Call me Luna

5 - Call me Luna

“Are they gone?” I whisper with my eyes still closed.

“It’s just you and me,” she comforts, not loosening her grip on my shoulders. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

At first, I want to refuse. There are so many things that I am uncertain of. The only thing that feels like a certainty, is that I can trust Cora. And that I am going to need help to get out of here. I take a deep breath to calm myself before I start talking.

“I woke up in a shed last night. All tied up and gagged. Somehow, I managed to untie myself with a saw and get out. There was a house, but I had no idea where I was or if I could trust the people inside, so I ran into the woods. Then I came across wolves. It was the oddest thing. I was so scared of them, but they did not try to harm me. There was this big one, I liked him. It made me feel safe. I fell asleep next to the wolf. But when I woke up, the wolf was gone and a naked man was sleeping next to me. Needless to say, I start running again. And that’s when I tripped and fell. Now I am here,” I whisper the words and realize that I sound like a crazy person. Cora will never believe me. Shy I look at her and to my surprise, she does not look at me like I am a basket case. In fact, all I see is compassion and empathy. It gives me the courage to go on. “That blond man that was here, he was the naked man.”

Panic-stricken I look at Cora. “What if it was the naked man that kidnapped me in the first place? Now he found me again. What if he tries to take me once more?”

“Look at me,” Cora demands as she turns me by the shoulders so that we can look each other in the eye. “Nobody and I mean nobody, will ever take you from here against your will. That I can promise you.”

“But the naked man,” I whimper with my bottom lip quivering.

“Are you scared of him?” Cora asks, looking intensely at me.

I must rattle my brain for an honest answer. Sure, he scared the living daylights out of me but was I scared of him?

“N … no,” I stutter truthfully. I am not afraid of him, but his nakedness startled me.

“That naked man is Mason and he is the one that brought you in,” Cora smiles reassuringly. “If he meant you harm, you wouldn’t have been here.”

“But he was naked,” I protest outraged. What kind of p*rvert strips down to his birthday suit and lays next to a stranger?

“Because you were freezing,” Cora says firmly. “Sharing body temperature is the fastest way to warm someone. He was only trying to be helpful.”

I roll my eyes and look away. I am not that naïve. He could have taken me to the clinic the instant he found me instead of spooning naked in the woods.

“Why are you covering for him?” I squint my eyes suspiciously at Cora.

“He is my brother,” she sighs as she gets up. “And that wolf you saw belongs to him.”

Flabbergasted I stare at her and slowly the similarities settle in. Both blond and beautiful. Only, Cora has brown eyes and Mason has blue.

“I guess it makes sense,” I whisper defeated. The wolf found me first and then Mason must have taken over from him. That is also why the wolf did not enjoy me as its dinner. It is used to humans.

“Is the wolf a he or a she?” I ask, dying to break the strain that crept in between Cora and me. Regardless of Cora’s awareness of it, I already deem her a friend and I do not want bad blood between us.

“It’s a he and we call him Alpha,” she smiles with a glint in her eye.

“Alpha is magnificent,” I sigh dreamily as I recall the events of the previous night. “He saved my life.”

“About that,” Cora come sits next to me again, and takes my hands in hers. “Please tell Mason what happened to you. He’s the one person that can help you figure out who kidn*pped you.”

I just lower my eyes and bite my bottom lip. I might not fear Mason, and he may be Cora’s brother. That does not mean I trust him. Besides, talking about what happened sucks. Reliving vulnerability and fear is the last thing on my to-do list.

“I’ll think about it,” I finally give in as I realize that Cora’s not leaving without an answer.

“That’s all I ask,” she squeezes my hands as she gets up. “I’m going to fetch you something to eat. It’s nearly dinnertime. What would you like?”

“Anything,” I shrug, not feeling particularly hungry, even though I should be. “I’m not fussed.”

“I’ll see what I can get,” she smiles and moves towards the door.

“What’s your name, by the way?” She laughs. “We never got to that part.”

I smile at her. “I’m …”

My smile falters. A frown crawls between my eyes. I cannot remember my name. I try to concentrate. I wreck my brain for a name, a clue, anything really. But it is a complete blank.

“Is everything okay?” Cora asks, walking back to me. “Is your headache coming back?”

“I do not know who I am,” I whisper dreadfully as I look at her with tears streaming down my face.

“I don’t understand,” Cora sits next to me on the bed and looks at me intensely. “What do you mean you don’t know who you are?”

“Exactly that,” I all but scream at her. Fear and panic are building inside with every second and I am extremely close to hyperventilating. “I cannot remember my name.”

“Okay,” Cora puts her hands on my shoulders and her brown eyes bore into mine. “Let’s stay calm, you knocked your head pretty hard. That could explain it and it will only be temporary. Try and think how far back you can remember.”

I close my eyes and concentrate. Everything from the previous night I remember vividly. Everything single detail and smell is mesmerized in my brain. All of it, but there is absolutely nothing before I woke up in the shed. The realization leaves me cold.

“It’s not the fall,” I murmur as I look at Cora. “I can remember everything before the fall. Something happened to me in that shed because there’s no memory before then.”

“Are you sure?” Cora asks and I am not sure if she is sceptical or concerned.

“Cora, as I look at you now, I can’t even remember my own face,” I croak out, feeling numb. “I don’t know where I’m from or how old I am. I have no idea if I have a family or where I was born. Was there no identification on me when Mason found me?”

“Sweetie, you didn’t even have shoes, let alone a bag or identification,” she looks at me sympathetically. “I’m getting the doctor.” Cora gets up and leaves hastily.

I am still in too much shock to move a muscle. I am lost in so many ways. I do not know who I am, where I am, or where I belong. How does this work? It is not like my brain has been completely wiped clean. I can still function. There is still enough common sense left in me to know to escape the shed. To remember that wolves travel in packs. To distinguish between danger and safety.

Out of nowhere, renewed panic rushes through me and I jump out of bed and run to the bathroom. In front of the mirror, I just stare at myself, my breath panting over my lips.

Is this me? I wonder as I touch the reflection in the mirror. I'm not old, is my first realization as I look at the woman with the big, green eyes and pitch-black hair. But I am not a child either. Maybe somewhere in my twenties?

I drop the hospital gown and stare at my naked body from all angles. No scars, no tattoos, no birthmark. Nothing. Absolutely nothing that could possibly identify me.

“Hello?” Cora calls from my room, and I quickly pull the gown back on before I leave the bathroom.

A very worried Cora is waiting in my room, and I am about to walk to her when I notice the big man next to her. Instinctively I take a step back, just staring at the man with the brown eyes and beard.

“Who are you?” I whimper as panic threatens to consume me.

“I’m Doctor Russell,” he smiles friendly at me, but I take a step back.

“Get out,” I say as my breathing is getting shallower by the minute. I cannot control it. I cannot control the rising panic.

“Wait,” Cora takes a stand between me and the doctor. “There’s someone to see you.”

She gives a light whistle and a big, sandy-colored wolf with icy blue eyes enters.

“Alpha!” I cry overjoyed and run toward him. Wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face in his fur. He makes soft whimpering noises, but I just cling to him for dear life. Whenever I am with him, I feel safe and right now, I can do with that. I am completely lost, and he is my only anchor at this point. The second I saw him, my panic disappeared, and I am just myself again.

“Feeling better?” Cora asks gently.

“Immensely,” I smile at her, still stroking Alpha.

“How do you feel about the name Luna?” Cora smiles as she looks at me where I am sitting on the floor, rubbing Alpha.

“I thought his name is Alpha?” Confused I look at her.

“Not for him, for you, silly,” Cora giggles. “We have to call you something and I think Luna fits you better than Jane Doe.”

I play with the name for a while in my mind before I turn my attention to Alpha.

“What do you think, Alpha?” I say to him as I scratch him behind his ear.

As if he understands, he starts licking my neck and I giggle uncontrollably as I gently nudge him away.

“Call me Luna,” I laugh at Cora.