Winterlust (COMPLETE)

Under Attack

Peter

“There’s movement in the house. I’m going to try to get closer”, Baron links Elvira. Elvira raises up from her low position and sits on her haunches. “I’ll cover you”. Slowly, Baron creeps closer to the edge of the woods and stops, straining to listen. A twig snaps from the direction of the driveway and Baron swings his head, getting down low again. “Wolves”, he links Elvira. “What?! F*ck, I’m coming!” Elvira takes off like a shot through the woods. “Rogues!”, Baron yells and starts running toward the strangers. Elvira is running, leaping over fallen trees and stumps, zig zagging through the woods.

With one pounce, Baron is on one of the rogues, gnashing his teeth and growling. The other rogue wolf charges him and knocks him off, and they roll away. “Peter, no!”, Elvira howls as she tears across the clearing past the house toward the driveway. Baron is under the rogues, fighting and clawing from his back. Elvira pounces on one of the rogue’s backs and chomps down on his neck with all of her might. The momentary distraction is enough for Baron to flip himself up and charge the other rogue again.

The rogue fighting with Elvira shakes her off and she lands with a thud close to Baron, yelping. Baron and his challenger are rolling and gnashing at each other. The rogue is on top of him again, biting at his throat. The rogue finally finds his mark and gets Baron’s neck in his jaws. All of a sudden, a huge boom rings out, echoing across the woods. Baron feels the weight of the rogue collapse onto him. He looks toward the house, and there’s a silhouette standing in the doorway as his eyesight begins to blur.

Muriel

While Violet is in her room packing her bags, Muriel goes into the living room and searches the bookcase. Aha! She spots the dusty hardcover book about trains and pulls it off the shelf. When she reaches the kitchen where Evelyn is, she stiffens. “Wolves”, she says, “Get the shotgun”.

Evelyn shoots up from her chair and sprints into her bedroom. “What is it? What’s happening?”, Violet emerges from her room, wide eyed. “Stay away from the windows. Get into your room and hide. Stay low!”, Muriel barks at her. Evelyn reappears, trembling as she struggles to load the silver bullets into the chamber. A howl echoes across the woods and Muriel peers out the front window from behind the curtain.

“I don’t know what’s what out there, but there’s a werewolf fight going on”, she says to Evelyn, releasing the curtain. Muriel throws the front door open wide just in time for Evelyn to hand her the shotgun. With her wolf senses, she’s a better shot than the average human. She c***s the gun and braces it under her shoulder. Three wolves are on the ground, one is going in for a kill. She trains the gun on the wolf and squeezes the trigger.

Janie

Janie shifts back to human and screams, “Peter!” She staggers up to where he is and collapses on her knees beside him, placing both of her hands on his neck wound. “Help! Somebody please help me!” As Peter’s life slowly slips away, his body returns to human form. Violet appears beside her and kneels down. “Is he my friend?”, she asks. “Yes! Yes! I swear, he’s your friend!”, Janie sobs looking down at Peter as his body gets more and more pale.

An old woman comes over to Janie and puts a blanket around her naked body. She tries to pull Janie away. “No!”, she cries between sobs. Violet places her hands on Janie’s and slides them away. She covers the wound with her own hands. “Mom! Get the first aid kit!”, she yells. Blinking fast to clear her tears, Janie slowly stops sobbing and watches in awe as the colour creeps back into Peter’s body. “What the…”

Peter begins to stir, rolling his head from side to side. He lets out a long groan. Evelyn rushes to his side with another blanket and the first aid kit. “We need to get him inside”, Muriel warns. Violet goes to work quickly, bandaging his wound. As she snips off the end of the tape, headlights come roaring up the driveway.

“Lindsey! Don’t come out!”, Janie yells as she runs toward the motor home. The door flies open and Lindsey clambers out of the vehicle. Janie catches Lindsey in her arms and stops her from running any further. “He’s okay! I promise, he’s okay”, she murmurs in her ear. Lindsey is clasping her belly with both arms, wailing. “I felt him die!”

Janie releases her hold on Lindsey, “Go see for yourself. I need you to walk though. Your pup needs you”, she says sternly. Lindsey nods and walks carefully over to Peter. “Hey”, he croaks, reaching out his hand. She drops to her knees and peppers his face with kisses. “I was so worried!”, she exclaims in between kisses.

“Peter, is it? Can you walk? I don’t know where that other wolf went, but I imagine he’ll be back in no time with friends. We need to get out of here”, Muriel says. Peter nods and struggles to a seated position.

“Lindsey, I need to call Trav”, Janie says, holding out her hand, “my phone is way out in the woods with my clothes.” “Who is Trav?”, Evelyn asks. “I’ll explain everything inside”, Lindsey tells them.

Janie climbs into the motor home and rummages through the drawers. She quickly dresses and then finds some clothes for Peter. She sucks in a big breath and then dials Travis. “Hello, Lindsey? Is everything alright?” “Travis, it’s me. Peter’s been hurt. I need you to come quickly” “WHAT!!?”, Travis roars, causing Janie to wince and hold the phone away from her ear. “Rogues. Listen, I don’t even know what’s happening right now. I need to get back inside and find out why the rogues were even here in the first place.” “Is she hurt?”, he asks in a low growl. “She’s fine. And Travis? I think she’s found her wolf.”

Violet

Violet watches in shock as her mother runs by her, loading a shotgun that Violet never knew was in the house. Evelyn passes the shotgun to Muriel, and Muriel c*cks it and fires without hesitation. Go help your friend, Violet.

Violet drops the clothes she is holding and runs outside toward the smell of oranges and basil. She recognizes the woman from the gym class - Janie. The woman is screaming for help, pressing on the man’s corroded artery, trying to stop the blood. Help your friend, Violet. “Is he my friend?”, Violet asks Janie. “Yes! Yes! I swear, he’s your friend!”

Unsure of what to do next, Violet shakily slides Janie’s hands out of the way, replacing them with her own. “Mom! Get the first aid kit!” she wails. Suddenly a wave of heat rushes over Violet’s whole body, and her hands begin to tingle. She begins to feel tired again. Looking down at the man called Peter, she can see the colour coming back to his skin.