Moonlit Fur Chronicles: Rising Moon
Chapter 25 Reese and Lilith

I stood up, padded outside, and sat down on the edge of the pool. I dangled my feet in the water. I heard the sound of wings as they beat the air, Lilith lightly descended and landed on the grass. She sat beside me and dipped her feet in the water. “There is much on your mind, Young One,” she expressed. “I thought only Cordelia could read minds,” I replied sourly. A deep chuckle rumbled in Lilith’s chest, “I am what you would call a mother. I have children. I know when gargoyles and humans alike are suffering.” I chuckled dryly. “Would you like to confide in me,” she asked softly. “The one person I turned into a werewolf, my hatchling if you will, rejected me. She called me insane,” I mumbled.

“Ah yes,” Lilith laughed, “I know how that feels, very painful unfortunately.” I nodded. “Permit me to impart a secret I have learned from a time long past,” she urged. “Please do,” I answered. “One is not responsible for the behavior of another. Only how one behaves and reacts to others.” I sighed. “I have heard that alot lately,” I muttered. “Then it must be true then, yes,” she encouraged. “But how do you keep it from hurting so much,” I queried. “That is unknown to me. When I experience this pain, I reach for Goliath and my clan. They lessen my pain, make it more tolerable. Reese, lean on your clan, they can help encourage you.”

I began to feel better. “Thank you Lilith, you have helped me.” Lilith smiled, “I am glad. Remember, not everyone who enters your life will stay, some play their part and withdraw. These people often offer lessons or opportunities for growth.” I looked into her eyes and saw painful memories reflected in them. “And lastly, Reese, be gentle with yourself. Show yourself love and patience,” with these final words, Lilith took wing and joined her clan in the clouds. “Be gentle with myself? How the hell do I do that,” I asked the empty space beside me.

I sat out there and contemplated Lilith’s words. I was so focused I nearly missed Dylan as he plopped down next to me. He just sat beside me and waited in silence. I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder, “I miss the old days Dylan. The days when the biggest scariest thing was a math test.” “You and me both, Reese,” he muttered. “Do you remember when…” Dylan and I reminisced about the good old days of high school before life got so crazy and violent. We laughed at hilarious memories and reflected on the more somber memories. It was great to spend time with Dylan and explore memory lane. We talked for hours about the most random things, as only best friends can.

Quinn eventually came out. “Quinn!” Dylan exclaimed, “Did you hear the story of how Reese embarrassed herself to death in tenth grade?” “Don’t you dare! Dylan shut up,” I growled and playfully slapped his arm. Quinn’s eyes lit up, “No, I definitely want to hear it!” “Dylan! No,” I begged. “Yes,” Quinn countered and tickled me. I squealed loudly. Dylan burst out in laughter. “Think that’s funny, do you,” I asked and pushed him into the pool. Quinn’s musical laughter was dissected by her shriek as I pushed her into the pool as well. Dylan attempted to grab my legs, I saw him and rolled away at the last second. Quinn launched herself high into the air, landed gracefully behind me, scooped me up, and tossed me into the water. My shriek pierced the air until my head dipped under the water.

All the noise we made attracted the attention of my pack. Drew, Kai, and Ellis jumped in the pool with us. Casey and River shared a deck lounger and watched us happily. Ash fired up the grill; Robin rested on the ground beside Casey and River. We were all together as a pack and had a wonderful midnight party. I waded to a corner of the pool and rested my arms on the deck. I watched my pack with a content smile on my face as they played and rough housed in the water.

Quinn paddled up to me, her beautiful smile highlighted by the sparkle in her eyes. “I’m so glad we did this. Look at our pack, they are laughing and enjoying themselves. Oh this is a fantastic feeling,” she exclaimed. “I am too. We all needed something to break the tension,” I replied. Quinn snuggled in close to me and sighed contentedly. “Chance offered me a choice. He could call all his boys back and they would handle Tate and Dakota or he could bring up one or two trusted people who would join us in battle,” I explain, “What do you think we should do?”

She reached up and kissed me softly, “I think we should leave the shop talk for tomorrow. We should enjoy this moment while we have it. No one knows when we will get another chance like this.” I kissed the top of her head, “You are very wise. You are right. This can and will wait for tomorrow.” Quinn smiled at me. I pulled her closer and watched my pack enjoy the night. “Come and get it,” Ash called from the grill. Everyone lined up and received their food, I made sure Ash filled his plate before I did. He smiled appreciatively. I grabbed my plate, settled into a deck lounger and listened to my wolves chatter and joke among themselves.

The sounds of gargoyle wings filled the air, Goliath and his clan landed gently on the ground. “Something smells delicious,” Lilith complimented. “Help yourselves. There’s plenty to go around,” Ash called to them from across the pool. They thanked him and filled their plates. The gargoyles mingled with us and joined our merriment. I was glad the gargoyles came and were able to spend time with us. It would help strengthen our bond with them.

Goliath meandered over to me, “Greetings Reese.” “Hello Goliath, how are you on this beautiful night,” I asked him. “I am grateful you have included my clan in your activities. We have not been able to spend much time as a group recently,” he answered. “I want to change that soon. I know how valuable camaraderie is,” I replied. We watched our group for a few minutes in silence. Goliath broke was the first to speak, “Cordelia mentioned you have a new ally who can sense us?” I nodded, “He is a supernatural hunter. He has gifts to enhance his hunting prowess. He is human though. He sensed you and your clan although he doesn’t know that you are gargoyles. I only told him you were allies.”

“I appreciate your protectiveness of us. If we are to battle side by side, it is wise to conduct introductions,” Goliath thanked me. “Normally, I would agree. This is an unusual circumstance, my pack and I have not decided how we want to proceed. Chance, the hunter, offered to bring a small army of hunters to remove the threat. That would save us from being hurt or killed. Alternatively, he could call one or two hunters he can trust with our secret. All three of us, the pack, the clan, and the humans would fight against the werewolf scourge. I plan on asking my pack for their thoughts tomorrow afternoon once we get some rest.” Goliath nodded, “Keep me informed, however, I would like to meet this hunter myself.” “I’ll make it happen,” was my reply.