Hey babes! So, I feel like I'm on a roll and my creative juices are pumping through my brain at the speed of light... So here is Chapter 14! Woohoo! I guess I'm just gonna cut out here and let y'all have at it like the hungry little things you are... Just starving for more of my story.. So, here it is.

~DA2014

Meet Me In The Moonlight

Chapter 14

Alberta had told Rose that, if she should ever find herself in the human town nearby, she would need to find the Sage family. Rose would be able to find them by the mixture of wolfs bane, sage, and fresh peppermint growing in the front garden. Rose neared the town, and walked down the streets. All the bright lights hanging in the sky were confusing, especially the ones that blinked. They shifted from red to green, then to yellow, and back to red. Rose went to cross the hard path in front of her, only to jump back as some white lights raced toward her, and showed no intention of slowing down. When she looked and saw them stopped, she ran across the path, so that another of the growling monsters would not get the chance to try and hurt her again. She ran and ran, following her nose, until she picked up the faintest scent of sage and peppermint. So, Rose turned and followed the scent until she saw a quaint little one-story red brick house. There were little white shudders outside the windows, and Rose could see the faint outline of green curtains in the windows. There were potted plants hanging from the roof of their porch while there were rose bushes blooming all over the front yard.

Rose somehow found her way around to the back porch. She could see lights on in the house, and the scents of chicken and vegetables danced around Rose's nose. She began to lightly scratch at the back door, alerting the family inside that she was there. Rose could hear footsteps approaching the door and backed away a little. When the white door opened, a girl with dark blond hair looked down at her.

"Are you Rose?"

Rose, still in her wolf form, simply nodded at the girl and sat down.

"Come on in. I'll take you to get some clothes."

Rose complied, following the blond girl inside the house and to what she assumed was the girl's room.

"My name is Sydney. I'm sure you'll be able to find everything you need. I'm going to let everyone know you're here."

Rose sat and waited until the girl, Sydney, had left before she went through the painful process of shifting to her human body. Since Rose was still relatively new to shifting, she was a little wobbly on her legs. Once Rose had obtained her balance, she walked over to the dresser and opened the drawer labeled 'ROSE', before pulling out underwear, a black tank top, and some jeans.

When Rose was dressed, she slowly and silently walked out of Sydney's room and followed the sound of voices all the way to the dining room. Once there, a hush fell over the occupants inside. It was then that Rose noticed everyone staring at her. Unsure of what to so next, Rose dropped her chin, hiding her face behind all the hair that was falling around her. She turned, as if to leave, before a hand caught her by the arm, and turned her back to face the family.

"Please, come sit down. You must be hungry."

Rose didn't reply, but not wanting to seem rude, she followed the girl that had grabbed her. She looked younger than Sydney, and shockingly resembled most of Sydney's appearance too. Rose took the time to finally get a good look at the family before her. There were the three girls who all varied in age, but were generally within Rose's age range. Then, there was one older woman, who must be the girls' mother, and a man who must have been the father. He did not look like he approved of Rose's arrival, but he said nothing about it. The mother, whose name Rose had yet to figure out, walked over and guided Rose to a chair before having her sit.

"Here dear, have a seat. Are you hungry?"

Rose was, indeed, very hungry. But, she didn't want to admit it to the family, so she shook her head, as if to say no. But, the mother was having none of it.

"Don't worry dear. Nobody here will hurt you. What can I get for you, honey?"

Rose was parched, dehydrated. She would have done anything for a drink of water at the moment, and since the family seemed to be so hospitable, Rose simply replied.

"Water, please, if you have any."

The youngest of the girls began to laugh hysterically, making Rose feel self-conscious. The human world is all still new to Rose, so she didn't know what all there was.

"If we have any? Who doesn't have water?" The girl said, while she continued to laugh.

"Zoe, that's enough. Of course Rose. I'll be right back."

Now knowing the name of at least two of the girls helped Rose, though she could tell that the Zoe girl was not liking her as much, now that she had been scolded for laughing at Rose.

Rose took the time to look around the room. The walls were painted a creme color, with mocha accents. The chocolate colored curtains complemented the room nicely.

When Mrs. Sage returned to the room, she had a glass of water in her right hand, and a plate of food in the other.

"I know you only asked for a drink of water, but I'm sure you're starving, honey, so eat up. And we have more if you want some."

"Thank you, Mrs. Sage."

"Oh honey, call me Marie."

"Yes ma'am."

With that introduction out of the way, Rose now knew three of the four women. There was Sydney, who had let her into the house. And Zoe, who had laughed at her. And finally, Mrs. Marie, who had brought her dinner. The fourth girl appeared to be the eldest daughter, with her dark brown hair and shining hazel eyes. Then the father in the group, who had streaks of gray dancing with the bright blond. His hazel eyes stared at her as she tentatively picked up the fork and began to eat. Alberta had taught her enough of the human mannerisms since her first full shift that this seemed a little easier than walking. Though, Rose supposed anything was easier than walking at this point, for she had spent her entire life walking around on four legs, instead of two.

As dinner went on, the family picked up conversing and went through the motions of telling each other of their day. It was fine with Rose, for all she had to do was sit back and listen. But, when the family had run out of things to discuss, the topic turned to Rose herself. They asked questions, inquiring about Rose, like her favorite color and what it's like to be a wolf.

She answered with red and that it's a risk, because wolves in general are misunderstood in many ways. But, Rose did enjoy being able to run free without any restrictions. And she missed her family, no matter how upset she may be with Stan at the moment. But, Stan had made his choices and now he had to live with the consequences. He had to live with knowing that he pushed his sister, his only sister, away from the only life she had known. Now, here she was in the human world, a place she knew next to nothing about.

Suddenly, more scratching at the back door came, and a quiet, yet urgent howl came. Rose knew that howl anywhere and rushed to the door. Looking out, she saw Alberta's familiar coat and ripped the door open. As soon as it was open, and Alberta had the chance, she jumped up to Rose and started licking her on her face and pawing at her shoulders, as if offering a hug. The Sage family all stood behind Rose, concerned about her flight reaction to hearing the noise, but watched as she interacted, smiling and laughing, with the wolf that was at their backdoor. Eventually, Rose got tired of standing, somehow draining her energy faster than if she were in wolf form, though it might have something to do with standing on two legs now instead of four. So she sat on the floor and Alberta proceeded to jump up in Rose's face and hug her closely.

Oh, sweet girl, you're okay! You're safe here. You're safe.

"How many of you mutts can we expect at our door tonight?"

That would be Jared Sage. Just ignore him. See if Marie still has my clothes from my last visit.

Even in human form, Rose could still hear Alberta, which she found a blessing in this moment.

"Mrs. Marie? Grandma Alberta is wondering if you still have her clothes from her last visit."

"Oh! Of course Alberta, right this way! Come with me darling."

And off Alberta went, to get clothes on. Rose knew Alberta would chastise her for running away when she returned, but it would be worth it just to have someone she recognized here.

Alrighty babes. There is chapter 14! For those of you who guessed Alberta, and got the sneak peak, you were right! I figured I'd leave y'all with a somewhat happy ending to the chapter, instead of the usual cliffhanger! XD

So, leave me lots of love, and I'll get right to work on chapter 15!

And don't forget to go vote on my poll!

~DA2014