Lycans and the Full Moon

Go.

His eyes slid closed and he made himself comfortable. He'd probably try and settle down for a nap for the rest of the night.

It's worrying you, right? Go.

Take advantage of this; I wouldn't usually let a man chase after my daughter to get answers.

He looked back at Coilean, a soft smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Thanks.

He said simply before rising to his feet and bolting off quickly in the direction she had heard Aodh and her fighting.
He wasn't going to waiting around in case Coilean had a change of heart.

He watched the younger wolf bolt off silently out of the corner of his eye before settling down again.

Coilean, you're going soft, he murmured to himself.

You're not supposed to like your daughters fiancé's. Not after Raffael.

Zeke growled softly to himself, bounding through the forest until he could see the little ember wolf brawling with a larger one.

He pulled to a stop and watched them.

Moe.

He called softly as he panted.

The tiny wolf looked up, ears perked when she heard a call of her name.

Her green eyes brightened and she bound towards him, leaving a whimpering body mass of an Uncle in a heap on the ground.

Zeke-kun!

She brushed against him, nuzzling under his chin.

Zeke's growls slowly became soft purrs as she nuzzled up against him.
He licked her muzzle softly.
He cast a glance at the heap that was Aodh, poor guy.

Moe are you okay?

He asked as he rubbed up against her.

She beamed up at him.

Yes, I'm fine. My shoulder's working just fine again; only a little bit of pain.

To demonstrate how perfectly her shoulder was working, she padded around Zeke in a circle with a bounce in her step, stopping in front of him again.

Zeke smiled softly.

I found your father, we had an interesting talk, that's why I wanted to find you so quickly.

He said as he nuzzled up against her, licking her jawline, it was good seeing her alright even if he knew she was hurting inside.

Oh? What did you talk about?

She was happy that Zeke and Coilean seemed to be getting along now.

If they had sat and had a conversation, it meant Coilean wasn't being hostile and hopefully he was warming up to the younger man.

She could only hope.

About you mostly.

He said as he sat down, looking at her warmly.

There's something he mentioned that I wanted to ask you about, the reason why he was so against us being together.

He whined softly, licking her muzzle again.

Moe who is Raffael?

Me? What would you be saying about m-

The woman froze when she heard the name.

After a few moments she backed up slowly, ears pinned back against her head and tail between her legs.

H-How do you know that name...?

Your father said he was the reason the he could not trust any man around you.
And that it was the reason for your nightmares.

He looked at her reaction with worried eyes.

I don't want to push you Moe but I have to know what happened.

Her eyes flickered back to Alek. The two of them shared what could be considered a silent conversation before the older wolf nodded his large head.

Moe whined softly but gave a nod in return before turning her gaze back to Zeke.

Not here.

She turned and walked off into the forest, tail still firmly between her legs.

Zeke watched the two of them converse silently and rose to his feet as she began to walk off.

Okay then.

He followed after her swiftly, seeing her with her tail between her legs did not help is worry at all.

Why had Coilean told him about Raffael? What had Coilean told him about Raffael?

This was one of the reasons she didn't like telling people things about her. She told things to people she trusted because she trusted they wouldn't tell others about it. Knowing that Coilean had told someone else about what happened... It hurt. She had trusted her father to keep it secret.

Eventually she stopped and curled up against the base of a tree, staring down at the ground.

What do you know?

All I know is his name and how he died, that's it.

He sat down in front of her, looking down at her.
If something like this affected her so greatly why hadn't she mentioned it sooner, they were getting married after all.

He was not even sure if he was ready to hear the story, if it was as traumatic as Coilean had suggested there was a strong chance of it upsetting him greatly.

What happened?

I was thirteen; he eighty seven. He had just joined the pack. He wasn't sired by Grandaddy or Coilean. She didn't have the heart to call him Baba at the moment. He was a lone wolf looking for a place to call home; a pack to call family.

Memories played behind her eyes as she spoke, a smile in her voice.

He was wonderful. So sweet and protective. It didn't take much for me to fall in love. A few whispered promises and lingering touches...

She curled tighter into a ball. And then he proposed. We had known each other for about a year. I was fourteen by then and more than ready to start a family. Of course, I said yes. Grandaddy and Uncle Aodh and Coilean were thrilled. They all loved him, too. He was truly a part of the family.

Zeke sat still, his eyes narrowing into a glare as he looked at the ground.
It was difficult listening to her speak of a past lover, he could already feel the anger rising in him, she had obviously loved him and he had betrayed her.
If that wasn't bad enough that fact that she had been in serious relationships before him made him ache with jealousy.
His love life had consisted only of a few one night stands, he never took much interest in lovers until now.

He glanced at her, waiting for her to continue.

A few nights after I said yes, he wanted more than what we had done previously. It wasn't unheard of for Lycan and Bitches to mate before a wedding. In fact, a lot of the time it was encouraged. A lot of Bitches got married while they were pregnant.

A soft whine escaped her as she curled even tighter in on herself.

But I didn't want that. I wanted to marry him for love; not to be a broodmare.

And so he took what he wanted. And more. Quite whines and whimpers sounded as she began to shake, caught in the memories. It was scary. He was scary. I'd never seen him like that. He was so loving and understanding and then...

It went on for hours. I'll never curse Lycan stamina more than I did on that night. He touched me, hit me, bit me. Took what he wanted how he wanted and I was powerless to stop him. I was just a child, still just a little pup. And he was big. Taller than Grandaddy but not as muscular.

The things he said... About me, about the pack...

Zeke tried to suppress it but a violent growl rumbled deep in his chest as his silver eyes looked back at the ground, glaring with such ferocity that he could of lit the ground on fire with just his eyes.

He could feel himself trembling in anger, how could someone do that to her?
To Moe, who was so gentle and loving, what kind of monster was that man.

He could feel himself getting enraged with every word that she spoke but snapped out of it when he heard her whimpering, he walked over slowly, he did not want to upset her further.

He lowered himself, laying down beside her, wrapping his body around her tiny trembling form.
No one would ever hurt her again, not if he could prevent it, he'd give his life a million times over if it meant that she was happy and safe.

He got bored eventually, said that I had fulfilled my purpose.

She was far too deep in her memories to stop.

He left then. He just walked away and left me sobbing on the ground.

She flinched away from him as he curled against her but slowly she began to relax against his side.

I stayed there for a while, tried to clean myself up some. I was too scared to go find anyone. What if they didn't believe me? Raffael was perfect in everyone's eyes. He hadn't done anything for them to think he was overly violent or abusive.

Zeke leaned in against her, he had never met this man but the hatred for him burned deep inside of him, he had broken her.

He broke her and tossed her away like cheap toy.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as she spoke, he didn't want to be hearing this, but he had to, if he had any chance of mending the cracks that Moe had hidden under the surface he had to know exactly what had happened to her, no matter how upsetting it was.

Timidly he licked her paw, just to remind her that he was there for her without interrupting her.

I headed back to the pack after I had calmed down enough to act normal.

She sighed heavily. I had hoped to slip onto the ship without anyone noticing. I'd go and get a change of clothes and carry on like everything was normal. I didn't want to worry anyone.

But Coilean saw me. At first I told him I had just got into a scrap with someone and it got a little out of hand. He believed me. He said we should to tell Raffael so he could beat the living shit out of whoever it was that had hurt me.

She whimpered softly again.

And hearing his name after the hours that I had just suffered... It made me snap. I told Coilean about what had happened, sparing him the details.

The next morning he came back to the ship covered in blood and ash.

He leaned his head against her and whined softly.

I am so sorry Moe.

He could not help but wonder now, did she think of what that man had done when she with him.
That time in the forest, pressed up against the tree, the first time he had been allowed to touch her intimately, had she been repressing images of what had happened to her.

He felt sick just thinking about it, what that man had done and how it affected her even now.

It felt wrong touching her, the skin that bore the memories of such abuse.

You have nothing to apologise for.

It was Coilean that needed to think up a damned good apology.

She curled closer to him, burying her face in his dark fur. I didn't want you to know about this. You've worried about me enough and this is only adding to your worries.