by Brent Miller
“You find me attractive?” Cailean asked. Brooke glanced at Cailean’s chest and then admired his arms. Cailean felt his muscles tense in response to her gaze and his arms seemed to grow larger as if to impress her.
Cailean stepped toward her and the pins grew to blades, stabbing his body painfully. With as much confidence as he could muster, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her toward him. Their faces inches apart, Cailean gazed into her eyes for a moment. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he felt her skin against his. The discomfort in his body grew into agony, and he wondered if this was what people meant when they talked about how love made someone feel.
For a reason he couldn’t quite understand, Cailean felt a growing urge to be closer to her. Hoping drawing nearer would kill the butterflies in his stomach, he stepped toward her, moving his face within inches of her. His father’s words echoed through his mind, though, and he reluctantly stopped himself from pressing his lips against hers. If he could only love once, he had to be careful with his decision, and he knew he couldn’t make it based on the feelings flooding through his mind. Fighting the urge only twisted his stomach into knots, though, worsening the pain. With a sudden gasp, Cailean stumbled backward.
“Are you alright?” She asked.
“Yeah,” he shrugged. “I think I just stepped on something.”
Trying to catch his breath, Cailean peered into the water beneath him. Searching for whatever had caused the pain, he tried to see past the surface of the river, but all he could see was his own reflection in the moving water. In the bright moonlight, his eyes seemed to adopt an entirely new color – glowing a bright golden-yellow.
Chapter 8
Six Years Ago
Aldric
“Thanks for coming!” James greeted, opening the door seconds after Aldric knocked. Cailean stood next to Aldric, holding the gift he’d insisted on carrying. Linda stood on his other side, firmly holding his hand. Aldric wondered if his relatively relaxed attitude concerning Cailean or Linda’s overprotection was normal. Every time he crossed the street, she insisted on holding his hand just in case. To Aldric, it didn’t seem particularly problematic for the boy to walk on his own. The worst case scenario was that he got hit by a car and Aldric had to come up with some explanation for how he wasn’t hurt.
Of course, as the door opened and Cailean rushed inside, Aldric and Linda switched roles in an instant. Linda relaxed, allowing Cailean to go search for his friends, but Aldric cautiously tried to peer around James, unwilling to take his eyes off of his son. While they had known most of the neighbors for years, Aldric couldn’t shake the fear that there were hunters hiding amongst them. When it came to hunters, Aldric was very concerned for his son’s safety. A hunter could actually cause permanent harm and therefore was a significant threat.
“Of course,” Aldric replied, attempting to sound as friendly as possible. Every instinct warned him to be overly cautious, but he forced himself to relax, at least slightly. Even in the relatively unlikely event that James and Bree were hunters, it would require either extreme confidence or stupidity to attack him at their daughter’s birthday party.
As Aldric crossed the threshold, he was surprised to see only Cailean and Samantha playing in the living room. Hesitantly, he stepped further into the room, allowing James to close the door behind him. Although he’d been to that house countless times, something felt particularly wrong about that time, but Aldric couldn’t quite decide what it was.
“First family here. I guess there are benefits to living across the street,” Aldric laughed, carefully concealing his question as a joke.
“Yeah, more people should be coming by soon,” James assured with a nod. “At least, I hope they do. I have a lot of cake for just the six of us.”
Something about his host’s tone made Aldric’s skin crawl. Smiling, he took a step away, turning toward the children and hoping that his avoidance of further conversation wasn’t obvious. In attempt to better understand his situation, Aldric inhaled deeply. Something smelled strange, but he assumed the cake was just some flavor he had never smelled.
“Can I get you both some water?” James offered. Aldric, squatting down next to Cailean, declined the offer absentmindedly.
“What is it, Father?” Cailean asked, turning from his friend.
“What do you mean?” Aldric questioned, concealing the panic in his tone with feigned confusion. His son had always been perceptive, so he should have known that using him as an excuse to turn from the other adults was a bad idea.
“Something is wrong,” Cailean replied firmly.
Aldric hesitated, hoping James would leave soon. The last thing Aldric wanted was to give away his suspicions. Apparently interested in the conversation, though, James lingered over Aldric’s shoulder.
“You know what, I think I’m just thirsty,” Aldric laughed. “Maybe I will have that water after all.”
“Two waters, coming up,” James announced. As he walked away, Cailean looked back toward Aldric, confusion on his face. Moving toward them, Linda placed her hand on Aldric’s shoulder.
“Alright, what’s going on?” Linda whispered.
“I don’t know. We shouldn’t be here,” Aldric told her.
“Why not? It’s fun,” Cailean argued.
“Yeah, don’t make Cailean go home,” Samantha chimed in.
“Who’s going home?” Bree asked with concern as she entered the room from the other direction.
“Unfortunately,” Linda answered, turning to face her friend. “I think Cailean needs a nap. He’s being a bit grumpy.”
“I’m not grumpy,” Cailean whined.
“See?” Linda shrugged.
“Oh, at least stay for cake,” Bree begged, just as the doorbell rang. Holding a finger up to tell them to wait, Bree turned and raced toward the door. Aldric listened as she exchanged pleasantries with new guests, but his nerves weren’t calmed like he had thought they would be. Despite the lack of logic, he could practically smell their intention.
Distracted, Aldric barely noticed as James walked back into the room. Accepting the water, he thanked his neighbor and smiled. Aldric took a drink, hoping hydration would ease the tension in his nerves. Bree, leading another family, walked into the room.
“Aldric, Linda, this is Kieran and his son, Darren,” she explained, introducing everyone. Darren seemed to be quite a bit older than Samantha, so Aldric wondered why he was there. His thoughts grew foggy as he tried to listen to Bree’s introduction, searching for the reason for their presence. The other guests began speaking and shaking hands, but it seemed as though they continually tried to speak more loudly and less intelligibly than the previous person.
“I’m sorry,” Aldric muttered, stumbling toward the hall. “I have a bit of a headache. I’m going to run to the restroom.”
“Do you need medicine?” James offered, but Aldric ignored him. The question left his ears ringing as if he’d screamed directly in Aldric’s ear. Safely down the hallway, Aldric paused as the puzzle fit itself together. Lifting the cup to his nose, he breathed in the scent. Wolfsbane.
The realization dawned on him that he’d smelled it from the moment he entered the house, but it had been so long since he’d been exposed to it that he hadn’t remembered. As the wolf tore at his insides, though, clawing its way out, he recognized the smell far too well. Aldric lurched toward the wall, using it for support as he tried to continue toward the bathroom.
“Are you alright there, Aldric?” James asked tauntingly, appearing at the other end of the hallway.
“At a party?” Aldric spat, turning toward him. “Our families are here.”
“You are a hard man to isolate,” James countered. “And desperate times, right?”
“I’ll kill you – and everyone you love,” Aldric threatened. Turning to face James, he stood tall and bit back the pain.
“If left unchecked,” James nodded. “That’s why I will stop you now.”
James drew a
knife from where it hid tucked into the back of his pants. Adopting a fighting stance and holding the knife between himself and Aldric, he waited for Aldric to start the transformation. Groaning, Aldric shook his head. He knew that if he allowed himself to transform, he’d be vulnerable. Instead, he held back the wolf with all of the strength he could muster.
Charging toward James, he caught the man by surprise. James swung the knife wildly, but Aldric weaved back to avoid the strike. Stepping in, he drove his forearms into James’s arm on either side of the elbow. Grabbing his wrist with one hand, Aldric pulled the other back and pushed it against James’s elbow, breaking the bone out of place. James screamed in pain, but Aldric slammed him forward and pressed his head against the wall, muffling the screams.
“Kill me, then. It won’t stop anything,” James spat.
“The other two,” Aldric realized.
“Darren is in training, but Keiran can end you. Your family passed the test, but he’ll hurt them anyway if it makes you give in. So kill me, you’re just dooming everyone you love.”
“I’ve been told that before,” Aldric growled in his ear. Surprising him, James thrust his other arm backward, plunging a second knife into Aldric’s gut. Turning to face Aldric, James threw a punch with his good arm, connecting with Aldric’s jaw. Using that moment of confusion to his advantage, James dove forward and knocked Aldric to the ground.
Lost in the moment, Aldric felt the wolf pushing its way forward. Despite the fact that the knife was still lodged in his stomach, the beast clawed its way to the surface in attempt to protect its human half. Ceding some control to the animal, Aldric felt pressure in his eyes as the colors faded from his vision. Lifting his head, he bit down on James’s neck, ripping open his vein.
Collapsing to the ground next to Aldric, James futilely covered the wound in his neck. Aldric grasped the hilt of the blade lodged in his ribs and removed it, trying to give the wound time to heal. As it closed, he finally allowed the wolf to take over, unable to control himself any longer.
Through the eyes of the beast, he saw a seven-year-old girl, staring in horror at the sight of her father bleeding on the ground. Bree rushed in front of Samantha, charging the wolf to defend her daughter. Aldric jumped forward, pinning her to the ground and biting into her ribs. As he felt the bones break beneath his teeth, he released her and stepped backward.
Samantha wailed, screaming likely in both terror and sorrow. Aldric inched toward her, but his mind was barely present. Fear filled his mind as he wondered what the wolf would do to the girl. Gently, it pushed its nose against her, forcing her to the ground. Clasping its jaws around her shirt, the wolf lifted the girl into the air. Defeated, she didn’t struggle much – she just hung limply from its jaws. Aldric could feel the wolf’s hunger as it smelled prey, but he fought to convince it to leave her unharmed.
Turning the corner, Aldric found Keiran and Darren, each holding a knife to the throat of one of his family members. Rage flooded the beast’s blood, but Aldric’s mind fought to soothe it. Inching forward, he maintained eye contact with Keiran.
“I’ll kill your son!” Darren threatened.
“No! It will hurt the girl. We don’t want to lose her today too.”
“It will kill her anyway. It’s a monster!”
Keiran released Linda from his grasp, motioning for Darren to do the same for Cailean. Reluctantly, his son obeyed. Linda picked up Cailean and ran, standing behind Aldric. Carefully, Aldric set Samantha on the ground in front of the hunters. After cautiously lifting the baby, Keiran backed away, leaving the Phoenixes on their own. As the effects of the wolfsbane wore off, Aldric felt the pain of the wolf retreating into his body, but his mind never lost consciousness.
Present
Night of the Full Moon
Cailean
“Quit being all pensive,” Brooke teased before jumping onto Cailean’s back, pushing him underwater. Distracted, Cailean didn’t have time to react as he felt her weight bearing down on him. As his head was submerged, Cailean instinctively closed his eyes and held his breath. The water felt far colder as it rushed around his face, and it numbed his muscles. For a brief moment, the pain left his body and Cailean felt weightless as he floated in an empty void.
In an instant, all sensation was returned to him and agony overtook his body. Cailean’s eyes shot open as he tried to see through the water. Beneath him, he saw his own hand, but it was almost unrecognizable. In an attempt to stabilize himself, he had absentmindedly dug his fingers into the mud beneath him. As he released his hold, he saw that his fingernails had grown and become pointed, and hair had begun to grow from the back of his hands.
Cailean spun around, looking above him to see Brooke smiling down at him. Her hair flowed behind her, carried in the river like a majestic wind. Seeming to shine from an internal light, her eyes sparkled as she peered down at him. She smiled and laughed, forcing bubbles from her nose as she saw the surprise in his face, probably assuming it was a response to her attack.
His mind racing, Cailean desperately searched for explanations. He wanted an explanation for Brooke to keep her from thinking he was a monster, but also for himself. Cailean had never experienced anything similar before, but he knew he had to be transforming because there was no other logical explanation. As he finally made that connection, Cailean stopped considering excuses or explanations. If his father was right, he was about to become incredibly dangerous, and all that mattered was getting Brooke out of there – even if she never wanted to see him again.
Cailean reached upward with his human hand and placed it on her sternum. Thrusting his arm upward and diagonally, the threw her from the water. She flew backward, landing on her back as she collided with the riverbank not too far away.
Pushing the dripping hair from his eyes, Cailean stood and caught his breath. Pain exploded from his lungs as the oxygen filled them, expanding them within his chest. Biting back the pain, Cailean looked toward Brooke, who was rubbing her butt, which had probably hit the packed sand first, with a confused and pained expression.
“What was that?” Brooke called out angrily.
“I need you to run, Brooke. As far as you can,” Cailean instructed.
“What?”
“Just do it,” he growled, glaring at her with his golden eyes. His shoulder tensed and the nerves down to his arm tingled. Cailean felt his legs seizing but struggled to stay standing against the current which fought to bring him under.
Brooke stood as the pain in her eyes was replaced with concern. Cailean held a hand toward her in attempt to force her to stand back. Thrusting his arm forward, he felt his shoulder dislodge from its socket. Though he attempted to accompany the action with an order, no words escaped his mouth as his vocal cords broke.
Unable to bear the pain, Cailean finally collapsed and succumbed to the current. Falling to his knees, he felt the water encompass him once again. The hand he’d shown to Brooke was beginning to change shape as well, and he watched as the fingers broke and cracked, shrinking back as the palm extended.
Lifting his head, Cailean saw two smooth, radiant legs as they were submerged in the shallow water near him. Brooke cautiously approached him, displacing water as she stepped toward his broken body. Cailean heard a loud crack and pain shot through his back. Stifling a scream to avoid allowing water to flood his lungs, Cailean bit his lip until it bled.
Brooke’s legs moved steadily closer to him as he dug his hands into the mud below. The ground appeared to grow closer as Cailean’s arms caved in. the bones in his forearms broke and dissolved, shrinking his arms down slightly as they reformed without the joint of his elbow. The current felt more powerful as Cailean’s legs shattered and his knees were no longer able to support him.
Brooke’s hips crossed the water as she drew closer to him. Cailean could hear her calling his name, but nothing within him had the strength or ability to respond. All he wanted was to tell her to run before he hurt her but warning her became an impossibility. Th
e current pressed hard against him, forcing him to dig his paws further into the mud beneath him. One last option forced itself into Cailean’s mind as her toes neared the tips of his claws. Her hands pushed through the water as she moved, and her torso was easily within his reach. Mustering all of the strength he could manage, Cailean pulled his hands upward, thrusting a good amount of mud into the waves and obstructing Brooke’s view. With no weight holding him to the ground, Cailean felt the current sweep him away, and he watched as Brooke’s legs grew further from him with each passing second.
Agony overwhelmed Cailean as he felt more of his bones shatter and nerves reconnect. When he collided with a large rock protruding from the ground, Cailean’s motion stopped and he instinctively let out a yelp. The water rushed into his mouth as he panicked. Aside from the slight soreness from the impact with the rock, the pain slowly faded from his body.
Brooke moved toward him again, much more quickly this time, and Cailean tried to flee from her. As he tried to move his arms, though, he felt no motion. Regardless of how much effort he expended, none of his muscles would respond to his commands. Brooke grew closer and the bottom of her chest was submerged as the river grew deeper. Cailean struggled to move, pleading with himself to get away before he hurt her, but he found himself stuck against the rock. She grew closer, propelling herself forward with her arms and kicking as she switched from walking to swimming. Finally, Cailean was dislodged by the current, and he felt his body being pulled to the side. Just as he was beginning to float away, though, Brooke’s arm lurched forward, wrapping around him. She pulled him close, planting her feet into the wet mud as she turned and struggled against the current.
“It’s going to be okay,” she assured him, taking another step and lifting him above water. Cailean coughed, spitting up liquid as he struggled to breathe. She continued walking, holding him close to her chest as she forced her way to the riverbank. Cailean heard the rapid thumping of her heart as she exerted herself by carrying him from the waves.
