Blood Moon

Chapter Two

We unquestionably pick up the scent of another werewolf and hear the recognizable howl, but we haven’t been able to locate the source. Our search leads us to a clearing not far from the barn we’ll be occupying. Unfortunately, by the time we arrive, our company is long gone.

Think we can still track it? I ask.

Ben looks at me from behind golden eyes. We can try. I nod. Oh, and Candra? About what happened earlier . . . Don’t pull a stunt like that again. You’re just asking for it, you know.

My lips peel back, revealing sharp teeth; it’s my only real attempt at a smile in this outward appearance. Like I said, we’ll deal with it later.

He growls and snaps once at me, a form of domination. Too bad I don’t bow down before anybody, let alone a man. I snap back at him. Our playful jesting would’ve probably continued if yet another howl hadn’t echoed through the trees. Immediately, we dart toward the sound; it’s not far ahead. Maybe this will be our chance to catch up.

The black shadow of a wolf sees us first and quickly runs toward the trees behind it, but we’re quicker, more agile. Ben is slightly bigger than me in size, so he has the advantage—and he’s not far behind the wolf. I have to admit, I’m enjoying this little hunt. It’s not every day that we get to chase an ancient werewolf, let alone one who isn’t a member of our packs.

You’ve almost got him, I say to Ben. He’s more or less nipping at the wolf’s hind legs.

The cold night air burns my lungs, and my breaths exit my snout in small, white clouds. One might think my senses are completely up to par, but the fact of the matter is I never see the second wolf coming; it attacks me from my right. Where it came from, how it found us, I don’t really know. What I do know is that its fangs are firmly imbedded into my fur, and it’s not letting go anytime soon.

Candra, I’ve almost got him! Ben excitedly shouts. He doesn’t realize I’m somewhat preoccupied at the moment, which is why I don’t respond. Candra? I hear the panic in his voice, but it’s all I can do to fight off this rogue wolf. What bothers me the most is how I didn’t see or hear it coming. That frightens me. Candra! Where are you? I see straight through Ben’s vision, as he can with mine, and he’s stopped the chase to search for me. Hold tight, baby! I’m coming.

Well, this is embarrassing. My boyfriend has to aid me in thwarting off my assailant, when he should’ve been after that other wolf. Jeez, how many of them are there? Seems like these woods are infested, which doesn’t sounds familiar at all.

I pivot my head around swiftly enough to bite the wolf’s ear, and it emits a high-pitched yelp. Just as it goes for my skin again, Ben sideswipes it with a loud oomph. Both tumble and roll on the ground, through the leaves and twigs and dirt, flipping over each other a few times. I slowly stand on all fours, shaking off the slobber and blood coating my fur, thanks to Mystery Wolf over there, and join in on the social gathering. Ben’s too busy taking his rage out on the midnight creature. I guess he doesn’t like anybody messing with his girl. This makes me smile inside.

Ben, for God’s sake, don’t kill the poor thing.

I’m going to rip it to shreds for touching you! he exclaims. Yeah, I totally called that one.

We need to find out who it is and what it wants, but we need it alive to do that.

Finally seeing past his anger, Ben pins the wolf to the forest floor as I approach. I can’t help but notice the fury in the wolf’s eyes as I stand over it. Apparently, it didn’t see Ben coming, just like I didn’t see it. Completely caught off-guard.

How are we going to do this? Question it, I mean. We can’t drag it back to the barn, and we can’t stand here naked, in the cold, interrogating it.

Ben releases a low growl. I don’t know, Candra. We didn’t exactly think this through before you performed a peep show and took off after the first wolf. But if this means I stand here all night, then so be it.

Don’t be silly. It’s freezing out here, and besides, what if that other wolf comes back?

Then take care of it yourself. His eyes cut into mine and weigh me down with their glare.

I sure as hell didn’t ask him to stop chasing the other wolf so he could fight this one off of me. Now he’s pissed? Like this is my fault . . . Whatever.

Looks like we don’t have much of a choice. We need to get it out of these woods and back to the farmland so we can shift.

And if it doesn’t cooperate, if it doesn’t shift like us? What then?

Fiercely glowering at him, I say, Do you have a better idea, or am I the one making all the decisions now?

Ben tersely removes his paw from the wolf’s side and jerks his head in the direction we came from, hoping the wolf will catch the message. Gradually, the wolf rises to all fours and shakes itself off. But just as we’re about to head back, a black mist, like a fog settling over a lake, rolls in from all around us. I step back a few feet, unsure of what this mist is, or what it might do. Ben does the same.

I have a bad feeling about this, I say.

Ben concentrates on the shady vapor swirling around his legs. Candra, we have to get out of here. This is black magic, darker than anything my family or our Followers ever used.

Hearing his words, my body doesn’t react right away. Instead, I’m too busy eyeing the wolf before us, to which the dark mist is headed. It’s like the wolf is a giant vacuum, and it’s sucking all the fog from the forest. Maybe even the surrounding village and countryside.

Candra, run! We have to get out now!

Ben bounds over and nudges me with his snout, pushing me toward the route we came from. But, me being me, I’m utterly fascinated by this wolf, who holds so much power. Where did it get its abilities? There had to be an original source.

Just like that, I realize my mission for this trip—to find out where the earliest werewolf came from, and how it got its magic. My gut is telling me there’s more to Alaric than meets the eye. It’s also telling me the wolf standing directly ahead isn’t Alaric. And if that’s the case, then who the hell is it?

As the dark fog disappears all around us, the wolf soaks it up. The mist swirls around and around the body of the wolf, and the wolf leisurely rises to stand on its back legs. Ben and I observe the wolf transform into a human, though we can’t see the face because the black vapor swallows it whole. The body is definitely that of a woman, so no Alaric here.

Who is she? I distractedly think aloud.

Ben barely shakes his head. I have no idea, but I think there’s more going on here than we originally thought.

The woman’s voice emanates from the dark blur surrounding her, and the sound echoes itself. “The source for which ye seek this magic is nearer than ye think. Be forewarned, young ones, solving the mystery shall come with a price, one which neither of ye are ready to pay.”

She grabs hold of the shadowy veil, as if it’s a cape, and twirls once, exploding into hundreds of black crows. They circle us overhead like vultures over a carcass, cawing incessantly, then nosedive directly at us, so quickly Ben and I don’t have time to react. The explosion when they hit the ground is the last thing I remember, before the darkness settles over me like an icy blanket.