by J N Moon
Book One
Edition 1: 2018
Copyright © 2018 JN Moon
Edited by Samantha at Proofreading by the Page Facebook
Cover art by Danielle Fine at Design by Definition
Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Wolf Born (The Blood Moon Series)
Sweetest Tongue has Sharpest Tooth. | Emma.
And she was not Afraid of Him.
What a Tender Young Creature, What a Nice Plump Mouthful.
Tell me, Are You Afraid?
Don’t on Any Account, Talk to Strangers.
Don’t Stray from The Path
What Big Teeth You Have.
She Lifted the Latch.
She Lives in the Cottage Next to the Three Oak Trees
Wolf Born Author Notes...
About the Author.
Dedicated to my friends who are my family and to story tellers everywhere. To all the people who helped me get this far. Thank You.
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Sweetest Tongue has Sharpest Tooth.
Emma.
The drive wasn’t far, traveling to the Cotswold’s where my uncle lived hidden away in the ancient, dense forest I made it in a few hours and with the window down, cold air sharpened my senses. Taking the back roads, winding through the country lanes my body and mind started to calm, familiar surroundings made me feel better. I turned off the country road onto a smaller track until eventually coming an overgrown lane that twisted and climbed for several miles. The forest stood majestically around the trail, first shoots and buds appearing and the scent of Spring sharp and fresh.
Good, I’ll be there before dark, but this track really needs clearing. As I looked at the mass of brambles and birds darting in and out of the hedgerows, my heart began to sink. I’d gotten a call from the hospital asking if I could help my uncle who’d been in accident, the news had jolted through me, he was more like a dad to me and the only man I was ever able to trust. About a year before my aunt, his wife had died suddenly of cancer and I hadn’t been there much for him, always using the excuse that work kept me away, now guilt and fear twisted in my stomach like a knot.
As I’d got ready to leave and collect him, the hospital called me again to say he was been taken care of by a friend and there was no need to help, I didn’t know the name of the man assisting my uncle and my mind span out, confused. And they only said that it was his leg that was injured, Ethan, my uncle was a ranger so that would be possible I guessed. Now though, like a black shadow creeping forwards a sense of malevolence hung over me, there was only mum and Ethan in my world, and yes I’m an adult but no-one wants to be alone.
As I drove up the dirty track, my throat dry I thought of dreams, how as adults we watch them shatter and crumble into distant memories, the pang of pain lessening as we settle instead of soar. I loved my job as an ecologist but aside from those two, the truth was that I was alone and I had no idea where my life was going, except to end up isolated and by myself. Enough though of the self-pity, fear does that, your mind finds every single nightmare it can conceive then blows it up...
Ethan had always kept this track well maintained, his place was difficult to access at the best of times, and now in this state almost impossible. It had been raining, as my little car climbed the muddy lane, its’ wheels seemed to spin.
“Shit! No, no...” Getting out, I was glad I’d worn sturdy boots as my feet landed, splashed onto the wet muddy path. “Oh no, I can’t even drive forward.”
Rummaging around, I found some fairly useless bits of wood and tried lodging them under the front tires, hoping they’d be enough to leverage the car out of the mud.
Nothing, the car splattered and chuntered but wasn’t going anywhere.
I put my car in neutral and with my shoulder against the side and my hand on the wheel, I tried to move my little car over as much as possible. Defeated, I wiped my brow and grabbed my gear, locked up and set off on foot.
At least it’s still light, I thought, but dusk was creeping over the tree line and though I had a flashlight and knew these woods, being alone in them at night was unnerving.
Stopping suddenly at the woodland trail, I could go through the woods, it would be quicker. Leaving the path, I headed as the crow flies in the direction of Ethan’s cabin, cutting right through the tree line.
The birds, insects and rustling of creatures were always a comfort as I headed deeper into the packed forest, and feeling calmer I lowered my pace, taking it all in.
Tiny flowers of ice white, china blue and pinks poked through the bush, buds on branches waiting for the sun to bring them warmth, ready to burst into life and muddy browns, bright greens and light falling softly through the trees. Maybe I just needed to do this more. I hope Ethan is... what the...
Appearing from nowhere in front of me stood a huge grey wolf, it stood as still as stone and I blinked rapidly wondering if I was dreaming this.
It can’t be real, I thought. Blurring my eyes in case it was a trick of the light, it still stood there, quite still. But we don’t have wolves in the UK! Its eyes look red. Startled by either my own courage or stupidity-I couldn’t decide which-my mouth fell open in wonder. I checked, I wasn’t afraid, so it couldn’t be real. I nodded slightly, shock! It must be shock, the mind can play powerful tricks on you, especially after an upset. The fading light that danced and trickled off the bows and leaves could play tricks and make you think you’re seeing things that aren’t there, but as I continued to stare, this creature seemed perfectly real.
Stunned by the wolf and my reaction, my body too rigid to move, then the wolf tilted its head its eyes boring right into me before turning fast and bolting off. Off in the direction I was going!
Realising I couldn’t have imagined it, I gasped, my heart thumped fast, I took a minute to gather my senses- that couldn’t be real, surely? Now I crept through the forest lightly, paying attention to the ground beneath me as my uncle had taught me many times when I was a kid, moving stealthily. It was the longest twenty-minutes of my life, wondering if there were wolves watching me, but deep down I knew enough about them to know they don’t easily attack humans. But then, we don’t have wolves here...
Then my spirits lifted, Ethan’s cabin came into view and as I sighed in relief, a shrill shriek assaulted my ears, causing me to cover them instantly and duck down instinctively.
What the hell was that! I thought of the wolf-it certainly wasn’t a wolf sound for sure. Slowly rising from my crouched position, I scanned the area. Nothing. Something else was wrong. No birds, no insects, just an eerie silence. I sprung from my hiding place and leapt towards the cabin and as I went to pound on the door, it was opened even before my hand touched it. Before me stood a tall man, with longish chocolate hair, cropped beard and frosty-blue eyes.
As he spoke it was as if his words invited me, his voice soft and deep, “Emma, come in. I’m Conor, we’ve been expecting you.”
As soon as I heard his voice, my body softened and my breathing slowed. Ethan was in his chair, a solid mahogany rocking chair next to the fire. He had let his hair grow a bit, too, and his eyes twinkled mischievously under his fringe, dark hair speckled with grey.
His left leg was in a cast, so I dropped my kit and went over to him, hugging him where he sat.
>
“Emma, we were worried about you! You made it alright, come sit down. I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you, but Conor came and I needed to get out of that sterile place. There’s sick people in there, you know!” he chuckled.
“What was that noise? What the hell was that?” I shrieked more loudly than I’d intended.
Conor came back with hot tea and handed it to me, as he did I saw him and Ethan exchange a glance.
Ethan answered, his voice weary like his weathered face, “That, Emma,” he paused. “That... well there’s no easy way to explain it.” He splayed his hands before him as if trying to wrestle up an explanation to something that was too weird to have one.
I sat in the old rocking chair opposite my uncle, my hands wrapped around the cup, smells of the fire and wood filling my senses. Shaking slightly, I gripped it tightly. I always felt safe here, comforted, but now I didn’t know what to feel. That noise had chilled me to the core. I turned as Conor cleared his throat.
“It’s... something unusual. If I told you, you wouldn’t understand and you wouldn’t believe either of us, but if you did-well,” he shook his head and Ethan stared at the flames in the fire.
“Emma,” his familiar voice was almost guttural. In my shock, my mind raced with possibilities that whatever was out had been responsible for his ‘accident’.
He continued as I tried to shut my mind up to listen. “There’s something about us, about our family that you’ve never been told.” He sighed and sat back, stretching his legs and wincing at the pain as he placed his feet on the hearth.
Dread chilled me, I didn’t think what I was going to hear was good, judging by all this.
“Our family is not like others, you see...” he paused. The tension causing my fingers to grip the cup harder and my body stiff.
“Apart from the shrieking, did you encounter anything else strange on the way here?”
I felt my face go hot-I could feel Conor’s gaze on me. I had no problem telling Ethan anything, but I didn’t know this strange man. Shuffling uncomfortably, I mumbled, “Maybe.”
“Tell me,” and sensing my self-consciousness he added, “Conor is a good friend, you must feel comfortable telling. He is like us.”
I raised my eyebrows, what did that mean, like us? Socially awkward?
The flames kissed the hearth, hot and bright and I delayed as long as I could. “I thought I saw a wolf, which is of course ridiculous!” I murmured.
“Why ridiculous?” Conor asked gently.
“Um, hello? We don’t have wolves in this country-isn’t that obvious!” I shook my head at his stupid remark and sank back into the chair pulling my legs up, then aware that my boots were caked in mud, quickly put them down again. Putting down my cup, I untied them, Ethan continued.
“There are wolves here Em. But not like you know.” He sighed heavily- “Your mother really has told you nothing? But no, it doesn’t affect everyone in the family-it often skips a generation. I suppose she hoped it had skipped you.”
“Wolves! Did someone let them loose? I’ve studied this area, I hadn’t heard of that!”
“You are Wolf Born Em, there’s no easy way to tell you, I’ll have to show you-before it’s too late.”
I felt my eyes open as big as saucers, these two were having a laugh! As soon as I’d taken off my boots, I started putting them back on again-I couldn’t believe it! Ethan was known for his practical jokes but this was too much.
“Look, I’ve had a shit day, a shit time really, so I’m going! Sorry if that’s over dramatic; uncle, I was really upset you hadn’t called, I had a fight with some friends and right now I just needed to see you, I was really worried, I didn’t know what had happened! You and mum are all I’ve got, But you keep your strange wolf stories to yourselves, and whatever, let me know when or if you do want my help. Minus the crazy.”
Conor put his hand on my shoulder and I sent him a look that Medusa herself would be proud of. “Don’t touch me! I don’t know you!”
“Emma, calm down-we are not fooling around. Sit, Conor I’ll do this, make sure she’s ok.”
My uncle stood up uneasily, his legs stiff and wobbly. Moving away from the chair I yelled as he collapsed onto the floor, onto all fours. His plaster cast clucked as it thudded the worn floor boards, what the hell was he doing?
“What the shit are you doing? You’ve actually gone mad!” and then looking at Conor, “Did you put him up to this?”
“Ethan, this is too much too soon. We need another way, you know the repercussions of moving too fast,” Conor’s voice was loud now, commanding.
“If there was another way, I’d choose it, but we’re nearly out of time and she does need to know. Better from me.”
Conor gently placed his hand on my shoulder again, his voice soft and low, “Emma, the wolf you saw, tell us more. Were you afraid?”
“No,” as I said this they both nodded.
Ethan returned to his seat, hobbling and brushed off Conor’s offer of help.
“Face to face with a wolf, on your own and not afraid.” My uncle’s eyes twinkled in the low-lit room and a smile wrapped across his face.
“What else?” Conor asked.
I shuffled around and grabbed my cup, lifting my legs again. For now at least, I felt calmer, relaxed and warmth burned gently through me. It was like when I was a child and Ethan would tell me stories of the secret wolves that lived in woods but they harmed no one.
Taking a deep breath, I told them. “It was like I could hear his heart beating, as I looked into his eyes I felt no fear. I thought I was tense after it left, I hadn’t thought it was real. But the ground beneath my feet was soft, connected. I have always felt at one with the forest.” I gazed back into the fire remembering that and wanted to catch that feeling of connection, of warmth in my belly, my heart stirred again.
“His eyes though,” and here I laughed a little, “incredulous as it sounds, his eyes seemed red.”
Conor pulled a chair over so that we three sat in a semi-circle around the fire.
To break the silence I asked, “So what happened? The fall, how did it happen?”
Ethan stretched out his creaky leg and sighed, looking at me and then to Conor.
“Well Em, that’s where it gets a bit... strange.”
“What’s the connection with wolves, I know there is one now!”
“That goes back a long time, so I’ll start at the beginning as I know it.” Pausing, he sighed, “Our family originates from a village near what’s now known as Hinterzarten in the Black Forest. Our ancestor, a young man was out hunting for food during a harsh and brutal winter. He was on his own as most of the village were ravaged with starvation. Wandering through that immense forest, trees towering high into the sky, and as he climbed the twisty sloping paths, he was taken unawares and attacked by a huge wolf. Managing to get back to the village, he had been bitten and was treated with wolfsbane and verbena to try and keep the curse at bay.
Whilst laying there sweating, infection started and he fell in and out of consciousness and was reported to have horrifying nightmares. But this was in the twelfth-century and people then lived in fear of superstition. As days passed, he slowly recovered and was stronger than ever and went in search of the wolf, hoping to find him alive, but the wolf was dead. From then on, he knew he was doomed, for whilst he slept, ill and injured, the spirit of the wolf had entered him.
He lied to the villagers that the wolf lived, but he lived in fear of persecution he left one night and trekked across the Black Forest alone, a wandering traveller.
In another village he met and fell in love with a woman but was afraid to tell her in case she found out about his curse, but over time they came to know each other, she was smitten and eventually he plucked up the courage to walk with her.
On a full moon whilst living on the outskirts of the tiny village, he found himself drawn to the wild Hells hills and tightly packed trees and ran and ran through the forest. Staying out of sight of th
e Witches Towers where common folk took turns keeping sentry over the village, he paced through the winding trail where he ventured ever deeper into the forest. Fear gripped his body, rigid as he heard another close by, his sense of smell acute and sweat pouring from him. Creeping slowly forward, he saw the person and watched in horror and panic as the woman he loved transformed into a beast, and the beast you guessed was a wolf.
This triggered his change as his body shot forwards and turned into a wolf.
The village was actually a sanctuary for all were-creatures, but our lineage is the wolf. And that is why you heard the beating of the heart of that majestic creature and why, Emma, you were not afraid. The wolf you saw was Conor.”
I couldn’t help it, he told the story so well and I spluttered out a laugh, wiping my eyes! Oh God, my uncle was always good at telling stories but when neither of them laughed or moved I knew Ethan believed what he told me as true. I couldn’t look at either of them and instead stared at the flames which were smaller now, flickering less. I wanted to be at home, truthfully, I wanted to be at home with Conor-but that was presumptions. And mad. Knowing Ethan trusted him put him higher on my list of men with integrity but if he thought he was a wolf, well that’s a whole new level of...I have no words!
So, I didn’t say anything I just stared into the flames.
“Hot chocolate?” Conor asked me.
Almost flinching from my daydreams, I nodded and as he left the room Ethan leaned forward.
“I know it seems incredulous, and it’s a lot of strange to take in, but it is true.”
I cocked my eyebrows at him, “Seriously? You expect me to believe that? It’s not incredulous uncle, it’s ridiculous. Humans always want to be special, me, I’d be happy with a normal life. Now I respect you more than any man, but whatever they gave you in hospital was clearly pretty strong! And why is he playing along, oh...” It was then I wondered if Ethan was suffering from a kind of dementia and Conor was in fact pacifying him out of kindness. Before he could answer, I jumped up out of my chair, “I’ll go give him a hand.”
