Moonless

Chapter 4

AN; So I passed my goal of  12 votes with 19 votes! Didn't meet my goal of 100 reads but 88 reads are not too bad! I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter! Thank you for all that are reading this story! I feel like I'm back in my old days of Wattpad. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading!  -Sam
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By the time they reached me, I already had the young girl cradled in my arms. She was still breathing, but her breaths were coming in swallow gulps and her body was cold to the touch. Whoever had left her here, had left her in nothing but a thin pink dress, black stockings, and a black fur-lined coat that was more suitable to late fall than late winter. Clearly, they hadn't been too worried about her survival.

The snow fell from the sky in clumps now, like it was trying to burry us. The pine trees that lined the dirt road, and stretch across the whole of Pine Ridge, didn't look real anymore. Instead, they looked more like imitations of trees made out of white frosting.

Benedick took off the coat he was wearing and used it to wrap up the girl. His black hair was almost completely white from all the snow that had fallen onto it.

I brushed some more snowflakes off her cheeks, her lips had begun to turn blue. Despite being on death's door, the girl I held in my arm was beautiful. She had the longest lashes I have seen, her skin was the color of warm earth, and her black hair hung in tight ringlets around her face. Her lips were full and her nose was perfectly shaped.

"How... how long do you think she was out here for?" Beatrice asked she was clutching her red duffle bag close to her chest.

"Whoever left her, their tracks were almost gone but the snow is falling pretty hard. I would say no more than 20 minutes," Benedick replied.

Tears began to pool in my eyes while the room began to spin. "They only had to walk a little bit longer to leave her in the box, instead of just leaving her in the snow..."

"I'm not sure," Beatrice replied solemnly and stared off into the swirling snow. "Some people are just not that kind. Or someone wasn't kind to them at some point in their life."

Just a little ways away from the house, hidden by a cluster of trees, sat a dark blue painted box with a white crescent moon, big enough to place a child in. Our land wasn't technically in pack land, so members of other packs could come onto the land without notifying Alpha Luka of their presence.

The rules of the box were simple, to follow for us Lunera. First thing in the morning, one of us would check to see if the box had a child inside it. The box was usually lined with blankets that we changed regularly during the day, especially when it got cold outside, so the child had some kind of warmth. At night, we weren't allowed near the box at, nor did we risk it. If we were spotted a family discarding their  Lunera kids, there was a really real chance we could be killed.

Tears were now sliding down my face and I squeezed the girl closer to my chest. And again I asked"Why didn't they just put her in the box where she would be safe. Why did my family do the same to me?"

"Caesar," Beatrice said softly, "I think you should take Aurelia home. Benedick can carry the kid to The Barn."

I shook my head at their words "I can carry her," I tried to stand with the little girl in my arms but my legs instantly folded under me.

"Aurelia, just let Benedick carry her. We need to get her inside the house quickly."

"But I don't want to let her go. She'll be cold again if I do..."

I felt strong arms go around me and pull me up off the ground to my feet. Unable to take the weight of the little girl, I was forced to let her slide out of my arms. Benedick caught her before she could slump back onto the snow and cradled her in his lanky, yet powerful arms.