LUNA'S BAGGAGE

Chapter 6

"Stupid people! Ruining my first morning here!" the stares were getting to Alison, the pointing and mumbling making it worse. 'Had they not new people in this town before?' She couldn't help but wonder. Just how remote was Thompson Springs?

Alison had ended up dragging the babies with her to the store after a very unpleasant interruption to their sleep. Tiredness and sleepiness have never been known to be a great combination, especially in children.

"Sorry, we are out of milk."

Alison looked on as the lady at the check-out counter put all the milk she'd tiredly dragged off the shelves for check-out was put under the counter one by one, the lady spotting a provoking look.

"What do you mean you are out of milk? That's my milk you are putting down there." With obvious dissatisfaction, Alison decides to question the unruly cashier.

"Sorry, this milk has been reserved..."

"Why was it on the shelf then?" the explanation given carried no water. Why would milk be reserved but still be on the shelf?

"Ring me up Gracey," a woman pushed Alison from the back to get to the cashier. "You are in my way human!" the latter sentence was dripping with disgust. In her cart, were several boxes of milk.

"Milk for the pups again?" Gracey, as Alison had come to know her, suddenly had a bright smile. She could win employee of the month. "Still trying to impress Asher I see." One could hear the teasing in her voice. Alison knew exactly who that woman was, she had rudely banged on her door about an hour ago. Alison could not forget her face that easily, besides, this was the third store they had run into each other in. Alison could almost swear she was following her.

"How comes she gets milk?" Alison couldn't stop herself from asking.

"She's a regular," the snorty cashier replied plainly, not even sparing her a glance.

"Mama, hungry!" Jayden, oh so timely reminded, adding to emphasize just how hungry he was. Leaving the check-out counter, Alison goes back to the shelves to get more milk. Surely they couldn't have reserved all the milk in the store, could they? This time she only picked three bottles.

"Sorry, we stock milk upon order. The ones on the shelves are reserved too." Alison had barely placed the bottles of milk in her cart before she was shouted from across the store.

"Can't you spare me even just one bottle for the kids?" Was she begging? Yes! In the back of her mind, she knew if she left this store empty-handed her babies would go hungry. This was the third one she had been to and the only one that had let her in.

"Sorry, we are not open today."

"Go away, we don't cater to outsiders."

'Had my reputation preceded me?' Alison could not help but ask herself. She was sure she knew no one in Thompson Springs, she had no idea the place even existed until the hiring poster slapped her in the face. Looking back, it was possible that this particular store might have let her in just to humiliate her. The joy of finding this store had finally fizzled into nothing. "My kids are really hungry, please..." of course, they didn't let her finish pleading.

"You heard Gracey, there is no milk for your mutts here." If an audience was what they were looking for, then they had just earned it. The store that had been empty less than a minute earlier was suddenly congested. All the jeering from the street was now in close proximity.

"Why did she come here?"

"She can't be our Luna."

"Asher should reject her."

"Humans! Disgusting"

"Just a used woman."

With them being so close, she could finally hear what the mumbling was about. They hated her, it was easy to tell. No one bothered to hide the looks of disgust. In fact, it was as if they raised their voices just to make sure they were heard. Why did it seem like she had jumped out of the frying pan right into the fire? While she was an outcast in her old town, none of them

With the situation getting more and more intense, Alison chose to leave. The animosity was so clear, besides, there was nothing she could do if a fight broke out, especially since she had children to protect.

It wasn't clear who started it but an egg landed right on Alison's forehead, followed by another, then another. It was raining eggs and all she could think about was protecting her babies while cussing out the town folk in her mind. How inhuman of them? 'Doesn't anyone care about children being present?'

"Go back to where you came from!"

"You are not welcome here!"

Then it suddenly got quiet, no one was throwing anything anymore, and not even the sound of breathing could be heard. If it was for the vicious stares she still felt on her back, Alison would have thought they had all disappeared.

"What do you think you are doing?"

That voice! Alison had never heard it before but she felt like it was the most beautiful voice ever, it made her feel safe.

"I asked you guys what you were doing!" The man was angry, but Alison wasn't delusional enough to think he was angry on her behalf.

"N-nothing Alpha." a few voices mumbled from within the crowd. Sure she was at least safe for now, Alison lifted her head to see the once aggressive crowd standing in line like berated children, heads hanging low.

"Whose idea was this to attack this lady and her children?" It did seem that he was actually there to protect Alison.

Alison's POV

Just as my back couldn't withstand their beating any more, he arrived, like a knight in shining armor. For fragile little things, eggs sure did hurt. It was no mistake my back would be severely bruised after this. I stunk! 'How did they manage to get so many rotten eggs? Was it some weird hobby they had here?' I thought to myself while checking if my munchkins were OK.

It was a planned attack, that much was clear. After meeting only three people since getting to Thompson Springs and spending less than twenty-four hours, the whole town had gathered together to publicly humiliate me for reasons I didn't know.

'Was I always going to be a social pariah?' I couldn't help but wonder to myself. This was meant to be a fresh start. A start it was, except it, was worse than where I had started.

"I asked whose idea it was to do this!" I couldn't help but raise my head to look at my savior.

Ethereal!

That was the best word to describe him. He stood at over six feet tall with a body curved to perfection, skin glistening in the morning sun. His voice alone sent tingles down my spine. I was out right staring but I could not bring myself to look away.

"So no one is going to answer? Gracey, this happened in your store. If you don't tell the truth you shall bear the consequences!" That was clearly a threat, one that worked because Gracey ratted out the mastermind. His voice was even lower than it was when he'd first come in. 'He has to hold some form of authority in this town." I thought to myself, either that or he was a dangerous person. They all seemed afraid of him.

"A-alpha i-it was M-Melanie." well I'll be damned! The arrogant woman that had shouted at me earlier was no more, in her place a meek little thing that couldn't speak without a stutter. Everyone was afraid of the powerful it seemed. It was quite fascinating to see just how fast tables had turned.

"Melanie!" the handsome stranger growled in anger, making me shiver. It wasn't out of fear but out of a feeling I couldn't explain.

The whole crowd parted, leaving the main culprit right in the middle. "Yes, Alpha?" So that was her name. The woman that had forcefully entered my house this morning. She was shivering like me, except for her. It was out of fright. I could tell because she also broke out in a sweat on her forehead.

Wait a minute, Alpha? This was the name of the man she'd threatened me about. The same name the town folk had been mumbling over and over again. If he was Alpha, who the hell was Asher? Was his name Asher Alpha? Alpha Asher? What kind of parent names their kid that?

"What are you laughing at?" I didn't know I was laughing or even smiling till Melanie, finally gaining back her courage, decided to shout at me, bringing me back to the present.

"Your parents must be obsessed with the letter A." way to go, Alison, poking at the man who just saved you from becoming scrambled eggs.

A look of confusion passed through his eyes, "Are you talking to me?" he asked. I could stare into those eyes for days. 'Please keep looking at me

" Your name is Asher?" a nod, "and your second name is Alpha? Or is Alpha his first name and Asher his second? AA! Double A like the battery! Hey, my name also begins with an A! We are destined!" I was rambling. It had been a very long time since I had spoken freely with anyone. "Nice to meet you, I'm Alison and this is Joy, Joe and Jayden." I introduced myself and my babies quickly. "I'm a J person." I giggled before grabbing his hand for a handshake.

It was as if an electric current originated from our point of contact running down my spine. "What is that?" If it wasn't for his stoic face I would have thought the man had played a prank on me. Asher quickly snatched his hand out of mine before ordering Gracey to give me everything I needed. He even told her to carry them for me.

"The rest of you, to the pack house now!" Looks like some people were about to get scolded. I watched in glee as they shuffled out of the store, some slipping and falling on the broken eggs reminding me of just how disgusting I looked and smelled. No wonder he didn't want me touching him.

Quiet! At last!

The store was back to the way it had been when I first walked in, except smellier.

"Mama, go home." Joy did not complain about being hungry anymore. The mob had shaken them, Jayden still had tears and mucus running down his face. Children were meant to be a blessing, children were meant to be loved. Why was it that mine had known nothing but suffering in their short lives?

These kids were supposed to be a gateway to my bright future. I would have gotten money while they would have gotten to live an amazing life with the wealthy couple I was a surrogate for.

"What are you taking? I am in a hurry!" Of course, the arrogance was back. The big scary man was gone.

I didn't have any more patience for Gracey. Her friend and her had basically arranged a lynching for me. It was like a scene from the witches of Salem. "Give me basic groceries, I need to be able to cook for at least a week before having to come back here."

A warm soak in the tub later, I still wasn't ready to face reality. I was able to coax the babies to sleep after their late breakfast. It had been a stressful morning for all of us and I needed time for myself to strategize. The water had gone cold before I got out of the tub, my back was no longer as sore, the only good thing that came out of the long soak.

I then spent the next hour in my bathrobe weighing the pros and cons of living in Thompson Springs.

"Eugene, can you help me get another job?"