“Help me? How?” Rylie asked.
“Join me. We can bring the werewolf population back to power if we work together. I know you’ve been spending time with the boy who has hunted me all summer—that Seth you mentioned. I only realized he had found you a few days ago.”
“He’s been helping me.”
“Don’t be confused. Those hunters are ruthless,” Jericho said. “They’ve spent years wiping us out. He’s been using you to get to me because he knew I would come back for you. I always do. I take care of my pack.”
Rylie clenched her fists. “That’s not true. Seth wouldn’t do that.”
“I’ve been trying to keep you out of trouble. I made sure you weren’t kicked out of camp.” Jericho tried to smile, but it didn’t look as friendly as it was meant to be. “Aren’t you scared, Rylie? Don’t you want help?”
“No,” she said, but she faltered inside. She did want help. She didn’t want to fight the change alone, and if she did transform, she wanted someone to make sure nobody got hurt. But Rylie had imagined Seth helping her, not the man who mauled her. “What do you mean when you say you’re going to restore the werewolf population?”
“It isn’t a coincidence you survived that first night. We need to reproduce to survive against the threat of hunters. Camps Golden Lake and Silver Brook are a perfect opportunity! All those young, strong, healthy people are just waiting to be turned. It’s not too late for our kind to thrive.”
“You mean you’re going on a killing spree?”
“They can’t transform if they don’t survive,” Jericho said. “I want as many survivors as possible. The only ones who need to die are the hunters.”
“But Amber…”
“She was an accident. She wasn’t as strong as you.”
She felt sick. He was proposing that they subject all the other campers to the trauma Rylie had suffered all summer. And many of them would die, just like Amber.
“No,” she whispered.
“What?”
Rylie repeated herself more loudly this time. “No! I won’t do it. It’s wrong.”
“You’re going to betray your pack?”
“I don’t have a pack,” Rylie said. “If you want to help me, why didn’t you come on an earlier moon? Why didn’t you help when I was scared and confused and needed it the most? Maybe Seth is out to kill us, but you’ve got plenty of blood on your hands, too. At least he’s been there for me.”
He glanced up at the moon. “Fine. I don’t have time to change your mind.”
Rylie was strong, but Jericho had years of transformations on his side. He was much, much stronger.
He backhanded her. Pain exploded in Rylie’s head.
Reeling from his first hit, she didn’t see him coming for her a second time. He threw her into the wall of the ruined church. The stones cracked at the impact. She cried out and toppled to the ground as the stones crashed around her.
She threw her arms over her head to protect herself from falling rocks. Bricks thudded to the dirt and struck her shoulder.
“If that’s your decision, then fine,” Jericho said. “Just don’t interfere.”
Dropping to a crouch, Jericho ran away. He was as fast as he was strong. The last thing Rylie saw before he disappeared was his skin rippling and growing fur as he flung his shirt aside.
She groaned. Her shoulder was bleeding and it felt like her ribs were shattered.
Somehow, the injuries were far less frightening than Jericho’s plan. He was going to try to bite all the campers. There was no question about it: most of them would die. The ones that didn’t would become just like her.
It was wrong. Rylie couldn’t let it happen.
She tried to ignore the pain, but it was easier said than done. Every beat of her heart sent blood rushing through the injuries, making them throb. That overwhelming heat began to rise within her, and she recognized the signs of her body healing itself.
Rylie shoved the stones off of her and got to her hands and knees. She couldn’t wait to heal. She had to get to camp. She needed to warn everyone they were in danger.
She could only pray that she wasn’t already too late.
***
Rylie stumbled into the campsite as her injuries continued to knit. It was easier to breathe with every footstep. Her bruises and cuts were mended, so her ribs wouldn’t be far behind.
She heard crying before she could see the camp.
“Oh my God, oh my God!” someone wailed.
Shoving through the trees, Rylie emerged into the ring of cabins that had once been her campsite.
Jericho had already passed through. The benches around the campfire were destroyed. The door to Rylie’s former cabin was in pieces, and when she peered in, she saw bloody smears on the floor as though someone had been dragged out.
The crying came from underneath the steps. Rylie knelt at the end to peer underneath, and the other girl screamed.
“Don’t hurt me!”
It was Patricia, and she was a mess. Her mascara streamed down her cheeks, and her knees were filthy. But she wasn’t hurt. The blood didn’t belong to her.
“Shut up, it’s me!” Rylie said.
Patricia kept screaming. Rylie rolled her eyes and reached under the steps to grab her by the shirt. She dragged her out one-handed. Patricia struggled, kicking and flailing with her fists. After Jericho’s blows, they felt like gentle taps.
Rylie shook her by the shoulders. “I told you to shut up!”
Patricia finally opened her eyes and fell silent. “Rylie?”
“What happened? Has a wolf been through here?”
She nodded, and tears began rolling down her cheeks. “That—that thing—it killed… oh my God, it killed…” Patricia started wailing again.
“Where’s everyone else?”
“They’re gathered in the recreation hall. They found another one of the counselors dead, so they’re organizing to evacuate. We were going to join them…”
“We? Who is ‘we’?” Rylie asked. Patricia raised a trembling finger and pointed at a dark lump lying on the ground. “Get to the mess hall. Hurry!”
Rylie released her and Patricia fled. She dropped to her knees beside the body. It was too much of a mess to make out the face, but Rylie recognized the clothing and the whistle around her neck.
It was Louise.
She felt numb inside. Louise hadn’t deserved to die. She had been one of the only ones at camp to be nice to her. For some reason, the only thing Rylie could think was, She ordered tofu for me. It raced through her mind over and over.
She ordered tofu for me…
A scream pierced the air. Rylie left the body behind and ran toward the office. There was nothing she could do for Louise anymore.
Girls were scattered through the main camp, trying to reach the recreation hall. Jericho was there. He was almost the size of a horse, with thick, shaggy fur stained by blood. Saliva dribbled from his jaw.
When he saw her, his mouth fell open in a wolfish grin. Rylie’s heart raced. He was happy to see her because she would be uncontrollable if she changed in the camp, and she would surely attack someone. That couldn’t happen.
He leaped toward one of the last girls lingering outside, silver claws digging deep furrows in the earth.
Rylie jumped at the same time.
She knocked into the camper’s side. They both fell as Jericho rushed overhead. He landed several feet away.
“Go!” she shouted, and the camper scrambled to her feet.
He spun on Rylie with a growl, lip curled back. His fangs were bright and shiny, and Rylie wondered if he had killed Louise on purpose. The two counselors had been friends. Anger clenched in her chest like a fist, leaving no room for fear.
Rylie felt her own wolf rise within her, flushing her skin and making her hair stand on end. Louise. He had killed Louise.
“You want to eat someone, Jericho? You eat me!” she shouted.
He seemed to consider it, and even too
k a step toward her. Rylie didn’t flinch. If he was going to kill her, so be it—but she would go down fighting, not crying.
Shots rang out.
Jericho didn’t stop to see where they came from. He bounded into the forest immediately, so fast he was barely more than a blur.
He wasn’t gone. Rylie could smell him close.
She turned to search for the source of the shots. Seth stood on the top row of the concrete amphitheater around the campfire, lowering his rifle. His eyes lit when he saw her. “Rylie!”
“Seth!”
She ran to him and grabbed his hand. Seth looked more like a soldier than the boy she had come to know. He wore a black shirt and pants that were armored with material she could only assume was resistant to werewolf bites. The long, wicked belt knife hung at his waist again.
“Are you okay? What happened?” he asked, touching her lower lip. She hadn’t realized she had been bleeding. The injury was already gone.
“I ran into the werewolf. It’s Jericho, the counselor on the other side. Everyone is gathering in the recreation hall. He must know that. If he gets in there, it will be a blood bath!”
Seth’s jaw clenched. “Jericho. Okay, you need to get somewhere safe. Is the moon calling yet?” She shook her head. “It takes awhile the first time. Get inside somewhere. Somewhere alone. It will be easier if you can’t see the sky.”
“Where are you going?” Rylie asked.
“Hunting,” he said. Seth looked conflicted. “Look…” He searched for words without coming up with anything, mouth moving soundlessly.
“What?”
He grabbed both of her shoulders and kissed her hard.
Rylie wished desperately for time to stop so she could enjoy the moment. A hurried kiss while the camp fell apart under werewolf attack wasn’t how she hoped her first kiss with Seth would happen. She thought there would be a lot more heart pounding and swooning and promises of love. All she could do was cling to him and try to catch her breath when he released her.
“I should have done that ages ago,” he said.
“Seth…”
“The moon is rising,” Seth said urgently, searching her eyes. “Fight it, Rylie. Please. One werewolf has to die tonight. I don’t want it to be two.”
He dropped her shoulders and ran off. There was a bag hanging from his belt that was probably loaded with silver bullets.
And one of them might have her name on it.
“Be careful,” Rylie whispered.
Moon Called
Where could she go?
Rylie looked around the camp. The recreation would have been best, since it was a big, empty room with metal doors. But now everybody was piling tables against the windows in there, forming a barricade.
The only other big building available was the mess hall. It would have to do. At least if Rylie got hungry, she would have plenty to eat.
Jericho’s attack must have interrupted the cleaning staff. The doors to the mess hall were wide open, and soapy water was spilled across the floor. The mop was a few feet away in three pieces. Rylie kicked the bucket out of the way and pulled the doors shut behind her
Just before the door closed, Rylie caught sight of someone standing out in the camp. It was Cassidy. She was shuffling around in too-long jeans and picking at her black nail polish. With her keen eyesight, Rylie could see fresh drawings on her bare arms.
“Cassidy! Hey, Cassidy!”
She was too far away to hear. Hoping that the moon wouldn’t call her too quickly, Rylie ran out to talk to her.
Cassidy looked up when Rylie approached. “Hey.”
“What are you doing out here? Two of the counselors were killed! You have to get inside the rec hall,” Rylie said.
“I’ll get inside,” Cassidy promised. “I’m just waiting for something.”
“What?”
She pointed straight up. Rylie followed her finger to see a small, dark patch of sky. A few weeks earlier, she would have been clueless, but now she knew it was the new moon hiding amongst the stars. She could feel its pull tugging at her heart.
“I can’t change on command yet, like Jericho,” she said. “I’ve been changing earlier in the night, though.”
Rylie stared. “What?”
“He didn’t tell you that I’m like you two?”
“You’re a werewolf?”
“Why do you think I went out of my way to make friends? I told you this was my second year at camp,” Cassidy said. “Jericho got to me last year.”
“I don’t… I mean… When did he bite you? Did you choose it?”
A hint of pain flickered across her face. “No.”
“Aren’t you mad?”
“I was at first, but he’s right. I’m a werewolf now, and I can’t change that. But I can change the fact we’re being slaughtered by hunters and kept as trophies. I can make it a better world for us to live in.”
“It’s wrong for hunters to kill werewolves, but it’s just as wrong to attack all those people and change them against their will. Do you know how many of them will end up dead like Amber?” Rylie asked.
“Just the weak ones.” Cassidy shrugged. “Who cares?”
“I do,” she whispered.
“Then maybe you’re one of the weak ones, too.” She turned her face toward the sky, staring at the invisible moon. A shiver rolled over her body. Rylie could see her skin ripple like water in a pond. “Guess it’s time.”
The change was horrifying to watch. Cassidy’s jaw and nose burst forward as though they might tear out of her face. Her mouth spread in a long smile. Her teeth grew sharp and her ears became pointed. She screamed, and it sounded like any girl screaming at first—but then it turned into a howl, chilling and sharp in the cool night.
Rylie backed away slowly, hands covering her mouth. She didn’t want to see it. She didn’t want to know what was going to happen to her.
Cassidy got down on all fours before her knees snapped and reversed, pulling her shirt over her head with hands that quickly grew wicked claws. Her shredded jeans tore and fell to the ground as her body doubled in size. For a moment, she was a hideous, hairless wolf with a rat-like tail growing from her spine. Then shiny black fur erupted from her bubbling skin.
Unlike Rylie, who had been more human than animal on the last moon, Cassidy looked like a demon. Her eyes glowed red. Her teeth were jagged and sharp. She smelled rancid, like Jericho, but a thousand times worse.
Suddenly, Rylie recalled the last time she had turned. Two werewolves. Cassidy had been the smaller one all along. She remembered the wolf’s bloody face.
Cassidy had killed Amber. It hadn’t been Rylie at all.
Her momentary relief was quickly overwhelmed by fear. Cassidy had killed and she didn’t seem to feel any remorse about it. Now she was staring at Rylie with glowing red eyes, and she looked hungry.
Words from The Legends of Gray Mountain came to mind: In the early years, he is the most mindless, the hungriest, and he knows insatiable hunger.
“Cassidy,” Rylie said. “Don’t hurt me.”
She didn’t show any signs of recognition.
Cassidy was gone.
Rylie ran.
She heard the giant wolf follow, claws scrabbling against the ground. Rylie found speed within her that she didn’t know she had.
Trees flashed past. She let her animal instincts guide her rather than her conscious human mind.
Tremors began to spread over her limbs. The dark forest was trying to strip away her human flesh. Her heart beat faster as she ran harder, and her blood burned through her arteries.
She recognized the fever. The weakness.
The moon was calling her, too.
Cassidy yipped and growled as she chased. She was close.
Rylie was afraid, but the animal within was angry. The wolf wasn’t prey. The wolf was a predator, and it was being challenged by another. It knew Cassidy. This wasn’t the first time it had run from her, but it wanted it to be the last.
>
She swept a heavy branch off the ground and spun, swinging with all her might.
Crack! It connected with Cassidy’s face.
The werewolf yelped and fell back. Rylie advanced on her, swinging again. Cassidy caught the branch in her jaws. She jerked it out of Rylie’s hands and nearly pulled her off her feet.
Rylie dove toward the branch, but Cassidy got in her way. Her red eyes burned.
A twig cracked behind her. Cassidy looked away for just an instant, but it was long enough.
Rylie hauled a boulder off the ground. She shouldn’t have been able to pick it up, but it felt as light as her school bag.
She smashed it into Cassidy’s head.
The same fast healing that kept Rylie healthy and whole worked just as well for Cassidy. She recovered quickly and snapped at Rylie. Her jaws grazed her arm, shredding the skin.
“Stop it! You don’t have to do this!” Rylie cried. The werewolf sniffed the air as though her pungent blood was enticing. She pressed a hand to the wound to try to stave the flow. “It’s not too late, Cassidy. You don’t have to be bad!”
It was a lie. Rylie knew it had been too late the instant Cassidy killed Amber. But it made her falter.
Rylie didn’t give her the chance to think twice about it.
Jumping on Cassidy’s back, Rylie wrapped her arms around the thick fur at her neck. The werewolf shrieked and bucked, twisting to bite at Rylie’s legs. She shut her eyes and hung on as tightly as she could.
It was just like riding one of the friskier horses at her aunt’s ranch. The thought was so absurd Rylie almost laughed.
Instead, she squeezed tighter, pressing her fists into Cassidy’s trachea.
Cassidy’s thrashing grew weaker. She staggered.
With a final burst of energy, Cassidy slammed her body sideways into the tree. Rylie couldn’t hold on. Her hands slipped free.
The werewolf tore away from her, spinning with a growl. Her eyes were darker than before.
Rylie could see her death in them.
Scrambling to her feet, she tried to run again. Her foot caught on a root. Her ankle twisted and broke with a snap. Crying out, Rylie collapsed.
She tried to get up, but she wasn’t fast enough.
Cassidy leapt.
Destiny's Dark Fantasy Boxed Set (Eight Book Bundle) Page 184
