In the Light of the Moon, page 1
IN THE LIGHT OF THE MOON
A LIGHT IN THE DARK
BOOK ONE
NOELLE UPTON
Copyright © 2024 by Noelle Upton
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
No generative artificial intelligence (AI) was used in the writing of this work. The author expressly prohibits any entity from using this publication for purposes of training AI technologies to generate text, including, without limitation, technologies that are capable of generating works in the same style or genre of this publication. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
ISBN: 979-8-9890779-3-9
Cover art by Julia Saxton (Instagram: @j.sgrey)
Cover design by Allaina Siler
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Dear reader, I hope you enjoy this sweet and paranormal romance book. The characters are very close to my heart, and I hope you love them.
A few notes, this book contains mature themes, including explicit sexual scenes and language, violence, and gore. Feel free to send me an email if you have any further questions/concerns.
Additionally, one of the main characters in this novel is on the autism spectrum. I am in no way an expert on autism and have strived to treat this and my other characters with consideration and care.
I am an independent author, and though this book has been combed through and edited, mistakes happen. If you find any errors, please let me know so that I can do my best to correct them.
With all that being said, I hope you truly enjoy meeting Sylvie and Orion.
CONTENTS
I. Rise
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
II. Set
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Afterword
About the Author
Also by Noelle Upton
To my sister. For everything.
PART ONE
RISE
CHAPTER ONE
Sylvie
“That’ll be thirty dollars and sixty cents,” I pasted a pleasant smile on my face, aimed at the two teens that had just ordered, and spun the register’s tablet around for them to see their total. They paid me no mind as the taller one tapped a credit card and signed. I noticed that they declined to leave a tip but kept my smile steady. “We’ll have that right out.” They slunk into one of the dingy booths near the back corner, and I drummed my freshly painted fingernails on the counter.
The Tuesday evening passed by in a dull rhythm that I had grown used to. We were a little busier since it was summer, but weeknights were always a bit slower. And most chose to order online rather than come in at all.
I packed orders after Louis and Evan in the kitchen pulled pizzas out of the ovens, wings out of the fryers. Evan’s portable speaker blasted Sweet Leaf by Black Sabbath, and I found myself humming along to it while I wiped down tables, though people mostly sat inside just to wait for their orders.
The hours went by, and I tried to recount my lesson with Granna that morning, testing if I had memorized the newest recipe. I imagined the spicy aroma within the mortar as she instructed me how best to carefully break seed husks so as to not fully pulverize. My fingers still carried a hint of the peppery scent, and I passed the time thinking through her critiques and what I would try to make next. Soon, I was ticking away at my closing duties, the last orders of the night were rolling through, and I heard the guys start to shut things down.
My black combat boots weren’t exactly non-slip, but I’d thought it silly to buy new shoes for a job I hadn’t intended to stay at for very long. Classes were about to start, and the smell of pepperoni and fryer oil clinging to my hair was beyond unpleasant. I’d asked Josie to let me know if she heard of any openings around, and I planned on taking another walk through town this weekend to inquire at pretty much any place besides here.
But, for the time being, Vinny’s was a simple enough place to work. I could spend most of my time reviewing my notes from Granna’s lessons or working on short stories, so it wasn’t all bad.
After I mopped behind the register, I stepped carefully and wheeled the bucket where the guys could grab it once they finished cleaning everything else back there. I was in charge of the front of house, so I collected the two half-full bags of garbage from the cans I was responsible for and whistled along to an old country song blaring from the kitchen.
I made my way out the back door and sucked in the humid, but surprisingly cool, night air. Autumn was quietly approaching, and I sucked in a long breath, tasting the impending change of season. I tugged forward the silk bandana I tied around my hair, as it always tended to slip, and heaved the garbage bags up and over into the smelly dumpster. My hands wiped absently at my denim shorts and righted my red work shirt that had Vinny’s Pizza stamped across the chest. At least that was all for the required uniform.
Asphalt crunched under my boots as I practically skipped toward the door, excited to be going home in a few minutes, when a choked sound made me pause.
I stilled, cocking my head to try and identify the direction it came from. The old pizza shop was on the edge of the historic downtown, and to my left, there was a grassy area that extended into the dark forest. Though I hadn’t lived in town long, I knew that the woods extended for quite aways, part of it even near Granna’s house. The moon was bright and almost full overhead, but the trees and brush swallowed most of the light it provided.
There it was again. That noise. I whipped around when I realized that it almost sounded… pained. Like an injured animal? My eyes glanced again to the forest, and when I heard a stuttering exhale coming from somewhere near the dumpster, I walked tentatively away from the door.
Though I didn’t know what I would find on the other side, the thought to be afraid never crossed my mind. I’d never been a very fearful person, anxiety about other life circumstances was more my speed, and I only felt a sense of calm concern with the mouth of the woods looming beside me. My chest felt warm, and the branches rustled when a lazy breeze made its way from the forest’s depths toward me. It smelled of purest earth, and my gait was almost relaxed as I made my way to the other side of the dumpster.
There was only one light overhead back here, and it appeared almost flickering with all of the moths and flying critters that clustered and fanned around it. Though I was usually worried about insects landing and getting tangled in my hair, I paid them no mind. The sight before me left my body frozen.
It was a man.
Some guy was crumpled and leaning against the dumpster and the brick facade of Vinny’s. His chest was rising and falling very quickly, but it was like he was trying to remain as silent as possible.
But then, like the pain was too much, he would make that choked, shuddering sound while his shoulders shook.
I crouched and heard my knee give a hearty crack at the movement. The old leather of my boots shifted, and I pressed my forearms into my thighs, “Hey… are you okay?” The guy stilled at my voice but didn’t lift his head.
From where I was, a few good paces between us, I saw that he was probably taller than me, though he was hunched over with arms wrapped around himself. The pale color of his hair made me almost think he was older. But another bout of pain made him twitch, and I saw that his skin was unwrinkled.
I inched forward, still crouched, “Hey? Can I get you some water or something? Do I need to call someone?” He definitely flinched at that, and I sucked in a breath when his head lifted enough for me to see wide, bright green eyes. Like, eerily green.
They were… pretty. Like the almost glowing color of those antique glasses that you’d find at vintage stores. Too dangerous to drink from, but beautiful all the same.
They pulled me in, and then I was within arm’s reach of him. His eyes darted to the woods behind me, but he remained silent. I sank down to my haunches and sucked in more air. Now that I was closer I could smell… blood? I took another big inhale, and the sound of it made him eye me
I looked over his body again, noting now that he was clutching at his side while his other arm was almost limp against his middle.
“You’re hurt. I can call an ambulance or something?” My hand was extended out towards him, wanting to touch and see how bad his wounds were but also wanting for him to remain calm. He kept looking toward the forest, as if something was standing there, and I looked across my shoulder to follow his panicked gaze.
There was nothing but the rustling of trees and the buzzing of the light overhead. I could hear the blaring music the guys played through the door that was propped open, but there was nothing else.
I twisted back around to look at the man, and I marveled at the paleness of him. His skin and hair were about the same, off-white pallor. His lip look busted, bright red blood contrasting heavily against the plump skin. The blood trailing down from his nose made it even worse. What happened to him?
“Did someone hurt you?” I tried to keep my voice low, soothing, but he flinched again, staring right at me, and bared his teeth.
“Look, I’m not,” I raised both palms, “trying to hassle you. But you look like you could use some help.” My teeth sank into my bottom lip, trying to decide what to do. His eyes stabbed back toward the forest again.
I crept a little closer, but he ignored me. He didn’t seem to have any trouble breathing, but my guess was he hadn’t collapsed beside a dumpster at the back of a failing pizza joint because he could just run or drive away. Had someone beat him up back here while the three of us had been right on the other side of the brick wall?
Now that I was just a half-step away, I could see more blood seeping through the fabric of the dark shirt he wore. It was long-sleeved, but I could also see that it was worse for wear. There were scuffs and tears in the fabric, his hair messy and blood-stained. His jeans looked dirty, and I wondered if he had any wounds on his legs, too.
“Let me just see where you’re hurt and I—” but I’d been moving too fast. I’d felt lulled into him accepting my company and touch when he let me get closer. But when my left hand reached out to pull some debris away from the injured areas, a grumble made its way to my ears just after he was a flurry of movement. Green eyes and white teeth flashing, my arm was knocked away from him, and so was the rest of my body.
The air whooshed out of my lungs when my back hit the asphalt, and then he was leaning over me. My heart thudded quickly in my chest, and I gasped for breath, to figure out what to do. His hands were planted on either side of my head, but his legs weren’t pinning mine down. A drop of blood from his nose dripped onto my cheek, but I didn’t dare wipe it away.
Up close, I could see that he didn’t look much older than me, and it was like his skin had actually been leeched of color. There were purple bruises forming where someone had undoubtedly hit him, and there were even deep marks that I could see near his collar that looked like… punctures?
I tried to think of something to say, to do, and though he didn’t have my arms pinned either, I worried that moving in any way would set him off again.
“I-I’m sorry. That this happened to you,” I took a shaky breath, “and that I got too close.” My throat actually gulped, and his eery eyes tracked the movement. I parted my lips to say something else, but then he looked at me again, and my lips slammed shut.
He pressed closer for a moment, just a breath, and I belatedly saw that his hair, though frizzy and standing on end, was made of big, soft looking curls.
The man lurched back, and I was left staring at the darkened sky. I sucked in precious air before carefully sitting up, still afraid to make any sudden movements. He was like an injured animal cornered, attacking anything that got too close.
And, with the way he was crouched, settled closer to the dumpster than before, I supposed he was.
I cleared my throat and gathered my feet beneath me. At some point the music inside had cut off, and I knew that Louis or Evan would be coming out here any second to toss their garbage away before locking up. And for some reason, I didn’t want them finding this man.
I wiped at my cheek with the back of my hand and stammered, “I’m going inside to get my things and make sure no one comes back here. Is that… is that okay?” I really hadn’t been expecting some sort of answer. He didn’t seem drunk or high before, but something in his features seemed more settled, now. There was a little more reasoning in them, and though he wouldn’t exactly meet my eyes like he had been, he surprised me by giving a jerky nod.
My lips curled up in a small smile, “Okay, okay, cool. And I can get you some water?” Another nod, and my smile grew. I stood and dusted off my ass and the backs of my thighs, but kept my distance as I took a step toward the door. When his shoulders didn’t rise in unease, I kept going, even giving a lame little wave.
The guys were grabbing their things when I made my way back inside, and Evan had two full bags of trash in his hands. “I’ll grab that for you!” I hurried to get my big, slouchy purse and filled a large to-go cup with ice water. While I waited for the liquid to dispense, I shoved on my old jean jacket and readjusted my bandana once again. I plucked a straw from the restocked drink station before taking the bags from where Evan had left them propped against the wall.
It was a bit awkward gripping the two heavy bags in one fist while I clutched the water cup to me, but I managed not to drop anything. “See you tomorrow,” I shouted as they made their way to the front to leave and lock the door from the outside.
The garbage bags were almost dragging on the ground by the time I made it out the back door again, and I kicked in the heavy can of tomatoes that we used to prop it open. The door swung in with a metallic clack, and I lifted my foot to give a good kick behind me to make sure that it was closed all the way.
First things first, I dropped the garbage near the door and held the cup as if it was a priceless treasure or life-saving medicine. My heart picked up again, this time in fear that the man was gone, but when I rounded the dark green dumpster, he was still there, albeit sitting a bit more casually.
His head snapped up when I came into view, but he seemed to relax when recognition flared in his eyes. I crouched again, trying to remember not to get as close as I normally would when speaking with someone.
“Um, here,” I extended the water toward him, but then I felt silly because there was too much space between us for him to reach it without us getting closer to one another. I set it on the asphalt and stood, “I’m going to throw some garbage into this dumpster here. There may be a loud noise, but that’s all it is, okay?” He looked at the water tentatively then back toward me without meeting my gaze again. He nodded, and I tried to offer another encouraging smile. He ducked his head, fluffy hair bouncing. I wanted to make sure he could get the water himself, but when he reached out with his right hand and promptly hissed in pain before switching to his left, I decided to give him a bit of privacy.
The heavy bags banged the inside of the dumpster as I tossed them in, and I was glad that I warned him about the noise. If I were him, the sound would’ve made me think I was under attack. And that thought made me wonder again what had happened. He seemed a bit more lucid now, but maybe he didn’t know? Had he been mugged?
When I came back, he was taking long pulls from the straw. His right arm was still curled in toward his body, but the left was holding the weight of the water cup easily. One of his legs was cocked up with a knee bent in an almost comfortable pose, and the other was extended and facing me. I could see that it had a darkened mark on the already dark fabric, and I wondered if that was mud or blood. I was guessing the latter. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t tried to move much more from where he’d probably collapsed in pain.
