Moonlit Fur Chronicles: Lucid Fur
Chapter 26 It Begins

The coffee was finally ready. I poured myself a mug and one for Ash and well as Quinn. She emerged from our room; she looked frustrated. I passed her the warm mug and watched her take a sip. She smiled and all her tension melted away. She was beautiful. My heart did a little flip as she took a second sip. I was glad she was still here with me. I needed her. She asked Ash how he was doing and they had a conversation quite similar to the one he and I had shared a moment ago. Although their conversation lasted a little longer than mine did, Quinn was much more talkative and she was more of a people person. I watched them converse and sipped my coffee. I appreciated how Quinn took a personal interest in each of my wolves. She was a great leader.

Phoenix came out of my room eventually, her eyes were a little more red than I remembered from earlier. She made brief eye contact and went down to the basement. I filled a mug of hot coffee for her and followed her into the basement. Ellis was down there too. His video game beeped and buzzed. He was totally engrossed in it and didn’t notice either Phoenix or me come down. Phoenix sat down on the couch and wrapped her arms around herself. I plopped down beside her and handed her the cup of coffee. She smiled gratefully and accepted the coffee. She spoke softly, “Sometimes I like to watch the boys play video games. Reminds me of the time before..” Her voice trailed off. I knew what she meant, “The time before the wolf.” She nodded, “My little brother used to play this game where this raccoon dude stole stuff and this fox chick chased him all over the world. Can’t remember what it was called…” I smiled gently, “Sounds like a fun game.”

“Phoenix, did Quinn say anything to you after I left to get coffee?” She coughed. Her heart beat increased just a little. “No. What? Did she say anything to you?” She stammered. I Listened her stammer and waited for her to think something up. She prattled off some excuse or nonsense. I held her gaze with sad eyes. She shied away and sipped her coffee. “Reese, it’s fine. It doesn’t matter.” I chewed my lip and waited for a real answer. She studied the video game on the tv screen. “Well, I’ll be around if ya need me. Feel free to chat whenever and wherever.” I stood up, stretched, and climbed the stairs. ’That’s just great,’ I thought to myself, ’My girlfriends are fighting. I’m losing my pack to some stupid drama queen, man hating, tree hugging lunatic.’

My cell phone buzzed, “At least one fucking thing works around here,’ I thought angrily. It was a video call from Dylan. I was confused. Dylan hated video calls and despised his picture taken. I answered the video call, Dylan was nowhere to be seen. I could hear womens laughter and jeers. My anxiety spiked. Whoever held the camera spun around in a circle. I could see pink and brown smudges pass, I assumed these were faces. Finally whoever held the camera stopped and the camera focused on a form hung by the wrists to a tree. The person looked familiar, but it was hard to tell through all the blood on their face. Dylan!

“This is what happens, Selene, when you cross me,” Artemis’ voice floated on the breeze. “But I am merciful. I forgive. Come to me, forsake the fools you surround yourself with, and be part of our Perfect Family!” The video cut off, but I recognized where Dylan was being held. I had seen that hill before. I had tracked Kai to it. Artemis had declared war! I felt my body tremble violently. A red veil fell over my eyes. Rage overtook me! I didn’t have time to remove my clothes. I exploded in a puff of fur and fangs!

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I reawakened and I was furious! My human tried to tell me what happened. I cared little for her human words. I felt her pain more than I heard her words. Her heart cried out in agony, I howled along with it. I didn’t recognize where I was, but it smelt safe and familiar. I looked around and saw human faces everywhere. I didn’t care. At last, I saw what I wanted. I saw the trees. I bolted for them and smashed through an invisible wall that cut my skin. The humans behind me cried out in alarm. Some of them disappeared and members of my pack appeared. I greeted them quickly and sped off into the woods. My inner human rambled on about something unimportant. All I cared about was one of my pack was covered in blood and trapped in enemy territory.

I raced through the trees and onward to the hill. The scent of blood grew stronger every second. More of my pack charged beside me. The six of us pressed onward. I was thrilled by the hunt and enjoyed the sensation of imminent bloodshed. My inner human really didn’t like me, but I didn’t care, she was weak and didn’t deserve to have my power within her. The smell of blood intoxicated me, it infuriated me that the blood belonged to one of my pack. We crashed into the clearing and found something horrible. There was a human tied to a tree. He was more dead than alive. I put my ear close to his chest and heard a faint heartbeat. My inner human begged me to do something. I opened my jaws and bit him on his leg. I felt his skin tear and bone snap. With a ton of luck, I would turn my very first werewolf.

The boy screamed in agony, which was a good sign. His wails pierced my highly sensitive ears. I snapped at him. He hurt my ears. My inner human was so mad at me that I tried to turn him. I ignored her. I saw something move behind the boy. It was a human girl. She smelled familiar and foreign simultaneously. The human in my mind whispered one word, “Kai.” She turned and saw me. Her eyes leaked and the water ran down her face. My inner human demanded we shift back, that I put her back in charge. I chortled mockingly. She compromised and gave me an idea. I didn’t like it but agreed. Apparently it was vitally important she speak to this pathetic leaky human girl. My magnificent powerful body folded in on itself. I felt the pain but disregarded it. My body shifted into a human girl shape but I remained in control.

My tongue felt short and weak. I realized it was a human tongue. I quickly explored my mouth with my new human tongue. I found I kept my fangs. I looked down at my hands and saw deadly claws protrude from my weird human hands. “Reese! I’m sorry! I didn’t know that they were going to do this,” she whined. “Be silent! I do not care right now. He is more important. If he survives you may talk once your Reese assumes control. Right now, I am the one you are dealing with and I do NOT like you! You betrayed us! You betrayed your pack. You betrayed Reese after she gave you everything, saved you from Chad. If I had my way, you’d end up just like him!” The human girl Kai staggered backward and fell to the ground, “Reese? What? Who are you?” I glared at her and watched her shake and tremble before me.

I savored her fear, it smelled delicious. I lifted my voice and raged, “I AM THE ALPHA!” I forced my body back into my glorious wolf form. I told the others to care for the wounded human boy. The human girl Kai screamed in terror as I launched myself over her. The smell of urine permeated the air around her. I followed the scent that crazy tree hugger person left behind. It reminded me of prey. I followed it as far as I could. A large river raged before me. I roared in frustration, I lost her scent! She must have jumped in the river to evade me. Weak spineless prey! I returned to the hill and found the human girl Kai. She just sat there in the puddle she made and sobbed. I couldn’t care less. The human boy was not in the clearing, my pack must have taken him back to shelter. I followed their scent back to the wooden shelter. My inner human screamed at me about how I treated the human girl Kai. I rolled my eyes and surrendered control to her. My body twisted and broke. I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

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