Caged Moon

by Rachel Deagan

  I wrapped my arms around me. I could feel myself shaking. "Is he the one who killed those people?" I asked. "Who is he?"

  Liam looked at me with a hard, hollow expression. "Yes. His name is Aaron. He's my twin brother."

  "I thought he was dead?"

  "He is dead to me. Now, go."

  Chapter 16

  "Psst. Ty."

  The tap on the classroom window caught the teacher's attention. I retracted my hand, ducking down against the cold cement wall. I prayed Mr. Stevens didn't decide to investigate. I needed to get Ty out of there.

  No one came to the door, so I braved another try, this time, catching Ty's gaze.

  'What are you doing?' she mouthed.

  I waved my hand for her to join me. The teacher paced by and I ducked back down.

  Come on Ty.

  The lockers and windows bore down on me like eyes. Aaron could be anywhere. Cold hands of paranoia gripped me.

  The classroom door cracked open and I jumped. "What is this about?" Ty whispered, stepping out, and closing it behind her.

  "Shh. Not here," I said, motioning with my head, down the hall. I took her hand, tugging her along with me towards the exit.

  "Charlotte," she said. "Where are we going?" She pulled back on my arm, stopping me. "I have class."

  "Liam was here."

  "What? Where is he?" Her whole body froze. "Is he going to kill us?"

  I shook my head. "No. I don't think so. But his brother might. It's a long story. We have to get to your house. Liam's going to try to find him and then meet us there."

  "Whoa, wait a minute. Find who? I didn't know Liam even had a brother. What's going on? I don't want Liam at my house, Charlotte."

  Her fingers went for her charm, when I noticed it wasn't there. She fidgeted, dropping her hands.

  "Where's your necklace?" I asked. I had never seen her without it.

  "Fell off." She looked uncomfortable. "Not important. I want to know what's going on."

  I groaned. "I'll explain in the car. Right now, we need to move. Just trust me."

  The school disappeared behind us, and I filled Ty in on my encounter with Liam. The expression on her face told me she took all of this as well as I did. If I still had any working nerves after all of this, I'd be surprised. Even when pushing fifty on the small single lane road, the woods hovered too near. Anyone could be out there.

  Ty seemed to be doing better than me, her heartbeat more slow and steady.

  My fingers clenched the steering wheel so hard, white bloomed on my knuckles. Did I hear Ty's heartbeat?

  Stress, it had to be. It finally got the better of me.

  Still, I tried to listen again. The whoosh of the wind filled my ears, along with several crackles and groans from passing trees, and the car engine - but no heartbeat. I had to have imagined it. Of course I did, yet the nagging suspicion wouldn't let go.

  Why couldn't I stay focused on one thing, like saving our lives?

  Ty was being too quiet. It didn't help my nerves. Her attention had been fixated out the window since we left, as if waiting for something. The urge to break the silence nipped at me, but instead I tried to listen for her heart.

  I became aware of the various hums of the engine as I forced myself to relax. Listening, I reached for more, when a low wet pulsing sound joined the chorus. Startled, yet in awe, I let the sound play in my ears. Thump, thump, it sounded its musical rhythm. Like a drum it beat, steady at first, and then quickened its pace. Faster and faster it pounded, louder and louder.

  "Charlotte, the road!"

  My trance dissipated at once. The putrid scent of burnt rubber flooded the car as I slammed on the brakes. The tires groaned in protest, screeching at the pavement, and then we stopped.

  The stampede in my chest drowned out everything as I starred at the line of stopped traffic in front of us.

  "Sorry," I said.

  "It's okay," Ty said, removing her death grip she had on the seat. "What do you think is going on?"

  "I don't know. It must be an accident."

  Great. No one knew where we were, trapped, with nothing but woods around us. My arms felt cold.

  "What should we do?" Ty asked.

  "I guess we wait."

  The traffic didn't hint at moving. Claustrophobia set in.

  "Right, we wait." Ty said. Her hand went to her throat and then she dropped it, kneading her hands together instead.

  "Maybe there's something on the radio about it," I said. At least that would be an excuse to break the silence. I thumbed through the dials until I found the local AM station. After a few excruciating minutes of advertisements and announcements, the voice of the local traffic reporter came on.

  There is a pile up on Rte. 42 East before the Scanton Bridge Curve. The entire road has been closed off do to the accident. The accident happened when apparently a man driving a large truck was attacked by what authorities are assuming must have been his dog. The man skidded off the road, causing several other cars to crash as well. The accident was found fatal to the attacked driver. Others have injuries, but otherwise seem okay. The dog has not been found. I'd advise to stay clear of Rte. 42, for this mess is going to take a while to clear up.

  "I can't believe this. This isn't happening." Ty shook, her blue eyes wide. "It's him. He's here. He's going to kill us. He knows we're here."

  "Okay, look." I tried my best to stay focused. "Let's calm down. We need to think rationally here. I'll try to turn around."

  I shifted the gears into reverse and started to edge my way closer to the car behind us. If I could get near enough, I might have enough space to veer out from the lane onto the dried grassy edge of the road. The man behind me blasted his horn.

  "I'm not going to hit you," I said, even though I knew he couldn't hear me.

  He flashed the bird and then revved his engine, pulling a short, quick movement towards me. "No. Move back," I said. I groaned. There had to be another way out of this traffic.

  "What are we going to do?" Ty asked.

  "I don't know. Look, we'll lock the doors and..."

  "He's a werewolf Charlotte! I don't think that's going to stop him."

  "I know!" Stress screamed through my veins. "I'm sorry. I'm just really stressing here too. Okay?" I took a deep breath, trying to relax, when something moved by my peripheral line of vision from out the side window.

  I turned my head; nothing. The cars still sat idle, only the branches lining the forest tussled in the light breeze. It had to have been the wind, a shadow.

  Liam, where are you?

  Why hadn't he found this guy yet? Didn't he have super wolf-like senses? How hard could it be?

  An unsettled feeling crossed my chest. What if it was Liam? What if the brothers planned this together as a trap? It made sense. He'd go to the school and get me to take Ty along this old road. The two of them, could then jump us from the woods.

  "What is it?" Ty asked, breaking me from my train of thought.

  "It...It's nothing," I said.

  "It's him, isn't it? Did you see him?"

  "I didn't see anything. It's just the wind."

  Ty looked a little sick. "But you thought you saw him, didn't you? What if it was? They can move fast, you know."

  "It was the wind."

  I regretted my tone when Ty turned away from me. I couldn't deal with this anymore. I was on the verge of a break down.

  Rolling the window down, I leaned my head out.

  "What are you doing?" Ty asked with a gasp.

  "Breathing."

  The fresh air felt good on my nose, despite the numerous prickles rising up my back. The forest seemed a lot more alive without the faux protection of glass, the scent of the woods vibrant. I inhaled the air, the smell of pine and maple strangely calming to my nerves.

  "Come with me." A low whisper, almost too inaudible to be anything but a trick of the wind, hit my ears. I glanced to the edge of the woods; nothing. I rolled up the window.

  "What?
What is it?" Ty asked.

  "Did you just hear something?" I asked. I couldn't turn away from the outline of the woods.

  "No," she said. "Why did you?"

  "I don't know."

  "This really isn't helping, Charlotte."

  I stopped watching the window and looked at Ty. "You're right. I'm sorry." I sighed and leaned back in my seat. I needed to get a grip on things.

  "Get out of the car."

  I shot up from my seat. "There it is again. Didn't you hear it?"

  "Charlotte, knock it off. This isn't funny." She looked about to cry.

  "But I really heard something, Ty."

  "Charlotte, please. I didn't hear anything. You're hearing things, okay? Seriously, this is bad enough as it is."

  Fine. Apparently I was in this alone. I turned back to the window, when two golden eyes starred at me from the bushes. "Oh, my God." I scrambled as far from the driver's side door as I could.

  "That's it," Ty said, unfastening her seat belt.

  "Whoa, wait? Where are you going?"

  "I can't take this anymore." She unlocked her door and pushed it wide. "There's got to be cops up around the bend. I'll find them and tell them I'm sick. They'll take me home."

  "No, no, no," I said. I reached out, trying to stop her. "He's out there. I saw him."

  Ty shoved my hand off her arm and got out. "If I can find the cops, we'll be safe." Her hands trembled as she slammed the door on me.

  "Ty, no..." I scrambled across her seat, and followed her out "Ty," I called, but I couldn't see her anywhere.

  A chorus of horns greeted me, but I ignored them, taking off through the crowded traffic. I weaved in out of the cars until I came around the bend nearly out of breath. Several officers mulled about, but I didn't see Ty anywhere. How had I missed her?

  "Excuse me," I said, waving to closest man on duty. "Have you seen a girl about my age, with short blonde hair? She came up this way."

  "Please miss. You have to stay back. Go back to your car." He didn't even look at me as he shooed me with his hand.

  "No, you don't understand. She came up here looking for you. It's an emergency."

  "Well then she probably went back to her car. That's what I tell everyone to do."

  Panic started to set in. I didn't see her anywhere. I really couldn't find her. The reality of that began to settle over me and my eyes started to burn. What was I going to do?

  "Charlotte."

  I froze, before slowly turning my head toward the familiar voice. Liam stepped from the cover of trees and I gasped. Fear and relief battled inside me as I starred dumbfounded.

  He cut across the embankment and hopped the curb. What was he doing here? How'd he know where to find me? My paranoid theory from before raged to the forefront of my mind, and I took a few steps back.

  His gaze flickered over the traffic, his face unreadable. "Where's Ty?"

  "I don't know," I said, my voice cracking. "Why don't you tell me?"

  "What are you talking about, Charlotte? That's not even funny."

  "I saw you, Liam. Don't lie to me."

  "You saw me?" he asked. He looked confused. "What do you mean? I just got here."

  I stepped close enough to him to whisper without the danger of other drivers hearing me. "In your wolf form, by the edge of the woods, back there." My finger pointed in the direction of my car.

  Liam stiffened and his head cocked up from where I stood. I heard him sniff the air. "That wasn't me. It's Aaron. I followed him here, but when I picked up on your scent, I stopped. I needed to make sure you were okay."

  "Well, I'm not okay. Ty's missing."

  "Okay," he said, his voice calm. He placed his hand on my shoulder, pulling my attention to the seriousness of his expression. The green hues of his irises shown under the fading afternoon light, and the shadows of the branches accentuated his features, carving wolf like angles. "Calm down. We're going to find her, okay?"

  My trust of Liam wasn't solid, but under the intensity of his words, I found I had to believe him. What other choice did I have?

  "Okay," I said. I glanced away from him, back to the scene of the accident. "He did this. Your brother did this to get to us. You don't think he has her do you?"

  The pause in the air made my chest hurt.

  "I think so," Liam said. "He must. Your scent was most potent from the car, so I started looking for you from there. Hers stopped short, just before the turn near the woods."

  My stomach dropped. "He has her?" My body felt cold and I began to shake. I stepped past Liam and started for the tree line.

  "Charlotte, wait." Liam caught my arm, stopping me.

  "No," I said. "This is my fault. I need to find her. I can't let him...I can't." I pushed myself away from his hold, and started forward. Liam grabbed me around the waist. "Let go of me. Ty!" I screamed, but he wouldn't let me move. "Please, Liam... Please." I slumped down onto the damp grass and Liam followed.

  "Shh," he whispered. His arms still held me. "We'll find her. Okay? You running headlong in there, is what he wants, and is stupid. You're going to get yourself killed. We'll go together, with my pack. My brother is old, and a very skilled wolf. We'll need to move fast before he covers up his tracks. He's an expert at throwing people off his trail."

  "Is he going to kill her?" I asked.

  "I don't know."

  Chapter 17

  The sounds of the engines and horns grew faint behind us, my hand in his, as he led me deeper into the woods. My vulnerability, alone, in the thick forest with the werewolf, was not missed - but I had to trust him.

  "What about the car?" I asked, breaking the fragile symphony of nature. Not a top thing on my list to be concerned about, but curious none the less.

  "It'll be fine. Once the traffic starts moving, people will just veer around it. I'm sure it'll get towed, but don't worry, I'll get it for you."

  "Thanks," I said, watching my shoes as they crunched against the leaves.

  Liam squeezed my hand and pulled me around to face him. "Charlotte, what happened to us?"

  His question caught me off guard. I didn't know what to say.

  "You have to know that I would never hurt you," he said. "I love you. The only reason I kept anything from you, was because I thought I had to. I thought I was protecting you."

  "I know," I said, surprised at the confirmation of my words, but even more so by the next ones. "I love you too." Despite the unnerving inner battle in regards to everything happening, I knew it was true. It frightened me.

  "Charlotte," Liam said, his voice tight. "No more secrets, okay? I Promise."

  Before I could think of anything to say, he grabbed my hand, pulling me further under the trees. "Where are we going?" I asked.

  He stopped in a small clearing. "Revealing all my secrets," He said with a grin.

  My stomach felt caught in my throat. "Liam, I..."

  He winked and slowly took the edge of his t-shirt and swung it up over his head, tossing it on the ground. He started unfastening his jeans when I gasped. "Liam, I know you said all your secrets, but really. Here?"

  Liam chuckled. "I have to shift into a wolf to find your friend, Charlotte. Taking off the clothes is kind of a necessity if I ever want to wear them again. They get destroyed." Liam smirked, glancing up at me. "Although, those secrets would be fun to uncover too."

  "Liam!" My cheeks burned.

  The amused look on his face made me flush more.

  "My brother's too clever to track in this form. There're too many limitations. My pack is going to need to be in wolf form as well. I figured I'd adapt you to this slowly, by introducing myself first." He grinned.

  "You're enjoying this aren't you?" I asked.

  He shrugged. "A little."

  I would have glared, but all my anxieties about dogs came raging to the forefront of my mind, not to mention the whole werewolf thing. "Liam, I don't know," I said. Thinking about Liam's wolf form in theory, not bad, but to actually see him shift?

/>   "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. It's still me in there when I'm in that form. I promise."

  "Okay," I said, swallowing hard. My entire body felt like a giant knot.

  Liam slowly backed away from me, his green gaze holding me in place. I clenched my fists at my sides, forcing myself to stay lucid despite the way the ground seemed to spin under my feet. Once he hit the edge of the small clearing, his irises began to dilate and expand into the unearthly gold color that I had become familiar with.

  A ripping snarl emulated from somewhere in Liam's chest and his entire body began to tremble. His skin rippled as if it were molten rubber. I couldn't have turned away, even if I tried. Something snapped and popped. At first I thought a twig or a forest branch had buckled under someone's foot, but then I watched in horror as Liam's back cracked in more than three different places. With a groan, he stretched his arms outward. Claws erupted from seemingly liquid skin, and he fell to the ground on all fours. His jaw line extended, and with it, razor sharp canine teeth erupted behind pulled lips. With a loud snarl, the last phase came in a great explosive wave. His entire body burst with golden brown fur, and then before me stood a large wolf.

  His nostrils expanded as his eyes met mine, and then the wolf-Liam started towards me.

  The world went black.

  Somewhere in my swirling semi-consciousness, I realized I had passed out. Movement came from under where I lay and the vague scent of musk and pine surrounded me. My hand fell to the side and the warm soft feel of downy hair startled me. If I hadn't been in a half murky state of awareness, I would have freaked out. No one spoke. The oddness of it brought my mind back into focus.

  I retracted my hand from my side, rubbing my eyes. "Liam?" I asked. Everything seemed hazy, and then the motion stopped. The soft bed I had been laying on had now become cold, and itched. Prickles from the leaves and sticks scratched at my skin. I had been placed on the ground.

  Opening my eyes, Liam's green gaze stared back at me, amused.