The Dark Side of the Moon

Chapter 10: Unknown

The silky black limousine pulled up expertly parallel to the stairs of the mansion and narrowly missed colliding with the grand fountain by inches. The rear door flew open and the young man leapt out, not even bothering to shut the door nor thank the driver.

Gravel and pebbles crunched underfoot as he strode to the numerous marble steps that lead to oak double doors. He took the steps three at a time with ease and shoved the doors open with a little too much force than necessary. They hit the wall with a dull thud that echoed throughout the lengthy hallway.

The hallway made way for countless polished wooden doors leading to five star rooms and various luxurious sitting and living rooms as well. Persian carpet stretched the length of the corridor and ornate, antique paintings decorated the dark red walls. To the right and left two equally impressive and almost identical hallways lead in opposite directions. The butler by the door mumbled a polite greeting to the young master and then retained his position.

The young man ignored the butler and took the corridor on the right, striding along the carpet and silently fuming. He could hear light chatter from a few of the rooms, but the one he headed for held no noise. The dark brown door swung open noiselessly as he entered, and he bowed respectively to the occupant before closing it and standing in the corner.

The room was large and beautiful, by far the most grand of them all. A natural fireplace stood off to the right and book cases lined the walls. Two, huge rectangles of glass were concealed behind deep ruby curtains and a portrait of the man of the house rested in the wall facing the door. A huge, carved desk was the centre piece and a red velvet chair stared invitingly up at him.

With all his previous fury forgotten, nerves set in as he raised his gaze to look at the man behind the desk. He hadn’t looked up upon his son’s arrival, but instead had his nose buried in stacks of papers and his eyes quickly scanned the contents. The man himself had aged well and looked around his late forties. Dark grey hair, bordering on magnificent silver was gelled back and revealed two, cold green eyes. He wore a black casual suit and his large frame complimented the power that he emanated.

“Benjamin,” he spoke his son’s name and the boy to the side of the room walked over and took a seat in the velvet chair. His hands were clasped together loosely to hide his sweaty palms and he wilted under his father’s gaze. The man’s voice was deep and commanding, but also hid a hint of tiredness and stress.

“Father, I have news,” the boy began. When no answer came and his father kept on reading the papers, he continued. “I believe that there is a rogue in our town.”

Papers rustled as they were set aside and the man leaned forward to gaze inquiringly at Benjamin. “And what makes you believe that?” he asked with eyes narrowed. Benjamin’s father was not a man that took threats lightly.

“I was at the bar not an hour ago and I saw a girl that looked...pretty” he glanced shyly up to see if his father would scold him for his words. It was obvious that he had found her more than pretty and had other intentions. “I was talking to her,” again the words were obviously replacements. “And her boyfriend approached. I could tell straight away that he was a shifter.”

“What did he look like?” was his father’s curt response.

“He was big, around your size and was very muscled. He had black hair and brown eyes and looked about a few years my senior. He seemed very protective too, and over a human at that!” he scoffed to himself.

“A rogue you say? Are you sure this man was a shifter? Any specific indications?” his father asked. His eye brows were knotted together as he fell into deep thought.

“Yes, he was rather angry. I could see his was about to shift and his hand had...changed. But he held it back,” he added the last part with unconcealed surprise. It was common knowledge that werewolves were controlled mainly by emotion and once one began to shift, it was excruciating to prevent it. “He didn’t know who I was either.”