William’s werewolf eyes gave him ten times the night vision he had when in human form and he could see so much better. He could clearly see Nicolas roll around in the sand trying to cough and hold his wounded chest with his dirty hands and arms. He still hadn’t shifted yet. William could kill him, the thought was very attractive to him here in the cooling desert, away from the eyes of the City or humanity.
He took a step toward Kenneth, ignoring the light of the heavens above him. He smiled to himself, if he was going to be a monster then let it begin with the death of this one. An evil in the service of good could still be seen as good. He took another step and was stopped cold.
The quiet, solemn, regal shape of the full moon crested the horizon at last and the cold sand around the two of them was bathed in a frigid but glorious white light. William had never seen the moon so bright before, her light had never been this radiant. He looked down as Nicolas slowly rolled over and raised himself to his hands and knees. William had never felt so ashamed of himself. He knew full well what he had almost done, what he had thought about doing. He closed his eyes hard to blot out the memory of it. But it wouldn’t fade and then, in the dark recesses of his mind, the ghost of a memory flickered and he swore he heard laughter. He let out a howl of sorrow and pain to drown out the sound and the memory. But not even his howl could erase that laugh.
Nicolas coughed and heaved heavy breaths as he remained on all fours, holding his chest. William held his eyes closed but could tell from Nick’s ragged breathing that he was hurt. Maybe even a cracked rib or two. Maybe that was why he hadn’t shifted?
William shifted back into human form while that horrible laughter echoed in his ears. He thought about helping Nick to his feet, but he doubted that it would be appreciated.
“I’ll be back…I…I’m…” but he couldn’t finish the sentence. He felt abhorrent at himself for what he might have done and yet he couldn’t bring himself to apologize to him. The words stuck in his craw like a splintered bit of crab shell. William walked east into moonrise.
The wind was picking up, noticeably and he would have to find shelter for the two of them by morning. Not just from the sun and heat, but from prying eyes as well. But the first thing he had to do was find them food and some water. Water would be difficult at best, especially since this was in southern California. The food might be a little more attainable.
He raised his eyes to blue black sky and the white light of the moon. Maybe he could get some help from some flying informants.
He shifted again and pierced the darkness of the night sky with his wolf eyes. He scanned the horizon and the patches of black between the stars. The wind carried sand into his eyes which he wiped away and shielded from as best he could. He turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees slowly. The sky was quiet as death and twice as cold. He lowered his eyes and was about to turn back toward Nicolas when he saw a blur along the edge of the moons full shape.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
He stared at the blur, trying to get a better look at it and it dived suddenly. It was what William had been hoping to find. He leaped forward and broke into a sprint on all fours. The sands underneath him shifted with each step but his claws were able to dig in and propel him forward without losing traction or speed.
The blurred shape in the distance had not yet risen back into the sky which was a good sign. If it was a bird of prey then hopefully that meant that it had caught its target and was eating. But where there was one small rodent, the nest wasn’t very far away. He would be able to backtrack to the nest by smell.
He ran hard and before long the blur rose back into the sky at his approach. It brilliantly spread its wings and was silhouetted in the glory of the moon. It was sandy colored with two tufts of hair crowning the head like horns, it was beautiful.
William came to a stop and lowered his nose to the remains of the owl’s meal. The sand greedily drank at the carcasses’ blood, leaving only a tiny concealed mess on the rodent’s fur. He inhaled deeply the scent of the animal and then slowly paced around the kill.
The scent the small animal left along the sand was faint and the winds blowing the sands around were making the trail disappear even now. William leaped forward while keeping his nose down. The scent was weak and getting weaker but it was the only lead he had.
He ran quickly, desperately clinging to the trail the small rodent had left behind. But even with his speed he couldn’t outrun the wind and the trail dissipated and completely vanished from under him.
William shook his head and leaned back on his haunches. Feeling dejected and defeated he rocked back and heaved himself to his feet. His stomach growled angrily and he couldn’t stop his hand from absently rubbing at the void that had suddenly sprung up in his body.
He turned around slowly scanning the ground for any sign of wildlife, but there wasn’t any. He didn’t want to give Nicolas the satisfaction of knowing that he had failed to get them even the smallest bit of food. He looked around and then threw his head to one side in disgust at himself. He was glad that he did.
In a black outline, barely seen against the darkness of the night sky, jutting up from the ground to stand three or four feet about the rest of the sage and shrubs was something that he hoped he recognized.
The stalk was straight and the puffy crown of the plant gave him hope. He walked over to it and studied the plant. He inhaled deeply the scent and scratched it gently. He reached his tongue out and licked at the wound. It tasted ok. There was no tang or sting upon his tongue. He knew that it would be ok to eat. Of course, it could be something completely poisonous and kill both of them, but William was beyond confident that he had found an Our Lord’s Candle. If what he remembered from Efraim’s teachings was right, they could eat every part of the plant.
William carefully dug around the shoot and stem and removed as much of the plant from the sand and hard soil underneath as he could. He cradled the plant in his arm and hurried back the way he had come to let his pack mate enjoy the fruits of the hunt. It wasn’t the same as when he led his pack in his forest, but right now, this single plant, was as good as any animal he had ever had to chase, and just as sweet as any kill.