His Blue Moon Princess

Big Girl Growling

As we get closer to my Clan’s turf -if I’m still part of it somehow-, my thoughts are no longer about the Black brother’s b****y history, but about my own dark past. I’m genuinely scared of what might happen. 

Will they reject me? Am I considered dead? Or as a Rogue?

I decided to head for Robert’s bar first, as it’s one of the Jade Clan’s only establishments in the city, and far enough from the main house. Moreover, if I can talk to anyone first, I would pick Elisabeth. She might not love me lots, but she was never mean to me and is still the one that I considered closest to being a friend. Liam is walking next to me, and I can see him frowning, trying to recognize where we are. The streets we are in now are a bit too poor to be of any interest to anyone, so it’s hard to say whose turf it is. But I just head to the bar with a “Jade Stone” signboard in front. I stop a few steps before entering and try to hide my hair a bit as I put my hood on.

“The Jade Moon Clan? Seriously? You’re from this Clan of weaklings?” Scoffs Liam.

“Yes, now please, I don’t want them to notice me for now, okay?”

I give him a begging look, and he rolls his eyes as he lets me enters first. Honestly, I have to say, having Liam with me is really reassuring. He is one of the Black brothers, and I'm pretty sure he can warn one of his brothers in no time if anything goes wrong. Which I hope won't happen.

But at this early hour, the bar is entirely empty, as usual. And behind the counter, it’s only Elisabeth cleaning glasses while whistling.  She probably partied again last night, as I recognize her familiar messy bun, tired eyes, and jean jumpsuit. She notices us entering right away.

“Hello, what can I… Oh Moon Goddess, Nora? Is that really you?”

She looks so shocked, she stares at me blankly for a few seconds before coming to me, almost running. She pats and examines me as if to see if I’m real. Liam stays silent next to me, but he's looking at her like she's some annoying fly.

“Hi, Liz...”

“Don’t act like this! You crazy girl! I thought we would never see you again after what happened!”

She almost yells at me, and I feel really awkward. We haven't seen each other for weeks, and I have no idea what she really thinks about me. Is she angry? Or happy? Too hard to tell, but for now, she just looks like she's still in shock from my returning. I bite my lip, a bit confused on how I’m supposed to act with her, but she sighs while looking at me.

“Oh girl, you have to tell me what happened, okay? Sit down, you can tell me all about it.”

She pushes us to one of the nearest tables and quickly brings three bottles of soda from the bar while we take a seat. I don't feel too comfortable being here. It's better than being at the main house, but I'm still afraid one of the pack members might suddenly walk in. Though, having Liam next to me is kind of reassuring. He starts drinking immediately, but Liz won’t even look at him, too busy focusing on me. She takes my hand as if we were some close friends sharing secrets.

“Gosh, girl, you really have to tell me what happened. Things got crazy after you killed Marcus, you know.”

After I WHAT?

Beside me, Liam raises an eyebrow and gives me an interrogating look, but I couldn’t care less. I didn’t kill anyone! As far as I know… I shake my head. I have way too many things left unknown until now, I need to start and fill the blanks.

“Liz, please tell me what happened since I… I was gone.”

She sighs a bit too dramatically, and I can tell she’s actually happy to gossip. Even when she mentioned Marcus' death, she didn't seem to really care or be affected. She starts talking while playing with some of the sparkly rings on her fingers. 

“Well, Alpha noticed you and your brother were gone for a while, so he sent people looking for you guys. But Alec returned alone a few hours later in the middle of the night, and he looked like hell. I was there, because I had just come home from work. He had one mean, giant bite mark on his face, and he acted really weird. He said you had gone crazy! He said you killed Marcus and tried to kill him.”

What? Alec was the one that tried to kill me! How crazy is that story?! Even though I can’t exactly remember what happened with Marcus, I’m positive I never even hit my brother! He left me to die, Tonia and Bobo barely got there in time! Is Bobo the one that attacked my brother? To chase him away? I’m so shocked, I can’t speak for a moment, but Liz doesn't notice. She starts checking her nails. Next to me, Liam is watching my reaction, but I just ignore him.

“And Vincent believed this?”

Elisabeth shakes her head. 

“Not really. Actually, a lot of people didn’t. To start with, Alec was obviously attacked by a huge wolf, and we all know you can’t shift. You couldn't possibly be that big, anyway. And Marcus’ body? Nowhere to be found. Dead or alive, he disappeared the same day as you. The guys said his apartment was a b****y mess, though. None of us really knew what to believe. You had disappeared, and your brother kept saying all this weird stuff! Some thought you might have gone crazy for real, but I didn't, of course. I know my girl. Oh, and Vincent and Peter didn’t believe Alec either, so they told everyone to shut up until we were sure about what was going on.”

Marcus is missing? Is he really dead? I know the “b****y mess” part is real, I can remember some of it now, but I’m unclear about what really happened… And it’s scarier than before, with what Elisabeth said. Did I really kill him...? I can't remember anything but him trying to r**e me, and then Alec pursuing me. But what if he is alive? Will he leave me alone? The idea alone is terrifying...

In front of me, Elisabeth's mind has already jumped somewhere else.

“Hey, tell me what happened to you now! You look all better, girl! And I know the brand of your hoodie! Is it real?”

Elisabeth is in girl’s gossip mode, but I’m miles from it. How can she actually be smiling right now? It’s like she doesn’t care about all that happened. I know she wasn't there and she is not really close to Marcus or Alec either, but... Am I the only one who thinks this whole story is crazy?

“What about Alec?” I ask, ignoring her questions. “Is he still there?”

She frowns and scratches her head, looking a bit hesitant. 

“Uh… Not anymore. Things kind of got messy the week after your disappearance. Vincent was, like, super angry at him for not properly explaining what happened with Marcus and you, and a lot of people started accusing him of borrowing lots and lots of money. Seems like he even stole stuff from the main house to sell it! Can you believe that? Peter unleashed on him one day, it was crazy. He beat him real bad, and eventually banished him.”

“He did what?”

My brother got banished from the Clan? And a month ago, to boot? I'm not surprised that Peter beat him–Alec was never really strong, to begin with. But where in the world could he be now? No one wants to be a Rogue! All they can do is live like beggars, stealing from other wolves and sleeping outside all the turfs. Every pack always outcasts Rogues and won't let them on their territory. It would be hard for him to even be in Silver City now. Did he escape to the wild like others? They say some even go back to completely wildlife and forget they were humans once.

No, wait. Alec was spotted in the hospital days after that. So why was he looking for me? Did Alec know who had rescued me? Or was he pushed to the wall and tried to find me to help him? And there is still the Marcus matter…

“Nora, who’s the kid?”

I turn to Liam, but he is growling already. Guess the “kid” part didn’t please him… Liz immediately avoids his eyes, reacting to his Alpha aura. He may be young and not have a proper pack yet, but no one can deny Liam’s authority. He has the same dominating presence as his brothers, and Liz is just a regular wolf. He finally stops, and Elisabeth decides to address to me instead of him.

“Why did you bring a stranger to our turf? Do you want Vince to be mad as soon as you come home?”

I raise my head, shocked. To go home? So I am still considered as part of the pack? I thought they might have excluded me as soon as they did for my brother! But before I can answer, Liam surprises me by being the one to raise his voice, for the first time since we entered the bar.

“To be mad at her? What do you mean? Does this stupid Alpha of yours knows what’s coming to him?” He says with a mean grin.

Now Elisabeth's smile is completely gone, and she looks petrified. I can tell she’s trying hard not to gaze into Liam’s direction and focuses on me solely.

“Nora, what does he mean? What is coming?”

But I turn to Liam and give him a “hush!” look. “Stop it. You’re not saying anything, we agreed!”

“Whatever. My brother’s going to find them, anyway. Sooner or later, your weak former Clan will be destroyed,” he shrugs

I don’t like the s******c smile he has on now, and I can see Elisabeth has started shaking. And it's not my "former" Clan, I'm still part of the Jade Moon, it seems! But Liam doesn't care, he's having fun right now. He is intentionally scaring her and using his aura. I don't like how he is cruelly making fun of her. 

“Liam, stop it!”

He stops but gives me an annoyed look, like a kid who just got his favorite toy confiscated. I don't care. I point my index at the door, ignoring that pissed teen attitude of his. 

“If you’re going to make things difficult, you can wait for me outside.”

“Tss… Weakling.” He growls while exiting the bar.

Elisabeth seems to relax as soon as he’s out.

“Nora, who is this guy?! And how can you not be scared?! I had to fight all I can to keep myself seated, my wolf was going nuts with this guy here.”

Now that I think about it, it’s true I should have been just as scared as she was. But I’ve never been really affected by an Alpha’s aura. Vincent, Nathaniel, Liam, none of them intimidated me. Only Damian could scare me, but only when he was furious. And now even his little brother could make a grown wolf shiver so much within seconds?

I, indeed, must have some immunity of some sort because of my mate. I don’t know how to explain what happened any other way.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just a… friend.”

And Liam Black, my mate ’s youngest brother, but that I won’t tell her. I feel like I’m desperately trying to prevent two worlds from colliding. I run my fingers through my hair, trying to relax a little. This is way too much information for me to take all at once. I sigh and take a sip of my soda, but Elisabeth can barely contain herself.

“Now, will you tell me?! I’m dying here, girl! You’ve been away for weeks!”

“Sorry, Liz. I… Someone attacked me, and I was taken to the hospital. I stayed there a full month, and then a friend took me in.”

She looks at me suspiciously, apparently disappointed by my lousy explanation. So far, I didn't say anything that wasn't true. I just made sure not to mention any names. Even if he's outside, I'm pretty sure Liam can still hear us, and I don't want him to hear anything bad that could reach Damian's ears. Elisabeth ponders for a while, then points an index at me. I’ve seen her do that before. She is about to fire all her questions at once.

“Who attacked you?”

“I don’t know,” I lie.

“How did you escape?”

“My friends intervened just in time. They chased my attacker away and took me to a hospital.”

“How long? In the hospital, how long did you stay there?”

“About a month. I was in a coma for a few days, and they asked me to rest after that.”  

“And now, where are you staying?”

“I told you, at a friend’s place, in the city.”

“A friend?”

I know she won’t believe me, simply because I never had any friends. Not until I met Tonia and Bobo, and Elisabeth knows that. I sigh, annoyed by this endless examination. 

“Listen Liz, I just happened to meet some good people, okay?”

“People who gave you branded clothes…” She mutters.

I see her thinking, and she looks at me all of a sudden, with a big, excited smile.

“Oh my goddess, Nora, you have a Sugar Daddy!?”

“What? No! Are you crazy!”

Moon Goddess, how can she say such things?! I’m bright red from the embarrassment, and her stupid idea is really vexing! Elisabeth knows I’m a virgin; she used to make fun of me for it! I’m not even sure about what a Sugar Daddy really is! That is so humiliating, I can’t help but growl at her when she starts laughing out loud. 

When she hears my growl, she suddenly stops to get up and steps back.

“What the hell, Nora?!”

I stop and put my hand on my mouth, realizing I growled out loud for the first time! And with quite some effect, too. Liz is looking totally freaked out.

“Liz, I’m... I'm so sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“So you really can shape-shift!” She suddenly says, shocked. “I thought you were totally unable to shape-shift, but you really can growl like a big girl!”

She’s right. Growling requires us to use our wolf-form throat, and hence, slightly shape-shift. And turns out, I can actually do it now!