The Moon Goddess

Chapter Nine

After what my mother had told me, I went to my room and told her I wanted to be alone, which was partly true but in reality, I wanted to plan what I was going to do once my mother went to bed. I didn't know if I could find Morgan on my own. And there were no clues I could follow. 

I sighed and shook the hesitation away. If I left on my own I hoped the Moon Goddess would come to my aid and lead me in the right direction. I didn't think she'd let her heir go off into trouble on her own. That thought was enough to convince me to go ahead with my plan. 

I grabbed a bag and placed my only other pair of pants inside and a couple of blouses and took out my favorite sneakers from the closet. They were almost too worn out to use but I loved them. They were my lucky sneakers. My mother didn't like me wearing sneakers or pants, she said they were unladylike, but nevertheless, she admitted they came in useful when a skirt would just get in the way. 

I looked at my bed and considered sleeping for a couple of hours before leaving since I didn't know when it would be the next time I slept soundly. So I got into my pajamas and placed the blankets over me before closing my eyes. 

My heart was beating to the sound of the clock on my nightstand and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't fall asleep. My eyes wouldn't stay closed for more than a couple of minutes and even then, the tiredness I felt was nothing compared to the worry and anxiety coursing through my veins. 

A couple of minutes later, I heard my mother walk up the stairs and I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. The door opened slightly, letting out a squeak. My mother's candle illuminated the room but I didn't open my eyes. 

Once my mother was satisfied, she walked out of my room and closed the door behind her with a soft click. I let out a sigh and sat up in my darkroom. It was strange that my mother was using a candle but now that my father was missing, she was probably thinking about saving on electricity. 

If my father didn't come back, my mother would have to keep on working in the factory, canning food, and as soon as the war was over and all the men came back, she would be asked to leave, along with all the other women, and then that would be when the economic crisis would really hit us. She would have to find another job, maybe two, just to keep us afloat. Not to mention that if I wanted to go to college, the tuition cost, and even if I worked to pay some of it, my mother would still struggle to do everything she needed to keep the house clean and the bills paid. 

I shook my head, not even wanting to imagine the possibility. Quickly, I got out of bed and turned on the lamp on my desk. I took out a sheet of paper and began writing a note. I owed my mother an explanation as to why she wouldn't see me for a while. I wouldn't tell her the truth, so I just said I was going on an adventure to look for inspiration for something to write about for my assignment. She would probably be very mad once she read the note. 

As soon as I was done writing the letter, I headed for my closet and took out a fresh set of clothes before heading to the bathroom. I got in the shower and took the quickest shower I had ever taken before getting dressed. A part of me hoped my mother hadn't heard me, she was a heavy sleeper but I doubted she would be able to sleep tonight. 

Slowly, I walked out of the bathroom and into my room to get my bag and put on my sneakers. I turned off the lamp and headed towards the front door. As quietly as I could, I opened the door and walked out. I waited a couple of moments at the door, waiting to see if my mother had heard me and was now coming to check up on me. But she didn't.

I let out a sigh of relief and straightened my back as I looked at the dark, empty street in front of me. The streetlights illuminated the silent roads and I made sure to walk closeby. 

Moon Goddess, help me. If you are real, tell me where I should go. Give me some sort of sign. I thought to myself as I looked up at the moon. 

Truthfully, I expected some kind of divine light or a swirl of wind to point me in the right direction. But there was nothing. 

I sighed and decided to keep on walking further into town. It was a Sunday night so not many people were out in the streets. Most of the shops had closed by now and the only sign of life came from a bar at the end of the road. 

I froze, my parents had always warned me about being alone at night, especially when the only people out were those intoxicated with alcohol. Those were the worse kinds of people. I looked around and decided to walk by the bar through the back where it seemed calmer. 

As I walked near, I realized I had made a mistake. In front of me was a group of men laughing and talking drunk. My eyes widened and I began to walk back but it was too late, they had already seen me. The four men in the group smiled and one of them pointed at me as they started to walk towards me. 

"Hello sweetie, are you lost?" one of them asked.

"Do you need help getting somewhere?" the one next to him asked with a smile as he reached me and stopped in front of me. 

The four men began making a circle around me and my heart began to pump painfully inside my chest. One of them moved to touch my hair and I quickly stepped back. "Please don't touch me," I said as I glared at the man. He must have noticed the tremble in my voice because his smile widened. 

"We are not going to hurt you, beautiful. We just want to talk, to have fun. I'm sure you like to have fun," he said and his friends nodded their heads in excitement. 

I shook my head and took a step back, "no. I am going home. Just let me be." This time, my voice came out stronger than before and that took them back making some of them stumble. 

"Sure, we'll take you home but stay for a while," another man holding a bottle said. He was eyeing me thoroughly and I couldn't help but shiver in disgust. 

I shook my head and retreated. I would run as soon as I put enough space between us. 

One of the men next to me grabbed my arm firmly. His grip was tight and I was sure it was going to leave a bruise. I yelped in surprise as another man grabbed my other arm and held me in place. The other two men looked amused and began to walk towards me. One of them took a curl of my hair and twirled it around his fingers as if it were silk. The other man placed his hands on my waist and leaned down to breathe into my neck. 

I wanted to throw up inside. I had never felt so useless in my life. My father had taught me self-defense but I wasn't against one or two men, there were four and I wouldn't stand a chance against them. "Such a pretty little thing," the one breathing into my neck said as he straightened and looked at me in the eyes. My blood went cold when I read his intentions in his gaze. 

I quickly shook my head and opened my mouth to say something but before the words could come out, a loud, deep growl filled the street. The four men turned to look at something behind me and chuckled. 

"Let her go," the newcomer said. He accentuated each word as he spoke, making it clear he wasn't fooling around. 

The voice sounded oddly familiar and a shiver ran down my spine as relief filled me. 

The man who had his arms around my waist laughed, "boy, it's you against the four of us. Do the smart thing and walk away while you still can." 

"She is going to come with me," the man behind me said tightly. 

The group of drunk men turned to face the man and they let go of me. Slowly, I turned around and saw Cole's cousin standing in front of us, looking furious with his hands in tight fists. 

"Boy, we warned you. This is our street and she came to us. There's no need to make this harder than it has to be," another man said with a shrug. 

Abraham didn't seem to be paying attention. He was looking at me, directly into my eyes, reassuring me that everything would be alright. 

He walked towards us without breaking our gaze and as soon as he was only a couple of feet away, he looked at the men who had me in place and his eyes turned a bright amber color. My eyes widened and I gasped. The men around me fidgeted and took a step back. 

"What the hell?" one of them whispered in disbelief. I was sure they were going to think this was some sort of dream when they woke up tomorrow. But this was real, and I had seen it. 

"I said: Let. Her. Go," Abraham said deeply, his words seemed to resonate with our surroundings. 

"Fine, we just wanted to have some fun," the man behind me said and he looked at his friends, signaling them to let me go. As soon as their grip was gone, I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding and rushed towards Abraham's side.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, his tone had softened as he examined me for any sign of injury. 

"I'm fine. Thank you," I whispered and he nodded his head. 

He turned us around as he led me back to where I had come from. He kept his hand securely on the back of my waist. For some reason, the touch didn't unsettle me. Normally, I would feel uncomfortable if anyone touched me but this felt different. This felt right, meant to be even. I shivered as I felt some sort of electricity radiate between us. 

"Look at that b***h go," one of the men said as we were walking away.

"Yeah, that b***h wasn't worth it," another man yelled behind us.

I felt Abraham stiffen next to me as he froze. My eyes widened as I realized he was considering going back to defend my honor. 

Before I could say anything, Abraham moved faster than I had ever seen a man move and charged at the group of drunk men. They seemed surprised by his confidence and some of them took a step back as Abraham reached them. He punched the first man in his way, sending him stumbling back as he grabbed his bloody nose and screamed out in pain.

The man carrying the bottle yelped in surprise and dropped the bottle before bolting away. The other two men stood their ground and glared at Abraham. One by one they charged but Abraham pushed them away with ease. One of them received a hit on the groin and fell to the ground wincing in pain. 

The last man standing, the one who had sniffed my neck, was seething. He took out a blade from his coat and pointed it at Abraham who only swatted his hand aside, making the drunk drop his blade, and then pushed him back. 

The man fell back with wide eyes. Abraham was about to finish the job when I stepped in front of him. "Abraham, stop. It's not worth it. Let's just get out of here," I whispered as I put my hand on his chest to stop him.

Abraham was startled by my intervention and he slowly stepped back and nodded his head. I let out a sigh and we continued walking down the street when suddenly there was a cry of rage behind us. The drunk man had gotten up and was charging at us with a knife in hand. His hit was directed at me and Abraham quickly pushed me aside and took the hit on his side. 

The man pulled out the blade as he expected Abraham to fall. But instead, Abraham looked beyond furious now as he took the man by the neck and raised him a couple of inches off the ground. My eyes widened in surprise at the scene before me. The drunk man's eyes widened as he chanted, "please, please," over and over again. 

"You attempted against the life of my mate. I shouldn't even let you live," Abraham growled out and for a second I thought he was going to keep his word. But after a second, he let the man go and kicked his blade far into the forest. 

The shocked man quickly got to his feet and ran back to where his friends were watching in shock. 

Once they were far enough away, I turned to Abraham. "You're bleeding, we need to get you to the hospital," I said quickly as I placed myself underneath his arm so that he could lean on me. 

Abraham chuckled and shook his head. "I am going to get you home."

"You're kidding, right? You could die," I said desperately but he waved me off as he raised his shirt for me to see. 

"See? All healed," he said with a shrug and all of the blood drained from my face. 

He began to lead me home and I followed as if I were under some sort of spell but once we were almost there, I stopped and made Abraham turn to look at me. 

"You are a werewolf." It wasn't a question. It was a fact. 

Abraham's eyes widened in surprise but he quickly recovered his composure. 

"Cole said you wanted to be the one to explain everything to me. Well, I have time. Explain," I said as I crossed my arms in front of my chest and looked directly into Abraham's eyes. He was eyeing me closely. 

"Are you sure you want to do this now?" he asked, a bit of nervousness was evident in his voice. 

I nodded my head and after a couple of minutes, he sighed and nodded his head. 

"Fine, let's go sit over there."