#2 When the Moon Turns Red

Evie

It was Wednesday afternoon and I still had no idea what Noah had planned. I stared at my closest, trying to decide what “dress comfortably” meant to him. I had the Weather Channel on the TV so I could decide on an outfit.

It was a typical September day with the temperature hanging around in the 80s. It was supposed to drop to 67 degrees after the sun went down, which was chilly for me. I never got used to the cold, even after living in Massachusetts for five years. I would forever be a Hawaii girl who loves Summer weather.

I decided on a pair of jean capris, rolling them up a few inches so they were just below my knees. I grabbed a comfortable Harvard T-shirt that was a dark, red color and my favorite black, leather jacket for later. I tugged on a pair of red ankle socks and my tennis shoes. I put my hair up into a high ponytail.

Standing in front of the mirror, I nodded to myself, content with what I saw. I laid my jacket, keys, and phone on the coffee table so they were all ready to go when Noah arrived. It was 4:30.

I paced the living room, nervously fidgeting with my hands as I waited for Noah. I was overly nervous about tonight, and I didn’t know why. Maybe because today was our first planned encounter or it could be because this was my first date since before my accident. I was a bundle of nerves and I was starting to come undone.

I heard a knock at my door. Taking a deep breath, I swung open the door to reveal a grinning Noah. He was standing in front of me wearing a pair of dark jeans, a gray V-neck, and sneakers. His shaggy chestnut hair was laying just right over his forehead. His olive eyes sparkling with the smile that spread across his chiseled cheeks and strong jawline.

“Are you okay?” He asked me suddenly, stepping closer. I locked eyes with him and nodded.

“Yes, why?” I choked out.

“Everleigh, I can feel what you’re feeling.” He sighed. I blushed deeply, biting my lip.

“Why are you so nervous?” He asked after a moment of silence.

“I don’t know.” I answered honestly.

“You have no reason to be, not with me.” He smiled softly and I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Maybe I’m nervous because I don’t know where we’re going.” I replied, crossing my arms and making myself sound angry.

“Oh, really?” Noah didn’t believe me. I grabbed my belongings from the coffee table and pushed him out of my apartment.

“Am I at least dressed okay?” I asked, shutting the door behind me.

“You’re perfect.” He responded quickly, winking at me. I rolled my eyes at him and that earned me an even bigger grin from Noah. I followed him to his car where he opened the passenger side door for me. Once I was settled, he shut the door and appeared in the driver’s seat in seconds.

“Are you hungry?” He asked, backing out of my driveway.

“Are we going to dinner?” I asked.

“Just answer the question, Everleigh.” He sighed.

“I’m always hungry.” I shrugged. Noah laughed at me. He drove us out of town and passed the bonfire beach, driving deeper into the bayou than I have ever gone before.

“Where are we?” I asked as the buildings slowly vanished, replaced by swamps and trees.

“This is the pack’s land, our territory,” Noah explained,

“I wanted you to see it and to be comfortable here. I want to prove to you that the woods aren’t a scary place.” He added. I looked at him sideways, my nervousness returning.

“Don’t be scared, Evie. Nothing will happen to you here.” He promised. I looked out the window, watching the blur of trees and hoping that I hadn’t made a huge mistake trusting Noah Landry.

He pulled down an unkept driveway. There was the outline of a stone road, but it had almost completely been taken over by weeds. After driving a few more feet, he came to a stop. We were inside the treeline now. I looked behind us, out the back windshield of his car, and could just barely make out the road we had come from.

“Evie, are you alright?” Noah was staring at me now.

“I’m not sure about this.” I confessed.

“We can leave if you want, but I really wish you would give me a chance to prove to you that I can keep you safe, that you can trust me. I want to show you that you can have good experiences here, in the forest. This is my home, Everleigh.” He begged. I nodded slowly,

“Okay, I’ll try.” I agreed. Noah smiled and jumped out of the car. He didn’t leave me alone for more than a second before he was opening up my door. He helped me out and led me around to the front of the car.

In the clearing was a large teepee looking structure filled with blankets and pillows. There was a picnic basket sitting inside as well. In front of the teepee, hanging down from the trees, was a large white sheet. A projector sat in front of it. Twinkly lights were strung between the trees, lighting the entire clearing. A small fire was glowing beside the teepee.

“Oh, Noah, this is beautiful.” I gushed, my worries slowly fading away.

“I’m glad you like it.” His voice was full of pride at his idea,

“I brought food for a picnic and some movie options.” He added.

“I love it.” I grinned up at him only to find that he was already admiring me. I blushed and looked away. Noah pinched my chin in between his fingers and tilted my face towards his.

“Don’t hide yourself from me.” He said softly, running his thumb across my bottom lip. He let go of me and walked towards the teepee. I followed after him in a daze, drunk off his presence.

He crawled into the teepee and motioned for me to join him. I snuggled into the comfy blankets and watched as he started pulling things from the basket.

“We’ll have to wait for it to get darker for the movie, but we can eat now.” He said.

“How much food did you bring?” I laughed at him as he continued to pull out containers of food.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked.” He shrugged. He had baggies of cubed cheese and meats along with pretzels and chips. There were containers of cut up fruit and vegetables, too. The main course was a salad and sandwiches. Noah divided up the food on plain, ceramic dishes and handed me a plate.

“This is great, Noah.” I smiled at him after we spent some time eating.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” He replied with a smile of his own.

“I’m sorry this has been so hard on you.” I sighed, picking apart a piece of bread as I watched Noah clean up the empty food containers. I felt Noah’s fingers brushing a strand of hair behind my ear,

“You don’t have anything to apologize for, little mate.” I looked into his eyes and saw only honesty.

“I feel like I do. You’ve been so honest and patient with me, but I know you’re uncomfortable.” I said. Noah chuckled at me,

“I’m not uncomfortable. Do I hate being away from you? Of course. But, it just makes moments like this even more sweet.” He ran his thumb across my cheek, leaving a trail of sparks in its wake.

“I wish I could be as sure as you.” I admitted.

“You don’t have to be, Everleigh. You have every reason to take your time.” Noah assured me. I searched his face and tried to name the emotions that I was feeling.

“How is it that you always know the perfect thing to say?” I laughed, plucking his hand from my face and entwining our fingers. Noah held onto my hand tightly, like he was relying on our touch to breathe.

“I keep telling you, we were made for each other.” He answers softly.

“When humans say that, they’re speaking metaphorically. When you say that, I know you believe it so completely. Do you have any idea how intense that is?” I said to him.

“I know it’s hard to understand. I wish I could explain it to you in a way that makes sense.” I could tell that Noah was frustrated with himself.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked him, desperate to ease his pain.

“Just don’t leave. Everyday I’ll continue to prove myself to you.” Noah’s eyes were so full of fear and desire that I couldn’t help myself when I reached towards his face, my fingers dancing across his cheek.

“Why are you so afraid that I’ll leave?” I asked. Noah closed his eyes and hummed at my touch.

“I can’t live without you.” He whispered. His hand that was still holding mine started to tremble and I could tell that he was afraid to admit that.

“Noah,” I said his name to get his attention. His eyes opened slowly and met mine,

“You mean that literally, don’t you?” I was almost afraid to ask. Noah nodded hesitantly,

“Yes, I do.”

“Tell me about it.” I urged, wanting the details. Noah sighed, clearly not wanting to give them to me.

“It’s hard to talk about it, Evie. It scares me to death.”

“I’m sorry, Noah. I don’t know anything about this life, I just want to know everything I can.” I explained.

“I know you do, it’s one of the things that makes you so amazing.” Noah smiled softly.

“Don’t you want me to make a decision based on all the information? Not just because I didn’t think I had another choice.” I asked.

“Of course you’re right,” Noah smirked at me before his face went cold again,

“Mates can reject each other but it isn’t easy. If you would reject me, Remi and I would be in a lot of pain. I’m not sure exactly what you would go through, being human, but our connection has already proven to be strong enough that I think it would affect you, too. For a wolf, a rejection can literally kill us or drive us to be feral.” Noah’s eyes pinched together like he was in pain. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing. Eventually, Noah’s eyes met mine,

“But, I don’t want you to worry about that. I just want to focus on us and winning you over.” He tried to smile, tapping my nose with his index finger. I scrunch my face up at him,

“Werewolves don’t do anything halfway, do they?” I teased. Noah shook his head,

“Not really, no.” It was then that something he said sparked a memory. I looked away from Noah, focusing on the word ‘rejection’ and where I had heard that before.

“Everleigh, what’s wrong?” Noah asked, his voice filled with concern. I looked at him again,

“You said, ‘if I reject you’. What does that mean?” I asked. Noah winced at the word,

“It’s a phrase wolves use when rejecting their mates. They say the words and both their names.” Noah explained.

I, Alpha Russell Winters, reject you, Evie Bellamy, as my mate.

I felt my hands start to shake and tears well up in my eyes. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t made the connection earlier. My memories of that time period were so shaky because of the brain swelling I sustained during the wolf attack. They came back in flashes, triggered by something in the present day, just like how Kira triggered my memory of the black wolf and Noah’s words triggered the day I met another Alpha.

“Everleigh, what is going on?” Noah was in a full fledged panic at this point, holding my face in both his hands.

“I was rejected before.” I choked out, barely able to hear my own words.

“What?”