Blue Moon

Maybe... Talen's beast was scheming again.

Knock it off.

Talen had curled into the fetal position. All the pain caused him to ache all over. At least they are all out.

A painful reminder that something had changed in the forest. Usually, no humans strayed too far from civilization. Especially into the woods that hold the Valorin estate. Though, he didn't really have time to speculate.

He tried to set himself up, clutching his chest. Crimson was caked across his hands and chest as he tried to lean over for the bandages. Pain burst across his chest, causing him to lean back.

Foolish pup. His beast growled in his mind. Talen felt like the voice was a nail through his head.

He grounded his teeth as he forced himself to put the bandages on. He didn't know where Valeriana went, but he felt that he should go and apologize. The beast had come out of fear and pain. Would she forgive him for it? Probably not. Not after all he had done. His beast side was still chastising him and trying to put the blame on Valeriana. He shook his head as he tried to get up. Pain shot through his torso and nearly made him crumple to the ground.

"Dammit..." He clutched his chest and trudged forward.

He couldn't say in the parlor and hope that he left in time so that she wouldn't see him as he truly was. He came to the door to the parlor, beads of sweat went down his face and back. He leaned against the door for support, smelling something cooking. Guess she's in the kitchen.

He tried not to fall as he staggered toward the kitchen. The sizzling sounds and the smell of food caused his stomach to twist. She hadn't noticed him yet, but he also didn't need to scare her either today. Or more than he had already done.

His throat was dry as he called her name. "Valeriana?"

His voice cracked as he spoke. He noticed how she jumped, almost dropping the eggs she was cooking. He stayed in the doorway though, not daring to come in until she had calmed down.

"Don't sneak up on me like that! I'm accident-prone!"

That's an understatement. But he decided to keep that comment to himself. No need to get snarky with her. Especially after she had saved him.

"Sorry. Didn't want to scare you."

"Well, you've done a bang up scaring me anyway." She countered, but he could understand that she was still probably a bit startled of his sudden appearance.

Though, she must also still be scared of him. Who in their right mind wouldn't be scared of a guy like him?

Those hunters.... He shook his head and looked back at her.

"I am truly sorry that I scared you. Though, you are about to burn your eggs." he nodded to the stove as the skillet started to smoke.

"Damn." she rushed over to turn it down, though the damage was done. She sighed and fanned away the smoke. "Didn't mean to burn your eggs." Talen blinked in surprise. "Sorry."

He brought attention back to her. He thought she hated him. She probably still did, but he felt like something had changed. "Thank you Valeriana."

She had brushed the hair out of her face as she tried to fix the eggs. "What for? Better not be for my cooking."

Talen chuckled, but quickly quieted himself. "For helping me with the situation before and for trying to make food."

She finally looked up at him. There was a look of suspicion on her face, and he didn't blame her for it either. Though, there was also a look of concern that he hadn't really been ready to see quite yet. But it was there. He watched as she went back to the eggs.

"It was no big deal." She said it so nonchalantly that he wasn't sure if she actually meant it.

"It was a big deal to me." She paused briefly, but continued to cook until she put it on a plate to hand to him.

"Here. Are you feeling better?" Talen gently took the plate.

"Thanks. Could be better. But not up for complaining about." He did stagger over to the island to set down the plate.

That's when he felt two hands on his arm and a slight yelp that escaped from her. He was quick to turn and caught her slightly. Though, the sudden movement had caught him off guard. He grounded his teeth slightly, holding her up.

"Val, are you OK?" He heard a whimper and saw around her neck a redness. The collar. How could I have been so stupid? It looked like it was trying to choke and burn her at the same time. His eyes widened and he bit his lip. "I release you."

He didn't remember any command, but the collar must have remembered. The collar... He still needed to know more about it. The collar unrestricted itself on her neck and she gripped his shirt with one hand and coughing into the other. He held her up as best he could until she could calm down a bit. she gripped his shirt a little tighter as she pulled herself up gently.

"Val..." She put her hand up to him to stop him.

"Don't... I did it to myself." He looked over her worriedly.

No. This was my fault in the first place. The beast grumbled in his mind, but he prominently ignored it. A condescending beast's opinions shouldn't really matter to him. Though, his beast had kept him from actually perishing a lot of the time. Maybe the curse had been both a curse and a blessing. But he would never admit to that though.

He looked over Valeriana as she rubbed her neck. He furrowed his eyebrows as he saw the damage. It looked like welts and a deep iron had been put on her neck. A knot stated to form at the bottom of his stomach as he set her to her feet and stumbled to the fridge. He pulled out a container from the bottom shelf and tried to not retch from the smell.

He came back over to her and whispered, "Sit down please."

She was still rubbing her neck as she looked up at him. "What for?"

"I'm repaying for your help earlier. Now please sit down." She chewed on her lip as she sat down and Talen kneeled in front of her.

What the hell are you doing pup? He knew that the beast was not happy about the girl at all. he tried not to let the beast give him opinions. They might share the same body, but Talen had control of his body. At least, for now.

He put his hand in the plant/liquid material. "Move your hair if you please." She looked at him, uncertain. "Trust me."

She pulled her hair in front of her shoulder and then twisted to actually pull it up. He gently put the salve around the red marks on her neck. She sucked in air as if she was in pain.

"Sorry. Should have warned that it would sting." She barely shook her head.

"It's fine. What is in that stuff?"

"It's aloe vera with a touch of whiffy cactus."

She whispered, "OK."

Talen had to remind himself that not everyone knew plants like he did. Though, they didn't have to take care of a greenhouse and know what plants did what and what properties they had. And the major rose...

He finished, putting it away int he fridge and told her to wait while he went to go get her bandages for her neck. He washed his hands quickly before trying to cross the atrium back to the parlor when he felt the other part of him snarl and caused him to grab his head in pain.

What the hell are you thinking, pup? Helping the enemy? If I thought I could just take your body, I would. The witch is right in front of you. Are you blind? Talen grounded his teeth. The beast was trying to anger him, trying to egg him to do something to Valeriana. Maybe there was some merit in the beast's words. But Valeriana hadn't tried to hurt him... Yet. All your brothers have suffered, your ancestors have suffered. Why are you the most foolish?

"Shut up." He was clutching his head tightly. There might have been more to what the beast was saying that held some truth, but Talen didn't need that on his plate. He didn't need the thought of revenge to actually get him going. But if he lost her... He would be a beast and die that way when the blue moon came.

"Talen." That voice wasn't the beast inside him. He looked back, seeing Valeriana in the doorway. "Are you alright?"

Talen removed his hands from his head, trying to hide the pain he had just endured from the other half. "Yeah. I'm alright."

Though, he knew that he didn't have that kind of luck. The clock in the upper atrium caused Talen to jump as it chimed. 15 minutes. How could time have passed so quickly?

Valeriana looked toward where the clock had gone off and to the windows around it. "Huh. Almost sunrise."

Talen's muscles had tensed and he was tarting to shake. He needed to get out of here before his beast came out. He went into the parlor quickly to grab the bandages. He made a mental note that the maids would probably hate him for the state of the parlor when he came in. Don't worry about that now. No time.

He'd get Valeriana set. Then he needed to head out. He moved fast, despite his pain. He came back over to her and whispered, "Go ahead and sit down."

Valeriana went back to sit down and sat down patiently. "Talen?"

"Hmm...?" Talen was fumbling.

"I need to get home soon. My family might be worried and my brother..." There was a sadness that trailed off. There was something she probably didn't want to confide in him with.

She wants to leave. He wished he had never put the collar on her. He wished Braum had never brought her in the first place. Though, he had his reason for his, Braum had brought her to him because of a "contract" with her family. Probably because of the brother that she was mentioning.

"You can't..." He finished the wrapping and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry."

Tears had started to form in her eyes. "Why? Why can't I go home?"

Talen bit his lip. "Because..." The clock struck it's warning. It was time for him to leave. "I have to go. I'll see you at sunset and I might be able to explain everything to you."

How am I suppose to tell her that her family pretty much sold her to a boy she didn't know? Talen may not have known the reasons, but it had happened. He was about to head out when he felt her hand grab onto his.

"Wait." Talen grounded his teeth and pulled his hand away.

"I promise. I'll tell you everything, but I must go." He hurried himself out the door and after much protesting from Valeriana.

He slammed the door behind him and bolted painfully toward the bushes as the sun came up. He cashed through the bushes as his transformation took full force. Every bone cracked and every muscle stretched painfully out. He started to run as hard as he could through the forest. He needed to get as far as he could get form the house.

If Valeriana stepped out, he had not idea what his beast side would do. Especially after all that had happened. The wounds were still fresh, and with the open air, it was more painful. Maybe that was his curse. At least, for now. He would have to come up with something before he got back. How was he going to actually tell her?

He let the beast go when he thought he was far enough away from the house. The beast was howling and sniffing as it trampled through the forest. It was still grumbling about the pain, but Talen just ignored it. he had other concerns.

Just tell her exactly what happened. Talen shook his head mentally. He couldn't do that to her. He needed some kind of gentle way to bring it up.

It had been a little over two hours and Talen still had no answer. The beast had been napping in a meadow, trying to heal what was left of the wounds. So far, there was no sign of the hunters that had shot him. At least there was one redeeming feature. He realized he hadn't even explained what had happened to him to Valeriana. No doubt she had more questions to ask him and he held no right answer. Well, not answers that she would like or understand. The lies would, however, catch up with him sooner or later.

Everything seemed alright. No human smells, so the other half of him was more relaxed. As much as the beast was relaxed, ti grumbled about the pain.

Damned girl. Couldn't do it more carefully. "Let me help." Pup, she is not worth all this.

She pretty much saved us twice. Leave her be. If she hadn't been there, we would be worse off. The beast grumbled in a slight agreement.

But she is still a descendant of a witch. We should... It broke off as a smell hit its nose. Even Talen's nerves started to fray. That was a human smell. His other half got up slowly. it wasn't that it was close by. It was the familiar smell that bothered him more.

Valeriana. Why was she out of the house when he had warned her? The beast smiled something that caused Talen to shudder.

You humans and your gullibility.

Wait!

But the beast had already taken off running towards the girl and Talen almost felt completely helpless. He needed to get control over himself. Somehow. Despite the wounds, the beast kept a steady sprint toward the house and Valeriana. They were near the edge of the clearing for the house when they both saw the girl. Her back was to them as they crept up on her.

Turn around Val. Please turn around.

Shut up pup. You know she can't hear you. And you can't stop me.

Talen was on edge. He needed to get his body back to his control. But how? the beast in Talen launched into the air and landed on Valeriana, knocking her to the ground. There was an audible gasp from her as the beast pawed her onto her back and snarled in her face.

Wait! Don't!

Valeriana's eyes were wide as he loomed over her with beared fangs. There was no screams coming from her, but he could hear her thudding heart. The beast snarled, but Valeriana didn't move. Her eyes were wide, and her breath had quickened. Just as when the beast hunted a deer, Talen noticed very little details of prey.

He tried to force his consciousness, tried to regain some control. He couldn't let the beast kill her. Her ancestors didn't define who she was now.

Don't do this! The beast reared back and went for a strike at her throat. No!