Wolves Don't Just Howl At The Moon
The following story is a work of pure fiction. Some material may not be suitable for individuals under the age of 18. This story is copyrighted and not intended for print. Please enjoy and I would love to hear what you think! I have a lot more to this story and plan on putting up others. Your feedback will be highly appreciated. (^_^) E-mail me at howlatthe@gmail.com. Also, please don't forget to donate to Nifty at http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html.
Sorry for the long wait.
Thanks, Star
Chapter 6
Chasing a Memory
You know the most annoying part of this entire situation? I am able to hear and see everything around me but, I am not able to react to any of it. I'm sitting in the back seat as my body lays in the passenger seat. Titus is singing some song where a guy is telling people that ask him about his ex that she died or something like that. He is so into the song though. It's kind of cute but, at this moment in time I despise him. I mean seriously. He played me like a total fool. The song winds down and he reaches over turning the volume down. Here goes the soliloquy.
"Gabriel, I know you can hear me so allow me to explain a few things." He says glancing over at my body. "I am guessing by now you know that I deceived all of you. But, think of it like this. You won't be around to see what happens to all of your family. We'll that is except for your sisters." He says and then has the nerve to chuckle. "They will become a part of my pack. Even if it's by force. Don't worry though. You will be right there with them. We won't kill you guys. You will all give birth to the next generation of my family. Starting with you." He says smirking evilly. Something about his smile was different though. It wasn't the same smirk I know. I can't put my finger on it but, there is something off about him. "Oh and just so you know, I'm not Titus." He says and his image flickers. The change ends and Darien is in the seat. He laughs. "You see, Titus and I are fraternal twins. In meaning, we are both gifted with the wolf spirits powers equally. Now at this point, I'm sure there are a number of questions running through your head. But, we have a couple of hours before we arrive, so allow me to explain. First, we need to stop at the gas station." We take an exit and pull into an Exon. He parks at a pump and shuts off the car. Turning he looks over at me. "You are really a beautiful creature. Titus should feel lucky. But, be that as it may, he has been very bad. I may have to take you in his stead." He says chuckling maniacally.
My mouth fills with disgust from how evil he ended up being as he leans over and kisses my cheek. I reel my hand back and attempt to punch him. My hand goes right through his face. In any other circumstance that would have been really funny. He steps out of the car and goes into the gas station. I think it's time to take a quick moment to do a self-evaluation. At this moment, the situation is I am stuck outside of my body. So, I'll have to be put back in it within 24 hours. Otherwise my body will no longer recognize my spirit. If that happens one of two things will happen. Either the cat spirit will take over officially or, I will just become a shell until I die. If the second happens, I will be able to me possessed by a demon since there is no host to decline the contract. This entire thing spells out trouble. Darien and Titus hold the same powers. I think that is why I wasn't able to sense Titus in either of their forms. If they are able to do that, there was no real way to figure out who was who since no one was their mate and nobody knew who they were. Since, I am Titus's potential mate, I was instantly drawn to him. That's the only reasonable explanation at this point. I still need to figure out when Darien actually was in play for the plan. Also, what he meant when he said that Titus has been bad. I guess I'll just have to wait until he explains everything to me.
He walks out of the gas station holding a Redbull in one hand and a burrito in the other. Seriously! A freaking burrito? Someone just put me out of my misery. Sorry body but, as soon as that gas sets in you're on your own. I roll my eyes putting my elbow on the arm rest of the door and resting my chin in my hand. He walks over to the car placing his drink on the top of the car and starts to pump the gas. I hear the nozzle being inserted to the tank then, the gas start flowing in. Looking at him now, Darien is actually really cute. He has on an Armani black wool sweater, Tom Ford Charles round aviator sunglasses, Gianni evening lace-up shoes by Tom Ford, slim fit Japanese Selvedge denim jeans and a brown quilted panel biker jacket both by Burberry. Points for style most definitely. His eyes are the same shade of amethyst as Titus but, Darien's dirty blond hair has a cleaner cut pompadour. He stands about 6 feet 3 inches. If I had to guess I'd say 190 lbs. He is in such good shape his abs pretty much show through his sweater and his jacket looks as though his biceps will Hulk out of it any second. Okay so, let's move away from his looks. It's a full moon soon and all I am is hormones and emotions. Not a good mix since I'm not in my body. Besides, I can't just hop in bed with the enemy. No matter how hard it is not to. He turns back towards the pump to replace the nozzle. His back side is just too much. Broad shoulders and an ass that just won't quit. Again, focus Gabriel he is totally evil. He turns back towards the car smirking and appears to be looking right at me. Surprised, I crab walk to the opposite side of the back seat. How the hell did he know I was there? I mean, he made direct eye contact with me. Wait, duh, he has foresight. He opens the door and gets in starting the car glancing over his shoulder at me.
"Finally, figured out I can see you?" He asked with that evil smirk. I exhale, roll my eyes to look out the window, and cross my arms. He laughs.
"I seriously hate you." I say to myself since he can't even hear me.
"Don't be like that." He says pulling out of the gas station and heading for the interstate entrance. At least, I thought he couldn't hear me.
"So, how about you go ahead and start you're explanation so I can figure out how to stop you." I say still looking out the window.
"Well, I guess starting from the beginning will help you understand the most." He takes a sip of his Redbull before continuing. "Alright, as you know my father Raiden is trying to gain control of the entire `were' population in this country. That should cover his motive being power. Since my brother and I are twins we share the wolf spirit like I said previously. We have an equal amount so, neither of us is stronger or weaker than the other. But, since we are sharing, neither of us is stronger than you either. Well, once you fully gain all of your abilities that is. A small price but, individually we are still far superior to everyone else." He say's taking a swig of his drink. At this point I get in the front seat and just sit in my lap. You know, I really do look good. BUT, I need to hit the gym. LIKE, hardcore.
"So, what are the abilities that you both share?" I ask him looking at him seriously.
"Well, as you know..." He starts glancing at me from the corner of his eye. "We have foresight." I simply shake my head.
"Of course it would have been you that saw us in your vision. You are the collector." I said rolling my eyes. He chuckles slightly before going back paying attention to the road.
"What can I say? I have a thing for beauty." He says reaching out to touch me but his hand goes right through me.
"Nice try but, you can continue with that list of yours." I tell him crossing my arms.
"Hmmm. Well, we do have a lot of psychic control and faster thinking and processing like yourself. We have advanced strength as well as the power to effect all of the five senses." After that statement, it all made sense now. That's how they were able to trick us. "Oh and before I forget to mention. This is actually our first time meeting. I have a feeling you were going to ask when but, this is it."
"How is that even possible that I haven't met you yet?" After I asked I understood what he meant.
"Simple." He says taking another drink. "I was the first member of the pack to arrive here. So, in order to get the correct information that I needed, I posed as my brother and gained access to the police Intel."
"Is he even really a cop?"
"Well, he is a part of the government but, his job is well above being a detective. Now, as I was saying..." You see that right there is why he is lucky I am bound in this spirit form. His attitude is going to drive me insane. "Since, I had already made use of Titus's body, he had to pose as me. When he first got over here he didn't care for our fathers plan as long as he wasn't expected to fight let alone kill any light beings. But, that first meeting with you broke that small link of help we had from him. So, I had to intervene." He says smirking like he just made a kill shot.
"What did you do?" I said squinting my eyes at him.
"Simple. We have the same abilities and can sense the changes in each other if we aren't careful. The information that Titus was giving you, was all false." He say's shocking me. "So, the information from his phone... false. The information he told you all after he first met you... false. The vision he shared with you... also false."
"But wait, I thought you said after the first night we met. We had the vision that night."
"You see, daddy dearest and I pretty much expected something like this to happen. Which it did. So, I gave him an altered vision just in case he did feel the need to betray the mission. To which, the outcome was to our advantage. He was actually trying to help you. But, he was just too confident in his ability to see through everyone, myself included. He is definitely too pure for his own good. His knack for being the dealer of justice and being a savior will be his downfall. He should have realized that once our mother died." He said sort of shutting down a bit. He wasn't all bad I see. His mother is a key to bringing him back. He shook the memories away before I could ask about them. "Carrying on, he used my body to hide his identity from everyone. I switched back into my body the day I first arrived to your house posing as the detective. But, you were deep in thought or what have you. So, you didn't even notice that it was me. Had you turned and noticed me you would have known right then who I truly was." He said with that annoying smirk creeping back to his face. I thought back, realizing that he was right. Since I had already seen my mate, I would have known instantly that, Darien was there instead.
"So, how were you able to deceive everyone without getting caught?" I asked.
"Seriously? We just went over this." He said growing annoyed.
"Because we still don't have hours before we reach where we need to be. Entertain me. And where are you taking me anyway?"
"Touché. First, like I said, I am able to control the five senses. Making everybody think they are seeing Titus was easy. Making them think I was human was a bit trickier since I have to take on more senses and control them. I had a lot of practice to perfect this skill before I started this plan. Now, as for why Titus never called me out is quite simple really. If he had, we both would have either A. he would been killed by both the alpha's, or B. I would have taken most of the people out in the room. They probably wouldn't have believed him anyway since he was portraying the just role of traitor. Also considering the fact that, as far as everyone else would be able to tell, I was human. Now for that second question, it's quite simple. I am taking you to central."
"Why would you take me there knowing that they will kill you?" I asked truly trying to figure out my next move. He exhaled quickly in a snort.
"Think about it." That was all he said until he saw the light bulb go off in my head. "They are expecting you. Like your father said, there is only one way to get in contact with them and once we do it's gone until we arrive. Your father knew this because you were never going to be in this fight to begin with. He wouldn't let you be a part of it knowing there was a chance that they could lose. Smart man I must admit. Too bad he's gotta die. Anyways, once we are there the lock down will continue up until the attack is over. You can't leave and no one can get in. Let alone warn them. Which is a total shame since, my work is far from over. Getting into central with you was always a part of the plan. And you all played right into it." He looks at the time on the dash and signals for a lane switch heading for the exit. "I have to piss like a mother." He says pulling into the rest stop. He parks the car and gets out. He steps on the curb and then turns back around and walks back opening the door. "And by the way, you're not gonna be able to do another disappearing act. I linked your spirit to your body." He smirked. "Don't worry it will fade once we get to central." He said closing the door and heading into the restroom.
This is total bullshit. I can't believe I am trapped with this dick. Ugh. I need to be a bit smarter than this. If I could get to Titus I would be able to let him know what is going on but, as of right now. I have to hope that they know what's going on. And hopefully, they can beat us there. I hope they are okay too.
Meanwhile, back at Skyland manor everyone is in an uproar. Everyone is gathered in Mr. Skyland's office. Michael is pacing furiously. Samantha is sitting on a chair trying to focus her energy to find Alex. Damien and Sophia are on their laptops trying to find any information that will help find Gabriel or help with the plan for Raiden's attack. Mr. Skyland, Connor, Dominic, Cameron, and the team leaders are all going over the plans.
"Michael, I understand your worry but, you need to take a seat. Worrying like that isn't doing anything productive to get him back. Keep trying to get in contact with the human support. They will have the best chance at getting into Central for us." Mr. Skyland says.
"Yes sir. Sorry." Michael says walking over to the phone. "I will get in contact with the humans in Salem. They should be able to set up a road block or something at the entrances to Portland."
"Good idea. Teams four and five will begin heading there as well." Mr. Skyland says. Two men stand bowing and leaving the room. "Samantha how is your search for Alexander going?" Dominic glances over towards her as well.
"I am having a hard time focusing and pin pointing him. He is constantly moving and something is blocking me from making contact." Sam says with her eyes still closed. She opens them and stands. "I am going to try from my room. There are too many minds here and it's hard to concentrate." She says leaving the room.
"I'm going to go with her." Sophia says closing her laptop and walking out after Samantha.
"Has anyone found where Darien is?" Mr. Skyland asks the room.
"Not yet alpha." Dominic says looking down at his phone. "My pack is still tracking him down but, apparently he is either with Alex or Alex is in pursuit of him. My team continues to keep picking up both of their scents."
"There must be something that we are missing. I feel like there has to be some type of link between the two occurrences." Damien say's still typing away at his laptop. He thinks about it and stops typing once he notices the screen. "We have been focusing too much on the wrong front." He says looking at his father. Mr. Skyland walks over and looks at the screen.
"You're right. Good work Damien. Send that to the office. I'll have them do the work on it." Mr. Skyland said. Cameron, Connor, and Dominic go over to see as well.
"I'm leaving to find them as well." Cameron said. "I have a feeling that I may know how to find Alex." He runs out of the room.
"Team leader for six go with Cameron and keep me up dated." Connor says.
"Yes Beta." A man says standing and leaving.
At Mineral Lake a wolf drinks cautiously looking around every so often. The wolf is quite large with lavender eyes and golden fur with speckles of white making it appear to sparkle, as the setting sun shines across the lake on it. The sound of movement in the distance peaks it ears and it looks up scanning the trees for the source to appear. The closer it gets the louder it sounds. The golden wolf backs into some heavy bushing and crouches down watching and waiting. The noise finally moves out of the heavy tree lining and out creeps a buck. A 24-point walks closer to the water. Its ears flicking in different directions for any sound. It goes closer to the water slowly. The wolf's mouth starts to salivate realizing it hasn't eaten yet. It pulls its paws to in under its body waiting for the perfect moment to strike. When the buck bends to drink the wolf planned to attack. The buck looks around and then bends to take a drink. The wolf lifts slowly and quietly to attack but movement out of the corner of its eye stops it. A black a white wolf swiftly and smoothly jumps up and attacks the buck. Both tumbling into the water. The gold wolf picks up the wolf's scent and uses the moment to its advantage. It leaps out the bush in the opposite direction and moves onto its original path.
`He caught up to me too quickly. I need to put some distance between us.' He says to himself picking up speed and disappearing into the heavy brush and foliage of the forest.
We are pulling back into the freeway. Darien has been eerily chipper since the rest stop. Maybe a bit more prying and I can find a kink in his plan.
"So, you said that you're plan was to get into central with me. What is that? I mean I'm already going to be getting you in and won't be able to do anything." I say peaking his interest.
"Well, first things first, I have to find the witch that is preforming the protection spell on Central." He says.
"Wait, so, we are really using witches?" I ask a bit surprised.
"Witches play a major part in the supernatural world. Good or bad doesn't matter. They all are just pons. They carry keys to things that are never supposed to be unleashed. For example, the creation of a new species." He glances over at me. "Or, changing the specifics of an already created species. How about taking on another animal spirit?" I finally understood.
"You're trying to gain more power by adding another animal spirit to your own."
"Bingo, since I have a split spirit adding one more will make me far stronger than any other spirit carrier. With that said I already have a spirit in mind." He says smirking.
"Let me guess. Judging by your personality I would say it was a reptile. Something like a snake." I say turning to look out the passenger side window. He chuckles.
"Come now gorgeous. Don't be like that." He says reaching out for my leg and this time actually touching it. I look down and look over at his smirking face. "You weren't expecting that now were you?" He winks then continues driving. "To answer your first question, I have the spirit of the dire wolf in mind. As for what just happened, you weren't thinking about it so I was able to make contact. We are both spirit carriers after all. Kind of self-explanatory."
"Wait. I thought you were the wolf spirit carrier?" I said and then he got a very dumbfounded look.
"Did your family just not know anything or think you were best off in your own little world?" He says shaking his head. "I mean it's hot when you get this surprised look like that but, sad that you don't know any of this stuff too. There is a wolf spirit for each species of wolf. The same with cat spirits. You have the snow leopard spirit. There is still the lion, tiger, panther, and so on spirits." His phone lights up and he looks at it. The call notification read Big-Dog. I shook my head and looked down noticing his hand was still on my leg. I could feel the heat from his hand running up my thigh the longer it sat there. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye and he was deep in thought.
"So, are we really going to keep acting like we are on some type of date instead of you kidnapping me?" I ask him still not fully looking at him.
"Shut up. You haven't had a problem up until now or you would have told me to remove it as soon as it was there." I hated that he was right but still. I pushed his hand off of me. His phone rings again. Big Dog pops up again. He hits the Bluetooth answer button on the steering wheel.
William Skyland ends his call putting his phone on the desk and laying back in his computer chair. Michael walks into the office hanging up his cell phone.
"Any news?" William asks getting restless.
"Yes sir. That was Alpha Xerxes." Michael begins taking a seat in one of the chairs across from his father. "He has already dispatched 60 of his strongest fighters and trackers, including his son Luka. Luckily his pack is far bigger than ours. They should be here within the hour." William nods his head grabbing his phone and sending off a quick text.
"Good to hear. Once they arrive, I want them dispatched evenly between the fighting teams. I have already informed the team leaders. Anything else?" William asked standing from his chair and walking over to the window.
"Yes father." Michael answered standing himself and walking over to stand to the right side of William but, still behind him. "I spoke to the Special Forces Unit stationed in Salem. They have posted up Check points between Salem and Redding. They also sent out their hunters. I informed them of the wolf's abilities and advised them to use there crystals. So, even if the wolf's trickery works on them, his eyes will still glow. Apparently, the humans Special Forces Units against the supernatural have been given special equipment from the witch council. I wasn't even aware that the witches were taking sides in all this now. Nor were we aware that the council was back to a functioning system in the supernatural. Shouldn't we have received a witch in our territory to work with if that was the case?" He asked looking up outside the window staring at nothing in particular.
"As far as I have heard from Central, they have only just rebuilt the council and the only reason they are aware of all of that, is because the witch council is held in Salem. You are aware of why the witch council dismantled by Central for so long aren't you?" William asked Michael looking over his right shoulder at him.
"I thought that they were taken apart because they caused all of this." Michael asked not really aware of the situation. William smiled and looked back out the window before he extended a hand toward his desk signaling for them to sit. They both took their seats. William placed his elbows on the desk and interlocked his fingers. He exhaled a heavy breath closing his eyes. Inhaling he reopened them.
"Back in the 1690's is when the world was made aware of witches, or better yet, when the speculation of witches actually existing started. You know from history this is the time when the first Salem witch trials started. Well, who do you think started the trials?" William said sitting back in his chair.
"So, we were responsible for the Salem witch trials?" Michael asked finding this more and more intriguing.
"Definitely not." William said shaking his head. "The witches brought that upon themselves. They were warned about the consequences of using magic and continued to do so with the intent of personal gain. Humans were only given the use of magic to fight against the dark beings and to protect the light. After they began abusing that power, less and less humans were able to tap into the craft. The only reason that the witches now days have use is because the seven main council families gave up witch craft entirely until the trials went away. But, back to the main story. The first council consisted of 19 families. 12 of the families decided to continue using the craft for personal gain and petty quarrels. The alpha of the territory at the time told them that they were becoming reckless with their actions and that if they didn't return to following the natural order, then the consequences would be out of his control. As you can see, they didn't listen. Well, one of the witches made a contract with a demon and thus the dominoes began to fall. That contract began to cause all the misfortune that started to arouse the suspicion of witchcraft. The dark witch began feeding off of the other witches that were abusing their magic. One of the witches was siphoned to the brink of death and thus the first case of witchcraft was formed."
"So, the alpha is the one that caused the trials? Or was it the witches?" Michael asked.
"The family of the witch that almost died made the first case of witchcraft. The alpha was mayor and gave the order for the execution of the dark witch after he exorcised the demon. Once the witch was killed, that entire line lost their access to the craft. After the other eleven families were cut off from the craft, all the other deaths were normal humans. The alpha had no control over any of those, otherwise he would have been burned at the stake himself. That is why the witch trials started. They brought it all on themselves though. They are only now able to restart the council because Central is allowing it. Under their supervision of course." William said leaning back into his chair. Michael did the same thing as all this new information sank in. "But, I have the feeling their return can't possibly be a good thing for Central. After all that Central has done to countless witches over the years. They have as more right to take them out than any other."
"Hello Father." Darien says looking over at me with a smirk. I just wanted to melt his face off at that moment.
"Do you have my snow leopard?" A deep voice says with no sound of compassion for his son.
"Yes alpha." Darien says looking back at the road. All emotion seemed to drain from his face. "We are a few hours outside of Redding. By midnight we will have all I came for."
"Good. Keep me updated and notify me once you reach Central. I will have one of the teams outside. I heard that Titus fell into the trap. He is on his way to you. I already have a welcoming party waiting for him. Stupid child should know by now that I will always get what I want and there is NO ONE that will stop me." Raiden finished. I rolled my eyes as the venom built up in my mouth. I guess Darien felt my shift because he grabbed my hand.
"Alright father. I need to finish driving and I will let you know when I get close. Bye dad." Darien said receiving nothing but an ended call from his father. That made my blood boil. I was so pissed.
"How in the hell can you be working for that asshole? No matter the blood relation." I asked completely void of remorse. He just chuckled. "No. Don't laugh that is an actual question, I mean seriously. He doesn't even care about you guys anymore. He is already being taken over by the demon's he is harvesting inside his body. This isn't just going to end badly. You know that right? This is going to end in chaos." He was shaking his head dismissively.
"He is my father and the only parent I have left. You should know how important that is. You are in the same situation." Darien said as if that would make me understand. Wrong. Again noticing that I was still clutching his hand I snatched mine away.
"Don't you DARE try to compare our family situations, as if they are anything remotely equal! Your father is a complete monster. Yes, I killed my mother as well but, my dad is doing everything in his power for the good of our family and species. Your father is only doing everything to fuel his own personal issues obviously. If you even have an inclination that he is tenuously doing this for anyone besides himself, you may as well abandon that notion right now." I said unchanging and completely intent of arguing my point. "I mean does an alpha need to enter a dark contract to protect and fight the dark beings?"
"First, you don't know my father. Anything you think he is doing with some sort of dark purpose, it is you that is misdirected. Considering how little you actually know about the supernatural world, that doesn't surprise me." Darien answered me. I was about to speak but, he instantly cut me off. "He is only like this now because he lost our mother. Secondly, I don't know where you got the information that my father entered into a contract but, you are sorely mistaken." And there it was.
"Are you kidding me? You don't feel any of that dark energy coming from him? Are you really that in denial that you have completely blocked off all negativity about your father?" I thought he was evil but now I'm starting to realize what is really going on. "What happened to your mother? She didn't die like mine did obviously because you talk about her as if she had been around for longer."
"Look, this isn't about to be a therapy session okay. We obviously won't agree on this matter. I just want to help my father take down Central and fix all that they have messed up. The lives they ruined and the lives they have taken." He said as the same look from when he talked about his mother earlier reappeared.
"This isn't about power at all is it?" I asked truly looking for a response. He looked over at me as a scowl began to spread across his lips.
"Like I said before. You don't know anything, so just sit back and enjoy the ride. Everything is about to change regardless of what you think and there is no stopping it." Darien said focusing his gaze back on the road.
"Then educate me. You said it yourself, I really don't know anything about the supernatural world. Like I said before. We still have hours before we get to Redding. Tell me what happened." I said with more feeling this time. I grabbed his hand this time sending off my emotions so he knew I was serious. He glanced over and met my pleading eyes. I searched his own and saw pain but, also a calm that began to take over. He closed his eye inhaling and opened them on the exhale.
"Were-wolves don't change the same way that you cat shifters do. We change during puberty." Darien began. As we leave Springfield, OR, continuing on the I-5 South toward Redding, CA.
Outside of Row River Christian Fellowship in Dorena, OR, two teenagers lay in the back of an old truck bed on a plaid picnic blanket looking up at the stars.
"This is really pretty Jess. But, won't your father be mad you missed curfew again?" The teenage girl says sitting up and looking down at the dark haired farm boy lying next to her. He had a mischievous smile. She knew that look all too well. She closed her eyes shaking her curly hair, allowing it to fall over her face as she leans over kissing the young man next to her. The sound of something coming towards them in the distance, stops their kiss. "Jess do you hear that?" The girl asks pushing her curls out of the way and looking around frantically.
"It's probably just a dear. Don't worry about it Mel." Jess says sitting up as well. Suddenly the sound of branches breaking loudly can be heard behind the church and suddenly complete silence. Not even the annoying crickets that had been chirping loudly up until then could be heard.
"Jess please take me home." Mel says pleadingly as she stands.
"Yeah let's get out of here." Jess says taking her hand to stand. He jumps off the back, then helps Mel down. Closing the hatch to the bed he walks to the passenger side door opening it for Mel to get in then, closing it. As he turns around to walk to the driver side, he comes face to face with a huge golden wolf. Mel screams. The wolf has to be at least five and a half feet with its head down smelling Jess's feet. Jess goes stiff instantly lifting his hands up trying to let the creature get his scent. The animal raises its head up, coming eye to eye with Jess at his six foot stature. Jess raises both of his hands above his shoulders to the sides of his head, keeping eye contact with the creature. His eyes glaze over with a glow of blue. The wolf looks past Jess at Mel. A growl escapes Jess's throat and the wolf looks back at him tilting its head slightly to the left in amusement. With a huff the wolf nods in understanding before walking away. Jess reaches in his truck bed pulling out a nine millimeter and shooting the wolf in the back of the neck. It falls to the floor not moving. Jess walks over and drags it back to the truck and throwing it in the bed. He gets in the truck with a freaking out Mel.
"How could you do that Jess?" She yells hitting his arm angry. "It was leaving you alone. You're a MONSTER." She screams crossing her arms and sitting back in her seat. "Take me home. Now!"
"It's not dead genius. I shot it with a tranquillizer dart. I'm taking it to my dad. You know him right, a park ranger." Jess says rolling the engine and throwing the truck in drive.
"NOW!" Mel say's trying not to let out that she was ashamed of not trusting in Jess. He pulls the truck out of the dirt make shift parking lot and onto the road heading south bound. "What are you doing with a gun like that anyways?" Mel asks sill looking out the passenger side window at the passing trees.
"He gave it to me for instances like this. I only have sedative bullets though. He doesn't want me killing anything or anyone. I shot the wolf because it is way too big to be left in this area. Someone will surely be killed eventually. You know how some of the people are with hunting around here. As big as it is someone is bound to mistake it as a dear." Jess explains setting Mel at ease. He reaches out and she grabs his hand smiling. As they drive quietly, she massages circles into the back of his hand. After about 20 minutes of driving Jess pulls into a driveway. Mel leans in kissing his cheek.
"I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" She asks unbuckling her seat belt.
"You bet. Goodnight." She gets out of the car and goes into her house. When she gets in the house Jess pulls out of her driveway and heads home. His dad will definitely have something to say about this werewolf. He seemed different than any other wolf Jess had met. Suddenly, the weight of his truck shifted and he heard a huge thud in the truck bed. Jess pulls over and looks out the back window. He sees another wolf. The black wolf is as big as the golden. The black wolf looks at Jess with his shiny yellow eyes, glowing like little orbs of sunlight, and growls quickly before grabbing the golden wolf by the scruff of his neck and tossing it on to its back. Once the golden wolf is placed stably on the black wolf's back, it huffs at Jess before jumping off the truck bed, and taking off into the trees. Jess hops out the truck ready to follow but, he hasn't been able to shift into his wolf form yet. He hops back into his truck and drives home. The black wolf continues to head south. Watching the stars he keeps running towards Central in Redding, CA.
"My mother was the last wolf spirit carrier. We had the closest connection than anyone else. Basically, I was a momma's boy. She was an amazing woman. A great mother that did everything for her kids and an even better wife. She kept my father happy and away from any thoughts of harm. Even after Central started pushing her to do their own responsibilities, my mother still remained completely neutral and calm. After a while though, my father was done allowing them to control my mother and keep her away from her family. It started with my mother only being home one day out of the week. Then, they started pushing for one day every two weeks then, and finally one weekend out of the month. My father told them that if they didn't let her have her life then, they would be waging war on our family. My father had been one of the most powerful wolf alphas on this continent. They told him that her path was nearly over and she would be home by the end of the week for good. However, what they failed to tell him was that this full moon would be her final task." Darien said with this look that made my heart drop. I didn't think it was even possible to feel this bad for someone that was supposed to be your enemy. "We were all excited because my mother was coming home for the full moon for our first shift beginning the final stages of puberty. That weekend when the full moon began to rise, Titus and I began to get really sick as we began to shift. We were too weak to complete the transition. Our family and pack had already shifted except for our parents. They had us surrounded and my mother was the only one that seemed to understand what was going on. My father asked her why she was smiling. She explained that this was her last mission from Central. We were marked at birth as the next wolf spirit carriers. For us to survive the shift, she had to die and the spirit would be put into us. That caused my father to lose any calm he had left for Central. He shifted into his wolf and left. My brother and I were lying on the ground in complete pain, too weak to move. My mother came over kissing both of our foreheads. She told us to take care of the pack and family. As well as for me to always protect and listen to our father no matter what." He said taking a breath. That's why he ignored his father's actions. "She slit both her wrists uttering some words to us. A light came out of both her wrists and into us. We shifting instantly. The first shift of a wolf is the most painful and unsightly shift there is. My body began to burn like I was being set on fire. All of my senses took off into over load. I felt my muscles begin to stretch. My joints began to dislocate all over sporadically. Then, the worst pain of all began. My bones began to break and rearrange. My face started to contort to the muzzle as the bones broke and enlarged. By the time we were done shifting, she was on the ground. We weren't even able to say goodbye. Since then, my family has been separated. I am the only one working with my father now. The only one keeping my mother's beliefs of blood alive." I was in utter shock. I wasn't expecting any of that. No wonder he has such a huge chip on his shoulder.
"What did she say to you?" I was just wondering.
"Deinde spiritu dimitti praedarique lupos iussit portarent." He said still focusing on the road. It sounded like she was just doing what she was supposed to do.
"I understand why you guys were mad at Central but, why is your father so bent on murder?" I asked causing him to look over at me. The look of total annoyance written all over his face. He dropped my hand took ahold of the steering wheel.
"Central has two wolf spirits sitting in their possession. My mother died for no reason. They thought that we would be as strong as she was. But, since the spirit was split, we are weaker than her. Both, of us could have had our own spirit and my mother could have lived. But, they didn't want to lose any more control over us. She died as a way for them to show their control and for them to settle a petty vendetta against my father. We are going to put an end to their corruption and change the way we govern ourselves." Darien says.
"But, why is your father going after my family?"
"Because he can't allow anyone to stand in his way. Your father and brothers are obstacles."
"If I were to talk to them I'm sure they would understand but, you have to let me try." I said basically pleading with him. He looked at me out the corner of his eye for a split second.
"It's not up to me. My father wants them gone so I have no say." He says sighing. He looks at me and I must have had a totally devastated look or something. "Okay I'll talk to him just, don't look like that anymore. I can't function with you looking that sad." He presses the Bluetooth call button. "And don't get your hopes up. My father is not one to reason with anyone about his plans."
"Speak quickly Darien." Comes Raiden's deep voice.
"I called on the snow leopards behalf. He wishes to speak to his family. He says he can get them to come to our side if he is able to speak to them." Darien explains.
"Well, isn't that interesting." Raiden says laughing. I got a very bad feeling about this all of a sudden. "Well you can tell the house pet..." He started and I was about to go off when Darien took over.
"Alpha, he can hear you." Darien said cutting Raiden off. I heard a chuckle before he spoke again.
"Well, well. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Alpha Raiden. It's a pleasure to finally meet my daughter-in-law." He says eerily. "Since, we ARE family and I want your happiness. And I really do want you happy, I will allow you this one chance. I will hold off the attack on your house for 48 hours. That I will do for you. But, if they are not able to commit their loyalty to our cause then, I will annihilate them." His tone made my skin crawl. I could practically feel the demon's breath on me.
"Tell, him I said thank you and that I will..." I was cut off but Raiden.
"And since I am doing this service for you my dear. I will change my earlier terms. Since, your father is being so stubborn. I had no intention of actually killing anyone but, now that I see his line of thinking, I changed my mind. I will kill them all except for you and telepath. She is something extraordinary." He says meaning every word.
"But, wait Samantha has a mate." I tell Darien.
"Alpha, the snow leopard tells me that the telepath has a mate."
"Well, let's hope that they never finished the mating ritual. Otherwise, she is as good as dead too." Raiden said with another chuckle. "You can stop all this if you can in deed change their minds and pledge their loyalty to taking down Central. Your 48 hours begin now." He says hanging up again.
"How far are we from Central?" I asked looking up to see a sign saying `Welcome to the city of Hornbrook, CA'.
"We have a little under two hours." He says as we hit a long line of traffic. "Make that three hours." He says throwing the car in park.
"Hold on a sec." I say standing up and going through the roof of the car. I focus on the flashing police lights. One of the guys looks up and I try to make eye contact. I try to read his mind but am hit by a block. I try pushing a bit harder and the block pushes back so hard, I fly into the backseat with my feet still over the front passenger seat. I sit up, coming face to face with a confused Darien.
"What the hell was that?" He was so close, I could smell his breath. A mix of sugar and fruit from the Redbull and the smell of his natural scent mixed in with it. My vision glazed over with a veil of red. I got nervous and hot all of a sudden. He must have seen the red glow in my eye because a smirk appeared on his face. "Now that is new." I shook my head. Pushing him back with my left hand on his chest.
"Settle down Fido." I said sitting back against the backseat crossing my legs. I shook my head trying to shake off whatever this weird feeling is. "We have a big problem." I said looking past him at the police officers heading this way through the cars. Darien looked as they approached. His eyes began to glow a bright purple.
"We have to go around." He said turning to me. His fangs shot out of his gums.
"What's going on? Who are they?" I asked getting back in the front seat. He puts the car in drive and drives through the road separating grass and drives back in the opposite direction to the exit.
"Those are hunters." He says trying to stay calm as his anger began to boil up. "They have crystals and they are forcing my change with anger. A witch charmed them. This only happens to spirit carriers."
"How do we stop it?" I asked confused. He kept his focus on the road. We took a couple of turns, before he parks in a thin row of trees.
"I have to get rid of the anger or I'll shift. But, you have to understand, this shift won't be pretty. I'll change and be in bloodlust." He says closing his eyes and trying to focus away his rage.
"You only need to get rid of the anger right?" I ask, watching his hands shake and then claws replace his nails.
"Yes." He says in a strained voice leaning back in the driver's seat. I take a breath and lean over him pulling up the reclining latch. His seat falls back. His eye open as I climb over him straddling his lap. "What are you?" I interrupt him. I feel like I may regret this later.
"Calm down and focus on me." I say as he leans up into me keeping eye contact. I lean forward as well until my forehead touches his. I inhale his scent and it causes a release of my own pheromones. Both of our eyes glow white and I feel my breath escape in a gasp. As soon as the air leaves my lips, they are captured by his. My hands race up to his cheeks pulling him into me. His hands go to my lower back pulling me into him. The kiss has so much fire I can feel the sparks. Literally, sparks begin to ignite in the air around us. His tongue intrudes my mouth and invites mine into his. I trace his fangs and they soon retract back into his gums. One of his hands goes up to my hair grabbing a handful. Pulling my hair causes my head to tilt up and he attacks my neck. I finally open my eyes felling my spirit awakening somehow. I teleport in front of the car staring at him. One hand around my waist and the other over my gaping mouth. The head lights shining on me. I turn to collect myself, shutting my eyes, and inhaling the night's air to clear my head. This just got a lot more complicated.
-----------TBC-----------
Thanks for reading. I also created a group for the story on Yahoo. It will have pictures and updates. As well as open discussion for all of you views. Check it out at https://groups.yahoo.com/group/donthowlatthemoon Until next time.
Stay awesome. (^3^) Star