"Emery, are you ready to sleep now?" My mother asked as quietly as she could, my name coming out in a sing-song tone, and she continued tucking me into bed even though I furiously tried kicking the blankets off of me, but my short legs were no match for the heavy covers. Looking up at her, my coffee brown eyes begged her to let me stay awake for just a bit longer.

I opened my mouth to answer, showing off my missing two front teeth, as I got ready to say 'No,' in the brattiest voice I could make.

My mother interrupted me before I could get the word out, "Yes? Good," she smiled down at me teasingly. "No matter what your answer is, you are still going to sleep, but maybe-" she paused as she watched my reaction, her perfectly manicured index finger tapping her bottom lip, "-hm, should I tell you the story again?"

My interest peaked at the mention of the story, my eyes had widened with excitement as I pulled up the blankets to my chin and nodded eagerly.

I knew exactly what she was talking about, I always knew, and I was always up to hear it.

"No nightmares?" She questioned and I nodded again before rolling my eyes at such a question, "If you say so, my brave girl, then I will tell you."

She tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her pointy ear as I stared up at her in awe and thought about how much I loved her hair, wishing that when I grow up that I would have hair just like her and not the style I had that made me feel a little like Dora. I wanted her hair, brown hair that reminded me of dark chocolate with natural golden highlights throughout it all, like caramel covered brownies. "Alright," she began, snapping me out of my trance, "now, let me tell you the story of Morpheus,

"Of a werewolf who was half God, the most powerful and cruel thing this world has ever seen. But, of course, to tell you his story I must tell you someone else's first," my mother insisted as she leaned in closer to tell me about her favourite part, about a loving mother who knew when to put her foot down.

"The story of the Moon Goddess, a woman who created a whole species, and she was also Morpheus's mother. Oh, she loved her creations, the werewolves, they were her pride and joy, but she wanted something more, something of her own blood. After thinking about it, she decided to have her own little baby, her very own pup. She became pregnant with a wolf child, one who would carry more strength and authority than an Alpha werewolf. The Moon Goddess then gave birth to the child whom she named Morpheus, and she loved him very much.

"As he grew he became powerful, but angry, filled with rage at the sight of seeing the werewolves hidden away from humans, a race that was much weaker than the werewolves. He began to despise humans, but he didn't do anything about it, nothing too rash, no matter how bad he wanted to. That is until he witnessed an attack from hunters, humans out to kill the supernatural. Oh, that was enough for him," she took another pause and noticed how my eyes were still wide open, still focused on her as I watched her lips move with every word, "you better close those eyes of yours or else I won't continue."

I squeezed my eyes shut.

She resumed the story, "Morpheus finally declared war on the humans, but he did give them time to prepare even though his hatred for them was growing with each day that passed. The war came, a battle broke out, and Morpheus himself killed hundreds of humans with his bare hands, then shifted and killed hundreds more by ripping them apart with his great canines,

"His mother watched, disappointment written all over her face at the sight of her son killing and killing, but she didn't intervene, instead she waited until it was all done, until werewolves were at the very top. The Moon Goddess came back down on earth, but it was to punish her son, who at the time was celebrating the win, she poisoned him with wolfsbane, something to weaken him before cursing him, with the help of witches, to a deep sleep."

I could hear her yawn and I could feel the bed move as she tried getting up, "I'm not asleep yet, Mom," I said as a contagious yawn slipped past my lips, "tell me the rest of the story and I'll go to sleep-" I pulled my pinkie finger up from under the blanket and held it up, "-I pinkie promise."

She wrapped her pinkie finger around mine and gave it a quick squeeze before going back to telling the story, to tell the end of it, "Okay, Emery. Morpheus felt betrayed, but there was nothing he could do, so succumbing to the spell, he laid down in the coffin-like hold and fell asleep. The Moon Goddess moved her son into a tomb, where he has stayed locked away for centuries and continues to stay there, until one day when something is supposed to come along, something that will change his view on humans and will finally awaken him."

"What do you think that will be, Mom?" I whispered sleepily.

"I don't know, Emery. What do you think it will be?" She asked me as she got up from sitting beside me, leaning down to place a soft kiss on my forehead.

"I-I don't know," I answered, "maybe candy."

"Candy?" I could hear her airy laugh, one that could make anyone smile. "I'm sure he would love candy, just like you, my sweet Emery."

"I love that story," I whispered happily as I turned to be laying on my side.

"Emery, this story is meant to scare off both human and werewolf children from doing bad things that upset their parents," my mother told me, "but you seem to always want to hear it."

I hummed as I started feeling drowsy, my mind already in a dreamlike state as I let sleep take over.

My eyes shot open as my sweat covered body lurched up, my breathing coming out in gasps as I sucked in whatever air I could get. My head snapped from side to side as my eyes searched my pitch black bedroom, placing my hand gently on my chest to calm myself down with the realization that it was just a dream, and that I was in fact alone.

I turned to lay back on my side with a disappointed sigh, looking towards my side table that was next to my bed, and I found myself not being able to make out the picture that was placed on top of it, but I was so used to it that I could imagine it in my mind, the last picture that was ever taken of me and my mother.

"Oh, Mom," I mumbled sleepily as I ran a hand over my face, a familiar ache formed in my chest as I felt my throat tighten, and I continued looking at the picture of us as I recalled the day it was taken. The image of me and my mother, her arm wrapped around my shoulders as I made a funny face, sticking my tongue out at the camera that my father was holding, he was smiling as he watched us happily, on the back of the picture he wrote in his sloppy handwriting, 'the two loves of my life'.

I tried to distract myself by thinking back to my dream, a memory engraved permanently into my mind.

"Morpheus," I whispered to myself and rolled over to be laying on my back, now facing the ceiling as the familiar name filled me up with some unknown interest. I shook my head before turning back on my side, closing my eyes.

Just a bedtime story.