by Lily Graison
"It's not quite as bad as it sounds," Judith said, giggling, "but basically, yes. It's the one time a month we let ourselves go and just let nature run its course. We can't change at will like the Alpha's can so it's a big deal to us."
"Change at will?" Rayna asked.
"Yes. The Alphas, they can shift at any given time. Several times a month if they want. It's why they're so feared and respected. They have a power the Betas don't."
"What's a Beta?"
"Oh, it's just what we call the less important wolves. Pack society is arranged in classes. The Alpha's are the strongest; the Beta's are next. Most everyone is a Beta. We're looked upon as the submissive wolves. We do as the elder's request or as the Alpha's command. And then you have the Omega." She turned her head toward Mitch and the boy. "That would be Jacob. He's the Omega of our pack. He's the least threatening so most everyone sees him differently."
"So it's really all about power and who has it?"
Judith smiled. "Something like that, yes. The Beta's will never lead the pack or hold any influence over the others; only the Alpha's can do that. Beta's can only shift into full wolf and most of the time, only once a month. It's too painful otherwise. The Alpha's can shift effortlessly, though. They can shift to a half form, I guess you can call it. They still look somewhat human and stand erect but they're still wolves."
"And how many can do that?" Rayna asked, taking mental notes of everything.
"Only a handful in our pack. You'll be able to see the difference once everyone shifts."
"You're not shifting?"
Judith smiled. "I will later. Malcolm wishes us to remain in our human form until you're back at the house."
"I see," Rayna said. "So how long does it normally take? To shift, I mean?"
"It depends on the person," Judith said. "And how strong they are. I've seen Alpha's change in a less than a minute. Bryce is an Alpha but he isn't as strong as some so it'll take a little longer for him to shift."
Rayna stared at Judith as she explained werewolf society to her and just barely kept from laughing. These people really did believe they could shift their shape. She looked at those around the circle, watching their faces. They were all staring at Bryce. As crazy as they all seemed she felt sorry for them. What would cause this many people to believe such a thing?
What if it's real? What if they can turn themselves into wolves?
A rustle of leaves behind her startled her and Rayna turned her head, looking over her shoulder. She still couldn't see anything in the darkened forest but scanned the area for movement anyway.
"It's probably just stragglers," Judith said, turning and looking into the forest. "Malcolm gets angry when we're late. They're probably just hiding from him."
Rayna nodded her head and gave the area one last look before turning back to Bryce. He was still just standing there but he wasn't looking at them anymore. He was staring into the sky, his body completely still.
Leaning back against a tree, she raised her camera, snapping a few shots and checking to see if he was visible without the flash. She smiled at the results.
A sound similar to a low growl cut through the stillness of the circle and Rayna looked around her to see where it had come from before focusing her attention back on Bryce. His skin now glistened with beads of perspiration, dotting along his face and shoulders. His chest was rising, his breaths panted out quickly, and Rayna pushed away from the tree and took a step forward.
A loud howl sliced through the forest and she jumped, startled, her heart leaping in her chest. The other residents of Wolf's Creek were now moving closer to the circle. Some were shedding their clothes, stripping down naked, and she looked at Mitch to see if he'd noticed.
He did. The wild, glassy look in his eyes told her as much.
When the woman she'd met at the house the day before, Carmen, stepped to the front of the group and looked at her, grinning widely before stripping to nothing, Rayna could only stare wide-eyed. What the hell is going on? "Mitch?"
"Still here," he whispered.
She wanted to look behind her just to make sure but she couldn't look away from the scene before her. Something was definitely happening. The air seemed charged with some unknown force all of a sudden. It buzzed along her limbs and caused the hair on her arms to stand on end. Her pulse started to race and that uneasy feeling she'd had earlier multiplied ten-fold.
When Bryce tilted his head back and opened his mouth, the noise he made sent bolts of fear crawling up her spine. It sounded similar to a growl but a very human scream accompanied it. Her stomach clenched, the first hint of fear starting to worm its way inside her head and when Bryce lowered his head and looked at her, his eyes glowed bright amber. She gasped and took a step back. "What the hell," she whispered.
Mitch moved closer to her and laid his hand on her shoulder. His grip tightened when Bryce doubled over, his hands clutching his stomach as he let out another ear piercing scream. The noise echoed in the forest, noises that weren't human mixed with those pain-filled shrieks before what could only be described as a wolf's howl escaped his mouth. The others followed suit, those naked bodies closing in on the circle shining under the full moon and Rayna felt dizzy within seconds. "What the fuck is going on?"
"Don't be scared," Judith said. "Your fear will make things worse."
She turned her head to the woman. "My fear?"
"Fear is an aphrodisiac. It calls to the beast," she said.
Rayna looked back at the people gathered and noticed then that everyone was staring at her. She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and willed her heart to stop racing.
"Wolves are dominating creatures," Judith said. "Your fear smells like food to us. Just relax. No harm will come to you." She smiled and Rayna could tell she was trying to calm her but it wasn't helping. Something was happening. What, she didn't know, but she wasn't naive enough to think this show they were putting on was as innocent as she first thought.
"He's shifting," Judith said. "Look."
Turning back to the circle, Rayna could only stare as Bryce hit his knees and screamed. Harsh, rasping noises escaped his throat and the sound sent chills racing along her limbs. His skin turned gray and waxy, his back arched while his neck stretched in a painful looking angle.
In a perfect parody of the photos she'd been sent, Bryce's body began to change, his skin stretched, bones moved beneath his flesh and expanded. His screams caused her heart to race out of control as a thick, clear fluid slid over his skin and dripped to the ground before the hair on his body grew thicker. His mouth and nose elongated and when he lifted his head and opened his mouth, she gasped as long, razor sharp teeth grew from his gums and gleamed in the light of the moon. Another howl tore through the forest, followed by a symphony of growls that caused her head to spin and her stomach to tremble.
Chapter 4
When Bryce no longer resembled a human, he lifted his head, looking at her through those glowing, amber eyes. Rayna stared at the wolf looking back at her. A wolf that had once been a man. She felt her knees go weak an instant before the world spun.
Mitch caught her before she hit the ground.
She couldn't speak. Her limbs felt like they weighed a ton and she was suddenly nauseated. Her heart raced and the blood rushing through her veins pounded inside her head. When Mitch laid her down, she stared up into the night sky.
"Damn it, Ford, don't do this right now! Come on, nice even breaths."
Rayna closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing. I'm not going to pass out. I'm not going to pass out. I'm not going to pass out.
The mantra worked. The nausea passed after a few minutes. When she opened her eyes, Mitch was still there, his face void of color and his eyes as wild and frightened as she knew her own were.
Judith and Malcolm stepped into her line of sight and she could only stare up at them.
"Are you all right, Ms. Ford?" Malcolm asked.
She said, "yes," while shaking her head no. She blink
ed away tears and tried to get her heart to stop pounding. Looking back up at Mitch, she prompted him to help her up. When she was on her feet and knew she wasn't going to faint, she looked over at Bryce. He was still sitting where he had been, his large, amber wolf eyes gleaming with light. She swallowed to moisten her throat. "I didn't believe you."
Malcolm laughed, loud and boisterously. "I know you didn't, Ms. Ford. It's why I pushed so hard for you to come. No one believes until they see."
She nodded, locking her gaze on Bryce.
"The others feel the pull of the shift, Ms. Ford. Will you be all right to watch? I can have Judith escort you back to the house if you prefer."
"No," she said, her voice trembling. She cleared her throat and said, "No, I want to see."
Taking a deep breath she looked for her camera and picked it up once she spotted it. Her hands were shaking, her entire body was trembling, but she swallowed the fear and adjusted the camera's settings. Malcolm walked away, joining the others and the minute she raised her camera, low, multiple howls echoed through the forest.
It was a thing of nightmares as she watched, snapping pictures as fast as she could hit the button. Tears clouded her vision and she blinked them away and tried to remain calm. Instinct told her to run. To run as far and as fast as she could but that little part of her that left her dangerously curious wouldn't let her. She had to see. Had to have proof that this really happened. That she wasn't hallucinating. That there were people in the world that turned into creatures so frightening that she could barely look at them without screaming.
The others in the circle shifted, their bodies undulating as they shed their human forms. Hair appeared where slick skin once was, teeth that belonged to an animal gleamed and snapped, claws raked at the ground and with every new wolf she saw, her fear grew, clawed at her lungs until she fought for every breath as she tried to hold her camera still while snapping picture after picture.
Everyone looked different to some degree, she noticed. Some had the appearance of regular wolves, only larger. They were big; standing on all fours they resembled bears in size more than wolves. She'd never seen anything so big this close up nor had she ever seen anything so horrifying.
A few of the others were still on two feet. They looked more like wolf-human hybrids. They were tall, all reaching over six-foot with a thick coat of hair covering their bodies. She could see genitals on the men that still somewhat resembled a human penis only the large quantities of hair on their bodies hid the majority of them from view. The sight caused her cheeks to heat before she looked away. Wolves or not, they were still very much human. The few women in this form still had their breasts but just like the men, were covered by hair.
Her breath was panted out unevenly and when the last person in the circle shook their human form, a multitude of amber eyes turned toward them. "Why do I feel like I'm someone's dinner all of a sudden?"
Jacob moved then, placing himself in front of her, and even though he wasn't much larger than she was, she felt better having him there. "Thanks," she whispered.
"They don't mean you any harm. They just want you to see them. It's why you're here."
"Yeah. I see them," she said. "I'm just having a real hard time believing it."
"Ms. Ford," Malcolm said. He was at the rock again. He hadn't shifted. He still looked as he had earlier.
"Can Malcolm shift?" she asked.
"Yes. We all can."
The boy turned after answering her. He was so young. A child, really. Why was he even here? "Can you?" she asked.
He grinned. "Yes."
She stared at him for long moments. His cheeks reddened before he looked away and she turned her attention back to Malcolm when he spoke again.
"If you and Mr. Pierson would come forward, we'll get to the second reason I've asked you here."
The wolves in the middle of the circle parted, slinking back along the tree line and creating a wide path to the rock face. Mitch was the first to move and no matter how brave she wanted to be, Rayna found it hard to take that first step.
"It'll be all right," Judith said, laying a hand on her arm. "Go on."
Rayna looked at her and saw the smile on her face but something in her eyes made her pause. Judith averted her gaze before she could figure out what it was. When Malcolm said her name again, she swallowed the lump in her throat and hesitantly followed Mitch. When they stopped in front of Malcolm, she turned in a circle, looking at the multitude of amber wolf eyes staring back at her from the trees.
When Malcolm spoke, she turned to face him.
"Most of us have lived here, secluded from the outside world, for the better part of thirty years," he said. "We'd like to change that, Ms. Ford. You can help us do that."
"How so?" she asked, watching one of the female wolves jumped up onto the rock shelf. She was on two legs, the hair covering her body black. She towered over Malcolm, her lips pulled back slightly, showing her teeth. For whatever reason, it was her she was snarling at. She looked back at Malcolm. He was still smiling. He looked younger suddenly, his eyes lighting up.
"We don't venture into the real world," he said. "Your world, that is. It isn't designed for us. As you just felt yourself, people will fear us. We don't want that."
"They will," Rayna said, trying to keep her voice from trembling. "You can't do what just happened here outside of this town. You'd be shot."
"We know. It's how we, the majority of the people you see around you today, came to be here to begin with." Malcolm stepped off the rock ledge and walked closer to them. "I, along with many of the people you've met here, were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We were attacked by a wolf exactly like the ones you see now. The year was nineteen seventy-seven. I was fifty two years old."
Rayna raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't look much older than that now."
He smiled. "We don't age the same as humans," he said. "It's one of the many pleasant side effects of a Lycanthrope. I'm eighty three, or will be in four months."
Rayna gaped at him and shut her mouth when she realized it was open. She glanced at Mitch and saw he'd had the same reaction.
"We want the world to know we exist, Ms. Ford. Will you help us?"
"Help you? How?" she asked.
"By showing them what they thought to be only legend, or stories of monsters, are true."
Rayna laughed. "People will think I'm as crazy as I thought you were if I print a story claiming werewolves really exist."
"You'll prove it to them."
She smiled and raised her camera. "Malcolm, no one is going to believe these pictures. Have you seen any werewolf movies lately? What just happened here looked damned close to most movies I've seen."
"Then there are shifters in Hollywood," he said, grinning. "We're many in number, Ms. Ford. Our small pack is only one of thousands throughout the world. We've been in hiding since the dawn of time. We grow weary of doing it any longer. We just need a spokesperson to bring us into the light. They'll believe you, Ms. Ford. Please, tell our story."
"What makes you think that?" she said. "I'm no one, Malcolm. Just a reporter."
"People know you. They recognize your face and your name. Once they see, they'll have no reason not to believe you."
He looked over her shoulder and Rayna turned her head. The circle of wolves around them was getting smaller. They were slowly moving closer. Her fear escalated then. She had a really bad feeling. Turning back to Malcolm she said, "What exactly do you want me to do?"
He smiled and inhaled deeply, letting it out in a slow, hushed breath. "It's simple, Ms. Ford. Once you return to the city, tell our story."
"They won't believe me."
"But they will," he said. "When you shift for them, they'll believe you."
"Shift?" she said, her eyes widening. "But I can't shift..." The minute the words were out of her mouth she knew what his plan was. Why he'd tried so hard and so long to get her to visit him. The multitude of amber wolf eyes watching her, and the f
unny looks she'd been getting all day, now made perfect sense. Her heart slammed against her ribcage and she felt her lunch start crawling back up. Tears burned the back of her eyes as she stared at him. Oh god, please let me be wrong.
The group of wolves behind Malcolm was slowly making their way toward them. Her fear spiraled out of control and caused her vision to blur as her blood raced through her veins. She heard it gushing past her ears as she raised her eyes, meeting Malcolm's gaze and took a step back. "Malcolm?"
His smile dimmed but the sparkle in his eyes remained. "It will only hurt for a moment, Ms. Ford. I promise."
When the first tear fell she shook her head and said, "No..." She took a step back and remembered the wolves at her back. A glance over her shoulder confirmed they were still there and were advancing.
"It's just a small bite."
"No!" she said, taking four quick steps to the side, back toward the tree and her path to freedom. "Mitch!" She searched for him, seeing him to Malcolm's left. He looked frozen. His complexion was ashy, his eyes impossibly wide. He was being surrounded.
When Malcolm turned his head to look at Mitch and nodded, the wolves attacked him. Mitch's frightened scream sliced through her skin like hot pokers. The fear crawling up her throat choked her but when she saw Mitch fall, the wolf leaning over him with blood dripping from its teeth, she screamed, dropped her camera, and ran for the trees.
* * * *
Garrett raced toward the circle and stepped from behind the trees. Rayna screamed again and slid to a stop, her eyes wide when she saw him. He caught her in his arms, spinning her around and placing her against a tree. "Don't move! You run and they'll kill you faster, got it!" He didn't wait for her reply, instead, he turned back to face the pack and took a step backwards, placing her completely behind him. She was wedged between him and the tree. They'd have to move him to get to her and that wasn't going to happen.
Lowering his arm, he grabbed her hand to keep her from running. Her nails bit into his flesh and he felt her trembling against his back, her harsh sobs and the scent of her fear forcing his beast to the surface. It was a struggle to keep it restrained. He felt it beating against his skin, struggling to be free. He let out a low warning growl, watching as those in pursuit slowed before coming to a stop.