Claws // Colby Brock

💫 47 💫

☯︎☯︎☯︎☯︎☯︎

I didn't know what came over me, I only knew my instinct. "You haven't already?"

He stared at me for a long moment in complete silence, flicking his gaze around my features far too quickly. I'd caught him off guard — caught myself off guard. Neither of us were sure how this conversation should end up.

So instead of finishing it, he leaned down to press his lips gently to mine and held it. I let my fingertips rest at his chest and just kept my eyes closed, even when he pulled back. Our foreheads were joined, peaceful silence erasing our nerves.

"Stop procrastinating. Let's go see Mother Moo- Now her name makes sense." Colby cut himself off mid sentence, his head raised to stare at the wall above the bed. I rolled my eyes as I pushed him away and sat up, searching for my clothes from the floor.

Once we were both dressed, I reluctantly left the little house with Colby right behind me. The Goddess was already talking to me, guiding me in the right direction to find her shrine and Mama Luna.

As we walked, though, I muttered, "I can't believe you tried to disrespect Mama Luna."

"What?" Colby frowned at me in confusion, causing me to roll my eyes.

"You were gonna call her Mother Moon, right? Surely you were trying to piss me off with that before you realised how dumb you are."

"It was a joke, Ames," he deadpanned. "Her name is clever, but I want to know what it actually is."

I sighed. "A mystery that hasn't been solved since she made her first appearance. No one knows her real name, she's just Mama Luna."

"Could she have forgotten it?" he asked, sounding somewhat genuine. Werewolf lore wasn't particularly something he was interested in unless it helped him kill them — something I'd been ignoring for some time now. But his eyes were curious when they met mine, and it made me feel better about explaining it all.

"Maybe," I admitted, "but I'm sure she hasn't, she just prefers to be called by her title. From what I know of her, she's very proud of what she's achieved in her life so why wouldn't she wear it like a badge of honour?"

He shrugged. "I guess. Does she have any actual authority?"

"No. You don't have to listen to her. You're stupid if you don't, but it's optional. Like getting advice from a therapist." I slid my hand into his, entwining our fingers and slowing down. It wasn't often I got to talk about this stuff, I didn't want it to end. "What makes you so curious? You don't like werewolves."

"To an extent," he agreed, "however werewolves have real history. Vampires have always been alone or in small clans, there's nothing that actually defines rules or creates legends. We don't care about each others' lives. Werewolves have a religion, a system, apparently a Mama Luna." He squeezed my hand lightly to draw my gaze to his face as he gave me a small smile. "It's actually kind of interesting."

I returned his smile more hesitantly and stepped closer to him. "I suppose that's a good thing, then."

"I'd rather ask about something else, though." His twisted lips fell, and I felt my heart jump with nerves. What was this going to be? It could be so many topics... "You didn't answer my question before."