Lillian Chaney takes off her high heels as soon as she leaves the school. She wants to feel the earth beneath her feet. The soft dirt. The rough rocks. The sappy pine needles. She wants to feel it all. But first she must feel the annoying concrete these humans are so fond of. She launches herself into the night, sprinting hard, her feet barely kissing the hard, blacktop street.
She doesn’t change to the White Wolf, not yet. The change is much more delicious if you delay gratification. Like thinking about an ice cream sundae all day long then finally being able to devour when night comes.
It takes Lillian no time at all to reach the woods. Minutes later, she finds herself eight miles north of town, still wearing her lovely yellow dress. Despite the bright garment, Lillian doesn’t have a care in the world. She is certain no one can spot her as she moves among the trees. It is night and Lillian knows how to be unseen.
A cool breeze whispers through the pines, like a song meant only for her. She missed this place. Once upon a time, it was her home. But it’s not wise for a werewolf to stay in one place too long. When ranchers start losing livestock, they tend to hunt for the predators responsible. When someone’s child goes missing, the hunt becomes more serious. So Lillian spent her life wandering from one little mountain town to the next. She hunted. She howled at the moon. But always, she moved on.
Enough of that. Lillian is done running. It is time to make this place her home again. Slowly, she had built a pack of young werewolves to roam the forest with her. She gathered strays during her travels. One boy from this town. Another boy from that town. Usually, they were the lost and forgotten ones, children without parents. Usually.
Lillian had decided they would stay together in these woods, hunting as they pleased. As long as they kept their numbers low, the city dwellers wouldn’t discover their pack. But they could still use a fresh recruit to replace poor old Killer Paw.
Which is why Lillian is here.
The wind shifts, carrying the girl’s scent. Lillian knows right away this is Katrina’s sister. Lillian can smell it in her blood. The girl wanders the edge of a clearing, swinging a flashlight back and forth. Another girl accompanies her to collect firewood. It just happens to be one of the students from Lillian’s middle school art class. Lillian tries to remember the girl’s name. Sally? Sarah perhaps. It’s not really important. Both wear the ridiculous scout uniform with matching berets. A dog sniffs the ground beside the girls. It’s the same domestic mutt that tired to save Katrina weeks ago. Of course, the dog is no threat to Lillian. Neither is the campsite full of girls two hundred yards away. No threat at all.
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Lillian glances up at the rising moon before letting out a grunt. She wishes it was full, but a crescent will do just fine. Her pack members step out from behind trees or rise up from bushes. One by one, they transform. They snarl and wince as their bones stretch and their skin sprouts hair.
The strange noises from the woods catch the girls’ attention. Katrina’s sister sweeps the flashlight over the tree line. Lillian watches them back away from the edge of the forest towards their camp. as if their campfire and fellow scouts could save them. She can smell the fear on them. Lillian slips out of her yellow dress, leaving it wadded up among the pine needles Then she transforms and creeps into the clearing.
The girls spot her white-furred body instantly. But they are two terrified to move a muscle. Katrina’s sister tries to scream. It comes out as a high-pitched whine. The dog beside her lets out a rattle of ferocious barks, but it backs away.
Stay away from them! The dog says. Stay away!
But the White Wolf isn’t listening. She prowls forward towards the girls. If someone were watching the scene play out on video, they would swear the wolf was smiling.
***
“STOP!” My voice echoes through the trees, louder than I ever thought possible. “Leave them alone.”
I leap over a fallen log and pounce into the clearing. Back at the school, I grabbed an old Army backpack from the lost-and-found, and now it bounces on my shoulder. Something heavy sits inside.
I can’t believe it. The White Wolf actually listens to me and stops creeping towards Emily and Sarah.
“It’s me you want,” I say. The wolf squints at me, watching as I circle around it. I edge closer towards Emily and Sarah. They stand frozen in disbelief, too afraid to even cry or scream out.
Something rustles behind me—branches and pine needles cracking under the weight of paws. Furry shapes prowl the shadows. Eyes glow in the half moonlight. I know the wolf boys are out there among the pines. I can smell them. But they aren’t boys anymore.
Sarah is the first one to speak. Her chin quivers, but somehow, she gets the words out. “Kat? What’s happening?”
Yes, Katrina. What is happening? The whisper-voice echoes in my head again. The White Wolf traps me with its sinister gaze.
“I’m giving myself to you,” I tell the wolf. “Leave them alone and I promise, I’ll obey you.”
Both Sarah and Emily turn to gawk at me, a million questions in their expressions. Of course, they can’t hear the wolf’s whispers in their heads. So I must look completely psycho to them.
And why should I take you, hmmm? Again, the White Wolf whispers. You can’t even turn at will. What good is a wolf in my pack who stumbles upon two skinny, clumsy legs?
“You want me to turn?” I keep my eyes on the wolf, but I step backwards. Behind me, there is a gap between the wolf boys, a path through the dense trees. “Come get me and I’ll show you.”
Without another word, I bolt into the thick stand of trees. I sprint hard, crashing through shrubs and hurdling tree stumps. Pine branches lash at my face. The army bag smacks against my back. Even through the pack’s fabric, even through my shirt, I can feel the thing inside. It makes my back itch and burn.
They wait a few moments, like they’re giving me a head start. Like I was some dumb kid who wouldn’t stand a chance otherwise.
Then they chase me.