Lunatic: Forbidden Encounters

My heart sank deep into my stomach listening to my beloved say those hurtful words to me. Sudden trembling seized me and by the least struggles, tears effortlessly left my glands flowing down my cheeks; the sorrow which I had long forgotten came crawling back.

"You can't do this to me Erick. I beg you." But my mate didn't seem to budge; the look on his face clearly pointed out that his mind was made up. He was going to reject me.

"This is beyond me Lyla." He said and grabbing me by my shoulders he looked deep into my eyes and whispered "I truly love you Lyla but I cannot have you as my Luna."

His grip was so firm, his gaze still melted my heart, but looking at him say those words made his touch cold. The agony of being denied the soft touch of my mate hit me like a cannon.

"Why Erick? Why?" My voice was whimpering. My lips feeble but there were so many words unsaid. A whole year of bliss was about to come to an end.

"The Elders Lyla." My mate said in a low tone, then he unhanded me and moved away turning his face from me. "They think you are too weak to be the Luna of Moon Blood Pack. They say they can't accept you as Luna."

"And you. You reject me too?"

Erick found no words to respond, he only took a gaze at me; I could feel the pain in his eyes but his stare taunted me, his silence sent cold jitters into my body.

"You will be fine Lyla. You are stronger than you look."

"You are my strength Erick; you are my confidence." More tears flowed, my heart tightened and its beats harkened to the rhythms of sorrow that played in my mind.

"The sooner we get along with this; the sooner we move on. We have to get this over with Lyla."

Erick's crimson eyes reflected comfort but as I gaped, the coldness of his feelings glared back at me. He stood firm on his resolution, his eyes took periodic glances at me refusing to oblige my plea. Who would have thought that the only one who brought me so much comfort could be the source of my pain?

"I, Alpha Erick of the Moon Blood Pack, reject you Lyla daughter of Kyle, the Beta of Moon Blood Pack."

I felt empty as those words hit my ears. I perceived a sharp pain in my heart. Our bond had been severed. Erick hid his face from me but from his jawline, I could see the reflex of regret. He left me immediately and went away without turning back.

I lay on the floor, shoved by the soreness that stroke me when my mate rejected me. Seeing him walk out through the door made me gasp. Extending my hands towards him, I made an attempt to call him back but the weakness which invaded my bones shut me up; I found no strength to beckon on my sole protector.

My father Kyle Bardolf was the Beta of Moon Blood Pack but he disappeared two years earlier leaving me to the mercy of his mate and her daughter who relegated me to being their slave. I faced severe maltreatment from them until my mate saved me.

My father had an unusual relationship with my mother; the kind that was abolished. Werewolves were not permitted to bond with humans who were not their mates as given by the moon Goddess but those rules were defiled by them. My father met my mother in one of his usual trips to the Human world on official duties and they fell in love.

My mother got pregnant with me and decided to keep it not minding the grave circumstance that could result from her decision. I only heard stories about her from my father; she died while giving birth to me, I was told that her immunes were not strong enough to withstand the pressures of my werewolf gene.

My father knew that taking me along with him to the Pack would only result to my death, so he put me under the care of Nuns in an orphanage. He visited whenever he could which was usually within few months but the taunts of the other children who bullied me for having such a petite stature tormented me.

We were taught a lot by the Nuns in the Orphanage; how to read and write and the basic knowledge about things that existed, including topics on calculation and creativity but we could never see beyond the four walls that barricaded us from the outside world. We were enclosed in what almost looked like a fortress; an ancient church abandoned but reestablished for the purpose of raising children like us.

Soon, almost all the children who I knew from when I was a toddler were either adopted or taken away for better plans but I remained even at the age of twelve. Waiting for the day my father would come for me.

The Nuns before long got tired of the excesses that culminated from having to harbor me and I was made to do most of the work as the eldest in the Orphanage. The scrubbing, the mopping, the planting and the offloading duties were most times left for me alone. I was detested for being a burden to them.

"You consume so much for you to be doing the same work with the others." Mother Clara would always tell me, her face displaying signs of contempt each time she saw me.

She had a funny accent with a bulgy face that was surrounded by wrinkles and pores. Her worn-out eyeglasses always hung firmly on her nose to let her piercing eyes monitor the events in the Orphanage. Each heavy step she took was accompanied by a loud thud from her enormous thighs and feet. She always moved around with her whip securely gripped by her armpit; Mother Clara was the terror of the children in the Orphanage.

Each night after my task, I would always sit by the window and stare at the moon. It felt as though we could communicate. The rays from the moonlight seemed to be drawing me close and with each stare, I seemed to feel rejuvenated; something in me told me that I was different from the other kids. Sometimes, it felt as though I could see a creature lurking in the dark in the forest over the fence.

On some occasions, it seemed to be leaping and with an extraordinary velocity. I knew that dogs weren't that huge and fast, neither were they known to howl; we had one in the Orphanage. The creature seemed to appear most times in my dream and sometimes it felt as though it was watching over me.

I was lost of clue until the night of my thirteenth birthday, the moon was at its fullest shining limpidly. I was fast asleep but the dreams persisted, this time with deep feelings that made them seem so real. I could see some creatures which I had never seen, the moon kept on calling out for me and within a short time, I could feel my body changing rapidly; my bones struggling to maintain a steady posture cracking at intervals. My nails seemed to be growing from the inside and thickening and my eyes seemed to be glowing. I had always had golden eyes but they had never glowed except for that night.

Some of the children who were sleeping in the bunks close to mine were awakened by my struggle and came to me. One of them touched me and in a flash, I scratched his face with my nails causing him to bleed. The other children ran away and hid while Adrian lay on the floor crying from the pain of the cut.

One of the Nuns rushed into the dormitory and carried Adrian to the infirmary. I woke up almost immediately he screamed in pain and discovered that my right nails were stained with his blood. That was the strangest thing that had happened to me.

I felt sorry for Adrian even though he was the one who always instigated others to mock me; he had always reminded me that I was petite and they were bigger than I was notwithstanding the fact that I was older.

The next morning, I was summoned to Mother Clara's office to answer for the event of the previous night.

"Speak will you?" Mother Clara said with her eyes glaring at me in so much disgruntle; I could read the desire to strangle me written all over her face.

She hit her whip hard on the table startling me, but I was too confused and afraid to talk. I stared at her for a while and bent my face to the floor. My arms clasped together behind me.

"I have always known you to be evil. You little devil!"

I dared not to raise my face for fear of meeting her gruesome stare. She always sent shivers down my spine with her eyes.

She sent me out of her office with a stern warning and a threat that meant that my stay in the Orphanage was numbered.

"It would be such a relief getting rid of you. You reek of so much evil; no wonder your father prefers to keep you here. I am certain he is happy with his real family and wouldn't want you smearing his happiness with your bad luck."

All the children in the Orphanage avoided me like a plague giving me distances in the refectory, classroom and even the playground; no one wanted me to thrust my nails into their neck.

Few days later, my father came for me; it was a day of excitement for me and also a day of immense relief for the Orphanage. Mother Clara was so glad to get rid of me, I could see the satisfaction hidden in her grin.

My father took me away and that was the beginning of my life in an entirely different world of adventures and life changing encounters. I was going to experience the strangest things ever but somehow, I seemed really prepared to embrace certain challenges.

The ride from San Francisco to Roseville took us about two hours. Sitting close to my father in the car as he drove to Roseville didn't seem so relieving as I thought it would, the excitement which I felt lasted for only a short while. Maybe because he had been absent from my life for such a long time without any reasonable explanation.

"Don't you think you have gotten too old for that." He said looking at my teddy bear which I was playing with; it was the only memory I had from my mother, my father told me that she gave it to me before she passed. I stared at my father for a while, then I put the teddy bear away behind me. My father seemed so worried; I could see signs of anxiety written all over his face. He tried to maintain a steady countenance but would always give away his worrisome look at intervals.

We got to a junction and he drove into a narrow road hidden by the thickets of the forest. He stopped the car in the woods and got down.

"Come down Lyla." He said shutting the door.

He took out a large sheet of polyester and covered the car, then he concealed it with some tree branches and long grasses which he picked from the floor; the old tire marks on the ground indicated that the blue highlander was usually parked on the same spot.

My father took me by my hand and we walked down deeper into the woods to a spot in the center. For some reason, I was not so much scared as I should have been; the confidence in me holding my father was high.

"What you are about to witness could be scary but I want you to know that we are different; different from anyone you have met."

Looking at my father as he said those words to me put me in so much confusion. I raised my eyebrows in search of clarity.

My father bent down and knelt before me, then he held me by my arms and stared right into my eyes.

"Promise me that you won't be afraid. Promise me that you won't scream Lyla."

I nodded not being certain of what the outcome was going to be, but I was eager to know what really he was talking about.

"Wait here. Don't move." He said and went behind one of the huge trees. I just stood at a spot looking at the wood. I saw that he was removing his cloths and carefully placing them at a spot. I continued to watch hoping to see the outcome.

A huge Wolf emerged from behind the tree matching towards me; its appearance was fierce. The Wolf was bigger than any creature I had ever seen and with lovely snow white furs. It had long claws and scary sharp canines that revealed themselves with each single growl.

For a moment, I was scared as the wolf approached but looking into its blue eyes, I was able to recognize my father. He stopped for a while and gazed at me, his stare softening with a smile. I approached him with so much enthusiasm touching his furs in excitement. I was no longer afraid of the white wolf.

My father growled at me but I giggled, then he bent his shoulder down to the ground signaling to me. I got on top of his back and he dashed away deeper into the forest. He leapt swiftly but I held on to his neck firmly enjoying the ride. The winds hitting my skin softly as he ran across trees, birds soaring in the sky and other animals like squirrels and antelopes who ran to safety when they sighted the huge wolf.

Soon we got to the edge of the forest and then into a small town concealed perfectly away from the reach of Humans. There were beautiful houses carefully organized and built with almost the same pattern with a beautiful mansion like a castle in the middle of the rest of the houses that were lined up next to each other. The town seemed to be old fashioned but an amazing ambience.

My father stopped in front of the mansion and I got down, then he went inside for few minutes. I looked around; there seemed to be no one around. "Maybe they were still asleep." I thought. The town was really beautiful but quiet with only about 25 houses including the mansion.

My father appeared again, this time fully dressed in his human form, he smiled at me and I smiled back.

"Come Lyla, I want you to meet some people." I grabbed his hand and we went inside the mansion. The interior was far more elegant than the exterior; properly furnished and decorated. There were lovely chandeliers hanging above us at different angles with lovely curtains on each of the windows in the mansion. The floor was tiled with beautiful marbles that reflected my image as I stared at them.

We walked through the hall and down the corridor till we got to two large doors. My father pushed them open with one hand and we went inside. There were eleven men seated at a long curved table, they all looked at me with curiosity written all over their faces. They were almost within the age of my father with about three of them way older. My father positioned me right in the center of the table as though I was to stand trial.

"Welcome child; we have heard a lot about you." Said one of the men; he was sitting in the middle and seemed to be the leader. There was an empty seat beside him which my father occupied soon. I got to understand that he was the Alpha and my father as the second in command was the Beta and they were called a Pack including some others who I met later.

I was welcomed into the Moon Blood Pack and soon, I got to meet some others. Everyone seemed excited to meet me. Well, except my father's mate and his daughter. Loretta didn't seem too pleased at my arrival, I could see the anger concealed in her smile when she welcomed me into their home. Her daughter Anne my step-sister stared at me curiously; she was two years older than I was and definitely not petite as I was. She was very tall like my father and with lovely ponytails that hung on her shoulders.

I felt a sensation of belonging which filled my soul from the moment I walked into the town. I got enrolled in the school which was not too far away from our beautiful bungalow. The other children also attended, I got to make a lot of friends and this time, I was not bullied; maybe because I was the Beta's daughter. My step-sister distanced herself from me and with every attempt to get closer, she went farther away so I let her be.

For five years I had a better home and everything went well until my father suddenly disappeared. He went on a mission to the Human world and never returned. A search was organized for him and for months, there was no trace of him. Soon, everyone forgot about him; some even suggested he was dead. I was left to the mercy of my step-mother and sister.

Instantly, my life took a drastic turn; for a whole year I was turned to a slave in my father's house with nothing but crumbs to feed on. I stopped attending high school and stayed at home all day doing chores. I washed Loretta's cloths and those of Anne, I cooked, scrubbed, mopped and did the dishes. Sometimes I had absolutely nothing to eat throughout the day.

On the night of the Claiming Ceremony; when Werewolves who had no mates were to meet their mates, everyone was meant to assemble at the Great hall in the mansion for the grand opening by Alpha Morris. The moon goddess gives everyone a fated mate whom they are meant to mark and mate with; it was considered a taboo for one to mate with another wolf while his or her mate was still alive except if the mate was rejected.

"You absolutely have no need to be at the Claiming ceremony; I am certain that the moon Goddess would never bestow you with the gift of a mate. No one would even want a timid mate who has not shifted even at nineteen."

Loretta took a scornful look at me, her hands waving me off as she walked past me. Anne followed behind. They were fully dressed for the ceremony.

Looking at them dressed in lovely gowns reminded me so much of the beautiful cloths my father got me. Those five years with him before his disappearance were the most astonishing years of my life but all my valuable belongings were confiscated by Loretta; I wonder what she used them for. I only got two gowns which were almost rags.

"Here; wash these and make sure you scrub them properly. I know those bones are weak but make sure these cloths are sparkling clean."

I removed some of the cloths Loretta threw on me from my face to see clearly; I carried them on my hands. Clearly they were not dirty cloths; I remembered washing them few days earlier and they scented nicely.

"Make sure not to leave this house tonight; stay indoors lest you infest the entire town with your mangy look."

I dipped the cloths inside a bucket of water and headed for the line outside the house to spread them. They were neat and obviously didn't need to be washed; I knew Loretta didn't want me to be at the Ceremony.

I had never considered the thought of having a mate; her words always got to me and by the feelings of disinterest, I had never thought that I would be very fortunate to be given a mate by the moon goddess and even though I was to have one; I was certain that he would never want a feeble mate who had never shifted even at the age of nineteen. The only thing that characterized me as a werewolf were my golden eyes which always reflected rays of sunlight.

"No one really wants you; your mother must be really relieved not to have to deal with your excesses. Your existence reeks of worthlessness."

Loretta despised me with passion and would have gotten totally rid of me; luckily she still considered me to be a slave, I guess she was also afraid of what people were going to say; how she may be regarded as a cruel step-mother.

Suddenly, I heard a sharp sound coming from the garden; it felt like a twig was snapped. There was a whoosh, I could see the flowers in the garden moving from a touch.

"Who is there?" My voice was trembling; the darkness of the night dimed my vision but I was certain that something or someone was there.

For a moment there was silence and so I made my way to enter the house with the bucket in my hand.

"Hello there."

The voice was resonant, sending trembles into my heart. I turned abruptly searching widely for the owner of the voice; apprehension seized my entire body.

"Seems you are all alone. I guess they all left you to work while they went off for the Ceremony."

This time my heart started to hammer against my ribs. I still couldn't see who was talking.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"Oh just a friendly passerby. I want us to play a game, a game of catch. It would really be fun."

My heart skipped several beats; fearful curiosity invaded my mind, the fact that I still didn't know who was speaking scared the shit out of me.

"Hello there! Are you scared?"

His face had several scars, his low snarl exposed sharp teeth ready to have a taste of me. The sight of the brawly man with blue eyes staring ferociously at me made me wheeze; the horror building inside of me made me dread for the outcome of the encounter with the man who stood over a foot taller than me.

Our faces were an inch away from each other; his breath reeked of deadly stench. Bringing out his tongue he moistened my right cheek.

"Hello little one, care for a snack?" With a sly he smiled exposing partly his ferocious teeth. My heart pounded as he gripped my neck and raised me gently above the ground.

Quickly alarmed, I managed to free myself from his grip and dropping the bucket I made my way towards the Mansion; there was light on my path but he double crossed me almost immediately extending his hands and in a bent posture as he appeared swiftly in front of me.

"Not so fast little one."

"What do you want with me?" My voice was still trembling; the little race had taken a toll of my strength. I looked sideways for an escape path but the only way clear was behind me.

"Oh don't be scared. I just want us to play a game. You run! I chase!" He approached fiercely, his pace increasing with each step he took.

"Now run! Run!"

The scary man shifted almost immediately ripping apart the trousers he had on revealing a red huge wolf, one of the biggest I had seen since my six years in the Pack. I turned and hastened towards an unknown destination behind me. That was one of the time I wished I had shifted but my strength failed me; I could only feel my eyes glowing, providing me with clear vision to navigate through the dark paths I ran into.

His growl enclosed behind me; he was catching up. I ran faster but my efforts were in vain; he soon caught up with me, dragging me down by my hair.

I fell to the ground in a thud whimpering in pain. "Who would come to my rescue?" I thought.

My assailant heaved me into a flat posture with my face towards the sky, then he put the weight of his leg upon me lacerating my chest with his stabbing claws. I could hear him speak in my mind.

"Daddy is no longer here to save you. Is he?"

He sneered as he positioned his face upon mine with so much satisfaction watching my face express feelings of pain. I tried to cry out for help but I was drained, my vital fluid gushing from my face and chest, I had gotten to the brink of my strength.

"Now I want a bite!" He growled, his canines gnashing as he leaned towards my neck to devour me. With my eyes shut and my energy drained I waited for him to sink his canines into my flesh; in a flash, my life was fading away.

For a while I waited but it seemed like my assailant had paused; I had been relieved of the weight of his heavy leg and the pain of his claws clutching my body. With a tender struggle, I widened my eyelids and behold, my assailant had been pounced upon by another wolf.

A huge black wolf had dragged him off my body and wrestled him to the ground with a force. My savior growled furiously; his red eyes burst into flames as he slit my assailant with a fierce velocity forcing him to whimper pathetically. He fled away with a limp.

My Savior howled loudly for a while before he started approaching me. That was the last vision that embraced my eyesight before I passed out.