The Altering (Coywolf Series Book 1)

by Abby Tyson

  Hettie pulled a lock of her orange hair into her mouth.

  "I thought I was done with those Monties after graduation," Savi complained, "but I've already run into them twice this summer." She moved to the automatic hand dryer, slapping the button harder than necessary. "This has got to be the last time, though," she shouted, her back to Hettie as she leaned under the dryer and held out her shirt. "They'll all be gone after this weekend."

  When the dryer shut off, Savi turned to see Hettie worrying the same thin clump of hair, smoothing it with her fingers, tucking it across her closed lips, then tugging it out to smooth again.

  "What's wrong?" Savi asked.

  Hettie's hands stilled, and she glanced down at them as if she hadn't known they were moving. Jerking the hair out of her mouth, she asked in a pinched voice, "Wanna go to a party with me tonight?"

  "Whose party?" asked Savi with narrowed eyes.

  Hettie started smoothing her hair again, her mouth scrunched with the effort to stifle a smile. "Colby's."

  "Colby Colby?"

  Unable to contain her grin any longer, Hettie said, "I was at Ted's baseball game last night when I went to get a hot dog. On my way back to the stands, I saw Colby sitting in his car. He was waiting for the game to end because he had driven his cousin Jake there, who's on the team against my brother. I asked him how his summer was going, and if he was looking forward to going to school in Boston. Then he said, 'You'll be in Boston too, right?' Can you believe he remembered that I'm going to school in Boston? What do you think that means?"

  "It means that he lives in this town. Everyone knows you're going to MIT -- it's a big deal. There was a piece on you in the Gazette."

  Hettie's grin went limp. "Oh. Well, then he said he's having a going away party at his house tonight, and that I could go too if I want!" Her best friend's smile widened once again.

  Savi didn't have the heart to tell her that his invitation was pretty tepid, and probably just a way to get her to leave him alone. Hettie had been in love with Colby Lin since they were friends and neighbors in elementary school. In fifth grade he moved across town and started hanging with the popular crowd. He'd barely spoken to Hettie since middle school, but she'd never given up on her dream of their friendship reigniting and blossoming into romance.

  "And then I asked if I could bring someone and he said yes, as long as it was a girl. Can you believe he said that? I think he was flirting with me."

  Savi had cleaned herself up as much as she was able. She grabbed the heap of dirty paper towels off the counter and threw them in the garbage as she walked out of the bathroom.

  "So," Hettie said, sidling up to Savi as they walked back toward the rally, "it starts at eight, but we should probably get there later, unless you think getting there on the early side would mean having some quiet time with Colby beforehand? How about I pick you up at 8:30? 7:30?"

  Looking straight into Hettie's pleading eyes, Savi said, "I am not going to a party at Colby's house."

  Her best friend was crestfallen. "You have to go!"

  "No I do not. I don't think you should go either. Those people are loathsome enough -- get them drunk, and they're downright vile."

  "But Colby invited me. It would be rude not to go."

  Savi continued walking to the glass doors with Hettie following soberly beside her. "Key word: you. He invited you, not me. He'd never invite me to his party."

  "But he said I could bring someone. He must have known I'd bring you."

  "You have other friends. What about Sara?" Savi reached out to push the door open, but Hettie slipped in front of her.

  "Sara's not my best friend. Please, Savi. I need you to go with me. You might be right, but if I don't go, I'll always wonder what could have been."

  Savi stared into her best friend's blue eyes. She wanted to be there for Hettie, if for no other reason than to shield her from the debauchery that accompanied such events. Hettie, living in her own innocent little world where the worst thing that could happen was an 89 on a test, was unprepared for such grotesque behavior. But Tara would undoubtedly be there tonight. And Eric.

  "I'm sorry. I can't. You know what happened last time I went to a party like that. I don't think I could even..." She trailed off, not wanting to reveal how much she was still affected by that night. "Please, Hettie." Now it was her turn to plead. "I want to help you, but I just... I can't."

  Hettie searched Savi's eyes before giving her an understanding smile. "Okay. I'll call Sara."

  As she opened the door to the loud music and chanting of the rally, Hettie said, "I'll just have to tell you all about it tomorrow."

  "Tomorrow?"

  "Hello? Camping? We're still going, aren't we?"

  Savi followed her outside. "Oh, right. Yeah, of course."

  Hettie whirled on her, jabbing her finger into Savi's shoulder. "And you better not roll your eyes at me even once when I describe in real time how Colby proposed."

  Groaning through her grin, Savi flagrantly rolled her eyes. Hettie giggled and grabbed them each a picket sign as they shouted in unison with the crowd, "Ban fracking now! Ban fracking now!"

  The rally broke up at six. After helping clean up, Hettie and Savi parted ways. Instead of goodbye, Savi shouted, "You're my hero!"

  Walking toward the parking lot, Hettie replied, "You're my hero!"

  Savi waved and went back into the mall and bought a sub, calling her mom to let her know she'd be at Hettie's until late. Then she drove back to the Ready4U Gas & Convenience Mart, ate dinner, and read some more. At midnight she was driving home, her thoughts once again on Baxter and his strange offer.

  There was no good ending to this scenario. She couldn't not go to that convenience store, so she'd keep bumping into him, and he'd keep hounding her about going to his secret cult or whatever it was, and eventually things would get super awkward or hostile. Maybe this was a sign that it really was time to stop drinking. Then he wouldn't have a reason to try and help her. She didn't need it now anyway since school was over. Well, over for her, anyway.

  A soft clink sounded from below her passenger's seat as she turned a corner.

  Maybe she should go -- just once, to satisfy Baxter. Then she could tell him it wasn't for her, and they could remain amicable.

  Savi sighed. That road had horror movie written all over it.

  "Fear not a bared sky, for its darkness is truth." As usual, speaking the poetry aloud helped to calm her thoughts, but a cloud of anxiety still loomed.

  Parking in her unlit driveway, she tugged the slip of paper out of her book. Instead of going in the house, she walked toward the street, pulling the hood of her sweatshirt up to stave off the night's chill.

  When she reached the end of her driveway, she looked at the paper in her hand. Although the moon wouldn't be full until tomorrow night, it was bright enough for Savi to read Baxter's name and the other contact information he'd written. His penmanship was a surprisingly neat cursive that would make any elementary school teacher proud.

  A shiver passed through her, urging her to go inside. Giving it one last glance, she ripped the paper into confetti-sized shreds and scattered them over the recycling bin. As she walked back to her house, she admired the starry sky. The moon floated at its crest above her, its edges crisp white against the black night, casting a puddle of shadow at her feet.

  Fear not a bared moon, for it promises life.

  The second stanza of the poem had never resonated as much as the first.

  Why would anyone be afraid of the moon?

  Chapter Two

  Awakened by the mouthwatering scent of cooking meat, Marley stepped out of the small tent. His bare arms prickled against the cold air, and although his jacket was just behind him inside, the fire before him offered both warmth and -- more importantly -- food.

  Ren, already in his full fatigues, sat with his back to the tent and his rucksack at his feet. The nearly full moon was so bright that he had two shadows. One stretched beside him, courtesy
of the moon, and was so distinct against the patch of smooth pale dirt that Marley could see Ren's jaw moving as he chewed. In contrast, the second shadow, squat and lumpen behind him, hid its owner's true form, wavering in intensity as much as the fire that caused it.

  Despite his grumbling stomach and watering mouth, Marley gazed at the moon he hadn't seen in a month. "I am glad to make the moon and my shadow into friends," he murmured.

  "What am I, chopped liver?" Ren said thickly, his mouth full. "Speaking of which, come eat this rabbit, Shakespeare, before I do."

  "You're my brother, not my friend," Marley quipped. He took one more long look before sitting beside Ren and holding his hands out to the fire. "And it's Li Po, not Shakespeare."

  "They're all the same. Wait 'til you're with Dad again to get all weepy."

  The thought of their father, at home and alone, cast a shadow over their campsite that neither the moon nor the fire could dispel. Marley tried to rub the chill from his arms. Ren's skewer, which held three small chunks of meat, hovered just in front of his mouth.

  "He'll get through it," Ren said, and ripped off one of the bits with his teeth.

  Marley was about to point out -- yet again -- that they didn't know who was older, so Ren could drop the comforting big brother routine, but when he saw Ren's concern, Marley realized that his brother had been saying it to himself as much as to him.

  Plucking a short spike with a half dozen rabbit morsels from the outskirts of the fire, Marley said, "So would you say that the moon is more of a dying lady, led by the insane and feeble wanderings of her fading brain, or very kind to come along with us from home and keep us company?"

  Marley and their father played this poetry game all the time, which was one of the reasons Ren didn't live with them. Without his own home to escape to, Ren had to settle for rolling his eyes.

  "Shelley and Teasdale," Marley said with a grin as he bit into one of the strips of meat. A searing pain burned through his mouth, and he immediately let the scalding chunk fall out.

  "God don't like pretentious," Ren said, making a show of biting into his juicy meat.

  "Ha ha," Marley mocked, but he was unable to tear his eyes from the last piece of meat on his brother's skewer.

  "Quit your begging," Ren said, handing his stick to Marley, who took the meat off in one bite.

  Marley reached for his pocket, then remembered his phone was still in the tent. "What time is it?" he asked, chewing.

  Ren glanced at the moon. "Just before two."

  "When did you get up?"

  "Around midnight." Ren leaned forward to cautiously tap the topmost tidbit on Marley's skewer.

  "Hey," Marley protested.

  Ren scowled at the piece of meat, but didn't remove it. "You owe me one," he said calmly, "and not that one." He nodded at the small piece still in Marley's lap.

  Marley frowned, stabbing the rejected morsel with his spear. "You didn't sleep much then."

  Keeping his eyes on the fire, Ren said, "I wanted the rabbit for myself."

  While Marley knew that wasn't the reason Ren couldn't sleep, he also knew his brother was only half joking. They were always ravenous on these nights, but they were too accustomed to their urban hunting grounds to catch much on these excursions into the deep woods. And although they knew they should spread it out over the next two days and nights, a plump rabbit was too rich a feast to pass up.

  The skewers and bones were picked clean, and the two brothers were licking their fingers when a rustling in nearby bushes startled them both. Ren grabbed the flashlight from his pack and aimed it at the bushes, but the moonlight was already so bright that their visibility was not much improved.

  "Probably just a raccoon or something," Ren mumbled, but both of them still stared into the woods.

  "I think it's gone, whatever it was," Marley said.

  "I hate this," Ren growled. "We can't hear anything, can't smell anything, our strength is cut in half." He glared at the moon.

  Ren said this at least once every trip. Usually Marley left it alone, knowing there was no way to win this argument, but tonight, he said, "It's not so bad."

  "Of course you would say that," his brother snapped, shoving the flashlight back in his bag. "You love being like this, pretending to be one of your poets."

  "I don't love it," Marley said. "It's just nice to be normal once in a while."

  "We are normal," Ren said. "We're just not human."

  Watching the dying fire, Marley said, "We are tonight."

  The sounds of the city were far from where they were deep in the forest, and Marley missed them. Ren lived in the woods even when it wasn't the full moon, so he was at least accustomed to the silence. Marley preferred the constant din of voices in neighboring apartments; they made him feel like he was a part of that lively world, rather than the outsider he really was.

  "We've got to get going," said Ren, disappearing into the tent. Marley soon followed, and when he emerged he matched his brother in full camouflage attire.

  Before handing his pack to Marley, Ren pulled out two tranquilizer guns and a case of darts. Marley packed their supplies in his brother's bag while Ren loaded the guns. Once their guns were holstered, they folded the tent and crammed it in Marley's rucksack. With everything stowed, Marley doused the flames.

  Ren unbuckled a black cone from his belt that at its widest was still smaller than his fist. When he put the tip to his lips, the haunting howl of a wolf filled the woods. The tree frogs, crickets, and other invisible night creatures hushed, forcing Marley to acknowledge that this forest wasn't as silent as he thought.

  He blew again, and soon a reply came, echoing the call. Then another. A chorus of howls filled the night, all coming from the same direction. Even though this was why they were here, and even though Marley had heard it countless times before, a quiver of primal fear never failed to shudder through him at the sound.

  "For Dad," Ren whispered.

  "For Dad," Marley repeated, and followed his brother into the forest.

  Chapter Three

  Savi stared at the clock above the coffee shop door: one more hour until her shift was over. She started running through her mental checklist for when she got home.

  "So where are you guys going?" Faith asked from her post at the drive-through.

  "October Mountain," Savi answered, grabbing a damp towel and wiping the sticky counter in front of her. "Hettie's resolved to go camping at least once before she leaves for school."

  Faith pushed her glasses down her nose and frowned over them. "You don't sound very enthused. I thought you liked camping. Didn't you two enjoy several trips last summer?"

  "I love camping," Savi said, still cleaning. Faith looked unconvinced.

  With a sigh, Savi said, "We haven't gone at all this summer, so I have to dig out all the gear from my closet, and make sure we have everything and that it's all intact and operable. It's a hassle."

  Her coworker's frown dissipated halfway through Savi's explanation. "I showed my grandkids Hettie's picture in the Gazette, by the way. I told them, 'Do your homework and you can get a ticket to MIT too.' Did you tell her I said congratulations?"

  Returning her attention to a stubborn stain, Savi said, "Yes. She said thank you."

  One of Faith's regulars pulled into the drive-through at the same time the front door chime sounded.

  A guy and a girl walked in, clinging to each other's waists and seeing nothing but themselves. They looked about the same age as Savi, but she didn't recognize them from school. The guy was shirtless, showing off his rippling muscles, and the girl was nearly as bare in a shirt scarcely bigger than her bra. Another girl, at least a head taller than the others, with hair and skin as white as the walls behind her, followed close behind wearing a broad-rimmed sun hat, a loose long-sleeve shirt, and pants despite the heat outside. Even though the white-haired girl looked older and acted detached, ignoring the couple in front of her and locking her pale red eyes on Savi, the same cloud of trouble hu
ng over all three. Savi wished Quentin weren't on break and forced herself not to glance at the security camera on the wall behind her.

  Without breaking lip contact, the guy effortlessly lifted his girlfriend onto the counter. She then pulled him in with her legs as they proceeded to unabashedly make out directly in front of Savi. Hoping to share a grimace with Faith, Savi looked toward the drive-through, but her coworker was too busy to notice, chatting with the customer sitting in her idling car.

  Savi made a show of stepping to the side so she could address the remaining girl, although she was the farthest away. Giving the courteous smile she wore for all customers, Savi asked, "What can I get for you guys?"

  The white-haired girl hung back by the entrance and said nothing. The girlfriend wriggled out of her boyfriend's grasp and onto the floor. Leaning over the counter, with strands of her blond hair hanging in front of her dark amber eyes, she returned Savi's smile with one more akin to seductive than courteous. Her boyfriend hopped up and sat where his girlfriend had just been, smirking at the ceiling.

  The girlfriend closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "Can you give me more of that delicious smell?"

  Chuckling dutifully, Savi said, "Work here long enough and everything you own will smell like coffee."

  Shaking her head, the girl beckoned for Savi to come close. The boyfriend looked bored now, picking crud out from under his fingernails and swinging his feet, while the albino girl remained stony faced, watching the proceedings but saying nothing. Faith, now leaning out the window to look at pictures on the customer's phone, was still too distracted to share in any of this odd interaction.

  Savi leaned her elbows on the edge of the counter and rested her chin in her hand. She caught a whiff of the girl's perfume -- the sweet but sharp aroma of champagne. "Must be the muffins then," she said. "I could live on blueberry muffins."

  A flash of annoyance dimmed the amusement in the girl's eyes. Her hand shot out so fast that Savi seemed to feel it around her neck before she saw it move. Savi's protest died in her throat as the crushing hand dragged her across the counter, not stopping until her feet were well off the floor and the girl's lips grazed Savi's ear.