Although it was cold and the streets of El Cerro were still covered with snow, the morning sun coming through the window was warm and pleasant. At least that's how Sofia felt, although she was feeling too many things that morning. The moon was going to be full that night and a knot of anticipation clutched her stomach, though it was not an unpleasant feeling. Biting her lip, she looked away from her scribbled history notebook and stared at the boy sitting at the desk to her right.

Dave was taking notes as diligently as ever. The sun's rays fell on his hair and accentuated its blond color and the slight blush on his cheeks. Every once in a while, he would stop writing to bite the cap of his pen with a fang that was big enough to not look human. He was a little nervous, Sofia knew it because he kept shifting in his chair, but it wasn't like the previous days. That restlessness seemed more natural, and she had no trouble guessing that the moon’s influence had a lot to do with it.

The memory of what had happened the night before lit up her cheeks, and a smile appeared on her lips when she thought of the complicity that had developed between them. Every time they exchanged a glance, every time they spoke, knowing that they were both aware of each other's secret was a huge relief. ‘It's nice to be able to speak plainly, without having to worry about what words I use so I don't tell too much. It makes things so much easier’.

The boy turned to her. The morning light fell on his blue eyes, which seemed to brighten, and a warm smile broke across his lips. The canid fangs, a bit larger than usual, came into view. Sofia, who had not stopped smiling, looked down somewhat sheepishly and realized that the blush on her skin was increasing. She knew she should be paying attention to the lesson, but she was unable to stop staring at him like the infatuated idiot she was. ‘If you keep looking at me like that you're going to make me really fall in love with you, and then I'm going to kill you because I know you don't like me in the same way’.

The shrill screech of the bell filled the silence of the classroom so abruptly they both jumped almost at the same time. Realizing how ridiculous they looked to have been caught by surprise by a sound they heard several times a day, they looked at each other again and started laughing. They weren't the only ones who were bothered by it because there was the occasional latent with fine hearing in class, but it did affect them a bit more. Knowing that their senses were very similar was another detail that increased the complicity between them, because whatever one smelled, heard or saw, the other could perceive it in the same way. In silence, still exchanging occasional glances accompanied by nervous smiles, they gathered their things and put on their coats.

“What a boring class. Thank goodness it's over,” commented Sofia as she slung her backpack over her shoulder.

“If I'm honest, I wasn’t paying much attention,” said the boy as he scratched the back of his neck and sniffed the air to his left. “I... wanted to thank you for... for last night, for... for helping me and for…” He took a deep breath. “For understanding.”

“Hey! I told you already. You're my best friend and this doesn't change anything. Besides, I'm like you too.” Sofia leaned against his side to try to provide him with some reassurance. She was well aware of the blush on her cheeks and the uncontrollable smile on her lips but there was nothing she could do about it.

“God, you're—”

“How are you, buddy?” Sara approached the two friends and slipped an arm around Dave's shoulders with so much energy that she made him turn around so that his back was to the wall. The boy licked his lips and looked at her quizzically. “Stop moving that, folk are going to start looking at you funny,” she added between her teeth, and then looked at Sofia with an expression of not having broken a dish in her life.

Sofia folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. She knew, of course she knew. Sara had been able to detect her nature just by touching her, which was part of the reason she had insisted so much in trying to become her friend. Sensing that Dave was a cinanthrope should have been no problem for her.

“Tha... thanks for letting me know. I... I'm trying to control myself but I'm a little nervous and I do it unintentionally...” Dave, who had turned red as a tomato, looked at Sofia with a small apologetic smile. “It's the full moon. It doesn't usually happen when it's not visible, but I haven't changed in a long time and I haven't quite managed to regain my full human appearance since last night.”

“That can't be comfortable,” Sofia remarked. Although she tried to avoid it, her gaze drifted down to his pants where, on closer inspection, she was able to see the outline of his tail on one of the legs. Yes, he was wagging it with little nervous twitches.

“It's not, but there's nothing I can do,” he said, and a small growl of frustration that vibrated on his lips as he ran his tongue across them crept into his voice.

It was obvious that he wasn't just referring to the fact that he had to keep his tail hidden inside his pants. He was also talking about their nature. From a young age, all cinanthropes lived repressing their behavior, something that was exhausting in itself, but what was really annoying was why they did it. For fear of rejection, because humans were cruel to those who were different, and because hunters would chase them and kill them. It was very unfair but they could do nothing but adapt to the world they had to live in.

“Wait, wait, wait, you know already?” Sara looked at Sofia with her eyes wide open and her mouth trembling due to the huge smile she was trying to hold back.

“No thanks to you,” Sofia told her reproachfully, and folded her arms again.

Far from being offended, Sara burst out laughing with a thunderous laugh that echoed throughout the classroom. Although most of her classmates had already left, the few who remained behind looked at her quizzically.

“Finally! You don't know how much you've made me bite my tongue, you pair of blind wolves. I thought you were going to make me lock you two in some barn during the full moon,” said the girl with a huge ear-to-ear grin.

“Does Sara know that you...?” Dave turned to Sofia and raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, of course she knows, and she kept it to herself like a bitch. I told her I was afraid you'd find out what I am, and her way of helping me overcome that fear was to let us figure it out for ourselves so I could see that nothing bad happened. Sara is more cunning and scheming than you think,” Sofia grumbled. A growl that she didn't try to contain rumbled in her throat.

“But I have no malice,” said Sara as she slipped an arm around Sofia's shoulders. There was an expression on her face that made it obvious she had no regrets.

“You'd be terrifying if you had,” Sofia mumbled.

“When we go get lunch, I'll let you trash talk me as much as you want. Now I have something important to tell our buddy here.” Sara let go of Sofia and turned to Dave, although the jovial expression didn't disappear from her face. “Monica told me that you shouldn't even think about using the concoction today or you're going to have a shit of a time when the moon comes out. You haven't taken it yet, I hope.”

“No, no... and I'm not going to keep taking it. It's... rather unpleasant and it doesn't soothe my need to change, it just makes it harder.”

Dave licked his lips and tensed his back. A quiet, restrained whimper echoed in his throat, and no wonder considering how painful it had been for him to change the night before.

“What are you going to do then? Because that nutcase is still determined to turn you into a rug,” asked Sara, much more serious.

Dave let out a quiet sigh and licked his lips.

“I'm going back out. We've thought of a way to try to get him away from the area I'm going to be in.”

“You're going into the woods?” Sara raised her eyebrows so high that wrinkles appeared on her forehead.

“I don't have a choice. You've seen what happens to me when I don't give vent to my instincts, and every month is worse than the last. Yesterday I had to make a superhuman effort not to change right here, and I almost didn’t make it.”

A high-pitched whimper crept into his voice and he tensed his back again. After a quick glance around to check that there was no one left in the class, he shook in the same way a dog would, which was quite a view considering how tall he was. When he was done, he looked at Sofia with an apologetic expression and she tried to reassure him with a small smile. It wasn't something they did just to dry off when they got wet, it was also a way to release stress when they were very nervous. However, they rarely had the freedom to let themselves go.

“Martin is going to skin you if he catches you, buddy, but I'm not saying anything, you know that. Do you want me to give you a hand?” said Sara.

Sofia and Dave exchanged a look in which no words were needed to understand what the other was thinking.

***

A howl echoed through the forest. Sofia tensed her muscles and scanned the winter landscape, but all she saw around her was a maze of reddish logs against an endless white background. Although she tried to focus on the noises in case she heard something else, her ears only caught the cottony silence that made her feel as if they were plugged. Even the smells were so muffled that she wondered if this was how humans perceived the world.

“It's the signal. Are you ready?” Sofia asked while still scanning the forest depths. The hair on the back of her neck had bristled and only her self-control kept her from running to him.

“Trust me! I'm going to make him walk in so many circles that he'll think he's changed countries!” Sara nudged her hard on the shoulder and winked.

“Be careful, Sara. Rodrigo is a dangerous idiot who shoots without looking, and you're not a cinanthrope.”

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“Relax, mate! My sister has taught me a little trick or two. To shoot me, he has to see me first, and I can convince trees to lend me a branch” she pointed out with more confidence than Sofia thought prudent.

Not far away the snow crunched with the rhythmic cadence of approaching footsteps. Sofia tensed even more and her gaze wandered through the maze of logs and rocks. Something moved through the trees, a pale figure that blended into the white background, but the eyes of wolves like her were made to focus on things that moved. Dave, who had his face hidden by a beanie and scarf, was heading toward them as fast as his feet could carry him.

Sofia had seen him run in dog form, but even in his human guise his feet seemed to hover over the snow. She could tell he was used to wandering among the trees like the wild animal he was. Sofia bit her lip and wondered how long her friend had been changing every full moon. How long had he been going deep into the forest so he could let himself go.

When he reached the two girls, Dave pulled down his scarf, rested his hands on his knees and began to pant with the same rapid cadence as dogs did. The cold made his breath turn into puffs of whitish mist that escaped his lips.

“Did you find him?” Sofia asked while keeping her ears open in case she heard more approaching footsteps.

“Yes... I found him... near some traps... as you said...” said the boy between gasps.

“Did he see you?”

Dave shook his head and stood up again. His breathing was still heavy but it steadied as he regained his strength.

“I howled when I was... far enough. It's been a while since... I left him behind... but I left my tracks in... a visible place. I think he'll... follow them.” He looked back nervously and licked his lips.

“Great! Now it's my turn!” Sara rolled up her sleeves and a huge grin broke across her face.

“God, be very careful! I don't want... either of you to get hurt... because of me,” Dave said, his voice high-pitched from the whimper that crept into it.

“Easy, man. I'm faster in the snow than that oaf.”

Sara closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. The expression of concentration on her face was accentuated by the way her hands moved in and out of her chest in rhythm with her breathing. A strange breeze that seemed to be born from the earth itself picked up and began to swirl around her, catching in its wake particles of ice and snow that enveloped her like a glitter curtain. With each new breath, the whirlwind moved faster and faster, reaching the point where it was becoming difficult to see Sara inside that tiny blizzard.

The girl's whole body began to radiate a light that emerged from within. It was so intense that the two teenagers took a couple of steps back and were forced to look away. Out of the corner of her eye, Sofia saw Sara's human form warp and grow into a silhouette of huge paws with sharp claws, a broad head with a powerful muzzle, and a hulking, muscular body. The light collapsed in on itself and returned inside the witch to reveal a huge brown-furred bear.

The bear plopped down on all four paws and looked up at her two friends with large brown eyes. There was an amused expression on her face that was far more human than it should have been, which was understandable considering Dave was looking at her with eyes like saucers and mouth wide open in a mute gasp of surprise. Sofia couldn't help but smile a little because she had reacted the same way the first time she saw Sara use that spell. They had told him what to expect, but seeing it was a different matter.

“Wow...” Dave made a gesture to go towards Sara but Sofia grabbed his arm to stop him.

“We need to move. Sara needs time to leave a trail of footprints to draw Rodrigo away from your territory, and he can't find us here,” she told him, her gaze locked on his eyes in an expression of urgency.

“Yes, you're right.”

Dave, much more serious, looked at Sara again and nodded curtly. The bear returned the gesture and began to run through the snowy forest, leaving behind a trail of deep ursid tracks. That had been the plan. Yes, the footprints on the ground were not those of a canid, but Rodrigo was looking for a werewolf. There was a good chance that he wouldn't be able to tell them apart, especially since he had never seen one and didn't know what they looked like. Sofia bit her lip and let her gaze wander over her friend's human body. That was the advantage they had over him.

When Sara was far enough that they could no longer hear the sound of her footsteps, Dave raised his head and howled again. Sofia's hair bristled and a whimper rose to her throat, but she held it back. It wasn't a friendly greeting like the first time she heard him, it was a high-pitched, intense, desperate cry. Concern for their friend had seeped into his voice.

As the echo of his call faded among the branches of the trees, that cottony silence returned to the forest again. The only thing that broke the wintry stillness was the rhythmic crunching of the snow being crushed as something moved through it. The two teenagers, with the hair on the back of their heads bristling, tensed their muscles and looked into the depths. Rodrigo had taken the bait and was following the trail of footprints Dave had left, just as they had planned. However, they didn't think he would be able to move so fast. There was no doubt that he was determined.

“Come on, we have to go!” Sofia grabbed Dave by the hand and pulled him toward some large rocks.

With Dave in tow, Sofia ducked and slipped through a narrow gap between the two boulders. On the other side of a short stretch that was like a winding dark corridor, they emerged into an area of dense bushes and low branches that would make it easier for them to hide their tracks and they picked up their pace to get away as fast as possible. Although there was not much risk of Rodrigo following them, since he should be going after Sara's tracks, they made sure to shake the vegetation in order to make the snow fall on the trail they were leaving behind. It was just another safety measure but it was better to be safe than sorry. Even so, Sofia kept her ears open in case she heard any noise that would alert her to the presence of the hunter, but with the sound of their own footsteps it was hard to tell if they were being followed.

When they were a good distance away, they looked for a more open area and broke into a run. Although the vegetation there was not as dense and the tree branches were not so low, running with their feet sinking in the snow required an enormous effort, and they soon began to pant. They ran without exchanging a word, their ears still alert to their surroundings in case they heard something other than the ground crunching beneath their boots, but around them was only the silence of the winter forest.

Dave let out a moan of pain that sounded high-pitched like a yelp and he staggered to a stop. With a trembling hand on his chest, he bent in on himself and clenched his jaw in a grimace that made it clear that wasn't being pleasant.

“Dave.”

Sofia ran to him and grabbed his arm to help him remain standing. It was then that she felt his muscles throbbing as if they were being jolted by electric currents. Upon closer inspection, Sofia noticed the subtle changes that were occurring in his body. The fangs, which had been larger than normal all day, were indistinguishable from those of a dog, and the blond fuzz on his beard was becoming whiter and bushier.

“I'm fine,” he said as he began to breathe in long, deep breaths of air. “It's... it's normal when I exercise too hard or when I feel strong emotions. It's... the change, I'm holding it back and it's painful. I'll... I'll explain everything but... I think we should move. The moon...”

“Hey!” Dave had started to walk again, but Sofia grabbed his arm to stop him. “Relax, nothing's going to happen to her. Sara is more capable than she looks.”

“I don't doubt it, but I can't help worrying.” Dave let out a quiet sigh and looked towards the forest depths. “It's an extraordinary power, a natural talent that not all mages can do, but she has none of our abilities. She can't heal like us and her senses are not like ours. She may look like a bear but it's just an elaborate disguise, like our human appearance. If that psycho shoots her, Sara is going to need help, real help, and not too long from now I'm not going to be of much use.” A high-pitched whimper crept into his voice.

“Seriously, you know about magic too?”

“A little...”

Dave twisted his lips into a shy smile and started walking again through the snowy landscape. Sofia followed him and fell in step with him. Behind them they left a trail of footprints that they didn't bother to hide any longer. She didn't know where they were, as the forest looked the same wherever she looked, but her friend moved with the ease of someone who knew the area very well. ‘In a few months he has adapted to this place as if it were his natural ecosystem. I've never seen a cinanthrope as wild as he is’. Sofia, who hadn't stopped looking at him, bit her lip and felt a blush ascend to her cheeks. She wasn't going to deny it, she found that wild wolf side of him attractive.

“My... my father is a mage. My brother was the one who inherited his gift, but I was always curious about magic and he taught me quite a few things.”

A deep sigh escaped his lips and wiped the smile from his face. Although he turned his gaze away, Sofia had time to see the shadow of sadness that had fallen over it. It was the same expression she saw when she met him by the stream and thought about how lonely that cinanthrope seemed to be.

“Is that why you had to leave your home?”

Dave nodded.

“My father has something that others are looking for, a... a grimoire that belonged to my grandfather.” A restrained growl rumbled in his throat. “An unruly pup who can't sit still was an easier target than the son of the last great mage, so they tried to use me to blackmail him. My father hatched a plan to pass me off as dead to get me to safety, and he also showed them that he was willing to let his own son die rather than give them the book. That way he protected both me and my siblings.”

“If your father passed you off as dead, is your name really David?” When she noticed the tremble in her voice, Sofia bit her lip and lowered her gaze slightly. Dave licked his lips and shook his head.

“No, my name's not David. My name is...” He let out a long sigh. “My name is Alex. Alex Richter.”

“What would you like me to call you?” Sofia laced her fingers with his and leaned on his arm to give him some encouragement.

“You met me as David, and that's my identity now. Besides, the name isn't that important to us, you know that.” Dave twisted his lips into a weak smile and gave her a gentle squeeze. Then he let out a quiet sigh and started walking towards the village. “I'd better walk you to the road. It won't be long before the moon rises and....”

Sofia closed her fingers more firmly around his hand and stopped him. Intrigued, the boy turned to her and tilted his head to one side. That inquisitive gaze of eyes so blue they reminded her of the sky on a clear day tightened the knot of anxiety in her stomach. Well aware of the blush burning on her cheeks, Sofia licked her lips and took in the scenery to her right as she sniffed the air. With the scents of the forest so muted, her friend's seemed much more intense, so instead of calming down she became even more nervous. ‘Don't be silly, you're just going to ask him a question, you're not going to confess your feelings to him’ she said to herself as she struggled to stifle the whimper that rose to her throat.

“I wanted to ask you something. Maybe you don't want to, and I'll understand if you don't want to, but... I'd like to spend the night with you,” she said, and although her voice was like a weak, shy thread, she realized how much it was trembling.

“Really?” gasped Dave, with his eyes wide open. Sofia bit her lip and nodded.

“I always go out during the full moon in case I change, and I thought we could keep each other company. Besides...” A shy smile that matched the blush on her cheeks made its way across her lips. She was unable to look away from those blue eyes that gazed at her with fascination. “Since I've met you I've realized that I know very little about us, and I'm curious to know what it's like to be a cinanthrope.”

“I... I don't know what to say. I've always been alone during the full moon, so this would be the first time I've spent it with someone. I... I'd love to spend it with you but, are you sure? It's going to be cold and, when I change, I'm afraid I won't be able to make much conversation.” Dave scratched the back of his neck and a nervous smile broke across his lips and exposed his fangs.

“I don't think we'll have any trouble communicating.” Sofia leaned on his arm and the boy's smile grew wider.

“I'm sure of that.” Dave let out a cool, crystalline laugh that vibrated with a nervous tremor. “Come. Let's go to my shelter. It's a good place to... well, I think it'll be a good place.”