Moana
It was a hot summer evening, and I had just spent the entire day job hunting.
Finding work as a human in a world dominated by werewolves, especially in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city, wasn’t easy. Even though I had a degree in Early Childhood Education, no schools wanted to hire me because I was a human. Werewolf parents were outraged at the thought of a “worthless human” teaching their children, as if my skills, drive, and education meant nothing.
So, I was now limited to service jobs, which were also unfortunately hard to come by because the job market was oversaturated with other humans who were also desperate to pay their bills.
If I didn’t find a job soon, though, I would lose my apartment. My landlord had already given me a thirty-day notice. If I didn’t pay my rent -- and the three months of rent that I already owed -- by the end of the thirty days, he was going to evict me.
At least I still had my boyfriend, Sam. He wasn’t extraordinarily well-off either despite being a werewolf, but at least he had a job and could pay his rent. We had been together for three years now and had known each other for five, so maybe it was time to talk about moving in together soon.
As I was walking down the packed city street, a thin layer of sweat caked to my forehead from spending the day running from business to business as I tried to find someone who would hire me, I started to realize how hungry I was. I couldn’t afford to eat out, but the delicious smells coming from the restaurants I passed began to make my mouth water.
One particular restaurant across the street caught my eye, but not because of the smell of food.
I stopped in my tracks, my eyes widening.
Inside the restaurant, right in the window, was Sam. He wasn’t alone; he was with another woman, and they were…
Kissing.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” I said out loud, causing a few passersby to turn their heads and give me weird looks.
Sam had told me that he was busy recently, that he had a lot of work… Was this what he was really doing? Cheating on me with some other woman?
The fury bubbled up inside of me, and without thinking, I stormed across the street and toward the restaurant window. My stomach turned as I came closer. This woman was gorgeous -- basically a supermodel -- and that didn’t make me feel any better about the situation. Not only was Sam cheating on me, but he was cheating on me with someone who looked like that.
She was thin, blonde, and tan with long legs, wearing a skimpy evening dress and high heels. I do get compliments on my face, body and long red hair, but in that moment, I felt so worthless as I stood there looking at Sam and his mistress.
How could he do this to me?
I stopped in front of the window. Neither of them even saw me standing there, they were so absorbed in their makeout session.
So, I banged on the window.
Sam and the mystery woman both jumped, their eyes widening when they saw me. I stormed over to the entrance and ran inside, ignoring the strange looks from the restaurant staff and customers, and ran up to where Sam and the woman sat.
“How fucking dare you?!” I yelled, my hands curled up into fists at my sides. “We’ve been together for three years and you’re cheating on me?”
The woman looked back and forth between Sam and I with an embarrassed expression on her face as the restaurant fell silent, but Sam’s face showed only anger and resentment. Without saying a word, Sam stood and grabbed me by the arm, dragging me out of the restaurant. He was too strong for me to resist, so I stumbled after him and back out into the busy street with tears streaming down my cheeks.
“You’re making a fool of both of us, Moana,” he growled once we were outside.
“I’m making a fool of us?” I replied, my voice still raised. “You’re making out with another woman in public!”
Sam merely rolled his eyes and pulled me further away from the door. His werewolf eyes burned a bright orange color and his face was wrought with anger.
“Control your temper,” he whispered, pushing me roughly up against the side of the building. “You’re just an ordinary human. You should feel lucky that I even entertained you for three years.”
His words stung, and my vision became clouded with tears.
“Why her?” I croaked as a sob caught in my throat.
Sam, the man who had told me he loved me for three years, merely chuckled. “You’re useless to me,” he snarled. “She’s a Beta. Her family is incredibly wealthy and powerful, and thanks to her, I’ll be starting a new job at WereCorp next week.”
WereCorp was the biggest corporation in the world. Not only did they control all of the banks, but they also developed the newest and most widely-used cryptocurrency of the 21st Century: WCoin. I never used it -- humans weren’t allowed to -- but it made a lot of werewolves extremely rich when it first came out.
He continued, “What have you done for me aside from mooching off of me because you can’t even get a job of your own? You’re nothing compared to her. How dare you even question my decision to move on.”
There was nothing else I could say; nothing else that could come to mind aside from getting the hell away from him. I shoved Sam away finally, pushing myself away from the wall. “Fuck you,” I growled, my rage taking over as I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. Passersby were looking at us now, but I didn’t care.
Without another word, I turned on my heel and stormed away without looking back.
As I walked numbly down the street and wiped the tears from my eyes, I thought about what Sam was like when we first met; he had been nothing more than a bullied Omega in high school with no confidence, no prospects, and no friends. I had helped him gain confidence with my love and support, and this was how he repaid me? By leaving me for some blonde, all for a job at WereCorp?
Nothing angered me more than knowing that my boyfriend of three years, and best friend for five years, had left me so easily over money and power.
I was still fuming when I stepped out into the intersection, too numb to look properly before crossing. Just then, I heard the sound of a car honking and looked up to see a luxury car driving straight for me. Cursing to myself, I stumbled backwards and fell into a puddle just before the car hit me.
The car came to a screeching halt next to me, which was surprising since I assumed that they would just drive away after nearly hitting me, but what surprised me even more was the person who sat inside the car when the window rolled down.
Edrick Morgan, CEO of WereCorp.
Edrick was known not only for being the youngest CEO in the history of the company and the heir to the largest fortune in the world, but also for his stunning appearance -- and although I was incredibly hurt and angry about everything that had happened today, I couldn’t help but notice his strong jawline, his muscular shoulders and arms, and his incredibly handsome face.
I opened my mouth to say something about how he had nearly hit me, but before I could, he looked me up and down and tossed a wad of cash out the window, driving away with a rev of his engine.
Edrick Morgan, the CEO of WereCorp, had nearly hit me with his car… and tossed me money like I was some beggar.
All werewolves really were arrogant assholes.
I threw the cash on the ground and stood, cursing under my breath as I realized how soaked and dirty my clothes were. I’d have to go home and see if I could scrounge up some change to take them to the laundromat so I could continue job hunting tomorrow, but admittedly for now I just wanted to drown my sorrows.
I walked for a few blocks, finally spotting a bar that seemed nice and quiet.Taking a deep breath and smoothing down my stained shirt, I walked through the doors and approached the bouncer.
The bouncer narrowed his eyes at me and looked me up and down, taking in my dirty appearance sniffing the air in front of me.
“No humans allowed without a member escort,” he growled, folding his arms.
I frowned. “Member?” I asked. “I’m a paying customer. Just let me buy a drink.”
The bouncer shook his head and began to usher me toward the door like I was some sort of nuisance.
“Is this even legal?” I said, raising my voice. “You can’t just discriminate against humans like this! Is my money worthless here just because of--”
“She’s with me,” a stern and clear voice suddenly said from behind.
The bouncer and I both looked up and turned to see a man in a suit standing on the stairs.
Edrick Morgan.
Moana“She’s with me.”The bouncer whipped around to face the man standing on the stairs. I stood there, my eyes wide, as I realized that the man who was mysteriously helping me get into the bar was the same man who had almost hit me with his car on the street and then promptly threw me a wad of cash like I was a beggar: Edrick Morgan, CEO of WereCorp. I considered just turning around and leaving, but before I could, Edrick came down the stairs and waved the bouncer away, fixing his steely gray eyes on me.“Come on,” he said, peering around me to look out the door and onto the street. “It looks like it’s going to rain again. You don’t want to be walking around in the rain, do you?”I felt as though there was something a bit condescending in the wealthy werewolf’s tone, but he was right: it had been raining for most of the day, and had already begun to sprinkle again. I didn’t want to walk home in the rain and get more soaked than I already was, so I silently followed Edrick up the sta
MoanaI woke up to sunlight and a fresh, warm summer breeze streaming in through a large set of open French doors. As I cracked my eyes open, the sound of the city street below filled my ears, and the feeling of my throbbing head on a plush pillow alerted me to the fact that I was not in my own bed.Groaning, I slowly pushed myself up onto my elbows and scanned the room as flashes of what happened the night before began to flood my mind. I remembered being at the bar, in the silky black dress that I had picked out… I remembered drinking a gin and tonic, and being accosted by a middle-aged man with sinister intentions…Other memories came flooding back, too.I remembered being in the back of a car with a handsome man. His neck was warm and soft as I pressed my lips to it. He tried to hide his arousal at first, but he eventually gave in to his desires as he led me to the elevator that led up to the expensive hotel room he had booked. We made our way to the room, stopping periodically to
MoanaI pulled up to the address of the house a couple of hours later wearing a brand new set of clothes. During the time between getting the phone call and arriving, I took out my credit card, which I only used for emergencies, and ran out to buy something new to impress the family. It was just a crisp button-down shirt, tailored pants, and loafers, but as I pulled up to the enormous mansion in the mountains and saw the line of women at the door, I was glad that I had purchased the new clothes. I made sure to double check that the tags on the clothes were hidden, which I had kept on in case I didn’t get the job and would need to return them.As I parked and walked up the pathway to the front entrance and got in line with my resume in my hand, my heart started to pound.My heart started to pound even more when I noticed that women were not only filing into the mansion, but were also coming out with sad and defeated expressions on their faces. One girl, who was very pretty and looked a
MoanaI woke up at 4:30 the next morning -- a bit earlier than I needed to, probably, but I wasn’t taking any chances with this job. I spent the next hour practically scrubbing myself raw in the shower, fixing my hair, ironing my clothes, and taking extra care to make sure that there wasn’t a single stray hair or speck of dust on me, because today was the first day of the job that would change my life, and I had to be perfect.I then spent the final half hour of my preparations pacing and staring out the window, willing myself with all of the strength I had to not bite my nails, as I waited for the car that Selina had mentioned. Lo and behold, as soon as the clock struck 5:59, I saw a black car slowly pulling up out front, and I practically flew out of my apartment and down the stairs so that I was opening the car door by 6:00 sharp.“Hmph,” Selina said, looking at her watch as I clambered into the back. “Six o’clock on the dot. A little out of breath, but at least you’re here.”“Sorr
MoanaI stood frozen in the middle of the living room, my back turned to the door as I heard footsteps approaching. How did this happen? How did I wind up finally becoming employed, only for it to turn out that my new employer was the same person who I had a one night stand with just two nights ago?The footsteps came closer. I felt like a deer in headlights.“Good evening, Miss Moana,” that all-too-familiar voice said from behind me. “Can we speak privately for a minute?”I slowly turned around to face Edrick Morgan, the handsome and wealthy werewolf CEO, the extremely well-known public figure, the man who I had slept with two nights ago… The man who tried to throw money at my feet like I was a prostitute.He stood in front of me with Ella in his arms, the perfect picture of a loving father.“Y-Yes,” I stammered. I watched as he set Ella down, then gestured for me to follow him; as I did, it felt like I was swimming through mud, like my limbs were heavy and useless. Was I dreaming?W
Moana“Hey! Stop!” the scar-faced man shouted.I ran as fast as I could, willing my legs to pump harder, to push me further away from the imminent danger that I sensed. I could hear the sound of footsteps pounding on the sidewalk behind me; I was just a human, and these men were werewolves. I should’ve known I wouldn’t stand a chance trying to outrun them.I screamed for help, but no one came -- no one ever came when a woman screamed for help in the city, and I cursed them for that in that moment.The sound of the men running behind me came closer. I felt as though my body didn’t belong to me, like I was watching from a third person perspective as I ran for my life.The two men gained on me. They were so close now that I knew that one misstep on my part would allow them to catch me. I felt a hand brush my shoulder and I shrieked, pushing myself faster as I glanced over my shoulder to look…Whack!I ran into something hard and gritty: a corner of a brick building. As I stumbled backwar
MoanaAfter the entire debacle on my first night of employment, my first week went by smoothly and without a single hitch. Ella was a sweet little girl to take care of, and she caused very little trouble, if any at all. In fact, by the end of my first week, I started to feel a little guilty for accepting such a high salary for such an easy job and started helping Selina and the maids around the penthouse when I wasn’t busy with Ella. Helping out with cleaning, cooking, laundry, and grocery shopping not only made me feel better about accepting the salary, but also made me feel less bored when I had nothing else to do. It didn’t make Selina and the maids any more friendly toward me, but it certainly seemed to soften their demeanors a tiny bit as the days marched on.I also kept a distant, but polite, relationship with Edrick. He wasn’t around very often, usually only coming home late at night, so it was easy to keep a distance.I started to notice a strange occurrence, though. There was
Moana As soon as I saw Edrick sleeping on the other side of my bed, I immediately averted my gaze down at myself to make sure that I was still dressed. I was still fully clothed… And this time, I knew for a fact that I hadn’t hooked up with him. I was completely sober when I went to bed, so I would’ve remembered. So, why was Edrick in my bed? While I was still processing what was going on, Edrick’s eyes suddenly opened and he stared right at me. I yelped and jumped out of the bed, running to the other side of the room. “What are you doing in here?” I asked, my voice shaking. Edrick slowly sat up and looked around, looking equally as confused as I was. “I have no idea,” he said, looking down at himself in the same manner I did; no doubt to also check to make sure he was fully clothed. “I was really drunk last night. I guess I confused your room with mine.” “Your room is all the way on the other side of the penthouse,” I growled. “And it’s an entirely different layout. You weren’t
MoanaI couldn’t help but laugh as I thought back on the beginning of our relationship.To think that, just a year prior, I was just Edrick’s one night stand who also became his nanny… And now, here I was, standing in front of the mirror in my wedding dress.The dress that I picked out was beautiful. We planned to have a late summer wedding to commemorate our meeting,six months after little Daisy was born. My dress was a blush pink color. It was soft and flowy with a beautiful floral embroidered pattern, and sleeves that fluttered in the breeze. It hugged my waist in all of the right places and made me feel more beautiful than ever.Daisy was six months old now, and Ella often mentioned how she no longer looked like a squished little grape. Ella had just turned nine, and thought that she was a grown-up, although she still liked to
MoanaAfter ten hours of intense and grueling labor, little Daisy was born.“She’s so tiny,” I whispered as I held the little crying bundle in my arms. The doctor weighed her at just six pounds and twelve ounces, but she was as healthy as an ox.Edrick, who hadn’t left my side throughout the entire delivery, leaned over my shoulder with a wide grin on his face and held his hand out to touch her cheek. Almost instantly, Daisy’s little hand shot out and gripped his index finger with a relentless force for such a little thing.Her eyes were squeezed shut, and yet she still had an instinct to keep her father’s finger in a vice grip.I couldn’t help but laugh, but I also wanted to cry.When I was on the cliff with Michael, I saw my parents at my birth. I did the same thing to my father, and I also wouldn&
MoanaThe time between Michael going to prison and Daisy’s birth were such a whirlwind of activity that the months practically flew by.Ethan and Kelly wound up being transferred to a mental health facility. I think that was better for them in the long run, as the things that they did were ultimately the result of Michael’s brainwashing. I didn’t hold any grudges against them; in fact, Edrick and I visited them on a monthly basis, and the medication and therapy that they went through seemed to be helping a bit.Of course, Kelly could never get over her obsession with Edrick. Nor could Ethan get over his obsession with me. It was very likely that they would spend years in that place, but at least we could have somewhat normal conversations with them when we went to visit.Michael, however, had no visitors and I didn’t feel the least bit bad about it. Verona ev
MoanaThe months in between Michael going to prison and Daisy’s birth were a whirlwind of emotions and unexpected turns. After the incident with Michael, where he was sentenced to prison for his attempt on my life, my world took another astonishing twist.The news outlets revealed a shocking revelation: Moana, the seemingly ordinary girl who was raised in an orphanage, was, in fact, the legendary Golden Wolf.I never imagined my life could become so entangled in a web of fame and attention.Suddenly, everyone wanted a piece of me. All sorts of brands and non-governmental organizations bombarded me with invitations and tempting monetary offers. It was overwhelming, to say the least. My inbox was flooded with messages from high-profile companies and influential figures, all hoping to capitalize on my newfound fame.It felt like the world had changed overnigh
EdrickWithin an hour, Moana and I were nervously walking up the front steps to my parents’ mansion.We left Ella with Selina just in case we walked in on anything sinister. The house was mostly dark, which was out of the ordinary. As I slowly opened the front door, I felt my heart catch in my throat.“Hello?” I called out, holding Moana’s hand as I stepped into the large foyer. “Mom?”There was no answer. Moana and I exchanged nervous glances and walked in a little further.“Verona?” Moana called, cupping her hands around her mouth to make her voice travel further. “Are you there?!”Still no answer. We decided to head into the sitting room, where my mother often liked to be during her free time, but it was dark and empty. At this point, I was starting to get even more nervous.
MoanaA little while later, Edrick and I were standing in the front doorway of the mansion and looking out at the scene before us.The security guards were leading Michael, who was cuffed, over to the car. His nose was still clotted with blood from Edrick’s punch, but something about it was satisfying to see. I enjoyed seeing Michael finally face some consequences for his actions, and I especially enjoyed watching Selina scold him like a child.What was even more satisfying, though, was seeing him being shoved into the back of the car to be driven down to the police station.Kat was found by the guards, too. Not long after Edrick punched Michael in the face, Kat was found hiding in the woods. As it turned out, Michael paid her a pretty penny to get close to me and lead me off into the forest to get lost so that he could kill me. She looked ashamed as the guards cuffed her, and
EdrickI hated to say it, but Moana looked more beautiful than ever as she practically assaulted my evil father on the back lawn.“He’s no threat,” she said as she released her grip on his shirt and let him fall back to the ground, then turned and walked back to meet me. “The knife is gone. He’s just an angry old man now and nothing more.”Moana was right; the knife was indeed gone. It shattered when Michael tried to stab her with it.During those moments when the knife was plunged into her belly, it felt as though my heart stopped. I watched in horror as the knife disappeared into her belly. When my father pulled it out, it was covered in blood and he had a maniacal grin on his face.But something happened then. She became enveloped in that golden light again, only this time it was even brighter and more blinding than before.
MoanaEveryone froze and stared at each other with wide eyes as the sound of the groaning and shuffling came closer.“Daddy?” Ella whimpered. “Who is there?”Edrick slowly sat Ella down, then walked toward the door. He gestured to the security guards, but before anything could be done, the last person we expected walked into the doorway.“Thought you could kill me, huh?”Michael stood in the doorway with an evil smirk on his face. Selina, the maids and I all let out a collective gasp. Selina suddenly grabbed Ella by the arm and shoved her behind us to keep her protected.“Michael,” I said, taking a step forward, “you were dead.”Michael just laughed. “I was indeed,” he said. “But not for long. I guess you didn’t realize that I was waking
Moana“Can you trust me to take care of him?” I asked.Ella began to sob, but I somehow knew exactly what to do. It all felt so natural now… I didn’t even really need to think about it. I just knew to wrap my arms around Ella and comfort her, although whether it was my abilities or simply my nurturing instincts, I couldn’t be entirely sure.Suddenly, Ella stopped crying.“Okay,” she whimpered after a moment, stepping back and wiping her tears out of her eyes. “I trust you. Please take good care of my daddy.”I managed a weak smile and nodded at Ella, taking her little hands in mine. “I will take good care of him,” I whispered as I looked into her eyes, still using my pacifying ability to keep her calm. “Don’t you worry.”Ella nodded and stepped away, allowin