Riley's Curse, A Moon's Glow Prequel

  Chapter Seven

  The Beach

  I woke to the sound of low moaning. I opened my eyes and saw Charlotte still in wolf form hovering over something. She was eating again. She must have caught another rabbit. I crawled slowly over to her hoping that she might share. I could smell the scent of fresh meat and blood, I almost drooled. I was surprised that I was hungry. It couldn’t have been that long since we took down that deer. I snuck up behind her and saw what she tearing into. It was Eva’s brother Samuel.

  I snarled a warning at her to make her stop, but she continued, swatting me with her tail. I bit down on her neck trying to pull her away, her blood seeped into my mouth and my wolf relished the taste. She yelped, and then growled fiercely at me, baring her bloody fangs. I pounced, biting and growling shoving her to the ground. But she was stronger. She ripped my neck and I howled in pain falling into a patch of mud. Charlotte wasn’t concerned at all that she had hurt me. She just went back to her meal as though I wasn’t even there.

  A quick glance at Samuel told me that it was too late to save him anyway. Just like Lucy, he stared at me with lifeless eyes. The image brought back the pain from a month ago and I ran to escape my thoughts. I ended up back at the stream. Since I was here, I washed my wounds in the clear, cool water.

  Charlotte came back a few minutes later to wipe the blood off of her fur. I growled menacingly, but she didn’t even look up at me. When I finished washing, I decided I couldn’t stand to be around her any longer so I took off, heading back to our clothes, disgusted with her, and myself.

  About halfway to my destination, I heard laughter and voices. I stopped to listen, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Closing my eyes, I focused on the sounds of the forest, blocking out all other noises. The voices were mixed with the sound of waves washing on the shore, and the smell of smoke, a bonfire. I found them; they were coming from the northwest, at the lake. Oh no, my friends. With everything that had happened since I had spoken to Eva, I had forgotten about my previous plans.

  I took off in the direction of the beach, hoping that Charlotte hadn’t heard what I had. As I ran, I heard rodents and small animals, scurrying away, jumping out from my path. I was a hunter and now feared, it made my chest puff up and the urge to chase was hard to resist, but I remembered my task, to keep Charlotte away from my friends. My paws dug into the hard ground, forcing my limbs to speed up. I jumped over a fallen tree branch and almost skidded into a tree stump, I righted myself quickly, flying over the under growth and brush. I was almost there when I saw her sneaking toward the lake. She hadn’t noticed me yet, so I sped up, running at high speed to reach my friends before she did. She was ahead of me, but I was faster and I reached the clearing first.

  There, in a circle around a fire, with smoke rolling up into the air, were all of my friends. If I hadn’t turned into a freak of nature, I would have been with them, sharing in their laughter, singing songs and telling ghost stories.

  Charlotte growled a warning to me, but I ignored her, running out to the edge of the trees, I started to howl.

  “Oh my goodness, what is that, Henry?” Eva yelled.

  Henry saw me, his eyes widened with fear. No one else noticed where the howl was coming from. “It’s a wolf, a very large one. Everybody, back away slowly.” I could smell his fear, but his voice was calm as he took charge. I was proud to be his friend.

  Everyone moved slowly just as Henry instructed, but it was taking too long. Charlotte was not far, I could smell her just behind me, hidden behind a sumac bush. When I heard the movement in the brush, I knew she was about to pounce. I couldn't let her hurt them; she had taken enough from this town. I growled at my friends and ran straight at Henry.

  They took off running. Even though this was the only way to make them leave, I feared this would set Charlotte off with the urge to chase and I was right. She took off in full speed in the direction of Eva who was the slowest.

  I barreled into Charlotte knocking her down. My friends were able to escape in their horse and buggies while I struggled to keep her from attacking them. We fought for a long time, growling and biting at each other. Her claws dug into me more times than I cared to remember, but I also got in a few good bites and scratches as well, the scent of her blood just spurred me on.

  When they were out of sight, Charlotte gave up with a huff and a snarl, taking off in the direction of the clearing where our clothes were.

  When I arrived, she was standing motionless with her head down concentrating until the change started.

  I went behind a juniper bush and tried the same thing. I imagined being human, picturing every part of my body, until I felt a tingling along my limbs. It started with a prickle that developed into a searing pain as my body changed form. It was as painful turning into a human, as it was turning into a wolf. My injuries, were nothing more than scars forced away by the change, I would have to remember that.

  When I felt normal again, I stood up and quickly dressed. I stepped out from the bush, and Charlotte was gone. Panicking, I took off after her, sniffing the air for her scent. I found her at the edge of the road leading to my house.

  I rushed over, about to strike her for killing again, but when I stood in front of her with my hand raised, I didn’t see the murderous wolf. I saw a woman, and I couldn't do it, my father had taught me well. It was gratifying to see a few scars on her forehead and cheek; I knew I had given them to her.

  “You coward!” she spat at me. “How dare you come between me and my prey? If you do that again, I will eat you!” Her eyes were filled with venom that matched her vicious tone.

  I was not afraid of her, at this moment I was so livid, I almost shook with intensity. “You’re a murderer! You didn’t need to kill them. Your belly was full of deer and rabbit, all you wanted was the kill. The next time I will stop you!”

  Her eyes narrowed, turning yellow. Now that I was her equal, she no longer frightened me. “Do not forget what happened here tonight. If I’m a murderer then so are you. I know you craved the kill as much as I did. I could sense your urge to feed.” Her voice was low and menacing.

  I started to protest, but stopped and backed away from her. She was right. When I smelled Samuel's blood, my mouth had watered. It didn't matter to my wolf side that it was human blood. The only thing that stopped me from joining her was that I knew him. If it had been a stranger, all the wolf inside me would have seen was food. I was a murderer. I would kill sooner or later, just like Charlotte.

  She continued her speech, unaware of my internal struggle. “You think I was never human. I rejected killing at first, just like you. But in the end you can’t stop the wolf. If you fight it, the wolf wins. If you embrace it, you control the wolf. I will teach you everything. Meet me in the town square at noon tomorrow. I’m taking the stage coach to the next town.”

  I was stunned silent. Everything that happened and would happen played out in my mind and it all added up to one thing. I was a monster.

  Charlotte started to walk away then turned back to me. “Noon, remember. If you’re not there, I will leave without you.” She paused and then smiled. “Goodbye handsome Nathaniel.” With that she strolled away as if she didn’t have a care in the world, her blue striped dress billowed out behind her.

  My world spun. I felt dizzy and terrified. How could I live with my family? What if I woke one morning as a wolf? Would I kill one of my sisters? I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t risk my family. There was only one thing to do. I ran home, determined of my new course.