Blood Moon (Moons of the Wolf Series Book 1)

by Samantha Clarke

  Samantha shook her head, “I know what milk and cereal tastes like.”

  Kedar smirked, “Then you knew what you’re missing out on,” He retorted smugly. Samantha got up and washed her bowl, and Kedar did the same once he was finished.

  “I should probably head home…” Samantha said softly after an awkward moment of silence. She looked down at the ground, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She looked up at Kedar and she saw a frown flash across his face. She frowned as well, “But we can hang out again. Go to see a movie or something fun like that…”

  Kedar’s face lit up almost instantaneously, “That sounds great. Come one, I’ll drive you home.” He prompted. He led Samantha out to the barn-like garage and opened the doors. He back his truck out into the sunlight and Samantha looked it over now that she could see it better. It was a green nineteen-fifties Ford F1 with brown baubles. Kedar hopped out of the truck and closed the garage door while Samantha admired it. Kedar helped Samantha into the passenger seat then got in on the driver’s side. He drove down his long driveway, which was surrounded by trees, until he pulled onto the main road.

  “So, where do you live?” Kedar asked looking over at Samantha.

  “Fourteen Elk Drive…” Samantha responded softly, knowing that in a town so small Kedar was bound to know where the street was at least.

  “In Greenwood?” Kedar inquired.

  Samantha looked at him, puzzled, “Yea, why? Where are we?”

  Kedar smiled, “The border of Greenwood and Westbrook, on the Greenwood side. Go up the street fifteen feet and you’re in Westbrook.” Kedar explained pointing.

  “Oh… I see…” Samantha mumbled. She looked back where Kedar had pointed. That meant there weren’t very far from Heather’s house.

  Kedar nodded, “So, if I get us to Main Street, I’m sure you can get us to your house.

  Samantha nodded slowly, “I can do that.”

  Kedar smiled and continued to drive down the street, “So are you going to tell me your name? You’ve neglected to give it to me, you know.”

  “Oh…I’m sorry. My name’s Samantha…”

  Kedar stopped at a stop sign and looked at her, “Samantha. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

  Samantha turned dark red and looked away from Kedar, staring out the window, “thank you…” She mumbled.

  Kedar chuckled a bit, “You don’t need to be so shy. I just tell it how I see it.” He continued to drive forward.

  Samantha looked at Kedar, “Well thanks. So, why are you living all on your own? You look barely old enough to be out of high school.”

  “I inherited the house from my grandfather. He passed away about two years ago…” Kedar’s response was soft and his voice was tight. He shifted in his seat.

  Samantha could tell that she had made him uncomfortable, “I’m sorry…”

  He shook his head, “He was a good man. He lived a full life. He left me everything, the house, all his worldly possessions, and his store. I’m not too good at finances so I have a family friend take care of it all for me. Plus, I work at Taylor’s Auto Body Shop five days a week.”

  “Really? My car was towed there yesterday…” Samantha blushed again and began to play with her hair.

  “Oh? Which car is yours?”

  “It’s a black nineteen-ninety-eight Chevy Cavalier.”

  “I’ll make sure it’s taken care of. The shop belonged to my grandfather. He sold it to the friend that does my finances before he died. So, I can make sure that your car will be running smoothly when you get it back.”

  Samantha smiled wide, “Thanks so much, you don’t have to, you know.”

  “I want to…” Kedar insisted, smiling warmly at Samantha.

  Samantha looked at her lap and crossed her legs, “So, what’s the name of the store that you own?” She uncrossed her legs.

  Kedar smirked, “Wooden it be Nice on Main Street,” he chuckled at the name of the store, “My grandfather named it.”

  “That quaint little furniture store? No wonder you can afford to live on your own,” Samantha remarked, crossing her legs again.

  Kedar pulled out of the heavily wooded area onto Main Street. He looked at Samantha, “Elk Street?”

  “Elk Drive,” Samantha corrected him, “It’s the second right and my house is the last one on the street.”

  Kedar nodded, “Alright, easy enough,” He said in response.

  There was an awkward silence. Samantha cleared her throat to break the silence, “So, when did you graduate from high school?” She inquired as she once again uncrossed her legs.

  “I was homeschooled. I completed all of the credentials to finish high school and received a certificate from the state about three years ago.” He replied.

  “That explains why I’ve never seen you before.”

  “We’ve probably met in passing before but don’t even know it,” Kedar glanced down at Samantha’s legs as she crossed them again. He gently placed his hand lightly on her thigh, “Are you nervous? Or do you always fidget this much?”

  “What? Oh, no…” She blushed dark red once again.

  Kedar smiled and put his hand back on the steering wheel, “So, is a girl as pretty as you a single girl?”

  Samantha giggled a bit and twirled her hair more, then she frowned and she looked at Kedar.

  He turned onto her street and glanced at her frowning as well, “What’s wrong?”

  “Actually… I’m not single…” She responded quietly.

  “Oh. Well, whoever you’re with is lucky. You seem like a wonderful young woman

  Samantha smiled and looked down at her lap, quiet as Kedar pulled up in front of her house and parked. She looked out the window and saw Melody sitting on the porch, holding a large mug and holding her head while Riley paced back and forth, a cigarette sticking out of his mouth. Kedar got out of the truck then helped Samantha out. Melody looked up as the car door shut and she almost dropped her mug. She put it down on the stairs and ran towards Samantha, holding her large pink robe closed. She wrapped her arms around Samantha and kissed her head, tears pouring down her face.

  “Are you alright, dear?” Melody asked softly, pushing Samantha’s hair out of her face as if to inspect her.

  Samantha nodded, “Yes, ma’am…” She replied looking down at her feet. Melody was disheveled. Her hair was a mess. She had dark circles under her eyes from obvious lack of sleep. Samantha felt incredibly guilty, had she just come home her aunt would have been able to sleep well.

  Melody kissed Samantha’s head again then she looked up at Kedar, who was standing there awkwardly. She turned to him and held her hand out to shake his. He grasped her hand firmly and she smiled a bit, “Thank you, so much for bringing her home…”

  Kedar smiled his devilishly handsome crooked smile, “It wasn’t a problem at all, ma’am. Anything for a fellow wolf.”

  “It may not have been a problem for you but it certainly means a lot to me. What’s your name, young man?” Melody inquired.

  “Kedar, but I prefer to be called Kit,” Was his simple response.

  Melody smiled a bit more, “Well, then thank you Kit. You’re always welcome here for making sure she got home safe. If you ever need anything, my door is always open.”

  Kedar shifted, clearly a bit uncomfortable, “Thank you, ma’am, you’re very kind. You don’t have to repay me though.”

  “Just let her,” Samantha chimed in, “If you don’t she’ll never let you live it down.”

  Kedar looked at Samantha and he laughed a bit, “Alright then. Thank you ma’am,” He continued as he turned back to Melody.

  Riley, who had been standing on the porch watching the exchange with a bitter expression on his face while he sucked on a cigarette, walked over to Samantha and lightly touched her shoulder. She moved away just a bit, and Riley shoved his hand into his pocket, flicking the cigarette into the snow with the other. He turned to Kedar, looking him over and sizing him up.

 
“So, do I know you? You look awfully familiar.” Riley grumbled.

  Kedar swallowed hard and his smile was wiped from his face almost instantaneously. Samantha could see that the question made him uncomfortable but was unsure as to why. She watched him closely and he shifted from one foot to the other and stuffed his hands in his sweater pockets.

  “You’ve probably seen me at the car shop. I’m a mechanic over there. I’ve probably worked on your car before.” Kedar’s voice gave away his nerves, although Samantha was unsure if Melody or Riley had picked up on it.

  Riley nodded, not even really caring about his answer, “Probably. Well, thanks for getting her home safe. We were worried.”

  Samantha bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from saying something rude. She sighed a bit and smiled up at Kedar, “Well, everyone has said it more than enough, but thank you. Listen, what’s your phone number? I’ll give you a call and we can hang out.”

  “I don’t have a cell phone…or even a house phone…” Kedar admitted sheepishly.

  “Oh…” Samantha glanced up at Riley who was silently snickering.

  “You said that you work at the car shop, right Kit?” Melody asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Kedar nodded, but he looked puzzled, “Yeah, I did. Why?”

  “Samantha’s car is there and her phone number is on file. When you go to call her to tell her that her car is ready you could write it down.” Melody suggested with a smile that would have come across as wicked, had she not been so tired. Riley clenched his jaw and walked away, storming inside.

  Kedar smirked, “That’s a great idea. In case I need to contact her in the future for car related calls.”

  Melody laughed lightly, “Precisely. Now, you should be on your way dear. Thank you again. Don’t be a stranger.”

  “I won’t, I promise.” Kedar remarked with a laugh, he then turned to Samantha, “I’ll give you a call from the shop tonight then?”

  Samantha turned pink, “I actually lost my phone at some point last night. I’ll take my old one to get activated and you can call me tomorrow though. You know. To tell me my car’s ready.” She smiled, playing along with Melody and Kedar’s joke.

  Kedar smiled more and it gave Samantha butterflies in her stomach, “Sounds good. Don’t go running off again. I may not be able to find you next time.” He chuckled as he got into his truck.

  Samantha laughed with him, “I won’t!” She assured as she waved goodbye. Kedar’s truck roared to life and she watch as he drove away, an unexplained sadness overcoming her.

  Melody touched her shoulder, “You lost your phone?” Her question carried a stern undertone, but her tired voice contradicted it.

  “Yeah…my old one is in my desk…” Samantha replied as she hung her head in shame.

  Melody sighed in exasperation, “Let’s head inside…I’ll call to have your old one reactivated while you talk to Riley, okay dear?”

  Samantha pressed her lips together in a tight line; she was still very mad at him for what he had said, “Okay…” She responded before following Melody into the house. They went into the kitchen, where Riley stood. He was lighting a cigarette, a butt freshly snuffed in the ashtray.

  “Riley Caleb Patrick McLaughlin! How dare you disrespect me by smoking in my house? In my kitchen no less! If you must finish sucking on your cancer stick, then kindly take it outside before I call your mother.” Melody scolded, placing her hands firmly on her hips and tapping her foot in aggravation.

  “Sorry Aunt Mel…” He grumbled as he stuffed his lighter into his pocket. He picked up his ash tray and walked passed Melody and Samantha. Samantha followed him with her eyes but didn’t move right away. Melody motioned for her to follow him and Samantha sighed, turning around and going out onto the back porch. Riley stood with his back to the door, leaning on the porch railing. Samantha sat on the porch swing and didn’t say anything right away. Riley was silent as well as he took long drag after long drag off of his cigarette.

  Samantha cleared her throat, knowing she would have to be the one to break the silence, “Auntie said that you wanted to talk to me?” The whispered question barely audible.

  Riley nodded taking another long drag off of the cigarette. It was more than half gone at this point, “Yup…” He breathed, the smoke trailing out of his mouth as he spoke.

  “So… What do you want to talk about?” Samantha began to grow annoyed.

  “Where did you disappear to last night? With that Kedar guy?” Riley grumbled, his voice tight. He took another drag and didn’t even turn to look at Samantha.

  “He didn’t find me until after midnight. He just gave me a place to sleep and food to eat. That’s it.” Samantha snapped, feeling as though she needed to defend herself. “Why do you care?” She seethed.

  “You had the entire pack worried about you, not just me. Because we care about your wellbeing. Or did you forget?” Riley countered, pulling his cigarette away from his mouth and turning his head to look at her. He tapped it onto the edge of his ashtray, not breaking eye contact as he brought the filter back to his mouth, letting it sit there as he stared at her.

  Samantha huffed. He was purposefully flaunting his bad habit to upset her. “Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

  Riley sighed and flicked more ashes into the ashtray, “No. While we were out running ourselves ragged looking for you we happened upon our ‘trespassers…’” Another long drag, “We’ve met with them already.”

  “You didn’t wait for the whole pack to be present?” Samantha’s aggravation was only growing the longer her and Riley talked.

  “You’ve been ban from pack activities. Dad has yet to life the ban.”

  Samantha huffed and crossed her arms, “Alright? Then what is it?”

  “They claim they’ve been following a brood of vampires across state boarders…” Riley crushed his cigarette butt out in the ashtray and set it aside, turning towards Samantha, “They told us that they have reason to believe that the brood they’re following joined up with the brood outside of the Goldenborough town boarders. However, mom and dad don’t think so. That brood has been inactive since my parents were our age, the Goldenborough brood probably isn’t even there anymore. Everyone is meeting with the head tomorrow, so I figured it was only right to keep you in the loop. Someone will keep you updated on how the meeting tomorrow goes.”

  Samantha nodded slowly, “Alright…Sounds good. Thanks.” She started to walk away, but Riley grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him. She pulled away from him and crossed her arms across her chest, averting her eyes. Riley sighed and pushed passed her, and left without saying goodbye.

  CHAPTER 7

  Alex sighed as she did her make-up in the mirror. Colin and Bridgette had demanded that she and Riley accompanied them and the two stray wolves to the meeting with the Head Alpha. They also insisted that they dressed presentable and Alex was not entirely sure why. She quickly put on her fire-engine red lipstick and pulled her hair into a half pony-tail.

  “Alexandria! Riley! We’re leaving, hurry up!” Bridgette hollered up the stairs.

  Alex checked her reflection in the mirror one more time before grabbing her pea-coat and heading down the stairs. Riley was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, his hair pulled back into a pony-tail. Alex snickered and he gave her a disgruntled look. They went out to the car slowly, Alex locking the door behind them.

  “So, how are you and Runt? I know you guys had a fight.” Alex inquired, her voice hushed.

  “I’m not quite sure…I’m going to see her after this meeting so that we can talk.” Riley responded equally as quiet.

  Alex nodded in understanding, “I hope all goes well. I’m sure it will.” She encouraged.

  “Do you think I need to give her some more space?” Riley wondered, shifting his weight from one foot to another, “I mean…You’re a girl, you should know.”

  Alex gave him an annoyed look, “Just because we’re both girls doesn’t mean I know what’s
going on in her head, we may be both women but we are still two different people. She’s probably still mad at all of us. And she has every right to be. I tried calling her this morning and she never answered. So, you might want to consider giving her some breathing room.”

  Riley kicked the dirt. That was not exactly the answer that he was looking for, “I don’t know…I know she lost her phone, maybe she hasn’t gotten another one activated yet.”

  Alex rolled her eyes but simply shrugged in response. Colin beeped the horn and Riley rolled his eyes as well.

  “I guess we’ve got to go…” He said as he made a face.

  They walked over to their mother’s SUV quietly. Colin and Bridgette were in the front seat and the stray wolves were in the third row. They were fraternal twins about Alex and Riley’s age, if not a little older. The brother had introduced himself as Kyle and his sister as Maia. They both had sun kissed olive skin with chestnut brown hair and eyes. All down the left side of Maia’s face were pockmarks and topical scarring, most likely from terrible acne when she was younger. The bridge of Kyle’s nose was crooked, as though it had been broken more than once, but Alex still found him to be quite handsome. She smiled sheepishly at him as she slid into the middle row of seats and she looked at Riley who was frowning slightly. Alex took out her phone and started to text Riley.

  “What’s up?” She sent and watched as Riley quickly silenced his phone. He read her text and began typing frantically as their parents pulled out of the driveway.

  “Did you ever date a Kedar? Runt stayed with him when she was ‘lost’ and IDK he looks awfully familiar…” Riley quickly shot the text back.

  “No, I haven’t dated anybody since Roman moved away when we were sixteen. What else is bothering you?” Alex quickly text back.

  “I don’t think Runt is interested in seeing me anymore.”

  Alex made a bewildered face as she read his text. She looked at him dumb founded before she began typing, “Are you fucking stupid? Her world has been turned upside down. She found out her mother had an affair and that her dad really wasn’t her dad, and you’re all concerned about her wanting you? Seriously? She probably feels like shit, especially since she found out her biological father has basically abandoned her because of our parents. She’s going to feel a little animosity towards you. Look, I know how much you love her, but she’s probably so wrapped up in her own head and her own crap that she just isn’t focused on the relationship, which you should damn well respect. But if you want to remind her that you care take her out, or have a night in with her. Treat her like a princess. I’ve got a couple of things in my room she would really like. I’ll give them to you so you can give them to her when you’re reminding her how much you care, okay? She might appreciate a little surprise like that.”