Becoming the Luna

"But as usual they didn't listen to him and then people started to go missing and the wolves got bolder, crossing the creek to hang around the deeper parts of the creek."

I wince at this, Virgil's father was a very important figure in Pine Creek but I still couldn't remember exactly what his position was. "Are they going to cut down the pines?" I ask in a small voice, depressed at the thought but if it kept people from dying then that would be the best option to take.

"No." Mae says shortly and I can hear the tightness in her voice. "The pine trees are staying but people started to move out, the people left stayed away from the woods and no one has gone missing anymore."

"Oh!" I exclaim. "That's why everywhere seemed so empty while we were coming back, do you think they'll come back?" I ask in worry, I didn't want Pine Creek to become a ghost town.

"Of course!" She replies enthusiastically. "Just watch, before Christmas, the entire town will be bustling again." She says with so much confidence that I find myself believing her.

I go quiet to digest what she had told me, there were wild animals, just a couple miles away from my house, and practically half of the population of Pine Creek or maybe, even more, had moved out.

Our street was thoroughly empty now, just Mae and I living on it and it's not really surprising, considering that we live the closest to the woods but I can't help but worry that no one will want to move into a tiny town that has a wild animal problem and then Pine Creek would slowly start to die out…

"This is exactly why he didn't want to tell you." Mae cuts short my mental monologue. "Among other things." She mutters quietly under her breath.

"What?" I perk up, turning my head up to look at her.

"Come on, stay still." She says gently. "And I'm saying that this is probably why Virgil didn't want to tell you, you're worrying so loud that I can practically hear you." She tsks fondly, shaking her head.

I bite my lip nervously which turns out to be a bad idea because I can remember the imprint of Virgil's lips on mine.

I feel a faint thrumming under me and faint crackling but I don't move my head so that I wouldn't bother Mae.

"Hayden." She says in an eerie voice and I hide a shiver. "You should walk towards the light." She says in that disturbing tone and I whip my head around to look up at her.

"What?"

"Oy! You'll make me pull out your hair if you keep doing that." She complains to me, looking like she hadn't just said a couple of strange words. "Stay put now, I'm almost done."

"What did you say?" I ask, unsure if I had really heard her or my crazy mind had just made it up, us the thrumming and the faint crackling sound was gone like it never existed.

"I'm almost done?" She repeats in confusion, her nimble hands threading through my hair.

"No, no, before that." I insist, clenching my fists with the effort it takes to stay still instead of looking at her face like I really want to.

"I'll pull out your hair?" She mumbles in a blank tone sounding even more confused. "There I'm done." She ruffles my hair, helping me up.

I furrow my brow in confusion, Mae looks genuinely unaware and I decide to let it go, maybe she was just thinking out loud because her words hadn't made any sense.

I need to change out of Virgil's shirt before I go downstairs, preferably into something that hides the obvious faint marks of sharp teeth and reddened skin.

"What are you doing?" Mae asks, sprawling on my bed.

I continue my journey to my wardrobe after throwing her a glance. "To change out of this shirt?"

"Someone isn't going to like that." She mutters under her breath - at least I think that's what she says.

"So do you think it's safe enough to stay here, we're pretty close to the woods?" I find myself asking the rest when we make our way down again.

"Yeah." Dale replies to me this time. "The wolves are moving back to the other side of the creek because no one is trying to hunt them anymore, the one you met today must have been a straggler." 

"Oh, I see." I hum, going to meet my mom who holds her arms out for me.

She mumbles an apology in my ear, hugging me on her lap.

I hug her in return, I'm not mad anymore and I didn't like the air of guilt and unhappiness swirling around her. "It's fine." I rub her back.

"As long you stay away from the woods." Dale continues, his bright green eyes on me.

I crawl out of my mom's hold to hug Shana who looks like she's a step away from crying.

It's almost hilarious how I'm the one comforting them all when I was the one that was lied to.

"That sounds like an order but okay." I sit beside Dale. "Although I can't believe you lied to me too." 

He rubs his face at this, a wry smile on his face. "I wouldn't have if I knew you would just walk right in." He teases.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know that the woods were off bounds." I pout.

"Well, how were we supposed to know that you'd go for the one in a thousand probability of taking a walk, you hate physical activities." He fires back and I color up.

I really was, but I wasn't about to tell them that I had missed the tall silent trees.

"Well, things happen." I provide vaguely, throwing my arms around him. "And I forgive you even though you didn't say sorry."

He gives me a slow smile and places his hands on the small of my back. "You didn't give me the chance." He murmurs, staring intently at me.

"I'm hungry, Renee." Virgil suddenly blurts out and I glance away from Dale who looks downright murderous.

At Virgil's words, I realize how late it actually is and I haven't eaten lunch, my stomach rumbles and I hiccup, blushing slightly in mortification.

"Julia has already been here, she wasn't happy that she didn't get to see you so she left in a peeve." My mom says sheepishly. "We should go eat."

I try to come down from the chair, eager to eat Julia's food again after months of not doing just that but Dale tugs me lightly and I lose my balance, falling on him.

"Oof!" I huff as my breath gets whacked out of me, rolling my eyes when Virgil gets up to come help me up and away from Dale - not this subtle fighting again! -  but right now I'm too hungry to pay them any mind, I just move away from them, leading the way to the dining room.