Hunter's Moon

Eleven: Riley

"You can't be serious."

Nadia grinned as she opened a thick, old-looking book titled Werewolves. I glared and her and said, "Please tell me that's not a book about werewolves in front of me."

She shrugged. "I'd be lying," she said. "But... it's not a book about werewolves." She grinned, laughing and covering her head with her arms when I lightly slapped her in the back of the head.

I sighed and glanced around the cafeteria. Drew was sitting several tables away, laughing with her group of friends. I frowned, sniffing the air. There was something odd about them, but I couldn't quite figure it out. I tried to catch a scent, any scent, but there were too many smells in the cafeteria already. I shook my head and turned my attention back to my best friend, who held the book wide open on the table.

"Nadia, please take this seriously!" I growled.

"Hey, I am!" She exclaimed, her spine straightening as she gave me a mock incredulous look. "I'm trying to do all of the research I can, but it's not exactly easy."

I frowned. "Why?"

She shrugged. "There are way too many myths about werewolves," she stated, as if it were that simple. "What their personality is like, whether they turn into a half-wolf, half-man creature thing, or if they turn into an actual wolf. That myth is already determined, though, because you turn into a freaking huge, white wolf."

I shook my head, rubbing my arms as goosebumps popped up. It was still strange to think about. It felt odd, almost unnatural. And yet, at the same time, it just felt so right. For the past week, I'd been feeling something inside of me, some kind of sleeping beast, just waiting for a command. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't excited about this new, strange power I now had. At the same time, though, I was terrified.

Nadia flipped absently through the book, munching on a carrot. It's been a whole week since my first day back as a werewolf, and since then Nadia and I started bringing our own lunches to school with us. After smelling the horrible excuse for food that the cafeteria staff tried to shove down our throats, I decided that I was done with school food. I convinced Nadia to bring her own lunch, and she admitted to me yesterday that she was glad she listened to me. She said she already started feeling healthier.

I glanced around the cafeteria again, my gaze landing on the table with Drew and her friends. In the past, I had always thought that they were a close-knit group. Now, though, I could somehow see the different lines that separated them. Drew and one other guy, another junior named Eddie Davies, sat just apart from the rest on the opposite side of the table. They engaged in conversation with the majority of the table, but for the most part, they seemed to stick together.

Feeling my gaze on them, Drew and Eddie turned their gazes toward me. In the past, I would have looked away. I was too scared and anxious to be confrontational at all. Now, I stared back. They lowered their chins slightly, eyes glowing softly. "Join us," Drew said, jerking her head slightly. If it weren't for my new heightened senses, I wouldn't be able to hear her. "We need to talk, and these guys can help." A slightly sour expression crossed her face, and her eyes flicked over quickly to the seniors before turning back to me.

Some of the other kids at the table turned their gazes to me. Crap, I thought. Were they all werewolves? I glanced at Nadia, who had a fork of leftover spaghetti halfway to her mouth. She was staring at Drew and her table, then at me, then back to the table.

"Let's go," I said.

"Wait," Nadia mumbled as she stuffed her fork into her mouth. She chewed quickly, swallowed thickly, and said, "We don't need them. We have all the answers we need right here." She held the book up, the cover facing me. She smiled, trying to give me a pouty, puppy dog look.