Cynthia's Moon

Sunday morning arrived sooner than Markus had anticipated. The alarm clock set to 5 am went off and he slapped it tiredly, hearing it fall off of his nightstand and clatter to the floor next to an empty bottle of Jameson whiskey. He could barely remember anything from last night and wondered how he had gotten home.

Where was Cynthia? His eyes opened wider remembering what he had done. Pain jolted through him as he recalled the last time he ever looked at Cynthia. He recalled the terror in her eyes as she fled from his truck. His hand rubbed at his eyes and dragged down his face with a sigh, leaning back against the pillows with remorse filling his features.

He didn't notice that he wasn't alone until a young, raven haired girl rolled over from the other side of his bed, moaning tiredly and draped her arm loosely over his stomach. He could smell that she was human. She wasn't very pretty, and not usually his type of girl. Beneath her black hair, he saw an array of rainbow colored strands, her skin was pale as flour, and her lips were smeared with black lipstick. Her eyes would've been lovely, if they weren't caked with mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow all in black. She looked as though she had just turned twenty-one. Too young for his taste, he thought, but it was a little hypocritical to think that now. He recalled now that he had met her at the bar he went to shortly after he had dropped off Cynthia.

Mother Luna, what did I do last night

?

He lifted her face up gently at the chin, and eased her over onto her side of the bed. She didn't smell like him, nor was there any trace of his sexual scent upon her. This greatly confused him. Why would he bring home a girl and not pound her deeply with all of his frustrations? Lightly, he shook her awake. She grunted and opened her eyes, not pleased to be awakened and seemed personally put off. Tiredly, she sat up.

"What? Do I have to leave now? Is

she

coming over?" Her tired tone bit at him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The confusion was as plain as day on Markus' face.

"Wow, you

really

must've been drunk then," she yawned and stretched her arms over her head, her naked body drifting back against her pillow before she explained further. His eyes went to her breasts, finding them well endowed for the tiny body she had.

"You invited me back here to your place, and we were really getting into it there for a few moments. Your dick is the biggest I've ever felt, by the way." She smiled and stroked her hand down his chest, and he snared her wrist before she could slip it beneath the blanket draped at his lap. She pouted.

"And..?"

"And you kept calling out another girl's name, even when I tried to correct you. I smacked you, and you threw me off you. Then you passed out," she paused, "so is

Cynthia

coming over now?"

He took in the facts and stared at the ceiling in silence while the human female waited expectantly for a response. He shook his head and got out of the bed, contemplating what to do about Cynthia. Obviously drinking himself into oblivion didn't help to forget about her. He wanted to see her, except that he wasn't even sure at this point that she would even answer the door if he went over there. He pulled everything out of his discarded dress pants on the floor, finding her condo keys in one of the pockets. He knew this was the only way around her refusal, but even with that, he was still pissed about what she said.

I couldn't help it

.

The words burned in his mind and filled him with rage as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

He turned on the water to fill the sink and looked in the mirror at his own reflection, staring at himself while thinking on things. He could faintly see nail marks across his chest and face, and black lipstick smeared across his mouth obviously from the girl last night. Pulling in a deep breath, he slowly focused his regenerative ability to heal the marks completely. Splashing water on his face, he woke up a little more and wiped away the remaining lipstick from his face. Yet, he still couldn't think clearly of what to do about Cynthia.

Should I forgive her?

The question plagued his mind as he locked the bathroom door and turned on the shower.

Wet from showering, he stepped out of the bathroom as naked as the day he was born. The girl on the bed moaned pleasingly at the view, crawling lithely on the bed and out from under the sheets just as naked as he was. He noticed right away that she had a curved body much like Cynthia's and understood why he had brought her home. Sighing softly, he slipped on a pair of boxers, then jeans. Looking over his shoulder at her, he searched the floor and found what he thought to be her skirt. He tossed it on the bed in front of her.

"Get dressed and I'll take you home." She didn't like hearing that, but still complied with putting on her clothes.

I need more answers

, he thought to himself. There was something sincere that he recalled about Cynthia's words when she tried to reason with him. What if he had listened just for a moment? Why didn't he? Why was it that with any other girl he could take the time to listen before telling them off, and with Cynthia he found himself winding out of control like some hormonal teenager?

He loved her. That was the only explanation he could think of. Valefar's scent upon her and watching her almost let him take full control of her body had him considering leaving Cynthia there to do whatever she wanted, but he had spent too much time and effort in wanting to be with her to let one episode break it all apart.

After grabbing a coffee once he dropped off last night's company at her place, he started heading down a beaten and bumpy road, returning to the Alpha's estate. Karus might have more answers for him. He had questions about pure bloods that he wouldn't find an answer to unless he asked a reliable source.

It was about seven am when he pulled into the driveway of the Alphas. They were already awake and standing on the patio that had party debris littered all over it. The view of the sunrise was gorgeous over the morning high tides, and the clouds were breaking apart the orange horizon with vibrant pinks and purples.

When Markus pulled in, Sara was the first one to see him and respond. Karus could sense the anger flooding through her body and pursued her. When she ran, so did he, and Markus watched as Karus grabbed Sara around her waist just before she could lunge herself at him.

She howled and jolted her feet off the gravel, kicking and struggling to be turned loose from Karus' grasp. He wouldn't have his equal acting this way, and let his elongating fangs sink into the back of her neck. She whimpered and struggled a few more times before his bite became so firm that she calmed down. Her panting was rigid, heavy, and filled with killer instinct. She wanted to see Markus and Cynthia together, and he was fucking it all up.

"Am I missing something?" Markus had never seen Sara so angry before, and started to think that he really screwed up. Karus was the first to answer after nuzzling his love to assure her that all would be well.

"We heard about the little incident with Val and Bridget last night. I sent a watcher out to find you and Cynthia after you left. He reported back that she was at home and cried herself to sleep, and you were taking home some human girl for the night."

The words alone made Sara's chest rumble once more in Markus' direction. Her angered scent filled the air and her golden eyes glared daggers at him. Markus felt hollow at the thought that Cynthia had cried, and that it was his fault. He sank back from the Alphas and into a patio chair, never responding once to Sara's anger. He knew it was deserved. His forehead rested against his hands which cradled to support him, as his mind was now swimming with a way to explain why he was here.

"She tried talking to me last night, and all I could do was kick her out of my truck. I wanted to believe her, but I just don't buy into that bullshit that no Were can help themselves when it comes to their needs."

"Well, that's where you're wrong, boy." A deep voice rang out from the corner of the patio. There, when Markus' eyes darted to the table, was an older man he had never seen before and accompanied by Cynthia's friend Sheila.

Karus released Sara, who slid away to the patio. Karus followed her as she walked towards the older man and patted Markus' shoulder, indicating that he should follow him. Markus didn't question Karus and followed him over to the table where the old man had nodded lightly for Markus to join.

The man had age to his face, a slender but agile form fitted into pewter pants, with a white shirt that was unbuttoned, revealing the softening of his once rigidly muscular form and a light nestling of dark hair on his chest. His hair was trimmed and black, with graying temples and deep tanned skin. When the man's green eyes looked over to Markus, he could swear he was looking into Cynthia's eyes, except that the man's gaze was much fiercer.

"Mr. Arden, this is Markus Steele. Markus, this is Mr. Robert Arden," Karus paused, "the Senior Alpha of the West coast, Alaska, and Hawaii. He's also Cynthia's father."

"A pleasure, Markus. Though, to keep this casual, you may call me Robert." The Alpha rolled his words pleasantly to Markus and then took a sip of his coffee. Setting the cup down with a gentle click, he let his fingers steeple and rest casually in front of his chest.

Markus was mildly stunned when he had learned of Cynthia's pure bloodline, but even more now that he discovered she was the daughter of a Senior Alpha. Senior Alphas were the few appointed Werewolves that controlled and communicated with the Alphas in each state to keep pack-to-pack wars from occurring.

"The honor is mine, Robert."

Robert grinned, amused at how swiftly Markus accepted his seniority.

"You're everything I'd expect in a blood wolf. Strong, both in body and presence, loyal, and I can only imagine your will power is eons beyond any Were you've ever encountered." Markus was offered a glass of orange juice, which he took and set the glass to rest on his knee.

"It doesn't surprise me that you'd know, Sir," Markus said before downing his orange juice. This was going to be a long conversation, he thought.

Karus cleared his throat lightly. "Mr. Arden, could you please enlighten me as to how a blood wolf is born?"

"I figured you'd become curious as to how your older half-brother is a blood wolf and yet, you are not," Robert said casually.

Markus went wide in expression and darted his gaze to Karus, who tensed up.

"I... hadn't told him that we were related."

"Oh, really?" Robert said with a little chuckle. "Well, no better time for him to learn, hmm?" Karus looked back to Markus, guilt filling his face. Just as he was about to speak, Markus held his hand up.

"We'll discuss this later, Karus," he commented darkly then looked back to Robert. "Explain it to him, since I'd like to know now what made me so God damned special."

"Blood wolves are those who are conceived by two blood-born wolf parents on a full moon. Then, sequentially, the wolf cub is born on a full moon, and his first birthday falls on a full moon. It is believed if a Were experiences this anomaly, Mother Luna marks them with her blood. Their eyes fill with red, and their fur becomes a brilliant white with downy red tones. They are chosen for one purpose: to eliminate Vampire threats. Aside from the red gaze and blood stained fur, they can blend into society quite well. They usually have a thirst for battle, and will often pursue a career in the military or law enforcement. Luna's Knights. It is why many couples will try to mate and conceive around the days of a full moon," Robert smirked and then continued to explain.

"In the classified databases of the World Wildlife Foundation, blood Weres are listed separately from any other classification of Werewolves. The files are only accessible by Senior Alphas. Not even humans know they exist." The World Wildlife Foundation monitored the Werewolf population and kept their existence quiet to the human-operated branches of the government.

"Marvelous," Markus said brashly and leaned back in his chair. Well, it was time to weed through some facts and fiction. Markus pulled in a breath and returned his gaze to Robert.

"I want to know more about Cynthia's blood line, what exactly I'm not understanding about pure bloods that I should know." Robert nodded at how straightforward Markus presented the topic to him.

"Well, you have to remember that our ancestors could not take a human form. All they had to communicate with were the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. There wasn't a hierarchy, there wasn't a society. There were packs and territories, and that's all there was to a Werewolf's life. You lived for the pack, you protected the pack, you breed within the pack, and you'd die for the pack.

"When the first few Werewolves discovered that they could take a human form, they were rejected by those who could not. These first few Werewolves had conscious thought. Formed language, could blend in with humans, and were very beautiful. The first female was named by the Native Americans as Lunea. Over time, it was shortened to Luna, and our connection to the moon and transforming was formed."

"And what caused that?" Karus asked as he sat down, not having heard of any origin beyond the first few werewolves.

"Evolution, a miracle," Robert shrugged, "no one truly knows. But the fact is, not even Luna could help herself, being the first female capable of shifting. She had to learn her weaknesses and strengths, then master both of them. Still, there are some things that Werewolves cannot control. Mating is just one of them. We still have to follow the tradition and instinct that comes with mating. Females will seek the strongest werewolf to mate with. Males will seek a female in heat. Cynthia's actions are a result of instinct."

"That's bullshit," Markus snarled.

Robert paused to take a drink, admiring the stamina that Markus had for his story time. Markus gritted his teeth from responding further, concerned that he may upset both Alphas.

"How was that little Gothic chick from last night, Markus? Was she a part of your emotions? Your instincts? Or was she a driven sense of revenge against Cynthia? What would be your excuse for your actions last night?"

Markus grunted and turned his face away from the Alpha, pulling in a tense breath to keep his anger from breaking him apart.

"Saying that I couldn't help myself is admitting that it's my weakness. Saying that I was emotional and mad at Cyn would suggest that I can't control myself."

"But

could

you help your emotions? Your instinct?

Could

you have stopped yourself last night?" Robert's voice grated upon Markus' nerves. He found his rage building more and more against the Senior Alpha for his stupid questions.

"I don't know," Markus sighed, defeated at the thought that his actions last night were no better than Cynthia's when Valefar was around.

"A good answer for now. It's time you started thinking like a werewolf."

"So I'm just supposed to accept that until Cynthia is claimed that she can't help herself? Excuse her?"

"If you were going to accept that she couldn't help herself and excuse her for her actions, you would have done so last night. You didn't because you were thinking like a human, not a werewolf. That's what our evolution brought us. Struggle with our human bond. Are we better than our ancestors because we attempt to practice control? Or are we farther away from our natural selves because we try to not act like animals? But no matter what, in the end, the animal always wins. So why deny your weaknesses? You've never felt this way about yourself or another person until you met Cynthia. You're learning late in your life that werewolves have to accept their weaknesses and master them. Only then do we know who we really are."

Markus had never thought about it that way. The more he thought about his weakness, the more he wanted it to go away. He wanted to overcome it, master it. Become it and rise above it. Robert took another long drink of his coffee and sighed regretfully.

"Cynthia has known from her first heat that she would have a mate carefully selected for her. So, we hid her from public when she was in heat. She was never aware how her heat could undo her and it was my mistake that I never taught her that self-control. She was getting married and I didn't see any future where she wasn't going to have to control her weaknesses. Which is why when she renounced her claim, applied for a job, and looked for a place to live after her mourning period, I made sure she was still within my reach to take care of her. She really can't help the way she feels when she is in heat, and that is my fault. As her father, I failed to show her what weaknesses she has. I'm also thankful that you were another pair of eyes looking after her. Had she been raped that evening, I..."

Markus placed his fingers to rest against his cheek, his elbow relaxed on the armrest of the chair, staring at Robert intently as he struggled with his last phrase. The remorse turned to anger within Robert before he banished it away, knowing that Cyn being raped had not come to be, and that the werewolf in front of him made it so.

"Regardless of my lack of educating Cynthia, instinct still applies. Last night, you won the challenge. Valefar can no longer hold a claim over her. Seeing as how Cynthia's life was not privileged to learn everything she should have known about herself, you should be angry with me. Not her. That is all I would ask of you, if you still want to hold to your claim over her."

Markus' intense gaze lightened and he raised his head from resting against his hand when he thought he didn't hear Robert correctly in telling him that he could have Cynthia. When Robert didn't attempt to retract his statement, Markus nodded.

"Yes, I'd still like to mate her, if she'll still have me." Robert nodded, admiring that he would leave it up to Cynthia.

"Now tell me, why do you want to mate her?"

"I fell in love with your daughter the first day I saw her. I've spent about a year watching her." He rubbed a hand down his face to shade his embarrassment at confessing such a fact and sighed.

"I have never wanted to be with anyone else more than her; not even Bridget. I turned Bridget when I thought I could be happy with her, and when I thought she loved me. Seems all she was interested in was trading up. That fact aside, I might have ruined it last night by scaring her off from my truck, which makes it seem pointless that I would accept Val's challenge if I was just telling her off, but I planned to forgive her," his eyes narrowed. "I wasn't about to let some jerk-off like that be with her."

"Val and Cyn do have a past, this is true. She did love Valefar very much, and even told me that once she finished her junior year, she would mate with him. Then he had to go and throw it all away by hooking up with that other Were," Robert said with a shake of his head and a sigh. "That boy could have had a lot going for him."

"Well I'm not mating with Cyn for her status or to have anything 'going for me.' I'm taken care of by the W.W.F. and the Marine Corps. I planned to just settle down and have a few pups, and retire on the south end of the island. I already bought some beach front property." Karus blinked, not aware of the fact that Markus had bought land outside of Honolulu. Not that he would forbid it, especially with Markus' salary and his obvious position. Karus almost envied everything his older brother had, but knew that Markus deserved it all. He had earned it.