Luna Grey

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to thank you for purchasing this book. I hope you enjoy the story.
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Chapter
1

Chapter
2

Chapter
3

Chapter
4

Chapter
5

Chapter
6

Chapter
7

Chapter
8

Chapter
9

Eric sighed as
he fell onto the plush red couch at his family’s hunting cabin. He
ran an uneasy hand through his blond hair, his brown eyes sullen as
he heard his father and brothers in the kitchen discussing their
hunting trip.

“So, where’d
you get this one?” he heard his brother Brent ask.

“The usual,”
his father chuckled.

“What’s she
look like?” his other brother Craig queried.

“She’s a pretty
thing, fair skin, blue eyes and blonde hair. Her father sold her to
the market to cater for his drug addiction I heard,” his father
stated. “Now, when will Trevor and his boys arrive?”

“They’ll be
here next Monday, it’s the soonest they could get away,” Brent gave
a frustrated sigh.

“So be it,” his
father strode into the living room and turned to Eric.

“Now, this’ll
be your first time partaking in our family hunt. You’re 18 now, and
it is tradition,” his father sat down on the armchair across from
him. He crossed one leg up on his knee as he tapped his fingers on
the arm of the brown leather armchair. His dark brown eyes were
fixed on Eric as scratched at the light dusting of stubble on his
jawline.

The fire
crackled in the fireplace next to them, and Eric turned to look at
the dancing flames.

“It’s very fun
bro, you’ll love it!” Brent came in and jumped onto the couch
beside him, sprawling out and forcing Eric to shuffle to the end to
avoid his brother’s legs.

“Now, Eric,
since it’s your first hunt, I have chosen to have you take care of
her, feed her and such. Each year we rotate who winds up with the
responsibility,” his dad cocked his head. “This year it’s yours.
Craig will show you what to feed her and what you need to do.
Trevor and the boys won’t be here for a week so we’ll spend the
time wisely. Tomorrow I’ll be taking Brent into town to meet with
some business partners out this way. Chances are the next few days
we’ll be away while we get plans sorted and attend meetings. You
and Craig will stay here and keep an eye on everything, got it?”
his father clasped his hands together as he raised an eyebrow at
his youngest son.

“Got it,” Eric
nodded as Craig joined them from the kitchen with a beer in hand.
He passed others around to everyone and gave Eric a displeased
look.

“Alright Eric,
let’s get started. The sooner I show you everything, the sooner I
can head off,” Craig rolled his eyes as his father clucked at
him.

“You’re staying
with Eric. He’ll need to stay supervised since it’s his first
time,” his father’s voice was wrought with authority, not a tone to
be taken lightly.

Craig shrugged
though; he’d never held much respect for their father. Brent had
always been the favourite, whilst Craig had rebelled against his
wishes over the years. But he still partook in the family
gatherings and traditions despite never being quite close to their
father. He loved their mother dearly, and Eric had always despised
his high place in their mother’s eyes. He was the baby of the
family, but both his parents seemed to hold his siblings in higher
esteem despite his best efforts. Craig was the eldest and lived out
of home, whilst Brent had recently moved back in to help their
father run his real estate business. He was learning all he had to
know about the investors and how to play the game.

Eric on the
other hand, cared little about the business. He loved to work with
cars, and had become an apprentice mechanic to his parents’
displeasure. They hated his ‘pathetic’ job, wanting all their
children to have some form of high paying career.

Craig had
become a doctor, which had only pleased their mother more.

“You coming?”
Craig called out from the kitchen.

Eric groaned
but got up at the sharp look from his father as Brent smirked.

“Alright,
breakfast she gets porridge, lunch, make her a sandwich of some
sort, and dinner, whatever you feel like making her, got it?” Craig
leant against the counter.

“That’s it?”
Eric raised an eyebrow.

“Give her
toilet paper as she needs it. That’s about it, not too difficult I
hope,” he grinned before taking a swig out of his bottle. “Now, you
best make her some dinner. Keys for the basement are by the fridge,
everything should be pretty easy to figure out from there,” and
with that said, Craig strode back into the living room, leaving
Eric to come up with a dinner meal for their ‘guest’.

Eric unlocked
the door to the basement and flicked the light on before he tromped
down the stairs.

He held a plate
with a few heated up slices of pizza on it. He hadn’t checked with
the others, already knowing that they’d frown on his choice of
meal.

Eric drew in
the scent of the musty basement, and sighed as he spied the large
cell at the far end.

He had always
hated the dark, dingy basement on their family trips. He still
remembered when he’d first asked his brothers what the cell was for
when he was just a small boy.

Brent had
laughed and said it was for him when he didn’t behave, whereas
Craig said it was for any rogue werewolf that they found on their
land.

They owned
thousands of acres here in the mountains, and they spent most
holidays here where they could shift and roam freely.

Eric had grown
up under the impression that pureblood werewolves were somewhat
royal, which was what his family was.

But he’d always
hated this ‘tradition’ of theirs ever since he’d heard Brent
bragging about his ‘catch’.

He smiled sadly
as he approached the cell and knelt down. The woman inside the cell
skittered back onto her bed, staring at Eric with wide, terrified
eyes. He could only imagine what she’d been through being sold on
the black market.

He frowned
softly as he took in her small frame. She was undernourished but
not too skinny, but she certainly needed a shower. She was covered
in dirt and her hair was tangled, and he pictured how his father
and brothers probably dragged her down here. Her flimsy, once white
dress was torn and dull, and he wondered how long she’d gone
without a shower. He drew in a breath, taking in her feminine
fragrance and her pureblood scent.

“What’s your
name?” he murmured as he slipped the plate through the slot at the
base of the door.

“Dad doesn’t
want us to talk to her,” Craig appeared at the top of the stairs.
“Don’t forget her purpose.”

Eric clenched
his jaw and the woman whimpered softly as she huddled on her bed.
He took in the small cell, the toilet at one end and a sink with
soap. He noted the almost finished toilet roll and took in her bed.
She had a plump pillow thankfully, but the thin sheet for a blanket
would not be enough for the cold nights they’d get here even if she
was a ‘wolf.

He turned on
his heels and gave a frustrated sigh as he headed back up the
stairs to get more toilet paper.

He took some
from the basket in the main bathroom and headed back down, ignoring
Brent’s calls at how ‘fuckable’ she looked.

He hated the
way his brother looked at women, and his blood boiled at what this
woman would endure. What his family had planned for her, their
‘tradition’. It was something he had never been proud of or found
any satisfaction in knowing.

Eric found
himself standing before the cell, and he clenched the toilet roll
in his hand as he fumed. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing
there raging inside at his family’s tradition and ways, but the
woman was chewing slowly as she stared at him cautiously. She’d
snatched the plate up at some point and now eyed him with interest
as he stood before her.

“Here,” he
sighed and slipped the roll between the bars, feeling sorry for the
woman within. He stared at her, imagining what she must be feeling,
and his gut twisted in shame as he looked down.

He didn’t
understand the ways of his people sometimes. This woman didn’t
deserve this. He had no idea who she was or what sort of life she’d
lived, but now she’d be impregnated by one of his relatives and
carry a child, who would then be taken from her and she’d be thrown
back out on the street. She’d be reimbursed with some cash for her
time and ‘labour’, but it couldn’t be enough.

He growled at
his family, at the tradition that had been passed down.

His eyes slowly
rose back to the woman, and he chewed his cheek.

He hurried
upstairs, hearing his father and brothers laughing as they watched
TV and returned with a cloth in hand.

“It’s not much,
but at least you can clean yourself up a bit,” he smiled softly as
he held it through the bars for her.

She stopped
chewing and stared uncertainly at him as she slowly stood.

“I hope the
pizza is good enough, let me know if you’re still hungry,” he
murmured, keeping his voice low so as not to anger his father.

She cocked her
head at him with a gentle frown as she hesitated before gingerly
taking the cloth and retreating quickly.

Her fear and
unease unsettled him.

He hated taking
part in this.

“Thank you,”
she whispered, and Eric’s eyes softened at her quiet voice.

“I’m Eric,” he
mumbled, unsure why he’d bothered to tell her.

“Luna. Luna
Grey.”

He barely heard
the whispered name, but he smiled as his heart sank. Luna, such a
pretty name. He let out an uneasy breath and turned away.

“I’ll bring you
breakfast in the morning, have a good sleep if you can,” he trudged
up the stairs unhappily, feeling her curious gaze follow him.

He wouldn’t be
able to sleep easy tonight. Not now.

Luna watched as
Eric left and she was plunged back into darkness. She gently slid
her plate onto the floor; thankful for the cheesy pizza he’d given
her. It was more than the older man had given her.

This young man
and the storm swirling within his eyes intrigued her. She was still
struggling to come to terms with her fate, but ever since her
father had sold her to the trafficker, she’d given up any hope of
freedom. After her mother died, her father had become lost and
merely a shell of the man he once was, and he’d lost all sight of
his daughter. He’d fallen into the trap laid out for him by the
drug world, and before she knew it she’d been sold. The betrayal
and pain had been crippling, and she’d cried and screamed, not
understanding.

But crying
wouldn’t solve anything, and she’d absolved to try to make it out
alive, that was all that mattered now.

She had a
younger brother who had gone to live with their Aunt after their
mother’s death, and his image and love was what she clung to
desperately. She had to get back to him. He was all she had left.
Their Aunt was a nasty woman who was making her brother work hard
on her farm, only seeing him as a means to an end.

She had to get
out of here and find her way back, but she’d tested the cell in the
darkness the night before, and there was no way out.

She sighed and
played sadly with the cloth in her hands. She’d done everything to
help her father, and this was her payment.

Luna gritted
her teeth angrily as the tears flowed, and she sobbed quietly into
the darkness.

Movement
eventually ceased upstairs, the wooden floorboards overhead no
longer creaking and moaning under the weight of her captors.

She leant
against the freezing wall behind her bed and stared at the lone
window at the top of the far wall. A sliver of moonlight lit the
musty basement, and she took the opportunity to drag herself to the
sink and clean herself up. She wiped at her cheeks, feeling her
pores free up from the grime and dirt. God what she wouldn’t give
for a shower. She’d been in the hands of a trafficker for over a
week and then sold to these men, and in all that time she’d not
seen a bucket of water and a sponge let alone the luxurious insides
of a shower.

She ran her
fingers through her tangled blonde hair and sighed as she glanced
down at her dishevelled and disgusting clothing. At least she had a
toilet.

Eric tossed and
turned, unable to succumb to sleep. He was cosy and warm in his
bed, but it angered him even more as he thought about Luna and the
flimsy blanket she had.