Blue Moon Rising Ch. 04

Libby and Anna spent hours researching their mother's books, pouring over their fragile parchment and fading calligraphy. Her collection of paraphernalia and odds and sods was absolutely mind boggling but thankfully well organized and cataloged. They'd gathered everything Libby would require and she was keen to begin. Anna kissed her goodnight and left her alone in the attic room.

Libby stood beneath the window illuminated by the waning gibbous moon. She dropped her robe and naked, basked in its silver glow. She smiled at the feeling of power growing within her. Everything was perfect and her pulse was racing with excitement. It was time to begin.

Libby marked the four corners of the room with lit candles; their flames flickered and swayed casting a mesh of dancing shadows.

A large circle had been scribed in the center of the room by Libby's great grandmother and her sisters, though worn, it was still clearly visible. Libby walked around the circle three times then stepped in and sat cross legged on an old cushion in its center. Everything she required was spread out within the circle. She whispered an appropriate blessing and began.

Libby grasped a weighty, jeweled blade in her right hand and drew a line across her left palm. She winced at the sting and centered the flow over an ornate ink well. The blood droplets ballooned and curled in the clear fluid in the vessel. She quickly dressed her wound and held the crystal well up to the moon light giving it a swirl; the crimson turned an inky black.

Libby licked the nib of Raven's quill pen and dipped it into her ink. She smoothed a small square of parchment; it looked the skin of an ancient, and wrote in elaborate script -- Ian Alexander. The tail of the 'R' extended and enveloped the name in a heart, that ink returned to its original crimson red just as was described in her mother's book. Libby gently blew the ink dry and rolled the parchment securing it with a delicate red ribbon.

Setting the parchment roll aside, Libby took a hand dipped candle Anna had found in one of their mother's many wooden boxes. They had wondered if their mother foresaw its use on this night. The candle was thick, long and red, a roughly shaped phallus. She smiled thinking of Ian. He would belong to her on the coming blue moon. His alpha power would be hers and the near immortality of a Were -- the thing she craved most.

Libby removed the bandage from her hand and tipped a vial of pungent smelling oil into her palm. It immediately reopened the wound and small beads of blood rose from the red stripe and floated in the oil. She briskly rubbed her hands together, blending and warming the oil and blood until she thought her skin might burn with the heat. Libby grasped the red candle with both hands and began to caress its length. She closed her eyes and envisioned doing the same to Ian. She entwined his name in a chant of unworldly sounds, repeating it over and over as the candle warmed to her touch.

Libby opened a small Ziploc and retrieved three hairs she had stolen from Ian's head as she left him with Kate the other morning. She pressed them deep into the phallic candle and smoothed over the hollow burying them within the soft wax.

Libby continued to sway and chant and massage the candle deep into the night. Eventually the flames at the four corners stuttered and died leaving Libby in the grey light of pre dawn.

Her hands were throbbing around the candle. It was as hot as her own skin yet no longer pliable, it was as rigid as stone. Libby's fingers glided over the candle's surface as though reading braille. Libby knew this candle was now the perfect likeness of a perfectly erect Ian. She smiled, "I am impressed dear. This might turn out to be quite enjoyable."

Libby stood and stretched grasping the light cord above her head. The illuminated vision of Ian's red candle in her hands filled her with lust and need. "Damn it! I can't risk everything on a little test drive; the real thing is going to be so much better." She gave the candle a kiss and carefully placed it in its box.

I unearthed some Assam tea I had tucked away for special occasions, Ian approved. I thought of slipping him some Lipton to see if he could actually tell the difference. But trust is such a delicate thing in a new relationship I decided to keep the secret taste test for another day. We cuddled on the couch, sipping tea with Brubeck playing in the background.

"Aiden a grandfather, that's just not right. I get that he's so much older than he looks, but a grandpa?" I shook my head.

"That he doesn't have any other children or grandchildren is infinitely more shocking."

"He's never found his other half?" An overwhelming sadness crept into my happy heart. "I always thought he was a lonely soul in spite of the constant entourage of girlies."

"He gave up the hunt many years ago. He met a Were in England, an older woman who somehow convinced him that she was his mate. Apparently she was very convincing, had half of our family eating out of her hand." Ian frowned. "I was in Constantinople at the time but returned for the blue moon, for their ceremony."

Ian's thoughts raced away and I couldn't follow them.

When Ian spoke, I heard his thoughts as a sort of echo laced with emotions. When he was quiet I felt his emotions like ripples or tsunamis, unless he 'spoke' in his mind. Sometimes there was nothing. I assumed that he could close his mind's door and keep me out.

He was quiet for a long while and something about him looked very old or pained. I touched his hand and he returned to me.

"As it happens, what she really wanted was the next Alpha. She thought it was Aid, and he was, while I was away. I arrived during the ceremony and joined everyone in my wolf form.

She could tell that I was the successor to alpha by the way my family greeted me. She slinked over to me and gave me her underside and neck -- without a glance back to Aiden, right in the middle of their ceremony. She left him for me, for the Alpha rather. It crushed him, destroyed a part of him. He left, ran off into the woods. He wandered through Europe and didn't come back to England for years."

"What did you do?" I asked carefully.

"I tore her throat out."

The rumble of Aiden's bike rescued our thoughts, returning them to present day. Ian raised his brows, "this should be interesting."

"This is Zoe, my granddaughter." Aiden beamed with a mixture of pride and awkwardness. "Zoe, Kate and Ian my cousin." Aiden completed the introductions.

Zoe gave me a flicker of a smile. The smile she gave Ian was absolutely blinding. I placed my hand in Ian's but she didn't seem to notice.

"You look nothing like Aiden, thank God! Ian elbowed his cousin.

"I don't know, I think we have the same lips." Zoe licked her lips.

"Hmmm" Ian was studying the similarities.

Yeah, they're manly

Ian snorted at my thoughts and squeezed my hand.

Zoe barely noticed that I was in the room or that Ian and I were obviously together. She touched Ian's arm as she spoke "So, you're a werewolf too. I want to learn more about us, about you. Everything." She glanced at me to ensure that I felt excluded.

My blood was beginning to boil.

Aiden giggled and grabbed my arm pulling me into the kitchen. "Shall we make some of those charming cucumber sandwiches you're so fond of? Kate?!" He dragged me away.

"Come on." He turned on the kitchen radio and raised the volume laughing all the while.

"What are you doing?" I was puzzled and annoyed. I needed to get back to guarding Ian.

"You're so fucking hysterical!" Aiden spoke in a laughing whisper. "Jealousy doesn't suit you Kate."

"I'm not jealous!" Was it that obvious?

"Get used to it honey. He's an Alpha and the girls all want a piece of it."

I was about to give Aiden a piece of my jealous wrath but a feeling of woe collapsed onto my shoulders. I might be able to fight off Zoe, but all of female kind?

I was close to tears. "Aiden, what can I do? I love him."

Aiden pulled me into a hug. "I know you do." He kissed the top of my head and held me for a long while. "He loves you too. You're the one."

I stepped back from Aiden, his sad eyes contradicted his smile. I wished I could help him heal.

"So, you're a grandfather."

"Yeah. Unfuckingbelievable."

We returned to the living room empty handed. Ian and Zoe were sat on the sofa chatting. Ian stood, displacing her hand from his leg. Aiden chuckled and shook his head.

Ian's eyes crinkled with his smile. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me possessively. There, now she knows. You're the only one for me Kate.

You could have let her know earlier.

That might have seemed rude, and you were both very entertaining.

I jabbed Ian in the ribs and he laughed. The tension in the room quickly dissipated along with my jealousy. Zoe scooted to the end of the sofa allowing Ian and I to sit together. Aiden left for the kitchen and returned with a tray of cookies and four glasses of lemonade.

I noticed the red specks of cayenne pepper in the drinks. "That's Libby's cleansing lemonade. I don't know if we should..."

"I know. It's what she always serves me. I like it -- it's got a kick. Sláinte!" Aiden held his glass in the air then emptied it.

Zoe took a cautious sip. "I think I read about this, isn't it what Beyonce drinks? It can't be all that bad, look at her."

"Beyonce?" I looked at Aiden. "I don't think Lib's mixture is strong enough, or maybe you're just immune to its effects?" Ian caught the cushion Aiden hurled at me. Aiden was nearly as gorgeous as Ian but I doubted it had anything to do with a lemonade cleanse.

We were all curious about Zoe. She skimmed over her "unremarkable youth" and what she remembered of her parents' life and death. "My parents were only 19 when they had me and I was 5 when they...died. Gran raised me. She was the most loving and generous person I've ever known. I miss her."

I squeezed Zoe's hand and she continued. "I've always loved running. Any sort of running, sprints, distance, I guess I understand why now. I got a track scholarship to Stanford. I hated leaving Gran but she insisted. That's about the time I began to notice my senses becoming more acute. It scared the shit out of me." Zoe looked at Aiden. "I really thought I had a brain tumor."

"Heightened senses? That could be handy." I could think of a few uses.

"Right? But kinda hard to enjoy when you're convinced your brain is cancerous cauliflower. That wasn't the extent of my freakiness either. I excelled in track, really excelled attracting all sorts of unwanted attention. And I beat up a guy for touching my ass, pulverized him. You can imagine what that did for my popularity. I pretty much kept to myself after that, finished my degree and came home. Gran made me join various clubs, tried to get me to socialize." Zoe shook her head, "I knew I was different, people inevitably saw it too. Nothing lasted. I stopped trying after Gran died; quit trying to look my age. I worked from home, rarely left my house, experienced the world through TV and tabloids."

"Then I came along and rescued you!" Aiden piped in.

"You came along looking for some ass!" Zoe threw the stray cushion back at Aiden.

"Sniffing around your own granddaughter -- you're one sick puppy Aid." Ian shook his head.

"I'm staying away from her ass; she'd pulverize me too."

"That's probably all that's stopping you!" Ian accused playfully.

"Right?" Zoe and I nodded at each other.

The three of them looked towards the front door long before I heard clamoring and bitching. Libby. Aiden opened the door for her.

"Hello children! Mummy's home, have you behaved yourselves?"

Aiden reached for her large shoulder bag and Libby slapped his hand away and clutched it to her. She stepped back from the door way and indicated the red pile at the base of the drive.

"And I thought sea air was supposed to work wonders on one's constitution...you're still a bitch." Aiden grumbled and leap down the steps.

"And who is this?" Libby clicked over in her Louboutin spikes and extended her hand to Zoe.

"Hi, I'm Zoe. Aiden's...." She looked from me to Ian.

"Sister. Half sister. My half cousin." Ian filled in.

Libby raised her brow but didn't comment. "Well, pleased to meet you Zoe." Libby spotted the glasses. "Aiden!!!" I was amazed she could move so quickly on those heels. She opened the front door as Aiden stepped in sideways with her luggage. "You drank all of my lemonade again?! Damn it Aid!"

Aiden unceremoniously dumped Lib's bags in the middle of the entry. "Yea, it was delish. But you know, now that I see you again I think they're right."

"What?"

"You must have screwed up the recipe. You look nothing like Beyonce either. She has perfect glowing skin -- you're too pale. I hear she's a very pleasant person, whereas you... and she has a perfect ass." Aiden spun Libby around for a look. "Well, my ass is perfect, yours..."

Libby slapped the side of Aiden's head, "you should stick to what you know Aid and you'll never know this." She patted her bum and began to drag her luggage into her room. Aiden gave in and helped.

Libby excused herself to unpack and take a nap.

The four of us talked and joked. Aiden gave us a spot on impression of Libby, perky breasts and all. He had us in hysterics. I never could figure those two out. Libby always called Aiden if she needed anything and Aiden was always there to help her out. Yet they seemed to have an intense dislike for each other.

Zoe and I got on as though we'd known each other for ever. I was quite pleased that I didn't follow my first instinct to throttle her.

"I'm starving, anyone else?" Ian got up and stretched. "Anywhere to eat in this town?"

"Sonny Williams' Steak Room." Aiden and I suggested in chorus.

"Sounds utterly perfect. Okay with you Zoe?"

"I've heard of it, I think you need reservations."

"Others do. We don't. The owner and I are tight." Aiden boasted.

"That's my grand dad!!"

"What did I say about calling me that? Do I have to spank you?"

Zoe raised her eyebrows in a challenge.

"You think you could take me on little girl?"

"I'd whoop your ass old man!" They wrestled playfully for a moment. Zoe had some impressive moves, I could easily imagine her "pulverizing" a normal guy.

"Hey, shouldn't we ask Libby if she wants to come?" Zoe asked a little out of breath.

"No!!" I shrieked.

"God no! Libby's a witch if you disturb her beauty rest," Aiden warned.

Ian herded everyone out.

Zoe stopped at Aiden's bike. "Hey, can I take her for a ride?"

"No fucking way. No one rides Sheila E but me."

"What do you call your Jeep?" Ian asked with trepidation.

"Um...Jeep?"

Ian opened the passenger door for me and after the slightest hesitation I dropped the keys into his waiting hand. He slid into the driver side and bashed his knees before adjusting the seat. Everything about Ian, about us felt right but the suddenness of it all left me feeling a little dazed, as though I'd wake up to my real life any minute.

Ian pinched my leg and I jumped. "You are awake. This is your real life".

Libby woke from her nap refreshed and to a blissfully silent house. She showered and dressed in a short, clingy floral dress and inspected her curves in her full length mirror. "Baby, you've got it and it won't be long before he wants it."

"Now Kate, what are we going to do about you?" Libby pulled a shopping list of items to be collected, things that were intimately Kate. She placed an empty shoebox on Kate's dresser and began checking off items as she placed them in the box. She gathered hair from her brush, snipped a sample of cloth from the inside hems of Kate's favorite clothes and dabbed Kate's favorite perfume on the samples. Libby pulled a photo album down from a shelf and browsed through its pages. "What does he see in you?" Libby began to burn with jealousy as her eyes flicked from image to image. She pulled a photo from its sleeve and dropped it into the box with the other things.

Libby secured the shoebox lid with a ribbon. She sat on Kate's bed for a moment and closed her eyes. The room was filled with Ian's scent and the unmistakable smell of sex. Images of Kate and Ian's glistening bodies writhing together exploded in Libby's mind, filling her with anger and lust.

Libby learned to control her anger reasonably well long ago, gaining control of her sexual desires was another thing entirely.

She lay back on Kate's bed and breathed deep of Ian's scent ignoring Kate's. "Ian. I want you. I need your powerful wolf." Libby reached between her legs and pushed the flimsy fabric of her thong to one side. Her nails grazed her lips and her fingers plunged, stirring her juices. She rubbed herself frantically, racing towards release. She imagined Ian deep inside of her, stretching her with his wolven knot. Her back arched and legs spasmed as she came. The intensity surprised her. "God Ian, I can't wait to have you in more than just my imagination!"

Libby stretched and wiggled her red enameled toes. "Back to work, the sooner we get her out of the way the better." She hopped off the bed grabbing the box and left for her rented loft in the city.

Once there, Libby cheerfully constructed Kate's demise.

We drove home from Sonny's in a gluttonous stupor. Actually, I was the only one in a stupor; the others were animated in their conversation, telling Zoe old timey stories. Embarrassing moments caught naked after a 'change', no clothes in sight, being chased by poachers, the stories seemed endless.

"Hey, let's stop for a pint!" Aiden interrupted my thoughts of climbing into my comfy bed and sleeping.

"Ugh, Aiden, I'm tired, I don't have your mad metabolism."

"Come on Kate, for Zoe! It's like her 'coming out' night."

"Okay, okay. Maybe Ken'll make me a coffee."

It was so strange to be back at our local. It seemed a lifetime ago that Ian and I had met here when in reality only a few days had passed.

We walked through the door and all eyes turned towards us. Aiden waved away my favorite beer as it appeared on the counter. "She needs some coffee."

Ken left and returned with a steamy cup. "Cream, no sugar, right Kate?"

"You're the best." The coffee was perfect, indeed just what I needed.

Zoe was immediately approached by a cute guy, she looked happy. Swarms of females buzzed around Ian and Aid as they tried to order their drinks.

Ken looked from the girls and Ian to me. "Are you okay Kate?"

"Yes, very okay. Happy. I mean...yes, I am."

Ken raised his brows and smiled, "Well alright then."

Ian joined me sporting a thin white mustache. I pulled him down to me a kissed it away. Ian returned the kiss and we found ourselves drifting towards the door.

"Is it always going to be like this? A simple kiss and we catch on fire?" I asked.

Before Ian could answer glass shattered towards the back of the bar. I caught glimpses of a broken beer bottle being waved in the air punctuating angry slurs.

Ian held me behind him as people quickly vacated the bar. A frightened Zoe joined us and held my hand.

As the room cleared it became apparent that a bulky football type was threatening a rather beautiful 'metro-male' with a broken beer bottle.

Aiden was lounging in a chair nearby giggling. The slender guy didn't appear at all worried by the drunken hulk. In fact he was laughing as well.

Our bouncer ushered a few more people out and I caught him pointing to me while looking at Ken. Ken shook his head and the bouncer locked the bar doors.

I didn't know what was going on, the entire scene was surreal. The atmosphere of the bar had changed, it was supercharged and seeming more and more like a Quentin Tarantino film and less like the local I was used to.