Chapter 3

Naomi

The drive is long and bumpy as I zone in and out, my eyes fluttering. It must be what, 3am now? Maybe later? My back is sticking to the shirt, but I can’t do anything about it. Once I get to Bloodmoon bay, I’ll be able to get some bandages or a herbal paste to help with the healing. My wolf still hasn’t come too, but I occasionally hear her still so I know she is just waiting for the effects of the wolfsbane to wear off. 

The driver pulls a sharp left as the boxes stacked high come hurtling towards me. Oh shit, I’ll be crushed! I brace my arms up, hoping to shield my back as much as possible as I brace for impact. It crushes me, but the lid cracks open, allowing me to see inside … not what I was expecting. There are some weapons and gold jewels. I grab a ring and a small dagger, where I rip the end of my shirt to wrap around the blade and tuck it in my boot. I slip two gold rings on my finger and conceal a gold chain into my shoe as a backup. At least I can hopefully trade these for some medicine, some food, and a place to stay.

The truck slows to a stop and I find an old blanket strewn on the floor. I use it to wrap around my waist to make it look somewhat like a skirt also it helpd to keep the chill out. The Crimson Moon Pack is always hot balmy 35 degrees or more, there no need for layers or anything like that but at night it can be bitter cold after the sun sets. Each room has a fireplace and thick blankets to keep us all warm in the winter nights. Other than my time in the cells, this will be the first time I haven’t slept by the warmth of the fire or with my fur blankets that sit at the end of the bed.

I hear the driver’s door open, my heart thudding as I hear their heavy footsteps come around before they unlock the truck door as it rises to the top. I keep back behind the boxes and crates as he grumbles at how much everything has shifted around. It’s his fault he drives like a maniac. He groans, moving some boxes around and looking at the labels. I try to peer out to see where we are. It’s dark … really dark that time before the sun rises where the sky is pitch black, the stars shining brightly. The guy takes a box at a time and I count the seconds for how long it takes him to come back. 20 seconds. He goes again, taking a bigger box. This time it’s marginally longer 30 seconds. I scour the truck, wondering if I can get closer to the exit to maximise my time.

I also can’t leave it for too long. I don’t know if he is unloading all the boxes or just some of them. He lifts a rather heavy create I see my opening and I take it the frigid chill hits me as soon as I land outside the truck, scanning my surrounds I see I’m at the back of a warehouse the sea salty breeze whistles though the air making my skin shiver. There’s a path to the side that seems to lead down the coastline. There are street lights above … perhaps it leads to the town. I hurriedly check where the man is before I make a dash for it. The blade digging into my ankle as I go. When I round the corner, the sea ia thrashing at the shore, the wild water sprays me as I walk by.

Everything is deserted but I see right at the end of the promenade a building with some lights on. Guess that’s a starting point.

Every step sends shooting pains up my back. The blade seems to have come free from the fabric and is now scratching up my skin. I would toss it, but as my wolf is only just perking up, my back injured and these rags, I want to protect myself.

Bloodmoon Bay has a plethora of species that reside here, wolves, humans, witches and anything else that goes bump in the night. All the more reason I keep the blade. I turn the two gold rings around on my finger so just the gold band appears on top, no point in advertising the jewels.

After about 45 minutes, I make it to the building ‘The Merman Claw Inn’ it reads on the discoloured wooden board, with a merman holding their tridents in its hand. The sun is beginning to rise, the sky no longer a dark navy but a mid blue. I can still hear a few voices inside there’s a note on the window saying ‘help wanted,’ this far out-of-town perhaps no one ventures this far or those that do … I’m a wolf and now I’ve seen what my alpha truly is I doubt there is anything scarier than him. 

I open the door as I walk inside. It’s pretty much deserted. There is a young barmaid wiping down the tables, the bar keep stationed further back polishing the glass wear, a few drunks passed out in front of him as he pokes them with a stick trying to shift their arses. As soon as the door shuts behind me, thudding, they all look up, taking in my appearance. I know I look a state with the blood and dirty rags and boots worn down three sizes too big. “Can I help you, miss?” the bar keep his voice rough like a sailor inquires. Despite feeling fatigue and agony for the last few hours, I give him a bright smile. “I’m here about the job?” I state confidently as the girl wiping down the tables stifles a chuckle her braid falling around her shoulders.

I shoot her a glare and she goes back to wiping the next table. The barkeep masks his surprise better as he looks me up and down, arching a brow. “Why don’t you come back tomorrow hun we can talk then?” he offers as I smile, taking steps further in until I’m standing on the other side of the bar. “I can’t do that. You need help and I … I need a place to stay,” I press as I take in the wooden beams, round tables and polished floors. There is a fire burning in the corner, the heat warming my skin as I take in the cosy place. His brow arches as he gives me a look as his eyes glance at the barmaid behind me. “Miss,” he starts, but I cut him off.

“Give me a shot … you don’t have to pay me. Just let me stay here and have something to eat and I’ll work behind the bar, clean, cook whatever you need, but whatever tips I make, I get to keep.” The drunk passed out on the bar sits up. The stench of stale ale wafts from him as he from where he stares at me with unfocused eyes. “What the hell happened to you,” he mutters before he slumps back onto the bar, snoring away. Charming.

“Jasmin, take Jonny out so we can close up,” the barkeep grumbles, still keeping an eye on me. I hear her light footsteps waltz over before she nudges ‘Jonny’ back awake. “Time to go Jonny, and keep those paws to yourself. We don’t want a repeat of last time,” she jests as she lifts his arm over her shoulder, guiding him towards the door I just entered from the man grumbles telling her if he was a few years younger he would be just her type.

“You got a name?” he asks, and before I can think of one to cover who I am, I just blurt it out. “Naomi,” he nods before letting out a sigh, rubbing his brow with the nail of his thumb. “Alright I’ll give you a shot kid but the room … its small, not much and I might have a couple of um clothes you can wear that are clean,” he tells me as I breathe a sigh of relief. “Thank you!” I tell him as he gives me a broad grin. “Jasper,” the bar keep tells me as I smile again.

There is another bang coming from the right as a door shuts down the hall. Two heavy footsteps march into the bar, a tall man with broad shoulder tattooed sleeves, thick thighs, slicked back hair and dark black eyes that hold a dangerous glint to them enter the bar area. There is a toothpick in his lip as he crosses his corded arms as I try to stop my heart from skipping a beat. Something about him draws me in. Perhaps that was my type. Every girl has a type, I suppose. His dark sharp eyes catch mine as he takes the toothpick from his lip and walking towards me. “What did I miss?” his deep booming voice roars through the inn the vibrations hitting my skin like soft kisses. 

I stand tall as his eyes sweep over me before he arches a brow, looking back over to Jasper. “How about a nightcap?” he ask leaning across the bar disregarding me completely. His firm buttocks pointed in my direction. He had a distinct masculine scent, salty and dark … bitter even. I couldn’t detect if he was a werewolf, but he wasn’t human … what was he? “Jasmin pour another drink for Cal, I’ll show Naomi to her room,” he tells me as Jasmin waltz around the bar batting her lashes and her shirt considerably lower than moments ago when 'Jonny' was being shown to the door. I nearly rolled my eyes before Jasper pointed in the direction Cal? Was it … had just come from?

I follow him up the stairs as they creak with every step, turning back to see the two clink glasses downing shots, before Jasmin starts giggling like a hyena and flicking her braid back. I roll my eyes heading up the stairs. Who cares, I’m free, have a place to stay, somewhere with food and a way to keep busy. I’m starting over. This will be a thousand times easier than rotting in that cell. I don't need another man in my life to complicate things further.