Willow (Blood Vine Series)

by Amy Richie

  Not bothering with shoes, I stepped outside the cabin door. I listened intently with my human ears, but I couldn’t hear anything except the usual sounds of a forest at night. Crickets chirped, an owl hooted somewhere nearby. A slight breeze had picked up, causing the leaves to flutter against each other. I tried to let the sounds soothe me. Everything had to be ok, otherwise Gage would have come to tell me. Another howl sounded, bringing heat to my spine. The sound was far away, too far for two legs.

  I dropped to all fours, a growl already forming. “Who is that?” I demanded. I knew they could hear me no matter how far away they were. I felt the excitement in the air, the hunt. A gun fired, followed by a yelp. “Where are you?” I demanded again. I heard them running then, their legs carrying them to me in quick long strides.

  Waving my head back and forth in an agitated manner, I lunged forward in a burst of speed. I met the pack four miles from the cabin. Gage was first, followed by five others. Five not six. My chest tightened. “Who’s missing?”

  A dark brown wolf stepped forward and morphed back into Rueben. “It’s Jed. He was shot.”

  I growled loudly, making the others crouch away. “What happened?”

  “We were hunting and came upon a man with a gun. He saw us so Jed attacked, but he shot him.” Rueben’s words all rushed together. He morphed back to his wolf form as soon as the last word fell out.

  “Why the hell would you attack a human?” Rueben dropped to his belly and tried to push his head under my chin. It was the first time any of them had seen me as a wolf. I snapped violently at Rueben and he flinched back with the others. “What were you thinking?” I paced back and forth. “Take me to Jed.”

  Gage was the first one to bolt through the trees. I followed close at his heels, my heart racing the entire time.

  Jed, in his human form, was surrounded by people by the time we got to him so we had to stay hidden. “They were wolves,” a man wearing camouflage was saying, “but they weren’t like normal wolves. They were different.”

  “Did they attack you, son?” a police officer asked Jed. He just groaned in response. The muscles along my neck tensed, he was hurt.

  “Look at his clothes. It sure looks like he was attacked.”

  “The only injury I see is where you shot him.”

  “I scared them away.” The man swallowed nervously and peered out into the darkness.

  “Gage, you’re the only one who can morph with your clothes intact. You have to go get him.” I stared into Gage’s wide grey eyes, pleading for him to go rescue Jed. If they took him to the hospital they would see how fast he healed.

  Before I had time to fully blink, Gage was back on two legs. “You should have hunted with them tonight,” he accused. “Get them out of here.”

  With a final look at where Jed lay, I led the pack back towards the cabin. I saw a flash of black fur as Gage turned back to his wolf self. What was he doing? My steps faltered when I heard more gunshots and screaming. Tyson whined and pranced backwards. “Come on,” I commanded softly. We stopped at the small stream and lay down to wait for Gage.

  Gage was right, I should have hunted with the pack. They might seem in control, but they were still very young to this life. It was hard for them to avoid humans, to be able to catch their scent on the air. Guilt gnawed at my insides. This was all my fault. Why didn’t I just hunt with them? Because I didn’t want to morph and then have to morph back with shredded clothes. I was young, too. This just wasn’t fair.

  My bout of self-pity was interrupted by a rustling in a nearby bush. Rueben was on his feet first, the hair on his neck standing straight out. I stepped in front of him with my head bent low to the ground. I was relieved to see the black form of Gage emerge. In the next instant that relief turned to dread. Jed was not with him.

  “Where’s Jed?”

  Gage lifted his head towards the sky and yelped twice. His whole body shook with tension. I took a step forward. Gage let out another yelp and took off through the trees. With only a little hesitation, I ran after him.

  He led us all back to the cabin. He watched me expectantly, willing me with those grey eyes to morph back to human and go inside to check on Jed. I couldn’t though, not with everyone watching me. I had changed to my wolf self in my night clothes. I’d be lucky if there were even shreds of the thin material left. Jed may need me though. He might have been lying on the couch dying. I took two steps toward the door, whining deep in my throat. “Jed?”

  One of the boys knelt below me and pushed his head under my chin. He made a forlorn noise. “It’s ok,” I told him gently. I took a deep breath and gathered the heat in my spine. Just as I figured, I had an embarrassing amount of flesh showing. I blushed beet red and wrapped my arm over my chest. “You guys stay out here for a minute,” I called over my shoulder.

  I intended to go straight to my room to get some clothes on before I saw Jed, or rather before Jed saw me, but the sight of him lying sprawled out and so still on the couch changed my mind. I rushed to his side and fell to my knees. “Jed?” My mouth felt too dry to manage much more than a croak. “Jed? Are you ok?” He moaned softly, which excited me much more than it should have. At least he wasn’t dead. “Hey.” I brushed the hair back from his forehead. There was so much blood on his shirt that I was afraid to touch him anywhere else.

  “Hey.” He opened his eyes and coughed weakly.

  “Oh Jed, you’re alive!” I flung my arms across his chest.

  “Ow.” He winced away from my onslaught.

  I pulled back, immediately contrite. “Sorry.”

  “It’s ok,” he grinned, “I heal quickly.”

  “I’m really sorry Jed.”

  “I’m fine. It’s just a little gunshot wound. You didn’t really hurt me,” he tried to sit up but I pushed him back down.

  “I don’t mean for pouncing on you,” I glanced down at his chest, which was almost as bare as mine. “I mean I’m sorry for not going hunting with you guys. I should have been there, then maybe you wouldn’t have … ”

  “Nah, it’s better you weren’t there. Then you might have been the one shot. That would have been way worse.” He grimaced, but I wasn’t sure it was from the thought of me being shot or from the pain.

  “We would have never run into hunters,” I denied. A tear snaked its way down my face.

  “Hey.” He wiped the tear away, looking horrified by my female emotions. I chuckled lightly at his expression. “But I do have some really bad news.” Jed did such a sincere sad face that I instantly fell for it.

  “What?”

  “I was attacked by a werewolf. I think it killed me.”

  “That is bad,” I mimicked his sad tone.

  “Tragic even.”

  “Huh.”

  “They might even put on an assembly for me at school.”

  “You think so?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll have to find a new boyfriend.” His eyes narrowed. “It’ll be really hard on me.”

  “Maybe if you wear that outfit to school,” his eyes trailed purposefully down to my chest, “maybe it won’t be so hard.”

  “Jed!” I flung my arm protectively over my chest, embarrassed beyond belief but relieved that he was okay. I smacked his arm before sprinting the short distance to my room. I heard the front door open as I slammed my bedroom door.

  “Hey, man, glad you’re not dead,” Rodney’s voice was entirely too loud for our small cabin. I smiled and shook my head.

  Outside my window the black wolf sat staring at me with his accusing grey eyes. “Yeah I know,” I whispered, “I messed up.” I snapped the curtains shut.

  Chapter Nine

  The In Crowd

  “Carlie’s hair smells like strawberries,” I told Rueben the next morning. His angular frame was leaning against the locker next to mine.

  “I know,” he grinned, “she uses some pink crap on it.”

  Carlie had hugged me so many times that morning that I had lost count, a
nd it was only third period. “It’s nice.”

  “Maybe you should use it.”

  “Are you saying my hair stinks?” I slammed my locker and punched it like Jed had showed me. It latched shut.

  “Most girls can’t punch that hard,” he commented absently. He fell into step beside me. “And no, I don’t think your hair stinks.”

  I smiled wide, but then remembered I was supposed to be grieving Jed’s death. “Jed will be happy to know how much he is missed here.”

  “Hey,” Colby came up behind us.

  “Hey Colby.”

  “Guess Jed was right.”

  “About what?”

  “Assembly today after seventh.”

  I groaned inwardly. Now I’d have to endure that many more hugs. “I’m going to skip it. I’m suddenly not feeling well. Overcome by grief, you know.”

  Colby jabbed my back playfully. “No way. You’re going to be there.”

  I jumped away from him, nearly colliding with Steven. “You should be more upset,” he said in his calm voice. Steven always managed to sound bored with life. His pale brown eyes stared intently at me through his coke bottle glasses.

  “I am upset.” I lowered my voice to a near whisper. “This is so ridiculous.”

  “We should just move,” Rueben suggested again. They had tried to talk me into it last night but I had refused. This would be a good lesson for the boys on staying invisible. When I caught the eyes of a grief stricken Carlie down the hall I had to wonder if maybe moving was the best option.

  “Incoming,” I muttered under my breath. Steven quickly faded into the shadows and Colby fell back into a different crowd. Only Rueben and I were standing there when Carlie reached us.

  “Oh, Willow,” she moaned, throwing her arms around my neck. “You must be so heartbroken.”

  The scent of strawberries invaded my nostrils. “I am.” I tried to sound convincing.

  She pulled herself away from me. “Will you still be able to do try-outs next week?”

  “What?”

  “I’m sure Coach Clinger would understand if you’re not up to it for a few days.”

  “Oh yeah, I’ll have to … ”

  “Carlie!” Aubrey and Lindsey, Carlie’s two right hands, came rushing towards us. Lindsey’s straight blonde hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and her hazel eyes were widened. “Did you hear about the assembly today?”

  “What assembly?”

  “After seventh,” Rueben answered smoothly. “I’m sure it’s for Jed.” He hung his head low. I couldn’t say anything with my tongue pressed into my cheek.

  “Oh, poor Rueben,” Aubrey cooed. Her bronze colored skin always looked like she had just gotten out of the shower and her thick black hair was also pulled into a ponytail.

  “It’s so tragic,” Carlie’s bright green eyes were filled with an emotion I couldn’t place. Like she was scared but also strangely excited.

  “I guess there were other people with him,” Aubrey added.

  “But they all got away.”

  “What I don’t understand,” Carlie stated in a low voice, “is why these people didn’t go to the police.”

  “Maybe they were injured.”

  “They searched the woods.”

  I glanced at Rueben, who kept his head down during the entire exchange. “They didn’t find anyone,” I offered.

  “Well, you know what I heard?” Carlie leaned closer as if she were going to tell us a great secret. I couldn’t help but lean in towards her to catch what she heard. “I heard they were werewolves.”

  One of the girls gasped, I didn’t think it was me. “You believe in werewolves?” Rueben asked with a scowl. He was much better at being normal than I was. And I’d had so much more practice than him.

  “My dad heard it straight from Mr. Helmer. He said they weren’t regular wolves. There was a whole pack of them and,” she held her finger in the air, “Jed was one of them.”

  A hysterical sound came from my throat as all the air left my lungs. “He … he said that?”

  “Oh come on, you can’t believe what he says,” Rueben exclaimed. “Everyone knows that eighty percent of the time Jonas Helmer is drunk and the other twenty he’s passed out.” Aubrey shared a knowing grin with Rueben, which enraged Carlie. Red splotches appeared on her cheekbones.

  “All I know is that he shot a wolf and it turned into Jed.”

  “I can’t believe you actually put any stock in Jonas’s crazy stories.” Rueben managed to look disgusted. All I could do was try not to hyperventilate. We would have to move now for sure.

  “I didn’t say I believed it,” Carlie crossed her arms tightly over her chest, “I’m just saying what I heard.”

  “Wow.” Rueben raised one eyebrow and shook his head sadly.

  Aubrey and Lindsey giggled with their hands over their mouths and quickly took off down the hall. “You coming to class?” Carlie asked Rueben.

  “I’m walking Willow to her class first. I’ll see you around.” She glared at me before stomping away.

  “We are going to have to move,” I moaned when Rueben and I were alone.

  “No we won’t.” He grinned wickedly as if he were enjoying the tension. “Don’t you know anything about high school, Willow?”

  “I’ve been to plenty of high schools,” I countered, “and in my experience everyone listens to girls like Carlie. Their word is like high school law.”

  “We shall see.”

  

  By lunch, Rueben was proved right. It seemed the entire school was no longer talking about the death of Jed. Instead, they had turned to talking about the fact that Carlie Morgan thought werewolves attacked him. It amazed me that one boy with a cute smile could change the hierarchy of high school.

  Carlie didn’t come to the cafeteria for lunch. As soon as I entered the room, Lindsey and Aubrey bombarded me. “You’ll never guess what we heard,” Lindsey gushed.

  They guided me to an empty table. “What?”

  “Rueben and Carlie broke up.”

  “What?” I twisted the cap off the bottle of Snapple I had bought for lunch. I couldn’t be trusted to eat in large groups.

  “Right before lunch.”

  “He dumped her.”

  “For being insensitive.”

  “To you.”

  My throat closed up mid-gulp. To me? Rueben walked by then, grinning like a Cheshire cat. He winked at me as he passed by. I was sure that no one noticed.

  “Did you see that?” Aubrey squealed.

  “He winked at you.”

  “I would make my move if I were you.”

  “I hardly think under the circumstances that would be appropriate,” I stammered.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You only dated Jed for one day.”

  “It’s not your fault he was attacked by a bear.”

  “A wolf.”

  “Whatever.”

  “The point is … ”

  “You don’t owe him your whole high school career.”

  My head felt numb from listening to the two of them. One thing was for sure, though, high school boys had nothing on the girls. Not a thing.

  “We’re going shopping today after school,” Aubrey announced.

  “You need new clothes.”

  I looked down at what I was wearing, suddenly wondering if I had remembered to put on clean clothes that morning. My faded blue jeans and plain grey t-shirt seemed fine to me. “Shopping?”

  “Rueben told us you were staying with your uncle.” My lips pulled down at the corners over that piece of news. He shouldn’t know so much about me.

  “He won’t care if you go shopping with us, will he?”

  “Rueben? Why would he care?”

  Lindsey laughed loudly. “No, not Rueben. Your uncle.”

  “Looks like you got Rueben on the brain,” Aubrey chuckled.

  I blushed and pushed my hair back. “Gage won’t care if I go,” I mumbled.

>   “Yay,” they squealed in unison.

  I thought guiltily of the credit card I had shoved in the front pocket of my school bag. Blake had said to use it for whatever I needed. I was seventeen, I needed new clothes. I smiled brightly at my new found friends.

  Just like that, Carlie was out and I was in. It happened without any effort on my part, so naturally that I hardly noticed what had happened. Aubrey and Lindsey held my hands tightly during the assembly, where principal Mayse warned us all not to walk alone in the woods. Rueben and his friends sat directly behind us. I didn’t see Carlie anywhere.

  Rueben met me by my locker after school but I had to decline his offer to drive me home. I waved the credit card in the air. “I’m going shopping,” I announced.

  “Shopping, wow. How very girly of you.”

  I shrugged nonchalantly. “They want to give me a makeover.”

  “I like how you look.”

  “Yeah well, you’re not a cheerleader.” I slammed my locker shut with a huge grin. “Although, you could probably pull off the skirt.”

  “And make it look cool.” We both laughed.

  “Why do they listen to everything you say?”

  “Most of them don’t have an opinion of their own.” He held his hand out for my bulging bag. “They just like to think they do.” I surrendered the bag even though I could have easily carried it. “I’ll see you at home,” he winked.

  “Don’t hunt without me.”

  “We learned our lesson.”

  “Rueben,” I warned in a teasing voice, “you heard what principal Mayse said. Stay out of the woods.”

  “He only said not to go alone.”

  “Wait for me.”

  He rolled his eyes but consented. “All right.” His lips brushed lightly over mine and then he was gone.

  “Did he just kiss you?” Aubrey squealed, coming from behind me.

  Were they stalking me now? “I guess so.” I caught my bottom lip between my teeth. “Ready?”

  “Why don’t you follow me to my house so you can leave your car there,” Lindsey suggested. I quickly agreed.

  On the short drive to the mall, which was in the next town over, Lindsey kept her music too loud to allow any conversation. I tried to mimic the way she bobbed her head to the music, but I was pretty sure I didn’t look as good.