December's Moon

7| DECEMBER

| DECEMBER |

December lay awake, curled up near the pillow of his bed. Rain pounded against his window. The wind gusted and roared, sending branches scraping along the side of the building. Lightning flashed in the distance, illuminating the sharp tree line of Welwick Woods like the teeth of some beast. With each crash of thunder, December's ears twitched, and his hackles rose.

He couldn't stop thinking about the woman who came to his room the previous night. She wasn't human. She couldn't have been.

The fact that she was able to take away his shifting ability terrified him. What else was she capable of? What would the consequences be if he didn't do as she said? As much as he dreaded going to meet her again, two nights from now, he would have to. He didn't have a choice.

Another flash of lightning blazed through the sky, followed by a growling roar of thunder. Iris stirred awake, letting out a soft whine at the storm before settling into an uneasy pant.

December leapt out of bed, his claws clicking against the hard wood floor as he paced. His mind went to Aurora. Why had he felt the need to tell her about what happened? When they'd been dating, she'd known what to do in every situation. He'd told himself that was why he was going to her—for advice—but how could he expect her to help him figure this out when he couldn't tell her any details?

Was it because of Malcom? Malcom was last seen in the woods, where Iris saw whatever it was that set her off that morning. Did December want to protect Aurora? Was that it? Even after she broke up with him and then tricked him by getting her friend to hook up with him, he still wanted to make sure she was okay.

What the hell was wrong with him?

December glanced at the digital clock next to his bed. The dull yellow display glowed like it was mocking him. It was only five thirty in the morning. Why couldn't the night end already so he wouldn't be the only one awake?

He couldn't sit in his room like this thinking anymore or he'd go crazy. He inhaled deeply, bracing himself as he sent signals through his body to shift. He grimaced against the pain of his bones cracking and grinding across each other as his vision faded to black. He rolled out his neck and shoulders, the pain receding as he settled into his human form.

For a moment, he considered going to the classroom and starting his calculus homework, but as fun as taking the derivative of cosine squared of x sounded, he couldn't bring himself to focus on something like that right now. He'd probably need help from his classmates to figure it out anyway, which meant he had to wait for someone other than Aurora to start it. She kept the secrets of mathematics locked away tight in her dorm room . . . along with his heart.

December cringed at himself for thinking something so goddamned melodramatic.

"Iris, let's get out of here," he said as he dug through his dresser. He found a pair of sweatpants and pulled them on, along with socks and his sneakers, which he kept at the corner of his room near the door.

Iris leapt down from the bed, landing with a light thud. Her nails clicked against the floor as she came over to him and nuzzled against the side of his leg. He rubbed her between the ears, trying to soothe her. She didn't usually get freaked out by rain and thunder, but he could tell she was just as on edge as he was after the intrusion last night.

December and Iris left his room and made their way down the stairs. He pushed the heavy door open, and a battering of icy rain struck his face. He wished he'd worn a rain jacket, but it was too late to go back now. Bracing himself, he and Iris made their way across campus toward the gym. Working out would at least give December a distraction from his thoughts for an hour or two.