Under a Paper Moon

I’ve played two shows since the dinner ambush. We lost three hunters that served as guards and one council member. The hunters declared war on the pack, which we found out was now all of Maryland’s pack put together into one. We sent word to all the other hunter councils on the east coast to send us help. They agreed.

But what happened that night haunts me still. I replay watching the white wolf, Miranda, being attacked over and over. Every time I watched, I was powerless to stop the attacks. I also dreamed of just Miranda herself. The two of us hiding away in a cabin far from here, hidden in the woods.

That dream drove me to end everything with Lisa. I wasn’t in love with her. I had something stronger with Miranda and I wanted her. I had to remove Lisa from my life. I wanted nothing to do with the hunters anymore.

“You wanted to see me, Alex,” Lisa asked as she came into my music room.

“I did,” I put my guitar to the side, “I’m over you.”

“What,” she was confused.

“I don’t love you, Lisa,” I told her, “I don’t want to date you anymore. Pack up whatever you’ve left here, and go. We’re done.”

“Fuck you,” she screamed, “You are a fucking asshole.”

“Bite me,” I yelled at her, “Now go.”
---
Jack moved me out of my cell and into his room. He didn’t trust me enough to return to my room. He was just delaying my escape from the pack. Once I was allowed to my room, I was packing and running away. Then on the full moon, I’d turn and break off from the pack. I will not be a part of this war.

“Lay on the bed,” he ordered.

“Why,” I asked him.

“Just do it,” he growled.

I laid down on the bed. I was worried about what he was going to do.

“I have locked the door,” he murmured in my ear, “And no one is nearby to hear you scream.”

“What are you going to do to me,” I asked him. I was actually scared of him.

“You are mine,” he growled in my ear, “And I need to solidify that claim. I’m going to fuck you until you can’t take it anymore.”

Jack tore the robe off me, leaving my naked body exposed to him. I was shaking as he removed his shirt and his jeans. He sucked on my left breast while he rubbed himself through his boxers. He removed himself and took his boxers off. He slammed into me, not letting me adjust as he got off on me.

I cried every second of him fucking me. He raped me, ruining me. I clung to the idea of finding that hunter I imprinted on as he violated me and crushed my soul.
---
I was rehearsing for my next show when I saw her again. She looked so broken. Her eyes were dull and almost lifeless. Her skin was almost grey she was so pale. Her eyes had dark bags hanging under them. She was dressed in a baggy flannel shirt, buttoned all the way up, a pair of black skinny jeans, and black laced up boots. Her hair was dull and was a frizzy mess. She just looked terrible.

“Miranda,” I put my guitar down and went over to her, “What happened?”

“I,” she paused before she started to fall apart, “I need to speak to you somewhere private.”

“We can talk in my car,” I told her, “Come on. It’s parked in back.”
Miranda walked with me to my car, a range rover, and I made sure no one was around to watch us meet. I decided for us to sit in the back seat to be closer to each other. Once we were seated and the doors were closed, Miranda just fell apart and started to cry.

“What happened,” I asked her as I wrapped my arms around her. I felt like that was what she needed; a hug.

“H-he,” she stuttered as she sobbed, “r-raped me. H-he ruined m-me.”

“Your fiancé raped you,” I tried to understand, “I am so sorry, Miranda. I am so sorry.”

“I-it was terrible,” she sobbed, “I don’t w-w-want to go back.”

“I will hide you away at my place,” I told her, “I will protect you. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. You can go back whenever you want to.”

“I don’t even know your name,” she replied, her crying was slowly stopping, “And you’re a hunter, how can I trust you to not poison me with wolf’s bane or stab me with a silver knife?”

“Because something happened to me at that dinner,” I told her, “Something I can’t explain but it has to do with you. That is if your fur’s white when you turn.”

“I still need to know your name,” she replied, “And I know exactly what happened to you. I left my imprint on you.”

“So I’m claimed by you,” I rose my brow, completely confused, “That has never happened to a hunter before.”

“I know,” she replied, “Hunters never get the chance to imprint on a wolf.”

“My name is Alex,” I told her, “And I’m going to protect you, okay. I won’t let the hunters get you as a target.”
---
Alex brought me to his house after our talk. I didn’t want to go back to the mansion to get clothes. I was going to just have Alex get me clothes for me to keep at his place. I didn’t want to be around Jack anymore. I just wanted to hide away forever.

Walking into his house, I was in awe at how nice it was. He kept it simple, nothing over the top like how Jack did things at the mansion. I liked his white sofa and loveseat in his living room with the beige rug and light wood furniture. I went into his kitchen to see that it matched the living room but had dark countertops. Alex led me upstairs to his bedroom and I saw it was a mess, but it was in a dark color pallet of reds, browns, and greens. It was very nice. I saw that his drawers were wide open and his closet had a mess flowing out of it.

“My ex left a mess when I kicked her out,” Alex said as he walked into the room behind me, “She might come back and see you.”

“Is she a hunter,” I asked him.

“Sadly yes,” he replied, “And she is very hostile. She may find out you’re a wolf and won’t hesitate to try to kill you.”

Notes