All Hallows' Moon

by Reine, SM

  “Oh.”

  “I want to apologize, too,” he said. “I don’t have any right to tell you to leave.”

  Her anger sparked again, even hotter than before. She stalked toward him. “You need to leave me alone. I’m a monster, aren’t I? You don’t want to make me angry!”

  “Do you think you could beat me?” Seth asked.

  “Maybe I could!”

  “Do you think you could beat my brother? My mom? How about both of them at the same time?”

  Her eyes flashed. “Is that a threat?”

  “No.” Seth took a deep breath. “My family is good. Really good. You’re going to get caught one of these nights. There’s no way you can avoid them without my help.”

  “You said it would be better for us to avoid each other. What changed your mind?”

  It was a good question. His mom would kill him if she found out he was helping a werewolf. It was why he hadn’t told them the truth about the summer when he came home. Seth couldn’t tell Rylie that—she wouldn’t understand.

  “I tried to save you on the night you were bitten. I failed, and I’ve been paying for it ever since.”

  It was the wrong thing to say. Her fists clenched. “So I’m a punishment?”

  “No, but I can still save you.” He spoke fast. “We’re going to get the beast under control so you can hide until my family thinks you’ve moved on. Then we’ll leave. You can stay.”

  Seth watched the werewolf’s fury drain out of her, leaving normal, harmless Rylie in its wake. She nudged a weed with her toe. Her feet were bare. “Okay,” she said. Rylie peeked at him through her hair, and she finally smiled a little. “You want to come inside and talk? We have leftovers.”

  He shook his head. “I should get back to my mom. She’ll wonder where I am.” It was a lie, but Seth didn’t want to sit in a house where people loved each other and be unable to share in it. “We’ll talk at school when Abel isn’t watching. At least we know he’ll be here most of the time. He’s good, but he can’t be everywhere at once.”

  “And what about your mom?”

  “Yeah, Seth. What about Mom?”

  Abel emerged from the shadows. Seth moved to stand in front of Rylie even though he had already seen them.

  “You’re supposed to be working on the tractor,” Seth said.

  “Yeah, but then I saw our car, and I wondered why you were visiting the ranch. I didn’t think you would be visiting the werewolf.” He spat out the last word, and Rylie tensed behind Seth. Her hands gripped his arm. “I thought I told you to stay away.”

  “I came here to see her,” Seth said. “She didn’t want to see me. It’s not her fault.”

  Abel clenched his jaw. His hands hovered near his back, where he usually kept a handgun. Seth was armed, too—but his gun was strapped to his ankle. He wondered if he could draw faster than his brother.

  Rylie radiated tension behind Seth. It was like having an attack dog leaning against his legs.

  “Relax,” Seth muttered.

  Abel’s eyes dropped to the place that Rylie touched Seth, and anger flashed across his face. He grabbed Seth by the back of the shirt and threw him across the hill.

  Pain flared up his leg, and Seth slammed to the dirt.

  Rylie took a step toward him, but Abel jabbed a finger in her chest to stop her. “I won’t warn you again. Stay away from him.” He faced his brother. “Get in the car. If you don’t go home right now, I’ll tell Mom where you’ve been.”

  Seth tried to catch Rylie’s eye, but she wasn’t looking at him. Her gaze was fixed on Abel. It was such a dark night that she was a silhouette against the sky, but her pupils reflected the light of the moon. She looked bestial. The hair rose on the back of Seth’s arms.

  She didn’t move when Seth drove down the hill with Abel’s motorcycle right behind him, but by the time he turned the corner, she had vanished.

  Eleven

  The Bite

  Seth and Rylie didn’t talk openly at school. Even though she didn’t see Abel circling the school in his Chevelle anymore, neither of them wanted to tempt fate.

  They slipped each other notes as they passed in the hallways. Rylie wished she could have told him what she was really thinking in her letters, but they kept it strictly business. The new moon was coming in two days. They needed a plan.

  She sat with Tate and his dumb friends like usual over those two days, picking at her roast beef with less enthusiasm than usual. Seth was eating with a bunch of jocks on the other side of the quad. He had joined the track team like the rumors said, and now it looked like they were trying to recruit him for football, too. In such a small school, most athletes played all the sports.

  Rylie would have preferred to sit with him instead of listening to the guys talk about video games and weed. And judging by the occasional looks Seth threw in her direction, he didn’t like her sitting with them very much, either.

  The day before the new moon came too soon. The sun was setting earlier in the day, and she struggled with control as it got darker. Rylie couldn’t sit with Gwyn that night. She begged sick and hid in her room to watch the minutes tick by on the clock instead.

  If she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, she could almost smell the faint odors of pine and icy river water. It was like Gray Mountain had followed her out into the country, and the wolf longed to run through the forest.

  The distant rumble of a motorcycle’s engine approached. She stood by her bay window, suspended in fear as she peered through the dark night. Was it Seth or Abel coming up her road?

  The wind shifted and she caught a smell of the rider.

  Seth.

  She peeked into the hallway one last time to make sure her aunt’s bedroom light was out before slipping out her window and running to him.

  “Get on,” he said, tossing his helmet to her.

  “Why do I have to wear it and you don’t?”

  “Because I only have one helmet. Hurry up. We don’t have much time.”

  Rylie tugged it on over her head, hoping it wouldn’t give her funny hair. She had spent ages in front of the mirror with the flat iron and makeup even though she always woke up after a moon looking like she had been caught in a stampede.

  Sliding her arms around Seth’s waist, she rested her head against his broad back with a sigh. He felt even more solid than he looked. She was glad the motorcycle drowned out the sound of her smelling his back.

  They rushed through the night with the wind beating around them. Seth must have been going way over the speed limit, but the roads were empty, and nobody tried to stop them.

  He stopped a good thirty miles north of town, and Rylie got off, smoothing her hair self-consciously as Seth hid the motorcycle in a cluster of bushes.

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  “You’ll see,” he said. “Follow me.”

  They hiked across the empty hill. It might have been nice getting to walk alone with Seth if she hadn’t been feeling so moon-sick. Thousands of stars were visible this far from the city, and Rylie thoughts he could see a misty galaxy stretching above the horizon.

  But the sky wasn’t half as interesting as sneaking a peek at Seth. He had a little bit of beard growth on the sides of his jaw, and it made him look older. Rylie didn’t think he had any stubble when they kissed over the summer, but it had been so fast, it was hard to tell. He’d grabbed her while the other werewolves were attacking the camp, and she’d barely had time to realize what was happening, much less enjoy it.

  Rylie wondered what a beard would feel like against her cheek. Did he still like her like that? What if she tried to kiss him again?

  “What are you looking at?” Seth asked.

  She blushed. “Nothing.”

  “Do you feel like you’re going to change soon?”

  All business. Of course. “No, not yet. I still have a few minutes,” she said. Seth looked up at the wrong part of the sky, searching for the new moon. Rylie found it hard to believe that he didn
’t know where it was when she could feel it pulling at her with silver hooks.

  “Good, because we still have a few minutes of walking. Don’t change and eat me yet.” He smiled when he said it, but Rylie didn’t laugh. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m worried about your family,” she admitted. “Knowing someone out there wants to kill me is scary.”

  “I’m sorry,” Seth said.

  “Have you tried telling them you don’t want to be a hunter? They would probably understand. Everyone’s parents want them to go to college and stuff.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t do that. Abel might have been able to if he wanted, but he’s not like me and Dad. Mom and Abel are hunters. Not kopes.” She stared at him blankly. “Don’t ask. It’s stupid.”

  “No, you have to tell me now. What is that?”

  “It’s like... I don’t know, being destined to hunt stuff. It’s not magic, but I’m stronger than most people, and a little faster and I can... okay, this sounds really stupid. Don’t laugh. I can sense werewolves.”

  Rylie’s eyes widened. “You can sense me? Like Spiderman?”

  “I said it was stupid,” Seth said, swinging his backpack into a bush as they passed it.

  “No. That’s cool. So you’re weird, like me.”

  “I was born into it, not bitten.”

  “But you’re still not normal,” she insisted.

  “I guess. So that’s why Mom thinks I should be a great hunter, like Dad was before he died. Killing werewolves was his specialty. I guess I’m good at it too, but who wants to do that? It’s not like a career.”

  “You don’t want to do it because you’re a good person. You’re better than them.”

  The subject obviously made him uncomfortable. He shrugged. “Whatever.”

  “So what does that word mean?” Rylie asked. “’Kopes’? Who made that up?”

  “I don’t know. It’s Greek or something.”

  “Oh.”

  They walked on quietly, footsteps whispering in the dry grass. Rylie moved a lot faster than Seth did, even on flat ground, and she had to make herself slow down so she wouldn’t lose him in the night.

  The sparse trees grew a little closer together, and they made their way around a dense thicket.

  “What else can you do?” Rylie asked. “Can you dodge bullets?”

  He laughed. “No. That’s pretty much it. I can bench press at least three hundred pounds, though, and I don’t work out much. Abel used to get annoyed about it, but he’s a lot stronger now that he got bitten.”

  “I wonder how much I can lift,” she said. “You know, since I’m a werewolf. I’ve never even tried.” Some of her guy friends back home had been into weightlifting. They talked about their veins and doing lots of reps to get big biceps, and it was just about the most boring thing she could imagine.

  “I don’t think wolves can bench press anything with their paws,” Seth said, grinning. Rylie rolled her eyes.

  They finally came across an area that had been leveled off. A concrete path was laid out into the side of the hill, and a tunnel led into a big padlocked door with boards nailed over it. They had to climb over a fence to get there, but despite all the NO TRESPASSING signs, there wasn’t any security.

  Seth found a big rock and struck the padlock on the door. It snapped off. Rylie peeked at a worn map by the door, and was surprised to see they were standing over a mine.

  “A mine?” she asked doubtfully while Seth pried off the boards. “Aren’t those kind of dangerous?”

  “You got a better idea?”

  “Dungeon? Cliffside cave? Outer space?”

  He laughed. “I’ll build a space station for your next moon. This is all we have tonight.”

  The wood splintered and fractured. Seth flung it aside and shoved the door, but it only slid open an inch. She kept an eye on the empty plains around them as he struggled.

  The night was so clear that she could have seen a coyote approaching from miles away. A human hunter would have been even more obvious. Even though she could tell they were completely alone, Rylie still felt like she was being watched, and she wanted to get somewhere sheltered.

  Seth backed up to stand beside her, wiping the sweat off his upper lip.

  “Is something wrong?” she asked.

  “This is a gold mine. The price of gold has to be really high to make a profit off its operations, so they shut it down the rest of the time. It’s not running now. I think they put something against the back of the door. I can’t open it.”

  “Some super strong hunter guy you are. Let me try.”

  Rylie took his place and shoved against the door. It groaned open. She barely had to strain.

  Seth stared. “You didn’t seriously just do that.”

  “I bet I can bench press a million pounds,” she said. “How much did you say you can do? Three hundred pounds? That’s awesome, Seth. Good job. I’m super impressed.”

  He shoved her playfully. “Shut up and get inside.”

  Seth took a flashlight out of his backpack and pointed it inside. The mine was nothing like Rylie expected. Everything was built of smooth concrete, and the cool, dark air was dry on her skin. Seth illuminated their path as they descended a long flight of steps twisting around an elevator shaft.

  “It’s so dark,” Rylie whispered. “Are there lights?”

  “Yeah, but they’ve cut the power.”

  She shivered. “I don’t think I want to change in here.”

  “I’ll leave a lantern for you,” Seth said. “I’ve got one in my backpack.”

  “It’s scary.”

  “You’re going to be a lot scarier in less than an hour.” He checked his watch. “More like twenty minutes. Let’s hurry.”

  They explored until they reached an unlocked room. Rylie didn’t know what it had been used for, but it was empty now, and it had a metal door like it was a giant safe. Seth turned on the lantern and set it in the corner.

  “I guess this will work,” she said. “Where will you be?”

  “I’m going to leave the mine and shut the surface door in case you get out. You can’t hurt anything in the mine, so don’t worry about it.” He pulled a bundle of black straps out of his bag. “I have some ropes and a muzzle if you want. Just like old times.”

  She had to laugh. “This is kind of funny, huh? It’s like summer all over again. Except…” Except this time, she was really turning into a werewolf.

  “Summer wasn’t all that funny,” Seth said, his smile fading.

  “No. It wasn’t.” Rylie curled a lock of blond hair around her finger. “I was worried about you. I missed you.”

  He touched her arm. “Yeah. I missed you too.”

  “I don’t want to wear the muzzle.”

  Seth threw it in the bag again. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Rylie nodded without speaking. There was nothing left to say.

  The door made a heavy clang when he shut it. Rylie knelt by the lantern, staring into the bulb until her eyes burned and she blinked green spots. It was so dark in the mine that it felt like the shadows had substance and closed around her like thick folds of velvet.

  The tug of the moon wasn’t as persistent underground. Rylie almost thought it wouldn’t be able to reach her and that she wouldn’t have to change.

  Almost.

  Seth fought to shove the door shut once he reached the surface, but it was much harder without Rylie’s help. No matter how he pushed and pulled and strained at it, he couldn’t make it budge.

  The timer on his watch beeped. It was time.

  He glanced up at the sky, wishing he had Abel’s ability to sense the motion of the new moon. Would Rylie be starting to change, or had she already become the werewolf and begun moving toward him?

  He didn’t want to find out. He groaned as he threw his weight into the door, squeezing his eyes shut and digging his heels into the dirt.

  “What are you doing?”

  Seth froze. He knew
that voice.

  He muttered a silent prayer before turning around.

  “Hi, Mom,” he said.

  If Eleanor was frightening in the middle of her process, she was a complete nightmare on a moon. She stood four inches taller than him in combat boots with her hair pulled into a knot that made her face look like it was blown back by the wind. The rifle in her hands suited her like another appendage. Silver ammo hung from her belt.

  And the look she gave Seth dripped with suspicion.

  Abel loomed behind her. His broad-shouldered form would have been easy to mistake for a bear.

  He realized she was waiting for him to answer her question. “Hunting,” Seth said. “I’m… hunting.” He moved his body to block the crack in the door, trying to discreetly shift his weight against it, but it was still stuck. “What are you doing here?”

  His explanation seemed to satisfy Eleanor. She noted his lack of weapons and drew a pistol from her thigh holster, handing it to Seth. He checked the cartridge. It was loaded with homemade silver bullets, too.

  “We’re hunting too. Abel’s been tracking the wolf’s smell. He picked it up at the Gresham farm.”

  Seth looked over in time to see Abel slip a gray box into his pocket. He felt like he had been punched in the stomach. It was his brother’s GPS receiver, which let him track the anti-theft devices he’d installed on his motorcycle and Chevelle. He hadn’t sniffed out Rylie. He had known Seth would go see her and followed them to her hideout.

  “Good sense of smell,” Seth said.

  Abel met his gaze without blinking. “Good thing we got here in time. You could have been hurt.”

  Eleanor didn’t notice the silent conversation passing between her sons. She pushed Seth aside to look in the mine. “What’s this? Is that where it’s hiding?”

  “I thought it might be a good place for the werewolf to use as a den, but I didn’t find anything. I was closing it up so I wouldn’t get caught trespassing.”

  Abel knew him too well. His eyes sharpened. “Let’s take another look.”

  “No!”

  Eleanor arched an eyebrow. “No?”

  “Uh…” He thought fast. “It’s condemned.”