Moon Bloom

Chapter 14

For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

Psalm 116:8

They walked out of the movie theater, Ryan with his arm around Lexi's shoulders. She smiled up at his bright silvery eyes. She'd thought it funny that they had gone to a paranormal movie just one night after about half her friends showed her their other side. He led her to his car and she looked up at the cloud covered full moon as he fiddled with his keys. It was a good thing James was the only werewolf. She froze; a sudden thought hit her. She never really was told for sure he wasn't. She bit her lip examining Ryan. His silver eyes just glowed tonight. Normal people didn't have glowing eyes. She filled with dread as full realization came round. She looked at the thinning clouds praying they wouldn't part. Ryan dropped the keys and swore. Was he doing it on purpose? Suddenly something James had said the night before, about not getting what you want, was ringing in her ears. Every single one of her muscles ached to run before the moon came out, but then he'd know she knew. How had she been so stupid?

"You okay? You're a little pale," he said slowly.

She tried her hardest to give him a reassuring smile. She kept thinking about the dance, which bothered her because she couldn't remember. "I'm fine."

He looked at the moon which was close to peeking through and he took a deep breath. "It's a beautiful night. Why don't we go for a moonlit walk?" he asked.

"N-no, I r-rather not," she said unable to keep her voice from wavering.

He looked genuinely surprised, "Why ever not?"

"I d-don't feel well," she said, fear choking her.

"Come, the fresh air will do you good," he said as he dragged her towards the woods.

She pulled, but he was surprisingly very strong. His grip was probably stronger than steel. She thought about crying out, but the parking lot was almost empty and she would just waste her breath. He dragged her through the woods mercilessly and she was almost brought to tears. She had thought he loved her, but he was only imagining her taste. She could feel it before it happened and jerked from his hand and sprinted into the wood, knowing he was chasing her on paws now. She tripped and stumbled until she fell. He leapt up and almost landed on her when James, in wolf form, tackled him. Lexi gasped, inching herself away from the tumble of light and dark fur. She got to her feet and began to run when jaws closed around her ankle. She fell hard to the ground, screaming as if on fire, because that was exactly how her foot felt. She heard vicious barks from the brothers and tried to pull herself away, but the pain soon spread up her leg and consumed her. She could hear her screams as if she were far away. There was only this burning pain. Her vision blurred and went red and her breathing and heart beat were at least twice the normal speed. It wasn't too long before she passed out in a puddle of blood and sweat.

She lay and peeked through her eyelashes to see sunlight streaming through the leaves of the really tall trees over her. Her vision seemed unbelievably sharp and she slowly sat up. An echo of pain and tremors rolled through her, but other than that she felt fine. The rich dark soil smelled strongly in this area. She looked around to see James as a wolf licking many scrapes.

"What?" she croaked.

He looked up, startled, and then gave her a pained look, "I'm so sorry. I couldn't get to you before the venom spread. I..."

She frowned, only bits and pieces of the night before came to her. "What venom?"

He stiffened, "Ah... well, you see... get a good look at yourself."

She raised an eyebrow before slowly lowering her head. "Oh my... I'm..."

He winced, "A werewolf."

"No! I can't be! This is all wrong! Oh, what about mother!" she said jumping up.

"Yes, you can be. You get bit by a werewolf, you become one. Yes, it is wrong. I've taken care of your mother. She now believes you were born with silver eyes and are visiting a good friend. She isn't worrying one bit. If anything, don't tell her you're a..." he trailed off.

She quickly agreed, "How could you get her to... think I was born with silver eyes?"

"Well, if you remeber a dream you had a while ago, I have the moon gift of hearing other's thoughts which kind of evolved into memory adjusting. I can change, add, and remove memories. I also can read minds, but only when I concentrate on that person," James said slowly.

She nodded, "How do I..."

"That depends on you. Every werewolf is different. Look inside yourself to find the answer," he said.

She sighed and thought about her human form. What she looked like, who she hung out with, and what her parents were like. She pretty much tried to cover her whole life. When she opened her eyes, she was human again.

"It happened close to the beginning. With time you'll get better," he assured her and then went back to licking his wounds.

"May I help? If you turn human or whatever, I'll help you clean it out," she said timidly.

He gave her a long look, "Sure. I'll heal pretty fast anyways, but that would be nice."

He seemed to flinch and was human. He pulled off his tattered shirt and she suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment. He was thin and slightly muscular, admirable. She examined his back where most of the damage was done. There were only a few really deep gashes that still were bleeding. She winced.

"Is there a creek?" she asked.

He laughed, "Listen."

She realized her hearing was much better and was able to lead them to a very small spring. She took his ruined shirt and dipped it in the water before cleaning out the deeper cuts. He yelped and turned around sharply, his silver eyes burning holes in her. She had to admit he was pretty hot while his hair hung a little in his eyes and he sat before her shirtless.

"Sorry. It will sting a little. It'd help if you used human manors, rather than acting as an injured dog would," she complained softly.

"I am an injured dog," he snapped.

She ignored him and grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around to continue. He flinched a lot and she wished it was a quicker job. Finally she handed him the bloody shirt and he quickly pulled it on.

"It has stopped bleeding and will heal over well," she said cautiously.

"Sorry for how I acted," he admitted, like a child who had misbehaved.

She laughed, "I've seen worse." The laughter faded from her eyes. "One night when I was six my father came home all bloody from a bar fight. Mother tried to clean the large cut on his arm and he had punched her so hard she was bruised on the cheek for a long time."

"It must have been hard," he said carefully.

Lexi nodded, "The childhood no one wants, but someone has to get."

He sighed, "Rest, I'll wake you near noon to go home."

She yawned and was grateful he understood. She lay down in the tall grass and turned into a wolf for the fun of it. She was scared she wouldn't be able to turn back. She was scared she would let it slip to her mom. She was scared how much the image of James shirtless was on her mind as she drifted to sleep.