Luna and her Alpha mate

05 ~ Out of the frying pan into the fire

To help restore the balance between Darkness and Light, the four elemental gods summoned the spirits of fearsome beasts long gone and offered them another chance to live, this time through human hosts: Dragons, bears, felines, and of course… wolves… And these spirit beasts have two kinds, one dark and one made of light. With a few select human warriors, they made a pact to coexist in relative harmony and the shifters came to being, and for a while, it seemed to work. There is equal light and darkness, and where there is an imbalance, the two kinds of spirit beasts will appear to even out the chances. It does not matter if the winner is good or evil. Just as long as it's not always just the one. And that is how the shapeshifters came to be…

~~~

When Luna opens her eyes again, she is in a completely different place than the one before.

There isn't even time to pretend she's still passed out because somebody hands her a warm cup of tea as soon as she stirs and she instinctively opens her eyes to look.

"Drink it while it's warm."

"Where am I?" She rasps and winces, for her throat feels so dry even swallowing is painful so she accepts the cup of tea and eagerly takes a sip. Memories come flooding in and her eyes widen as she remembers the dangerous scene before she lost consciousness. "What happened to the…monster!?"

"You're in my home. Don't worry, you're safe now." He tells her stiffly. "There are no monsters here."

Sipping the warm concoction that tastes of something exotic but laced with honey and lemon, she quietly looks around before turning back to the man sitting beside her bed.

"I… I passed out, I think…how… how did you beat the—"

"I didn't have to. I asked nicely. Sometimes, that's all it takes. Respect."

A little disconcerted by his grumpiness, Luna merely nods.

“My name is Luna.” She offers, hoping to know the name of her supposed saviour.

The man raises an eyebrow but says nothing in return.

She sighs. “Will you help me get back home, please? I cannot wait to just forget about this whole ordeal."

The man snorts. "Not too fast, little miss. I have yet to know whether you were really a captive or a member of that syndicate that took our women. For someone who is supposedly another 'slave', you were treated quite royally while the rest of the ladies were dealt with less humanity…more like…livestock, to be frank, all stuffed together in stinking cages. Why is that, I wonder?"

She shakes her head. "I swear, I have no idea! I was coming home from work late that night…and on the bus, I overheard a group of men…talking in…" She clears her throat, suddenly reluctant to share the fact that she knows many languages. It could very well be her hidden ace, her trump card. Her salvation, one way or another. "...talking quietly. I have good ears. I heard things I shouldn't have..."

"Interesting. Tell me more."

She frowns. "Why?"

He sighs. "I'm trying to solve this puzzle. My…family members were taken by the same beasts who kept you in that nice little room and I will have justice. I'll make them pay for what they have done. Human trafficking is a serious crime, but I take it even more personally because they dared to harm those under my protection."

Luna blinks. "I'm not sure that will be easy. I think they have connections everywhere…even the bus driver…" She closes her eyes in disgust at the horrid memory. "I thought he would help me but he was one of them…"

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." He says quietly, his voice suddenly gentle and full of compassion. “You must have been so terrified."

It gives her hope, those kind words. Her previous captors couldn't be reasoned with but maybe this man can be persuaded.

"Please, I just want to go home…I swear, I had nothing to do with them…I just want to forget about all this…"

The man stands up. "No."

She stares at him in dismay. "No!?"

“No. For some reason, you seem important to those traffickers. I’m keeping you close for now until we find out why. You might just be the link that we need to find them.” He says firmly.

“I swear, I don’t know them, please—!”

“I believe you.”

She gasps. “Then why—?”

He comes closer to her and grabs her arm. He stares at the simple silver bracelet on her left arm with amusement. “Pretty little thing. Is this yours?”

Luna frowns. “No, I’ve never seen it before.”

He lets go of her arm. “Can you try to take it off?”

She tries to remove the bracelet but finds it impossible. It’s just the right fit to her small wrist and would not pass through her fist. It doesn’t have a lock or any latch and she wonders how it even got there. After several futile attempts, she looks at the man questioningly.

The man, who never introduced himself, regards her coldly. “It’s a tracking device. They know exactly where you are. And sooner or later they will come and get you. For your own safety, I’m keeping you here for now.” He goes to the door and opens it. “This is the… community safe house. You are free to roam around, I will tell my men not to bother you. Don’t waste your time trying to go home by yourself, I have patrollers everywhere and the surrounding area is just miles and miles of forest and mountains. Believe me, you won’t get far before we find you. And really, this is the safest place for you to be. Try not to do anything… stupid.”

Luna gasps in aggravation as he closes the door behind him, chuckling quietly. Annoyed, she huffs and stands up, running towards the window, feeling suffocated somehow. Trapped. Again.

She opens the Venetian blinds and takes in deep gulps of breath. True to his words, the forest surrounding the place stretches on forever, as far as the eyes can see.

She laughs, almost hysterically.

What has she gotten herself into!?