Bloodmoon (PUBLISHED - SAMPLE ONLY)

Chapter 2

A short drive later, they arrived. It was late at night, but the town, situated on the very edge of the forest, was still buzzing with life. After dropping her car off at Sam's garage, with a promise from him that he would take a look at it first thing in the morning, Lucas led her to a large mansion in the heart of the town. Lucas explained to her that it was a kind of community house and inn, where everyone was welcome and where she could spend the night.

The word community house sounded very cult-like to Idris, but as soon as she stepped inside and soaked up the atmosphere, her suspicions were forgotten. The ground floor was a huge open space. On the right-hand side there was a cosy rustic kitchen where three women and two men were cooking together. Adjacent to the kitchen was a room with three large tables and benches where people sat to eat, laugh and play games. At the back of the ground floor was a living room with gigantic armchairs and large cushions on the floor with a glass wall that could be slid open so that you could see the forest.

While Idris was feasting her eyes on the beautiful space, Lucas had approached a slightly older, but still attractive lady. Everyone Idris could see, even the children running around, were ridiculously handsome. She was so entranced by her surreounding that she hadn't notice the lady addressing her.

"I am Luna Conny and I wish you a warm welcome to our pack."

Lucas had introduced himself as Beta, Conny now as Luna, Idris thought it was just a strange use of words, but she didn't elaborate. "Thanks! I'm Idris and I'll pay you as soon as I have money..."

"Oh sush," said Conny. "Let's not talk about such trivial things now. You are our guest and I think you are hungry."

Idris wanted to object, but her stomach answered for her. The loud rumbling made her blush and seemed to draw the attention of some people at the tables, as if their hearing was so good that they had also heard her stomach.

Resolutely Conny led her to one of the tables and within minutes a large plate of delicious smelling food was in front of her. "I won't show you your room until this whole plate is empty," she said waving her finger sternly.

Idris had no problem with this and immediately attacked the mountain of food. Conny bent down and smelled her hair. Idris looked at her, startled. What did all these people here have to do with smelling her?

"You smell..."

"Familiar," Idris completed with a full mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Conny said pointing the finger at her again, but with a gentle smile. Idris bowed her head and continued eating in silence. "No it's something else, but I can't put my finger on it," she muttered as if lost in thought.

After looking at Idris quizzically for a moment, Conny walked to the kitchen to stir the pots and did a tour of the dining room to make sure everyone had enough food and drink. She was a bit of the mother hen of the town and it was obvious that everyone appreciated the well-intentioned concern. Idris was surprised to find that she herself appreciated it. Normally she hated it when people bossed her around, but the way Conny had done it had been so caring that it hadn't felt like bossing. It felt like that motherly concern that she had missed all her life.

As she ate, she felt the gaze of several people on her. The room was filled with quiet murmurings and she had the paranoid feeling that they were all preoccupied with her. The food was delicious and she tried to keep her eyes down and her attention solely on her plate. Suddenly, something caught her attention. She did not know why, but she had to lift her head.

She saw that an irresistibly attractive man in his late twenties had walked in. All the men she had seen were handsome, but this one was of a completely different calibre. As soon as she saw him, she had a feeling of familiarity, a feeling of... Love? She shook her head and while trying to organise her thoughts, she followed him with her eyes.