Think Again, Werewolf (The Moonshade Saga)

Chapter 15

Ava

I gasped, causing Stella to leap to her feet. "What is it?" She yelped.

"Doug's alive." I filled her in on the information from Cooper, and her eyes filled with tears.

"I knew he'd make it. Uncle Doug is an awesome fighter when he's in wolf form," she breathed.

My head snapped up. "Uncle Doug?" I repeated. Why didn't you tell me he's your uncle?"

She shrugged. "Never seemed important."

"Who is his soulmate?" I asked, heart pounding.

"Her name was Rozalyn. She was the best." Stella's eyes filled with tears again.

"Her name was Rozalyn? She was the best? Stella, help me connect the dots. Am I missing something?" I wondered.

As Stella told me her Aunt Rozalyn's story, my jaw dropped lower and lower. It went something like this.

(Told from Stella's POV)
Blood splattered on the wall. Fangs flashed. A gurgling voice screamed, then was cut off abruptly. I gasped and sat up in bed, chest heaving. That nightmare kept returning. Every night. However, every time it recurred, something was different. Sometimes the scream sounded different. Sometimes the fangs were claws. Other times, the victim was different, but I could never tell who it was. It freaked me out. I hurried down to the master bedroom. It was just Aunt Rozalyn and I, because she was sick. Rose and Uncle Doug were out to get medicine. We lived with them because my parents were killed in a house fire.

"Can I sleep with you? I'm having bad dreams again," I told her. Little did I know, the dreams were about to be REAL.

"Sure, Stella. Don't get too close. Remember, I'm sick," she stated.

I climbed in with her, and was soon asleep.

This time, I dreamed I was in a sunny, endless field. Suddenly, dark, reddish-gray clouds covered the sun, and the birds stopped singing. It seemed as though the field itself was holding its breath. One instant, it seemed as though a storm was about to break; the next instant, the storm broke. I mean it broke. All the fire in the Underworld seemed to concentrate its endless supply of hatred on me. The ominous clouds poured blood, so thick it ran into my eyes, my ears, my clothes, my fingernails, everywhere, and it also spurted from non-existent holes in the ground. I screamed for help, and the vile liquid filled my throat. The only reply was the wind, howling of the murder of innocent souls. I fell to my knees and stared at the sky, waiting for a pinprick of sun to let me know I would be okay. I noticed a...strange cloud looming directly above. As I watched, the cloud rolled, taking the shape of a man's face. Dylan's, as I later would learn. The face cackled, the horrid sound merging with the death-ringing wind. A lump of earth rose up in front of me, taking the shape of a woman. I couldn't tell who she was, because her face was turned skyward. The face in the clouds opened his mouth, and a jet of pure black erupted from it. The blackness poured over the woman, lifting her toward the face. I squinted at her, my eyes flying open as I recognized my Aunt Rozalyn. I tried to shift into wolf form, but I couldn't.

"Help! Stella! Help me!" That was my Aunt's voice, but her mouth wasn't moving.

I awoke with a gasp, panting as though I had run a marathon. I looked over in my Aunt's direction just in time to see a dark red wolf rip her open. Somehow, I knew that this wolf's human counterpart was the man in my dreams, Dylan. I rolled out of bed, about to shift into my wolf, when he grabbed me by the back of my neck and crouched over me. On my back, he slashed a small, simple symbol with his teeth. It was crude, but I later learned that it said DS. I shifted and rolled onto my back, raking my hind paws across his belly so hard that his blood rained on my fur. He howled and I bit his paw, shaking it like prey. I kicked him away and chased him out of the house.

When I returned back to the master bedroom, I shifted and crouched over my Aunt's mangled body. "I'm so sorry," I choked out, sobbing.

Doug and Rose got back from the local pharmacy with the meds. Rose, apparently worn out, went straight to bed, and Doug came up to the room. "Hey, Stella. What're you doing in h--" He turned his attention to the opposite corner of the room. "No. Rozalyn. No." He stumbled over to his dead wife's body, crouching by her. He turned on me, his eyes flashing "Who did this?" He spat, spittle flying out of his mouth.

"A dark red wolf!" I wailed, and described the whole thing, from my dream to the wolf limping out of the house. We went out to the hall and turned on the lights, which is when I realized I was naked. I squeaked and ducked hastily into the master bedroom and saw my pajamas lying on the floor, in tatters from my transformation. I pulled on a bathrobe and waited for the redness in my cheeks to fade before walking out again.

I gasped. The murderer's wounds left a whole trail of blood, but that was nothing compared to the bloodred loathing in Doug's eyes.

"I will do everything in my power to hunt him down," Uncle Doug whispered. "When I find him, I will make him wish that his mother never gave birth to him."

"You're not going to kill him, Uncle," I told him. What I didn't say was: 'Because I'm going to.'

Doug and I never told Rose what happened.  We said that Aunt Rozalyn ran away.

Doug later introduced his society to us, and we were trained to recognize faces, so the murderer couldn't hide behind a mask.

When Dylan, the dark red wolf, killed Rose half a year later, a beast started growing inside of me. It is getting bigger and bigger, and once it breaks free, heaven help who gets in the way.

So, what will Stella do next?

- Vexwolf