Azure

☾ 18: Full Moon ☾

The weekend had gone by quickly. At school, I was surprised to see Mason had shown up.

"Hey, how far have you gotten with the journal?" He asked.

"A little more than halfway. Why do you ask?"

He shook his head dismissively. "I'll tell you more at lunch, okay?"

I simply nodded in response.

Just before class started Heather turned in her seat to face me.

"Hey." She said with a smile.

"Hi."

"I was wondering if you wanted to sit with my friends and me at lunch. Laine will be there too of course."

"I'd love to but I can't. I'm going out for lunch."

Even if Mason didn't want to meet up you would have declined. For some reason, you felt a bit uncomfortable around Heather. She was kind to you but you couldn't help but feel like something was off.

"Oh, okay! That's fine. Maybe some other time then."

"Yeah, maybe." You agreed.

At lunch, Mason and I ran off to the same distanced tree.

"So what did you want to tell me?" I asked.

"Tonight's a full moon." He said simply.

"And?"

"And that means we are going to turn unwillingly. We won't be able to turn back until the morning."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Yeah, it happens here on Earth. It's a curse made by humans with the help of a witch. This way they'd be able to hunt us down easier. It's an old story."

I nodded slowly.

"Wait. Why did you word it as if you aren't from earth."

He shrugged changing the subject.

"You're going to stay over at my place tonight. Being with a pack helps just in case one of us gets out of control."

"What do you mean out of control?"

"Well, on full moons we tend to get a bit... temperamental."

"Okay then... What time?" I asked.

"We won't turn until midnight but try to be early. We'll also be late for school next morning."

I nodded. "Speaking of school how are you doing in it?"

He laughed. "I haven't been giving it a second thought. I've just been doing whatever I what."

I laughed along at his response.

As soon as school was over I went to find Laine. I wanted to give her a heads-up on what was going to happen. I knew she had practice today so I planned to just head straight to Mason's.

When I found her she was happily talking to Heather.

"Hey, Cassy. What are you doing here?" Laine questioned with that cute smile of hers.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second?" I asked.

"I'll go do some stretches," Heather said getting the hint.

Once she was out of earshot I spoke again.

"I'm going to the woods with Mason tonight. He told me on full moons we transform without being able to turn back. I'll be late for school in the morning so I just wanted to let you know where I'd be."

Laine nodded slowly. "Okay. In that case please be careful."

I smiled. "Of course. I'll see you tomorrow."

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"You ready for this?" Mason asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The night had come quickly. Mason and I had already transformed into wolves before midnight but when the clock struck twelve I felt very different.

"Come on." He said.

Mason, his pack, and I ran through the forest. We hunted and ate then continued to run around and burn our never-ending energy. It was exhilarating I have never felt a rush like this before.

All was well until we heard a gunshot. A bullet landed right next to my paw. Hunters were here.

"Everyone get out of here!" Mason yelled.

His pack ran off but I stayed.

"Cassy, we need to get out of here." His warned.

I didn't run. I couldn't. Every bone in my body was holding me in place. It didn't take long before one of the hunters was in view. He immediately stopped in his tracks when he saw us. He held a rifle in his hands shock evident on his face.

"They're back." The man said barely above a whisper as the rest of the hunters joined him.

One of the other men quickly raised a gun at us.

I growled positioning my body in a fighting stance.

"We aren't prepared for this! Run!" The man with the rifle yelled.

They all started to run. I ran after them unable to fight my predatory instincts.

The man with the rifle ended up tripping over a tree stump, falling to the ground. He quickly turned onto his back holding a hand out in warning.

"Hey, now. Easy." He said.

I growled again as I backed him up against a tree. My mouth was covered in drool as I bared my teeth. Despite eating earlier I now felt hungry once again.

"Cassy, don't," Mason warned.

I saw as the man's other hand slowly crept towards his rifle. Without hesitation, I snarled quickly biting into his hand. He let out a pained shout. When the taste of iron hit my tongue, I wanted more. I then went for his neck but before my teeth could sink in deep enough Mason tackled me.

"Cassy snap out of it! We need to go!"

I growled at him. When I looked up at Mason he returned my gaze with a look of fear in his eyes. Mason backed away slowly and then proceeded to run off.

I looked back towards the man who was clutching his neck trying to steady his breathing.

That was when the realization of what I had done hit me. The man stared into my eyes. A mixture of anger and fear swam in his.

I almost killed this man and I would have had Mason not stepped in. Smelling the blood again my mouth watered. I unknowingly whined and ran away from the scene while I still had some control.