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Chapter Twenty-three
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Elsie
The evening had faded into deep velvet darkness with only flakes of light from the stars and moon. I sighed as I pulled the curtain down over my window and glanced over to the little bit of floor space between my bed and door. Oliver was passed out with drool dripping down his chin. This passed-out human was my babysitter.
I rolled onto my stomach and buried my face in my quilt. I was trying to figure out what had happened tonight. When I checked my rig, it was safe. I never forget to check it even when we have back-to-back shows. There was no damage to the fabric; not even one thread had been frayed.
My mind was wandering to the worst-case scenario. Did someone sabotage me? Who would do that, though? The only person who really disliked me that I was aware of was
Z TimeThank you for reading and supporting Cirque du Lune. I really appreciate you taking a chance on an unusual werewolf book. I hope you love it as much as I do.
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Cirque du Lune Chapter Twenty-four
Oliver Elsie’s lips were so soft, smooth as silk as they caressed mine. I never expected her to kiss me, and I didn’t want it to stop when it happened. As our lips moved in time, it was incredible. The warmth of her skin, mouth on mine, lit my whole body on fire. Elsie tasted like honey and figs. So sweet and tender. It was a taste I wanted to savor for the rest of my life. I had only kissed one dame before Elsie. The dame was a soggy newspaper compared to Elsie. I couldn’t imagine ever locking lips with anyone else ever again at this point. “Oliver, get your head out of your ass,” August grumbled as we set up the main tent. I had gotten lost in the memories of the train roof. “Sorry.” I shoved the stake into the ground before August smashed his mallet on it. I hastily moved my hands out of the way. It wouldn’t surprise me if August were purposely trying to maim me. He was one of the troupe members who wasn’t thrilled with my existence. I couldn’t cou
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Elsie I knew this day was eventually going to come, and I had dreaded the thought of it. Today was the day that I would have to shed an unfortunate light on Oliver’s life. “So, who is the killer?” Oliver’s eyes found mine, scouring my soul for answers. “Which one?” I dropped my gaze from his and looked at the damp grass underneath our feet. Many murderers were lingering in the shadows of the troupe. Look at Jules’s favorites; innocent blood was practically dripping off them with each step. Not everyone who had killed someone was a cold-blooded murderer; some had done it to save themselves or to survive. “What do you mean?” Oliver’s finger slipped underneath my chin and pried my face back up to his. I couldn’t blame him; he wanted answers. “I know of a few killers in the troupe.” “What? How is there more than one, and why are killers allowed to wander free around here?” A bead of sweat appeared at his temple and slowly dripped down to h
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Elsie Jules never came back to my room; I had never been so relieved in my life. His presence had tainted my night; he always had that effect whenever he popped up. My brain wouldn’t stop reeling as the hours faded into the darkness, and it became a sleepless night. I had been staring at the ceiling for a few hours when I heard a faint knock on my door. A grin spread across my face; I knew who it was. I scrambled off of my bed and opened the door; there he was. His soft, innocent eyes were drawing me in like a magnet. I reached out and grabbed his shirt, yanking him into my compartment. Oliver barely caught the door behind him. Before he had a chance to say anything, I stamped my lips on top of his. At first
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Cirque du Lune Chapter Twenty-nine
Elsie “Don’t you think you are getting a little reckless?” Shirley brushed through her long locks as she looked up at me. “What do you mean?” I hopped up on Shirley’s vanity as she continued to primp herself. Shirley let out a sigh when her brush clacked as she set it down on the vanity. “You know what I mean. I can smell him all over you. You need to be more careful.” Shirley rummaged through a few vials of perfume and handed me one. “Here, this one is the strongest one I have.” “Thanks.” I slipped off the counter and spritzed the perfume over my body. “I guess I slipped up this time.” “This time?” Shirey raised her eyebrow at me as she took the glass bottle back from my hands. “Honey, I mean this with love, but you two only have blinkers for each other. I swear you two are acting like horny kids.” Shirley picked up her powder puff and patted her cheeks. She was right. I had been getting way too comfortable throwing myself at Oliver a
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OliverWhen I saw the flood of people rushing to the big top, my stomach dropped. I knew something had happened, but I would have never expected it to be my Elsie, sprawled out on the ground.Blood was splattered across the ground; her eyes were barely open. She seemed dazed and confused. People were surrounding her like she was a caged animal in a zoo. Jules rushed in, and the crowd split like Moses splitting the Red Sea to let him through. He was forcing people away from her.I wanted to reach out, pull her into my arms and comfort her, but I couldn’t. From the murmurs echoing through the tent, she would be fine. I was on the verge of a breakdown when her eyelashes fluttered closed when I felt a hand clasp my shoulder.
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Oliver Time flew like it never had before. Was this what it was like to be truly happy? Shit, if this was happiness, then I never knew it before. It had been five years since Jules went after Elsie. Five years that had gone by as quick as a cricket. Five blissful years that were a dream compared to all my years before. The first thing we did was weed out all of Jules's cronies after that night. As a whole, we decided it was best if we left them in the hands of the Sundrop pack. They caused unnecessary bloodshed in their pack territory. It was only fitting that they could decide their fates. It also saved us a heap of trouble, making it a win-win for all parties involved. Cirque du Lune officially went belly up the night Jules died in Lousianna—some of the performers and lackeys packed up and left soon after. Without Jules, everyone was free to do what they wanted, without his shadow of tyranny looming over them. Everyone could finally breathe without the threat of poison engulfing t
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ElsieA flood of familiar scents washed over me as blurs of browns, creams, grays, reds, and blacks lept through the gaps in the trees like a mighty rushing river. There they were, my chosen family, the rogues who banned with each other, searching for a safe glimmer in this dark world of ours. I felt my throat contract as I caught sight of Carl clinging to Shirley's fur while he whipped a rusted metal pipe through the air. There was a fire in his eyes, which was more potent than any flame he breathed.Jules's whole body stiffened from the crown of his greasy hair down to his toes. It seemed he hadn't prepared for the potential of the entire circus following him into the woods. The reassuring sight of Carl and Shirley proved that the pack of wolves wasn't coming to help him; they were coming to aid me. Jules was no longer in control of all these rogues, and I knew that simple fact had to scare the living shit out of him. I saw the irritation flick across his face as his skin tightened
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OliverAs the last wolf disappeared into the thickets, I waited as the last snaps of twigs and crunch of leaves faded. I expected a cold crash of fear to overtake me as I looked at Eddie. Unexpectantly nothing even remotely resembling fear licked at my belly. There was an eerie calm seeping out of the earth and weaving through the trees. I swiped my tongue across my cracked lips, dampening them to ensure we were still operating.I let my eyes fall back on Eddie; I only felt a wave of anger for every second, every minute, every day his existence had plagued me. From that wave, adrenaline raced through my whole being. He had to be stopped now, and it didn’t matter what he did to me; he just had to be stopped.“What’s it like to know you weren’t good enough for that bitch of a broad?” Eddie flashed his teeth, stained with a grimy yellow film from years of smoking and drinking. I knew that cold, cruel smile plastered on Eddie’s face was only to get a rise out of me. From Eddie’s eyes, I k
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OliverBirdie climbed up on an old crate that creaked underneath her; she looked like a bloody queen perched up there. There was something different about Birdie tonight. The timid girl who avoided holding eye contact with people was gone, and now a fierce woman stood before me. Roustabouts, performers, werewolves, humans, and everybody in between crept out of the shadows. Even Rosemary and Thomas slipped into view.“What’s going on?” Rosemary jutted her hip out to the side as she threw her arms across her chest. “What do you think you are doing calling us here like this?”“Attention, everyone! We have a situation!” Birdie’s voice rang out in the night air. “Earlier today, one of our troupe members found their mate.&rdquo
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OliverI looked at Birdie in disbelief. This dame ran so hot and cold; it was a miracle when I could actually figure out what she was thinking. This time was not one of those times; when I searched her for any indication of what was happening inside her head, Birdie’s eyes gave nothing away.Just because Elsie had left the circus and left me didn’t mean I would throw her away. Elsie would always hold a piece of my heart in her hands, and besides my own attachment to her, I had made a promise to look after her. I would keep my promise to Milton.“It doesn’t matter if she has a mate, Birdie. Whether or not you like it, Elsie will always be one of us, even if she isn’t here.” I scowled at Birdie before chasing after Carl and Shirley.“I did it for you!” I heard Birdie call after me, but I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of me turning around to acknowledge her. Besides, I didn’t even know if I bel
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OliverI whipped around to find Eddie peering at me from a tree. The moonlight didn’t do much for his appearance. The dried residue of his makeup was flaking off, almost like his flesh was peeling off his face.“Oh, Eddie.” I gulped. “You startled me; I didn’t know you were there.”My eyes glanced around from Birdie, Carl, and Shirley; their expressions screamed they hadn’t been aware of his presence. That caused a pit to form in my stomach.Eddie slithered into view. “Who’s gone?” I hated his voice so much; it was so ragged it made my skin crawl.“No one is,” Carl quickly muttered before reaching into his pocket to pull out a cigarette.“Don’t lie to me, Carl.” Eddie hissed as he stalked closer to me. “Where is our star? Is she who is gone?”“I-I don’t know what you ar
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OliverNelson dropped me off on the edge of town closest to Cirque du Lune’s setup but far enough away where no one would catch a whiff of his scent. As I went to slam the door shut behind me, Nelson cleared his throat.“Yeah?” I ducked my head down as I looked back into the car at him.“If I were you, kid, I would get the hell away from those rogues; the sooner, the better.” Nelson’s voice was gruff; the way he talked about the circus and the rogues was like someone had squeezed lemon juice in a cut in my mouth.“Isn’t your future Luna one of those rogues?” I glared at that sad excuse of a man. “Have a nice evening Nelson.”I slammed the car door and started towards the soft glow on the lights, beaconing me home to the circus. I was tense until I heard the roar of the automobile rumble away. Only when I was sure he was gone did the tension in my body leave.No matter how long I wa
