The Hidden Luna

Chapter Two

Scarlett fumbled around for her phone, but failing to no avail. She mentally scolded herself when she realized she had left it on the dock.

Taking a deep breath, Scarlett moved to stand. When nausea subsided, she broke out into a run toward the docks, then she could call the police.

Scarlett ran for what felt like forever until she finally reached the docks. When she ran on it, she could hear nothing but her white, now mostly red, converse slapping onto the wood, causing the dock to bob up and down in the water. She grabbed the phone and with shaky fingers, she dialled the police.

"9-1-1 what's your emergency?" The operator answered.

"I-I'm in woods by the boating docks," Scarlett rushed out. "There's been a-a-"

She couldn't bring herself to say murder.

A twig snapped in the woods and she looked up, greeted to see a pair of golden eyes on her. It was as if she were pinned to the spot, frozen to where she stood.

Scarlett dropped her phone on the dock. Faintly, she could hear the operator. "Hello? Is everything okay?"

Another twig snapped and another pair of eyes poked out of the trees, this time they were grey. Stepping out into the moonlight, she could see the eyes belonged to a wolf, a huge wolf.

It stalked to her slowly, and Scarlett backed up as much as she could before she would hit the dock's edge. If it lunged at her, Scarlett knew for certain she would go in the water.

The golden-eyed creature, another wolf growled, but not at her. Its eyes were dead set on the grey-eyed wolf.

Before Scarlett could register what happened, the grey wolf lunged, its jaw clamping down on her left shoulder. She let out a shriek of pain. The wolf, however, also seemed to be in pain because it let go of her instantly as it turned to see the golden-eyed wolf attacking him from behind.

The last thing she saw was the golden-eyed wolf clamping down on the grey-eyed wolf's neck before Scarlett hit the water and everything went black.

***

The first thing Scarlett heard before she opened her eyes was the beeping of a heart monitor.

Shortly after, her eyes started to flutter open. It took a moment for her vision to adjust from its former blurry state, but once everything righted itself, Scarlett's eyes landed on the figure who was hunched in a chair with their head resting on her bed.

Scarlett scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Asher, is that you?"

His head darted upwards and his hazel, nearly golden eyes, landed on her green ones. "Scar! Thank God you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Thirsty," she replied hoarsely, her throat feeling furiously dry.

Ash leaned back and reached for a glass of water on the bedside table and handed it to her. After she took a few sips, she inspected him. He looked the same from when Scarlett last saw him, but yet, there was something different.

His messy dark hair was slicked back, save for a few strands that lined his face, and from what she could tell, beneath his clothes were some serious muscle. When he noticed her staring, he cocked his head to the right and tried to offer her a lopsided smirk. "Did you miss me?"

When he faced Scarlett dead on, she could see a scar gliding down from his left temple, all the way down to the base of his neck. It looked old as if it happened years ago, but it wasn't there when he left.

Suddenly, Scarlett was hit with rage. Taking the glass in her hand, she chucked it just past the top of his head. "FOUR YEARS AGO YOU LEFT WITHOUT A WORD, ZOEY IS DEAD, AND I'M STUCK IN THIS SHIT HOLE ALL BY MYSELF AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO ASK ME IF I MISS YOU?"

"I'm going to take that as a no," Asher said, getting up from his seat and bending over to pick up the shattered glass. To her surprise, he didn't seem all that taken aback by her outburst.

After taking a few deep breaths, she said, "When did you get back? How did you know I was in the hospital?"

Asher dumped the glass in the trash and then rubbed his slightly stubbled jaw. "I came back last week. I wanted to surprise you so I went to Leon's but he said you were at the bush party, so I went there but by the time I got there..." His eyes went dark as they landed on hers. "I promise I'm going to find the person that did this to you and Zoey and I will kill them myself."

"Ash, it was a wolf that did this," Scarlett said gently, reaching for his hand but when she touched it, it felt like an electric current zapped through her. Scarlett jerked her hand back and tried to hide whatever it was she felt. "They'll catch it or it might be dead. The last thing I remember was it being attacked by another one, so there's a chance it's not even alive."

Asher stayed silent. After a moment, he cleared his throat. "I tried calling your mom but she didn't answer. Do you want me to try again?"

Scarlett shook her head, causing a stinging sensation in her shoulder where she had got bitten. "That's okay."

"But, Scar, I think she should know. You've been out for a while," he argued.

"Ash," she said, licking her lips. "My mother is dead. She died three months ago."

Ash's eyes dropped to the floor. "I'm sorry. Is there anyone else?"

She shook her head once again, fighting back tears. "No, it's just me now."

Asher's hazel eyes pinned her to the spot as he took her hand in his, the electric sensation going into a frenzy Scarlett tried her hardest to ignore. "Not anymore."