find out that there is a witch that will more than likely be able to help with this.” But then he said, “Bad news is, they will have to find her. She is somewhere in the United States.”

  Figures, Faye thought to herself. “Are they going there now?”

  “No. They are coming back here. They probably wont be back until way late, considering it’s already…” He looked down at his lit up phone. “Noon-ish.” He sighed. “But they need to do some research first. Apparently finding this woman ain’t gonna be easy by any means.” He plopped down onto the couch right next to her then, and looked over at her. “See? There is hope after all. You just have to hold onto that hope, I suppose.”

  “Where is Lothos?” She asked, with a raised brow.

  “Oh.” He chuckled. “He felt like shifting. He liked how big the area was, and how secluded it is. I mean…our place is pretty damn secluded, out there in Oklahoma, but here…Wow.” He shook his head. “Would make any wolf want to run free.”

  “Hm.” She smiled, and looked down. She supposed she understood, because right now, all she could think of was getting up on her own and walking to the bedroom to take a nap. “Can you help me up?”

  “Sure. Yeah.” He jumped up almost instantaneously, and then reached down to bring her arm around his neck.

  Faye allowed him to help her up, even though it was humiliating to her. And once he settled her down onto the bed, she curled up under the blankets, and looked out her bedroom window. Both hands were tucked under the side of her face, and she suddenly thought of something.

  Fenrir cared about her, despite what he led on to believe. Fenrir cared about her so deeply, but he was conflicted on what he should and should not do. This she understood very well. But there was also another thing she understood. It was the cursed fate that brought her here. It was fate that allowed her to be the mate of a werewolf. It was fate that made him…crazy about her.

  It was a thing of nightmares really. And to Faye, that was not how she wanted a relationship. Because it was her who wanted to pursue more, but at the same time…she didn’t want someone only wanting her because some mark said so.

  It was at that moment, right as she was closing her eyes, that she knew…

  She no longer wanted Fenrir.

  9

  Twelve hours went by, and Faye was becoming even more weaker than she was before. And it was drastic. It was so bad, that she could barely roll over in her bed, by herself. It was dark outside, from what she could tell, and she felt a hand touch her hip, in a comforting manner, from behind. “Faye. I heard about your fall.”

  She looked over her shoulder, sleepily. More than just sleepily. Any other day, she would be waking up feeling refreshed. But this was hardly the case now. Noct, sat in a dining chair right at the edge of her bed, “You don’t look any better, either.” Reaching out, the backs of his knuckles caressed the hollow part of her cheek.

  Her lids felt heavy, as she tried to focus on him. “I feel worse.”

  “Do you?” He asked, and he had a concerned look on his face.

  Slowly, she nodded, and inhaled deeply. There seemed to almost be a rattling sound in her chest.

  “Faye, what if I told you that…my blood has healing factors?” His head tilted to the side. “My blood may be able to fix this…if not temporarily.”

  “Fix…all of this?” Her chest would rise and fall slow and relaxed.

  He shook his head. “I’m afraid it wouldn’t fix the mark, but…it may make you feel better.”

  Slowly, she brought herself around so that she may lay on her back. Even that took a lot of effort.

  Now Noct slid off the chair, and went down down to his knees, on the floor. His dress shirt sleeve, he unbuttoned and rolled up his arm. “It may be the least we can do. You should at least try it.” He shook his head. “Now, it…wont be as favorable as it would be for…well…me.” He smiled then, a dazzling flash of pearly white teeth..and also fangs. “But it will make you feel better, even if it is only temporarily.” Suddenly, he brought his wrist up to his lips, and she could only imagine that his fangs went right through that taut piece of skin. Slowly, his wrist left his lips, and his fangs were practically dripping with his own blood. “Quickly, before he decides to heal.” With that said, he crawled up onto the bed, propped her up some, behind his other arm, and the wrist that he had bitten into, was now being brought up to her own lips.

  Faye did not hesitate. She had no reason to hesitate, because what more could she lose? His blood would either heal or not do a single thing to her. Her neck arched, as she brought her head upward, as good as she could with how weak her muscles had become. Only then did her lips close over the two gaping holes along his wrist.

  His blood was…not how she thought it would be. She thought there would be a strong metallic flavor…but not his. Noct’s blood was a very strange flavor that she could not place. She’d never tasted something that could be in comparison to Noct’s blood. It had a harsh tangy flavor, with a hint of sweet. To a normal person, that would sound good, but Noct’s blood wasn’t…delicious by any means.

  Before she knew it, Noct was taking his wrist back. She almost whimpered in protest if she even had the strength to make a sound. When she looked down at his wrist, both of the holes seemingly closed, as if two pieces of fabric were miraculously stitching themselves together. And then his skin was as smooth as a baby’s bottom all over again.

  “How do you feel?” He asked, and his voice was kind of…gruff.

  She looked up at him, and instantly noticed the red sparkle within his eyes. These weren’t the usual flames that she would see in Fenrir’s gaze, no, this was literally red. Just like rubies. “I’m not…sure.” Her brows furrowed together, as if she were trying to figure out if she felt any different or not.

  “Well. You have more color to your skin…” He spoke. “At least that is a step.” He sighed, allowing his head to drop back against the pillow, as he looke
d up at the ceiling. “Perhaps one more feeding would make you feel even better.” He shook his head, turning to look at her. “But not right now. Too much and it could-”

  “It could what?”

  He smiled, nothing big, but it was definitely there. It was tender in a way. “There is risk of turning you.” He sat up suddenly, bringing himself into a standing position. “But, we don’t even know how that sort of thing would even work. Or how it would react with all of this.”

  She knew what he meant. There was a possibility, that Fenrir’s claim on her, would interfere with the possibility of being turned.

  Why was she even thinking about this. She raised a brow. “You talk as if you would like for me to be turned.”

  He inhaled deeply through his nose, and pondered for a moment. He was looking down at the floor the entire time, with his hands buried in his dress pants. “I think that, should come at a different conversation.” With that, he leaned over her, pressing a firm kiss to her forehead. His lips lingered there, what seemed like forever, but then he pulled away and stepped out of the room. He left the door open for her.

  Slowly, Faye sat up. Okay, so she did feel better.

  A lot better, actually.

  But not enough to walk, from what she realized. A whine, laced with aggravation, sounded from her, when she couldn’t swing her legs over the edge of the bed. She was completely paralyzed from the waste down.

  Flopping back down onto her side, she dozed off all over again.

  For the next several hours, Faye had went back and forth from feeling good to feeling absolutely like shit. In the span of six hours, Faye had already drank from Noct’s essence four times, and despite how he tried letting on, that she might get better, she could see the hint of confusion and sorrow in his face.

  It seemed, even though she took in his blood, it didn’t take long for the affects to leave her, and the color to drain from her face all over again. Even though Noct tried to say everything was okay, he wasn’t fooling her. She knew that he realized something was very wrong.

  There was another thing that Faye started to realize. His blood, which at first tasted…kinda bad, was now actually becoming a favorite of hers. She realized that she was quickly becoming addicted to Noct’s blood…as if that were truly a thing and that it was normal.

  It was SO not normal. Not in the least bit. “I do not understand.” Noct said, now pacing her bedroom. Faye was laying there on her side, feeling drained and sleepy all over again. It had been only an hour since Noct had last given her his blood. It was liking coming straight off of a caffeine high. Only this was so much worse. “My blood…has always had healing factors. I thought, okay, if it doesn’t necessarily work the first time, then more than likely the next but no.” He shook his head, finally coming to a stop in the middle of the bedroom, and looking at her. “It does not appear to be getting any better, and you are requiring more and more from me.” He shook his head, now looking at the door, with an expression that could only read, hatred. “Fenrir should be here already. And even then-”

  With what strength Faye could muster up to speak, she managed to do so, surprisingly with ease. “Remember what you told me?” She asked, now moving her arm slowly out, to touch the side of his pant leg. “You told me to never speak like that to you.” She slowly breathed in and out, as she looked up at him lazily. “I’m asking you to do the same.”

  Reaching down, his fingers buried into Faye’s hair, and he lightly caressed her scalp. It felt amazing, and if he kept it up, she’d fall asleep. “Faye.” He began; capturing her attention all over again. She looked up at him. “When’s the last time you bathed?”

  She had to think for a moment. “A couple of days maybe?” She thought again. “I think, the morning before last.”

  His caressing stopped, and he dropped his hand. “I’m going to go make you a bath. Maybe it will make you feel better.”

  Maybe it will make her feel sleepier…Bath’s always seemed to do that to her. But she nodded nonetheless, because a bath definitely did sound good to her. She’d been meaning to take one. Either that, or a shower, but…in her condition, there was just no way of taking a shower.

  She felt absolutely helpless.

  It took approximately five minutes for Noct to prepare her bath, and help her up out of the bed. He brought his arm under her back and the other at the back of her legs, hoisting her up and personally escorting her to the bathroom.

  The bathroom itself was warm and steamy, because of the hot bath sitting in the tub. It was comforting in there, because her body had grown cold in the bedroom. Or anywhere else for that matter. What she thought was just the weather turning so quickly, she now realized that it was just her. Her body…everything about her was becoming more and more complicated.

  He sat her down upon the toilet seat, standing straight now, while peering down at her. “Do you need help?”

  Did she? Would she even be able to properly lift her hips? Her ass was not numb, surprisingly, but it was the part where her legs connected to her hips, and on down, was where all the feeling had completely disappeared. “Maybe.” She muttered softly, reaching for the hem of her shirt. She had pulled it halfway up, when she stopped to look up at Noct. “Just…don’t watch me. Please.”

  He looked taken aback, as if he were…displeased by that? Hurt maybe? “Faye. How could I look at you in a sexual manner, when you are in this condition?”

  He had a point.

  A point that made her want to cry. If she felt undesirable before, she was definitely feeling it now.

  “All I care about is taking care of you, right now. And that means, helping you bathe. I care about nothing else.” He knelt down in front of her, looking her square in the eyes. “I would not have rushed all this way here, if I did not care about you Faye.” He brought his hand up then, and his thumb gently brushed right along her jaw line. It was definitely a comforting feeling to her. Hell, she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t pleasing at all. “I do, care about you. So much.” He shook his head, allowing his hand to drop to her knee. “All of this kills me. Every single bit of me.”

  Faye kept her gaze on him, watching him for a small moment. She wanted Fenrir to feel this way about her. Yet, she had this new perspective of Noct. He wasn’t just her boss, but he was someone who treated her like she really truly meant something. As if she really were important. As if she were…desirable and loved. “Noct, if…I wasn’t like this. If I weren’t sick…I would try and give you a chance. The fact of the matter is…and even though I’m not supposed to talk like this…I think that this is my fate. I think this is how everything is supposed to be.”

  Hastily, she brought her tank top up over her head. She’d been without a bra for an entire twenty-four hours, possibly the longest she’d ever been without one. When she reached down to try and pull her pajama bottoms down, she wasn’t having any luck with that. That was when Noct came in and decided to help. When he reached for the waist band of her pajama bottoms, she reached out and used his shoulders as a leverage to lift some. Only then, was he able to slip them down relatively easy.

  Once completely nude, he carefully folded her clothes neatly, and rested them along the counter. Reaching for her, he brought her back up into his arms, and carried her bridal style just a foot over to the bath tub. But before he settled her down into the water, he kept his gaze on her face. “The fact of the matter is, if you were healthy, I would not have had these evenings with you.”

  And then he lowered her carefully down into the hot water.

  ◆◆◆

  Fenrir pulled outside the front of Selene’s house, and quickly exited the vehicle. He was immediately met out at the front door, by Roy and…his father. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking his father in the face. “We found a lead.” He said, and quickly made his way into the house. He looked around, wondering where Faye was, and then he heard the bath water in the tub swishing around with his good sense of hearing.

  “She’s in the
bath tub.” Roy stated, coming in after him.

  “Alright. We will need her to pack a bag.”

  Roy now came out in front of him, his arms over his chest as usual. “Have you found out where this daughter is located?”

  “We found out some leads.” Selene spoke, coming in with a big bag in her hand. For an old broad, she sure could get around easily. “We managed to find the mother of course, but what threw us off schedule, was we managed to negotiate with the health department. They gave us the state she was located in…” She shook her head. “But not the city.”

  “Which is a broad range of extra bullshit time on our hands.” Fen said, now heading for the kitchen. He immediately pulled out a beer, and seen all the food shoved in there. Roy must have had one of his hunger fits, no doubt. Cracking the beer open, he took a long heavy swig. “But we all need to get back home.”