MOONLIGHT SECRETS

I had done it.

I finally made it out of the sterile room and ate the chocolate sundae and went shopping and watched a movie at the cinema. My dreams were slowly being pursued one step at a time and I was forever grateful to my parents for letting me finally leave. I was still in the pack territory, but after countless times begging, my father had allowed me to go out with Gemma.

Just Gemma and I.

There were no guards, no doctors, no protective parents, just me and my best friend.

“I don’t know”, I reply as I kick a rock with my feet, “it was too cheesy for me. Too hopelessly romantic. I mean the main guy did not deserve the girl but at the end of the story they both end up getting married and having kids. How unrealistic.” Gemma bursts into giggles as she dances around me.

“Aria, I’m a freaking werewolf. I’m not realistic but I still exist”.

“True, true”, I reply amidst laughing. The wind picks up slightly and I shiver, earning a worried glance from Gemme. I shake my head. “I’m fine. I am just enjoying this feeling of freedom”.

Gemma remains silent before she rolls her eyes.

“That was your mother again, asking if you were fine,” I smile, tightening my grip on Gemma’s arm. Because Gemma is a wolf, she can communicate with the pack using a mind link, but since I am human, I don’t have that advantage.

“Tell her I’m fine, that I am having the best time of my life”. I close my eyes enjoying the feeling of the wind on my skin.

“I already did”, Gemma replies as she pulls me down onto a bench, facing the forest. She lays her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes.

“You have no idea how much I wanted to do this with you. Things like shopping and watching a movie with your best friends are so insignificant but when you can’t do them you finally realize the true value of it”

I close my eyes as well, feeling a painful pinch in my chest.

“I’m sorry; you got a defect like me as a friend. Not only am I just a human, I’m also pathetic little human whose body can’t even work by itself”. Gemma silences me with a hug.

“Don’t say that. You are the most powerful human I know. For goodness sakes you are the Alpha’s daughter and not just any Alpha but the Alpha of Crescent Moon. You have no idea what that title means”.

We sit in silence for a while longer watching as the sky begins to darken.

“Shall we?” Gemma finally says, making me alert again.

“What?” I ask in confusion as I notice the amused glint in her eyes.

“Shall I show you, my wolf?”

I screech in excitement as I jump up and drag Gemma into the woods, laughing and giggling as we both run through the forest. It was always something I had wanted to see, because I can’t do it myself so I want to watch someone else transform. The thought of a wolf emerging from a human body seems magical and impossible and before I leave this world, I want to experience it myself.

We reach a clearing, where the soft forest bed squelches beneath our feet and I glance up to meet Gemma’s gaze.

“Now please promise me you won’t freak out”, she whispers and I roll my eyes. I have waited my whole life for this moment and even if the world was ending or we were being attacked by zombies I would still stay to the end.

Gemma takes off her large overcoat which reached her knees and hands it to me, and I hold it tight against my chest. She then kicks off her shoes and keeps her eyes on me as she clicks her neck side to side. Then she reaches forward and crouches against the ground and suddenly it happens.

The hairs on my arms stood tall as I heard the snapping and rearranging of bones in Gemma’s body. It looked so unnatural but at the same time so natural and couldn’t look away as her body elongated and dark brown hair sprouted over her body. Her hands became paws with long claws and her mouth changed into a snout. A tail grew and the only thing ‘Gemma-like’ was her eyes which still remained a sharp bluish-grey.

My jaw dropped in awe as the wolf approached me slowly as if not to scare me.

“I’m not scared Gemma,” I whisper as I reach out my hands and place them on her soft fur. Stroking her, I notice that the wolf is the same height as me; it makes me smile.

“You’re so beautiful,” I say and I wonder if she can understand me.

Gemma bends down and for a second, I am confused until I realize she is telling me to climb onto her back. I shake my head. “No way, I’m too heavy and I could hurt you”.

What I say seems to make her laugh as she sticks her tongue out and wags her tail. She nudges me continuously until I have no option apart from gently pulling myself onto her back. I hold onto her fur gently, because I’m scared, I will hurt her and she slowly begins to trod throughout the forest. I laugh as I feel her pick up speed and holding onto her fur tighter, I feel her body move beneath me. The taut muscles stretch and as she sprints through the forest, dodging trees at lighting speed which makes my breath catch in my throat. She is not afraid at all and I know that in reality she could be running at a faster pace but she is restraining herself for my sake.

Eventually, after a long time of racing through the vast forest, she slows down and we stop near a lake and I get off her back. She shifts back and I hand her back her coat and shoes before pulling her into a hug.

“Oh, my goodness”, I scream. “That was fucking amazing”.

Gemma laughs as we both sit down by the lake and let our feet dangle in the icy water. We don’t recognize the hours going past as we enjoy the silence and talk to each other about everything and nothing.

“Aria, we have to go home now,” Gemma says as she stands while I pout and stare into the distance watching the sunset.

“I don’t want to go back yet.” I whisper, knowing fully that she is listening. Gemma strokes my hair and sits back next to me.

“We can do this again tomorrow if you want”, she offers and I nod my head but I know she is unsure herself.

Throughout the day I have been getting sicker. Even though I’m still standing and laughing, I can feel my skin burn and my head pound. I am becoming weaker and every time a pain kicks in my body I regret leaving the sterile room, ‘only for a second though’ because as soon as I feel a wince of regret, I quickly shake the thought from my mind. How could I regret such an amazing evening?

“Alright,” I whisper as I stand up watching curiously as Gemma stands tall, her eyes wide in what looks like fear.

“What’s wrong?” I ask as I step closer to her.

“Don’t move Aria”, Gemma whispers, fear truly showing through her voice. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice this before. Oh shit, what am I going to do?” Gemma is panicking now, her face losing all color and beads of sweat gathering at her hairline.

“What’s wrong?” I ask again, getting worried myself. Gemma’s frantic eyes turn to me.

“There is a territory boundary here. I can sense it because it is so strong, but I don’t know where it is”

“Well then let’s just move away from here”, I reply.

“But I don’t know in which direction Aria. The boundary seems to be all around us and I fear that if we move in the wrong direction, we might cross the boundary and be trespassing.”

OH SHIT.