Wolf Moon (17 page)

With
my right hand, I traced the scars with my fingers. He was right; they were hot
to the touch, but he seemed to be managing the pain. “It’s normal. It’s just
the wolf wanting to come out. Let her out—well, not right now. I’d prefer
to not be under you when that happens.” He winked, and I let the pain slip from
my mind momentarily as I laughed. “Don’t suppress her, baby. Tell her she can
come out and play soon.”

I
closed my eyes and breathed deeply, trying to accept the heat that continued to
pulse through my veins. It took some time, but eventually I was able to get it
down to a warm throb.

“There you go,” Nick said
proudly, cradling my face and kissing me. “How about we go grab a bite to eat
with the others before we head out to play?”

“
Y
ou
want me to strip?” I asked, standing in a foot of snow and hidden by a copse of
trees to the left of the pool. “Out here. In the cold.”

Nick
chuckled. “Well, you could strip in the house, but then you’d be walking longer
out here in the elements in your birthday suit. I wouldn’t want you to get
frostbite, babe.”

I
hugged my arms around myself, trying to keep my body heat in my new winter
jacket. I could feel the tension building in my muscles, and when I looked out
at the horizon, I found the sun was barely peeking over the edge.

“What
if the change takes too long? I’m going to freeze my ass off.”

“It
shouldn’t. It should start any minute, actually. Which is why you should take
your clothes off before they get destroyed.”

I
cocked an eyebrow at Nick. “You just want to get me naked again.”

Nick
laughed. “Baby, if I wanted to get you naked for anything but the change, I
wouldn’t do it out here in the dead of winter.”

That was when the first bone in my back shifted.
I cried out, leaning into the pain, and immediately started to undress. I
tossed my things at Nick as bone after bone cracked and realigned in its new
position. I was forced to my knees as the fever raged through my body again,
starting at my shoulder and emanating outward until it consumed me.

Nick
stayed with me, talking me through the changes while reminding me to breathe.
It helped a little as I knelt in the snow, naked. The cold was no longer a concern
as it melted around my feverish skin, and I opened my eyes, watching as my
fingers elongated then retracted. I clenched my teeth, trying to keep my cries
to a minimum as my entire body changed shape.

I
closed my eyes again, losing track of time and trying to focus on staying lucid
through this. I didn’t want to black out again. I was trying to accept this
part of me, even if it still made me feel nervous and skittish. It was hard,
because accepting it all meant accepting the pain, and I wanted to distance
myself from the agony as much as possible.

When
the pain stopped, I opened my eyes, breathing heavily. My vision was sharper,
yet different than usual. Nick was there, smiling widely, and I stood up,
tripping over my feet, still not used to my extra, and quite gangly, limbs.
When I looked down, I saw fur-covered paws sinking into the snow. I jumped to
the side excitedly, my tail wagging and tongue falling out the side of my
mouth.

Nick
laughed and started to undress himself. “Give me a few minutes, and we’ll go
hunt, okay?”

I
sat down in the snow, despite its cool temperature and watched Nick crouch down
and begin to force his own change. It seemed so effortless for him, and I
craved the ease in which he shifted. I hoped I would one day be able to master
that.

When
he was finished, he stood up and shook. His sandy-brown coat glistened in the
moonlight as he approached me slowly, carefully. His tail moved from side to
side, his eyes bright and playful as he stopped a few feet away from me,
waiting for me to make the next move. I did, excitedly, as I bounded through
the cold snow.

He
nuzzled my neck, licking my left shoulder where I’d been bitten originally, and
then I circled him, sniffing and nudging him with my snout.

Without
warning, three other wolves came bounding toward us. One I recognized as
Jackson, both from scent and his appearance, and the other two were Corbin and
a dark wolf I didn’t recognize until I stepped slowly toward her and smelled
her. Colby. She opened her mouth in what looked like the wolf equivalent of a
smile, letting her tongue hang as her breath created a dense fog.

This
was the first time I’d seen the others like this, and I suddenly realized just
how similar in coloring Nick and Jackson were. Nick was a bit bigger, but, if I
wasn’t paying attention to their unique scents or the slight variation in their
eye color, I could see how it might be easy to confuse the two of them.

They
all watched me for a minute, which made me a bit nervous. I wasn’t sure what to
do, and since none of them were moving, I stuck my nose in the snow and started
sniffing. There was something there that I could pick up, traces of something
other than dirt and the crisp smell of snow.
Something that
appealed to me and made my stomach growl.

Another
three wolves showed up—
Layla
, Vince, and
Zach—and we all got acquainted like this. I was still getting used to being
in this form, but so far everything seemed to be going okay. I continued to explore
my surroundings while the others watched on, but when Nick approached me,
nudging my shoulder to get my attention, I looked up to see two more wolves
walking toward us. It only took me a second to recognize the raven colored wolf
and the chestnut one by his side as our Alpha and his wife.

Marcus
walked with his ears forward, head held high, and tail upright. Miranda moved
much in the same way, just a step behind him. My tail continued to wag behind
me, but when I noticed the others all drop their heads, relax their ears and
let their tails fall behind them, I followed suit.

This
was how they showed respect to their Alpha. They couldn’t show any signs of
dominance or he might see it as a challenge.

There
were ten of us now. I wasn’t sure if we were expecting the other two or not
before we went running, but I was definitely feeling the urge to get out there.
It wasn’t long before they showed up, answering my silent query. Karl was still
massive—bigger than Marcus even in this form—and his fur was pitch
black and glossy in the light of the moon. His eyes found me immediately, and
my ears flattened against my head, lips curling back in a snarl as he made his
way toward me. He made a move to sniff
me before Nick stepped
forward, head high, eyes narrowed, and teeth snapping
. Karl only snorted
his annoyance.

Roxanne
was to Karl’s left, her brown coat not matching her phony auburn hair in the
slightest. I suppose this was the werewolf equivalent of the carpet not matching
the drapes. My guess was that Marcus ordered the entire pack to shift tonight.
Perhaps as some kind of welcome for me.

Marcus’
sharp growl pulled my attention to Colby as she tried to move next to Zach. A
wise pup
who
’d learned his lesson earlier, he took a
few steps away from her, but his eyes pleaded for her forgiveness.

Once
he was happy with the space between them, Marcus stepped ahead of his Pack,
glancing back to ensure everyone was falling in behind him. We did. I made sure
to stay near Nick, and I was just about to nudge him when Marcus took off running,
the rest of the Pack chasing after him. It only took me a second to move my
feet, and I caught up in a few long strides, falling in step with Nick again. I
wasn’t sure where we were headed, but I had to admit that this was exhilarating.

I’d
run with Nick before—albeit, not for long before a vampire had tried to
lure me into a trap—but this was different. I remembered Nick telling me
back then how amazing this would feel. I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with
the crisp mountain air, and pushed myself a little faster. I never outran
Marcus, but Nick and I were continually competing for the lead.

Suddenly,
Marcus barked, and the Pack stopped with him. His eyes were on something off in
the distance, down by the frozen lake that was near our property. There,
foraging beneath the
snow,
was a huge moose. We were
going to hunt… Excitement gripped me. We were going to
hunt
.

I
moved from paw to paw in an excited dance as adrenaline coursed through my
veins. The tempo of my heart increased, and my nerves were electrified,
twitching and sparking to life. Everyone seemed to have a specific position
when it came to taking down
their
prey, but this would
be my first. I had no idea what I was doing or how to do it.
Ask
me to take down a man twice my size in human form
,
I
could do it
.
But this?
I was
insecure—which was something I wasn’t accustomed to.

The
minute Marcus took off, the Pack split up into two groups. I stuck by Nick’s
side, and with us
was
Roxanne, Zach, Vince, and
Layla
. The others went the other way. They all operated
like a well-oiled machine, and I tried to keep up as they came upon the moose.
The moose noticed Marcus’ group first while Nick’s unit came up on his flank. I
watched and tried to learn from what everyone was doing.

Nick
leapt first, but the moose must have sensed this and kicked out, mid-stride.
Nick caught a hoof to the ribs, and I heard a crack before he slid through the
snow and stopped four feet behind the rest of us. I stopped while the others
kept going, concerned for Nick. When he noticed, he stood up and barked at me,
almost as if to tell me to get back in there.

I
wasn’t in any hurry, though. In fact, I was downright terrified.

But
I did it anyway. I ran forward as Nick shook off his beating and chased after
us. He wasn’t moving as fluidly given the probability of his broken ribs, but
he pushed through it. The moose was running now with twelve wolves nipping at
his heels. His fear and sweat flowed off him, pushing me through my insecurities,
and I could only imagine the others used this to their advantage as well. I
found I thrived on these things and they enhanced my performance. I likened it
to wolves using steroids.

My
adrenaline unexpectedly kicked in the second I saw an opening between Vince and
Layla
, and I slipped in, my eyes locked on the
moose’s front leg nearest me. If I could grab onto it, I could set him off
balance and the others could go in for the kill. With a growl of determination,
I made my move, but just as I reached out for the leg I’d been so focused on, I
caught my right front leg on something and it set
me
off balance.

With
a yelp, I stumbled, falling under the moose. His hind legs caught on me,
tripping him up, and we rolled together for a bit before sliding to a stop. I
couldn’t breathe, and my entire body felt like it was being compressed. When I
opened my eyes, I noticed the moose was on top of me, and I panicked, crying
out and whining. I pawed at the snow while the moose kicked and flailed, trying
to get to its feet. The sounds of panic the moose made drowned me out, and when
I looked up, I saw the Pack was surrounding him, their lips pulled back and
teeth bared as they descended upon him. Marcus was the one to make the kill,
and once the moose stopped flailing as much, he and Jackson pulled the gigantic
animal off of me.

I
immediately leapt to my feet, my right leg throbbing a little. It felt like a
sprain, so it would be okay, but it hurt to put any pressure on it. I sat down
and licked it for a second, only leaving it alone when Nick came over to me and
nudged my shoulder. I glanced up at him before he dropped his snout to my injury.
His care for my
well-being
was obvious and reminded me
that he was still nursing a broken rib or two. I tried to nuzzle him near his
ribs, but he shied away, growling a warning not to touch. I didn’t take it
personally. How could I? I wouldn’t want anyone touching a broken bone in my
body either.

I
stood up, and Nick ran his head along mine, similar to a hug, I supposed. The
moose had been dead a few minutes now, the snow around it red with the blood
from the torn artery in his neck. Marcus had everyone sitting around it
patiently until Nick and I rejoined the group. We were positioned much like we
were at the dinner table, with Marcus and Miranda at the head and foot, and the
rest of us in our usual “seats.”

Unlike
the dinner table, though, Marcus and Miranda ate first. This was a Pack
tradition. They got first fill of the hunt. When they’d been satiated, Marcus
allowed the rest of us to eat. What caught me off guard was when Roxanne got up
to eat and Marcus snapped at her. She whimpered, but he didn’t back down until
she was sitting again, watching scornfully as we all dug in.

I
considered what just happened for a minute, trying to figure out what prompted
this punishment from him. True, I didn’t really like Roxanne, but what could
she have possibly done to be denied part of the kill?

I
shifted my weight to tear off another bite and pain shot up my right leg.
That’s when it hit me. I hadn’t tripped
on something…
someone
tripped
me
. Everything made sense.
That moose was more than quadruple my size. What was she thinking? Was she trying
to get me killed?

I was too angry to eat.
My hackles rose as I stared at her. I wanted to leap over the moose and attack
her. Nick must have picked up on this, because he lifted his bloodied snout and
nodded toward the fresh meat. Narrowing my eyes at her, I huffed, a cloud of
fog rising up from my nose, and lowered my head back to our dinner. Her stomach
rumbled and I could see the saliva starting to drip off her jowls. She was
jealous. Maybe this was revenge enough…

For
now.

Once
the majority of the Pack had eaten, then—and only then—was Roxy allowed
to eat. Nick and I stole away from the pack, still within view, and lay down.
It was weird, but my first instinct was to lick the blood from his face. We did
this for a while, time of no consequence. I took care of him, and he took care
of me in return. Flashes of my first shift came back, and I vaguely recalled
hunting a rabbit in the desert and then cleaning Nick’s jaw.