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Welcome.

Gooooood morning everyone. Have you slept? I sure haven't! Sleep is starting to freak me out because, even though I do wake up, I don't remember actually waking up. Which is weird because I always remember what happens when I wake up. Like yesterday, for instance. I went to sleep at two PM but when I mentioned that I was tired (around eleven when I woke up) my mom said she wasn't surprised, apparently I was up and talking to her still at four o'clock. And let me tell you: I am not a sleepwalker! But that just . . . it bothers me and creeps me out! I have enough missing memories, I don't need anymore! gonk

Anyway: story time!

I'm bringing you a special treat today. I wish to share a story with you all that you must read and comment. Got it? Get it, got it, good. Good. It was just some random thing that was playing out in my head for weeks until I decided to write it down--now the characters are gone and I have to force every word out. But the story isn't finished, I'm just giving you a peek into it. And it's actually not quite the real thing because it's not really detailed, or there's too much detail to a single motion, so just go with the flow, 'kay people?. No chapters or anything; as I said, it was fairly random. So, here's your sneak peek of something I named Bloody Moon.

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I slammed the phone back in its cradle so hard it bounced up then floundered on the floor. Groaning, I picked it up and placed it back where it belonged. There was a quiet chuckle from behind me and I turned to glare at Luke where he stood, tall and magnificent, in the doorway. His eyes turned soft and approving as I boiled inside.
“Whatever that boy does to stir your darkness, you really need to speak to him more,” Luke said. “I love it when you’re angry.”
I huffed and pushed past him—though I knew I couldn’t move him, he quickly stepped out of the way—and went to my room. Somehow Matt always managed to get under my skin. He was my ex-boyfriend yet we agreed to still be close friends like before our relationship and that there’d be no more secrets between us. He just happened to be more truthful than I thought. Maybe it was all the wrongs he admitted to during our three-year relationship that made him unbearable. And to think, he already had a new girlfriend although we only broke up two weeks ago.
As I lay back on my bed, I couldn’t help looking at Luke, who had followed after me. He was so gorgeous with his thick, chin-length black hair, handsome face, broad shoulders, perfect chest, and long, strong legs. Guess I sort of had a boyfriend already, although Luke liked to think of me as his fiancé. I groaned at the thought. Luke was a wonderful man but I was only sixteen for goodness sake! I hadn’t even experienced half my life yet and here he was, talking of marriage.
“Is something wrong, my love?” Luke asked softly. He lay beside me, stroking my cheek.
I really did like Luke. He was smart, strong, and handsome—everything any woman wanted in a man. And he wasn’t even a human, if that counted as a plus. He was something so much better. I sighed and held his hand still over my cheek. His palm and fingers were so warm; I closed my eyes and relaxed.
“Nothing is wrong,” I said. “I’m just tired.”
“Then sleep,” he suggested.
“I want to go outside.”
“To sleep?”
I laughed and brought his palm to my lips. “No, silly. I just want to go outside.”
“I’ll come with you,” he replied in a gruff whisper. The man may have been old but he had no self-control. I’d found that out faster than I thought and after one glorious night I was no longer a virgin. Not that I had to worry about diseases or pregnancy—Luke couldn’t give me anything, nor could I give him anything.
“No.” I pushed him away and sat up, peering out the window closest to my bed that was heavily curtained.
The sun was getting ready to set and although it didn’t really bother Luke or some of his coven, I didn’t want Luke with me right now. Being in the sun for too long really wore down an old vampire like Luke after several hours, and he was certainly stronger at night, but the man still couldn’t control his lust no matter what time of day. Truth be told, I didn’t mind, yet I could only take so much in a week until I got sore.
“I’ll be back soon and with your guards out there, you won’t have to worry.” I smiled in encouragement and he grimaced.
“You’d be better off with me,” he said stubbornly.
My smile grew. “No thanks.” I kissed his lips briefly and pulled back quickly, getting out of bed in the same motion, before he could grab me.
I ran down the stairs, donned my coat and shoes, and stepped out the backdoor into the cold air. Spots of sunshine painted the scenery gold although it there was a wall of clouds in the sky. The woods behind my house looked so thin with all the leaves scattered in abstract patterns on the ground; it was good for me so I could see if anything lurked too near. Nothing around so I quickly made my way inside the maze of trees.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a light teasing voice called.
I stopped in my tracks and groaned. Really, by now, I should have known. Craig was on duty sitting cross-legged on my roof, and I suspected Jake to be close by. From where I stood, I could see Craig’s wide smile under the cover of the clouds, and then he jumped down to meet me. He landed graceful as a cat—as if he didn’t even jump two stories.
His young smiling face had lines of pain near his eyes. A side effect from the sun, no doubt. The older the vampire, the longer they could stay in the sun. And Craig wasn’t that old; I was already starting to worry about him. Vamps had no problem being in the sun if they were later on in their years; the newborns, however, or any under fifty-years-old normally burned right away.
Craig gave a strained smile and tousled my hair in a very big brother move. “What were you up to, tike?”
That was my annoying pet name from most of the coven. Just because I was a young human they had to act all high and mighty.
I fixed my hair and pouted. “I’m sick of being in the house,” I complained. “Luke is driving me nuts and I want to play in the woods.”
“Not today, Rowena.”
“Why not?”
“Earlier this morning we found a carcass on the edge of our territory. When we got close enough to get past the dead smell, it smelled like wet dog.”
My heart skipped a beat and, being the vampire he is, able to hear heartbeats without medical equipment, read it the wrong way.
“Now don’t worry, tike. We’re looking into the matter, but until we find them, you stay in crowded public places, got it?”
“We have werewolves around here, huh?” I asked, trying hard to replace the excitement with fear.
Craig hesitated, looked around, and then nodded. I couldn’t help it: I squealed and jumped a little. Oh my God, this was the greatest news I’d received for a long time! I had no idea there were werewolves around here. To think—near my little neighborhood!
“Rowena, you’re not going to do what I think you’re going to do, right? Please tell me your reasonable brain is in that skull of yours.” Craig certainly caught on quick.
“Somewhere,” I giggled. God, I felt fuzzy inside like I had some good champagne. Or maybe the feeling was more of a high. “Right now, I’ve got a pack of werewolves to hunt. Where are they?”


“My queen, where are you running off to tonight?” Luke asked. He was perched on my bed, watching calmly as I shoved different things into my backpack.
“No where,” I replied indifferently.
“Then why are you packing?”
“Because I want to.”
He frowned. “You know, Jake told me that he saw Craig speaking to you earlier. I hope this doesn’t have anything to do with whatever crazy idea he might have given you.”
I smiled innocently, zipping my pack and throwing it over my shoulder. “Not at all. I’ll be back before”—I checked my alarm clock that said midnight—“three, so you can just stay here and rest.”
As I ran down the stairs I heard Luke’s very audible sigh. Yes, he would be upset for a while, but he’d get over it. And it’s not like I wanted to run from him—especially when my parents were already asleep—because I knew he would chase me, and yet I was in the car and driving before I knew it. The location was on the outside of town—figures—which was thirty to forty minutes away depending on traffic. I made it in twenty. I pulled onto the shoulder, being careful as I parked since I still wasn’t that good at parking, grabbed my bag as I shoved the keys in my pocket, and then locked the car.
The thing about my area is that it was all trees. A forest could stretch for thousands of miles around here, which made perfect cover for the paranormal. Uncanny, huh? And good thing I could always find those creatures. I was a weird kid when I was little; I could hear and smell twice as good as the average human. My mom said the trait runs with blood and that it was nothing to be ashamed of. I started believing her when I took vampires by surprise, letting them know I could hear them no matter how quiet they were.
But because I had those two talents, I was lacking in another area. My sight. It was decent; enough that I didn’t need glasses, but I still managed to miss a lot of things. Especially at night, which meant I tended to trip more often. Either way, I made it to the designated clearing with no tears in my clothes and only a few dirt stains in my jeans and on my palms.
I looked up in the large clearing, the bare trees making a fortress around me, to see the full moon high in the sky. The full moon was when they had to change, even if they didn’t want to. I stared at the large orb in the sky for another minute then looked around the circle. Empty and still, not even a breeze. But Craig said this was where they met. Maybe it would just take a while.
I dug in my bag for the flashlight I hadn’t bothered to use before. Inspecting the surrounding area of the clearing I found plenty of clothes and food stashed in the hollow tree trunks or under a mass of thick roots. Well, at least Craig was right.
As I returned to my bag, the wind started to pick up and with it came power and the smell of musk, forest, and man. Now I knew I was downwind from them, which would surprise them, I realized. But I remained in my spot and waited patiently for them to appear as I listed all the things not to do around a werewolf.
Vampires were easy to be around; they preferred honor and truth over anything, and if you made a mistake around them they would usually laugh it off and call you a cute human. Werewolves, on the other hand, were control freaks who relied on strength and trust to lay down the law. You had to be much more careful around them for a number of reasons, but I slightly relaxed when I recalled werewolves had a little more care for human life than vampires. They shouldn’t kill me, at least, not immediately.
They emerged from the forest in groups of two or by themselves. Some of them were already clothed while others were happily naked. Weres had no trouble being naked, from what I heard, you got over being self-conscious fast. Most of them paused at the ring of trees when they spotted me, a few others growled, while very few skulked behind others. I counted ten all together but didn’t know if that was a normal size for a pack.
A man clothed in only ripped jeans approached me, two others flanking him. The Alpha with his second and third, of course. The Alpha was a handsome man for his age, which I estimated about thirty, maybe thirty-five. He had that werewolf look to him—big form, muscles everywhere, sort of rugged face—but the two behind him looked just as big and scary. I figured Alpha’s chose more than muscle for their second and third, but these two looked like complete muscle heads. What ever happened to brain over brawn?
The men stopped several feet from me, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say they gave me a wide berth. They stared at me for a bit, the man on the Alpha’s right wrinkling his nose.
“What are you doing here, vampire?” The Alpha’s voice boomed in the silence.
I blinked, frozen for a minute until I lifted my forearm to my nose. Well, there was the problem. I smelled like dirt and vampire—that sickly sweet smell of a preserved corpse. I forgot werewolves hated the smell, just as vampires hated the smell of werewolf.
I laughed and waved my hands in front of my face. “No, no, no. You’ve got it all wrong, Mr. Alpha, sir. I’m completely human.”
“There’s no way to prove that.” His eyes narrowed and I realized I was making eye contact. Uh oh. I quickly shifted my gaze to his ear, his forehead, his chin—anywhere but his eyes—until I finally settled with gazing at his shoulder.
Before I could reply, the Alpha nodded his head at me and the two men behind him hesitantly came forward. One was gutsier than the other and stopped just inches from me, holding his massive hand out. I handed over my bag without a word and waited patiently, a pleasant smile on my face as the men search it. Much to their disappointment, they only found human things. I think what got me off the hook was the first-aid kit crammed in my pack. They shoved everything back inside and took it with them to stand behind the Alpha again. He was already frowning with confusion.
“Why do you smell so much like those creatures?” he asked, crossing his arms over his bare chest.
I noticed all the pack were dressed and sitting or standing close by now. One face that really caught me was the boy standing not far behind the Alpha and his men. He was my age—maybe a year or so older—well muscled, a form that belonged to a baseball player. He had a handsome face, bright green eyes, and shaggy hair that was disheveled. I mentally shook myself, remembering the Alpha asked me a question and was impatiently awaiting an answer.
“Because I play with them, sir,” I replied calmly.
There was silence.
And then, laughter. The Alpha laughed, as did a few others, but the boy gave a questioning look then smiled. Wonder what he thought of that?
“You play with the undead?” Alpha laughed. “You, girl, are either very brave or very stupid.”
“And you’re betting on the latter,” I finished, rolling my eyes. Alpha smiled brightly, his eyes full of amusement. Huh. He looked like a friendly guy when he smiled like that.
“What’s your name, girl?”
“Rowena, sir.”
“Rowena? That’s a weird name for a modern-day girl. How old are you?”
“Sixteen.”
“For how long?”
I counted in my head. I was never good at math—especially under pressure. “About ten months?” I guessed.
Alpha’s eyes narrowed again, but not because he thought I was challenging him—I was still staring intently at his shoulder—but in suspicion. “You don’t sound too sure of yourself, Rowena.”
The handsome boy pushed his way past the Alpha, his head held high, walk confident and powerful. Did I make a mistake? Could this boy be the Alpha and only having the man play the role for intimidation purposes? The boy certainly seemed to have more power than the man. He stopped in front of me and held out his hand in the universal sign of a handshake. I didn’t know whether to shake his hand or not. He smiled calmly and unexpectedly reached out to grab my hand.
His hand was warm and soft, his grip light but comforting. I couldn’t help looking into his green eyes—almost like I was in a trance. And then I remembered something very important: werewolves were empathetic. They could sense, smell, and hear my emotions. I mentally shook myself and noticed, despite eye contact, the boy’s eyes were still clear and friendly. Maybe he wasn’t the Alpha, after all.
“I’m Ethan,” he said finally; his voice was almost as smooth as Luke’s. “Welcome to our pack, Rowena.”
“Ethan!” Alpha barked.
“She’s safe; she’s telling the truth,” Ethan replied, still holding my hand. “This girl is human, she’s sixteen years of age, and most definitely runs with vampires. Very powerful vampires and a large coven. No wonder the scent is so strong on you.” His lips quirked into a cute half-smile and I couldn’t help the blush creeping to my cheeks.
It seemed the wolves had a lie detector just like the vampires. It might have been the only reason they kept Ethan around, seeing as how everyone looked so much older than him. Ethan released my hand and took two steps back.
“So why are you here?” My attention snapped back to the Alpha. “Because if it’s about your vampires, don’t worry about them. We’ve come to a temporary agreement—unless one of them broke a rule.” Alpha raised an eyebrow in questioning.
Nothing I was aware of. “No, sir, I’m here to see you and your pack. I’m here on my own business.”
He cocked his head to the side, eyebrow still raised. “What do you need of my pack?”
“Information, sir.”
“A spy, are you?”
“I said I’m on my own business!” My voice carried through the dark and I slapped a hand over my mouth. I didn’t mean to shout. I really shouldn’t have—I had no right to yell at him, I just—
Laughter broke the temporary silence. The whole pack was laughing except Ethan, but he watched with amusement. Why was everyone always laughing at me?
“Come here, Rowena,” Alpha barked. I quickly complied, shuffling past Ethan and stopping at Alpha. “Tell me, Rowena, what is a good girl like you doing playing with the undead?”
“It started as a misunderstanding but the coven master took a liking to me, and has been around ever since.” That was the truth; Luke had found me one night thinking I was part of his coven, running away, but it turned out to be one big disaster.
“It’s that Luke fellow isn’t it?”
I nodded.
Alpha shook his head. “Don’t hang around him. He’s bad news for good girls—the man all mothers fear their daughters will find at grunge rock concerts. He’s a bad man.”
Old prejudice, no doubt. “He’s not that bad,” I snapped. “Sure, he can be a bit pushy and controlling at times, but who isn’t?”
“That creature will ruin you.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I’m willing to take the risk.”
Alpha nodded sagely and smiled. “I like risk takers. Now, what did you need, Rowena?”