The Moon forbidden mate

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hoped their intensity would tear the dark. It had been her culture every night since she was fourteen. She would often, like a child would find comfort in l

haunting echoes of her childhood. Her father, a drunkard, had left indelible scars on her existence. The scent of alcohol lin

of her past. The chair creaked slightly as she lowered herself onto it. The dim light from a solitary lamp cast a soft glow, illuminating the framed photographs that adorned the tabletop – snapshots of a life filled with both joy and

y even ensured she went to college. Mrs. Lesley's words, "I don't want you to end up miserable like your parents. You've got to go to school, honey," echoed daily in her head. This admonition had come after she was reported to have slapped a teacher. Everyone judged her but they didn't care for her side of the story. Miss Jane had called her a monkey because she chose to jump and hop on seats while leaving the class instead of walk like every o

s stop. Her backpack, laden with the weight of her textbooks and the anxieties of junior

deviation from the usual smell of simmering stew that usually greeted her. Her parents, ardent vegans since she knew the

cold serpent. Her father, a gentle man with eyes that held the warmth

he asked, his voice

ds tasting alien on her tongue. "Deer, I th

nversation flitting across their faces. "Honey," her

staken? The library, usually a haven of hushed whispers and rustling pages, had felt weird earlier that day. Fo

spered, her voice a conspiratorial hiss. "They sa

. "I heard he was accused of b

lso wondered why she had heard them so clearly even t

sh. Stepping out, she collided

ade too nonchalant, a smirk playing on his lips. "Ha

tench, now undeniable, washed over Jennifer, a primal terror clawi

rged in that moment, a terrifying symphony of truth. The realization, sharp and cold as a butcher's knife, sliced thr

... a w

her mind, now roared her soul. The hunt, it seemed,