Wolf's Creek (Book 1 of the Wolf's Creek Trilogy)

Chapter 6: Anger

Chapter 6:

Anger

            A.J sat in front of her laptop at the kitchen table with Marrok at her side. The moon was already high in the night sky and she could hear her mother’s car pull up in front of the house. She paid it no mind as she typed “Diana, goddess of the moon” into the search engine and opened her notebook ready to start taking notes.

            “I’m home and have brought home dinner with me since your father’s at another meeting tonight,” she stated as she placed the plastic grocery bags on the table with their foam containers of food on the table next to her daughter as she worked. Her eyes roamed A.J’s transformed being and sighed. “It happened again tonight I see.”

            A.J nodded. “I’m pretty sure it’s because of the moon,” she informed her mother as she opened a web page, wrinkled her nose in distaste, and went back to her original search results to open another. “Every time this happens it’s at night and when the moon is in the sky.”

            “Did you feel any pain this time?” her mother asked as she pulled some silverware from the drawers.

            A.J made a gesture with her hand to indicate a little amount. “There was some,” she informed. “I think my body’s getting used to it now so eventually it shouldn’t hurt at all.”

            “That’s good,” she stated, her head turning around and looking for her other two children. “Where’re your brothers?”

            “Pappy blames them for what happened today and is making them work till eight tonight,” she stated as she pushed her laptop to the side and began pulling containers from the plastic bag on the table.

            “How’d you get home then?” her mother asked she pulled out the container with A.J’s diner and the one containing hers before taking a seat at the kitchen table across from her daughter.

            “Darren gave me a ride home,” she stated simply, opening the container and digging into its content right away. Her mother looked up from her food with wide eyes. “He actually tried flirtin’ with me, can you believe it?”

            “A.J it’s dangerous to get close to him,” Eliza Smith informed her daughter. “He’s the alpha’s son, the same man who’s looking for you right now and we don’t know what he has planned once he does find you.”

            “I know this mom,” A.J stated in slight irritation. “It’s not like I planned for this all to happen you know.”

            “Yes I know but I think until things calm down you should lay low for awhile, especially at night since it seems that’s when you change,” Eliza stated as she began to eat her meal.

            “Oh you don’t have to worry about me goin’ out at night after what happened last night,” A.J stated, the guilt she felt dripping from the words as she uttered them. “I don’t wanna risk killin’ someone else.”

            “Artemis we’ve been over this,” Eliza stated with a tint of sadness. “You did what needed to be done. Your father has told me multiple times that the world of supernatural beings is much different than ours. Many times you have to do what needs to be done in order to survive and insure others safety. Which is why Wolves Peak has their own police force, they have their own ways of doing things.”

            “I get it,” A.J snapped her mother’s words doing very little to ease her guilt. “But it doesn’t change the way I feel about it.”