Chapter 2

When I awoke I felt good, almost like I was floating on air. I had an odd cloudy feeling in my head, like coming off laughing gas. I was lying on the mossy ground, still deep in the woods. The trees were so close together that the only light came from the sky above. The stars told me it was very early morning. I shifted to a sitting position. A deluge of memories from the previous night hit me like a freight train when I saw the letter; it was about a foot away from me, sitting on a small rock. The pale envelope had crystal written on it in an elegant script. Tears collected in my eyes, and my left arm throbbed a little with the emotion. I stretched and flexed it. There was a faint scar from my shoulder to my elbow. As I moved it more a beam of light from the far away moon shot through the trees and engulfed my arm. The scar seemed to grow larger and pucker angrily in the eerie light. I gasped and pulled my arm out of the light.
I reached for the letter; inside was more of Caleb’s beautiful writing,
I am leaving this area immediately, don’t come looking for me. You suspect what I am, and you now hold the same fate, and you must keep it a secret. Stay away from the full moon. I am truly deeply sorry, Love Caleb.

Also enclosed in the envelope was my poem, I read it again to myself; “Pitch black ink spills over the moon… eternal eclipse, Lifting logic, shifting form, who you are is lost... Crushing grass flee the field, there’s no escape. Always running, live in secret, I’m a prisoner… of the full moon.” And it all came together like a wave in the ocean; it engulfed me and pulled me away from the shore. From the familiar and the known, into a fairy tale land foreign to the sensible. Caleb was a prisoner of the moon... a werewolf.

So what was I? Am I a monster? Is my fate too far gone to save? Why? I didn’t feel any different. I rose to my feet and placed the letter safely in my ripped jeans pocket.  I took a deep breath through my nose, trying to clear my head. But my plan very ironically backfired, because as soon as the air entered my nose I could smell everything. And everything filled my head. My senses went crazy. There was a squirrel in the tree to my left, a field of honey suckle about a half a mile away, and a mole was deep under ground. I could hear and smell all of these things. I turned my head to the sky and breathed in again as a new breeze blew in. My eyes, shut in relaxation and concentration, shot open with excitement. There was a new smell in this breeze. Something intriguing, something intoxicating.

I had no idea what this sent was, but it had a mysterious familiarity to it. I had to follow it. It wasn’t a choice. I made no conscious decision and yet I was running. Running east a more than human pace. My peripheral vision was crystal clear as I passed a mother deer and her fawn, I could count the spots on the little animal without stopping or thinking.
My running was so even and my legs seemed so sure of where they were going I didn’t even have to focus on the actual motion of running. I was self navigated in a way. I thought more about the scent. It was animal; I knew that, there was the warm flowing smell of blood and a pulse. The scents of woods and dirt joined the mix, along with fur, and an unmistaken able human scent. But there was another teasing smell I couldn’t place. I continued through the woods swiftly dodging the tall trees in my path. The smell intensified and I lengthened my stride, picking up speed. The trees were starting the thin out so I knew a clearing was near. I slowed and became very alert. A natural reflex in case of danger… well I guess it was now a natural reflex for me…
I saw the clearing now the setting moon was at an angle that filled the treeless space with brilliant eerie pale light. I froze at the edge of the clearing. Taking in the view; a large wolf with fur and eyes black as charcoal stood in the middle of the clearing it had a big brown buck at its feet. The wolf’s muzzle was soaked with the blood of its fallen kill. I stood there, a sculpture of fear as I watched the animal tear into the buck with its razor sharp teeth.
This was the mysterious scent, this big black wolf was not just any blood thirsty wolf, it was half human. I felt like I was going to faint. I shifted my weight so that I had better footing on the slippery damp ground, but I stepped on a twig, it made a loud snap. The wolf started, his ears were pricked towards me, but I was still shielded by the darkness of the trees and the wind was in my favor so I could smell him but he couldn’t smell me.
It abandoned its prey and slowly stalked towards me, it sniffed at the cold night air and its eternally black eyes brightened with a dark excitement that made me shiver. A low growl sounded from its throat and it bared its teeth. I gasped as my sensitive eyes took in every sharp point in its mouth. It growled louder and quickened its pace towards me. If its eyes were as good as mine, and they probably were, then it could see me clearly now. I backed away from it farther in the darkness; it crouched down, preparing to attack. But as it launched into the air and soared across the threshold into the darkness towards me, I shot backwards. It landed a few feet away from me, where I was a few seconds ago.  A bush blocked it from my view.
The ground shook, like an earth quake and I sunk down onto the forest floor to keep from falling over. A sound came from behind the bush, a very human groan. The voice was like cream and it washed over me, sending my heart into a sprint.
I heard him take in a breath the one out in shock, after tasting the air,
“…C..Crystal..?” Caleb asked, his porcelain voice did not betray his emotion, and I didn’t answer. Not knowing what answer he was looking for.

Only his head surfaced from behind the dark green leaves, his charcoal eyes still colored with a dim excitement,
“Crystal.” He breathed my name, almost in relief. Then his eyes grew wide, “Umm… hold on one minute… please…” Then he was gone. A blur into the forest, to fast for even my eyes to follow, but then he was back. Wearing the same thing he had been wearing before… when we’d kissed… then he’d attacked me.

His piercing eyes made me forget. Then poured into mine,
“Are you alright?” He asked.
A small part of my brain practically calculated why he’d left, you obviously can’t wear clothes while being a wolf and then you don’t exactly have them when you become a person again, you have to put them back on.

“Crystal?” he asked again, there was agony in his voice. But I couldn’t answer, tears spilled from my eyes and I sobbed. He took my hands and pulled me off the ground into his arms, “its okay,” He told me, “Crystal… I’m so sorry.”

“You… left.” I could barely understand my voice; it was so choked with tears.
Caleb swallowed hard,
“I had to, and I have to leave again. You can’t find me this time.”

I pulled away from his hold on me but he help me tighter and continued,
“I am so sorry Crystal.” I struggled more, refusing to give him a response, refusing to accept, I wanted it to not be real. He took my face in his hand and made me look up at him, “Crystal!”

I cried harder, “No! You can’t go!” I sounded like a child and he cradled me like one, then he started running again. I didn’t care where we were going as long as I had him with me.  He stopped at the place I recognized as where I had woken up, there was a blanket on the ground I hadn’t noticed before, and Caleb laid me down on it. I tired to get up, but he lay down behind me and wrapped his long arm around my waist keeping me there.
I didn’t understand it, if he was going to leave me again why was he doing all of this, it was just going to make it harder once he was gone. Make it hurt more.

“I wasn’t planning on biting you.” Caleb whispered softly in my ear, “I don’t stalk the woods at night looking for beautiful girls to share my curse with. I was hiding out, so that I didn’t hurt anyone…” he took a deep breath then let it out and I could feel his cold breath on my hair, “But… the moon and… you were so close, I’m so sorry.” Caleb was warm.

“I forgive you.” I said simply.
“No, don’t forgive me.” His beautiful voice got dark, and I decided not to argue, because it should never sound that way, it should be the kind of voice reciting poetry and giving life changing lectures.
“I should go now.” He said.

“No!” almost a shout escaped my throat and I turned so that I was facing him, I don’t know why but I kissed him, I tried to make my kiss scream the words, DON’T GO, I LOVE YOU. But I don’t think I was very affective. He kissed me back though.

After a few minutes he pulled away, and we were silent. He stared into my eyes and I returned the stare into his endless eyes. How could something so dark be so mysterious and inviting and terrifying and beautiful at the same time? After what seemed like eternity he rolled over onto his back and looked up at the sky.