by Remy Marie
“It’s about bloody time you two came down,” Mohinder said as he looked at Trini and Jason.
“I wanted to sleep in, that’s all,” Trini responded.
“Yeah, we heard you, conejita, “Isabella replied. “What’s the plan tonight, Greg?” Isabella inquired, turning her attention to Greg. The sheriff was slowly removing his clothes as well. Greg ignored Isabella’s request as he made sure his uniform was properly folded. Once he was satisfied, he looked back at Isabella.
“You four will go on your first hunt together. I figured a nice bonding excise during your first full moon will be nice. Not to mention, we’re running out of venison in the house. There are no safety nets, Allison is out with the rest of the pack. It’s just going to be me out there, and I’m not going to help you.”
“I thought during a full moon, we would be indestructible?” Trini asked.
“It just means you can’t die. Doesn’t mean it won’t hurt like a bitch, or slow you down. For instance, if I were to stab in the heart right now, you would collapse because I just cut off the circulation of your blood, but due to the full moon being out, your body will heal. Your body would reject the knife then heal the wound, but this could take minutes maybe be even hours, depending on the wound,” Greg replied.
“That’s why we were able to hold off Jasper and his gang. Essentially, we knocked them unconscious,” Jason concluded.
“Correct, you can only kill a werewolf outside of a full moon. However, trying to kill a werewolf during a full moon, you going to have no luck,” Greg replied.
“If we’re so powerful during the full moon, why can’t just we rule the earth? What is the point of hiding?” Isabella questioned.
“Short answer, because the full moon cycle only lasts for four days, after that is going to be a waning gibbous, and humans don’t have short memories. There are more of them than us. They will hunt us and kill us all, just like before. There’s nothing more dangerous than a united front of humans wanting to kill us. We don’t want history to repeat itself. Unlike the past, we don’t have another continent to hide, if our secret gets out again.”
“Are you going to at least point us in the right direction for a deer?” Jason asked.
“I’m not Allison; I’m not going to baby your asses. Y’all have gotten some solid training. You get one hint; I can hear three of them moving right now.”
“I hear them too,” Isabella replied.
He looked back his group, and they all nodded that they were ready. Jason quietly nodded back and went outside.
The sky was a mix of warm colors as the sun was nearly under the tree line as the foursome walked out.
“Alright, let’s keep this simple. Isabella, you said you had a good scent?” Jason repeated.
Isabella lifted her nose into the air and nodded. “Yeah, one is heading east; the other two are going south.”
“We only need to capture one, let’s focus on the one in the east. Isabella takes us to the deer. Trini I want you to bait the deer to an area where Mohinder, Isabella and I will be waiting. Once the deer enters our box, don’t let it out. Mohinder, go for the killer blow, you have the strongest teeth out there. If it doesn’t fall, the rest of us will follow through,” Jason commanded. The group nodded at his instructions. The group lined up on the grassy area in front of Greg’s cabin and allowed their wolves to take over. The process happened in an instant as four werewolves stood howling.
Jason looked towards Isabella’s wolf and gave a soft growl. Isabella’s wolf replied in the same growl pitch and started heading east in a swift run. Jason and the others followed Isabella as she led the group in the woods.
Over the last two weeks, since their team up, Jason learned that using different pitched growls and howls, he could communicate with Isabella, Mohinder, and Trini. During their spare time, without Allison’s supervision, the foursome formed a bond, by learning each wolf’s sound. This led to better coordination during hunts with Allison or sparing sessions.
The sun completely disappeared once the foursome neared the deer. Only the pale light of the full moon shined in the darkened forest. Jason knew they were close when Isabella stopped in her tracks and emitted a soft growl towards her left. In the distance, was the whitetail buck they were hunting in the middle of a forest clearing. The deer had large antlers and would be a proud display for any hunter’s den. The deer ate grass as it searched for any predators. Jason looked at Trini and emitted three soft growls. Trini nodded and crouched lower. The reminding trio retreated and regrouped a quarter mile away from Trini and the deer. Jason looked at Mohinder and Isabella, who spread out from Jason and the trio made an open triangle. Both nodded to Jason letting him know they were both ready. Jason nodded back and made a loud howl.
In the distance, the deer lifted his head reacting to Jason’s howl. In a spilt-second, Trini emerged from the bushes. Her red eyes showed their deadly intent as she growled loudly and chased the buck. The deer reacted according to plan and dashed the opposite direction of Trini. Trini howled loudly, and Jason knew that the chase had begun. Trini chased the deer, occasionally matching its speed to direct it towards the trio. In a few seconds, the deer entered the kill zone, and Jason emitted a soft growl towards Mohinder. Mohinder repeated the growl and got low in a ready position. Within seconds, the deer appeared in Mohinder’s direction, and in one motion, Mohinder leaped and mauled the deer. The deer whimpered as the Mohinder clamped down on its broad neck. Due to the size of the deer, the strong bite from Mohinder was shaken off. Wounded, the deer retreated backward. However, the direction was in the path of Isabella as she leaped and attacked its neck once more. The deer was ready for Isabella’s attack and used it’s antlers to puncture Isabella’s stomach.
Isabella whimpered in pain as she landed opposite of the deer. Jason noticed Isabella’s injury and roared loudly, as he attacked the deer. Swiftly, Jason attacked the deer’s legs. The attack was successful as the deer squealed once more and fell to the ground. Jason stood over the deer, and made the killing blow to its throat, killing the massive deer. The animal whimpers were silenced as Jason stood over the slain deer. Realizing the hunt was over Jason transformed back into his human form.
“Great kill, Greywolf,” Trini said as she slapped Jason in the rear.
“Yeah, good on you, mate,” Mohinder said as he looked at the slain deer. “I thought I had him when I first attacked.”
“It’s okay, the plan still worked,” Jason replied. Jason paused and looked around at his surroundings. “Where did Isabella go?” The group’s celebration ended as they realized Isabella was not in their presence. The trio found Isabella behind a shrub; she was still in her wolf form and was unconscious.
“Bella!” Trini shouted as she bent down and checked her injuries. “The deer’s antler cut her stomach badly,” Trini concluded.
Jason bent down and inspected her wounds. After a few seconds of silence, Jason spoke up. “Her skin is mending back together,” Jason said as he looked at her cut. Jason looked up at the moon and smiled. “Do you see that?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, I see that. It’s impressive,” Trini said as she watched Isabella’s wound heal.
“Brilliant,” Mohinder added.
It was impressive, so this was the full effect of a full moon. I felt stronger when we began our hunt, but I thought that was the excitement of our first hunt. However, it was actually the moon giving us strength, Jason thought as he looked at the pale light. Hunting as our wolves during the moonlight enhances our supernatural abilities, as well as heals us.
Isabella’s wounds healed completely and her red eyes finally opened. She got up and shook her body, as the leaves fell from her black fur. She howled loudly as she transformed back into her human form.
“How do you feel?” Jason asked as he inspected her abdomen.
“I feel fine. As good as new, Greg was right though. It still hurts like a motherfucker, but the healing process. It was interesting.”
�
�How so?” Mohinder asked.
“I don’t know how to describe it. The moment I got injured, I could feel the moonlight. The light of the moon felt almost like the sun rays on a hot summer day, as if I was sun tanning for an hour. When I healed, it felt like a pinch. I could feel my skin push it’s self together,” Isabella explained.
“You’re completely healed,” Jason finally admitted after his own inspection. “There’s not a scratch on you.”
“Jason, I’m healed too. My bruises are gone as well,” Trini added as she extended her arm out to the group.
“Simply brilliant,” Mohinder said amazed.
“Agreed,” Jason said as he turned his attention back to the buck they killed. It laid there motionless, its black eyes reflected the moonlight. “Mohinder, do you want to carry that back?”
“Yeah, I got it,” Mohinder said as he walked to deer and placed it over his back in a fireman’s carry.
The foursome emerged from the woods, back in the open grassy plain where the cabin is located. As they walked, they noticed Greg was approaching their position. Greg’s large wolf ran up beside the group and howled loudly. Greg transformed back into his human form and smiled at the group.
“I watched the whole thing,” Greg grinned. “Y’all did amazing. Jason, you did a good job of leading the others. What gives a wolf its power, is not its speed, strength, or senses. It is the use of its pack members. As a pack, a wolf could do anything. Y’all proved that fact today. Always remember, you are stronger in a group than alone. With that said, let’s get the buck ready to eat. We need to celebrate your first full moon in style.”
Chapter 21
Jason, Mohinder, and Allison were huddled on the corner sofa, each one divided to a section of the large L shaped sofa to themselves. The large flat screen in front them showed a 90s era sitcom that Allison and Mohinder agreed on after ten minutes of channel flipping. Jason was barely paying attention as he turned the pages to a book he borrowed from Greg’s private collection.
The book’s descriptions haven’t aged well, due to the fact that it still referred to black people with racial slurs. However, besides the outdated dialogue, it was still an interesting read of a Confederate soldier who falls in love with a northern maiden. Jason was always a fan of the romantics. Jason felt as if he was in a time machine as he silently read the book. The pages were yellow like corn and Jason could still see the ink press imprints.
One of the benefits of aging slowly, Jason thought as he read the book. Jason’s attention from the book was diverted when Mohinder made a loud roar.
“Allison, it’s been a bloody month since we’ve changed. My legs feel like shit. All we do is sleep, eat and train. Bloody hell, we can’t even leave this fuckin place. I feel like we are prisoners. We have yet to see what this town has to offer. You told us a week ago that you taught us all you know about defending ourselves. All we do is train, now. When can we leave? I’m getting cabin fever sitting in here,” Mohinder complained.
Allison raised her eyebrows at Mohinder’s response.
“Mohinder’s right. It’s been a month. I would kill for a night out. Isn’t there like a movie theater or someplace fun to go to in Meekins?” Trini asked in the distance.
Jason knew Trini and Isabella were upstairs. Something about sewing new outfits.
“Eavesdrop much?” Allison responded. Allison continued to speak as if Trini was in the living room with Jason and Mohinder. “Meekins does have a small theater. They usually only have two showings, one at eight and the other at ten, but Greg has been hesitant on letting you guys be unsupervised. Jasper is still out there, and we haven’t gone through protocol on meeting human outsiders. Remember even though the town knows our secret, we can still run into someone out of town. We haven’t exactly taught you how to blend into a crowd yet. If Greg says you can’t go, you can’t go.”
“Bullocks, how are we supposed to learn to blend in if we can’t even leave the bloody cabin? What if we have a chaperone?” Mohinder asked.
Allison bit her lower lip. “Well-“Allison began to say.
“Oh come on, Allison it would be fun. Oh! It could be like a date. You and me, we could sit in the back of the theater. You can wear that skirt again,” Isabella chimed in.
Allison's face showed a mischievous smile. Jason noted that the two became even closer over the past month. Despise Greg’s disapproval and warnings to Isabella, Greg may have been incorrect about their relationship. Allison had seemed faithful enough. At this point, I can’t imagine Allison cheating on Isabella.
“Alright, we can go out. We can do a classic dinner and a movie date,” Allison said as she folded into the peer pressure from the group.
“Make that a double date,” Trini responded. “It’s about time Jason takes me on a proper date.”
Jason could feel his cheeks grow warm. He was embarrassed that he had never made the time to go out with Trini. Since their night in the woods, life had moved swiftly for the new couple. His heart quickened to a nervous pace as he realized that he didn’t have any money for this date. Hopefully, Allison could spot me with cash.
“Wait, what about me?” Mohinder asked. “I don’t plan on being a fifth wheel, eh” There was a long pause before Trini spoke up again.
“What about David’s daughter? Jennifer? You two seem to hit off well at the turning party. Not to mention she stayed the night, and you guys stayed up the entire night talking. That has to be a good sign.”
Mohinder looked at his shoes when Trini mentioned Jennifer. “She wasn’t really my type,” Mohinder claimed. “She’s a good looker, but she can be so dull sometimes. Always talking about her research, Jason and Jennifer would make a better couple than Jennifer and me,” Mohinder claimed.
“Are you sure about that?” Trini asked as she appeared downstairs within a blink of an eye. She walked near the edge where Jason was located and sat on the armrest of the sofa near him. She leaned the reminder of her body on top of Jason as if she was claiming her territory.
Jason felt even more nervous now.
“Wait, didn’t you spin her like a top before she left?” Allison butted in.
“Oh, you missed the reason why he did that. That was his attempt to sleep with her,” Trini explained.
“Bullshit, you like her. Spill the beans,” Allison added. Mohinder shifted his weight as he realized the two women were ganging up on him. He looked to Jason for support, but Jason had his own issue of breaking free of Trini’s casual glances.
She can get jealous so easily.
“How about we ease up on Mohinder,” Isabella claimed as she walked down into the living room. Isabella winked at Mohinder and sat next to Allison. She casually kissed Allison and repositioned herself on her lap. “Mohinder, we’re going out tonight, and you have a few choices. You can stay here and watch this god-awful TV show, you can be the fifth wheel and watch us all make out, or you can call Jennifer and see if she would like to come to dinner. We are not going to force you. You’re familia now, but make a choice.”
Mohinder struggled with his answer and once again looked at Jason. Jason knew he had to say something to support Mohinder.
“Mohinder, Isabella has a point. We are a family now. Five years ago when we were bunked at Johnston Wayne’s Orphanage, would you ever think that we would have had a family like this? Look how large it is. We finally have people around us who care. If you’re having doubts, you should shred them now. You’re part of a pack now. We will always have your back,” Jason said with compassion.
“Well said Jason,” Allison added.
“What a speech, Greywolf,” Trini stated as she gave Jason a quick peck on the lips.
Jason smiled as he realized his good deed and looked back at Mohinder, waiting for his reply.
“Shit,” Mohinder finally admitted. “Allison, do you happen to have a cellular device by chance?”
Allison smiled and took her phone out of her pocket and gave it to Mohinder. “You’re in luck pup. I
happen to have her number saved.” Mohinder took the phone from Allison and started to stroll down her list of contacts.
“How many fucking people do you know with the letter J?” Mohinder exclaimed as he searched for Jennifer’s name.
“Living for fifty years does that, I guess. Most of those are booty calls,” Allison replied nonchalantly.
Isabella narrowed her eyes and punched Allison hard on the shoulder. “I thought you said you were going to delete those.”
“Easy Isabella, I’ll delete them after he calls. I just forgot, that’s all.”
“Shut the hell up, it’s ringing,” Mohinder growled. The room went silent as they heard the soft dial tone.
As they waited, Jason realized that he would be able to listen to their conversion with his hearing. Part of him wanted to give Mohinder his privacy, however, like everyone else in the room, they wanted to hear their conversation as well. I’m assuming Mohinder doesn’t mind either because he hasn’t left the room.
The dial tone ended, and Jennifer’s soft voice came on the line. “Hello?”
“Hello Jennifer, it's Mohinder.”
“Mohinder! How are you? It’s been a while since we’ve talked. I was worried you didn’t want to call me back, however my dad told me you were busy with training. I understand. I had such a wonderful time with you the night of your awakening party.”
“Thanks, Jennifer, so the reason why I’m calling is that some of my mates and I are going to go out to dinner, then we going to see a film afterward. I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me. Be my date?
“Oh my God, yes! I would love to do that. Where are you guys meeting up at and what time do you want to meet you?”
“We can go to dinner at six, and we're going to Pasta, Pasta,” Allison interrupted.
“Does meeting at Pasta, Pasta at six o’clock work?” Mohinder repeated as he waited for Jennifer’s reply.
“Yes, it does! Okay, I need to get a few things settled, but I will meet you guys at six. I’m so excited. Okay, see you soon!”