Blood Moon Rising

Chapter 2

Kassidy looked down to see giant silver paws where her hands once were and tumbled backwards in shock.

What the hell?

A voice responded in her head.

Your eyes, they are incredible Kassidy

She rolled over onto her belly and staggered to her feet, feeling ten times heavier than usual. She swayed before toppling over again.

You get used to it

The voice in her head encouraged.

She pulled herself into an upright position, sitting on her back legs. She studied the wolf who stood before her, his emerald eyes glared prominently out of the long silver fur that bristled in the breeze. He was easily 15 foot tall.

How are you doing that? I can hear your voice in my head!

Kassidy's parents looked on in amazement at the silent exchange.

Kassidy, I'm your brother, Kade. We are mind linked because we are twins.

She whipped her head round to look at her parents, instantly regretting it when the dizziness knocked her sideways until she was lay on the floor for the third time.

Why don't we shift back, it will be easier to talk in human form.

Kassidy started to put the pieces together until she realised.

Am I a wolf too?

Kyle snorted.

Yes sister, a werewolf which means we can shift between man and beast.

Beast. That word played on her mind for a little while. Is that what she was, a beast?

How do I shift back?

Kade stepped to the side slightly

Well, you just close your eyes and imagine yourself as human, then you just sort of... Shift.

Kassidy pushed herself back up into a sitting position, she felt the snout of Kade helping. She closed her eyes and thought of herself as how she looked this morning. Her fur started to tingle and she could feel the weight of her head lighten, seconds later her n***d human body flopped to the ground.

The large man stepped forward and wrapped her in a blanket, covering her modesty. Her eyes darted around the faces of her parents and a now human Kade.

'Will someone please tell me what the hell just happened to me?'

They all exchanged glances before the large man cleared his throat. Kassidy hadn't even noticed that he was still sat so close to her.

'It's a long story, why don't you get dressed, we'll head back to your house and talk'

She nodded gratefully, the temperature was rapidly dropping and without a fur coat to keep her warm, she had started to shiver.

Her mother handed her some clothes and held the blanket around her while she dressed, an apologetic smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

Once dressed, she hugged her mother tightly who gently rubbed her back as a tsunami of emotions hit her and she sobbed.

'Let's get you home' she said as she steered Kassidy towards the cars by her elbow.

Kade retrieved the blanket and wrapped it around himself in a makeshift toga, sighing at the sight of his shredded clothes on the forest floor.

'That was my favourite jacket' he muttered as he headed for the car.

* * *

Kassidy gazed around the living room at the 4 faces staring at her. She swallowed hard, wondering what question to ask first.

The large man broke the silence

'My name is Konrad, I'm the Alpha of the Silver Lake pack' he paused. 'And your real father'.

The mug of tea smashed as it slipped out of Kassidy's hands. Her father, well the man she'd always thought to be her father, grabbed a cloth from the kitchen and began to clean it up.

'I, I don't understand' she said, turning her head to look at her mother, willing it not to be true. Her mother bowed her head.

'We were planning on telling you before your 18th birthday' a tear fell from her cheek into her lap. 'We had no idea you would be an early shifter'

Kassidy clutched her knees to her chest feeling like she'd just been hit by a bus, she couldn't breathe.

Alpha Konrad continued.

'We needed to keep you safe Kassidy, both of you'

She suddenly remembered about Kade, her eyes searching frantically for him. His chin rested heavily in the palm of his hand as he leant on the arm positioned on the top of his leg, a solemn look on his face.

'Why didn't Kade come too?' she questioned weakly.

Alpha Konrad sighed.

'It was safer to keep you apart. You don't understand'

He got up onto his feet, hands running through his thick platinum hair.

'You don't realise just how special, how rare you both are. We couldn't risk keeping you together'

As much as Kassidy wanted answers, she also couldn't resist the gravitational pull from her brother. She moved across the room and squeezed into the gap between him and the sofa arm. A smile of solace spread over his lips as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

'You know' he started. 'I always felt like there was something missing in my life and now I know why'.

Alpha Konrad stopped pacing and stared at them quizzically before returning to his seat.

'So' Kade sighed. 'Why don't you start from the beginning' he squeezed Kassidy's shoulder in reassurance. 'Tell us everything'

By now, Kassidy's father Jerry had taken a seat next to his wife. He took hold of her hand as she began to tell the tale of how Kassidy had ended up with them when she was only days old.

'Karla and I have been best friends since childhood, our mother's used to take us on playdates together'

Kassidy's eyebrows furrowed together.

'Who's Karla?'

'Karla is my wife' Alpha Konrad interjected. 'She is your biological mother'

Kassidy's jaw dropped as she turned to the sorrowful couple on the sofa.

'Neither of you are my real parents?' she squawked.

No one answered, Lorraine, Kassidy's mother continued the story.

'I've always known Karla was different, she could do things that normal children couldn't.' her eyes glazed over as she thought back to her younger years.

'She could make the impossible happen, she could stop things in their tracks, move things with her mind'

Kassidy and Kade looked at each other, both pulling the same face of confusion.

'We've never had any secrets, when she met Konrad, she trusted me with his secret too. I've know all along that he's a' she stopped and looked at him, he nodded encouragingly. 'A Werewolf'.

Leaning forward in his chair, Alpha Konrad took the reins.

'I'd searched for my mate for 4 years before I finally found her. Karla and I are what you would call true mates. The moon goddess destined for us to be together. From the moment I lay eyes on her, every fibre in my being ignited, I couldn't imagine a life without her. I just knew she was the one. I come from a long line of pure blood Alpha's, when the moon goddess mated me with a Witch, we became the most powerful couple in the land.'

He smiled as the memory played out in his mind.

'A lot of wolves are afraid of witches because they possess a power that is incomprehensible to them. She managed to hide her real identity from everybody with a masking spell, including our pack. When she became pregnant with you'

he looked at both Kassidy and Kade. 'Her masking spell started to faulter. The pack sniffed her out, but they didn't care that she was a witch. To them she was their Luna, their Queen if you will'

He smiled fondly.

'The pack is one of the largest in the area, but that didn't stop other packs from trying to attack. Legend tells of a superior wolf, a being touched by magic, so powerful that it is almost indestructible. A wolf that is known as the blood moon wolf because they are always born on the night of a blood moon.'

He ran his hands through his hair.

'I didn't believe it at first, but after reading about the blood moon wolf it all started to fit into place. A wolf so strong, a combination of pure Alpha blood and magical blood. When your mother went into labour on the night of the blood moon we knew she must have been carrying a blood moon wolf. Twins are unheard of among werewolves so we had the shock of our lives' he sniggered before his face fell.

'It was a hard birth, Kade arrived first, and he was perfect. His green eyes glistened up at me as the light was fading from Karla's' he shifted uncomfortably, clearly pained by the memory.

'She started losing a lot of blood, one of the midwives was also a witch, she poured her energy and protection into Karla and Kassidy, which is why I think Kassidy has purple eyes. We consulted a Shaman who told us that twin blood moon wolves are the rarest of all wolves. We knew in that moment that if we were to keep you safe, we had to hide you away somewhere that no wolf pack would think to look. Your mother, Karla, cast a protection spell around you both to make you blend in with the human world. No werewolf would be able to sniff out your scent'.

Kade who had been sat silently ingesting it all, piped up.

'But why separate us? Why not hide us together?'

Alpha Konrad nodded slowly, processing the question.

'Together you had this energy about you, a kind of forcefield that could be felt by everybody near by. When you were in separate rooms, the energy disappeared. We decided that keeping you apart was the safest option. I'm so sorry my children, please know that it killed us to hand you over to be raised by humans'.

A pained expression spread across his face. Kassidy closed her eyes as an involuntary tear rolled down her cheek, this man who sat before her seemed to have aged 10 years in the last 20 minutes. The room fell still for what felt like eternity. She couldn't bear the silence any longer.

'What happens now?' she asked faintly.

Alpha Konrad gazed fiercely into Kassidy's eyes as he deliberated the question.

'You need to pack your things, It's time for you both to come home'.