Chapter One

The river continued to lazily go by as Ashton sighed quietly to himself. He frowned at the water before running his fingers through his half silver hair, grimacing slightly at the silver. Most people in his tight little community believed that he had decided to dye his hair the color but only his uncle Jason and his mother knew the truth, that the silver was natural. His jet black hair that he had been born with was slowly turning silver like it did with older people not someone who had just turned sixteen.

Ashton looked up above him as he stared up at the waning moon. He had been into keeping track of the moon's phases since his mother had told him about his heritage when he was just eight years old. It made since to him of course but he had to make up some excuse to his best friend Zander besides telling him that he was not human but a moon elf, or half moon elf anyway. He chuckled to himself, knowing Zander would have thought he was telling the truth back then but now... Zander could not stand the idea that someone could be that different. The blond would probably call him insane and avoid him for weeks until Ashton forced him to talk to him again. Taking one last glance up at the moon, Ashton got to his feet and headed back towards the trail that led to the campsite that he and his uncle were spending the weekend at. Jason looked up and grinned at the site of the teen.

“Hey Ash,” the man said cheerfully as Ashton flopped down on the ground next to him. “You're just in time for some s'mores. I know you prefer your organic snacks but you're a kid, let yourself have a few sweets every now and then.”

Ashton chuckled slightly as he took the paper plate from his uncle, “Uncle Jason, you know I only want organic now because of my inheritance, otherwise I would have eaten six of these by now.” His tone was slightly wistful but he knew by now that if he ate too many sweets or junk food he would be sick for days. The moon elf half of him just could not stand the amount of junk food he used to eat and he needed to stay strong so he could control his sudden influx of powers swirling inside of him.

His uncle rubbed his back, “Ash you know if this starts to get too hard for you that you can talk to me. You already struggled with depression before all of this and with all these changes happening... I just want you to let your feelings out without hurting yourself.” Ashton nodded and smiled brightly but inside his stomach twisted and his anger bubbled slightly. He hated the fact that his uncle was a therapist with a passion but he knew without his uncle he probably would have gone down a very bad road. The two of them sat in silence for a few moments before Jason stood and stretched out his back.

“Well bud, I'm going to head off to bed,” he told Ashton brightly. “If you're staying up remember to kill the fire before you wander away.” Ashton chuckled slightly, knowing he would eventually find his way back to the river to practice. He bid goodnight to his uncle as he watched the man climb into the tent and zip it up.

Hours later in the early hours of the morning, Ashton sat next to the river again as the sun started to rise above the horizon. The first rays of light lit up the silver in his hair as he stared down at the river, concentrating hard and trying to raise the water. His eyes narrowed as his face clouded in his efforts as the river's current started to speed up. He leaned forward towards the water, his brow furrowed before his eyes widened dramatically as the water level began to slowly rise before it dropped once more, his concentration slipping as triumph warmed his chest. Ashton smirked to himself as he stood and wandered back up to the campsite. He climbed into the tent and collapsed into his sleeping bag, falling asleep almost immediately from exhaustion.

* * * * *

The man stood just outside her house as the sun steadily climbed higher and higher in the sky. He had finally found her after years of searching. Who would have thought that his Luna would come back to the sleepy little town he had saved her from when she was just the tender age of sixteen? He smiled thinly to himself as he used his power over the light and shadows to hide himself from sight, cloaked in the shadows of the large tree out front. He watched as she bustled around her small kitchen, briefly wondering if she was still such an awful cook since the last time they were together. The voices of two men snapped him out of the memories as they came closer to his hiding spot.

Turning his head, Luciano watched as a man parked a white Jeep out in front of his Luna’s home, leading a teenage boy up the drive as he went inside. He narrowed his eyes as he recognized the older male, Luna’s brother. He had never cared enough to remember the other man’s name. Silently, Luciano allowed himself to come up behind the man and his young companion.

The boy had the same bright silver eyes as his Luna.

Luciano froze mid-step as the thought swept through his mind. No, he thought to himself as he watched the door to the house close behind the boy. Luna was loyal to me, she would have obeyed when I told her to get rid of the child. But the child looked to be the right age. It had been seventeen long years since his father had thrown him and his Luna out of the troupe and the boy looked to be sixteen. If he is my son, Luciano thought to himself as he stared at the front door, then he will be coming into his powers soon enough. He needed to speak with Alexis was his next thought after his newest revelation had a moment to sink in. Turning towards the deeper shadows, Luciano could already feel the plan forming in the back of his mind. Perhaps I will finally be welcomed back into the troupe after all, he thought with a cold smirk as he disappeared into the darkness.