The Art of Mending Memories

The Art of Mending Memories 19

The Art of Mending Memories

Chapter 19

A howl screamed in the night. I curled closer against my sleeping aunt. Another howl was heard in the distance. I knew they were far away, but I couldn't stop the overwhelming fear inside me. The last time I heard this many howls I had fallen prey to their claws. I couldn't sleep with them nearby; I was too terrified they would come. I curled closer to Aunt Jane, needing her comfort, but still unable to sleep

ʘ ʘ ʘ ʘ ʘ

"Good morning, Mr. Keith."

Mr. Keith looked up from his desk, his chestnut hair covering the top half of his long face. He moved his hair out of his face with a yawn.

"Good morning, Kaelyn," he said.

I took a sip of the coffee in my traveler's mug. "Did you have a nice night?'

He nodded. "Yeah, it was great. Long though. And it was strange to have all the wolves in the woods, you know?"

"Yeah, I heard them, too."

All night I had heard howls in the distance. Thank God none came towards the house. I was so scared just having them in the forest that I had to sleep with Aunt Jane; I was afraid to be alone. It was bad enough having them in my nightmares.

"The mares were scared. Hence it being a long night."

Mr. Keith didn't belong to a herd of horse-shifters, but he took care of a group of real horses. There were seven of them: four mares, one foal, one colt, and a stallion. When he changed, he often ran with them in the fields-large, rolling, fielded hills.

"Camilla was really worried about Sammy. She didn't believe me when I told her the wolves won't eat him. She refused to allow him to leave the stables."

Sammy was only a few months old. He was Camilla's first son. His father, the only stallion of the group, was Stanton-a beautiful black Arabian. Sammy was his first colt, although Stanton has fathered two foals.

Stanton was the leader of the herd, but Mr. Keith often led the runs. Almost like the horse and the shifter were co-leaders.

"Do you blame her?" I asked. "Sammy is adorable and wolves are dangerous."

Mr. Keith raised his eyebrow. "They wouldn't dare," he said, referring to the werewolves. "This is my territory and they know they are only guests."

"Mmm," I vaguely agreed, taking another sip of coffee.

He frowned at me and changed the topic. "You still coming over for dinner tonight?" Every Thursday-usually-Aunt Jane and I had dinner at the Keith's.

"I believe so. Why?"

Mr. Keith sighed. "I always feel bad leaving Anna all night for three nights in a row. I'm glad she'll have you guys tonight."

I smiled. "We'll be there."

Jeremy Clemmens, an arrogant, annoying player in my math class, walked up to the desk to ask Mr. Keith something. I took that as my cue to leave and sit down at my own desk.

Cassy's head was laying on her arms on her desk, as if she were sleeping. She wasn't, though, because when I sat down she turned her head and looked at me through droopy eyelids.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Hey," she replied softly with lethargy.

"Long night?"

"Mmm." She closed her eyes. "It was fun, though," she mumbled. "A lo-"-yawn-"-ot of fun. But I'm tired."

"How come you didn't stay home?" On the days of the full moon, teenage shifters often stayed home to recuperate-in both forms.

"mom told me I could either stay home today or tomorrow, but that I had to go to school one day. I figured I would be more tired tomorrow." She stopped to yawn. "Except that we were running all night long because it's new territory. Usually we take a nap break."

"Oh," was my intellectual response.

"Yeah." She turned her head so it was face down.

Cassy didn't move all class, so I assumed she was asleep. I woke her after the bell rang, and she left for her next class in a daze.

Chris and Sarella were in the same shape two periods later: asleep. I walked in and they were both there, asleep in their arms on the desks. Neither Paul not I woke them.

In fact, every werewolf I encountered throughout the day seemed asleep. Even in the hallway they seemed to be sleepwalking. Every werewolf except one.

"Kaelyn!" He yelled to me as I was walking to the English room. His face broke into a wide smile, and he ran the few feet of distance between us. he stopped suddenly in front of me, not touching.

I stared at him. "Aren't you suppose to be exhausted?"

He shrugged.

"Right," I said slowly, just to fill space. "Well, I'm going to go to English now."

"How was your night?" Aaron asked.

My thoughts flashed to the previous night-the terror, the cowering, the howls. I shook those thoughts away and ignored Aaron as I continued walking to English.

"My night was great," Aaron said excitedly. "The forest was great. We were running the whole night. It was so much fun. I mean, I had been running in the forest before, but it's always different around this time, y'know?"

We were about to enter the classroom when Aaron's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.

"I missed you," he whispered. "I wanted to run to you so badly."

Fear made my heart beat faster as I imagined seeing a large wolf in my backyard-or in general. I ripped my arm out of his and stepped away; the realization that he was a werewolf hit me all over again.

His skin flared bright red, and I caught a hurt expression on his face before I turned away.

Kyle and Jeff were already sleeping, heads down on their desks; Kara was talking to a yawning Jason. I sat down, ignoring Aaron, who sat next to me.

"Good morning, Kaelyn. Good morning, Aaron," Kara greeted.

"Morning," I replied at the same time Aaron said "Good morning Kara."

I flashed my eyes to Aaron. He had a sullen and tired expression, but he wasn't asleep like the other werewolves. I wondered why he wasn't tired.

"It was a late night for everyone, I guess," Kara noted.

I nodded my head. "Yeah," I agreed.

She sighed. "To think it's only the second week of school."

I mirrored her sigh. "It's a harsh life."

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It's short. I know. I've had a lot of projects due this week, and limited time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading.