Novaturient: Crescent Lovers

COLD HARSH GROUND

Ophelia gladly ate the food served on her bed. She never realized she was this hungry until the smell of freshly baked bread teased her nostrils. The night before, she declined dinner saying her stomach was too upset to handle anything. Nurse Sarah bought her a cup of sweetened warm milk instead, it helped calm her down and before she knew it, she was in dreamland.

The taste of the sweet jam and bread made her feel alive for the first time since that wretched night. The smell reminded her of home, the way her mom made breakfast when the first rays of the sun got into the kitchen. How Luke always whines that they are having the same breakfast again and he wants pancakes instead. The memory made her c***k a smile, but along with it came a strong feeling of torment. It made her feel more lost than she already was.

“A happy memory?”

Ophelia snapped out of her dwelling and looked to her side, Noah. She forgot that he was there as her mind went astray. She found herself thinking of his question harder than needed when the answer was an obvious yes. But still, she took her time.

She nodded after a long minute. “But how did you know?”

“Mom always said that when someone smiles out of the blue, then he is thinking of a happy memory,” Noah said, sinking back in the chair as he folded his legs underneath him.

“Your mom is wise,” Ophelia said with a smile, biting down the last bit of her food.

“Did your mother ever say something like that?” Noah asked, tilting his head.

Ophelia shuddered and felt her blood run cold soon before she calmed herself down.

‘He doesn’t know anything,’ she said to herself. ‘I never told him or anyone.’

The more Ophelia thought about it, she realized that she had never got the chance to tell anyone what happened. Truth be told, she doubted that she wanted these words to come out of her mouth.

‘My family is killed,’ she answered in her head. ‘My whole pack has returned to the Moon Goddess and there is no one left but me.’

She doubted Noah would want to hear it either.

“Yeah,” she replied, setting the tray on the night table. “I think Mom said something like that.”

The fact that Ophelia didn’t remember made her guilty. She paused, staring out before her as she tried to remember all the memories she had with her family. It was vague in the back of her mind, a distant memory her brain never cared to preserve.

Her violet eyes darkened as she clenched down on the blanket. She couldn’t help but hate herself for it. If only she knew that everything was going to turn in a blink, that she was going to lose everyone and everything she held dear. She would have forced her brain to carve the memories on its walls. However, it is too late for regrets now.

“D-Did I say something wrong again?” Noah stuttered, watching out for her reaction.

“W-What?” she tilted her head in confusion.

“Whenever I ask you something, a sad look appears on your face,” he elaborated. “Do I make you angry?”

“N-No!” She exclaimed, holding up her arms. “I was just thinking of something. That’s all.”

“Something sad?” Noah asked.

Ophelia took a deep breath as she looked away. Suddenly the words were lost to her and she nodded instead.

“My mom always says to speak up when you are sad,” Noah started, rubbing his hands on the back of his head in fluster. “I’m here to listen if you would like. I promise I won’t judge!”

‘Whenever you are having a hard time, know that your family has got your back, Ophelia,’

Ophelia jumped in surprise as a voice rattled in her head. She recognized the voice instantly.

‘Mom…’

Ophelia bit down on her lips to prevent the tears from falling. She promised herself not to cry in front of them.

“Thank you,” Ophelia said quietly.

She couldn’t help but feel that it was thanks to Noah that she recalled this precious moment with her moment. Just when she was beginning to think, she had forgotten all the memories she shared with her mother. She held her hand tightly to her chest, thanking the Moon Goddess for this chance.

“For what?” Noah asked, tilting his head. He couldn’t read the expression on her face.

“You made me remember a happy memory I shared with my mother,” Ophelia said, turning back to Noah. A bright smile on her tinted lips.

This was the first time she smiled like that since she arrived. Noah felt his heart leap out of his chest, and the heat warming up his pale cheeks. He fumbled with his hand in frustration, an awkward smile cracking on his embarrassed face.

The awkward silence was broken when nurse Sarah came in, the door clicking shut behind her.

“Good morning, Ophelia,” she said as she walked to her side. “Noah, you are up early.”

“I always wake up early!” Noah coughed, bringing his hands to cover his mouth.

Sarah giggled at seeing Noah’s cheeks turn bright red. She could already tell he had gotten closer to Ophelia. Was it a good thing? She couldn’t say yet.

“You look a lot better than yesterday,” Sarah said, eyeing Ophelia. “We just need to take care of those burns before they leave a mark. But I’m sure your wolf will heal it without a trace.”

Ophelia nodded with a faked smile, there was no need for her to say that she still didn’t feel the wolf inside her. Sometimes she felt it and sometimes the feeling vanished without a trace. The latter happens often. One of the few times she felt her wolf kick in, was that night. The night of the arson, the murders. Her instinct forced her to flee far away from home, and here she was in this strange place, with a red-eyed boy.

The two children were silent as Sarah did her job. Ophelia wasn’t on guard the first time the nurse touched her. She wasn’t completely at ease but, she wasn’t uncomfortable either, so she sat still and watched as Sarah nursed the burns on her arms.

Ophelia couldn’t even remember at which point she got burned. Was it when she ran into her home to stop her brother Luke or, was it when she was fleeing with her life? She never even noticed the sting until she woke up in this bed a day ago. The night when she was running, her mental bruises were much deeper than her physical ones. At some point, her brain stopped differentiating which was which, it was all one big lump of pain and agony that tormented Ophelia’s frail body.

“There, all done,” Sarah said, straightening her posture as she took a step back to admire her handy work.

“Thank you,” Ophelia said quietly, eyeing her arm as though it wasn’t hers.

“Don’t worry, as soon as you recover, you will be on your way home,” Sarah said, trying to comfort the little girl. “We already sent a messenger with a word about you to your pack.”

Ophelia shuddered at the words but by the time she wanted to clear the misunderstanding, the door was closing shut after Sarah. She sighed in anxiety.

‘It’s barely been two days and I’m already causing trouble,’ She thought, wondering if she should run after Sarah. But what was she going to say?

Hey, Sarah! Sorry, but my whole pack is dead and I’m the only one that survived.

It was one thing to say in her head and a whole other thing to say out loud. She doubted she would be able to stutter the words. So, just this once, she would forgive herself for falling in trouble.

She had been wondering since she regained a bit of her energy. Why did no one ask her what happened? It was because they had already set their minds on the answer.

‘They think I just got lost, or perhaps ran away from home,’ She thought. The latter was as close to the truth as it could get. She did run away from home, or at least what was left of it.

~~~~

Sarah walked into the quiet hallway heading to Alpha’s office to report the state of their little guest. Ophelia was fine, physically at least. But mentally, Sarah wasn’t sure.

In the little girl’s violet eyes, she could see agony and hardships that were beyond what a child should have. A girl as young as her shouldn’t be able to give off such expressions. Unless they have been through things that even adults can’t relate to.

Sarah feared that the reason Ophelia ended up here was beyond just getting lost in the woods.

‘Lost children don’t walk a day away from home,’ Sarah thought but shrugged it away as nothing. She tried to convince herself that everything was alright. A day or two and the little girl will be sent to her parents. Happy ending for everyone, or at least that’s what she hoped.

The silence of the hallway was broken by the sound of rushing footsteps heading toward Sarah. She turned around just in time to dodge the man that almost ran into her.

“Heavens! Gerald?” Sarah exclaimed in surprise. “Why are you running like that?”

The man before her, Gerald, supported his weight on his knees as he halted to catch his breath. “S-Sorry,” he breathed out. “I need to get to the Alpha and fast!”

“Weren’t you sent to the Crescent pack?” Sarah asked while narrowing her brows.

“I did go.”

“So quickly? How did it go?”

“We should talk about this here,” Gerald said as he glanced around the hallway. “Come with me!”

Gerald grabbed Sarah by the arm and dragged her all the way to the Alpha’s office. Gerald was always known to be a light-hearted person, rarely taking anything seriously. Seeing him break a sweat was enough to wreck Sarah’s nerves. She already had a bad feeling about this the moment she saw the burns on Ophelia’s arms.

Something felt off about it from the beginning and she couldn’t help but think that she was about to figure it out.

Gerald halted before the Alpha’s door and knocked. The two of them entered upon hearing the permission. The Alpha sat on the other side of the room, the morning sun pouring in through the window behind him. He was immersed in the documents in his hands while his wife Valarie sipped her tea.

“Sarah,” Valarie greeted. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was dragged here, Madam,” Sarah replied, throwing glares at Gerald who dragged her here.

“Gerald, I see you have returned already,” Bernard said, not lifting his eyes off the paper. “Did you send word to the Crescent?”

The long moment of silence poked Bernard’s senses, he lifted his head to look at Gerald, who was still lost for words. That alone was enough to indicate that something was a miss.

“Gerald,” Bernard called out again, gaining Gerald’s attention. “What did you find?”

“T-The Crescent pack…my lord,” Gerald stuttered.

“They are gone.”

Three simple words. But they weren’t as simple to comprehend to any of those in the room. A long moment of silence remained, broken by the clattering of the teacup as Valarie set it on the table.

“They are gone?” Valarie started. “Like what? They relocated?”

“No, my lady,” Gerald said. “I don't think there is anything called the Crescent now.”

Before they could reply, Gerald dug his hands into his pockets and brought out the pictures he took the other day. He took a step forward and placed the pictures faced down on the table before the Alpha. Bernard gave him a hesitant look before he took the pictures.

“God’s be gracious…”

It was the first thing that left his mouth as his brain tried to register what his eyes were seeing. To put it in one word. Death.

What Bernard saw in those photos was the literal demonstration of the word death.

Burned bodies, houses, even small frail bodies that seem to belong to children. The ash settled on their cold bodies like snow. The houses collapsed to the ground like rubble.

“There was no sign of life, my lord,” Gerald commented. “I looked out and searched for any survivors but-”

Sarah couldn’t cop up with what was being told, she glanced back and forth between the Alpha and Gerald, hoping for an explanation, but there was none.

Bernard set down the pictures, only then did Sarah and Valarie catch a glimpse of what was going on. They gasped.

Sarah felt her stomach twist and she had to gulp down her breakfast. Inside of her, her wolf was sobbing at the sight of its brothers dead on the cold harsh ground.