Caged Moon

by Rachel Deagan

  I decided I really liked Steve. "Maybe you're right."

  "That makes you the first person to admit that this year," Steve said with a chuckle. "Maybe you can talk to the others?"

  I couldn't help but laugh, and shook my head. "I'll try," I said.

  My gaze drifted to the surrounding woods and I wondered what Liam and the others were doing. "Do you guys...hunt a lot?" I asked. The vision I had of them killing some animal with their own claws and teeth made me woozy.

  "Every night," Steve said. "Sometimes twice a day. Once you've had raw meat in wolf form, it's kind of hard to turn back. We eat mostly that way."

  He must have seen my appalled expression because he added, "It's an acquired taste. You'll see once you've made your first shift. Everything changes."

  My gut knotted. I still didn't believe that I could ever do something like that, never mind turn into a wolf.

  I stood up. What was taking them so long?

  "Shouldn't we have just demanded to be taken to Ty?" I asked. "She's probably scared stiff and all alone. She could even be tied up, or worse." I started to pace.

  Steve watched me from the ground. "Probably," he said. "But Liam knows how to play his brother's games. We already demanded for them to leave our territory, to make another out right demand, we'd have to challenge him again." Steve shrugged, standing up. "It's politics, Charlotte. One win, equals one resignation."

  "But I can force him not to change, Steve," I said with a groan.

  "True, but I think Liam wanted to try to do this as peacefully as possible. I don't know Aaron really at all, so I'm just guessing. I don't think you want to make Aaron more upset than you have to. The guy's a little loony."

  "That's why I'm worried about Ty," I said.

  It didn't matter anyway, they already left. No one would run back here just because I wanted them to. At least I didn't think that possible.

  The cell phone in my pocket rang and I muttered an obscenity under my breath. Couldn't my father let it go this one time? I told him I'd be home soon. Pulling the small black phone from the pocket, I flicked it open. "Dad, please. I'm okay. I'll be home..." My voice broke off and everything in me went cold. "Ty?" I asked.

  She spoke so fast, I could barely understand her. Steve jumped to my side, listening. "Okay, Ty, calm down," I said. "Where are you?"

  "I got away," she said. Her voice trembled. "I need your help. I'm trapped. I'm in some kind of underground tunnel. I can't find the way out. It's so dark."

  I tried to take a deep breath. "Okay, how'd you get to where you are? Where was he keeping you?"

  "In the basement of an old barn," she said. "I don't know. I just managed to get out and I found this passageway. I thought it would lead me outside. There's water everywhere. I can barely see. I'm so scared."

  "There must be an old well system under the farm," Steve said.

  Ty screamed.

  "Ty?" I yelled back.

  Sobbing filled the receiver. "I thought I saw something move," she said. "Please, Charlotte. I'm so scared."

  I turned to Steve. "We have to get her."

  He looked torn. "We should wait for Liam," he said. "They're supposed to meet us here. There'd be no way for them to know where we were."

  "We'll leave a note!"

  "Charlotte," he said with whine.

  "Do you hear her Steve? She's in trouble. She needs us now. I'm not leaving her there with who knows what down in some dark tunnel. She needs us. I am going with or without you."

  The phone still to my ear, I started through the woods. I had no idea what direction to go in, but I didn't care.

  Steve's hand landed on my shoulder, stopping me. "What if it's a trap, Charlotte? I'm supposed to protect you."

  I glared at him. "How can it be a trap if Liam's with Aaron and his pack? Please." I shook his grasp free and continued forward. Another scream filled my ear.

  "Ty?" I asked.

  "I think someone's down here with me," Ty said. "I think I'm being followed. Please help me."

  "I'm coming, Ty. Don't wo..." My phone beeped twice and then fizzled out. "No, no, no!" I smacked my cell phone several times, but the connection was gone. "I lost her. It's dead." Stress poisoned my veins.

  I strode forward, pushing the loose branches from my path. I could hear Steve behind me, but I couldn't even see. He grabbed my arm.

  "I'm going, Steve."

  "That's the wrong way," he said.

  Steve shrugged and gave a weak smile. "Liam will kill me if I let you out of my sight."

  I felt like crying. "Thank you," I said.

  He titled his head to the side, and pointed up at the halo of branches overhead. "The moon's over there. So that means East is this way." He pointed in the opposite direction. "If we head in this way, we should end up at the main road. It will lead us to the old farm. It's a good hike though, about six miles from where we are."

  "Six miles?" This would take forever on foot. Ty needed us now.

  "I can shift and you can ride me," Steve said with a shrug. "It'll be a lot faster. Of course, you'll have to hold on harder. We won't exactly be loping."

  The thought of riding a wolf at a full out run, leaping over logs, twisting and turning on a dime, made me cringe. I knew I'd fall off.

  "Let's do it," I said.

  Steve didn't hesitate. He stepped under the covering of the brush. They snapped and popped, shaking as he changed form. With a low gurgling sniff, Steve's long angular nose poked through the shrubs. I could hear my pulse in my ears.

  Steve, the smallest in the pack, stood leaner and far lankier than the others. His dark brown coat had white spattered around his muzzle, and his eyes, although gold, still held their human likeness. I stared, seeing the intelligence behind the animal. Steve cocked his head to the side and I turned away.

  I needed to find something to write on.

  "We better leave a note," I said. I needed to focus. Of course the woods left little to work with.

  Steve grunted and pushed his large wolf body past me. I watched, curious as to what he would do. How could a wolf leave a message?

  Steve stopped in front of the large oak tree and pushed up onto his hind legs, resting his forepaws on the bark. Scratching down, his claws sliced letters into the tree.

  My jaw dropped. "You can write with your nails?"

  Steve gave a wolfy grin and I shook my head. Why should I be surprised? At this point, anything had become possible.

  He finished his carving and then hopped down, motioning for me to look. With a deep breath, I approached his art.

  'Ty in trouble. Went to Farm.'

  "That'll work." I said. "Come on, Ty needs us."

  The tremor in her voice still rang in my head. I even forgot about my fear of riding Steve as I hoisted myself up on his back. I did better this time on my mount, and gripped the scruff on his neck. My thigh muscles squeezed his ribs.

  "Okay," I said

  Steve lunged forward, and I buried my head against his neck. He bounded and moved through the foliage at an ever-increasing pace, his stride more rude and choppy than Liam's had been. I hung on with all my might. Each twist of his hindquarters made my hips slide in the opposite direction. I did everything I could to keep Ty my focus, the one rationale of why I needed to be up there.

  My body felt numb when the old weathered farmhouse came into view. Steve's nose gave a short, snarled sniff. A faint mist of breath circled his nostrils as he stopped about a hundred yards from the farmstead. Still under the faint covering of trees, I peeled my hands from his hair, and slid down. My knees wobbled and I almost lost my balance. Steve caught my shirt with his teeth, holding me in place.

  "Thanks." I said. My cheeks burned, but he didn't seem to notice. He stared at the house and the dirty, sage colored barn. Most of the windows had been broken and the panes wore thick layers of dust. The place had to have been abandoned for at least a decade. Even the large, rolling barn door leaned half off its hinge, cracks splintering it in more
than one place.

  In the bleak lighting from the moon, the place gave off an eerie vibration. Everything was too quiet. Not even a bird rustled. A pit formed in my stomach.

  Chapter 21

  "Come on." My voice evaporated into the void around us, tangling in my throat.

  Steve whined a funny sound and shrank back on his hind legs, edging himself under the cover of trees. The hair on his back rose as if brushed with static.

  "Steve, what are you doing?"

  He whimpered, retreating further.

  "We need to find Ty," I said. "Come on. You're the big werewolf. What are you afraid of?"

  Steve grunted and motioned with his head for me to back away with him. I stood my ground. "No. I'm not leaving without my friend, Steve. I'll go alone." I turned from him and started across the lawn toward the barn.

  "Wait," Steve said. I spun around to see the human version of Steve, hopping after me as he tried to pull on his jeans. The rude change was almost comical given different circumstances, but I was relieved that he decided to join me. "Charlotte, something's not right here. I can smell it."

  I groaned. "What can you smell, Steve?"

  "Death," he said.

  "Death?" I asked. My mind went to Ty and panic flooded over me. I couldn't breathe right.

  The ground tipped and Steve caught my shoulder, steadying me.

  "Charlotte," he said, trying to focus me. "It doesn't smell like Ty. I don't think it's your friend." I started to shake. "Charlotte, can you hear me? It's not Ty."

  I nodded and swallowed hard.

  "Look, I know your friend's in there, but something's not right. I don't know Aaron, but wolves don't leave dead bodies around their dens. The scent is human. I think we should go back and wait for Liam and the others."

  "Ty is in there," I said. "If she's not dead now, she could be next. She said she thought someone was following her. Oh, my God." My eyes went wide. "It could be too late." Despite the fear rampaging through my body, I knew what I had to do. "I have to go in there."

  "Charlotte," Steve said. His palm gripped my shoulder. "Think about what you're saying. We don't know what the hell is in there. We could all die. You could get killed."

  "I have to take that chance." Part of me couldn't believe the words coming from me, but I knew I had to.

  "Why?" he asked.

  "She's my best friend."

  The pause following my words felt deafening.

  "Then I'm coming with you," he said, dropping his hold on me.

  "You don't have to." I didn't want to put his life at stake. I just needed to get Ty back.

  Steve groaned. "I'm dead if I don't. I might as well take my odds in there."

  "Sorry," I said.

  He shrugged, and pulled a warn gray tee shirt over his head. "A pack member needs help. That's the same as if my right arm needed stitching. The pack is a part of who I am. We stick together."

  "You really view me as a part of the pack?" I asked. A strange warm feeling knotted in my chest.

  Steve grinned. "Always have. Come on." He lifted his nose in the air and started to the barn. I quickly followed.

  He moved the sagging door to the side with little effort. A gust of moldy dust brushed the air, making me cough. I couldn't make anything out through the illuminated pixies dancing against the incoming light from the door. I blinked, letting it settle, before trying to see.

  Steve stepped around me, his bare feet enlivening the creaky floor. He could probably see fine.

  "I don't smell Ty," Steve said. His voice sounded odd in the tight stale air. "Are you sure she said she was at the barn?"

  "You heard the call as well as I did."

  "Yeah," he said with a grumble. He leaned over a stall door, sniffing. The air had settled and I could see his ears shifting along his head, following sounds too low for humans to detect. "Seriously though," he said. "This is weird. There's not a trace of her."

  Stepping through the doorway, I entered the main hull. "She said she was somewhere in a basement," I said. "Do you see anything that looks like it would lead us down?" I wanted to ask him more about smelling blood, but couldn't muster the nerve.

  Steve made a low grunt, which I took as a no, so I went to investigate myself. I contemplated trying to pick up Ty's scent in the same way I had heard her heartbeat in the car that afternoon, but chickened out. I didn't want that awful feeling of losing myself to happen again. I shivered at the thought. I needed to stay focused. I needed to stay me.

  Trailing my hand along the dusty cow stanchions lining the east side of the barn, the rough coppery layer of rust scratched at my skin. I couldn't imagine how long ago this place had been occupied, werewolves excluded.

  I followed the row of milking stanchions down to the far end, when I realized I could see a small hidden area behind them. Stretching my neck through the equipment, I called out. "Ty? Are you in there?"

  "What are you doing?" Steve asked.

  "Come here," I said, ushering him over with my hand. "I think I see something." I carefully stepped through, pushing the heavy stanchion bars to the side on their chain. The floor boards groaned under my feet.

  "What is it?"

  I jumped. "Jeeze, Steve. Don't do that. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

  He chuckled. "You told me to join you over here."

  I shook my head. "I know, I just didn't think you'd sneak up on me."

  "Sorry," he said with a little smile. "So what is this?" he asked, climbing in behind me.

  "I don't know. Look," I said. "There's a hidden area back here."

  The grin disappeared from Steve's face as I lifted my leg over the far side of the stanchion, into the dark passageway. Steve followed my lead and we started making our way down the corridor.

  "Wait," Steve said, pausing me. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. A tremor rippled and rolled under his shirt. I swallowed hard.

  "What's wrong?" I asked.

  His hand silenced me and I strained to see what he could be referring to, but I couldn't.

  Why couldn't Liam be here?

  I knew Steve could protect me from most things, considering what he was, but something about Liam made me feel the safest. I missed him. I felt torn, not knowing the whereabouts and safety of either him, or Ty.

  "The scent of blood is thick here," Steve said, pulling me from my thoughts. "Werewolf too. It's faint, further down." Steve shook his head. "I still don't smell your friend, only blood and wolf. This isn't good, Charlotte. Aaron must have left one of his pack mates to watch after Ty."

  "I think I'm going to throw up," I said, leaning over to steady myself, my hands on my knees. "Ty was right. She is being followed." I tried to slow my breathing. My head spun. "Some killer is down here with her."

  "We don't know that, Charlotte."

  I glared at Steve from my position. "You smell death, blood and death."

  Steve didn't answer, his face looking pale.

  I stood up. "We better hurry." I said, moving forward. I couldn't stop to think about everything. I had to find her.

  Steve caught up to me. Parts of his body had shifted. His iris' burned gold and the tips of his ears had slipped upward on his head. Crouching over, he walked, his nostrils flaring, and then his arm stopped my path.

  "Let me go first," he said, his voice lower in range than normal.

  I nodded, but he didn't pay attention. His amber gaze fixated on the dark path in front of us. He moved again, more wolf-like that human. A strong aura rolled from his shoulders, and something in me responded. I could feel it scratching under my skin. Lifting my arm, I watched a ripple thread across my wrist. I couldn't breathe.

  I bit my lip to stop the trembling and caught up with Steve. He had rounded a small corner exposing a large, half crumbled-down, stone stairwell. He turned to me, and light flooded my vision. The entire place became vivid, every nodule distinct and clear.

  Steve stared at me.

  "What?" I asked.

  He shook h
is head with a funny expression and started down the steps. "Nothing," he said.

  I wasn't stupid.

  I touched my eyes with the tips of my fingers. I didn't need to see them. Dropping my hand, I followed Steve, just grateful for the heightened vision.

  The stairs opened into an expansive basement constructed from large crude rocks of all shapes and sizes. On one wall a large shelf made of wood had been drilled into the stone. Various items I didn't know had been placed on it, mostly farming supplies, although I could smell turpentine and paint.

  "Charlotte," Steve whispered, making me jump. I cursed myself for being so edgy.

  Steve waved me over to some make shift wooden door that had been bolted into the rock. An eerie falling sensation washed over me as he tried to pull it free. Something told me I didn't want to know what was on the other side.

  With a grunt, Steve ripped the door from its place, tossing it to the side. The putrid, revolting scent of rotting animal escaped, knocking me back.

  "Ah, god!" Steve said. He pulled the edge of his shirt over his nose. Stumbling away from the door, he glanced over his shoulder.

  I didn't dare ask what he saw, but two steps to the right, and my lovely new vision answered for me. The horror buckled me. I tried to scream, to move, but nothing seemed to work.

  "It's okay, Charlotte. Stand back."

  Steve's words felt distant. Everything around me had become engulfed in a warm murky cloud of surrealism.

  I couldn't tell if the bodies had been male or female. Shredded and torn, they leaned on each other in a haphazard hump, vacantly staring at us. Blood covered them in thick, blackened layers. Gashes and open wounds wreaked with rot.

  "She's not in here," Steve said, although it sounded like he spoke through water. "I don't smell Aaron either, but it was definitely a wolf. I don't like this, Charlotte. I think we should go back. Why don't you try your cell?"

  "What?" I asked.

  "Your cell," Steve said. He lifted the large wooden door and placed it back against the cold stone. At least it helped muffle the scent. With the bodies out of view, reality came back. My mouth felt dry and pasty. Reaching into my jean pocket, I retrieved my phone, opening it.