CHAPTER TWO - Moon City

Gabriel’s POV

I woke up feeling like shit. Fucking red mush.

I got up and went to the bathroom. After I did my morning business, I turned the shower on and hopped in. The cold water woke me up from my drunken state. I need to quit drinking. Or at least drink something other than that thing Louis called wine. I always felt like crap afterward.

I looked in the mirror and smirked. Louis was right. I did look like a werewolf. My dark brown hair was a tangled mess on top of my head. I would cut it today.

My biggest assets are my green eyes. I was tall. 6’3 of pure muscles. I was pretty well-built for a 20-year-old guy. Women loved me. And I loved them. They were good for sex. I loved seducing them. But I didn’t see myself ever caring for any woman. I was fine on my own. I did not need nor wanted to love anybody. I got all the sex I needed without loving them or caring for them.

The only person I ever loved was my grandma. She was the only family I had. She raised me and loved me. I have her to thank for this roof over my head. She left me enough money, so I don’t have to work now. I spent most of my days perfecting my magic. She taught me everything I know about magic and helped me develop my special skill. I can project images into people’s minds. Any images. I can hurt them, confuse them, or make them feel amazing. I was always very good, but my grandma made me better.

I never knew my parents. My grandma said they died but she refused to talk about them. It was too painful for her. When I was a kid, I asked her about my grandpa, my grandparents from my dad’s side or any other family there might be, but all she said was they were gone. I was curious and wanted to know more, but I saw how much it hurt her to talk about these things, so I stopped. She was enough family for me.

She died about 9 months ago. She was captured by inquisitors and burned not long after. I did everything I could to find her, but it was pointless. I hadn’t stopped drinking since then.

It was like she knew she was going to die. She kept telling me where to go and hide if they came. I was angry because she kept assuming I would leave her and run, but she said I must live. She said I was important and that she was going to explain everything to me. She made it seem like she was living alone. I had to hide my stuff around the house and even take most of it to my neighbor, Nick. She didn’t want them to know I was there. At first, I thought she wanted to protect me, but now I think there was more to that. The morning they came for her she told me about a safe somewhere in the house that contained the most important items, and she was going to show them to me after I came back from my morning run. If only I never left. When I came back, she was gone, and my house was ransacked. I thought they would come back for me, but they never did.

I searched the entire house for that safe, but I never found it. It drove me crazy. That fucking safe and guilt for not being able to save my grandma were the two main reasons I drank that red shit. It makes me numb. And that was better than feeling guilty and angry all the time.

I heard a knock on my front door. It was probably Nick. He was the only one that came around anymore. Everybody else, even people I used to call my friends, fear me as I lose control easily nowadays.

Nick is my neighbor. A werewolf–warlock hybrid. I’ve known him all my life.

“Gabe? Are you passed out drunk again? I tried calling you. Your phone is off.”

“Just got up. I forgot to recharge it,” I said, coming downstairs.

“You know that wine is going to kill you one day,” he said, making himself comfortable on my couch.

“I don’t really care, man.”

“I hope you didn’t drive there. You look like shit. You were probably wasted as fuck yesterday.”

“Nah. Left my car here. I walked there. It was good for my rage,” I said, frowning.

“Are you still pissed off about that safe? We searched the entire house, man.”

“I know. I just can’t let it go. It’s driving me crazy. I have a feeling there is something important inside.”

He sighed and got off the couch to go and get himself a beer from my fridge. That was all there was in there. And some eggs. I was a terrible cook. I could make scrambled eggs and that’s about it. I usually ordered something or ate at Nick’s. His mom was an amazing cook.

“Want one?” he asked.

“Sure.”

He came back and sat opposite me.

“What are you going to do today? Don’t tell me you are going to Louis’s bar again,” he frowned.

“Nah, man. I need to get some today. And I need a haircut,” I said, smirking.

“Well sex is healthier than that thing Louis calls wine,” he laughed. “Well, my health is declining. I could get some today too.”

I laughed and sipped my beer. He liked seducing and fucking women even more than I did. There was a club nearby that we liked to go to. It worked illegally now so it was pretty exclusive and hard to get in. We knew the owner so had no problem getting in.

“So Moonless then?” I asked and got off the sofa.

It was already 3 pm. I slept late which was not surprising considering how drunk I was after that third bottle Louis made me drink at home.

“Yeah man, sure. Around 10?” he got off the couch and headed to the door.

“Deal.”

“Hey man, are you hungry? My mom made some lasagna,” he asked before leaving.

“Nah, man. Thanks. Give your mom a hug from me.”

“Sure will. See you after.”

I loved his mom. Mrs. Black was a kind woman. A great mom to Nick. She and my grandma always got along great. She helped my grandma to make it look like she was living alone. I asked her about the safe and if she knew what my grandma meant when she said I was important. Mrs. Black didn’t know anything. I was disappointed. I thought maybe she would have some ideas about what my grandma was talking about. After my grandma died, Mrs. Black took care of me, fed me, and comforted me. I will always be grateful to her.

I quickly ran upstairs to my bedroom and put on black jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. I found my car keys and got into my car. It was a new Jeep Renegade in my favorite color, black. I loved my car.

I would have to hurry up. Since the inquisition started everything had a curfew. The hair salon where I always went to get my haircut worked until 4 pm. It was now 3:20 pm and I had a 15-minute drive to the hair salon. I hoped they would have the time to give me a haircut.

15 minutes later, I parked in front of the hair salon. Nobody was in there. The lady who usually cuts my hair was sitting in one of the chairs flipping through some magazines. She was pretty. Blonde hair that reached her shoulders, blue eyes, and boobs to die for. I thought about fucking her but after getting to know her a little bit better I found out she was incredibly clingy. That would be a lot of phone calls and probably crying. Also, she was a human and it would never turn into a relationship. Not that I wanted one. That was something I didn’t do. That didn’t stop her from hitting on me every chance she had.

“Hello, Susan,” I greeted her as I walked in.

“Gabriel Richardson. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” she said, smiling and winking.

“What can I say, Susan? My presence heals,” I joked and winked back.

I heard her heart starting to beat faster and she was blushing. One of the perks of being supernatural was the ability to charm anybody. We were irresistible. Humans were naturally drawn to us. I would have to be careful with Susan. I didn’t want to give her false hope. It just wasn’t happening.

“Well, it heals me, Gabe,” she said and blushed even more.

I decided to stop this flirting before it got any further. It was hard for me. I was a natural seducer. I saw a pretty woman and instantly I would be in flirt mode. Nick was the same. It sometimes got us in trouble. Like it could happen to me now. I dropped my smile and put on a hard mask. Susan noticed and barely flinched.

“Do you have time to do my haircut?” I asked.

“Yeah, sure. Take a seat,” she said.

I could see she was surprised by my sudden mood change.

While she worked, I was thinking about Nick and me going out tonight. I needed some hard liquor for a change. I didn’t need wine tonight. I felt my rage coming back and I didn’t like it. I planned on drowning that rage in a bottle and a hot woman.

I always used my magic on them. I didn’t want them to know where I lived so I always projected a vision of a hotel room in their mind. It saved me from unnecessary visits after. Nick was jealous of me. There were a couple of women who came back looking for him. His mom was furious. I almost choked laughing when he was telling me how she beat the shit out of him. After a while, he just started taking them to an actual hotel room.

Susan was done with my haircut. I thanked her, paid, and left the salon.

As I was closing the door of the salon somebody ran into me. I was a muscle wall, so it didn’t affect me much. But she fell on her butt. I sensed magic coming out of her. I was on the edge as was, so this little collision wasn’t going to end well for her.

“Watch where you are going, witch,” I said quietly and coldly.

I sounded like a soulless monster. I saw her shiver. She looked up at me and I froze.

“I am so sorry, sir,” she said and quickly got up.

She ran from me in the direction she came from.

My mind was screaming at me. Stop her! Go get her! But I couldn’t move.

I watched her soft brown curls touch her waist as she ran away from me. She was small. Maybe 5’2, but what had me frozen were her eyes. She had the most amazing green eyes I had ever seen. They were calling me and I had no idea why.

I just knew I must find her.

Aria’s POV

By the time I got to the city, it was 4:15 pm and it was getting dark. I was tired. I hadn’t stopped walking since washing myself at our stream. I washed my hair and quickly changed into a pair of black jeans, a gray hoodie, and my sneakers. I had saved money for months to be able to afford them. I used my magic to dry my hair after carefully checking if I was being watched. I couldn’t get sick now. My jacket was in my bag as I was hot while walking, but I was getting kind of cold right now.

I knew I wasn’t going to find Annie today. I need to find a hotel, eat, and sleep. I will wake up early tomorrow and start my search for her.

I was getting my jacket out of my bag and was completely distracted. How stupid of me. I ran into a man. He was a wall of muscles and at least 6 feet tall. Maybe even more. I fell on my butt, but our collision didn’t move him at all. Nevertheless, he was furious.

“Watch where you are going, witch,” he said quietly and coldly.

His threatening voice sent shivers running down my spine. He could tell I was a witch. I felt knots forming in my belly. I had to get out of there before he grabbed me and handed me to the inquisitors.

I looked up and saw a pair of cold green eyes staring at me. I was frozen for a second. Those eyes. I felt like I knew him. Fear pushed that feeling away.

“I am so sorry, Sir,” I said, getting up quickly.

I turned away from him and ran. I was resisting the urge to turn around and look if he was following me. I hoped not. I was not a good runner and based on his physique he would catch me in a second.

I ran around the corner and allowed myself to look behind. He wasn’t following me. That was strange. He knew I was a witch. Why wasn’t he coming to get me?

I didn’t have the time to wonder about this. I should be happy that I avoided being caught. I needed to find a hotel.

After 10 minutes of some fast walking and constantly looking over my shoulder for him, I found a hotel that wasn't expensive and had nice rooms. I paid for two nights. I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take me to find Annie. If I needed it, I could always stay here longer.

A nice, cute boy showed me to my room.

“There you go Miss…,” he paused, not knowing my last name.

“Walker. But please call me Aria,” I said smiling.

“Well, Aria, here is your key. If you need anything, please feel free to ask. I would do anything for a beautiful girl like you,” he winked at me.

Humans find us supernatural beings quite attractive and are drawn to us naturally. Vampires benefit the most from this.

“Thank you…,” I paused and looked at him waiting for him to tell me his name.

“Ian,” he said and gave me a huge smile.

“Thank you, Ian,” I smiled and walked into my room.

Ian closed my door and walked away. I locked the door and threw my bag on the bed. I wanted to take a shower and sleep until morning. I wasn’t even hungry. My emotions were forming knots in my belly, and I felt tears forming. I lost my grandma today.

I let the tears fall and sat on the bed. I have never felt more alone. I let myself cry until I felt a bit better.

I got up and went to the bathroom. There was a tub. Perfect. Even better than a shower stall. I made myself a hot, bubbly bath and got in. Hot water soothed my sore muscles and relaxed me.

I caught myself thinking about the man I ran into earlier. I felt like I knew him. He was somehow familiar. I know it is impossible. I had never seen him before. I never left the village before today and I knew everybody who lived there. On a few occasions when we had a visitor, everybody knew who it was. This man never came to my village. I was sure. But I still had a feeling that I knew him.

I was surprised he didn’t hand me to the inquisitors. He had the chance. He knew right away what I was, and he could have caught me when I started to run from him, but he didn’t. I was thinking hard and then it hit me.

He was a warlock. Of course. His smell. I hadn’t noticed it there because I was scared and wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. But he was definitely a warlock. That’s why he didn’t want to catch me.

I felt relieved. At least I don’t have to worry about him looking for me. I don’t want to see him again. He was cold and threatening. He scared me.

I got out of the tub, brushed my teeth, put on an old shirt I liked to sleep in and got under the covers. It was only 6:30 pm but I was very tired.

I fell asleep instantly, but the image of my burnt home haunted my dreams.