Tales from the 13th: As Bright as the Moon (A Necro Realm Tale)

As Bright as the Moon

            Lara McCoy lay on her bed, hung over from the night before. She knew better than to drink Absinthe. Luckily for her, it was not on a night that was a full moon, or then she’d be in trouble. Lara housed a dark secret. She was not only a werewolf, but also the last of her pack. To say the last six months have been a rollercoaster would have been an understatement. Not only had her pack been systematically hunted down and eliminated, but she had also fallen for the man sleeping next to her, Shawn McGovern. There was just something about him that drew her to him.

            He was the most wonderful man that she’d ever met. He was kind and thoughtful. In a day and age where chivalry was nearly dead, he kept its spark lit. The young man was always opening doors for her, pulling out her chair, bringing over flowers, and, more importantly, was understanding during her “time of the month.” For werewolves, that carried a whole different meaning than it did for the human female population. You see, they had no control over turning into wolves during a full moon. And cramping while changing into a hairy behemoth was quite daunting.

Lara opened her breathtaking blue eyes, moved Shawn’s arm from around her, and sat up. Her head was aching from all the champagne that they had ingested the night before. Please leave it to New Year's to fall on a cycle where she didn’t change. Sitting there, she regretted the decisions that she had made the night before. From all the drinking she had done, to finally consummating her and Shawn’s relationship. The latter was bound to happen eventually, but never in her wildest dreams would it have been after six months. Why it almost took two years to work up the nerve to sleep with her, then pack lead, Mikail.

Pulling the light bedsheet off the bed, as they had slept in the nude, she wrapped it around herself. She desperately wanted to get dressed before Shawn woke up. She didn’t know how much he remembered what happened the night before. Her mind was a foggy haze, but she didn’t want him to see all the goods. Not just yet. They had yet to say that she was, in fact, a lycanthrope. He was the first human that she’d ever felt drawn to, and she didn’t know just how he’d take it.

She went over to the dresser, pulled out a new pair of underwear, leggings, and an oversized shirt, and went to the bathroom. There she turned on the water in the shower and got in. Washing herself clean, she couldn’t help but smile. She was in love with a human. An honest-to-goodness human. This was a new experience for her as she wasn’t bitten to become a lycan, she was born one. She had been taught at an early age that humans were to be feared, as they always tended to murder that which they did not understand. And all her boyfriends, to date, had always been part of her pack.

Lara was in the middle of washing her hair when the succulent smell of frying bacon filled her nostrils. Shawn must have been up and trying to surprise her with breakfast. Smiling at the kind gesture, she shook her head. He’d have to wake up and somehow be downwind to surprise her like that. She finished her shower, rinsing out the shampoo, and got out. Before putting on her clothing, she wiped the steam away from the mirror and looked at herself. Something about today felt different; she felt loved.

Walking out of the bathroom, with everything on but a pair of socks, she brushed her long brunette hair. Entering the kitchen of her apartment, she was greeted by a fully clothed Shawn, who was busy preparing his famous bacon and scrambled eggs. At least that’s what he told her he was making, as to how famous they were, left something to be desired. As she was working on getting a snarl out of her hair, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.  He smiled and returned the affection by resting his forehead upon hers. 

They exchanged morning pleasantries and shared a kiss. He was hoping and praying that she didn’t mind him using her kitchen. He didn’t ask, he just stood up and decided that he was going to make the love of his life. Asking her now if it was all right, she said that it was nice to have someone make her food for a change. That made him feel a little insignificant, as he didn’t know whether she was a good girl or a woman of loose morals. She kissed him again, passionately, and he knew that the idea that she slept around a lot, meaning she was a girl of loose morals, was unfounded.

It smelled wonderful, but tasted even better. He had made the scrambled eggs just right. They were better than her Aunt Midge’s. She told him how much she liked them, and he said that it was the secret ingredient. He used sour cream to cool the eggs down instead of milk. Then there was the bacon, which was so flat and crisp. He told her it was a secret that some restaurants used; he baked them. She called him her “Secret Chef,” then hopped onto the island in the middle of the kitchen and gave him another kiss. He could get used to mornings like this, as could she. The problem she faced was how to convey her secret.

“Oh, you’ll find that I’m full of surprises.” She told him.

“I can say the same.”

“I don’t think so,” Shawn said, with a smile, before taking a spoonful of his eggs.

“Look, about last night…” 

The boyfriend started getting nervous. He knew that he should have waited to do anything, but they had had so many glasses of wine that it all went to his head. He had fallen in love with her on the second date. His hands were cold, and she gave him her stretchy gloves. Lara was the first person to show him kindness like that before. He started to apologize, thinking that he had overstepped. She stopped him, telling Shawn that last night was terrific and that she’d never felt the way she did when he was around.

She wasn’t lying to him. There was something about his passion last night that made her feel more alive than she ever did with the alpha of her pack. Or any other boyfriend she’d had, for that matter. He made her feel important, that his only goal was to ensure that she was pleased and loved. It was weird not having a man who was just out to satisfy his sexual desires, forsaking hers in the process. Lara looked at him affectionately as she took a bite out of the bacon. It made the backs of her teeth ring. He did know a way into a girl's heart, which he commented on, saying, “She could say that again.” This made her look at him curiously.        

Stumbling over his words, he asked her where she saw their relationship going. Confused, she had to ask what he meant. He wasn’t sure where they were going, especially after last night. While they were inebriated, they connected on a level they never thought possible. He wanted to know if they were going to take this to the next level. With the most angelic smile he’d ever seen, as she informed him that she thought they had addressed that last night. She was confirming with him that they were getting serious. Lara went on to say that she didn’t make it a habit of sleeping with her boyfriends if they were not serious.

“Good, because, if we’re going to be getting serious, I don’t want there to be any more secrets between us.”
            “Oh… I see.”

Lara leaned back and wiped the sides of her mouth with her napkin. He was referring to her habit of always having to make an excuse to him whenever there was a full moon. Why was she suddenly called out of town, or became sicker than a dog? She liked that saying as she had once been sicker than one, as the monthly change wasn’t an enjoyable experience. The lycan looked at her beau and smiled. This was now the time for them to talk. 

She had always wondered how one of these would play out with a non-lycan. Ever since she was a child, she had wondered and played it out in her mind how she would explain to a human that she was indeed a werewolf. That she was made that way, not because of some bite or scratch, but because her mother and father procreated. That was the one thing that she despised about how Hollywood portrayed her kind. A scratch could not turn one. Not a simple one, that is. You had to have either the lycan’s blood or saliva enter the wound for the victim to be infected. 

“Well, I think that I need you to sit down for this one,” Lara told him.

“Sit down?”
            “You want to know where I am all the time that mysteriously have to disappear, don’t you?”

“Well, now that you mention it…”

“Then sit down. This is going to be a lot harder on me than it will be on you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Please… Shawn…” She kissed him completely on the lips, trying to convey that everything was going to be all right.

The couple went over to the kitchen table and sat down, facing each other. Knowing that this was going to be difficult, as she had worked it out in her mind, she reached out her hands, wanting him to take hold of them. Seeing what she was looking for, he took hold of them and started rubbing her fingers with his thumbs. He could tell that this was very hard for her to convey, as to what, he had an idea. Lara went to say something, but then got choked up on the words. Shawn was about to tell her that it was alright, but she shook her head, telling him no. This had to be done. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly. It was now or never. There was no turning back.

Informing him that she was so glad to have met him. He seemed to come out of nowhere and came to her assistance just when she needed him most. Shawn was just about to interrupt her, but she told him that he needed to let her say what she desired to convey to him. The problem was, she wasn’t telling him anything; she was beating around the bush instead of coming right out and telling him the horrid secret that withheld her from taking that next step with him. She told him that he was nothing like the guys she was used to dating. He told her that he could say the same, which she corrected him for speaking out of line.

He raised his right hand to his mouth, pretending to turn an imaginary key, and then tossed it over his shoulder. She appreciated that he was still finding a sliver of humor in this; she did. For she knew two things would happen once she told him the truth. Either he’d accept it, and they’d have a happy life together, or he’d reject her, and he’d be marked for death. It was the thought of making him for death that scared her. Being the last of her pack, how could she carry out killing the man she had fallen in love with? She didn’t want them to play anymore games, and he nodded. She confirmed with him that he would take this seriously, and he agreed.

She pointed out how he knew that she had been dealing with an enormous pile of shit. She told him that she had lost most of her family, which was her pack. She waited for him to interrupt her, but nothing came. She felt relieved. Lara told him that it was much more than her losing family if he hadn’t noticed that she was always called away when the moon changed.  Shawn just nodded. The lycan tried to tell him what she was, but it was difficult for her to do so. She didn’t want to ruin what she had with him. He stroked her hands, telling her that it would be alright, she couldn’t just say it, or could she?

            “And that’s because I’m…”

            “A werewolf.”  They both said it out loud.

            “What?” She said, in shock. “How did you…”

            “I’ve known ever since I met you.”
            “How could you?”
            “You see, this is going to be the difficult part. I’m an archangel.”
            Lara’s eyes bulged out as she was not expecting him to be the one breaking the news to her. An archangel was part of the Celestine Order. They were humans with extraordinary gifts. They couldn’t be changed into vampires, lycans, or even possessed by demons. They were the ones who kept order in the Necro Realm. That’s what they call their universe. It was highly frowned upon to tell a human that it existed. But here he was, an archangel? She had sullied her bed with the same kind that destroyed her pack. Sickened by the revelation, she tried to pull her hands away, but he wasn’t letting go. There was only one thing that she wanted to do, and that was to throw up. 

            He tried to tell her it would all be okay, but she didn’t see it that way. She blamed his group for hunting her people in the middle of the night and murdering them. Informing her that he had never done anything of the sort, she shot at him that that was all his kind did. Pulling her hands away, she was disgusted with herself. He was offended by this as he expected the same courtesy and respect that he had shown her. Lara stood up, started pacing back and forth, telling him that he was an archangel. They were the worst. They constantly harass their kind, making their lives a living hell. Then a look of sheer terror graced that angelic face of hers.

            “Are you gonna kill me?”

            “Honey, if I were going to do that, I would have done it a long time ago.”

            “What?”

            He told her how he wasn’t the only one working the case of the mysterious deaths of the lycans. They weren’t the only ones that the rogue known as Chucky Vance was killing. She was surprised that he was telling her this, as angels, as they were called, didn’t disclose anything. She had heard that name before. Vance was one of Phineas Troy’s wolves. Lara didn’t care much for him as he was a street dealer. He worked the corners, providing drugs to the children of the city of Compassion. He told her that the Seraphim had sent him to try to locate Chucky, but he ran into her instead. That their meeting wasn’t by chance, he knew that they weren’t exactly compatible, but he wanted to see how far they could go.

            She didn’t know which story to believe, as both seemed far-fetched. Chucky Vance wasn’t much of a man, let alone a lycan, but to feel an archangel was in love with her, just too much. Naturally, the name archangel was just a rank; he wasn’t one. Shawn told her that he had sent someone to investigate the death of Joshiah McCoy, her father. She asked him why, as he wasn’t more than a construction worker. He told her that most of her pack were dead, which would bring in the Order. She figured it was Troy, thinning them out, since he’d just assumed control over Simon Phelps’ area. McGovern told her that no, it had been Vance all along.

            Due to the unnatural nature, the demon horde was growing, and the Vampire Council was in disarray. The Celestine Order knew it was Vance and was dispatching as many archangels as possible to capture him. She asked him straight out, “How could she trust him?” All she’d ever known about angels was that they couldn’t be trusted. How did she know he wouldn’t kill her? Smiling gently as he knew she didn’t think him an honorable man, He tried to take her hands into his again and told her that if he were trying to do that, she would have already been. A brick wall hit her as she wasn’t expecting him to say that to her. Lara started to tremble as she didn’t want to meet her demise.        

            “Last night would have been easy. I can hold my liquor; you, on the other hand, are a lightweight.”

            “Hey, I take offense to that.”
            “I’m not here to hurt you.”

            “You mean, you’ve known the entire time that we’ve been together that I’m a lycanthrope?”

            “Afraid so.” He said, nodding innocently.

            “And you didn’t tell me until now?”
            “Hey, to be fair, you didn’t mean to tell me until now yourself.”

            “That’s irrelevant.”

            “I don’t see how it is.”

            “So… What do we do now?”
            He told her that he was hoping that they could pick up where they left off. She looked at him, confused, shaking her head. Smiling, he said that he wanted to continue with their plans after breakfast. McCoy didn’t know what their plans would be afterwards; she was hoping to spend time with him. But now, knowing that he was an archangel, changed the whole spectrum of their relationship. She called him a killer, to which he responded that she was the ‘Big Bad Wolf.’ What was her point exactly? She didn’t like being called that, which made him chuckle. She looked at him, confused.
            “Okay, you’re a small ornery wolf.”
            “Are you making fun of my height?”
            “What? NO!” He said, trying not to chuckle. 

            Lara had a thing about her height, as she was only five feet three inches tall, and she felt as if she were the runt of the litter. She might have been smaller, but she made up for it in ferocity. She was the sole wolf you could count on to ensure that everything was taken care of.  However, this was a completely different story. He told her that he loved her, that she was his everything. She stuttered over the words she was trying to convey, but he said it to her again. Her bottom lip started trembling as she couldn’t confirm how she felt.

            “Believe me, I’d never hurt you or let anyone else hurt you.”
            “I don’t know, Shawn. I was raised to believe that there is no good in any of your kind.”

            “And so was I.”

            “Then you’re not scared of me?” She asked him.

            “You haven’t given me a reason to be.” He said, taking her hands back into his.

            “I don’t know.”

            “What’s there to know?”
            She pulled her hands back and walked around the island. Lara had to give this some real good thought. He was the nicest man she’d ever met, and he had done all this knowing that she was a werewolf. It meant that he did care about her, that she wasn’t just some wolf. Shawn wasn’t about to let her slip through his fingers. Going up to her, he grabbed her shoulders and drew her closer for a kiss. Their lips met, feeling like two perfect pieces in a puzzle. All the hesitation that was built up, mainly in her back, was quickly washed away.  There was something about his kiss that made everything seem as if it were all going to be okay. Once they stopped kissing, they embraced each other. She was so happy to have the burden off her shoulders that she could finally feel free around him. The only thing that worried her was whether he felt the same. Did he now think that he could be himself around her?

            Her eyes welled up with tears as he just pressed her against him. Knowing that she was crying, he turned his head and kissed her on the cheek. Everything in this chaotic world didn’t have any bearing on their lives. They were better together. This was the start of something beautiful, or they were about to jump into the deep end. They weren’t ready to face the challenges that they would have to endure. Pulling her close, he kissed her again. Those lips, he fantasized about them when he wasn’t with her. Kissing her one more time, he tried to reassure her that it didn’t matter what they were; it was who they were.  

“I love you.” He said, yearning to hear her say those three little words.

“I love you, too.” She said, laughing and crying at the same time.

“Just remember… who said it first.”
            “That maybe, kind sir, but I love you… as bright as the moon!