Moonlit Pages

Verena Seraphine Moon had always been a hardworking person. At twenty-four, she is juggling multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet for her and her uncle. She spent most of her days either at work or looking for more jobs just to make sure that she could successfully take care of her uncle, who is suffering from alcoholism. She had been stressing about the same kinds of problems all her life. Expenses, budgeting, and all that work out perfectly by the end of the month. Nothing is impossible if she just gets one more job. If she were required to write a motto for her life, it would be "One more job means one less problem." Even though her whole day is already too much, she won't stop working, even at night. Her night shift at the library cafe was her favorite job; surrounded by books, she found solace and a sense of peace in the quiet environment.

As she began her shift that night, Verena's thoughts drifted to her ever-growing expenses. She had bills to pay, groceries to buy, and her uncle's allowance to cover. She knew that he would lose his mind and wouldn't stop yelling until his lungs collapsed if she ever forgot to give him at least a couple hundred. If she fails to do so, she fears that she might get back home with her things messed up and search for him again. If she ever sees her things gone and sold off for alcohol once again, she's going to lose her mind. It seemed as though no matter how much she worked, money would disappear quickly anyway. But she knew that it would work out. One more part-time job, and it's going to be alright. She couldn't afford to take a break, not when there was so much to do and so little time to do it.

"The chairs and tables are all done; I have washed the dishes as well," she took note of herself. "All I need to do is make sure that the books are all back on the shelves, and I think I am done."

She looked around to check the windows and sighed, "Ah yeah, I need to clean those too."

As the night wore on, Verena found herself growing more and more tired. She wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead as she tried to focus on cleaning everything by herself since a bunch of the customers only stay inside until nine. It was a great concept to have a cafe and a library together. If she had the money or the time, she would also want to stay in there for a long time. But for now, she had other responsibilities to tend to; maybe when she's better off, she'll experience relaxing in such a great place.

At least for the time being, she could stay until ten. But instead of reading, she has to tidy everything up and make sure that when they open in the morning, everything is perfectly organized and clean. As she got to the back, where the last bookshelves were, her heart sank. She saw a bunch of books that were misplaced on the floors and the beanbags.

"How did I miss this?" she said with a sigh. "Gosh, just as I thought that I could go home earlier today."

Verena knew that it was easy; she's done this a ton of times before. Just pick things up and put them away. But her mind kept wandering. Now she has lost the chance to get more time to sleep. She thought that since her uncle was going out tonight, it would be peaceful for once, but it wasn't. Tomorrow, she's going to have to face the day with four hours of rest. Overtime might get her extra money anyway; that's always a great thing, especially since due dates for bills are about to hit her face once again. It was a bad idea to go down that train of thought. Now, problems kept circling in her head, filling up her brain and making her ears ring. It wasn't until she noticed the strange book tucked away in the corner that she was able to distract herself from her thoughts.

"I almost missed one," she whispered.

As she walked over to it, she noticed that its cover was worn, and it seemed to emit a faint glow that caught her attention. Maybe it's how the moon perfectly acted as its own spotlight that made it seem so glowy, but it's not just that. She somehow felt a little hint of amusement as she stared at it. As she approached the book, she saw the shinny title written on it, Lunaria, and she couldn't help but be intrigued. The moonlight shining down on the pages illuminated the words in a way that made them seem to come alive.

Without thinking, Verena sat down in the nook by the window and used the full moon as her light. She began to read from the book.

"Seriona," she read the name written as the title of the first chapter.

The story was captivating, and she was drawn in by the tale of werewolves. It was about a pack, led by their king, Lucas, who were cursed by a powerful witch named Seriona to only be alive inside the book. They were inside their own world where they could no longer harm humans, and the world was called Lunaria. The tale sent shivers down her spine; it was so wonderfully written, and the emotions that came from it were too real.

As she read, a gust of wind suddenly blew across the room, and the pages flipped. She was surprised, knowing that she had already closed everything. However, before she could even bother to worry about where that wind came from, she was already drawn to a section where the pages had landed. It was about a ceremony for the werewolf prince to choose his mate. The possible mates were all invited to their palace to participate in this very important event. After the ceremony, the prince would then take over the title of King.

"Wow, that's crazy," she whispered to herself. "That's a crazy way to find a girlfriend, for sure." She crossed her legs and buried her face in the book once again. It was getting exciting; the description of the prince was reeling her in. She was sold as soon as she read that he had blue eyes. She always thought that they were so pretty.

But when she read the werewolf's name, she couldn't help but chuckle.

"Really? A werewolf with this name? How creative," she commented. "Zoren Bullet?" she recited out loud.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light filled the room, and Verena felt a jolt of energy surge through her. She instinctively covered her ears as she curled up with her knees to her chest, thinking that it was lightning. Realizing that thunder wasn't coming, she slowly opened her eyes. But she was stunned to see a man sleeping on the bookshelf near her.

"Who... oh my God, since when was he there?" Verena asked herself, her heart racing as she tried to make sense of the situation. She looked around, trying to check if she had accidentally left any entrances open, but there were none.

Verena's heart was pounding in her chest as the man's eyes slowly opened and met hers. For a moment, there was only silence as they looked at each other, taking each other in. The man had a strong jawline, piercing blue eyes, and dark hair that was slightly messy yet still styled. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties, just like Verena, and was dressed in a cloak that seemed to be made from luxurious fabrics, perhaps velvet and fur. There were a bunch of gems embroidered with intricate patterns. No matter how beautiful it looked, it seemed strange to Verena.

After what felt like an eternity, the man finally spoke, his voice low and smooth. "Where am I?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

Verena was still in shock, and it took her a moment to respond. "You're in the library cafe," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

The man looked around the cafe, taking in his surroundings. "How did I get here?" he asked.

"I... I don't know," Verena said, feeling uneasy. "You were... sleeping? Since when did you come in? I mean, I am so sorry, but we are closing already."

"Explain yourself!" The strange man commanded "What are you discussing, and who are you?"

"I work here," she softly answered, looking around to show him where they were. "This is a library cafe, sir."

"Library cafe, you say?" he asked, with a sour look in his face. "I was just at the ceremony; I had to select a mate today to be able to take over the kingdom," he murmured to himself. "How did I end up in such a horrible place?"

"Sir!" Verena was getting a bit frustrated and freaked out that she had to talk with a lot of hand movements, trying to convey her words. "Were you here to read?" she asked.

The man's eyes fell on the book that Verena was holding, and his expression changed to one of recognition. "Lunaria," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Verena looked at him in confusion. "Oh, were you reading this?" she asked. "I found it over here."

"That book," the man said, pointing to the book in Verena's hands. "Is this the cursed one?"

Verena couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Come on, I can let you read this book at home. I will lend it to you," she said. "Stop joking around."

"That's where I came from," the man said with a shrug. "But here I am, in the flesh."

"Huh?" she asked, still unable to understand what he meant. "Sir, just let me write your name down, and I can let you bring this book home. All you have to do is make sure to bring it back after three days and return it, okay?"

He mindlessly nodded while still focused on the book.

"Alright," she said, taking a deep breath. "What's your name?"

The man looked at her and said, "I'm Zoren Bullet."