The Call of the Moon

by Kristy Breckenridge

  “I don’t fucking know, Sam. All I know, is I want to go back in there, pin her up the goddamn wall, and take her right there.” He never did stop his pacing, and Max backed up a little worried.

  “I’ll go get Roy.” Max said before rushing back to the door.

  “Let me see your hand.” Sam said, and reached out to stop Fenrir from pacing any longer. Fenrir reached out frustrated and opened his palm. There was not a single thing there. “See? She can’t be your mate. You’d have the mark.”

  Sam was right. In a sense. But why did he feel this way? “Why do I have these…feelings.” He asked, and then clutched his hand closed once again.

  “Like I said. I don’t know. I’ve only felt them for Renee. But…I mean…you could just need to…ya know.” He lowered his voice, and hinted at his sexual comment. “Or maybe just shift?”

  As if Sam was right on the dot, Fenrir nodded his head chastely. “Yeah. Shift. I’m gonna go shift.” With that said, he stepped away from the group, and headed far away from the vicinity.

  There were trees that naturally surrounded these parts, which was why his father had made this place. It was so that it was not crowded by city folks, quiet, yet remote enough to be able to go out back, to the cluster of forest trees, so that the wolves may shift. And that was exactly what Fenrir did.

  Once he was at the tree line, he made a quick bee-line straight to the deeper parts of the woods. Despite being in such a remote location, Fenrir wanted absolutely no chance in hell for a human to spot him. His beast threatened to break free on him, almost as if it were rattling a cage just wanting to come out. Already, the familiar pressure was building up, as if his body just might explode.

  And technically it wanted to.

  By the time he got to a location he felt safe enough to shift, he removed his clothes. He was shedding one by one as fast as he could until he was standing there stark naked. Breathing heavily, he looked up at the sky, seeing only a hint of the moon through all of these trees. It was definitely not a full moon, which was typically when they were all forced to fall under it’s demand.

  It took nearly a two minute process. Each shift was not pleasant, and each shift was different than the other. However, each shift did have one thing in common, and that was pain. The pain was different always, and this one, because it was more forced, turned out to be quite painful.

  His fingers elongated, as the skeletal system began to transform. Crackling knuckles could be heard, as his hands became three times the length from their usual size. Nails sharpened and lengthened, becoming so lethal that a single swipe could knock a head clean off it’s shoulders, or better yet, slice through something so quick, that there was no possible chance for recovery.

  Next came his shoulders. Luckily he was unclothed, or else he would rip right through them. His shoulders began widening and made a sickening sound that no human would ever want to hear. Whatever sounds the movies made for a transition, had nothing on this. The bones around his shoulders and towards his collarbone became something entirely different. They protruded and straightened in an odd way.

  When his back began transitioning - bringing his spine much more prominently out - he was brought straight to his knees. A very loud, mind numbing, hair standing scream fell from his lips. This scream was a mixture of human and beast, that soon eventually transitioned into a powerful growl.

  It was at that moment, that the birds, the small critters, and anything else upon the land, vanished with their tails between their legs. Everything now was silence, apart from the growls and grunts that this half man, half beast, made.

  Now he was on his side, with his hands keeping his upper half off of the floor of the woods. His hips crackled and popped in a disgusting way, and even slightly twisted, as they made room for a sharp and agonizing transition. Those nails of his dug deeply into the ground, as his legs - which gave the worst possible growing pains possible - lengthened, bent, and contorted in such a way that would make any pair of eyes look away in horror.

  Hair sprouted all along his body, and it was then that his face contorted and disfigured. The man that Fenrir was, just moments before, looked nothing like what this beast looked at this very moment. Two totally different beings. Two totally different mentalities.

  Out of all the types of werewolves in the world, Fenrir’s pack was considered as The Lycan. It was the worst curse of all werewolves, because it was at that very moment, as the beast stood and gazed through the trees, that he had absolutely no knowledge of what and why he shifted before. All he could think of was kill…death…Hunt….

  Hunting was right on his mind at that very moment.

  ◆◆◆

  “Hey uh…”

  “Whoa! What happened to your dress?” Lily said, with a mixture of shock and disappointment on her face. “That was…pretty dang expensive, Faye.”

  “I know. Some woman…I either ran into her or she ran into me.” Faye shook her head, as if her whole entire mind was just ca-bobbled. “Her drink spilled on me, and yeah.”

  Okay, so it was definitely her that caused the problem, because she was staring at Mr. Mysterious that she still could not figure out where he’d went.

  “So…you want to go home?” Lily asked, and you could see the sadness and the disappointment, become greater at this point. And by the look on Faye’s face, she got her answer. “Aww…Dang. I was just really starting to enjoy myself.”

  “I know, but…something happened.”

  “What happened?” Lily appeared worried now.

  “Er…I don’t know actually. I’ll tell you later.” With a tilt of her head, Faye motioned Lily towards the staircase. Turning, she slid herself as carefully as she could this time, through the crowds of dancers. When they finally stepped outside, there was a small group of gentlemen out there. She ducked her head shyly and waited for her best friend to appear.

  “So what happened back there?!” Lily spoke a little too loud, causing Faye to blush.

  All Faye could really do was shake her head, as she hastily made her way to the vehicle. “Let’s just get in the car first? And, maybe get out of here?”

  Truth be told, she hadn’t seen those guys inside the club that night, and she wondered why they were all just standing outside, like creeps trying to bait two dumb-as-shit females in the middle of the night.

  As if Lily took Faye’s cue, she hurriedly unlocked her little car, and slid into the drivers seat. Good thing they didn’t drink much or this would have been the pits. Soon enough, the vehicle was started up, and the men who were eyeing - surprisingly just Faye alone - eventually disappeared the further they went down the road.

  Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Faye allowed her head to roll back against the head rest. “So?” Lily would look from road to Faye, constantly, wanting an answer. “What happened back there?”

  Honestly? Faye wasn’t sure, and she was most definitely not sure how she would even tell her best friend. “I-” She shook her head, now looking out the window. “-I don’t really know what happened.”

  She could hear the confusion in Lily’s voice. “Huh? What do you mean you don’t know?”

  “I don’t know, Lily.” Faye looked over at her friend, almost in a terrified manner. “There was a guy in there. He must have come in right as we got on the dance floor or something. But…when I was going to the bathroom-” Faye allowed her voice to trail off, as she was deep in thought.

  “What about the bathroom?” Faye could see out of the corner of her eye, that Lily kept looking between road and her. “Did someone hurt you? Take advantage of you? Because if they did, so help me -”

  “No.” Faye shook her head. “Nothing like that. I just-” Faye swallowed hard. “He was staring at me. And I was staring at him?”

  Lily let out a huge sigh of relief. “And? Maybe the guy liked you. You should have gotten his number.”

  Faye shook her head and scoffed in a nervous way. She even let out a nervous chuckle. “Yeah right. This guy was so o
ut of my lead-”

  “You never know until you try it. So why was this such a big deal?”

  “You wont believe me.”

  “Try me.”

  Letting out another heavy sigh, Faye looked down at her hands in her lap. She had been nervously picking at her fingers the entire time apparently. It was a bad nervous habit. “His eyes…they sparked.”

  “Get out of here.”

  “See?” Faye looked over at her friend, accusingly. “I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

  “So there was a spark between you. So what?”

  “No. Lily.” Now Faye was trying to make her best friend understand. Her voice was firm. “His eyes sparked. Like a flame. Something….” Faye was deep in thought once again. “something happened to the point where neither one of could really move. And before I knew it, some girl was spilling her drink down my dress.”

  Lily now had a concerned look on her face, as if she were trying to process it all.

  “Who knows. I could just be tired and stressed about the upcoming test tomorrow.”

  “Yeah and now you actually have my curiosity.”

  Faye rolled her eyes. “Of course you do.” Of course she did, the woman was into mystical things like that, which made Faye wonder why her best friend was giving her a hard time about this.

  When they arrived back at her place, Faye went inside, while her friend headed on home. Being home made her feel ten times better, and a sigh of contentment made that very much known.

  It was bed time, which meant she got her bag ready for the next day, as well as her clothes sitting out, before she did a quick brush of her teeth and finally laid down for the night.

  But sleep was a bitch that night, because all she could think of, was that mysterious man in the club that night.

  2

  Fenrir shoved himself through the front door, and passed his little brother as he made his way on up the stairs. “Whoa! Fen wait.” Max followed him on up the stairs, and all Fenrir really wanted to do was go to bed. He’d, no doubt, been out all night. “You went through an entire farm, bro.”

  “Shut up, Max. I need my sleep.”

  It was true. Supposedly. Only Fenrir never remembered what he did during a shift. None of them did, but he was sure that Max found this out by the local news. Not to mention, he had woken up that morning, in a pasture, with several dismembered animals laying around him. He had found a pond nearby, cleaned himself up good, and came home.

  In other words, he was still naked, because he had apparently trailed too far off to retrieve his clothes. He’d no doubt go back and get them sometime.

  “You need to be careful, Fen. Or people’s gonna-”

  “People’s gonna what?” Turning, he gave a hard stare at his little brother. “People’s gonna suspect a man turned into a dog?”

  “A big dog.”

  “Christ.” Fenrir shook his head, closed his eyes briefly, and then turned to his bedroom to find a change of clothes. “It could have been anything, Max.”

  “But, Dad-”

  “You’re not gonna say a word to Dad about anything.”

  “Too late.” Max was standing in the doorway, with his arms crossed over his chest. “It’s all over the news. The owner is…obviously pissed, and Dad definitely noticed, and I’m sure he’s gonna be over here soon, so you better-”

  “Shh. Max.” Fenrir had slipped his shirt over his head, making him now fully dressed, as he looked over at his little brother. “Relax.” He let out a huff. “I’ll tell him something. At least I didn’t attack a human.”

  At least. But he already knew that he’d put their kind in danger. This wasn’t a first time. Not for him though, but Roy. Roy had once done the same, only worse.

  “I’m sure that he’s going to want to have a pack meeting.” Fenrir said in a defeated tone. Reaching up, he ran his fingers through his hair, suddenly feeling incredibly stressed out.

  “Well…” His brother looked like he was deep in thought. “Do you feel better?”

  It was then that he thought of why.

  He’d shifted because of that gorgeous redhead he saw in the club last night. He’d shifted because he had thought she was his mate. Did he feel better though? That was the ultimate question. “I’m not sure.” He said, and had a deep expression on his face, one that meant he was thinking hard. “I honestly don’t know.”

  Because he could still feel her.

  Whoever this girl was, it drove him wild. And he didn’t even know the girls name.

  “You don’t seem as crazy this time.”

  That made Fenrir chuckle. That had to have been the truest thing he’d heard his brother say. He definitely didn’t feel crazy. The beast didn’t feel like clawing it’s way out. But that girls blue eyes definitely struck him, and he felt it.

  “Yeah.” He spoke, and delivered a grin. “But she does drive me wild.”

  “I promise I wont tell Reina.”

  Yet, at that moment, he felt like he didn’t even care if his soon to be wife, knew or not.

  ◆◆◆

  It had been a whole hour since Faye’s test had finished, and now she sat patiently for her name to be called. Most of the students went on home, or wherever it was that they were supposed to be, because they knew they’d find out the next day anyhow, if they passed or not. Was she really the only one who took this very seriously? It was only her and three other students sitting outside the classroom, in chairs, along the wall - waiting for their names to be called.

  “Miss Reynolds?”

  How had she not heard the door even open? Perhaps she was just so nervous. So very nervous. This grade, will tell her if she had passed her course or not. This grade, will tell her if she had graduated.

  “Come on in. I’ve got some things for you.”

  Was that a good thing?

  Quickly, Faye stood up from her chair, and followed in closely behind the professor. Suddenly, she just wanted to leave. She wanted to run from this big class room, and never return. Hell, it was a moment where she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to know. She’d worked so hard for this, that it would pain her to know if she failed.

  “We’re just going to get this out of the way.” Her professor spoke, while coming behind her desk. The class room was deathly quiet, which was the total opposite when it was filled to the brim with students. Her professor began fixing a stack of papers, and also pulled out a pen. “You did pass.”

  Oh yes….

  “With a 97%. That’s really good, and so far, the highest I’ve graded.” She turned the stack of papers around, to where they were facing Faye. “Which means that you have passed this class, and graduated right?” She looked up at Faye. “This was your last course yes?”

  Faye felt shocked. So shocked it took her a moment to register what her professor had said. “I uh-” She swallowed hard, and nodded with a big smile. “That’s right. This was my last course.”

  “Good.” The professor smiled big and bright. “Then I just need you to sign this, and we’ll check your records and have your credentials sent to you.” She paused for a moment before speaking. “Did you want to go to a graduation ceremony or-”

  “No.” Faye shook her head quickly, before finding the spot to sign.

  “Okay, then, we’ll have that sent to you as well.”

  She’d be a graduate…

  The thought was alien-like to her.

  Once signed, she thanked her professor before leaving the place with a big smile on her face.

  Her next step was heading home, but only brief enough to put on her Barista uniform on and put her hair up into a pony tail. Suddenly, she felt a form of confidence that she had never had before until now.

  The very moment she entered the coffee shop, the look on her face must have seriously given off some good news. Lily was there, placing an iced coffee upon the counter, so that the customer could take it. From where she stood, Faye could tell that Lily had already spelled a customers name wrong. “So,
how is our future dentist?”

  So she really did know.

  “I passed!” Faye spoke with glee, while rushing to come behind the counter. Quickly, she put on her black apron, that donned the words Noct’s Mudslide, right along the breast line.

  “I knew all along you would.” And of course her best friend had to come up with something sarcastic to say. When did she not? “Since you have been so nerded out behind your study materials that you forget that there is actually life outside your home.”