Luna’s whispers resonated like a shout throughout the room as she stared at the monstrous thing scratching at the window. “Don’t ask me stupid questions, Chase. I have no idea”.
“Well, neither do I, princess, but it doesn’t look too friendly now, does it?” It certainly didn’t. Whatever it was, it was hell-bent in trying to get into the room. Its elongated nails clawed at the window, scores forming in the glass from the ferocity of the scratching. Twin black orbs darted between Luna and Chase, the creature’s mouth closing as it hunched its shoulders bent on its skinny legs on the windowsill.
The tension built in the room. Neither the unknown creature, Luna or Chase moved an inch. For a moment, the room plunged into eerie silence.
Until the creature stood as tall as it could get and let out a scream that threatened to turn everyone in a ten mile radius deaf. The screeches were penetrating, resonating all the way through her head, and didn’t seem to end.
After what seemed to be a lifetime, the screeches suddenly ceased. With one last pawing at the glass, the creature hissed at them before jumping down from the windowsill. Chase rushed to the window, Luna hot on his heels. Peering down into the night, they watched the creature dart into the forest, vanishing from their sight.
Muscled arms gripped the window sill, Chase’s face close to the glass. Touching the glass where the creature had clawed at it, Luna shivered in dread. Coldness seeped into her fingers. “Chase, what was that?” she whispered.
“Fucked if I know, princess. Never seen anything like it in my life”. Chase turned towards her, scrutinizing her face for any lies. “What the hell happened? Tell me”.
Ignoring the commanding tone, Luna explained how she had woken up and heard a scratching noise at the window and got up to see what was making it. The screams that had first escaped from her had been less than three minutes ago but it seemed hours.
Rubbing her arms, Luna couldn’t stop shivering. There was nothing like that in Paris. The scariest thing that had ever happened to her in the French capital was when the café she frequented had run out of her favourite pastries. This was unbelievable, as though someone had plucked the creature out of a bad horror movie and placed it on her windowsill.
Chase opened the window, the chilly air hitting her already cold skin, and inhaled deeply. Why does he always smell things like that? She asked herself.
“I can’t smell anything”, Chase spoke softly, as though he was talking to himself.
Luna’s face scrunched up. “Were you expecting to smell something?” she asked in confusion.
Chase shrugged. “Some creatures leave a very distinctive smell. This one, whatever the hell it is, doesn’t smell like anything. That’s strange”.
“Thar’s strange?” Luna’s voice rose in disbelief. “An unknown creature was clawing its way into my bedroom looking strange and ugly and horrible and disgusting with claws the size of human hands isn’t strange?”
Chase touched her arm, pulling her closer to him. His touch was warm. “I’ve seen worse, sweetheart”.
“Like what?” she challenged him.
Chase smiled, although the smile was more apparent in his eyes than on his lips. “I’ve seen a lot of things over the years. Like your brother naked. That wasn’t a pretty sight, trust me”.
Laughter erupted from Luna before she could stop herself. The last twenty-four hours had been something out of a nightmare. A severed paw, a monstrous creature … the thought of her brother naked. Yuck.
Talking of naked. The warmth of Chase’s hand on her arms and his body close to hers suddenly reminded Luna that he was very, very underdressed. Chase’s smooth chest was hard, pure muscle, his abs clearly defined, straining against his skin. Her eyes darted down below. Thick, tanned legs were partially covered by black boxers, but what was underneath was starting to stir. Luna quickly looked away.
An amused chuckle hit her ears. “Something you like, princess?”
Blood pooled into her cheeks and somehow Luna didn’t think the inky darkness was masking her blush. “Not really,” she responded, “and stop calling me princess!”
Chase continued to laugh at her, his fingers lighter on her arms but beginning to rub circles with his thumbs. Abruptly, he let her go and stepped back. “I don’t think it will be back tonight but just in case you’d better stay close. Grab a blanket and we’ll stay downstairs”.
“Where’s Michael? Isn’t he home yet?” Perhaps Michael knew something they didn’t. Like, what the hell was that thing?
Shaking his head, Chase took another look out of the window before heading towards the door. “Not yet, sweetheart. He’ll be back by morning. You might want to grab a pillow, too. The couch ain’t that comfy”.
Six
Luna spent a restless night on the sofa. Chase was right; the couch wasn’t made for long naps. The leather stuck to her bottom and the arms were far too stiff. Chase had spent much of the night prowling around the house, checking the windows were shut and the doors locked. The steaming hot tea Luna had made when they came downstairs had grown stone cold as she fell asleep watching him pace.
Thankfully he had thrown on some clothes by that point.
Not that he wasn’t nice to look at. Hell, he was built like a Chippendale and possessed eyes which a woman could drown in, but she had a boyfriend. Pierre was what her mother would call ‘as cute as a button’, with his baby blue eyes, blonde hair and straight nose. Standing six foot tall, he was lean, the perfect swimmer’s body. Luna had been working at the law firm as a secretary for three months when she had literally ran into him, barely able to see over the thick stack of files she had been carrying from one office to the other. Pierre had been the perfect gentleman, helping her gather up the files and even going as far to bring some over to the right office.
His sweetness and the old-fashioned way he spoke endeared him to her and so when he suggested dinner after work, Luna couldn’t help but say yes. Pierre’s personality was quite serious compared to others their own age. As a lawyer he had to be serious, but even when they were outside work he tended to be sombre. One night a week he played football with some friends and they spent a couple nights together. Sometimes he’d take her on a picnic out in the countryside, or they would enjoy a night out at the opera. Frequent trips to art galleries and museums allowed Pierre’s deep knowledge of history to come out. The passion in his voice when he spoke on various historical subjects was unmistakeable. At times it was almost as though he had actually lived through it, but Luna knew that was absurd.
Mind you, she thought to herself, knees drawn up underneath her bottom, after seeing that … thing … anything was possible.
It was finally morning. The sun was out, the air warm. Faint chirps from outside told her that it had to be late morning.
Her body told her that the couch was bloody uncomfortable.
As Luna was slowly rising up from the couch a creak alerted her to the front door. Michael was finally home.
“Have you been out all night, Michael?” she asked, unable to stifle a yawn.
Michael carried on walking past, heading straight towards the kitchen. “Yes, mom”, he replied drily. “You want some coffee?”
Luna followed him. “What have you got on this property apart from wolves, Michael?” she demanded, her eyes narrowing, her voice low.
Michael didn’t respond straight away. Instead, he reached for a mug, filling it with hot coffee. After sipping it for a moment, he sighed and rotated his neck, his muscles obviously aching. “Chase has already told me what happened. You OK, sis?”
Switching on the kettle, Luna began preparing her own cup of steaming liquid. “Seriously, Michael, do you know what it is? If you know anything, you’d better tell me now otherwise I will go crazy on you”.
Still holding onto his mug, Michael leaned back against the counter, tiredness seeping across his face. “Seriously, sis, I have no idea what it was. Could’ve been a hairless squirrel for all I know”.
Slamming the mug onto the counter, Luna turned around with a look of disbelief etched onto her features. “Michael, whatever this thing was, it was not a hairless squirrel. It looked like something out of a B-rated horror movie. It was grey, the skin all wrinkled, fingernails as long has my own hands. And it was scratching my windows like it was trying to get in. It was screaming, Michael, screaming at us before jumping off and escaping into the forest. So you tell me, does that sound like a hairless squirrel?”
“Lower your voice, Luna, I’ve already got a headache”, he sighed. Running a hand through his honey blonde hair, he looked at her. “One of my wolves is gone. The main hunting grounds were empty; no one has been there for a while. Did find another one of those damn piles of white stones though, just like the one put on the porch”. Michael took another sip before continuing. “Something has scared my wolves and I don’t like it. Perhaps the thing you saw has frightened them. I don’t know. But Chase and I will find out what it is”.
Cradling her mug, the steam caressed her skin. She had only been back in America for less than twenty-four hours and so much had happened within that short period. Luna resolved to put it out of her mind and tried to concentrate on other things.
Such as sorting out her parent’s funeral.
“Fine. You deal with it. But you may want to see what it did to my bedroom windows. It looked bad last night”. Luna gazed down at the floor. “What do we need to do today?” she asked, her voice tired and barely a whisper.
Sighs flowed from the other side of the room. “I’ve got some errands to run this morning, phone calls to make and all that. We’ve got an appointment with the sheriff late this afternoon. After that we can start preparing everything”.
“What can I do until we see the sheriff?”
“No idea. Perhaps you’d want to go through the paperwork and stuff? See about insurance details and all that crap”.
Luna scowled. “Urgh. As if I don’t get enough of paperwork at the office. Fine. It will give me something to do.”
Michael nodded and headed out of the room but stopped just at the doorway. “Don’t worry, sis, there’s nothing to worry about in the woods. Nothing strange. Once mom and dad’s funerals are done you’ll be headed back to normality”, and with that he walked away.
He was right in one way, Luna thought. After the funeral she would fly back to Paris. She’d go back to the law firm, file the folders away, make phone calls, date Pierre and go back to her little apartment each night. Predictable. Comfortable. Familiar.
There had never been any inclination to return to America after she had finished school. Instead, Luna had travelled around Europe for a few years with a group of school friends before they had all returned home or gone off to university. Luna had gone straight into work, doing admin jobs for a number of years before landing a role at Pierre’s law firm. Back in America, Michael had opened a garage in town with Chase.
Michael and Chase had been friends for as long as she could remember. His mother had moved into Westfield, the closest town to their property, when Chase was still a baby. Luna’s mother and his had soon become friends and when Chase were born they both spent more time together. Chase was older by about four years but they had remained best friends since early on. Now she was here she could remember he was always at their house, always getting into mischief together.
Like the time they claimed they were making a cake for their mothers. Instead, they covered a piece of sponge in frosting and told Luna she could have the first bite. Their mothers had scolded both the boys and made a proper cake instead for Luna who had been upset.
Boys, she thought to herself. Right, enough with the trip down memory lane. It’s time to get on with something.
Swallowing what remained of her tea, Luna forced herself in the direction of her father’s study. Adjacent to the formal dining room, this was her father’s private study. Although looking at it now it appeared that her mother’s books had begun to take over.
The study was full of bookcases, each one overrun with books, folders and boxes full of papers. Nothing seemed to be in any order. This is going to take forever, Luna moaned to herself. No wonder Michael suggested I do it.
Her father’s desk stood by the window, providing the best views of the woods as well as being able to see who was coming up the drive. Her father’s laptop was shut, a folder sat next to it. A framed photo of her, Michael and their parents outside the Louvre from two years ago stood to one side. A quick glance showed nothing interesting apart from some bank statements. Rummaging through the drawers of the desk showed nothing either apart from a collection of paperclips, staples and pens.
Luna moved onto the bookcase. Her mother had amassed a large collection of paperbacks on the supernatural, the crumbled covers indicating they had been well-read over the years. A number of animal books were positioned all over, most of them on wolves and other large creatures. Luna wondered if they were Michael’s.
After half an hour of searching, she finally uncovered the paperwork she was looking for. The life insurance policies and their wills were located at the back of a folder. According to the will, everything was to be divided between Michael and Luna with the exception of the contents locked away in the safe.
What is in the safe and why is it left for Michael? She wondered. Chastising herself for the moment of jealousy, Luna started looking around the room for the safe. It certainly wasn’t in plain sight. A large oil painting stood on the far wall, a pack of wolves trekking through the woods at night, a blanket of snow covering the ground. Delicate flakes of snow falling from the heavens. It wasn’t signed; instead a small wolf’s paw was positioned at the bottom. Carefully, Luna pulled the edge of the painting away from the wall.
“Yes,” she smiled in triumphant. The safe was behind it, an old fashioned type which required someone to dial the right combination. Luna supposed she could ask Michael for the combination but instead she attempted to locate it by herself. However, thirty minutes later and she was still no closer to finding out what was stored away in the safe.
As she was closing the lid to yet another box, an open notebook caught her eye. Her mother’s handwriting jumped out at her, the delicate and elegant style easily recognisable from all the years her mother had written to her whilst she was at school.
It appeared to be diary entry. Luna hadn’t been aware that her mother had kept a journal. There was so much that she didn’t know.
Luna paused before reading it. Would it be wrong to read the intimate thoughts of someone, especially those of a family member? Taking a deep breath, she sat back on her legs and started reading.
Most of it was how her parents met, how their relationship grew, falling in love and the romantic way her father proposed. Near the back, however, was another entry her mother had written after they had married.
It was dated to when her mother was pregnant.
Today I told George that we are pregnant. It feels strange, almost surreal, that there is a life growing inside my body. He was so happy, he picked me up, spun me around the room and then realised he needed to be gentle with me so quickly sat me down on the couch. It was funny, watching him treat me as though I were made of glass. I told him he wasn’t hurting me or the baby but he swore to treat me as though I was fragile. It was so sweet, almost comical in one way.
Everything was going great until this evening. We had settled in for the night, enjoying a private meal when Frank turned up. Out of them all I dislike him the most. George and Frank took a walk in the woods, leaving me alone. When they returned, they went into George’s study. Frank left with a large envelop. George refused to tell me what was in there or what he wanted. He remained quiet with me for the rest of the night. He doesn’t realise that I know he went into the woods when he thought I was asleep.
I wish he would tell me what was going on. He’s always in those woods.
Luna flicked to the next page.
Morning sickness is the worst thing to ever happen to a wo
man I have decided. Pregnancy is supposed to be the best time of your life as a married woman and instead of enjoying it, I am spending most of my time hunched over the toilet! If I ever survive this I swear I am making tis child clean toilets for the rest of their life, as well as George!
Speaking of George, I swear that man is keeping secrets from me. He’s been looking after me well, making sure I’m resting, bringing me tea in the mornings and trying to remind me to eat in the five minutes between throwing up. But there’s something he’s hiding. I can feel it. It’s in his voice, in his eyes.
Every night he keeps sneaking off to the woods when he thinks I’m asleep. He’s always fully dressed when he goes out but when he comes back his clothes are messy. Is he having an affair? Could it be that he has a beautiful mistress waiting for him in the middle of the woods? I bet her skin isn’t flushed from being sick with his child.
George has been going every night. He tells me it calms him down, allows him to relax but tells me not to go in there myself alone at night. I know wolves roam the woods; their howls reach me even here though he tells me they are far away. They sound beautiful and terrifying at the same time. I wish one day they would come closer to the house, but only if they don’t try to eat me.
A week later, another entry was penned. The words seemed hurried, the pen used in anger.
Another night and he’s gone. This time he’s come back with scratch marks on his shoulders and blood on his shirt! He thinks I don’t know but I do. I’m sick of all the lies. Tomorrow night I’m going to follow him and find out for myself just what is going on in those woods.
Her mother’s words ended there on the last page.
Luna continued to sit on the floor but moved her legs out in front of her since she had been sitting on her knees for far too long. Thoughts began swirling in her head. None of this seemed familiar. Her parent’s relationship had always been incredibly loving whenever they had flown over to France. They held hands as they walked along the cobbled streets, her father would always kiss her gently on the cheek. The sweetness in his eyes was clear to all who saw them. Half of Luna’s friends would tease her for how soppy her parents behaved in front of her whilst the other half would aww over it.
Temptation of the Wolf: A Silver Moon Novel (Book 1) Page 3
