Fate of the Blood Moon's Path (7 page)

There’s nothing better than living free and running after shifting. I tend to stay in my human form when we do that. I, for some reason, don’t find it a need to turn into my wolf when running. I just love being out there feeling the breeze on my face and enjoying Mother Nature. They guys, well they shift every time and they love it. I usually let them beat me too. We race to the top of the gully’s edge and back to the shore. Only about five or six miles.

“Hey white girl! You want to come running with us tonight?” A voice came up next to me as I walked alone on the shore. And yes, they called me White Girl. As I am very, very pale, and they are very tanned.

“Hey Tobey, maybe I will.” I responded after a quick moment of thinking.

“Angel…please! You haven’t come with us in the longest time. Besides we grow tired of hearing James whine about you!” He laughed, punching me in the arm.

I punched him back, “What’s he whining about?”

“That he misses you, and you don’t hang out with us anymore.”

“Perhaps there is a reason for that.” I suggested.

“Whatever the reason is, please just come with us.” He made a poor attempt at a pouting face.

“Alright. I will come. Just come get me when you…”

“We won’t have to come get you, you hear everything anyways White Girl!” He turned laughing and ran in the opposite direction back to the village. I sighed and shook my head.

I often come out here to the shoreline on the lake and walk by myself to be alone in my thoughts. Its my so called thinking time. I’ve had too many things running through my head as of late, and well, they don’t make any sense at all to me. It’s like they are not my thoughts. Like they are being placed there. So I spend most of my time thinking it all through. I suppose that being alone doesn’t help my cause.

Nightmare after nightmare keeps me awake through out the nights. I would be grateful for a full nights rest with out these visions stirring in the pot. It feels like I’m going crazy sometimes. And I feel that there is something going on behind enemy lines. Whatever it is, it’s going to be big. I feel it.

The weather today is perfect. The sun is out and shining, in the high seventies. Those big white fluffy clouds are floating in the sky over the lake making these beautiful pictures that reflect in the water and change with every ripple. This is my kind of weather.

I look down as the water rushes up onto the pebbles and sand onto my bare feet. It’s definitely not as cold as it has been. If someone were to see me out here who didn’t know who I was they’d think I was a ghost. Dressed in a white sun dress , and my long flowing brown hair, plus my “White Girl” skin, I probably glowed in the dark.

“It’s about time White Girl!” Joseph Henry yelled over to me as I walked up next to the boys at our meeting spot by the end of the forest. They had already started a small bonfire for us. When our run was over, we sat around just talking. Talking was good. It’s not always good to keep your silence. I’ve learned that after all of these years.

“Yea, yea.” I shot him a smile while looking around to see who wasn’t there yet.

“Yea, why haven’t you been running with us anyways? Are you afraid that we are going to keep beating you?” Kent Webber asked as he was hugging me tight and kissed the top of my head.

“You don’t want us to feel like we’re a bunch of pussies!” Tobey Sanders responded, and all of the guys started laughing.

“Considering only one of us actually is one!” Michael Gia punched my arm. His sense of humor sometimes made no sense, but we laughed anyways to make him feel better.

“Why are we all laughing?” Chris Haven asked walking up to the group now. I turned to look at him and James Wolfe was walking with him staring at me intensely.

“Mikes joke…” I smiled at them both.

“Hey girly!” Chris picked me up in his arms and hugged me throwing me around like I was a rag doll. I was only about one hundred and fifteen pounds.

“Hi Chris, ok, put me down now.” I managed in between my little girl like giggles because he started tickling me.

“Easy with the merchandise.” James laughed, rubbing his hands through his short spiked black hair smiling at me.

“Aren’t you going to say hi?” I asked him, as he was looking at me all shy.

“I don’t have to, you already know what I’m thinking.” He winked at me.

I rolled my eyes. I do know what he’s thinking. I know what all of them are thinking pretty much all the time. I have learned to just bite my lip and try not to smile to their thoughts.

“Yea, see we don’t need to imagine the things like that, it’s bad enough we hear em’.” Joe said, as he was taking off his shirt and throwing it at the end of the trail on the big rock pile. The other guys followed suit. The Six heard each others thoughts and could talk to each other with their minds, and lucky me, I heard them too.

“Do you guys smell that?” I asked with my nose to the wind sniffing up into the woods.

“I don’t smell anything.” Kent was the first to respond.

“What does it smell like?” Chris asked me.

“I don’t know…it’s…blood.” I sniffed the air again.

“Could just be a wild animal eating it’s dinner.” Chris said.

“Yea, maybe.” I sighed. This was a very weird smell, like a fresh kill that was still up and alive. It didn’t make any sense to me.

“You shifting tonight?” James asked me.

“No, I’m running like this.” I said motioning my hands at myself like I was a model.

“Seriously, you’re in a dress.” All the guys laughed.

“And your point is what? I can still run in a dress. You’ve seen me do it before…”

“I just wouldn’t want you to get your dress all dirty.” James smiled at me, “But don’t be surprised Angel if leapt at you and tear your dress off with my teeth.” He had a huge grin on his face.

“Stop with that grin…” I snapped trying to hide the smile in me that wanted to surface.

“Make me.” He said.

“Catch me!” I yelled as I started running through the front of the forest. I heard them all laugh in excitement and take off after me. I heard the
Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop
noise coming from behind me, and saw a flash of light coming from them as they turned into their wolf forms.

I heard padded feet no more than four or five feet behind me. They were barking and howling in excitement. Shifting into wolves isn’t like you see in the movies. They’re wolves exactly, down to the last detail, just bigger like a Great Dane. You wouldn’t want one standing on their hind legs looking down at you.

This is what the human kind worried about. The ones who lived around the village and on the other side of the forest and the lake. The boys howled so loud it could wake you from a dead sleep thinking they had a nightmare and are still hearing all the howling from there windows.

Tonight the moon was full and made the night time look as if it were daylight. It had rained earlier today so everything was still wet and sparkled like diamonds. I couldn’t help but smile at the scenery, it was all just so mesmerizing to me. It had put me into a sort of daydream, until a yip from behind me snapped me out of it. I turned while I was still running to see the boys nipping at each other. You can’t help but laugh at their antics. Boys will be boys.

I started slowing down as I saw the opening at the end of the trail. When we ran, it was all about being free and acting how ever we wanted to act. All that would always matter was that we were free.

I stopped so fast in front of them, I’m glad they have good breaks. Most of them stopped behind waiting for me to say something. I couldn’t quite figure it all out. I had that sense like we were being watched and the fresh smell of blood was everywhere. But I couldn’t smell anything else around the area.

“What is it?” I heard James ask me in my head as he walked closer to me.

“It’s the blood smell again…” I responded in silence in case we weren’t alone out here.

“I say we get outta here before what ever it was comes back. We don’t need to be caught around whatever it is. The Chief would skin us if we got into trouble.” Chris sated.

“My father wouldn’t skin you…I don’t think.” I chuckled a little still speaking through my mind.

“You sure about that?” I heard James sarcastic voice again. I looked over at him and grinned.

“I agree, let’s head back down to the shore, we can shift back and just hang out for a little while.” Tobey struggled his words out with worry in his tone.

“Yea, I think that sounds pretty good.” I said out loud this time breaking the silence in the woods. It was way too quiet out here. Sometimes silence is dangerous. I was the first one to turn back and start at a slow jog until I heard all twelve feet following me. Then I sprinted like there was something trying to kill me.

It took us about ten minutes to get back to the shore line. I ran straight for the small fire they had lit earlier, and they went for their clothes. I sat on a log waiting.

“Beautiful.” James said sitting down next to me wrapping his arm around my waist.

“It is.” I responded looking out at the lake leaning my head on his shoulder.

“I meant you,” He laughed, “But yea, the lake too.”

“Cozy night huh?” Chris said, sitting down next to me on the other side. I heard a low growl come from James throat. I turned to look at him with a scowl on my face.

“Easy Rambo.” I said.

“Sorry.” A simple statement came from him in my head.

“So what do you think was out there at the top of the hills?” Tobey asked as he and the rest of the boys came to sit down.

“I don’t think that I want to know.” Chris said from beside me.

“Shit, I think we should go back out at first light and investigate!” Joe suggested with a ton of enthusiasm in his voice.

“I think so too!” Kent agreed with him.

“Are you out of your mind? You have no idea what was out there. Talk about going to your death.” I quieted my voice.

“We’re adventurous, what can I say?” Mike laughed.

“I think that maybe you should keep your adventures to a minimum.” I half smiled.

“Angel…” I heard my fathers voice come from behind me. James dropped his arm from around me real fast. “Please come here.” He commanded from the position from where he stood.

“Coming…” I said slowly. I left the boys quietly and for once they too were quiet.

I walked over towards him. I could never really read his mind, only his face. There was worry coming from his eyes. His eyes, they either make you melt or make you feel guilty. As I got closer to him he started to walk away from me. I followed him cautiously.

“Yes?” I said, making a squinting type face with a ton of questions I wanted to ask. He knew I had many questions, and he beat me to it.

“I will not answer your questions Angel, not now. You just have to trust me and believe me when I tell you to stay out of the forest. Do you think that you can do that?” He asked me looking behind me at the boys whom were all now wrestling, trying out those spins where you lift the other guys above you and slam them down on the ground. Dorks.

“Yes, I can do that, but…”

“No buts.” He stated putting his hand in the air as if to shush me, “You don’t let them do that to you, do you?” He then motioned towards The Six.

“No, I don’t. They’re afraid that I would hurt them.” I laughed.

“You probably would. Well, come then, you need to get some rest.” I nodded to him.

I decided that I should say good night to the boys first. I turned around and the image I then saw made me laugh out loud. They were all piled up on top of each other wrestling to see who might pass out first. I walked over laughing still, and that made them all look up. Just then James got Chris to pass out.

“Way to go James. You idiot.” I said, trying to get everyone off of Chris who was coming to.

“I know, I’m the man!” He stood up showing off his muscles.

“You’re the dork!” I stood up and mocked him showing off my “muscles”.

“I’ll get even with you one of these days, don’t worry James.” Chris said.

“Oh I won’t worry.” He laughed. “So what did your father want?”

“He said not to ask questions, to trust him, and stay out of the forest for the next few days.” I put it out there like my father would have said with his ancient and wise voice. Yes, I mocked him.

“Why?” Kent asked me.

“I don’t know. I guess I will listen to him like I always do. You guys should too.” I sighed, “Well, gentlemen, I’m heading back to the village.” I started walking back.

There was a bunch of “Goodnights” and “See you tomorrow’s” being said as I started walking back to the village.

James was the one who followed me, like a lost little puppy. The rest of the guys had just started wrestling again.

“So do you think that what you smelt up there has something to do with what your father said to you?” He asked raising an eyebrow.

“It could.” I kept looking in front of me.

“What are you thinking?” He asked me. No one can hear me unless I allow them too. So, he really couldn’t understand my thoughts. Though he tried.

“I’m thinking about how tired I am, and wondering why you are following me.” I smiled over at him.

“I would think that it was obvious.” He smiled back reaching down taking my hand, bringing it to his mouth and kissed it.

“I wish you wouldn’t sometimes…” I smiled, trying to take my hand back from him.

“It’s puppy love.” He grinned at me. Ever since he was ten years old, he has always said that he was in love with me and asked me to wait for him. Even then, there was something about him that made me wonder. As he got older, well, he just became irresistible. Nothing was made “official” until just last year, with him.

“Ok. Well. You have to stop here so my father doesn’t see you.” I smiled at him getting up on my tip toes and kissed his chin. That’s as far as a five foot three inch person can reach on someone tall like him. It started raining again as we said our goodnights.

“Why does it matter if your father see’s me? He knows that there’s something going on with us.”
‘Yea. Something.” I smiled at him in the rain, “Goodnight James.” I did a backwards wave and didn’t turn back to see him.