Her father gave her one last hug before picking up his bags. His daughter knew he doesn't pack much when he goes to his trips, but it seemed that he needed to bring in a lot of paperwork. He wondered why his daughter did not ask him where he went for days, but it was probably better for her that way.

She smiled at him as he let her go. He pat her head lightly. "I will be back soon, pumpkin. Take care of yourself, yeah?" The girl nodded and his father went to open his car. It creaked a bit as he placed the heavy bags into the trunk. With a loud thud, he shut the trunk close and glanced back to his daughter.

"Take care, father." She called out to him with a kind smile. He waved her goodbye before he got into his car with another loud thud. He straightened up himself and dusted off his shirt. It was as if he left the car untouched for such a long time that dust started to settle in. It had been only two days since he last drove it.

After checking the gas tank, the windows, the locks and his pockets for the car keys, he gave one last wave to his daughter. The car revved up as he turned the keys into its hole. There was a bit of a noise before its machine settled into a low hum. Her father drove off, leaving her waving him goodbye at the doorstep.

The wind blew softly around her, causing the trees to hum. If she hasn't lived there her whole life, she would have thought there was a person in the woods humming a calm tune. A soft glow came from the west as the sun sets. She let the light hit her left side, loving how warm it is.

She stood there, staring at the trail her father followed. She waited for a few more minutes to see if her father returns. Maybe he left something, she thought. When the surroundings were getting darker and the sun had set, she slowly went back inside her home. She couldn't shake off the small frown etched on her face. Of course her father would not return for something he forgot. After all, he always packed his things perfectly.

After fixing things up in the study where they have been before her father went on to his trip, she rested by the open window. The cold night breeze blew her soft hair lightly, the moonlight enhancing her fair skin. For reasons unknown, she always felt drawn to the moon. She felt as if such a thing would speak to her, so she subconsciously waited for it to speak.

She found the moonlight warm and comforting at first. However, sometimes she feels as if it was calling for her. Not particularly towards the moon itself, but into the darkness and the dark side of the moon. She thought it made no sense, that such an inanimate object would actually call out for her.

Sighing, she finally closed the windows and covered it with its curtain. With one last look at the bright full moon, she walked away from the window. Her skin immediately felt like it missed the cold breeze and the moonlight.

For the three days she had been alone in her home, she could only do the things she usually did. She cleaned every room there is. As usual, she was not able to clean the entire mansion for only a day, but three days were enough for it. She made sure nothing was out of its place. She cooked for her own meals, cleaning after herself for every meal. Everything she touches, she returns back to its organized place. When she wasn't cleaning nor cooking, she read books. It would normally take her only two nights to finish a whole novel. She had a lot of time in her hands.

At the third night of being alone, it stormed out. The winds were blowing furiously, sometimes as if it wanted to slam the windows open. The wind along with the trees were screaming. Outside, she had seen lightning hit a tree and burn it for a while. It was great that the rain stopped the fire, otherwise the trees all around would have caught fire as well. As if that wasn't enough though, thunder constantly came and it was excruciatingly loud.

She couldn't help but worry about her father instead of getting scared of the storm. No wonder her father had not come back yet, she thought. Out of all the trips her father had gone to, this was the only one he didn't come home in time. She had always known her father followed his time.

That night, as she was laying on her bed, she was still up late. It was already two o'clock in the morning, but there were no signs of her father returning. The storm has significantly weakened, leaving only rain and wind to make noise in the night. The moon shone even brighter. Even when the clouds covered most of the sky, the moonlight penetrated through.

She was getting drowsy as the time passes. Maybe he would come back tomorrow morning, she thought. Bit by bit, her eyes involuntarily started closing. Her sight began to blur as she yawned.

Just as her eyes closed, a loud bang woke her up again.

She immediately stood and ran down towards the door. She had thought that maybe her father had returned. There was nothing at the door though. There weren't proof of wet shoes nor his father's coat that he normally hung when it was wet. She carefully twisted the doorknob, noticing that it was still locked. That meant no one had come inside.

She unlocked the door and slowly opened it, making sure that the wind would not force it open itself. The rain lightly drizzled upon her face as she peeked into the darkness. She looked around but found no sign of her father's car. Nothing had changed around the area.

Only, the trees seem more menacing, as if they were calling out for her to enter the woods. However, already scared as she was, she frowned. With one last worried look around, she closed the door. To be sure, she checked every side of the house. She peeked through the windows, maybe an explosion broke out.

An explosion for her meant that her father might be in danger or there were fires in the forest. Lightning would have been a great explanation for this, but the lightning storm has already passed.

She searched around the house to no avail. There was not even a new tree that got scorched by lightning. She thought maybe she had imagined it. To calm her nerves, she whipped herself up a cup of tea. This time she added her favorite honey, which later allowed her to sleep peacefully.

The morning that came was quite peaceful, the birds came out from their hiding places and chirped happily. She opened the windows to let sunlight in. The sound of the birds' songs were heard clearly. The trees and the ground were still wet from the storm that passed. When the sunlight hit them, the water droplets let the forest glow in the most beautiful way.

Finally checking to see if her father had arrived while she slept soundly last night, she was disappointed to not see any sign of him. She frowned, even more worried for her father. She was sitting in the study, mindlessly staring at her father's chair where he would have been sitting.

"You would not be in danger, right? Father?" She silently asked. She knew there would not be any answer. She was alone, after all. She sighed and tried to get back to what she would usually do. She cleaned, read and cleaned over and over again for the whole day, still hoping to finally hear her father's car to arrive.

Later at sunset, she was reading a book in the study when she heard a knock on her door. She furrowed her eyebrows at the sound. Her father wouldn't have knocked when he came home. He had his own set of keys. She silently walked towards the door, carefully opening it.

"You must be Alina Imenand."

There stood a blond woman on the doorstep. She is beautiful, Alina thought. The woman had straight platinum short blond hair that looked almost too perfect. She had sharp features that made her look even more gorgeous. She looked so strong compared to Alina who had a soft face. The woman looked just about the age of Alina's father.

As if noticing that Alina doesn't know what to say, the woman slowly extended her hand towards the girl. The woman smiled kindly at her, seeing her ease up a bit. "I'm Ramona Shaw." She introduced herself and Alina slowly reached up to the woman's hand.

Alina had read about handshakes before. There were even pictures of it in the encyclopedia her father had in the study. The handshake was weak and unsure, so Romana squeezed the girl's hand. Trying not to seem rude, Alina gave her a small smile. They softly let go of each other's hand.

"It is nice to meet you, Ms. Shaw. Please, come in." Alina stepped aside and opened the door wider. Alina also read this in one book her father had brought. Hospitality is what they called it. Ramona smiled at her gratefully before stepping inside the huge mansion. She looked around for a bit before following Alina.

Alina led her to one of the couches deeper inside the lobby of the mansion. The area was red-carpeted and adorned with fancy couches and a coffee table. It had a fireplace but Alina rarely used the area so she hasn't put up a fire. Not like she needed to, since the weather was humid. "Please, have a seat." Alina told the woman, who silently took her offer. "Would you like some coffee?"

"That would be great, Alina. Thank you." Ramona said and Alina immediately went to make her one. Alina made the coffee as she usually would, but not adding sugar herself. She figured that the woman would want to put as much as she'd like.

She let her thoughts wander as she waited for the coffeemaker to finish. Curious as she was, she felt rude to immediately ask what her visitor was doing here. She hoped the woman would say it herself, not waiting for her to ask. Ramona Shaw is the first visitor of her home and she was the first person Alina had talked to except her father. She was unsure on how to approach such a beautiful woman. Alina did not know how the visitor even knew of the house. She had always thought that the house was somehow invisible or maybe cursed, that is why no one had approached it.

The coffeemaker indicated its finished work and Alina poured coffee on a mug that wasn't usually used. Placing it on a tray, along with sugar cubes and the whole coffee pot, Alina silently came back to where Ramona was. She noticed that the woman had not made another move. Alina set the cup of coffee and the small container of sugar cubes down on the coffee table in front of Ramona. She set the tray and the coffee pot aside as she sat down on another couch.

Ramona placed about 2 sugar cubes in her coffee and stirred it with the teaspoon provided by Alina. Ramona carefully sipped on her hot cup of coffee and released a soft sigh. Noticing that Alina had been looking at her the whole time, she set the coffee down and smiled softly at the girl.

"Your coffee is as good as Darnall described."

~~ Author's Note ~~

So the name's finally out! Sorry if there's confusion in some parts. Anyway, thank you for waiting for this moment! Enjoy the story quite a bit more. The werewolf part is almost there :)

Please feel free to leave comments! :)