The Hidden Luna

Chapter Nine

Asher took a step forward and Scarlett jerked backward, not wanting to be anywhere near him or whatever he was. Not wanting to turn her back on him but also not wanting to be around him, Scarlett quickly dashed to the driver's side of the car. Ignoring the seatbelt or the speed limit, she pressed on the gas pedal and sped away, leaving Asher alone on the road.

When Scarlett got to her house, she rushed to her room and grabbed a bag, shoving any clothes and extra cash she could find. Asher was right, she needed to leave, just not with him. Once Scarlett got what she needed packed, she turned to leave but was blocked.

Hunter stood in her doorway, looking down at at with concern. "You can't leave."

"I can do whatever I want, Hunter. Get out of my way before I call the cops," Scarlett snapped, pushing him aside to go back to her car.

"Look, I know things are confusing right now but running away is the last thing you should do. There's a killer out there targeting people who are close to you, do you really want to be on your own right now?" Hunter argued as she continued to walk through the house.

Scarlett shook she head at his argument, thinking about how stupid it was. Whirling around, she pinned him to the spot with her gaze. "And who's to say you people or things aren't the killers, huh? If anything, I should have left this place as soon as Asher came back. He's nothing but bad luck, causing heartbreak wherever he goes."

Hunter, not knowing how to respond, stayed silent. Scarlett let out a humorless laugh and shaking her head, she turned to leave out the front door. When she had reached for the knob, Hunter gripped her wrist, causing her to flinch. Out of a sense of unnatural instinct, Scarlett slammed her fist in Hunter's face, resulting in him letting go of her wrist and flying backwards. He hit his back against the wall, the force so strong that it cracked and picture frames containing photos of she and her mom over the years fell to the floor, smashing the glass.

Scarlett looked just as surprised as Hunter as her eyes widened. She could hardly give someone a bruise, let alone cause someone who is three times her size to go flying across the front hall. Scarlett may be afraid of Hunter at the moment but she never intended to hurt him. Tears sprung to her eyes. "I'm sorry, Hunter."

Not wanting to hear his response, Scarlett quickly ran out the door.

When she got to her car, she fumbled to put her key in the ignition. Scarlett took a few deep breaths, trying to stop the shaking and fear coursing through her body. Once she was calm enough, she finally got the keys in and started up the car.

As Scarlett drove, her mind reeled over the past month's events. First, Zoey was killed by a wolf or a werewolf or something. Then, she got attacked by presumably the same thing. When she woke up from the attack, Asher was there after four years of radio silence. And then, out of absolutely nowhere, Asher's lunatic father told her he and his son were werewolves, which apparently, was true as her ex-boyfriend turned into one in the middle of the road, but not after Scarlett found her best friend's brother dead. The tears finally started to pour. It was all too much. Everything was happening too fast and too out of the blue, she couldn't handle this. Whatever this whole mess even was. As Scarlett wiped the tears streaming down her face, something ran across the road, causing her to swerve the car in an effort to avoid whatever it was that had gotten in the way. But in the midst of trying to save whatever it was, Scarlett lost control, making the car spin out of control.

The car slammed into the tree, her head smack on the wheel, resulting in her already dizzy head to spiral. Scarlett tried to fight off the spots dotting in her vision and heaviness her eyes felt, but she couldn't. Before she knew it, she couldn't fight it anymore and Scarlett welcomed the darkness that overwhelmed her.

Just before she passed out, she heard a muffled voice. "She's here!"

***

"Scarlett?" a voice whispered, their grip on her hand tightening.

Her eyelids fluttered and her head rolled towards the sound of the voice, her neck writhing in pain as Scarlett did so.

Asher jumped up from his seat. "You're awake."

The events from however long ago came hurtling back at her. She flinched away from him. "And you're a monster."

Ash then flinched away from her, his face dripping in hurt. "I'm not a monster."

He took a daring step close to her, but she let out a scream. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"I would never hurt you, Scarlett," he said, lurching forward, ignoring her desire to get away from him. He held onto her hands; despite the fact she was trying to fight him off. His golden eyes poured into hers. "I need you to believe me, to trust me. I would never hurt you. But you need to listen to me, you can't leave, not when you are going to shift soon."

"Shift?" Scarlett stopped fighting him, my shoulders sinking as she whispered the word. She looked up at him, anger returning. "You mean I'm going to turn into one of those things?"

Asher nodded his head. "You were bit, you're showing signs of abnormal strength, your dreams. You're going to shift by next full moon... which is next week."

"Next week?" Scarlett seethed through her teeth. She ripped away the IVs that were taped to her arm and lunged at him. "I AM GOING TO KILL YOU. YOU BASTARD!"

Asher tumbled to the ground as she jumped on him. Scarlett straddled his waist, her hands wrapped around his neck, squeezing as hard as she could. Despite this, Asher managed to whisper. "This is just—" he took in a breath. "—your anger being amplified because of the shift."

"No," Scarlett snapped. "I've been wanting to do this since the day you left without a word."

Asher swallowed, his face turning a deep red. "I did that to protect you. I didn't want this life for you."

"Why?" She yelled, sobbing as she did so. "Why would you do that and then just come back?"

"Because—" his face turning from red to mauve. "—I love you." At his words, she stilled. The grip that Scarlett held on his throat loosened and after a few moments, his face returned to his natural colour. He rubbed his throat with his hand, but any evidence of him being strangled was already gone. His eyes landed on her broken ones. "I came back because I love you and I missed you and I couldn't keep living my life without you. Everything that happened after, I didn't plan it. I don't know who killed Zoey or Leon and I don't know who bit you but I have every intention of finding out."

Tears poured out of her eyes, splashing on his shirt. "Am I going to die too?"

Despite her still straddling him, he sat up and wiped the tears streaming down her face, his hand resting on her cheek. "No. I promise you, whoever is doing this will be stopped. In the meantime, Hunter, Carter and I will help you through your first shift."

Scarlett shook her head, her vision blurred from the continuous tears. "I don't want this, please Ash, make it stop."

"I can't, baby," he choked out, his eyes wet from near tears. "Once you've been bit, I can't stop it."

Not responding with words, Scarlett erupted in a loud sob and dropped ber head onto his shoulder. He held on to her tightly, rubbing her back in reassuring circles. Whispering in Scarlett's ear he said, "It'll be okay. It will all be okay."