And Then..

I sighed and took hold of the reigns. I could see the clock on the side of the barn's wall. Eleven 'o clock. I knew it was late, I but didn't expect it to be this late! I led the horse back to it's block and closed the door behind me, locking it. I lightly rubbed it's muzzle. This day was far too long. No. This entire week was far too long. The full moon had started two days ago. It's been like this ever since I've been bitten. Each time the harvest moon would fill to completion I'd spend the entire week awake. It was this lycanthropic energy surging through me, like an electric current. The only times I'd feel some kind of relaxation was after I ran a couple of miles, swam or just rode horseback for a bit. The research I've done on how to cure this was a useless at best. They did mention cures in all the books I've read.. but drowning, kneeling on the same spot for a century, doing some voodoo curse ritual and being stabbed by a silver blade wasn't exactly my type of 'cure'. It was quite easy to control the transformations after the first. The first was hell to endure, but that was a long time ago. I was grateful for my abilities now. It had taken me a while to understand what I had turned into. It wasn't like I had expected that being bitten by a some rabid dog would result in me turning into a werewolf, but sometimes things don't work out according to plan. I hanged the reigns back on the hook next to the stable door. I made sure mom thought I'd be spending the week at the Hanover Stables. Helping out with the "cleaning and maintenance" of it. Not really though. They already had attendants for that, several in fact, but I wasn't about to tell mom the truth. Yes, that would go down joyfully, "Mom, your daughter is a bloodthirsty, rabid werewolf and there's no cure". I can just imagine the look on her face. She'd probably laugh awkwardly and write it up to some kind of attention-seeking device or something. Then again, bloodthirsty wasn't the way I would describe it. It wasn't like I suddenly felt the need to rip everything to pieces.. although I did feel nagging need to eat steaks raw, but that's natural, right? I took off my rider's boots and stashed them back into my backpack. The helmet I hung over the post, no need for me to take it everywhere with me. I had packed for the whole week. Food, clothes.. everything I'd need. I put on my tennis shoes and denim jacket, a sweater along was definitely not enough! Slinging the backpack over my shoulder I walked out of the stables and closed the door. The icy winter wind had assaulted my senses. Even in my human form everything's magnified. Hearing. Seeing. Smell. It burnt how cold the moisture in the air was. I rubbed my nose slightly, feeling my eyes water slightly from it. I walked to the edge of the ranch. The grass crunched underneath my shoes. The snow had been falling on and off for this month and tonight was one of the nights when it did snow. I walked to the fence that lined the ranch, took a breath and jumped over it in one motion. It wasn't even necessary to even use the fence to vault myself over it, I just jumped, like it was a low step or something. Being a werewolf does have it's advantages. I walked through the forest that surrounds the back of the ranch and headed deeper into it. Mist rose from the floor of the forest as well as escaped through my lips. It was cold and it was hard not to shiver. I just needed to find a place to sleep tonight and then I could rest, but it proved difficult. There were packs in this forest. Since I wasn't exactly "part" of them, I'd be considered an intruder if I came across their territory. I sniffed the air. No scent was here. It was safe. The area was a small clearing, surrounded by dense pine trees and the floor covered with the tree's needles. At least the snow was blocked by the branches. I set down my backpack on the ground and took off my denim jacket and sweater. I still had my jeans and red tank top on. The tank top had two thin bands across the shoulders and weaved across each other at the back. I was about to put on my sports jacket when I heard a sound. A slight twig snap.

It wasn't even loud. The sound came from my right. Shit. The entire forest when deathly quiet. That could only mean one thing. Damn. I dropped my jacket, if I put it on they might attack me while I'm vulnerable. Reaching into the side pocket of my backpack I grabbed my cell. Quickly checking the time, it was twelve. Great. Any werewolf would have it's peak power right now. Not the best time to fight when you're tired. The mist made it even harder to see anything. I scanned across the area and dropped my cellphone back into my backpack. Not having slept for three days really was taking its toll on me right now, but the adrenalin was kicking in. My hands started to tremble with excitement. My once dark green eyes was now completely overtaken by the gold that had once only lined the outside of my iris. I could feel the wolf inside my pacing hungrily for a fight inside me. Even in the dark of night I could see clearly, although my vision had turned slightly infra-red. It was like, instead of normal light, someone had taken a red light and shone it to everything. I could see everything as clear as daylight. My hearing perked up even more as I listened for the source of the noise. With a sudden gush of wind a large black wolf stood almost nose-to-nose to me. I gasped, the air caught in my throat. It was a black talon werewolf. One of the largest breeds of werewolf. Question was, if this wolf was here, where was the rest of its pack? "Good to finally meet you, Nichole Monroe" the wolf growled out. I took a slight step back to increase the distance between us. If the wolf decided to attack then I'd need time to transform. "Is that so? Who are you?" I asked. The wolf's fur was shimmering wet, dripping with blood. I could tell it was another werewolf's blood by it's smell. Werewolf blood always had such a sickening ash smell to it, as if it were burnt. "I'm here to come and get you" the wolf growled again. It bared it's fang as a warning to me. I snorted, "Well, what for?" I challenged. As he spoke I slowly took off my glasses and softly put them down on my jacket, not once taking my eyes off him. I straightened up and tensed my muscles. Slowly, my golden fur emerged from my body, my clothes tore as I dropped down to all fours and fully transformed. My mouth elongated into a muzzle, my hands grew to claws and my legs bent and realigned to their wolf form. The ash scent filled the air and it made it hard to breathe. "You weren't bitten by accident, Nichole. We invited you to be our Beta" the wolf said. "Excuse me? That's how you invite people to your pack? Then I'd have to decline." I said sternly. "Why not? Being a Beta is an honour" the wolf said and narrowed it's red eyes. "I said No." I repeated. If they forced members to join in this manner, what else would they have me do?! "Well.. if you won't come willingly, I'm obligated to force you" the wolf said and pulled back it's muzzle to reveal it's large fangs. I drove my claws into the ground, securing myself. I'm ready to fight. I won't back down. "Don't even try it" I snapped angrily. With an ear-piercing howl the black wolf ran towards me at full speed, ramming into me. It sent both of us crashing through the pine trees and snapping them in half as we rolled. I quickly pinned the wolf to the ground with my paws and bit into its neck. Warm blood trickled from the area I bit it, but the wolf quickly healed and threw me off. I landed on my side. Damnit. The blow had knocked the wind out of me and it was hard to catch my breath. This battle wasn't going as planned. There was a deep gash on my arm and several other lacerations on my chest, but luckily those healed almost instantly. "If you don't leave right now then I'll be forced to send you back to your pack in a matchbox" I growled. I could feel my body's strenght was at its limit. I

breathed hard as I waited for the black talon to answer. A huff came from the wolf, sending mist into the air. "Nichole, the offer still stands..." the wolf urged. "Damnit! I said leave me alone!!" I yelled. The wolf snarled and suddenly kicked up some of the ground. The earth landed in my eyes, blinding me for a moment. I jumped back, perking my ears to catch it's position, only to be grabbed by my neck and flung my bodyacross the field. Twisting mid-air I managed to land on my feet, knocking over another pine tree, sending it crashing down. I vigorously rubbed my face across my paws, trying to get the dust out, "That's cheating!" I screamed. A snarl came from the wolf. This was part of the plan. I opened my one eye slightly. I could make out shapes.. but my vision was still painful. I closed my eyes again and lowered my head, ready for another attack. The wolf growled and lunged into the air. I could tell. There wasn't a sound, except the breathing that came closer and closer from above. It was with frightening speed that it came down from the ten yard leap into the air. I braced for impact but nothing came. A harsh snap resounded and a whimper came from the wolf that had just attacked me. Why on earth would it whimper? It's not like I had attacked yet? I looked up, cracking open my eye slightly. A young boy, was standing there. He had caught the lycanthrope by its throat with his left hand in mid-air. It clawed frantically at the boy's arm, trying to writhe away from him. I watched in utter horror as shards of his arm was pealed away. "No!! Stop!! Let me handle this!!" I yelled frantically. A human couldn't handle a werewolf!! The boy looked over to me, "Please" he asked softly. I stood still but bit my bottom lip. This sucks. I feel so helpless! I can't see and I'm out of energy and I'm hurt. It couldn't get much worse than this. His short white hair covered his eyes as he hung his head. He snapped his head back to the werewolf and tightened his grip on it's neck. He lowered it to the ground and thrust his right foot into the lycan's stomach, sending it yelping in pain. "You can't beat me" the boy said in a low voice. The wolf stopped clawing at his arm as the boy leaned down to the werewolf. I couldn't believe my eyes. The gashes on they guy's arm started to heal as he spoke to the wolf. "You can't beat me, Black Talon, so leave." he said, "She declined your invitation". I rolled my eyes and lifted my eyebrow. I already told that wolf the same thing, but it didn't listen to me!! The wolf growled and sniffed the air, "Let go of me!!". A growled escaped the boy's lips and his eyes slowly turned from bright blue to crimson. "Aww..poor baby.. does this hurt you?" the boy taunted and laughed a bit. By now most of the earth was away from my eyes and I could see. But this wasn't what I had expected. A large werewolf being pinned by a young boy. I couldn't help but blush a bit, he was quite handsome. At this moment I was so happy I had fur so he couldn't see that I was blushing. "Now.. If you don't mind. I have places to go, companies to take over and employees to fire. So can we wrap this up or shall I kill you?" the guy said with a smirk. I couldn't help but laugh a bit. The wolf huffed and backed off. The boy straightened up and took a step back. "Never come after her again. EVER." the boy warned as the wolf sheepishly got up. The black talon faced me and lowered his head to the ground in acceptance. He kept facing me as he retreated back into the forest. A sign of respect amongst wolves. I smiled. After a few minutes I couldn't see or hear it anymore. Taking in a deep breath I felt the extent of the damage done. I looked down to my paw. Oh, just perfect. The gash went right through to the bone. It wasn't healing like the rest. "It'll take a few days.." the boy broke the silence. I looked down to my form and back to him. "Right, sorry" the guy said and turned around to respect my privacy. I trotted back to my backpack and changed back into my human form. I quickly redressed in a black tank top, navy sweatpants and boots. I cleared my throat as a signal. "Are you sure?" he called. "Yeah" I

said. He turned to me and smiled warmly. "That looks a bit.. ouch" he said and pointed to my wound. The cut was on my right arm. Blood was dripping down from the wound to the ground. "It's not that bad" I said softly. I held my hand over it. It was actually throbbing painfully, but I didn't want to tell him. He laughed and walked over to me. "Of course it's not painful!" he agreed. I awkwardly smirked. "If you tilt your head, squint your eyes, stand REALLY far back and shake your head REALLY fast then it doesn't really hurt" he said and frowned. I laughed, tears slightly filling my eyes, "It does sting a bit" I admitted shyly. He examined it and looked up to me with his sparkling blue eyes. "You have a first-aid kit?" he asked. With his blue eyes pleading like that I couldn't help but blush again. "Y-yeah.." I walked over to my backpack and dug around a bit before finding it. I handed it to him and sat down on the ground. It was nice and soft from the pine needles, but I could see the mess of blood our fight had left behind. I still couldn't figure it out though.. how DID he heal so fast? Isn't he human?.. no..his smell is also of ash. "Yes. I am.. " he said as he opened the first-aid pack. He pulled out some bandages. "You are?!" I yelled in shock. He laughed a bit and tilted his head, "Expected more hair? I didn't fully transform you know" he said and laughed again. He held out his hand expectantly. I raised my eyebrow a bit but caught on to what he was motioning for. I reluctantly held out my right arm. "I'm Mark" he said softly as he softly started to clean the wound with disinfectant. "Nichole" I answered. I'm glad he didn't say anything about this. It was embarrassing enough to have been hurt in that fight like that. "You're strong.. this will probably be healed by tomorrow" he said with a warm smile and he started with the bandage. I cringed a bit as the fabric hit my skin. He glanced at me worriedly but kept going. He finished the bandage and leaned in slightly. I didn't feel the need to pull back like I usually do. I felt safe with him. His blue eyes studied my face for a second before he took his handkerchief and poured some water on it, "Here" he said and handed it to me. I took it and gratefully wiped the remaining dust off my eyes. It didn't really bother me, but I was happy to get rid of it. It was weird to be taken care of, I was usually the one who did this. "I'm glad I met you, Nichole" Mark said and put his hand on my arm. I looked at his hand, watching it skeptically as he brought it to his lips and kissed it softly "I hope you feel better" he said. With that, Mark stood up and turned. It was unbelievable how this day had turned out. A blush lined my face and competed with the cold, "T-thanks" I said softly. Mark turned back, winked "No problem. Maybe I'll run into you again" he replied. "Maybe" I whispered with a smirk on my lips. He laughed again and walked off, into the forest towards Hanover. 'Maybe my ass, we WILL meet again', I thought with a smile and ran my fingers over the kiss he had left on my hand.