Moonlight Desires

Chapter 5

Each full moon had an official, or at least recognized, name. Seth had never bothered to remember them, though. He had a far more intimate relationship with the full moon, one that surpassed names. For the longest time, he thought he was doomed never to share that bond with anyone: his father's family didn't want anything to do with him and he hadn't ever met another werewolf. Then a simple change of plans turned his world upside down. Now he had shifted with Becky for two full moons, with their third as shiny as a pearl in the sky above them. "Think a werewolf was responsible for the moonroof?" he asked as turned onto a dirt trail and drove further into a forest. This time the full moon fell on a Sunday night. It wasn't a pay-per-view night, mercifully—those were hard to sneak away from, what with all the promos and media—but RAW was the next day, so they both needed to get all their excess wolf energy out of their systems.

Becky laughed. "You're the car nerd, not me." She had her feet up on the dash of the rental SUV, her mostly empty tote on her lap. Since they weren't going anywhere beforehand, they both were wearing their shift-friendly clothing; if anyone commented on it, they could just say they were going for a jog or something. One benefit to being in shape was that people assumed it was something you had to work at endlessly, day in and day out; it also excused the sweat and exhaustion after a long run. Reaching up, she opened the window and smiled up at the sky. "Whoever did, they were smart."

Seth had scouted out the trail beforehand by foot and it didn't look like anyone had been down it in a while, as least not in a vehicle. He still put his warning signs in the windows before getting out, though, and both he and Becky took a good look around. Neither of them could afford to be complacent about being noticed, especially now that virtually everyone had a good-quality camera on their cell phone. "I think this is a good spot. You?"

Nodding, Becky hung her tote from a low branch and started taking off her clothes. They hadn't exactly been shy the first time they shifted together, but now they disrobed openly. It was more than a simple matter of showing trust; it was also a security measure, keeping them close in case of an attack. "As long as you don't mind stowing the bags, yeah?"

"Didn't you used to be a flight attendant?" Seth teased, taking her tote bag and hooking it on a sturdy branch halfway up the tree, then tucking his own bag in beside it. He left his trusty blanket folded up a few branches down, where he could easily jump up and bite down on it in wolf form when they were done for the night. If he were being honest, it was the aftermath of the shift he liked best: the quiet, the camaraderie, the steady stillness. He had shifted on his own often enough that a bit of the magic of the transformation was gone, but now that he was sharing that moment with Becky, some of the wonder that had sustained him through his teenage years had been rekindled. Each full moon, she had taught him a little bit more about being a werewolf—filling in blanks left empty far too long by his relatives—and he absorbed it with an intensity he normally only saved for wrestling.

"Key phrase is used to," Becky replied. She was rubbing her arms, but Seth knew it wasn't just a way to have her arms in front of her breasts; Becky only really seemed warm when she was in wolf form and immediately after. "Which direction do you want to go first?"

"Oh, you mean you're actually going to wait for me this time?" The first time she had run off before he had fully shifted; the second time she had also got a head start, but not as much. He wasn't going to let it happen three times in a row.

Arching an eyebrow, Becky sat down amongst the leaves and twigs, looking wholly comfortable being naked in the middle of a forest. Seeing her out in the trees, wild and free, made Seth wish there was a way she could somehow incorporate some of her wolf nature into her wrestling persona; it would be such a natural fit, and it might just be the boost her character needed to ascend the ranks. "I'll even wait until you're done," she offered blithely.