Dead Moon Rising

Chapter Four

The sun shone differently this afternoon, and Belle wasn't sure if the change was due to her new, altered state or the sheer ecstasy of the moment. The first time she shifted, it had felt sudden, terrifying, and wrong. She remembered the pain she had caused her mother and the lingering smell of blood stuck in her nose. She glanced over to check on Reggie, the tan wolf running beside her. The sunlight flickered against his fur as they passed through the trees. He gave a nod and veered left toward a clearing. Belle followed, picking up speed.

 It had been a few days since she met the young werewolf, and those days had made her feel more complete than she ever had. She had never realized how damaging it was to hide such a massive part of herself from the world for so long. In these past few days, Belle had felt an intense increase in energy and strength, among other things. She had learned from Reggie that the two-natured have a natural inclination toward being energized. She didn't need much sleep anymore, and all she wanted to do was spend time with Reggie. It felt like heaven out here with him, listening to the birds chase the squirrels and feeling the sunbeams through her fur and onto her skin—it was purely magical. She knew this magic couldn't last forever, but she wanted to savor it for as long as she could.

She noticed Reggie staring at her and fixed her gaze on her friend. He began to shift back into his human form, and she followed suit. She didn't mind that they were both nude, though it was something she had to get used to. Standing outside naked with a boy as attractive as Reggie was uncomfortable and strange for her at first, but once it became natural, it felt as if they were fully clothed. Reggie sniffed the air, closed his eyes, and tilted his head up toward the full sun. It was around noon, and the sun was at its highest point. She watched him, the sun sparkling off his amber skin and dancing through his dark locks.

"Weres usually prefer the moon, as cliché as that is, but I have a love for the sun," Reggie said, keeping his eyes closed. Belle didn't have much to say in response, though she considered asking Reggie something about himself. She had been spending so much time with him that he did most of the talking. She spent so much time learning about her second nature and what it meant to be in a pack that she had missed out on actually getting to know Reggie and letting him into her life. At that moment, Reggie seemed to be attempting to open up, so she decided to say something too. She looked into the sky and spoke.

"Do you ever look at the clouds? My mom and I used to lie in the park for hours, just staring at the clouds and finding shapes in them." Silence fell between them for a moment, and Belle wondered if she had made a mistake. She glanced at Reggie, silently willing him to speak.

"That one looks like a flamingo...I think," Reggie said, pointing. Belle let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding at his response and followed his pointed finger. She nodded slowly in agreement.

"It sure does, huh?" She looked at him with a soft smile, glad he played along even for a moment. She searched the sky for another shape to direct Reggie's attention to, but before she could, Reggie began to speak again.

"Where is your mom anyway?" he asked. "You don't speak about her much." Belle felt a chill. She knew this topic would eventually come up, and mentioning her mother might have sparked Reggie's curiosity. She silently cursed herself for wanting a connection so badly that she had made a misstep. She wouldn't, couldn't go into detail about her family just yet. How could she let Reggie know her mother was in the hospital, clinging to life, and that she was the cause? It wasn't safe to tell anyone. She sighed.

"She's still up in West Virginia..." Belle trailed off, keeping her eyes locked on the sky. She could feel Reggie's gaze burrowing into her, and her cheeks began to flush.

"My mom isn't around... The pack has weird rules sometimes, and she wasn't too keen on them." Belle sighed with relief when Reggie changed the subject to himself. She glanced briefly to see if he was still looking at her; he wasn't. His eyes were on the sky, but she could tell Reggie had gone somewhere deep in his own mind.