The Moon and The Star

by Marissa Teng

  MATE. Her wolf told her.

  Mate? She asked her wolf, who rarely spoke to her. She sniffed the air and realized...he wasn't a wolf. This man...was a bear.

  But...he's a bear! How can my mate be a bear!? She lifted the man's arm and froze. Warmth coated her hand where she touched him and a sense of...safety filled her. I'm...safe here.

  We are safe here. Her wolf told her. Our mate will protect us. He healed us. Don't you feel it? He took away our pain.

  Lucia looked at her arms and stomach where most of her scars were. Now, they were fading. And so was the pain she awoke with each and every morning.

  Lucia tried to move the man's arm off of her only to have him grumble and pull her closer to him. It felt nice, to be held in a loving way. Sterling never held her like this. She never wanted him to. She never wanted to go back. She had to get out of the area. Far, far away from where he could never find her or Stellan.

  "Excuse me, Sir," Lucia said shaking the man, who was a bear...and her mate. "I need to go." The man awoke with a sharp jolt. Its frightened Lucia but she didn't back away as he sat up. His eyes that were as green as the forest were wide now as he looked over her. She couldn't help but smile at him.

  "Are you ok?" he asked looking from her eyes to whatever wasn't covered of her body. "Your car must have fallen off the cliff in the storm." His eyes darkened. "What were you doing driving in the middle of a storm?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? You could have been killed! You almost were! If I hadn't had gotten there in time—"

  "Thank you, for saving me and my son." She interrupted. The angry bear unsettled her. His yelling almost reminding her of Sterling and his yelling. Though his yelling was never to reprimand her for almost getting hurt or dying. "But I must go. We are running from someone and I cannot let him get us. I will not go back to him." She pushed away from him and slid off the bed. She rounded it and went to her son.

  "You should let the boy sleep." The bear said.

  He is our mate, stop calling him "the bear"

  But he is a bear.

  He is also our mate. Stay with him. He will keep us safe.

  He won't want me. I have a son. We need to leave if we want to protect ourselves and Stellan. He matters more.

  Our mate took care of him too.

  "Stellan, sweetie, wake up," Lucia spoke gently. Her son groaned and rolled away.

  "What is your name?" The bear asked her.

  She looked up at him. He was completely nude. She looked away quickly as her cheeks heated. As if feeling her discomfort, he moved to get some pants.

  "You were freezing and needed body heat." He explained as he put on some shorts. "Nothing else happened." Lucia nodded, still not looking at him.

  "Thank you for saving me and my son but—"

  "You're my mate." He interrupted. "You are not leaving." She straightened her back glaring at the bear.

  "So, I am to be a prisoner here too?" she seethed. "Am I to lay in a room with a dirty mattress, naked, while I wait for you to either have your way with me or beat me until—" The bear's roar cut her off. He raced around the bed to her but she did not back down. She waited for the slap to come or for the punch to the face or the grip around her neck. She was ready. But when the bear reached her and pulled her into his arms, she was far from ready for the feeling of pure and complete safety.

  "Is that what he did to you?" He asked as he held her tightly in his arms. "I'll kill him. Tell me who he is and I will kill him. He will never hurt you again, little wolf. I swear it. By the Star King and by my life, I swear it."

  Lucia was shocked speechless. This bear, no this man was telling her the truth, she felt it. She felt the strength emanating from him. She felt the anger roll off him, not directed at her or her son but at whoever and whatever may harm her. Without thinking, she circled her arms around him seeking whatever it was that was making her feel safe.

  Mate. Her wolf said again.

  "Lucia." She said as she began to cry onto his hard, strong chest. The man was built like...well like a bear. "My name is Lucia. My family gave me to Alpha Sterling when I was only 15. They had no choice but they didn't even try to save me. Sterling is a monster." Her bear rubbed her back softly as he buried his face into her hair, not trying to interrupt her as she finally poured out her pain. "He tortured me for years then made me carry Stellan because he wanted an heir. "He made me give birth without a doctor, I had to do it alone. Then the torture started again. But last night, last night somehow..." She pulled her head away from the bear's chest and looked at her son on the bed. "He shifted...that should have been impossible."

  "Wolves don't shift until they are 16. How old is your son?" The bear asked her, following her line of sight.

  "Six," Lucia answered. "He is only six but he shifted to protect me."

  "He is a strong pup. He will make a strong heir, but not for his father." Lucia turned back to the bear and saw his green eyes shine with love, adoration and anger that was without a doubt not directed towards her. "For me.”

  Four

  Jaxson stared down at his little wolf. Lucia was such a beautiful name. The perfect name for his perfect little wolf. She looked up at him with confusion, fear, and, it was subtle but he saw it: He saw trust. She trusted him even if it was just a little bit. Considering how she was held by a monster for nearly half of her life, that trust was not something he would take advantage of.

  When Lucia told him what that bastard did to her his bear saw red. He wanted blood and Jaxson would grant him that. He didn't care if it started a war, his mate was worth it. Never again would she suffer at anyone's hands. Never.

  "You are my mate and I have accepted you and your son. Now he is mine and I will care for him just as I would a son you might bare for me." Jaxson told her truthfully. A look of happiness crossed her eyes but then it was quickly clouded by that fear, apprehension, and pain. He hated that his mate had to feel those feelings.

  "I still cannot stay here. He will come for me and—"

  "And if he dares, I will be here waiting for him and then I will kill him."

  "You don't understand. He is strong and evil and like it or not Stellan is his son which makes him next in line to be Alpha for the pack." Lucia tried to pull away from Jaxson, but he held onto her in a manner that he hoped didn't scare her. "You don't even know me. Why would you do all this-?"

  "You are my mate." Jaxson told her. "You are the one the Star King has chosen for me and I have never been one to question him."

  "The Star King?" Lucia questioned. Right, she didn't know about the Star King. She was a wolf. Wolves believed in someone else. Someone who gave them their power. They had something to do with the moon.

  Jaxson pulled her out of the room and lead her to the kitchen before he explained. She was probably hungry and the first step to taking care of his mate was making sure she was healthy. Jaxson pulled out a chair for her in his small kitchen table, he would have to get a bigger one now that he had a mate and son and sat her down.

  We should probably get a place with more space. His bear told him reading his thoughts. Jaxson nodded to himself and went to his refrigerator grabbing the eggs and bacon. He would also have to buy more food. Not to mention that she and the boy would both need clothes. He would provide all of that for them.

  "You have a lovely home. I like it." Lucia told him.

  "It is your home now too, Lucia." Jaxson said and the blush that spread to her cheeks made his bear growl with pride. He wanted her always blushing at the things he told her, and he didn't understand why.

  "I-I" she started but was cut off.

  "What do mates mean to you as a wolf?" Jaxson asked. She raised her eyebrows at that question.

  "Um, mates are sacred. We find our mates usually when we turn 17, a year after our first shift. After all, your mate is the one person the Moon Goddess has paired you up with."

  Ah! Moon Goddess! That's who they believed in! Jaxson thought.

  Lucia continued. "You a
nd your mate form a bond that can only be broken by death and even then, some never recover from that." She looked out the window in thought, and her eyes were clouded with a distant happiness. "You make each other stronger and belong to each other. You are given love like no other can give you. It is quite a blessing."

  "Then why do you want to leave me?" Jaxson asked her and the look of sadness he did not like crossed her face.

  "Because I don't deserve you." she told him and her eyes welled up with tears he could tell she was fighting to hold back. "I prayed to the Moon Goddess for a miracle, for something, anything, so that I wouldn't hurt anymore. She answered my prayer and sent me Stellan. Because of him, I was strong. Because of him, I was able to get us out of that wretched place!" her body shook with anger. "I will never let anything happen to my son again. I cannot let anyone I care about get hurt by that man again. I don't know why the Moon Goddess had me cross paths with you and mated me to you but...but you deserve someone better than me. You deserve someone stronger than me. You deserve to have someone who isn't damaged goods." She whispered the last part and that statement had his bear roaring with anger.

  "You are the strongest woman I know!" Jaxson yelled as he walked over to her and knelt down. "You got away from a monster that had you and your son trapped for years! You are a survivor Lucia." He grabbed her small hands that were still in a fist and held them in his much bigger hands. "You and your son are here now because you were strong enough to fight back. You never gave up and you found your way to me. I could never be more proud to have such a woman as my mate." She let out a soft sob and Jaxson kissed each of her wrists. He felt a spark flash through him with each kiss and he loved the feeling. He wanted more of it but he would never push his mate no matter how much he wanted more, not after all she had been through already.

  "I can't let him hurt you too." Lucia said crying. Her crying hurt him deeply, he had to do something.

  "He won't hurt me." Jaxson told her with certainty. "I am stronger than him."

  "How do you know?" she asked shaking her head.

  "Because for the first time in my life, I have something worth fighting for." Jaxson released one of her hands to reach up and wipe away her tears. She leaned into his touch unconsciously and it made his bear swell with satisfaction. "I won't let him take you or your son. I will die before I ever let that happened."

  "You don't even know us." Lucia whispered.

  "You are my mate." He whispered back. "I would do anything for you and I know deep down, you feel the same way even though we have just met. I know you feel the pull in your heart too."

  "I can't let you put your life on the line for us." She told him but he merely shook his head.

  "Whether you like it or not, your life has become more important to me than mine. If you die, I die. There is no changing that so if you decide to run away, I will be right behind you. You will never be rid of me Lucia, I promise you that." Jaxson stood up and gently picked Lucia up placing her on the table. He bent down and rested his forehead on hers and they both closed their eyes.

  They stayed there in that position and just let the comfort swim through the mate bond. He never realized how much he needed her until she showed up. He was alone even though he was an Alpha. He never sought out the company of another but now if Lucia ever left his side, he feared he would break from the loneliness. He never wanted to be away from her.

  "Is something burning?" asked a voice. Lucia gasped and pulled away from him as her son must have followed the smell of burning eggs to the kitchen. Jaxson ran to the stove as he reached his mother.

  "Stellan! How are you feeling?" Lucia asked him. The boy was naked under the blanket he had draped over him. Jaxson's shirt would have slid right off his shoulders anyway. Like she could read his thoughts, Lucia turned to Jaxson. "Was there a bag when you found us?" She asked. He pointed to the small living room, across the kitchen.

  "By the fireplace." He answered and threw the burnt eggs into the garbage can. Lucia nodded and pulled her son along with her.

  "Who is he?" her son asked her. That was when he realized he had never told her his name.

  "My name is Jaxson!" he shouted over to them. The boy turned to look at him but Lucia was busy pulling clothes out of the bag. She turned him towards her and pulled a shirt over his head followed by a sweater, underwear and a pair of jeans. Then she looked into the bag, pulled out a few more of the boy's clothes and finally a shirt and a pair of jeans for herself.

  "Um, where is your bathroom?" she asked shyly reentering the kitchen.

  "It's attached to the bedroom." He told her pointing. "Take as much time as you need." He told her before she could ask if she could use it. He had a feeling she was just about to and didn't want her to have to ask to do such simple things.

  "Thank you.” She whispered and went to Stellan.

  "Are you sure we can trust him?" he asked his mother as he glared at him. Jaxson chuckled at that. He liked that the boy was cautious and protective.

  "Yes, sweetie, we can. I'll be right back." Lucia told him. He nodded and she scurried into the bedroom. He heard the bathroom door shut lightly and went back to cooking the eggs. He suddenly heard sniffing and jerked around. The boy had gotten within three feet of him and he didn't even notice.

  "You're a bear!" he shouted. "You're the bear I saw last night, aren't you? You were going to eat us!"

  "If I was going to eat you, I would have already. I wouldn't have brought you here and cleaned your wounds and kept you and your mother warm." Jaxson told him, still a bit annoyed that this little boy was able to sneak up on him.

  "Yeah well, you better not hurt us! I nearly killed a guy yesterday and I'll do it again if you try to hurt Mommy." The seriousness in the boy's tone unnerved him a bit.

  "Yes, your mother told me you attacked your father—"

  "He isn't my father!" he spat in distaste. "Sterling will never be my father. I hate him and I hope he dies. If he doesn't die, then, when I get older, I'm going to kill him. Then I'm going to kill the entire pack for letting him do whatever he wanted to Mommy and me." The coldness in the boy's eyes was not something Jaxson wanted to see in a six-year-old's eyes. Even he was happy at six years old, playing and running with his brother. A sudden parental part of him wanted to make sure the rest of his boy's childhood was a happy one.

  He turned back to the stove and moved the eggs and bacon onto three plates and turned off the stove. He handed one to the boy and took the other two to the table. The boy followed him and sat across from him, still glaring at him.

  "Are you going to let us go from here?" he asked him not touching his food.

  "No." Jaxson told him simply. "What's your name?" Jaxson already knew but the boy didn't need to know that. He wanted to make a simple conversation before Lucia came back.

  "Stellan." He answered. "And why won't you let us go? I'm not scared of you because you're a bear." He glared.

  "Because Stellan, your mother is my mate." Jaxson said triumphantly like he was having a bit of a standoff with Stellan. "and that makes you my son, Stellan. So, you two won't be running anymore and I will be the one to kill that bastard Sterling for everything, everything, he put you and your mother, my mate, though."

  Stellan's mouth dropped open but the front door slammed open as someone ran into his house. Jaxson knew it was his brother, Holden, so he didn't panic. He did think that he could have knocked before entering though.

  "Trouble." Holden said as he rushed in. Suddenly, Jaxson switched into his Alpha mode and put all his senses on full alert.

  "What is it?"

  "At the border, Alpha Sterling of the Blood Pride Pack. He’s demanding entrance to our territory to find his lost wife and son.”

  Five

  Tok Tok Tok

  I hear it.

  That fan in the corner of the room. He knows it drives me crazy, so he had it put into the wall.

  Tok Tok Tok

  It’s such an old fan. The wings are bent and the
y hit the wall every .5 seconds. It’s all I hear. All I ever hear.

  That Tok Tok Tok has become my heartbeat. I know I am alive as long as I hear it. I am aware if I hear it and I know it’s time to return to the darkness if it’s gone.

  Tok Tok Tok

  I’m still alive. He hasn’t taken over yet. I could never control him.

  I wish the Tok Tok Tok would stop. I wish my heartbeat would stop because then his heartbeat would stop too.

  In this cell it’s damp and humid.

  It’s hell.

  But nothing compared to the hell he’s put her though.

  I can’t get out. The lock has a key code in it and he blocks the code from my mind.

  I can only be here on the new moon. That is the only time I regain control. If that’s what you even want to call it.

  Tok Tok Tok.

  He knows I wanted to save her. That if I got out, I would free her.

  I tried to stop him when he hurt her.

  There was nothing I could do.

  Just pray.

  Tok Tok Tok

  So, I prayed.

  And prayed.

  He’s angry now.

  He’s angry because she got away! I’m so glad she got away. My little boy got away too.

  Good.

  The Moon Goddess heard me. She heard me and she saved them.

  But not me.

  Tok Tok Tok

  I’m still here...with him.

  In this damn room!

  In this damn room with the damn fan and the damn TOK TOK TOK!!

  I helped.

  I helped her get away.

  I did! I kept him down once he fainted.

  I gave her enough time to grab our sweet boy and run.

  But I wasn’t strong enough.

  Tok Tok Tok

  He overpowered me again.

  He got up. He went after her and tried to kill her.

  Now he’s looking for her.

  Please, if anyone hears my plea, don’t let him find them.

  Keep them safe.