Captured Moonlight

by Erin Kelly

Before he could say anything to protest this injustice, something caught his attention. A low, anguished moan came from nearby. It sounded like a creature was caught somewhere and in pain. Korban turned and headed toward the sound. The trees and brush gave way to a familiar clearing, and an even more familiar large, rectangular hole carved into the ground. The wolf pit he’d fallen victim to, where this nightmare had all started. In the bright morning light the clearing seemed peaceful, except for that gaping maw of the trap and the pained cries coming from within it.

  Was this his fate, to relive this hell for eternity? His throat tightened as he cautiously stepped over to the edge of the pit, and peered down inside. Down in the dark depths a naked stranger with a mop of shaggy, red hair and blue eyes lay twisted in a broken net, moaning as he tried to stand up. In the same warm sunlight Korban could see now that the man’s leg was broken and twisted beneath him, obscenely healed in all the wrong ways from the fall in this wolf trap. He watched on in horror as the man- a wounded werewolf- tried to break his own leg to set it right again.

  “Well, well, well… what have we here?” Davey’s voice came from behind him, and Korban froze in his tracks.

  Even in death it seemed he hadn’t escaped this monster.

  14: WITNESS

  Korban gasped and stepped back from the pit as Davey leered at him, but then moved past him as if he were an unseen ghost and peered down into the wolf pit. “Nasty business, these old wolf pits. Are you all right down there?” Davey called down into the trap with that same amusement reflected in that twisted grin.

  “Thank God!” The stranger in the pit sobbed in relief. “Please, please help me. Help me out. Please!”

  Davey tilted his head as curiosity filled his eyes. His eyes! Korban realized that they were still a bright blue. Not the unearthly yellow that he was accustomed to now. Korban wondered how this was possible and he came to terms with all that he had seen so far. Somehow he was now a silent witness to another piece of Davey’s past, instead of battling him in the present within the prison he’d created. Stunned and in awe, he watched as the scene before him unfolded.

  “No problem, my friend. Though you really should be more careful out here. You know there are all sorts of strange beasts this far in the forest. Bears, wolves… some even say cannibals live out here, did you know that?” He chuckled at the joke, licked his lips and gazed down at the trapped man. “I’ve seen a lot of strange things in my time living out here… but this definitely tops it all! What a lucky day to be alive.”

  The stranger nervously laughed, not seeming to grasp the dire situation he was in. Of course, Korban hadn’t understood either how devastating it was to be caught in Davey’s wolf trap either when he woke up in it. “Ha, yeah, it’s funny how things… end up this way… so, can you help me out, buddy? I need help to set my leg and then I can be on my way. I won’t be any bother at all.”

  Every word that came out of this man was tinged with pain, but it didn’t seem to faze Davey. “Of course you won’t be a bother! You’re my guest!” Davey laughed again and the cold sound seemed to mock real laughter as he crouched down near the edge of the wolf pit. “What kind of man would I be, if I didn’t take care of my guests?” He stood back up and gave the man a cheerful smile. “I’ll just grab some rope and help you out of there.”

  “Bless you, thank God you’re here!” The pained man in the wolf pit’s voice filled with such relief that Korban felt a pang of pain in his heart.

  Korban watched as Davey whistled a happy tune that was vaguely familiar and strode over to his ATV which was parked nearby. He opened up the seat and began to shuffle around inside of it, and retrieved a brown burlap bag. He opened up the sack and pulled out a small axe that glinted in the sunlight. Still whistling to himself, he pulled out a long coil of rope, which had metal hooks attached to each end. He turned around and whistled as he headed back toward the pit, axe and rope in his hands. He snapped the hook in place on one of the metal hoops on the edge of the pit and it fit like a missing puzzle piece.

  “No!” Korban shouted, but neither Davey nor the man reacted to his warning. He really was a silent witness here, able to sense and feel everything, including the eagerness that rolled from Davey as he wrapped the rope around his hip, where along his belt Korban noticed a large sheathed knife.

  Korban rushed over to the edge of the pit, and in a desperate move to try and rescue the werewolf inside, he grabbed the side of the wall and lowered himself into the hole. When he let go and let himself fall a few feet down into the trap he still seemed to float, and to his own horror when he rushed over to the fallen werewolf his hands moved right through him. There was nothing he could do, this scene had happened before, and now he was here to watch it all unfold. Some twisted memory of Davey’s, though how this was happening Korban didn’t know. He tried to pinch his arm but his translucent fingers went through his skin. He wasn’t waking up from this nightmare.

  Relief flooded the werewolf’s eyes as Davey lowered himself down with his rope. His heart sped up when he spied the axe, which Davey swung and snapped through the ropes that hung like some obscene spider’s web. “I owe you, so much for this,” the stranger said. “What can I do to repay you? You’ve saved my life.”

  Korban’s heart thundered in his ears and he wished he was back outside of this pit. He wanted to run far away from this obscene moment in time. He didn’t want to see Davey get turned into a werewolf. This stranger didn’t realize just how many lives he ruined by biting into this psychopath.

  Davey only smiled, hooking the axe onto his belt as he bent down and offered a hand up to the wounded werewolf. “You’re awfully optimistic, friend,” Davey’s smile darkened, and in a swift motion his silver blade sliced across the surprised werewolf’s throat.

  Confusion and fresh pain filled the stranger’s eyes as blood poured down his neck, and bubbled from his mouth as he mouthed the word, “Why?”

  “People don’t understand what it’s like to live out here. Meat is meat when it stumbles into one of my traps,” Davey licked the blood that splattered onto his lips and it made Korban’s stomach queasy. “And something tells me your flesh is going to taste extra special.”

  Korban turned away as the werewolf’s blood garbled howl filled the air, thankfully short lived as Davey finished him off. The wet sound of a knife slicing through raw meat brought him to a new level of hell. His nausea returned to full strength when he was unlucky enough to catch a glimpse of Davey as he chewed on a bloody piece of flesh, the excitement and pleasure of it rolling off Davey like strong cologne.

  Davey’s laughter filled the wolf pit and seemed to echo around him, and that weightless feeling returned as the world spun around him again. Korban blinked, tried not to vomit as he found himself once again in the building that held his prison. The sensation of returning to his body was worse than the punch to the gut he’d just endured. Davey was sitting across from him, a cold smile spread across his face as he laughed again. “Korban, you continue to surprise me!”

  Korban rolled onto his hands and knees and lost what little was in his stomach onto the dirt along the floor. He panted, sweat poured down his forehead, and Davey continued to laugh. “What… the hell… was that?” Korban managed to sputter as he coughed and caught his breath.

  “I have no idea, but now I get why you’re so eager to get out of here! You were holding out on me, Korban you rascal! You didn’t tell me you weren’t alone in the forest!”

  Ice suddenly moved in Korban’s veins as he realized that while he was seeing Davey’s past, Davey must have seen his too. Eagerness was reflected in those yellow eyes, the same look he had while he devoured that wounded werewolf. “Sophie, is it? I do look forward to meeting her.”

  “No,” Korban moaned in horror, “leave her out of this!”

  “Surely you miss your lady love, Korban. Not that I blame you. There’s something kind of exotic about banging a billionaire’s wife. And from what I saw, your romantic rendezvous sinc
e you got out here has been pretty hot! I get it now; I’d want to get back to that fine piece of ass too.” Davey taunted him.

  “I won’t let you touch her,” Korban growled.

  Davey only laughed again as he got up on his feet. Korban wanted to hit him, but was afraid of what else he’d see- or worse reveal to him- if he did. If he touched him again, would he return to that nightmare of a memory? His eyes went to the door but Jimmy and Earl had their guns trained on him. He was just as trapped as he had been since he got here, only now it was worse. “Get back into your cage, Korban.”

  There was an unseen power in those words, the feeling of ants crawling over his skin as the suggestion took hold in his mind. He found himself headed back to the cage, too shocked and raw from the vision he’d witnessed, and what was worse, now Davey knew about Sophie. Sophie. He had to fight this, he had to get out and get her safely back home to Syracuse!

  The need to protect her surged through him, strengthened him. He turned to face Davey but the silver bars were suddenly slammed in his face. Too late he regained his senses. Davey smirked on the other side of the bars, that triumphant look on his face. Korban grabbed for him but ended up burning his hands on the silver bars, which caused him to yelp as he fell back.

  “Don’t worry Korban, I’ll take really, really good care of her when I find her,” Davey promised with a leer that made his skin crawl. “Earl and Jimmy… have you checked the traps recently?”

  The two human companions exchanged a glance. “No, Davey… we haven’t reset the traps yet. We were gonna do it this weekend.”

  “I think you better go get on that pronto boys! We have one foxy werewolf running through the forest, and it would be a shame if we miss out on meeting her because we kept things on the old schedule,” Davey rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Of course, you’ll be a tough act to follow Korban, but I think I can find ways to convince Sophie that I’m worth it too.”

  Korban lunged again at the bars, but stopped himself before he touched the silver again. The burns were still healing along his skin, and he couldn’t contain his rage. “I swear, I will kill you if you hurt her Davey,” he seethed.

  “You see Korban? I told you,” Davey leaned in, not bothered since he was on the other side of those silver bars. “All men at their core want to fight in the end. I just had to find what moves you. And soon enough… you’ll have every reason to give me what I want.”

  He stepped back and glared at Jimmy and Earl, who still stood there. “What part of pronto don’t you understand? Get out there and don’t come back until you have those wolf pits reset! If you’re lucky enough to catch her, bring her here to me. Though I think maybe I’ll need to ah, freshen up for a fine lady like her.”

  Korban growled, his fists clenched at his sides, but he is utterly helpless as long as Davey had the upper hand. What was worse, the cannibal werewolf knew it. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction if he could help it, though he began to pace in his cage as Davey headed for the door, his two human minions already headed out to set their traps again.

  As he paced and tried to chase away the memories of what he’d witnessed in Davey’s past, one thought gave him renewed hope despite the situation going from bad to worse. If there was one thing he could count on, it was as clever as Davey thought he was, there was no way he could fathom just how intelligent Sophie was. If anyone could outsmart that psychopath, it was his Mate.

  ~*~

  Waiting and watching was not what she wanted to do, and every muscle and bone in her itched as she remained hidden in the brush. It wasn’t only her wolf she fought against now, but every instinct she had wanted her to keep moving, to keep searching. At least if she moved, it felt like she was doing something that would help find Korban. Sitting here and doing nothing felt like she was going nowhere, and as the hours crept by it only felt more and more like wasted time. She began to question her own plan and was about to protest it herself when she heard it, faint at first, but that distinct rumble of gears brought a cacophony of manmade noise that disrupted the forest song that remained constant around them. An engine to some vehicle, that was distant at first, but the rumble of metal grew louder as it approached, echoed by a second one as they moved closer in their direction.

  She exchanged a glance with Geri, who nodded silently, and the two of them took deeper cover. They kept a close watch as two vehicles approached the clearing- both ATVs with deep treaded wheels rolled into the clearing with two very different men riding on them. Sophie tensed and suppressed a growl. The muscle-bound man who drove into the clearing first turned the key and shut down the engine to his while the thinner, lanky man hopped off his camouflage four-wheeler and walked over to the empty wolf pit. He peered down it and sighed, “No, she ain’t in this one.”

  “Damn shame, I ain’t never seen a female werewolf before,” the larger man spat on the ground, stood up and stretched. “I guess we’ll be seein’ one soon though, won’t we?”

  Sophie frowned and goosebumps broke out on her skin. She had the distinct impression these two men were talking about her. Of course, if they knew who she was… was it because they had Korban?

  She clawed her fingers into the trunk of the tree in front of her to keep herself from attacking the two men then and there. If they did have Korban captive, what was the purpose of it? The one man seemed vaguely militaristic in the way he carried himself, but the pair didn’t seem to be secret agents. They came across as more a couple of backwoods hillbillies than men in black who worked for the government, as Odin had predicted.

  The thin man pulled out a fresh steak from his back pack and tossed the red, bloody meat down into the center of the pit. It landed with an obscene, wet plop. Something about the scent of raw meat was familiar, venison by what her wolf recalled, but there was something else in it that seemed to draw her attention more, until one of the men’s words shook her from the distracting temptation. “If we’re lucky it’ll be sooner rather than later. You know how impatient Davey gets,” the thinner man looked around nervously, then gestured to the rolled up materials on the back of his four-wheeler. “Let’s get this one set and then go do the other. I don’t like bein’ out here when the sun goes down.”

  “What’s the matter? Afraid of a little she-wolf?” The larger man joked as he went over and pulled the rolled up bundles up into his strong arms. He carried them over to the edge of the pit without breaking a sweat before he added, “She won’t be any different than the other beasts Davey collected. She’ll just have a much prettier package when it ain’t a full moon, and it won’t be a total sausage fest anymore.”

  The skinny man laughed at that, and with his partner’s help they unrolled the bundles which revealed to hold a net with thin silvery chains wrapped around a series of very long, thin sticks. They moved to each side of the wolf pit and spread the net like a blanket over the opening, and bent down to attach the heavier rings to the hooks that lined the pit. Next they carefully set each stick across the trap, until the trap was covered with the twigs. The thinner, younger looking man walked back over to the vehicles and took a couple of the large trash bags off the side, tossing one over to the larger man, who easily caught it. They began to sprinkle dead leaves and cut blades of grass over the sticks, carefully coating the edges so the trap blended in with the ground once again.

  Their conversation moved on to mundane things, such as the next race and sports event coming up. Sophie watched as they worked, so casually filling in this trap which would so easily claim its next victim if left unchecked. They acted as if this was completely normal, that it was just another day at the office. It made her blood boil how they treated this like it was nothing, when it had caused her and Valkyrie’s pack so much suffering.

  Geri kept glancing from her to the men, his jaw squared and a serious expression set on his face. He wasn’t happy about this either, but he seemed to be torn about going after those two men as they set their trap.

  When they were finally satisfied with the
ir camouflage work and the wolf pit was barely visible once more, the two gathered up what remained of their supplies and then revved up their four wheelers before they drove off again into the forest. As soon as the two were out of earshot, Geri turned to Sophie again. “We follow, we don’t attack. We need to make sure we find out where these guys are camped out. No matter what happens, we need to stick to the plan. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Sophie repeated and then they started after the couple of four-wheelers.

  They kept their distance as they followed the broken branches and loud engine that were left in the wake of the two ATVs. Even when they lost the tire tracks due to dry ground or rocky terrain, they could easily track the scents of the two men, or the gasoline and exhaust from the vehicles. When the engines cut out again and silence erupted once more in the forest they slowed their pace, careful not to alert the two men that they were being followed. They reached the edge of the next clearing and cautiously peered out, finding them setting the net and sticks across the wolf pit there.

  Waiting for them to finish as they reset the trap was somehow worse than waiting around for nothing. So close, and yet so far again.

  Sophie began to chew on a fingernail, something she hadn’t done since she was in middle school. Her mother wasn’t there to reprimand her now, but her voice was a faint echo in her memory. Her heart sank as she wondered if she would ever see her mother again, but she didn’t let the thought go long. She had to stay focused, had to track these men and see where they were keeping Korban and Hati. The way these men set the traps without a care, who knew how many others they had? Though she questioned how two human men could do this, especially when they didn’t seem all that bright. They had mentioned a Davey, was he their leader? She strained to listen in on their conversation on the other side of the clearing, wishing the full moon was closer so she could hear with ease.

  “I hate when we get sent out before we even had breakfast,” the muscular one complained as he sprinkled leaves over the loosely set sticks that now lined the wolf pit. “It’s almost lunch time and I’m so hungry I could eat the bait.”