The Blood and the Moon

We Meet Again

When the sun started to set that day, Lily sneaked out of the castle quietly, maneuvered around the stone houses outside, and set foot into the woods. She wore a hoodie to hide her face from the sun. She eventually arrived at her secret hiding spot. It was a small field with a huge sturdy tree in the middle, and there was a stream on the side. The trickling sounds and splash of the water put Lily's mind at peace. She ran up to the tree and climbed up to the tree house she built. She would come here every so often to watch the sunset. The sun was what she missed most about being human. Suddenly, Lily heard footsteps and smelled...

"Werewolf," she said to herself. She turned around and saw HIM. The boy who let her live. His dark brown hair was unkempt as if he had been running a lot. He locked eyes with Lily for a solid 5 seconds before saying, "we meet again." Lily rushed out of the tree house and jumped down. She was in her fighting stance and hissed at him like a cat.

"I come in peace," Max frantically said with his hands raised. "You know by now I'm not going to hurt you. See, no weapons."

"Why didn't you kill me?" Lily asked.

"Uhhh. I don't know," Max shrugged.

"You're an imbecile," Lily said in a deadpan manner. She turned away and climbed back up the tree. Max stood awkwardly for a few moments before speaking again.

"Ummm...What's your name?" he asked. No response. He couldn't see her inside the wooden box in the tree. He raised his voice. "I'm Max Haywood. I was honestly just taking a walk. Needed to get away from home. Since we obviously aren't going to kill each other, I was wondering if maybe we could talk?"

Lily exited the box, jumped down, and walked intimidatingly slow towards Max. When she got too close for comfort, Max back away. But she kept walking closer and closer until Max tripped over a rock. He was now sitting on the grass looking up at the lanky girl standing over him. He was so scared, he was shaking. But then she removed her hood, revealing her snow white skin and raven black hair. His body stopped shaking. He was in awe of her beauty. His mind got completely lost in her ocean eyes. He didn't notice her beauty before but with the light from the sunset, he could see her face clearly.

"What do you want?" Lily grunted. She was annoyed by his calm attitude of the situation.

"I need your help," Max said nervously. "I believe if we make an alliance, we could end the war."

That was an idea Lily never thought could happen through an alliance. She was intrigued and wanted to hear more but still suspicious of Max.

"Explain," she demanded. Max got back up on his feet.

"We are both losing our own people to this war. It's hurting everyone. But we are close to people in power. You're Lilith, right? My father recognized you. You're basically the right hand of Silas. You could change the tide of the war. We both could together. Please, enough people have died and I'm desperate."

"I can't believe I'm telling you this but Silas plans to rule vampires and werewolves. He has built a beautiful home for vampires and he will do the same for werewolves. He's not as evil as you dogs make him up to be."

"Are you sure about that?" Max doubted. "How can you trust him?"

"He trained me, taught me how to survive, and cares for me. I know him. He may be harsh to keep others in line, but he is a father to us all."

"Even if that's true, we don't want to be ruled by vampires. We should live the way we want. I'm talking about coexisting. If we could just stop fighting and stay out of each other's hair-"

"I honestly don't care about what you want," Lily interrupted. "I only care about my people."

"We're people, too."

"You don't think I know that? It hurts me, but you werewolves have left us no choice but to assert dominance."

"Is that you or Silas talking?"

Lily had no comeback.

"Would your pain go away if you won?" Max asked.

This question punched Lily deep in the stomach. She never thought about how she would feel after the war. Was her depression rooted in the war in the first place? Or was it coming from somewhere else? She didn't want to think about her pain. She didn't want to think about if the outcome of the war would change anything. 

The sun was completely gone at this point, so Lily ran back to Haven in super speed. Max was left with the strong wind pushing him back. He felt hopeless. All he could think about was Noah. Chief Haywood decided Noah was ready to hunt. Max couldn't accept the idea of his brother becoming a killer. He's too young and I know he's not ready, Max thought. He knew Noah would get killed, even though all werewolves started hunting at 16. Max didn't know what to do, but he wasn't going to give up on his brother and his village.