moon

Chapter Two

My heart hitched in my chest and palpitated wildly as I raced through the forest. I knew that while I was temporarily unable to shift into my wolf form, I would have to seek a hiding place where the Seth wolves couldn't find, smell or hear me. I frantically spun my head around, looking for a convenient hole in the ground within the ten-foot radius. I turned to face the wolves who were, fortunately for me, still far away and stepped into the undergrowth, making sure to rub my scent on the brush. I then quickly traced the footsteps I had made in the dust and hopped into a cave where I knew I would find safety. I cautiously wiped away any footprints leading to the tiny cave and covered it with vines and two palm leaves that I had found lying at the entrance. I was careful to wear my gloves as I did this and retreated further into the darkness, feeling around for a hanging rock with a small space tall enough for a human to just shimmy under. I slid through the gap and entered the tiny tunnel, shuffling slowly to the other end. I crawled on my hands and knees for what seemed like hours before I finally reached the end, and sensing the tunnel widening, I stood up and stretched my cramped limbs. I pulled a stone slab along with some fast-hardening clay off a shelf and stuck the slab to the exit - or entrance, depends how you think about it - and smiled to myself. I was definitely prepared for emergencies like this.

The cave was a large one with the only entrance leading from another hidden cave, and the entrance to that cave could only be found in a hidden clearing, and that clearing was hidden quite well. It's rocky shelves were stocked with tinned food and non-perishables. Dozens of water bottles peeped out from behind a towering stack of books with a strong flashlight resting on them. There were flashlights put in seemingly random places and when switched on, illuminated the cave with a bright glow. 

Boxes of used notebooks littered the cave floor and I pulled one out from my bag and added it to a box clearly labelled in block letters "July, 2015". I also brought out two inflatable mattresses and an air pump and filled one of them up with air, leaving the other neatly folded in a dark corner. I plugged my phone into one of the fifteen (I counted) fully-charged portable chargers and peered into my backpack for the last item. 

The syringe held a small amount of liquid, just five milliletres. It was clear, all except for a tinge of purple that was hardly visible in the dim light. I flicked the switch of another stronger flashlight and carefully wheeled a microscope over. Switching the lens, I squirted a tiny drop of liquid delicately onto a petri dish. I peered into the eyepiece and recorded notes onto the empty notepad with a sharpened pencil. 

kA + C7e = 9E + C3e 

(A/N: I made that formula up so please don't sue me for whatever insane reasons)

 I grinned and quickly tipped my assistant off about these startling new results. "Zach, did you get the formula I sent you? Do we have all of the components necessary to recreate the serum?" Zach confirmed that he had all of them back at the laboratory and, with my green light, immediately started on the project. I stared in awe at the tiny droplet of serum again and wondered how the Seth pack had been clever enough to make a serum that would enhance the smelling and hearing senses. I scribbled a few more notes for future reference and scrolled through my contacts, clicking on a familiar one. 

"Anna, am I clear?" 

 "All clear," her voice crackled across. I packed up the bag and brought the portable charger along with me, replacing it with yet another one. I chipped away the clay and rolled the slab aside, casting one last glance at the cave. Should I... I carefully picked up the syringe and injected myself with two milliletres of the liquid then crawled back through the tunnel and shifted once I reached the tiny cave. Luckily, I had "invented" (one of the older werewolves, my mentor, had thought of the idea and I carried it through) clothing that could seemingly disppear as I turned into my werewolf form and reappear when I shifted back, so I wasted no time fiddling around with my clothes. I sniffed around cautiously, immediately feeling the change. My sense of smell was definitely heightened and I could hear more clearly, even for a werewolf. I could scent no wolves lying in wait for me and cautiously poked my nose out through the hanging brush. I skirted around the bushes, wanting to make as little noise as possible as I raced back to the pack house. 

"Ms Iris," Zach began excitedly but I held up a paw to stop him. I shifted back and somewhat breathlessly corrected him. 

"Dr Iris." He nodded and apologetically bowed his head. "It's fine. Really, Zach. So what were you going to say to me before I rudely interrupted you?" 

"Well, Dr Iris," he grinned boyishly. "I started making the serum as you instructed me to, but I realised that if I added vP8 to C3e, as Professor Dayne stated in his book, Basic Science for Stupid Geniuses, it would not make the ears and nose bigger and more visible. It's basically a growth defect, but it stops abnormal growth." I nodded. 

"Very good, Zach. Having you as an assistant is a valuable asset to me. Do you have to double the C3e before you combine the "ingredients"?" I quizzed. Straight away, my star assistant fired back an answer. 

"No, because the two, as you so wisely put it, "ingredients", vP8 and 9E can work in harmony and not cause any unpleasant side effects. In other words, they can "share" C3e with each other," he promptly replied. I once again nodded and followed Zach to the laboratory, smiling at a few pack members as we passed by. I helped Zach recreate the serum and tested it out on some old stray dogs that we found. We placed them in a cage with opaque walls instead of bars and put an old bone in a far corner of the room. As expected, they started straining anad clawing at the walls in the direction of the bone, but when the serum wore off, we tested them again. This time, they sat in the middle of the cage, looking quite docile until I tossed a handful of treats into the pen. They jumped up and attacked them, yelping with pleasure as each got a bite.

"Dr Iris?" I looked up. 

"Yes Zach?" 

"No, Dr Iris, please don't call me Zach. Everyone calls me Zee because of my initials. Zach Emmanuel Eddyson. Z-E-E. Get it?" he looked up at me with a hopeful glint in his eyes. I sighed. 

"Zach, you must understand that in this laboratory and even out of it, it already is a great privilege for me to call you by your first name. Wouldn't you prefer me call you Zach than address you as Mr Eddyson?" Zach meekly nodded, apologising for his boldness. 

"That's fine." At that moment, Jared burst through the door. 

"Aria! The Alpha wants you to meet him now," he grinned at Zach who immediately bowed his head. "I'm going to have to take her away now. Good luck on your own, kid." I stiffened. 

 "Beta, please do not call my best assistant a child. He is probably smarter than you and I am more intelligent than him, therefore you are the least clever person in this room at the moment," I clenched my jaw tightly and spoke curtly to Zach, giving him strict instructions to follow. "Zach, recreate one litre of the serum for me, then you can take the night off from work." He widened his eyes, surprised."But Dr Iris-" 

"Shut up," Jared growled, glaring at him. As he turned his piercing gaze to me, I defiantly stared back at him. My wolf was screaming at me but I couldn't make out her voice through all the baying and howling.

Kiss him, you idiot! she growled, clearly frustrated.

 Wait, what?