Light of The Moon

Chapter 8

The following morning, we dismantled our camp and started on our way.  The village was only a few more leagues away, and we were to reach it before high noon.  With luck, we would be off towards our pack grounds before nightfall.  As long as the human behaved himself.

The smells from the human village reached us before the sounds did, and, soon, it was in sight.  Robert stopped us and looked at me.

"We will be here, waiting for you," he said, his voice commanding yet gentle.  "As soon as you have the Moon Weed, come back to this very spot.  If anything goes wrong…"  He gave a pointed look at the human beside me.  "Kill the human and meet us here.  We will handle any who follow."  When I nodded, he turned his full attention to the human.  "We know your scent, human."  His voice was low and threatening now.  "If anything happens to this female, no walls or swords or arrows will stop us.  If we die, more will come, and our lives will be avenged tenfold.  Take care of her and bring her back to us, you will have a peaceful life."  I looked at the human, whose face was still and pale.  It then dawned on me that he didn't know what "peaceful life" waited for him, and I grew nauseous.  Finally, Robert jerked his head in the direction of the village.  "Now go."  With that, the human and I started towards the village.

My hood was up, shielding my face from any who grew too curious, and the human's face remained stoic and unreadable.  I watched him carefully as we walked into the village.  With skill, he guided us through the hustle of regular human life, and I soon found myself distracted with the sight before me.  It was odd to see how closely their lives resembled ours back home, and I couldn't suppress it for long.  Without realizing it, I found myself standing at a stall where a woman not much older than I sold flowers of every color.  I grew so distracted that I didn't hear them until they were beside me.

"You there," shouted a man, and I whirled to find myself face to face with a male in shiny metal armor, surrounded by others in the same attire.  Despite how close he was to me, he continued to use a booming voice as if addressing a soldier rather than a female traveller.  "Remove your hood and state your business."  I reached up and did as he instructed, my heart racing.  If he had been a wolf, he would have known I didn't belong here and would have had me imprisoned or killed once he heard my heartbeat, but, since he was human, I realized I still stood a chance.  I forced a smile and looked at him.

"I'm here visiting my cousin," I stated in a clear voice, hoping that my trembling hand was unnoticed.  He c****d an eyebrow at me.

"And just who is your cousin?" he asked, not missing a beat.  In the split second that followed, my heart fell, and I started to answer.  What was his name…?

"There you are, cousin," said a familiar voice.  The human placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a teasing smile.  "You should know better than to wander off on your own like that."  The soldier looked at him with a look of surprise.

"Adam?" he asked, disbelief in his voice.  "By my beard, boy, where on this earth have you been?  You and your brother disappeared days ago without a single word!"  Adam smiled at the soldier.

"Sorry, Jarod," he started, "but we received an urgent letter from my aunt."  He sniffed as if holding back tears.  "She and my uncle grew really sick, and she wanted us to come take my cousin away so she wouldn't get sick."  He looked at me.  "Isn't that right, Annabelle?"  The soldier and his men all looked at me, and I nodded.

"Yes," I said.  "Mother was worried I'd catch it, too, so she told me I'd be staying with my cousins."  The soldier, Jarod, looked sceptical.

"And where is Travis?" he asked, and Adam sighed.

"He stayed behind to care for them," he said.  "Said it didn't feel right leaving them to fend for themselves, but they insisted on Annabelle leaving.  So, he decided to stay back."  The way he lied frightened me.  Even being a wolf, I could sense the changes in behavior and scent that indicate when even one of my kind is lying, and this human was lying so well, I had a hard time telling he was lying.  This made me think back to his confession the other night…

"Alright, well don't be a stranger, Adam," Jarod told him before nodding at me.  "And stay out of trouble.  There's been some wolves howling nearby, and we don't want them attacking anyone."  I smiled politely at him.

"Of course," I smiled.  "And thank you for your concern."  His cheeks flushed a little, and Adam led me away.

"That was close," he muttered whenever we were out of earshot.  Agreeing, I nodded.

"Where did you disappear to?" I asked, and he shrugged.

"I didn't even notice you were gone until I turned my head," he said.  "Thankfully, I was close enough to hear Jarod talking to you."  He then lowered his voice.  "Stay close and keep your mouth shut.  People in my village get very suspicious of new people, especially when livestock disappear."  I raised an eyebrow.

"Livestock disappeared?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Just before we hunted down that giant wolf in the woods," he breathed.  "We thought it, or he, was responsible for the missing animals."  I nodded, trying not to think too much about it.  After the way he lied to the soldier, I wasn't sure when he was lying anymore.  For all I knew, he was lying to me right now.  Instead, I glanced around.

"So, where are you taking me?" I asked.  With a quick glance around, he sighed.

"My house," he said, and I froze.  He nudged me along and continued.  "My brother and I grew herbs and vegetables in our backyard, and we sold the Moon Weed, as you call it, to the local herbalist to get by."  Suddenly suspicious, I started memorizing each turn and street corner.

The village was three times bigger than my own, which meant a higher population of humans that we had previously thought.  Everyone seemed to be in a rush as well, which made me nervous.  Back home, we did our daily chores and activities, but we always took our time as we practically had all the time in the world with our extended life span.  At least as long as we didn't get sick or attacked, that is.  Before long, we were in front of a smaller town home similar to the one Gregory lived at back home.  Adam pulled out a shiny, brass key and turned the lock before opening the door.

"This is it," he said, and I stepped inside.

It was dark and cramped, but it was clean.  I assumed that a female lived here as well, but Adam gave no indication that anyone besides he and his brother lived here.  There was no upstairs, but there was a backdoor that opened into a small, green yard as well as a building I assumed was some kind of greenhouse.  I followed him out the backdoor and over to the greenhouse.  Inside, all kinds of plants grew.

"Sorry about the mess," Adam grunted as he pushed aside several gardening tools with his foot.  "We were just finishing some work when your friends showed up."  I couldn't contain my amazement.

"You both grew all this?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"Mostly me," he said.  "My brother worked at the tavern during the day, and I grew our food.  The Moon Weed, or Midnight Moss as we call it here, proved valuable when coin was short."  I stopped and turned towards one of the flowers.  It looked light blue, but it was so familiar in appearance.  I wondered how it would look fully bloomed in a moonlit clearing.  He smirked a little when I realized he had caught me staring.  "I see you saw my Moon Rose."  My breath caught in my chest.

"I thought they were extinct," I gasped before I realized what I was saying.  He gave a soft chuckle and shook his head.

"My mother gave the seed to me before she died," he explained.  "She told me to plant it when I had become a man and that it would bloom on the night of a full moon when I had found true love."  A dark look crossed his face just then.  "Lot of good that'll do me."  That was when I realized they never told him he would be turned once we got back, and my heart sank.  He thought he was going to die…  I forced a smile.

"Back home, we have a legend tied to this rose," I told him.  "It's said that a human who was raised by wolves came across the Moon Goddess while disguised as a human during a hunt with his pack.  Rather than allowing her to be attacked, he fought off the other wolves and saved her, so, to show her thanks, she gave him the power to turn into a wolf at will.  After a little while, the wolf fell in love with her, and he gave her a rose to proclaim his love.  However, she couldn't return his affections as she had to return to her Moon Court, so she used her power to give the flower the ability to glow like the full moon once it bloomed to remind him of her before she left."  Adam scoffed, and I looked at him.  "What?" I demanded, and he laughed.

"Oh, nothing," he chuckled.  "I guess I never took you for the sentimental type.  I always kinda saw you as the cunning 'take no prisoners' type."  I raised an eyebrow at him.

"And you don't seem like the meek and gentle kind you came off as the first night you killed one of our pack members," I retorted.  He simply sighed.

"I guess I figured I better live life to the fullest now that I'm going to be killed by your people when we return," he said, and I lowered my gaze.  "May I try something?" he asked.  I frowned and turned to him.

"Try what?" I asked.  He didn't respond.  Instead, he grasped my arms and pulled me close, pressing his lips to mine.  A shriek of indignation escaped my lips as I tried to pull away, but he held me in place, his eyes closed, and his lips warm and wet against mine.  Realizing I couldn't pull away, I stood still, and he finally pulled back, sighing.

"That…" he breathed.  "That was amazing.". A snarl erupted from my lips, and I slapped him as hard as I could across the face.  His head jerked to the side, and he cupped his cheek in his hand, his soft smile never leaving his face, which infuriated me even more.  "I deserved that…". I roared in anger and stomped his foot.

"What the hell was that?" I screamed as he cradled his foot in his hands.  "Why did you do that?"  He looked up at me.

"Ow," he said, and I growled in annoyance as he continued.  "I just wanted to know what it's like."  This caught me off guard, and I tilted my head at him.  "You know, before your pack kills me."  I sighed and shook my head as my cheeks burned in anger and embarrassment.

"Well," I huffed in annoyance.  "You shouldn't have done that.  Not without my permission."  He gave me a gentle smile.

"Sorry," he blushed.  "It's not usually something you plan, you know.  It just… happens."  I sighed and shook my head.

"Anyways," I said, trying to change the subject.  "Where is the Moon Weed?"  He went over to a darker corner of the greenhouse and dug around several flower cartons and tools before pulling out a giant handful of the wispy plant.  An enormous weight lifted from my chest, and I heaved a sigh as he spoke.

"I'll give you some extra," he smiled.  "You know, so you can grow it yourselves.  All you have to do is crush some of the plant with the blossoms, and you bury it.  In a fortnight, it will start to sprout from the ground."  I smiled politely as he started to hand it to me, my smile disappearing when he froze.

"What is it?" I asked, confused.  He looked at me over the bushy plant.

"May I ask one small favor before we leave?" he asked.  I folded my arms.

"You have to take that up with Robert," I said sternly, and he shook his head.

"I mean one small favor of you," he clarified.  When I didn't answer, he continued.  "I want to spend a few more hours in my village and leave at dark, when it'll be easier to slip by unnoticed."  I c****d an eyebrow at him, and he smiled.  "Please?"  My heart stopped when I saw the pleading look in his eyes, and I sighed.

"Alright, but we should stay away from the forests," I told him, and he smiled.

"I know a great spot where we can get some dinner," he said hopefully, and my stomach growled in response, answering for me.  He laughed.  "Come on."  He put the plant down and offered me his hand.  After looking from his hand to him, I smiled and took it.

"We leave when the moon is high," I warned, and he nodded.

"Agreed," he responded, pulling me towards the door.  Before he opened the door, he turned to me.  "Why did you spare me?"  His question caught me off guard, and I frowned a little.

"Because I knew you'd be more cooperative for this mission," I said, stating the facts.  I didn't want to tell him how I had thought he was innocent, nor did he need to know about the change.  I then asked him, "Why did you help me when your friends tried to take me prisoner?"  He sighed and shook his head.

"I don't honestly know," he muttered.  "I guess I just couldn't stand the idea of you getting hurt."  My heart skipped a beat once again as he smiled down at me.  "I guess I should have just left it at that."  I sighed and shook my head.

"Come on," I said, trying to stop him from saying what I was afraid he would say.  "We should get going.  I want to see more of the village."  He nodded and led me out of the greenhouse and to the front door.