Chapter 9: Maidens of the Moon

I stood there is complete and utter shock. Who were these people? Better yet did they have my foster dad? Clearly the old woman knew we would be here but how? Was she the witch doctor Silvaus had mentioned.

Three woman appear and sliently walk down the stairs. One seemed to be of Asian descent. Possibly Japanese. The other two had slightly darker skin and a complexion close to mine.

All three women stopped near the end of the stairs. The older woman slowly made her way down the right side of the stairs. She makes it to the end of the stairs and the three bow.

I couldn't move. My muscles tense up and my mind was running wild. What the heck is happening? I turn to Julian who stood there slightly, grabbing the end of his cape.

"Welcome. The stars have aligned to bring you two here I presume?" The old woman implies, making me wonder if this was the right place to be.

"I suppose so...who are you all? We came here looking for my foster dad, Silvaus. Is he here?" I quickly ask trying to get a expected answer. He better be here! I swear he's dead when I see him.

The old woman looks up and smiles. She turns around and points her cane down a hallway. "He is here but he is resting. Don't worry little pup you will see him soon. I know you are beyond worried and rather annoyed by his actions" she assures me.

My mind was at ease. Thank god he was here. Still going to scold him though. The man of the hour drunk and nearly getting himself killed. Typical. I still needed to know these peoples names. Were we heading home after this? Part of me doesn't want to because the whole riot would probably get worse.

The darker woman with braids in her hair coughs and the older woman gasps. "Ah yes, Lyla. I almost for got to introduce ourselves. I'm the witch doctor who you might of heard of, Thando" she pauses and turns to the three younger women "This one here is my granddaughter, Lyla, the one next to her is Cia, and the last one is Mika."

Mika walks up first. Her black hair and snow white skin put off guard for a second. I notice her blue kimono tightly wrapped on her body. The print was of white petals or tear drops.

She sits down on her knees and bows once again.

"Welcome, I am the leader of the this group called Maidens of the Moon. We have been expecting you. As well as the Prince of Blood. His awakening is crucial to our meeting" she states, eyeing Julian behind me.

"What are you talking about? Prince of Blood?" I question raising an eyebrow.

Mika quietly gets up. "You will know in time, Gold one.

Lyla steps foward next.

"I'm of course Lyla. My grandmother has already stated that as you heard earlier. Your caretaker had come to us in a hurry. He claimed you are rather difficult when you are determined. We are here to help you and your friend. Do not hesitate to ask questions. However, Mika is rather all talk and only that" she chuckles.

Mika glances at her and sneers in disgust. "They're supposed to find out about the exciting stuff on their own. Don't force feed them!" She protests. Her quiet and graceful demeanor had quickly fallen short from Lyla's teasing.

The third woman butts in, "Sorry about these idots. I'm Cia. Welcome to this mysterious castle you found in the middle of nowhere." I could tell she had a little bit of a spanish accent.

I was beginning to feel a little more comfortable. I really wanted to go home but maybe this wasn't a bad. I knew for a fact that this might clear a few things up.

***

We all seat ourselves down at the long dinner table in the dinning hall.

The dinning hall has similar colors to the walkway of the castle itself. The chairs where linned with gold and the seat cushions where blue. A chandelier also hung above us.

Mika places a worn out book in front of us. I pull it towards me and slowly open it. Scanning through the book caused more confusion than talking to these women.

"What is this supposed to be? Not trying to be rude or anything. Is it records of history or something? I'm so lost..." I ask, staring at the book in mild confusion.

Mika sighs and glares at Lyla. "I told you someone had to explain this mess! The book's too much for them. For us! Like who wrote this?!" Lyla huffs and leans towards her grandmother. "It's so old that we aren't even sure of it. Did you pull this out of nowhere?"

Thando clears her throat and closes her eyes. "Listen my young pups. I'm going to tell you the a summary of this raggedy old book. Listen closely." She demands.

We all close our mouths and look at the elder. She begins:

"This is the book about the beginning of the werewolf tribes. Some branched off and migrated into Europe, leaving traces of history. It also started the legends some common folk know today. As the centuries passed more countries around the world created their own versions. Today we stand here witnessing a new evolved bred. The Maidens of the Moon. These special werewolves are categorized by the time they are born. Under a few special moons."

She ends and opens her eyes. Thando raises her arms and forms a circle. She then puts her arms down and looks towards me.

"You my dear. Your the golden supermoon are you not?"

I quietly nod and look at the others. They stand up and Julian sits there puzzled. I look towards him and return the confusion. What was the point of this? Was I a super werewolf or something?

Cia and Lyla leave and disappear into the hall. Mika sits back down and I hear a yawn from across the hall. There stood the one and only, Silvaus.

***

My eyes widen and my heart skips a beat. Oh good! He's alive...I know Ophira is not happy right now. I still can't help but blame myself for this mess. It's not that easy for me to accept certain circumstances but as long as she's happy. That's all that matters.

I'm still quite confused though. Did these women know about my past? I never seemed to want to open up to Ophira about it. It didn't seem like the right time to do it. I trust her but is it worth it? Does she know her past? Part of my past is linked to my overwhelming guilt. Why? It's hard to explain.

Ophira growls and crosses her arms. Silvaus winces and slowly approaches her. "I'm sorry kid, I just worried too much and now were here in this mess. I really wanted to find some help" he apologizes, looking at his feet.

Ophira huffs with irritation. She walks over to him, wraps her arms around him and nearly squeezes him to death. "Oh I'm angry all right. At least you're alive still. I'm at a lost about those psycho hunters who wanted to kill us" she says giving him a worried look.

Silvaus pats her on the head and takes a step back. He places his head on his chin and looks up at the ceiling. "Werewolf hunters, huh? I nearly escaped their stupid asses. Can't believe you guys made it out clean" He rants.

The older werewolf takes a good long look at me and his eyes widen. "What happened to your neck? Are okay?" He asks, staring at my neck wound in horror.

I nervously laugh and point at my neck. "Oh this...its nothing. Just a scratch. The hunters you mentioned...they're uh...dead." Silvaus stares at me then at Ophira. "Holy hell! At least he can fight. How though? You don't seem to have a weapon on you. Ophira can use her claws and fangs just fine" he asks curiously while examining my wound omce more.

Ophira quickly interrupts "Oh you have no idea. That doesn't really matter right now. We're alive with few battle wounds and your alive. That's what matters." She puts a hand on my shoulder and smiles. "He's the one who not only got the most kills but saved my furry butt in the end" she surprisingly praises me.

I turn my head around and glance around hall. Did she just say that? I enjoy the hugs but this is too much. In front of her foster dad as well...what? This is too much. My heart is beating rapidly and I feel my face flushing.

I take a step back and rub the back of my head. "So, when are eating? I feel like I haven't had food in forever."