Lunatic: Forbidden Encounters

My heart sank deep into my stomach listening to my beloved say those hurtful words to me. Sudden trembling seized me and by the least struggles, tears effortlessly left my glands flowing down my cheeks; the sorrow which I had long forgotten came crawling back.

"You can't do this to me Erick. I beg you." But my mate didn't seem to budge; the look on his face clearly pointed out that his mind was made up. He was going to reject me.

"This is beyond me Lyla." He said and grabbing me by my shoulders he looked deep into my eyes and whispered "I truly love you Lyla but I cannot have you as my Luna."

His grip was so firm, his gaze still melted my heart, but looking at him say those words made his touch cold. The agony of being denied the soft touch of my mate hit me like a cannon.

"Why Erick? Why?" My voice was whimpering. My lips feeble but there were so many words unsaid. A whole year of bliss was about to come to an end.

"The Elders Lyla." My mate said in a low tone, then he unhanded me and moved away turning his face from me. "They think you are too weak to be the Luna of Moon Blood Pack. They say they can't accept you as Luna."

"And you. You reject me too?"

Erick found no words to respond, he only took a gaze at me; I could feel the pain in his eyes but his stare taunted me, his silence sent cold jitters into my body.

"You will be fine Lyla. You are stronger than you look."

"You are my strength Erick; you are my confidence." More tears flowed, my heart tightened and its beats harkened to the rhythms of sorrow that played in my mind.

"The sooner we get along with this; the sooner we move on. We have to get this over with Lyla."

Erick's crimson eyes reflected comfort but as I gaped, the coldness of his feelings glared back at me. He stood firm on his resolution, his eyes took periodic glances at me refusing to oblige my plea. Who would have thought that the only one who brought me so much comfort could be the source of my pain?

"I, Alpha Erick of the Moon Blood Pack, reject you Lyla daughter of Kyle, the Beta of Moon Blood Pack."

I felt empty as those words hit my ears. I perceived a sharp pain in my heart. Our bond had been severed. Erick hid his face from me but from his jawline, I could see the reflex of regret. He left me immediately and went away without turning back.

I lay on the floor, shoved by the soreness that stroke me when my mate rejected me. Seeing him walk out through the door made me gasp. Extending my hands towards him, I made an attempt to call him back but the weakness which invaded my bones shut me up; I found no strength to beckon on my sole protector.

My father Kyle Bardolf was the Beta of Moon Blood Pack but he disappeared two years earlier leaving me to the mercy of his mate and her daughter who relegated me to being their slave. I faced severe maltreatment from them until my mate saved me.

My father had an unusual relationship with my mother; the kind that was abolished. Werewolves were not permitted to bond with humans who were not their mates as given by the moon Goddess but those rules were defiled by them. My father met my mother in one of his usual trips to the Human world on official duties and they fell in love.

My mother got pregnant with me and decided to keep it not minding the grave circumstance that could result from her decision. I only heard stories about her from my father; she died while giving birth to me, I was told that her immunes were not strong enough to withstand the pressures of my werewolf gene.

My father knew that taking me along with him to the Pack would only result to my death, so he put me under the care of Nuns in an orphanage. He visited whenever he could which was usually within few months but the taunts of the other children who bullied me for having such a petite stature tormented me.

We were taught a lot by the Nuns in the Orphanage; how to read and write and the basic knowledge about things that existed, including topics on calculation and creativity but we could never see beyond the four walls that barricaded us from the outside world. We were enclosed in what almost looked like a fortress; an ancient church abandoned but reestablished for the purpose of raising children like us.

Soon, almost all the children who I knew from when I was a toddler were either adopted or taken away for better plans but I remained even at the age of twelve. Waiting for the day my father would come for me.

The Nuns before long got tired of the excesses that culminated from having to harbor me and I was made to do most of the work as the eldest in the Orphanage. The scrubbing, the mopping, the planting and the offloading duties were most times left for me alone. I was detested for being a burden to them.

"You consume so much for you to be doing the same work with the others." Mother Clara would always tell me, her face displaying signs of contempt each time she saw me.

She had a funny accent with a bulgy face that was surrounded by wrinkles and pores. Her worn-out eyeglasses always hung firmly on her nose to let her piercing eyes monitor the events in the Orphanage. Each heavy step she took was accompanied by a loud thud from her enormous thighs and feet. She always moved around with her whip securely gripped by her armpit; Mother Clara was the terror of the children in the Orphanage.

Each night after my task, I would always sit by the window and stare at the moon. It felt as though we could communicate. The rays from the moonlight seemed to be drawing me close and with each stare, I seemed to feel rejuvenated; something in me told me that I was different from the other kids. Sometimes, it felt as though I could see a creature lurking in the dark in the forest over the fence.

On some occasions, it seemed to be leaping and with an extraordinary velocity. I knew that dogs weren't that huge and fast, neither were they known to howl; we had one in the Orphanage. The creature seemed to appear most times in my dream and sometimes it felt as though it was watching over me.

I was lost of clue until the night of my thirteenth birthday, the moon was at its fullest shining limpidly. I was fast asleep but the dreams persisted, this time with deep feelings that made them seem so real. I could see some creatures which I had never seen, the moon kept on calling out for me and within a short time, I could feel my body changing rapidly; my bones struggling to maintain a steady posture cracking at intervals. My nails seemed to be growing from the inside and thickening and my eyes seemed to be glowing. I had always had golden eyes but they had never glowed except for that night.

Some of the children who were sleeping in the bunks close to mine were awakened by my struggle and came to me. One of them touched me and in a flash, I scratched his face with my nails causing him to bleed. The other children ran away and hid while Adrian lay on the floor crying from the pain of the cut.

One of the Nuns rushed into the dormitory and carried Adrian to the infirmary. I woke up almost immediately he screamed in pain and discovered that my right nails were stained with his blood. That was the strangest thing that had happened to me.

I felt sorry for Adrian even though he was the one who always instigated others to mock me; he had always reminded me that I was petite and they were bigger than I was notwithstanding the fact that I was older.

The next morning, I was summoned to Mother Clara's office to answer for the event of the previous night.

"Speak will you?" Mother Clara said with her eyes glaring at me in so much disgruntle; I could read the desire to strangle me written all over her face.

She hit her whip hard on the table startling me, but I was too confused and afraid to talk. I stared at her for a while and bent my face to the floor. My arms clasped together behind me.

"I have always known you to be evil. You little devil!"

I dared not to raise my face for fear of meeting her gruesome stare. She always sent shivers down my spine with her eyes.

She sent me out of her office with a stern warning and a threat that meant that my stay in the Orphanage was numbered.

"It would be such a relief getting rid of you. You reek of so much evil; no wonder your father prefers to keep you here. I am certain he is happy with his real family and wouldn't want you smearing his happiness with your bad luck."

All the children in the Orphanage avoided me like a plague giving me distances in the refectory, classroom and even the playground; no one wanted me to thrust my nails into their neck.

Few days later, my father came for me; it was a day of excitement for me and also a day of immense relief for the Orphanage. Mother Clara was so glad to get rid of me, I could see the satisfaction hidden in her grin.

My father took me away and that was the beginning of my life in an entirely different world of adventures and life changing encounters. I was going to experience the strangest things ever but somehow, I seemed really prepared to embrace certain challenges.