Moon Shadow (Mount Henley Trilogy Book 1)

by Kat Zaccard

  Shea shimmered and turned into a human, shortly followed by Hayley.

  “Damn, girl!” exclaimed Hayley. “You can run! Nice shift, too. It’s often hard to switch back to human while the moon is full….” She looked thoughtful. “In fact, a lot of newbies are stuck as wolves until dawn.”

  “Huh? Maybe it was the shock of the water or mind over matter? I didn’t know I couldn’t, so I could!” My weak explanation seemed to satisfy Hayley, who seemed antsy to run more.

  “Well, now it’s your turn to catch me if you can,” she teased, then shimmered back into a black wolf with purple streaks who ran along the riverbank before darting into the undergrowth.

  Shea and I grinned and were soon in hot pursuit.

  After a few miles, we came to a clearing where I could sense at least two other wolves. My mind was on fire as I was picking up wolf brain signatures like scent. It was hard to describe a sense beyond the usual five. I had no idea it would be so powerful. The times I had run with Jack, there were no other wolves around. I was beginning to recognize the different scent and feel of each individual wolf. But also some brain signatures were more distinct, as well. I could tune into a brain frequency like hearing different colors. By now, I knew Hayley’s steadiness a purple-green like the ocean and Shea’s sweet loyalty a raspberry pink. I could only sense their distinct presences. I couldn’t pick up thoughts or emotions yet. I was working really hard to shield my own strong projections.

  In the clearing, the girls all shifted into humans to chat. All werewolves can communicate in an instinctual wolf language of sound, gestures, and tail twitches while in wolf form. They—uh, we—could hunt in packs and tune in to subtle cues and signals from each other, but it wasn’t the same as actual gossip.

  “Oh, my God, that was awesome!” said one short, plump girl with curly, reddish-brown hair.

  “Yeah, did you see the boys at the end of the field? We flew by them!” laughed another tall and lanky brunette. This one I knew. Sara brushed some leaves out of her way and sat down in the grass.

  “Yeah, eat our dust,” chuckled the other girl with the generous chest. She sat in the grass next to Sara.

  “Hey, bitches!” Hayley called out, laughing.

  “What’s up, chica!” the unknown girl called back. “Who’s with you?”

  “It’s Shea and Alice. Girl, you should see her run!” she said appreciatively.

  I shimmered into human form and waved at the girls nervously. “Hey.”

  “Not bad newbie!” said Hayley, smiling, “This is Sara Brusse and Lola Rodriguez.” She nodded to the girls. “Have you guys met Alice yet?” She gestured to me and twisted her black-and-purple hair into a bun.

  “Hi, Sara,” I smiled at my history study buddy. Lola scowled.

  Sara said hi back, then bumped Lola with her shoulder, “She only said, ‘Hi.’”

  Lola rolled her eyes at Sara, then turned to smile at me politely. “It’s nice to meet you, Your Royal Highness,” she said shyly.

  Hayley responded for me. “No titles at Mount Henley, Lola.”

  “Please, just treat me like everyone else,” I begged.

  “I can do that.” Lola grinned, and I relaxed onto the ground next to the girls.

  Lola recounted their run to Hayley. “Oh, my God, we left a group of boys in the dust! It was so funny! They followed us for a while like a herd of elephants crashing through the trees! We practiced the stealth move we learned this week, split off, and met up here. It was priceless!”

  In the midst of their high-fives, a blur of fur shot across the field and bowled over Hayley. There was a tumble of limbs and fur, a shimmer, and two wolves tumbled end over end before landing in a heap. The interloper lowered his head and growled, then snapped once, twice at Hayley, who was now a dark black-brown wolf with purple streaks. More wolves came out from the tree line, and the girls around me looked surprised, then delighted as, one by one, they laughingly shimmered back into wolves. I watched for a moment as the boys circled closer. Then, realizing my nudity, I shimmered quickly into a wolf and fell back with the girls. Other than Hayley, we were surrounded. They circled closer, nipping at us a little. I reached out my senses toward the new wolves, memorizing brain signatures. The vibrations were harder to pinpoint, but I was picking up general waves of amusement and excitement. This was all fun and games to a group of teenage werewolves.

  Soon, the girls started to attack, each picking a different direction of escape. We were losing. Shortly, only I was left not engaged in some wrestling match. One of the wolves trotted up to me and ducked his head as if bowing. I growled lightly but held my ground. Searching his green eyes, I reached out my senses and felt a familiar thrill in my belly. It was Logan. I was certain.

  I did a very human thing and stuck my tongue out at him, then I turned and ran. I heard him follow, dodging play-fighting wolves. We moved quickly and quietly through the trees. I slowed a half-step when I thought I’d lost him, only to feel a heavy weight pounce on me and roll me over. We landed in a heap of fur, his jaws holding my neck lightly. I went still.

  He bounded up and darted behind a tree. His human head popped out. “Sorry, Alice, I was only playing. I just got carried away.” He brushed his hand across his forehead. The nervous gesture reminded me of earlier and our almost kiss. I got up and stared into his eyes, not daring to turn human, and accidentally projected the thought: I’m having fun. Since he was human, I lowered my chest and wagged my tail playfully to convey the message.

  He looked startled, then grinned. He shimmered back into a wolf and chased me back the way we came. We reached the clearing of other roughhousing wolves, and I whirled around to stand my ground. We growled, snapped, and fought like bears on our hind legs. Soon, I was laughing hysterically, which feels really weird with a slobbery tongue hanging out of your canine jaws!

  A loud horn sounded in the distance. The boys’ ears perked up, and they made their wolfish goodbyes, rubbing against each other, wagging tails and panting smiles. I was learning the wolf language, but I was also picking up threads of thoughts and feelings. I could see all of these wolves as a group, a pack, like golden threads connecting them in a web of friendship and trust. I reached out my senses in approval of community, then howled a long, high howl of happiness. The boys stopped. The girls looked at me, too, and then one by one they answered in a long, high howl. I felt a rush of joy and acceptance. Then the magic broke, the boys ran off, and we headed back toward our neck of the woods. After another twenty minutes, we heard the second horn signaling us to return to the coliseum. We ran together like a pack, and I worked to memorize the distinct brain signatures and scents of my new friends Hayley, Sara, and Lola.

  Back at the coliseum, we shimmered into girls, grabbed our robes, and chatted easily about the blast we just had. It took a moment before I realized that a few Weres were still in wolf form.

  The newbies, I thought. Some of the other girls looked surprised to see me human. I noticed Jillian near the door to the locker room. She glared at me, then spun on her heel and left. A couple of other girls were trying to help the new wolves shift back. One pup in particular looked scared. She reminded me of the young boy in the training field the other day. I remembered how the teacher seemed to soothe the pup with direct eye contact.

  I shimmered back into a wolf and walked slowly toward her, holding eye contact and keeping my ears up and perky in a friendly gesture.

  It’s okay, I projected to her. She was agitated and looked ready to bolt. Don’t worry, I’m here. We’re all here to help. You’re okay. Do you remember your human skin? She whimpered, her eyes showing white. Shush, it’s okay. You can be both. Remember the feel of a hot shower on your human skin? Remember the cool breeze when you step out of the shower? Feel that breeze on your skin now.…

  I tried to recall that feeling of shifting back and projected that feeling toward the frightened pup. I felt my body shimmer and shift into human form. The tawny wolf shifted into a brown-haired girl onc
e again. My smile faltered.

  “Thanks.” Pamela’s voice was strange. “I don’t know how you did that, but thanks.”

  A small crowd had gathered, and I realized whispers were flying around the room with “Alice …” on the wind. I shrugged at her. “It was nothing.”

  She still looked unsure and a little shaken up. “Well, it was something to me.”

  I helped her to her feet, and by then other people had gathered to see what was going on. The gym coach appeared out of nowhere and took Pamela’s arm. “Thank you, my dear.” She held my gaze for a moment before leading Pamela away.

  Shea and Hayley were upon me in a moment, congratulating my first run and thumping me on the back good-naturedly. The other girls from the friendly brawl had assembled, already dressed, and we made our way back into the changing rooms to change from our robes back into our clothes. I felt elated and floated on air. It had been so thrilling to race through the trees and mountain range with so many wolves, almost a true pack. I wondered if that was some kind of blasphemy since we were all supposed to be one big pack, the Great Pack. But with all of the clicks and infighting, I couldn’t help but feel isolated. Shea was a Godsend, and now I was happy to add Hayley to my growing list of friends.

  It was such a relief to have some real friends finally. I slung an arm around Shea and another around Hayley. “Who’s hungry? I saw mint chocolate chip coconut ice cream with my name on it,” I declared.

  Hayley laughed. “Food is definitely in order after a run like that!”

  We sauntered back to the hall and filled up plates from the buffet that had filled as if by magic while we’d been away. I piled a plate full of mini sandwiches, asparagus salad, and of course, a healthy dish of dairy-free ice cream.

  We filled a banquet table, and laughed and chatted easily about the night. All of us were cackling about the brief display of nudity on the midnight lawn.

  I was almost choking on my soda at the retelling of our story, gaining momentum and taking on ninja mythos in mini reenactments.

  A shadow fell across the table, and Jillian suddenly appeared behind me. I turned to see her sneer. “Oh, come off it, Alice. You expect us to believe you just shifted back and forth into your wolf like that?”

  “It’s true, Jillian. We all saw it.” Hayley had stated the fact, and the entire table turned as if listening to a pin drop. We awaited Jillian’s reaction with bated breath. I wisely held my tongue. Then the tension eased.

  “Whatever,” she snapped. “Were you trying to let them see you naked?” And she spun away from my stunned face.

  I waited a beat until she was out of the dining hall, then turned to Hayley, Shea, and the others. “Oh, my God! Those guys saw me naked!” I was mortified.

  They burst into thunderous laughter while I covered my face. Shea came over and pulled my hands away smiling. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Even with the full moon, they didn’t see that much. And the wolf eyes see things differently, remember?”

  I thought back to the times I’d gone running and had seen Jack naked, or the girls earlier tonight. It had been different; almost blurred, or just irrelevant. I smiled in relief back at Shea. She had eased my worries like any best friend. “Thanks, girl. You’re a total bestie.” She smiled back at me, the pact sealed.

  Chapter 7

  I woke up the next morning, elated. I had shifted with the Pack, I made new friends, and hadn’t embarrassed myself too badly. I stretched luxuriously under the covers before throwing them back and kicking them off to spring out of bed, ready to greet the day with open arms. I was somewhat disappointed to see the day hadn’t decided to join me in my good mood. Peeking through the curtains, I saw rain trickling down the windows in a steady stream. I decided it didn’t matter and a little rain wouldn’t ruin my day.

  I hurried to get dressed, anxious to talk to Shea and to catch up with some of the other girls from last night. Now that the anxiety of my first full moon shift had passed, I realized that we had some serious catching up to do. I mean, what was up with her and Adam? Contemplating my methods of interrogation helped me to push Logan to the recesses of my mind. I was trying hard not to fall for him. He had to stay off-limits, right? I grabbed my chest, feeling pained. Then I took a deep breath and shook myself.

  I am too young to be too serious, I resolutely scolded myself. It must be the wolf. I was not one of those girls who fell for a guy and forgot everything else! I had to focus on figuring out my place in the world without the added baggage of a boyfriend. My stomach flip-flopped at the word “boyfriend.” Why couldn’t my head and my hormones just agree!

  My thoughts were still spinning about wolf boys and such that I barely noticed the din from the dining hall as I entered. Grabbing a plate and filling it high with all my favorites, I snagged a glass of orange juice and looked around for Shea. That’s when I noticed the covert and overt stares, and heard a shift in the mingled whispers trailing me through the room. I snaked around banquet tables and made my way to Shea’s head of bright strawberry gold curls. I noticed right away we were not breaking fast alone this morning.

  Hayley, Lola, and Sara were there, along with a few other girls I recognized from last night.

  “Hey, Alice!” Shea called, looking relieved, like backup had arrived.

  I smiled big, wondering just what my reinforcement duties would entail. I replied with a long, “Hey-ay!” to the group at large. Chuckles and salutations greeted me as I sat down.

  “Oh, my God. Everybody is talking about it,” Hayley said, diving right in, her hair bobbing with each emphatic swing of her arms.

  “What’s what now?” I asked.

  Hayley rolled her eyes at my ignorance. “God, I forget you’re so new. What’s what is you, silly. You totally rocked that full moon turn, shifted back and forth during your first full moon, and you helped a newbie change back using some crazy mind control voodoo.” Hayley was talking a mile a minute, and it took my brain a few seconds to catch up.

  “Hold on, I did what? That’s crazy.”

  Shea was glaring daggers at me, obviously trying to tell me something I wasn’t picking up. I couldn’t concentrate on both of them, and I nearly missed Hayley’s response.

  “That girl, Pamela, said you talked in her head. I mean, like words,” Lola piped up helpfully. Suddenly, I understood Shea’s nervous glare. She was warning me that telepathy was not a typical wolf trait.

  I tried to laugh, though it sounded tinny to my ears. “What? Voo-doo? That’s nuts! I just talked to her. She probably just heard me after she calmed down, that’s all.”

  Hayley looked skeptical. “I don’t know. It’s hard to understand humans in wolf form. And while we can communicate as wolves in wolfish ways, we can’t actually talk in each other’s heads. I mean, c’mon Hollywood, we’re wolves!” Hayley laughed at her own joke, and soon the conversation swung from how ridiculous Pamela’s claims were to how fake the Teen Wolf movie was. In the end, I was forgotten, and we’d all decided to watch Teen Wolf for movie night next Friday night.

  Shea and I broke away to head for class. “We have to talk later!” I insisted as we darted though the drizzling rain to the manor.

  She smiled in agreement. “I know! I have questions for you!”

  “You have questions!” We parted ways, laughing.

  It was great to see Adam in art class. He gave me a high-five for shifting so easily the night before. I invited him and whoever to Friday night’s movie. I didn’t mention Logan and he didn’t mention Shea, but we were both grinning like idiots.

  The rest of the day was a blur of lectures and assignments. Apparently, the last few days had been lax for the full moon, because the teachers were now piling on the homework. I was ready to scream in French class because I just couldn’t get the accent and mangled every word I attempted to utter. Shea and I stayed in for lunch due to the rain. It was our first time eating lunch inside, actually, and it seemed most of the other girls were similarly avoiding the damp outdoors.r />
  Hayley joined us to announce that most everyone was convinced that Pamela was just making her version of the story more dramatic.

  “Maybe Jillian put her up to it,” speculated Sara.

  “I don’t know,” Hayley replied thoughtfully. “Pamela didn’t seem too pleased with Jillian, and they’re usually pretty tight.”

  I just wanted the whole thing to blow over. It was bad enough keeping a secret from my new friends, but listening to them speculate felt a lot more like lying to them.

  After lunch, I followed Shea to the locker room, excited to check out the training arena, first-hand. Now that I had made my first official shift, I was finally allowed to go to the regular afternoon classes. I learned that these were a lot more physical pack-training workouts. The wolves had to guard and protect their borders, so they practiced running drills and working through disaster scenarios. Being fairly cut off from major civilization, Mt. Henley had its own radio and cell towers, several large generators, and even a helipad. A variety of skills were cultivated, and while there seemed to be many interesting jobs available, patrols were the most prestigious and coveted position in the pack.

  The younger wolves had to learn to work as a pack both in human and wolf forms. Shea explained as we changed that since the full moon had just passed, we would have this one day to practice wolf shifting.

  “The moon is most powerful the day before, the day of, and the day following the full moon. We practice shifting, though it’s often still too hard for newbies.” At my nervous look, she shrugged. “You’ll be fine. Many of us can do it pretty easily. So go ahead and shift, but try not to make it look too easy!” she laughed.

  I was glad Shea didn’t act like I was weird; it felt a little strange to hide part of my wolfie self from the others. I didn’t know if I had actually talked in Pamela’s mind, but I did know I didn’t want to be labeled a freak. I followed her out the locker room, and we headed to the gym where the other girls had gathered.