“You need to see your father. He’s the only one who can help you. He’s already sent in your samples. Maybe he can work on a cure.”
“But—I can’t let him see me like this. You saw how he acted. I shouldn’t have called him.”
The final bell began to ring off in the distance. “You have to go—” he said. “I have to go—”
“But where are you going?”
“I don’t know. Meet me after school. I’ll text you where I’ll be.”
He drew me into him and gave me a kiss that made me forget about classes, school, and life without my hoodie.
“You have a leaf in your hair,” Abby said when I finally got to my seat in philosophy. “What gives?”
“Uh, I guess it just fell from a tree,” I said. I untangled the stem from my hair and removed it.
“Where’s your hoodie?” Ivy asked. “You were wearing it at lunch. It’s too cold for a T-shirt.”
“Uh . . . I’m fine,” I said. “Spring is almost here.”
“But it’s not here today,” Ivy said. “I think she’s just heated up from her lunch with Nash.” She put her arm around me. “Right?”
“Right,” I said, resigned.
“We are all going out tonight,” Ivy said. “The guys are free and so are we.”
“What should we do?” Abby asked. “Bowling? Indoor putt-putt?”
“The mall?” Ivy suggested.
“The guys hate the mall,” Abby said.
I was distracted, thinking of the one person I wanted to be sharing the evening with.
“Let’s hang out and watch movies,” Ivy said.
“We’ve been to my house already,” Abby whined. “And my mom’s pissed that her snow globe was broken.”
“We go to mine all the time,” Ivy remarked.
“Then why don’t you come to mine?” I asked, joking. I knew it was a safe invite, and maybe the whole evening would be canceled since we couldn’t agree on a location.
“We never go to yours,” Abby said.
“There’s a reason,” I replied. “I don’t have a basketball court in the basement.”
“Well, neither do we,” Ivy challenged. “I think it’s a great idea.”
“You do?” I asked.
“Your house is so cozy,” Ivy said.
“Yeah, and your parents are cool,” Abby said.
“Uh . . . I can’t,” I said.
“Why?” she asked. “What are you doing?”
“I’m not sure.”
I wasn’t, in fact. It was a full moon, and I planned to visit Brandon. But if his father was forbidding me to see him under the moonlight, I wasn’t sure how I’d get to be with him.
“We’ll be at your house at seven,” Abby said. “I’ll bring the movies.”
“And we’re not inviting Brandon,” Ivy said, causing my two friends to laugh.
“Uh . . . you can be sure of that,” I said.
After school I waited in my car, not knowing where to go to meet Brandon. I wasn’t sure if I should go home or just drive around town until he called.
I felt a wave of relief when I heard Frank Sinatra sing, “Fly Me to the Moon.” I picked up my text.
Meet me in Willow Park by the lake.
Willow Park was a public forest with trails, picnic benches, and a beautiful lake. It didn’t take me long to drive there. When I pulled in, I saw only a few cars parked in the lot. There weren’t many people out walking this time of year and at this time of day, but in a few weeks, with the trees and flowers blooming, Willow Park would be filled with Legend’s Run residents.
I walked the tree-lined path to the lake, where I found Brandon, fully clothed this time, waiting by a picnic bench.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. I managed to get back home.”
“Did you see your father?”
He shook his head. “He thinks I’m dangerous.”
“It has to be shocking for him to see you in this condition,” I said. “He is your father. He loves and cares for you—”
“But I’m not what he thinks I am—I’m not dangerous.”
“I know.”
“I could see the fear in his eyes.” Brandon looked sad. “He was terrified of me. My dad is a gentle man. I’d fight off anything that scared him. And to think the one thing he’s afraid of . . . is me?”
Brandon sat on the picnic table and dropped his head in his hands in despair.
“It will be okay.” I caressed his back, trying to comfort him.
“And the way he took you away from me. It broke my heart.”
“Look. It’s the first time he’s seen you turn. It’s very shocking. I was totally weirded out for a while after seeing you change. I didn’t know if what I saw was real—or what to do or think.”
“I can imagine . . .”
“So naturally your father is very concerned for you. And he was protective of me. I see where you get your heroism.”
“He came after me with that needle.”
“But he’s trying to help you. You have to let him.”
“I’m not afraid of needles,” he said. “But under the moonlight—I wasn’t going to let anyone or anything touch me.”
“I’m sure that is an animal instinct,” I said. “No pun intended.”
“I don’t know what to do, Celeste.”
“I think you have to let him help you,” I said gently. “What other choice do we have?”
“But how can I if he’s going to keep you away from me?”
Though it pained me to say it and it meant I’d have to be away from Brandon, I told him, “Because it is for your own good.”
“I need to be with you,” he said. “That is my only cure.”
I gave him a tight squeeze.
“It’s only two more nights.” I tried to assure him as much as myself. But I felt ripped apart from Brandon when we were separated for even a moment, much less two nights—especially when he was in werewolf form. There was something cosmic that drew me to him under the full moon. I wasn’t sure if I could be kept apart from him, either.
“My father is all I’ve ever had,” he said. “We don’t fight—he’s amazing. But now to see him fear me—I can’t take it. And for him to believe I’d harm him—or you—is unbearable to me.”
He rested his head on my shoulder. Brandon was exhausted from the enormous pressure he had endured the last few months. It was one thing to deal with being a transfer student in a new town, in a star-crossed love relationship, and quite another being a werewolf, too.
“So you’ll let him help you?” I asked.
“How can you be so sure it will work?”
“Because it has to,” I said.
“You’re always so optimistic. That’s one of the things I like about you. It’s nice to be around positive energy, and a pretty face.”
He kissed me for a long time, and we spent the next few hours cuddling together before the sun set and he had to return home to the hilltop in the woods.
TEN
wild thing
I didn’t want to be apart from Brandon, but I had to keep my needs separate from his—my desire to confess to my friends that I was in love with him and my longing to be with him as a werewolf had to take a backseat to his need to be cured.
Ivy, Abby, and the gang were coming over, and I hoped it would keep my mind occupied and not focused on whatever Brandon’s father needed to do to keep him safe and find an antidote. My parents agreed to go out to another movie so I could have my friends over.
I felt so awkward waiting for the gang to arrive. We didn’t have a media room with a fifty-inch big-screen TV, leather theater chairs, or a popcorn machine. Instead, we’d be watching TV in our small family room. It was going to be cozy, to say the least.
Ivy and Abby arrived together with a stack of movies, and Jake, Dylan, and Nash showed up with drinks and chips.
“We weren’t sure what to watch, so we brought a few choices,” Abby said.
“Since it is a full moon,” Ivy said cheekily, “I thought we’d watch An American Werewolf in London.”
Jake howled, and Dylan joined him.
I loved the movie and had watched it several times on Halloweens past—but tonight it wasn’t going to distract me from the day’s events, just remind me of Brandon.
“You know what they say about a full moon! People act crazy,” Ivy said.
“When should I start?” Jake said, making some growling noises. He nuzzled up to Ivy, sending her into giggles.
Dylan tugged Abby’s belt and pulled her to him for a quick kiss. “Is that crazy enough for you?” he asked.
Nash looked to me for signs of what kind of affection to show. He wasn’t about to make a move in front of everyone—as he wasn’t sure how I’d respond.
We all flopped onto the couches, and Nash ended up next to me. I couldn’t help but inhale his sexy body-wash scent. He scooted so close to me I thought he was going to wind up in my lap. For a moment I was lost in the world that had once been. The sixsome, together.
Champ suddenly began barking incessantly by the back door.
“What the . . . ?” Jake said, pointing to the family room window.
“What? A ghost?” Abby said.
“You have to see this,” Jake said.
We all gathered around the window to find two beady eyes staring up at us.
“It’s a dog,” Abby said. “Calm down.”
Just then the animal howled a deep howl.
“It’s a wolf!” Dylan said.
Ivy and Abby screamed.
“Lock the door!” Nash said, stepping away from the window.
“It’s already locked,” I said.
“Make sure,” he demanded.
“Turn the lights on,” Ivy said. “Maybe that will scare it away.”
“We are safe, guys,” I said. Even though I put on a brave face, I was nervous. What was a wolf doing howling outside my window? Was this a lone, misguided wolf? Or was this one trying to signal to me that Brandon was in trouble?”
Ivy continued to scream, and Abby threw sofa pillows against the window.
“Shoo!” she said.
“Stop that,” I said. “You’ll break something.”
“He’s staring straight at you, Celeste,” Ivy exclaimed.
“Maybe it’s Brandon,” Jake teased.
Jake and Dylan pressed their heads against the window. Jake made faces at the wild canine while Dylan tapped the glass.
I, too, pressed my face to the glass to see if I could see more wolves or Brandon.
Just then another howl was heard from somewhere in the backyard. The wolf’s ears perked up, and he barked at me a few times. Then he turned around and disappeared.
“That was creepy!” Ivy said. “I don’t want to watch that movie now.”
“It’s gone,” I said. “It’s okay.”
“But what if it comes back?” Ivy said.
“I don’t think it will,” I said.
“Yes,” Dylan confirmed. “It went off into the woods. Whatever it wanted, it doesn’t want it anymore.”
But the fun mood was broken. “I only brought scary movies,” Ivy said, soured by the unwanted visitor.
“We can’t go home now,” Abby said.
We sat for a while longer, but I was distracted by the wolf, and so, it seemed, were the others. The gathering was spoiled; we couldn’t lose ourselves in watching a scary movie.
“Maybe we should reschedule this,” I said.
“We are being rude—” Ivy said.
“No you’re not,” I told her. “We’ll do it again at your house—in your awesome media room.”
Eventually my friends agreed to end the evening early.
“We can’t leave Celeste home with a wolf running around,” Abby said.
“My parents will be home soon,” I said. “I’ll be okay. Besides, I’m safe in a house.”
“Yes, I guess so,” Abby said.
“There is something about you,” Ivy said. “You attract wolves.”
The guys got their belongings while the girls hugged me good-bye. Nash leaned in to kiss me but I stepped back awkwardly and reached for the front door instead. I did care for Nash and still thought he was attractive. I didn’t wish anything but good things for him. But I didn’t want to encourage him to think I felt more deeply for him than I did or was planning on a reunion. Though I still felt compassion for my first crush and former boyfriend, I didn’t have the kind of feelings for him that I had for Brandon—that unbridled passion and heavenly feeling that was true love.
They all were on the lookout as they exited my house and ran safely to their cars.
As my friends drove off, Champ began to bark again by the back door.
I heard a tap at my window. I was afraid to see the wolf back again, this time all alone in my house. I gingerly pulled a curtain back and looked out into the backyard. At first I saw nothing, but then I could make out a figure standing at the trunk of a tree a few yards away.
Gray eyes gazed back, but they were at the height of someone standing on two legs.
I raced outside and plowed into Brandon’s embrace.
“I’m so happy to see you,” I said.
“Me too,” he said. Then he hesitated. “Nash was here.”
“He’s just my friend.”
“But he wants to get back with you. I see it all the time.”
“We are just friends. That’s all.”
“But I want to be your friend. I want to hang out with you and your best friends. What good am I now, standing outside in the woods, hungry like a wolf?”
I held his hand and caressed it. “I want us to be together, too,” I said. “Did your father see you tonight?”
“Yes. He couldn’t get what he needed. I wouldn’t let him. I can’t help myself when I’m like this. I guess it’s just animal instinct, but at the moment that he comes at me with a needle, he’s not my father and I’m not his son. He’s someone I don’t trust and feel is going to hurt me.”
“Oh . . .” I said, disappointed for him.
“But . . . I think I might be better if you are there—”
“Why?” I asked.
“There is something I see when I look into your eyes—sweetness and goodness—in whatever form I’m in. I get this overwhelming sense that you are . . .”
I waited to hear what he might say.
“. . . there to help me. Not threatening, I guess. Maybe I sense love.”
I beamed with pride.
“From my father I sense fear and confusion. And it only makes me angry.”
“But how can I be there when your dad doesn’t want me around your house—around you—on a full moon?”
“He’s like me; he wants to protect you.”
“I know, but I don’t need protecting. I only need you.”
“Will you come back with me?”
“Now?”
He nodded.
“Of course.” I liked being needed by Brandon. I felt like I could somehow repay him for my fault in all of this. He had saved me and because of that suffered this lycan affliction. I’d do anything for him.
“But I have to ask you one thing: Are you afraid of me?”
“No,” I reassured him. “Maybe I should be, but I’m not.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “I can’t lose you. You are the only one who makes me feel sane.” He leaned in and hugged me. “Remember what I said that night we kissed, under the full moon?”
I smiled widely.
“I love you, Celeste,” he said again.
“I love you, too,” I said. It was as natural as if I’d been saying it to him for years.
I stared up at him. I was dying for a kiss, the kind that took my breath away, made me dizzy, and felt like I was in heaven. He was magnetic, spellbinding, hypnotic. I was drawn to him like I’d never been drawn to any other guy. He stared back at me with his wolfish gray eyes. He leaned down and kissed me so
intensely I thought the ground would shake under my feet. I fell into his arms.
I held him tightly under the tree in my backyard. I wasn’t about to leave him again.
I couldn’t abandon him. Not now. Not ever.
When the night wore on and our kisses continued, Brandon told me it was time to go.
I agreed to meet him at the hilltop behind his house, and he withdrew into the woods. I was anxious when I drove to the Westside, wondering if Dr. Maddox’s plan would work. I parked by Brandon’s guesthouse and raced up the hilltop before his father could spot me.
Apollo, Brandon’s grandparents’ husky, was barking in the main house, and I knew that the sound of my car driving in wouldn’t go unnoticed.
I was trying to find Brandon on the hilltop when I heard my name being called in the woods behind me.
“Celeste,” Dr. Maddox hollered. “Celeste.”
The sound got closer, and Dr. Maddox reached me before I could find Brandon.
“Brandon wants you to help him,” I said. “He wants you to do the tests, but I have to be with him. It’s the only way he’ll be able to do it.”
“But that’s impossible. I will have to tranquilize him first in order to take the blood samples. You see what he’s like. He didn’t come home last night—or today. I don’t even know where he is. He could be anywhere—doing anything.”
Just then Brandon emerged from the shadows.
Brandon appeared as magnificent as he had just a short time ago. His hair was fiercely wild, and his face was laced with a handsome goatee matching his dark locks. He wore a skeptical expression and a pair of jeans. His sharp fangs glowed in the moonlight.
“Brandon!” his father gasped.
Dr. Maddox moved in front of me, blocking me from view.
Brandon growled.
“It’s okay—” I said. “He’s not going to hurt me—or you. Brandon needs your help, Dr. Maddox, but the only way for you to get close to him with your needle is if I am here, too.” I turned to Brandon. “It’s okay, Brandon. You said if I was here, it will be okay.”
But Brandon wasn’t appeased. He shifted uneasily, backing away toward the trees.
Then I heard Dr. Meadows’s words in my head—Beware of a bite under a full moon. Maybe this did mean me—or Brandon’s father. And maybe it meant now.
Brandon must have noticed the fear in my face. His eyes softened as if he felt sad for me.