Monsters Of Moonlight

Chapter Fourteen

Scream. Strike. Run.

Luna Remy Sallow-Uley

"How's the hunt going?" Luna asks, peering over her fathers shoulder to study the many files spread across the kitchen table, noting with sadness how the article on Waylon Forges death seemed to have the most signs of use.

From the slightly torn edges and crinkled paper to the single coffee stain on the lower right corner, Luna immediately knew that her Pateras likely hadn't let his focus wander far from the case since its occurrence.

"To hell." Charlie sighs, placing a closed yellow file on top of his deceased friends photo, trying to avoid the little ghost held within his photographed eyes. "There's nothing, no evidence, no witnesses, barely a body – if you can consider that mutilated heap of a carcass a body – his only family couldn't identify him, had to bring up the old dental records. Coroner determined that he was still alive when he was ripped apart, barely alive though with what little blood was left in him."

Any other father would never disclose such graphic information to their child, but Charlie knew that his daughter had seen far worse and knew far harsher, if anyone could even fathom what kind of creature murdered his friend, it would be her.

"You're never going to catch them – I doubt you'd want to even if you could." She warns. "I told you this isn't an animal attack – not even the Greek kind."

"Yea? Trying telling that to the Forks and Seattle police departments." Charlie chuckles bitterly.

"Its unfortunate that the perpetrator's smart enough to choose this environment to hunt." She muses. "They're thwarted by sun light. They can't be out in the sun without revealing their honest forms to the pale faces. Their kind rarely risk exposure in trepidation of persecution from their leaders."

"Doesn't help much in this town where we see more bears then sunny days, little moon."

"That's the point." She nods. "I think it would be safest if you had Sam and his friends accompany you on the hunts, the tribe is familiar in this field, more so that anyone."

"Need to know?"

Still hate the phrase.

Charlie chuckles, giving the girl a brief side hug. "Still grateful that a demititan daughter is the most I need you deal with in your fucked up world."

"I could come along too, you'd be surprised how useful it would be to have a goddess on your side." She offers.

"No, I'm not having you in any unnecessary danger, being hunted by monsters is your limit."

"You do realise that I have killed three hydra, six manticore and two minotaur in the past month that I've been home, right?" She deadpans.

"How? I've been making sure that you're always in a crowded area and not alone?" Charlie questions, looking at his daughter in angered shock as she shrugs timidly.

"I've had to walk home a lot lately ..."

"Isabella." He growls, moving to storm up the stairs and demand an explanation from his eldest daughter.

"Pateras, please just don't." Luna asks, intervening his way. "She's just a hormonal teen with the common sense of a teaspoon. She's got a new sister she had no idea about that is so tragically closer to the father she never made an effort for but feels entitled to. You going up there and grounding her again is only going to make her more distant."

"Luna, she needs to learn her lesson." The brunette argues.

"You yelling at her isn't teacher her anything. Instead of being remorseful and learning from her mistakes last week when you grounded her, she came up and verbally abused me, something you were there for." Luna reminds him.