Blood on the Moon - serialised EXCLUSIVE for Steemit! - 116

Blood On The Moon Cover

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My third novel was finished and published in time for Halloween 2016 and I had a launch at Waterstone's at Sheffield.

The full book cover, done by the wonderful, talented, brilliant Paul Mudie

Other Images from Pixabay or Google (Free Usage)

To read from the beginning: Here

Then change the number in the address bar from 1 to 2 (https://steemit.com/writing/@michelle.gent/blood-on-the-moon-serialised-exclusive-for-steemit-2) and so on for the next episodes.

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Anton went over to the youngster and held out a bottle of some sort of beer.

Paul looked at it and took it before he looked at the Wolf that offered it. “Oh, thank you, sir. I thought that you might be Phelan come to tell me that she’s out of my league.”

“No, not Phelan, but she is out of your league.” Anton said and he laughed at the expression on the younger Wolf’s face.

Paul gave in and laughed too.

They stood and chatted for a while and Anton explained briefly why Nichasin and Red were so comfortable in each other’s presence.

Anton liked a little bit of gossip and he regaled the relative Whelp, Paul, with a tale of when he taught Nichasin, who was not long out of puberty, and Red, who was known as Hazel at that time.

He told Paul of the psychological terror he had inflicted upon those two in the name of training because at that time, Hunters were prevalent and Wolves had to know their craft at resisting forced change.

When he saw Nichasin look over to where he was standing, Anton raised his bottle in salute and Nichasin responded in kind.

Then he kissed Red on the cheek and left her. She made her way to Anton.

“I suppose Darius will be along shortly to settle things.” Red didn’t ask, she said it as a statement.

Anton didn’t answer, she didn’t need an answer, He could tell that she was tense, but Paul was none the wiser.

She looked as though she was comfortable with the possibility of having to fight for her life.

Paul was not comfortable and he looked at his boots before he began to speak.

“I have a confession to make,” he said.

“Jessica is your daughter.” Red said.

Paul frowned and looked between Anton and Red a number of times before he found his voice.

“Yes, but...”

“I know because I do my homework, thoroughly. The sisters had children a few months apart and they’re all Throwback? The only thing that astounds me is that there was only one set of twins that year. You seem to be quite virile in that department, Paul.”

“Both pregnancies produced twins, it’s just that Jessica’s twin died before birth, they didn’t know why. When Jessica’s mum, Claire, found out that Stella, her sister had slept with me too, she was furious and she told me to get lost. I was heartbroken because I was really falling for her, but each time I tried to get back with her, it was the same story. I only went to Stella because she reminded me so much of Claire.”

Anton and Red waited for the rest of his statement.

“You’re making this difficult for me,” Paul said.

“I’m not here to make your life easy,” Red said.

“No, of course not, but I hoped that you’d be lenient.”

“I told you that I do my homework, Paul. Do you do yours?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you know of me, of my life, my career so far in this society? You know that I was bitten, not born Wolf don’t you?”

“Yes, I know that. I know that you’ve managed to stay alive as a Sentinel for longer than anyone did before you...”

“So do you think I got to this stage by being lenient?”

“No.”

“I know that she’s the daughter of the woman that you loved and lost and I know that she’s also had a hard life. Darius has taken advantage of her and forced her to become something she wasn’t mean to become...” Red said, but was interrupted by Anton.

“That’s not strictly true. She actually was meant to become this. She really was spoken of in The Scribe’s documents. It’s what happens after tonight that is the crux of it.” Anton said.

Red looked at Anton for a long time and she scowled as she thought about it. Anton met her gaze but not without worrying a little. She had a very hard stare, did Red, and it was difficult to hold.

At last she spoke again. “So, this is another fork in the Prophecy?”

“Perhaps.”

“Wonderful, just bloody marvellous, I’ll see you both later, I don’t need this shit.”

Red loped off towards one of the many camp fires that were dotted about the grounds.

Anton and Paul didn’t see Red all the rest of the evening.

The Full Moon crested the trees and its splendour entranced the Ancients.

They were no longer such slaves to the pull of the moon and could watch it and bathe in its glow without the need to kill and slake their bloodlust.

Of course, that’s not to say that everyone felt the same way, and a number of missing persons reports were filed in the following weeks.