Moon day, p.1
Moon Day, page 1
CAILIN CECCHINI
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2022 Cailin Cecchini
Cover Design by Ashes and Vellichor
All rights reserved.
ISBN 979-8-436-00279-8 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-798-65935-9 (paperback)
To my friends who always “knew it.”
one
Most people reserved serious thoughts about monsters for around Halloween. Men in masks with mommy issues and easy access to sharp gardening tools. Vampires who prey on swooning women and '80s biker gangs. Reanimated corpses bringing the world to its knees all in the name of brains and consumerism.
And werewolves.
Monday Valko understood the werewolf movies least of all. By definition, a werewolf was a human that turned into a wolf. Most movies had some poor sap painfully writhing until he changed into a type of hairy, drooling mutant, sometimes walking on two legs.
Absurd.
The eighteen-year-old adjusted herself on the antique velvet couch so her long, pale legs stretched out from the hem of her cream colored slip dress and rested on the dark stained coffee table. Her fingers, displaying chipped black polish, reached into the bowl of snack mix in search of the tiny bagel chips. They couldn’t find any and she had to resign herself to the fact she had already eaten them all.
Sunlight began to filter in through the bay windows, highlighting dust particles and now partly obscuring the TV she watched. Monday’s small mouth, painted a dark crimson today, frowned. She set the bowl aside and went to pull out the heavy curtains. The old Victorian home she had grown up in was, in general, well shaded by the surrounding trees, but a time came in the late afternoon when the sun reached a low enough point to poke through.
She returned to the couch, falling onto it so that her layers of silver necklaces clinked against her chest and her waist length, not-really-wavy-but-not-really-straight-but-definitely-always-tangled hair swung to one side. She replaced the snack bowl onto her lap and settled on picking out the cheese crackers instead.
“Monday, turn off that filth.”
Monday didn’t turn at her father’s voice as he entered the room. She just narrowed her blue eyes, ringed in black makeup, at the television screen as the woman framed inside of it let out a scream. “Why are they always blonde?”
Thoth Valko paused his search of the thick, leather-bound volumes that lined one wall of the living room. All the modern books resided on the shelves in his study, meaning he must need to look something up in one of the reference books, Monday noted. “Pardon?”
“The screaming women in horror movies.” Monday motioned to the TV, making her metal bracelets clink together, just as her necklaces had. “They’re always blonde. Why?”
Thoth’s blue eyes moved to the television set. His mouth, an almost straight line set in a face of sharp angles, curled briefly in what Monday could only guess to be one of mild disgust. “I really couldn’t say.”
Monday crossed her thin arms over her chest and her frown deepened. “I’m offended.” Okay, maybe her hair was more white than blonde, but she still fell under the category.
Her dad didn’t have hair, but if he had let it grow rather than shaving it clean, it would have been black, not blond. He reached up to retrieve the sought-after volume. His choice of all black clothing—a button down, slacks, and wingtips, practically his uniform—only enhanced his long, thin frame. “I wouldn’t pay it any serious thought.” He held the heavy book in his arm as he thumbed through it. “Only the weakest of minds enjoy this sort of drivel.”
A man the same age as her father, with a mess of black hair and a Sex Pistols T-shirt jumped over the back of the couch and landed in his spot next to Monday. “He disembowel anyone yet?”
“Jericho,” Thoth said, not looking up from his book. “We were just speaking about you.”
“Oh yeah?” he said as he popped off the top of his brown bottle with an opener attached to the chain hanging off his black jeans. “Must have been what a handsome bastard I am.”
“Yes,” Thoth said, flipping a page. “That was it.”
“I was saying the hysterical ladies in movies are always blonde,” Monday said to the man who, along with her father, had been her caretaker since her birth. “And I’m offended.”
“Ah yes,” Jericho Arnulf said after taking a pull from the bottle. “The injustice against beautiful, heteronormative, blonde, white women.” His green eyes moved to his best friend across the room. “What the hell are you doing?”
“You know, Dad,” Monday said. “They made this thing called the Internet . . .”
“I am not that old,” Thoth said. “But if the world wants to rot their brains and destroy their eyesight with mindless scrolling, that’s their choice. Meanwhile, there’s nothing wrong with a good old-fashioned thesaurus.”
Jericho cussed between crooked teeth. “Look, if you don’t want her to think we’re so damn old, stop saying things like ‘good old-fashioned.’” He glanced back at Monday. “But your dad’s right. The only thing the Internet is good for is free porn.”
Monday wrinkled her nose.
“Jericho,” Thoth warned.
“Relax,” Jericho said. “You know I say this shit to get a rise out of you. Quit making it easy.” He threw his bottle cap at him.
In one movement, Thoth closed the book and caught the bottle cap. “Be ready to leave in three hours,” he said in response. He replaced the book and headed out of the living room, pausing to kiss the top of Monday’s head before he did.
She blew him a kiss back without taking her eyes off the screen.
Jericho took the bowl from her and frowned. “Did you just leave all the peanuts and pretzels?” He groaned, not waiting for her to answer as he handed the bowl back. “Raised you better than that, damnit.”
Monday worked on not smiling as she said, “Yeah, well, I’m technically an adult now. Feel free to move out any time.”
Jericho gasped and called out to Thoth, “You hear the way this little smartass mouths off to her elders?”
“She’s not wrong,” Thoth called back.
“Great, look what you did,” Jericho grumbled. “Making your old man realize I haven’t paid rent to live in this haunted house for eighteen years.”
Now Monday let herself smile. Her dad wouldn’t kick out Jericho any more than he would kick her out.
Another shrill scream from the TV distracted Monday from the family banter. The woman managed to get to safety, but the cop she had run screaming to for help didn’t hold the same fate. Movie blood splashed across the windows of the phone booth as the woman screamed inside.
“Damn,” Monday commented.
Jericho shrugged as the movie went to commercial, warning the viewer that Halloween was days away. “Wolf’s gotta eat.”
two
Monday pumped her legs harder as she ran, kicking up dead leaves, dodging trees, and jumping fallen logs. Cool air rushed around her, tugging at her dress, tangling her hair even more and causing her eyes to water. None of these registered with her. As she kept up with her father and Jericho, she only thought about how good it felt to stretch her legs, especially after sitting all day watching dumb monster movies.
In the wind that blew past her ear, she could hear voices and smell the burning of wood. Soon after, she spotted a light in the distance.
They were close.
When the voices became louder, Thoth and Jericho came to a stop before they began to walk at a normal pace toward the group gathered around the bonfire. Monday followed suit. She steadied her breath as her nostrils picked up different scents. They were the last to arrive. Her father and Jericho did love to make an entrance.
When the rest of the group caught onto their arrival, a smattering of greetings erupted from the men and women who stood around the fire or sat on the boulders. Spirits were high and Monday had never known the mood these nights to be any different. She’d known these people since birth, their own private community, catching up with each other, laughing, flinging good natured insults or whispering gossip.
Thoth and Jericho immediately joined the elders. Not that all the elders were necessarily old, just a counsel made up of the eldest male from each family, though there would be no actual counseling tonight. Jericho was already demanding someone spot him a cigarette, and ten bucks while they were at it.
Diana Ylva bounded toward Monday with her usual happy smile. “My baby!” she said before wrapping her little sister in a warm hug.
Diana was even taller than Monday, but where Monday was mostly legs, Diana was properly proportioned and dressed in a flowy, boho style dress. Her long, wavy hair was a golden blonde, instead of sallow like Monday’s, and Monday swore her green eyes literally sparkled.
Monday hugged her back. “I’m not a baby,” she said automatically, but she really didn’t mind the nickname and she knew it made Diana happy to mother her. Even as children, Diana loved nothing more than hefting around a three-year-old Monday on her nine-year-old hip.
“My turn,” said Larissa Ylva.
Larissa was dressed more practically in jeans and a zip-up fleece with sensible boots to move through the woods. Her brown eyes matched the color of her straight, collarbone-length hair, but her height didn’t match her blonde sister's. Anyone who didn’t know the Ylva sisters wouldn’t have guessed they were triplets.
Speaking of triplets.
Monday’s eyes moved hopefully over her sister’s shoulder. But her third sister wasn’t waiting there for her turn at a hug.
Instead, Helen Yvla drank from a beer, standing with some of her friends and pushing back the brunette waves of her hair. To the casual observer, the stance of her shorter, toned body appeared casual, but Monday could see the stiffness in it and the way her green eyes purposely didn’t look in Monday’s direction.
While Diana and Larissa relished their roles as Monday’s big sisters, Helen did not. Since childhood, she had pointed out every potential action as something that could get Monday in trouble, whether it was toddler Monday wandering too far away from the group, or teenage Monday experimenting with makeup that Helen insisted made her look “cheap.” “Spoiled” was another term she loved to throw around and had no problem expressing her disgust at the way Thoth Valko raised her to have everything she wanted.
Not that the Ylva triplets went without. Thoth wasn’t their father, but they shared the same mother as Monday and he had made sure they were well taken care of and then some since they were six-years-old and moved in with their aunt and uncle. When Helen grew old enough to understand the arrangement, she rejected the kindness, claiming she “didn’t want his guilt money.”
“Ignore her,” Larissa said.
Damn her observant nature, Monday thought. “She’s beating me to it,” Monday said.
“She’ll come around,” Diana insisted, working a tangle gently from Monday’s hair. She said the same thing for the past eighteen years.
“Besides,” Larissa said. “I know what will cheer you up.” She took Monday by the shoulders and turned her in the direction of the bonfire.
Titan Lyall’s dark eyes stared at her over it; the thin, masculine line of his mouth curved just a few ticks in a smile. He leaned against one of the boulders, his tall frame dressed in well-fitted jeans and a dark green Henley that showed off every curve of his perfect biceps.
Monday released Larissa, unable to take her eyes off him.
Larissa gave a light laugh next to her. “Knew it.”
Diana tapped Monday on the shoulder. “Behave yourself. I’m watching you.”
Their words became background noise in Monday’s ears as she walked closer to the bonfire; Titan her magnet, pulling her toward him. She circled the fire to get to him, but his steps mirrored hers in pace and direction. Their distance remained the same while the flames illuminated Titan’s grin and dark eyes, his black curls further giving the impression of an impish woodland creature.
A tall, sexy as hell, woodland creature covered in muscley goodness.
Monday decided to play along for the moment and crossed her leg in the opposite direction.
He copied the movement.
When she tried to catch him off guard and put in a sudden burst of speed, he did the same.
And he was faster.
Monday felt his presence behind her. When she turned, his hands moved forward to grasp her waist and pull her against him.
Her eyes widened as excitement shivered through her body and caused her heart to thump faster. His mouth covered hers in a deep kiss into which Monday let herself fall. Sparks of pleasure went off in her brain as warmth spread through her entire body, but the feeling was soon ripped away when Titan’s lips parted from hers.
“Hi,” he said.
She opened her eyes, half-lidded and dreamy. “Hey.”
His grip loosened, but he still ran his hands over her hips appreciatively. “Sorry I haven’t been by this week. Work, you know?”
“Sure,” she said, almost too distracted by the depth of his eyes to care about her deprivation of his presence. But she got a hold of herself to pay attention. “Have they been giving you more hours at the shop?”
“Yeah. More cars coming in with weird little damages. Halloween pranks.” He rolled his eyes in a way that told Monday he thought the idea to be boring.
“Well, at least your paycheck will be a little nicer,” she tried to encourage. “But, yeah, it was lousy not being able to see you.”
Titan’s eyes moved off her face and he grinned. “Don’t think Daddy Valko agrees with you there.”
Monday looked behind her to see her father frowning slightly in their direction and Monday knew it was directed at Titan.
Titan responded with a wave and pinch to Monday’s rear end.
Monday gasped and gave his chest a light slap. “Titan! Cool it with that in front of my dad.”
Titan laughed. “Oh, relax. If he hasn’t kicked my ass by now, he never will.”
“Behave,” Monday warned. “Or it’ll be me kicking your ass.”
The threat only caused him to waggle his eyebrows. “Kinky.”
“Titan . . .” But she was trying not to laugh now.
Titan looked up at the ever-darkening sky. “Won’t be long now.” He cast his eyes back at her, bypassing her face to rest on her body. He traced his fingers over the top of her breasts. “You should get undressed.”
She would have hit him again under normal circumstances, but she knew he was right. She could feel it inside. It was time.
Diana came over to her and touched Monday on the shoulder. “Come on and let’s go find a private spot. Let me pretend you two have never seen each other naked.”
Reluctantly, Monday let go of Titan’s biceps and allowed Diana to lead her away, but she kept her eyes on her boyfriend.
He smirked as he raised his hand to wave to her.
Monday and Diana joined the other women already sheltered in the trees from the light of the fire. Monday shimmied her arms out of her leather jacket and let it drop to the earth before bending over to pull her combat boots off. Then she plucked the rings off her fingers.
“I don’t know why you wear those,” Helen said. “Just more shit to take off.”
Of course those were the first words she had said to her tonight.
“I like them,” she said, trying to sound confident in her decision, but, as always, Helen’s words just made her feel self-conscious.
“Stop nagging her,” Larissa stepped in.
Helen glared at her but said nothing more as she pulled off her white, ribbed tank.
Monday pulled her dress over her head and laid it over a boulder before she unhooked her bra. She started to wonder if Helen would give her a hard time about bothering with underwear too, but then Monday doubled over with a gasp.
It was happening.
She sped up her pace and hooked her thumbs in her underwear before she pulled them off. Just in time, too. Her thumbs started to disappear. Cries, gasps, and howls reverberated through the night. No one was in pain. These were sounds of exhilaration. The sounds of change. The sounds of freedom.
Monday tried not to look at the women around her. It disturbed her to watch the bones twist, the fur sprout from bare skin, and the faces push out into snouts. She knew the same was happening to her own body.
Organs shifted and realigned themselves inside her chest. Her bones shrunk or extended. If this hurt at one time, she didn’t remember it. She dropped on all fours, pale hair falling in front of her face for a moment before it drew back into her skull, short and coarse. Her nails hardened and shrunk to sharp points as they turned from translucent to a black-brown. More white teeth pushed through her gums, becoming jagged like the rest of her teeth had.
This was always the final sign for Monday. She knew in a moment she would remember nothing else until sunup.
three
The white wolf had broken away from her pack. They traveled closer to where the trees could not hide them as well, too sparse, surrounded by stretches of open grass, short and even. These trees could not even disguise the large structures that smelled of Man and glared lights of white and yellow. How then could they disguise the pack?
No, the white wolf would stay and have her meal of deer or rabbit amidst her kingdom of fallen leaves and pine needles, the chandelier of moon and stars lighting her dinner of tender meat.
But she would not dine alone. The brown wolf stayed behind as well when the white wolf did not follow the rest. His golden eyes stared at her, sinewy legs straight and firm. Follow me, he said. Back to the pack.
