"I won't be." Claire crossed her arms, wrapping her hands tight around her ribs. She watched her mother slip out the back door and glide across the dark lawn, a shadow among shadows, all but invisible.
After giving her mother a few minutes' head start, Claire stepped out into the frosty night air. It was mid-October— soon they'd be starting the steep slide into the long, frigid winter. Overhead, the stars spit and sputtered in between a few wispy clouds, and there was a hole in the sky where the new moon hung, black and cold.
Claire stepped away from the house and faced the almost leafless arms of the woods. Her heart crashed against her ribs. This was it. Her night to prove herself as a wolf. She squared her shoulders and hurried across the grass toward the waiting trees.
Once she stepped through the ragged opening in the brick wall that ringed their property, once she smelled the dying-leaf scent of the forest, everything changed. The swirling chaos of nerves she'd been dealing with all day became a focused determination. This was where she belonged.
She took a deep breath and ran off through the trees, following the path around the underbrush, over the fallen pines. In the distance she could just see the clearing. Without the fire, it would be invisible to a human eye, but Claire could see the starlight that penetrated the now sparsely leafed canopy.
As she stepped into the clearing, Claire's attention went straight to the flat, empty circle in the middle. The place where the fire would be. There was a small pile of branches stacked haphazardly off to one side.
"I started collecting the wood for you," her mother said, emerging from the trees on the far side with her arms full of kindling. She passed the awkward bundle to Claire.
"You might as well begin building it. The others will be here soon."
"Yeah. Okay." Claire arranged the branches the way she'd seen her mother do it before, creating a perfect little pyramid of wood. Behind her, there was a crunch-swish of footsteps against the forest floor.
Beatrice stepped out of the woods, her white hair gleaming. She turned toward Claire's mother, baring the side of her neck.
"Marie, I greet you."
"As I greet you, Beatrice." Her mother nodded solemnly.
Beatrice turned to Claire, her face cracking into a wrinkled web as she smiled.
"Claire! I greet you," she said, reaching out a gnarled hand to help Claire to her feet. "I greet you, Beatrice." Claire got to her feet. "Where's Victoria?"
"Here I am." Victoria bumbled out of the woods, her belly even larger than it had been the last time Claire saw her. "Marie, I greet you," she huffed.
"And I greet you, Victoria." Marie bit back a smile.
Claire greeted her, trying not to stare at her swollen middle.
Victoria hugged her. "Do not ask me about the baby," she whispered into Claire's ear.
"I wasn't going to. I'm too nervous," Claire whispered back.
"Good. But don't be. Now let me sit down." Victoria lowered herself awkwardly onto the ground.
Beatrice dragged Claire over to one side of the clearing while Marie and Victoria talked about the baby.
"I want to give you something," she said quietly, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a square of cloth, unfolding it carefully. In the middle was a necklace. A perfect black circle of onyx with a tiny diamond set in its center hung from a delicate silver chain.
Claire's mouth dropped open. It was gorgeous.
"My mother gave it to me at my new moon gathering. To remind me that my power was there even when I couldn't see it." Beatrice pointed a twisted finger at the sky. "Just like the moon. That's why we do the gathering during the new moon, you know." "I—I didn't know," Claire stammered. She felt her cheeks flushing with heat despite the kiss of the cold air. "I can't take that, Beatrice—I mean, it's beautiful. And it's so nice of you, but it's too much. And shouldn't Victoria—"
"Nonsense." Beatrice pressed the necklace into Claire's hand. "I gave Victoria a gift for her new moon gathering, but now I'm giving this to you. I'd love to see you wear it. And when you succeed tonight, it'll make me feel like I had a little part in it."
Claire closed her fingers around the pendant and threw her arms around Beatrice. "Thank you. I love it."
"Good." Beatrice squeezed her tight.
"Claire?" Her mother called. "The others are here."