Moon Blood (COMPLETE)

Chapter Twenty Two: A Final Gesture (FINAL)

"I like you. A lot."

Neil didn't know if he was dreaming, hallucinating, overcome by guilt or if Rachel really was standing there before him. But there she was, unblemished, skin smooth and unbroken. Complete. She took him in her arms and embraced him.

"I'm sorry it ended this way. I wish I hadn't died, but to have you as my final memory on this earth eased the pain somewhat."

"I wish you were still here." Neil swallowed as he began to bleed once again. The thick, warm liquid ran down his back, and the rustle of wings stirred behind him. The scent of blood was such a comfort to him now. Thick metallic blood that ran down a woman's legs, in her veins and beat in her heart. It was a sign of growth, of strength, of life. Life that had been so cruelly taken away from Rachel.

"I know you can feel me inside you. A piece you thought you stole. But I gave it to you, and I too, took a piece of you. Part of you now lives inside Hettie when she ate my physical body. You were blood drunk, and I was too. Lost in the lust for each other. Use that now. Become blood drunk and save your woman! Save my sister!"

Neil awoke.

His body wasn't quite aware, but it quivered and shook as it grew and twisted. Just as she promised, Rachel's blood also swam inside him, just as she promised. A thickness, an uncertain screeching from deep within him. The arches in his feet stretched, and fur sprouted from him. His mouth became a maw with fangs. He was blind. Hungry. Drunk.

"Neil!"

He barely heard her voice, all he could do was taste.Flesh ripped and blood splattered against the gilded furniture. He was an animal, giving in to primal desires to feed and survive. Neil caught her scent as he ripped out a throat. Whose throat it was, it didn't seem to matter. Ruby, and Daisy and Lily were all here with him somewhere, fighting, eating. The strength of the she-wolves that gathered around him and protected him.

*****

Perhaps. The events as they happened that night were unclear, to him at least. Neil awoke under a pile of blankets sweaty and naked, but human at least. His back was sore and swallowed and still bandaged. He groaned.

"Careful there, Lowell."

Ruby's voice was honey to him, sweet and welcome. He turned to her and saw her body pressed against him, swaddling and holding him.

"Oh, Ruby." He nuzzled into her. For that brief moment nothing mattered except his skin against hers, but there were many unanswered questions. Particularly the ones about Rachel.

"I didn't kill her," he murmured. "I saw her in my head, and she told me what Hettie did to her."

Hettie! "What happened? Where is everyone?"

"Neil, listen. We have news of Rachel. We found what was left of her body in Hettie's pantry, along with the bodies of other young people too. From what Lily guessed, they were virgins; I think Hettie would only eat the bodies of them. None of us needs to eat human flesh, but she was adamant that her bloodline had sated their hunger with virgins since they formed hundreds of years ago. A wolf's hunger is an addiction we must control, not an indulgence we should just give in to whenever we feel the urge. That's how people die of smoking, or overeating."

"Ruby, she said something about you being her sister. In my head, I don't know how the hell I heard it, but I saw her."

You know how you can hear me in your head?

He jumped, and nodded.

I'm only guessing, but our clan used to be huge, scattered all across the country. No doubt she was a part of us at some point. Even if the blood was thinned, it would have still run in her system.

"You mean she was a wolf too? Are there any humans left in my life at this point?" Neil's head plopped on the pillow, and Ruby's mouth coiled in a slight smile.

"I hate to say it, but it's down to you. Ever since this side of you awoke, clans will have been sniffing you out and being drawn to you. We desire each other, we strive to be together. She was the closest one to you, even if she didn't know it."

He looked at her, into Ruby's inviting, warm eyes. "I'm beginning to know what that's like, especially with you."

They kissed, but it was bittersweet. After their moment, Neil allowed himself to weep. Ruby held him close as he processed the loss of Rachel, of what he was, of what had happened. It wouldn't be over with just a moment of closeness. And they both knew that. She shushed him as they lay together. A hill scaled and traversed and they watched the horizon before them, ready to explore the deep valleys and rivers beyond.

The remains of Hettie were found naked and sprawled out on the lonely moors. Her accomplices had seemingly fled, and frankly, Neil didn't care. Under her nails, Rachel's DNA was also found, and finally, her family were allowed to grieve. The ribbons stayed in the huge tree before the school to honour her memory, and it chilled Neil a little less when he walked past them in the morning. It wouldn't be long before he would be out of here, at least. With Ruby.

Neil wasn't sure if he'd killed Hettie, or Ruby had killed her, or she'd killed herself. He wasn't sure if he ever wanted to know the answer. Perhaps he was a killer, or perhaps Ruby or Lily or Daisy was. Did Hettie's death mean Rachel would come back? No, but Neil felt a little more at ease with coming to terms with what he was.

"Shall we go, Lowell?"

Ruby waved over where she stood with Dave and James by the bus stop, where he had first felt feverish all those months ago. The mood was stilling, but not quite a mill pond as it had been before. There was always excitement as the last sliver of moon disappeared from the silky black of the night. Darkness to play and run over the moors in the beauty of the night. No one could see the winged wolves playing on the hillocks and dashing down into the valley beyond.

The End