" What are you doing here?" She asked. He didn't reply and instead pushed her into the room before locking the door.
" Surprised I came through the front door?" Moriarty asked with a smirk on his face. His wet hair showed he just had his bath before rushing here.
" Yes, I'm surprised. How could I be so stupid, even leaving the window open for you." Oonagh complained and went to shut the window.
Moriarty noticed her bright red hair was let down and a smile graced his lips. She was waiting for him to come back.
After shutting the window, a pair of hands suddenly wrap around her waist and his chin on the crook of her neck.
" Don't worry about me, I can come here anytime."
Oonagh blushed scarlet when she turned to meet his eyes, pushing some hair behind her ears she asked, " won't Mrs Beckett think we're doing something else? Remember my identity?"
Moriarty leaned in and kissed her on the cheek before pulling back, " I don't care what she thinks. Everyone can't be the same and your identity doesn't mean you should be treated like a scum." He didn't like the fact that only Halligan and cold Caomham took care of her.
" Thank you for being here with me," she whispered and leaned into his embrace like a scared child. Of course, Oonagh was scared.
" If you want someone to lean on, I'm always here," he replied with a smug expression and Oonagh raised her head to peek at him through her eyelashes, " I'm already leaning on you," and they both laughed.
" Let's talk about what happened in the forest," Moriarty said and carefully placed her on the couch before sitting beside her. Oonagh's head was now resting on his torso as she looked at him with a smile on her lips, her red hair everywhere on Moriarty's body and he ran his fingers through it.
" You're beautiful."
Oonagh looked away, blushing heavily before clearing her throat.
" So…you're a wolf?" She asked and turned to look at him.
" Yes, I am. Everything's alright now," Moriarty tried to end the conversation there. He didn't want her to think beyond her imagination about him being a werewolf. Oonagh is the kind of person he would love to spend time with just like what they were doing now.
He gently lifted her up so she could sit on his lap with her head leaning on his chest like a child. " Caelin doesn't like the idea of you talking with me. I know what happened that day and he lied." A frown appeared on Moriarty's face and he returned his gaze to Oonagh who was having her eyes closed.
" I'm still upset with him, the Manor now knows who I am," she said, much like a whisper.
Moriarty smiled faintly before taking a look around her body. Then he saw it. After entering her room, he could smell blood coming from her but now he could see the stains on her dress.
Lifting her skirt up, four bite marks came into view which were slowly bleeding and he cussed angrily. Those werewolves still had the guy to hurt her.
Staring at her for some time, he then places his hand on the part of her leg. Oonagh muttered something in her sleep and moved, her hands wrapping around Moriarty's neck, her soft body pressing against his, a conflicted gaze settled in his eyes.
Removing his hand from the spot, the bite marks were completely healed.
***
" Mrs Beckett, have you seen Moriarty? I believe he's the doer of this. There are only two werewolves in this Manor and that's Ava and Moriarty." Caomham considered but Mrs Beckett wasn't hearing any of his talks.
" Caomham, stop telling who it is and who it isn't. The footprints showed they were werewolves before shifting into humans whatsoever. Moriarty might not be the one to spill blood there…"
" Then where is he?" Caelin asked, anger bubbling inside of him. It wasn't the fact that Moriarty was a suspect, he was angry because Moriarty was definitely with Oonagh.
Mrs Beckett sat on the nearest couch while the men kept looking at her as though she was a lunatic. " What are you all staring at? Sullivan, get me Moriarty."
Sullivan raised an eyebrow at Mrs Beckett in question before shrugging. He quietly slipped out of the door to head for the ladies Manor. If some men weren't in their Manor, the next place to look for was the ladies'.
Caelin dashed out of the Manor while following Sullivan.
A young lady was sitting at the foyer of the Manor when she spotted Sullivan walking majestically with Caelin moving with long strides.
" What do you want?" She asked while blocking the door with the small ruler in her hand. Her blue eyes scanned Sullivan from head to toes and he gave her a small wink.
The girl crossed her hand over her chest and let Caelin go in but Sullivan was yet to get inside and he made a face.
Riona is his partner and he kept shunning her because he thought she wasn't beautiful enough to be by his side. Sullivan was known to be narcissistic in nature which made him popular in the Brannigan Manor.
" Alright, I'm sorry. Come," he said and grabbed her hand before pulling her inside the Manor.
" Riona! You were supposed to watch the door and not come inside with your stupid partner!" Ava yelled when she saw Riona walking into the living room with Sullivan on her trail.
Sullivan was quiet as he watched the happenings in front of him. He hadn't been keeping up with Riona to know she was having a conflict with Ava.
" Who's this?" He asked, his eyes piercing into Ava's as though he would kill her.
The living room suddenly went quiet and Ava glared at Sullivan. " I'm Ava, the leader here… what's wrong with giving your ugly partner a small punishment?" She asked with a mocking grin on her face.
Riona felt small before Ava and they kept calling her ugly because of her blond hair and blue eyes.
" You rat!" Sullivan spat out in anger and his eyes went black. An invisible force suddenly pulled Ava, flipping her against the table before throwing her against the wall.
Bone cracking filled the air as Ava went limp on the floor, the others now standing in fear after watching Sullivan throw the overruling Ava like a piece of thrash.
Riona felt wind in her ears and she quickly pushed forward to grab Sullivan's hand before he would do something worse.
" Let's go, she doesn't deserve even looking at your face," Riona mocked before pulling her partner away from the small crowd in the living room.
Maybe there was a reason she was paired with Sullivan. He was known for his handsomeness while an ugly girl like her was paired with him, what a life.
When they got inside Riona's small room, he pushed her against the wall with a frown on his face, narrowing his eyes at her.
" If you're being treated badly here, you can tell me instead of sulking and dying in silence," he gritted his teeth furiously.
Her head shot up with a sudden rush of emotion. Riona hadn't expected to hear such a caring word from him.
" Are you bothered about an ugly lady like me?" She asked with a smile on her face.
Sullivan stared at her for sometime and his eyes went black. Riona yelped as she felt the soft mattress on her back and Sullivan towering over her, " so who's now bothered?"
Meanwhile, Caelin was standing at the door of Oonagh's room while glaring at the two who were sleeping peacefully in each other's embrace. Moriarty of all people was sleeping with Oonagh in his hand, what a surprise.
He quietly knocked on the door to see Moriarty move before raising his head. Caelin wasn't bothered when he saw Moriarty's piercing gaze at him because what awaits him in the Manor was more than that glare.
Moriarty carefully carried Oonagh and placed her on the bed, pulling the blanket over her; he then walked to meet Caelin standing at the door.
" What are you doing here? It's rude to disturb one's sleep, weren't you taught?" Moriarty asked before pushing the intruder outside.
Caelin made a face and pinched his nose in disgust, " Mrs Beckett wants to see you…I pray she grounds you for another week," said Caelin before walking away towards Riona's room to look for the stupid Sullivan who was sent on an errand.
When Mrs Beckett had heard that Moriarty was kissed by Oonagh, she grounded him for a week and Caelin was hoping it would repeat itself again.
*
Moriarty went through the door into the Manor and was met with a cold glare coming from Mrs Beckett. She is a strict woman who has been looking after the Brannigan Manor as long as he could remember without any signs of aging.
" Mrs Beckett, you sent for me," he said while standing in front of her. His strong arms folded across his chest as he waited for her to speak.
Caomham was laying on one of the couches with his legs hanging on it, his eyes lazily staring at Moriarty questioning his whereabouts.
" Moriarty, did you shift into your wolf?" Was the first question Mrs Beckett asked.
The good looking man with glasses the other day was standing beside Mrs Beckett, holding something in his hand. " Hand me the ring, Nervin," I see he's hesitant to speak.
Nervin pushed his glasses before handing the ring to Mrs Beckett who signaled Halligan to come forward.
" Yes, I shifted into my wolf. Those wolves were here to send a message from my Uncle, nothing more."
" Nothing more, you say?" She asked with a deep frown on her face. " Were you alone?"
Moriarty bit back the word he was about to say upon hearing the question before looking around. " No? No one could possibly be with werewolves, it's dangerous." He tried to sound cool but noticing Caelin wasn't in the room gave him a bad feeling. Was he still in the ladies' Manor, Oonagh.
Mrs Beckett shook her head in disbelief and stood up from the couch she was sitting on. " You've become so brazen Moriarty, to the extent I can't even remember who you are. This…" she said, raising a small ring-like button for everyone to see, " came from Oonagh's dress. I specially selected this dress with this ring design and guess what, you took her along with you…no? You both left the Manor and were attacked by werewolves."
" I've had enough of your stubbornness, Gael Moriarty, the elders have left your case to me."
" What do you mean? I protected her from those werewolves, what wrong is that?" Moriarty flared angrily. He had always been treated unfairly by Mrs Beckett and few others in the mansion.
" Enough!" Mrs Beckett's shrill voice silenced all the noises in the living room. " You're leaving Moriarty…never to come back anymore. You've been a bone in my throat for a long time and it's time you corrupt yourself without corrupting others."
Moriarty felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach as he gazed at Mrs Beckett wordlessly. " You're sending me away?" He asked after finding his voice.
" Yes. Far far away."
" Isn't that too harsh on him? Moriarty didn't hurt anyone, Mrs Beckett."
" Shut your mouth Sullivan, you're just a child, most of you are children when it comes to comparing age with Gael. He's older than some of you." She replied and walked away to her private chamber.
Nervin cleared his throat before looking at Moriarty, " I'm sorry Moriarty," he apologized. They were friends and it was quite hard to listen to that judgment.