Lunar's POV

Parker and I had found a way to hang out, even though he struggled with not tearing my throat out, but it was worth the risk. We were hanging out at the beach with Mathis, Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Hayes, Jax, and Lucy. Jax sat with me and Parker in the sand while Lucy and Mathis splashed in the water. Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Hayes were under the shade of an umbrella in their Cadillac. Jax still wasn't trustful of Parker, so he refused to leave my side.

Anthien wasn't much for the beach, he hated the smell of the water and the feel of the sand and sun. I looked over to Parker as he fidgeted with the special retainer he had in his mouth. It was a retainer used by vampires to keep their fangs from forming when they were having difficulty controlling their "wild side."

"You need to cover your eyes if I'm going to mask your aura," Lucy ran over to us and dropped a bunch of shells, running back into the water as Jax shoved his sunglasses into my face. He cocked his head over to a group that was arriving when I opened my mouth to argue, chuckling when I shut my mouth, "That's what I thought."

I reached for his drink, but he snatched it away with a mortified laugh as he sipped it, "Trust me, you don't want to drink this."

Parker stood up quickly, in a panic, "Fuck, I'll be back. He's here."

Before I could blink, he was gone, Jax was on edge immediately when he left, his voice quiet, "Anthien knows. We need to go. Now."

"I made you and you do this shit?" He whistled at Mathis and Lucy to get out of the water, but it was too late, Anthien was in sight while having a hold of Parker's hair. He was pissed, his eyes flaming red and his throat snarling violently. Anthien stood in anger, shoving him to the ground and flaring at me, "Get. Over. Here."

He hissed at me in pure rage when I stayed where I stood, shoving passed Jax like it was nothing. I backed up with each of his steps, not daring to take a moment to let him cool because there was never a calming-down with him. Why was it when he came around it was during a time Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Hayes couldn't do anything? Coincidence, I think not.

"Get over here," Parker tried to pull him away from me, instantly getting shot down like he wasn't even there. Anthien tried to grab my throat, but I dodged, ducking and running under his arm as he tried to grab me. He was pure, boiling anger. His fist connected with my jaw, knocking me to the ground before grabbing my throat and pinning me against the sand, "You're mine!"

At this point, Mr. Lincoln was getting himself involved, he lost his own chill the moment Anthien's skin made contact with mine. I choked and clawed at Anthien's hand, my struggle not affecting him at all. He was so tempered he was blinded from any of us, and he didn't care. He simply cared about putting me to an end.

Parker was suddenly at his throat, sinking his fangs into his flesh. Anthien reacted but just a drop of his blood was enough for Parker's freedom. Anthien snarled, his focus removed from me and placed onto Parker, but Mr. Lincoln took advantage of Anthien's impulsive movements, grabbing his head and snapping his neck.

"Are you alright?" I stared from him to Anthien, wide-eyed and holding my throat. He knelt in front of me, unphased and remaining relaxed, I could tell he was struggling with it since he hated seeing me afraid. His eyes settled when I settled down from the back of his palm caressing my neck, "We need to get out of here. He'll recover and it's best to get out of here before that happens."

***

Lunar's POV

I played with the food Parker laid in front of me, my stomach churning in disgust. He didn't know about my eating problem, giving me a cheeseburger and fries he had made hot off the grill. It pained me more than ever because I use to love his burgers as a kid. Now, I hated them. Parker sat in front of me, taking a bite of his food even though he didn't even need to eat it, motioning to my plate, "You really should eat. Don't let the beach incident deter your appetite."

My throat swelled up as I stared at the food, my stomach turning as Mathis sat next to me, "I-I-I'm not h-hungry."

Parker furrowed his eyebrows at me, glancing at Mathis for support but she stayed quiet, knowing it wasn't her place to say anything, "Lune, you haven't eaten anything all day. You need to eat."

"I-I-I'm n-not h-hungry," It took everything in me to not heave, the smallest of bile retching up my throat.

"Come with me," He grabbed my wrist once it dawned on him, a sigh releasing from his pursed lips as he led me into his room and blasted his stereo. His body leaned on the wall as his arms folded, his voice blunt, "Is Anthien why you stopped eating?"

"I-I just feel...gross. I'm scared to gain weight. Scared to look gross and feel horrendous. Scared that I'll be looked at as disgusting. Scared to have people point out the fat and the weight if I gain any. Scared I'll be told my diet is fattening. Anything food-related and my stomach churns. Anything food-related and it's like my body is about to explode with vomit," I mumbled very hesitantly, tilting my head against the wall after turning from him. I couldn't look at him, I was too ashamed and ready to bawl. I messed with the strings on my hoodie, my voice getting quieter and fainter the more I uttered, "Everyone used to always laugh at what I liked eating. Shoving diets in my face. Shoving scary things into my head. It wasn't just Anthien doing it, it was almost everyone. If I so much as gained a small stomach, I'd get called fat and it didn't even matter what I'd eat so I just... stopped eating."

"Lune, not eating is much more harmful than eating," Parker sighed soothingly, leaning his shoulder against the wall as he stood next to me, "What do you do to keep yourself nutritious?"

"...I-I take vitamins," I mewled, glancing over at him. I knew how stupid the answer sounded, how unhealthy and damaging it was, but it felt and looked better than food. It was so stupid, I'm an idiot.

"Lunar, you need to eat," He made me look at him, glaring at me and daring me to argue. His eyes grew soft, his grip becoming delicate as he wiped the stray tears from my cheeks, "Your body is suffering from your lack of food. Your stomach isn't made to be starved and neither is your body, vitamins and nutrition pills only do so much. If you don't eat, you'll die. If the body wasn't made to eat, a stomach wouldn't have been placed in it. You're worrying people from eating more than you think they believe you're gross or fat."

"Wh-What if they leave me...?" My voice was almost inaudible, the thoughts starting to pile, "Wh-What if they start making those comments? I don't want them to think I'm gross."

He kissed the top of my head, chuckling against my hair, "You are more likely to leave them, Looney Toons. You don't have to eat a lot, just eat something... Please?"

"...O-Only a cracker or two," I latched my pinkie with his after he held it up, making him smile as he shut off the stereo and brought me back out, allowing me to sit away from everyone.

"We're going to be on the porch, come out when you're ready," He patted my head as I sat on the kitchen floor, hugging my knees, and staring at the little bag of saltine crackers he left with me. I didn't want to eat any of it, not even a crumb...b-but I promised. I just needed to work myself up to it.

Mr. Lincoln stepped in when Parker tried to head out, nodding to him once as he passed before sitting with me, holding the food for me, knowing putting them in my hands was a bad idea.

"I apologize for the way things were handled at the beach," He glimpsed over to me, my eyes still on the crackers, "I should have dealt with it more professionally, but his violence was out of control. Taking too much time to think would have been risky and taking the time to get over there was already causing damage ---"

"I-I don't want you to leave me," My voice was almost mute, my arms curling over my head as my knees covered my face, my nails digging into my skull, "I-I-I don't want to be repulsive. I-I-I don't want to be paunchy. I-I-I don't want you to leave."

He pulled me into his lap before either of us could blink, hugging me tight and covering me in his jacket, chuckling into my neck as he rocked us with a hum, "You are more likely to leave me, My Sweet Little Kitten."

I trembled weakly at his breath and the gentle yet serious tone in his voice, "...I-I don't want you to think I'm horrendous."

"I highly doubt that thought will ever cross my mind when I look at you," He smirked against my skin, teasing it with his fangs, "Even when you're all fucked out and messy, you're the most attractive thing to me or do I need to re-Claim you to make a point, Pet?"

"N-No, Sir."