Page 137 of My Only Luna

“Well, I’ll be out of here before morning. Just need my phone charged.” Alejandro stands up, his eyes cold as he casts one last glance at his brother before he leaves the room.

I enter the kids’ room, and see Scarlett caressing Kiara’s hair. Liam is asleep on the other side of the bed.

“Is she asleep?” I ask softly as I walk over, pulling Scarlett up and into my arms.

“Yeah... Alejandro isn’t wrong, Elijah. She will be bullied and probably looked down on,” Scarlett whispers, sadness filling her eyes.

The guilt has never left me; it was my job to protect her, no matter what, but I failed her just like I failed Scarlett.

“I’ll make sure no one insults her; I’ll shield her from that,” I promise, my eyes flashing as my hold on Scarlett tightens. She cups my face and kisses me softly.

“I know you want to be the perfect dad, and you are, but protecting her from everything will only hurt her in the long run. She will have to face the world and all the shit it’s going to bring her way. What we need to do is make sure she’s ready for it.” We both look at her and I sigh.

“You’re right, Red.”

“Let’s get to bed.” She pulls away and gives both our pups a soft kiss. I do the same before we both take our leave and return to our own room.

Alejandro

Hours later, I’m sitting onthe front doorstep, smoking my fourth cigarette, lost in thought about the creature. Is it just a lone attack or are there more? Where did it come from? Something bigger is at work here, I can feel it.

I hear quiet footsteps and turn, seeing Kiara walking down the steps. My gaze flickers to her feet, noticing how she keeps using her left foot to step down, then lifting her right and placing it beside the left.

I frown as she looks up at me and walks a little faster down the stairs, stumbling on the bottom one. I shake my head, looking away.Don’t the idiots know how to look after one kid? Or is she just a disobedient brat?

“Thank you for saving me from the monster,” she says, stepping out of the house to stand in front of me. I look down at her, paying attention to her large eyes for the first time. It is ironic that they look so unique but are pretty useless. I look out into the darkness. The child is still staring at me. “Are you deaf?” I glance at her sharply, not expecting that, and glare at her.

“I’m not a loser like you. Now get lost,” I say coldly, my eyes flashing red. She only smiles and steps closer.

“When it was dark, I could see your eyes glowing,” she explains, as if it was the most amazing thing ever. I toss the cigarette to the floor.Can the pup not take a hint?

“Good for you. Now get the hell back to bed.”

“I wanted to give you this.” She now holds out a red rose with a crumpled stem. I raise my eyebrow when she bravely takes my hand and places the flower into it, smiling happily. I frown. Even my niece and nephew stay metres away from me whenever I see them, which is rather rare.

“Go away.” She ignores me, now placing her index fingers at the corner of my lips and pushing my face. I glare at her. “What are you doing?” I ask, pushing her hands away.Stupid kid.

“I’m teaching you to smile,” she explains, giving me a huge one of her own. I smirk coldly in return.

“Life’s a fucking nightmare, kid. The earlier you learn that, the better.” I stand up. I don’t have the time or patience to waste with a pathetic, weak pup. I grab my phone from the hallway charger and step outside. The little girl steps inside. She looks a little upset at my words but still stands there silently. I glare at her, tossing the flower she gave me onto the ground. Her eyes widen as she looks at it, her eyes stinging with tears of hurt. I step on it, crushing it beneath my boot, causing her tears to spill down her cheeks.

I glance back at her from the door. If something so small has hurt her, then she isn’t going to survive this world. Maybe I should have let her die. It would save her from a lot of pain that she will inevitably have to face. Turning away, I pull the door closed behind me. I don’t really fucking care, anyway. I probably will never see her again.

Or so I thought. If only I knew how very wrong I was…

THE END