Full Moon

This is going to be a night to remember, I thought to myself as the pack was gathering in the forgotten clearing. Ash and I were the only ones who hadn’t shifted yet because we were the alpha male and female so we had to wait for the rest to come.  I hadn’t been born a werewolf like Ash or the rest of them. I had been the only exception in a hundred years. Generally, people didn’t tend to survive their first change and women had an even smaller chance of making it through. I chased away he memories and concentrated on what we were here for today. This was no time to let myself fall back in old insecurities and doubts. The pack needed me to be strong tonight. I raised my chin so I could stare at the moon shining ever so brightly above our heads. Funny how humans thought it to be so peaceful, relaxing. To us werewolves the moon means much more…it gives us strength, it fills us with its energy and  pumps adrenaline through our veins. I felt the desire to forget about this meeting and just run away, digging my claws into the soft earth but I shook my head as if to shake away those thoughts.

  

Besides me Ash shifted his weight, telling me that all the pack members were here and the meeting could start. Tonight we attacked. This time the vampires had crossed the line by killing one of our own. The grief was still fresh in our hearts but there was nothing we could do now but satisfy the thirst of revenge by spilling vampire blood. I looked each of the weres in the eyes until they dropped their gaze to stare at the frosted floor.

 

  “Tonight is the night,” Ash began. “Tonight is the night when with the moon watching over us we make our stand and avenge the death of so many.”

 

“It is barely after midnight so the bloodsuckers are up. Do not make the mistake of underestimating them. Show no mercy for you shall receive none. We are werewolves, built to kill such monsters and protect the human kind as well as our pack.” My voice resonated through the empty woods.

 

I could feel it. Every single one of them was anxious. They wanted to kill, to rip apart, to end a life. I knew the feeling all too well and I had to warn them. It would be foolish to let themselves be guided by such feelings that pushed out logic and ration. They were all very brave but a stout heart didn’t do the trick. They had never seen a vampire fight, never killed one, never fought one. I had. A long time ago but the memories were still crystal clear in my mind. The force of one particular memory took me by surprise.

 

That night’s events came rushing back on me and I think I might have staggered because a strong had suddenly gripped my elbow. I took no notice in it. I could see everything unwind again before my eyes. I remembered everything… the door clicking closed in the dirty bar’s restroom, the two vampires advancing we with grins that revealed a sharp set of fangs, the pain of the bites, the wall hard behind my back and on my left…I had been to week to defend myself, no more than the average human at that time. The vampires hadn’t needed an invitation. I had been an easy prey. It was just my luck that Ash had been at the bar that night. He was there following the vampires and had seen them come in the bathroom after me. He was a little late. I could remember his face blurry in my vision and then his bite. From there on, I remembered nothing else. Just pain and darkness. I remembered every detail of that dreadful night before forcing the memories back in the corner of my mind where they belonged. Stumbling back in the present I realize that everyone was looking at me, so I spoke again.

 

“Do not forget that they are the enemy and remember what I taught you. Never underestimate your opponent because they will not make the same mistake. Vampires are very strong and fast. They have been around for tens of years so it is only natural that they had time to practice combat moves. Keep that in mind. No matter how young the body they are in looks, on the inside they are all the same.”

 

I turned my back on them and stripped off my clothes so I could change.

 

“Jess are you ok?”

 

 I knew that Ash was worried about me but this wasn’t the time or place to talk about my troubled past. Truth be told, he really did have a reason to worry. I had been bitten twice and every vampire who was aware of that could use it against me. The vampire endorphins in their saliva were still in my system and I never thought things would ever be different. The best thing I could do about it was learn to control those feelings that vampires could awaken in me. With time I had learned to control the desire that shot through me and traveled through my body like molten fire when a deader decided to have some fun with me. Ash was my mate so it was only natural that he knew all this but none of the others did and I was eager to keep it that way. Shutting away all my concerns, I refused to look at Ash and shifted into a light grey wolf.

 

Looking to my left I caught sight of a sandy colored wolf who grinned at me cockily. It was Sam, my ex-boyfriend. I grinned back at him and playfully bit his right ear. An enormous black figure, Ash, took his place besides me and with the stars as our guide we left the clearing, marching to death and destruction.

 

It was a beautiful night…with no clouds to cover the beauty of the night’s mistress. I enjoyed the faint tickle of the wind playing in my fur and the grass soft under my paws. I could smell hundreds of different things and the air was still moist from the recent rain. I left my senses rejoice, cutting them loose and allowing them to dance on the ground all around me. Everything around me was so amazing, so magnificent, of such an  unseen beauty that I couldn’t  help but stare. The wind had ceased beating and a little curtain of fireflies was hovering in the still night air. Everything seems so serene, that the flame of battle dimmed inside me, and was reduced to almost nothing.

 

How? How could humans miss such beauty? All their lives they run, searching for treasures but they never see the treasure of life right under their noses. How could you not enjoy hearing the harmonious symphony of nature? How could you not like pulling the scent of trees and musk deep inside your lungs? How can they never stop to smell a flower or delight their eyes with the sight of golden plains, deep caves or forever beautiful, ageless woods?

 

How?