LUNA'S BAGGAGE

Chapter 4

Alison

It had been going on for a very long time, the howling! I couldn't sleep. No, I was too scared to fall asleep. The howling was right outside the bedroom window. I don't remember seeing anything about animal sightings when I looked up Thompson Springs on the internet, but then again there were barely any reviews on this place. Yeah, I had done a little research before moving here but it was clearly not enough.

What have I gotten myself into?

What had I got my children into?

It had been a blessing they had been too worn out from traveling and had slept immediately after I had put them to bed. For kids that couldn't sleep well in a new environment, this had been a miracle. Imagine having cranky kids on top of all the scary howls.

I was shivering so badly in fear that even though I was extremely exhausted I could only stay awake hoping nothing bad would happen to me and my children. Maybe this new beginning wasn't worth it at all, was it? All the confidence I had when I got on the train had quickly been swept away.

To say the night was horrendous is a big understatement. The howling had gone on till dawn, meaning I had spent the whole night awake. On the plus side, my babies finally had a warm bed and roof above their heads, but at what cost? Was this place safe?

Maybe we should move somewhere else. I am a learned woman, after all, I'm sure I could find a new job somewhere else if I tried, right? Besides, Luca wasn't here to tamper with everything I did. I was basically talking to myself, scolding myself, and being hard on myself as usual. Life wasn't meant to be like this. Where had everything fallen apart?

In college. I had been voted most likely to succeed. Where was the success? Back then, girls had been envious of me for finding my prince charming early. In the end, he turned out to be more like the frog at the bottom of a well. I was slowly turning into a pessimist.

It felt like a millennium had gone by before the sun finally rose. In a daze, hating on myself, I hadn't noticed when the howling had stopped. 'Maybe I should call Eugene,' I thought to myself, my brain finally functioning, could I get a job transfer before I even started working? What excuse would I give? The thing is, I wasn't even qualified for my job and he felt pity for me and hired me. Therefore, asking for a transfer would be too much, wouldn't it?' I remembered how I had practically begged for this opportunity but here I was, ready to flee at the first sign of trouble.

Going through my purse, I finally managed to fish out my outdated phone ready to make that call claiming I was quitting. The next thing I knew, I was jumping out of my own skin. My heart was pumping so fast I could hear my own heartbeat.

The loud banging from the front door had me breaking out into cold sweat, after all the howling and the footsteps from the night, all my paranoia came back tenfold. "I'm coming," I shouted out before remembering my kids were still sleeping.

"I AM COMING!" JEEZ! I was clearly walking as fast as I could but my impatient 'guest' was banging on the door even louder. 'Who could it be though?' I thought to myself. I had only met one person since getting to Thompson Springs, and his attitude towards me clearly showed that he'd rather eat s**t than visit my house, especially this early in the morning.

'Will this be a normal thing?' I thought to myself, getting irritated. My door had been forced open by a tall, tan, curvy woman. I hadn't had the time to hide my irritation but I didn't need to, she was sizing me up, her face filled with disgust? Yeah, that was clearly disgust, which made no sense to me. I didn't even know who she was. Disgust seemed to be the only expression in this town.

"Hmmm! Nothing much to see here." the b***h, no my guest sneered at me. My irritation paved the way for anger. What right did she have to talk to me that way?

"Can I help you?" I still had to be a good host, right? Besides, the house was technically not mine and I didn't know who I was currently speaking to, so it was better to be safe, not stepping on toes I shouldn't. I had also learned to not let my feelings show. Luca had derived pleasure from seeing me hurt, so I had taught myself to school my face into an emotionless expression.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see what the alpha's supposed mate looked like. Pathetic might I say." at this point, she was walking around me in circles as if observing an exhibition at some museum.

" What alpha? What mate?" nothing she said made any sense, but the animosity in her eyes could not be mistaken for anything else. She hated me, it didn't take a genius to see that.

"Get this b***h, the alpha is mine! M. I. N. E! Do you hear me human? Know your place" the sentence was said right in my face and I might be wrong, but there was the smell of blood in her breath. Why was she getting all in my face? 'Who is the alpha? I have only met Eugene and a Mason since I got here, so why was this woman shouting at me like I had stolen her husband? Wait, had news of my 'adulterous' behavior made to this small town?

The thought of Thompson Springs making me an outcast somehow caused me pain in my chest. This was a place I had never been before filled with people I had never met before. Five minutes ago, I wanted to leave but suddenly my heart ached at the thought of them thinking badly of me. How is that possible?

The thought was gone as soon as it had occurred. How peculiar!

"Can you please leave! I don't want you to wake my babies up.", enough of playing good host I was very tired and in a bad mood. The lack of sleep was getting to me. My head was pounding and I was easily irritated and yet, with all that, I still had to deal with what's her face.

"Yeah, I forgot I heard you had three mutts with you!" she said with a sneer, and, for once in my life, I had enough courage to stand up for myself, quickly shoving her away from me. I was extremely angry.

"Don't talk about my children like that ever again," I said through gritted teeth. I could take anything thrown at me, but my children were my bottom line. That was where I drew the line.

"mama"

"maaa..."

"mommy"

Speak of the devil, three adorable voices came babbling from round the corner. From their liveliness, I was sure they had gotten enough sleep but I just had to be petty, "see what you did! Leave!" this time I walked directly past her, opening the door to usher her out. I didn't want her to see my babies. What if she said something that would hurt them? "Can you leave? I need to attend to my children." I finally turned to face her only to catch her nose high, sniffing the air.

"They smell like wolves.." even though she mumbled the sentence quietly, I still heard her, but I didn't pay any attention to it. Finally, our unwanted guest was gone, my tense shoulders finally relief washing over me. Even though I had put on a brave face, I was in reality very scared! My back was covered in a cold sweat.

"Who is ready for some breakfast?" I called out loudly, putting on my happy mommy face. A long time back, I had decided not to let my children see the sad side of my life. Before them, I always put on a brave happy face. They deserved a happy childhood. My problems were never allowed to affect them except the happy mommy face soon cracked but not for long.

There was no food in the house. Good thing I had seen some money on the dining table when I had gone to open the door for miss annoying. The downside is that I had to go out to buy food. With no babysitter, I had to wrangle all three kids out in a town where so far no one seemed to like me. I felt even more scared.

"Mama, hungry." Well, there was no time like the present. Time to face the world and even though it was a prayer that I had said several times and hadn't been answered, I said it once again.

'Thompson Springs, please be kind to us'

"..."