Bright Moon (6 page)

“I think she’s regaining some strength,”
Tyson commented with raised brows.

“I won’t be carried around this way!” she
said stubbornly.

Callan let her feet fall. Tyson grabbed her
arm. “Don’t let her down!” he scolded.

“What if I hurt her?” Callan complained.

“Let go of me!” She tried to yank her arm
free. Tyson, unsurprisingly, held tight.

“Look around!” Tyson shook her once and cast
his arm over their surroundings. “We don’t have time for
tantrums!”

A retort was fresh on her tongue, but it
died when she looked around. The scene before her silenced any
retaliation she might have offered. The back section of the house,
where the kitchen had been, was gone and the bare sky met her eyes
instead of a ceiling. A continuous pile of rubble surrounded them.
The flooring she stood on was in shambles. Amongst the rubble,
there were dog bodies everywhere, broken and mutilated.

“What are they?” she asked.

“She shouldn’t see this,” Callan said.

“I can’t protect her anymore,” Tyson
snapped. “She needs to learn.”

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,”
Clara whispered. “I can hear.”

“Tyson, please!” Callan’s hand clapped over
her eyes as they roamed the slaughter. “She’s seen enough.”

Tyson pried Callan’s hand from her face.
“Will you listen now?” he asked harshly. She tried not to look
anywhere and nodded, noticing he was wearing clean clothes and
smelled of alcohol as well. “More are on the way, you have to kill
them
all
or they will escape and infect innocents.” He spoke
to Callan and the other, but grabbed Clara, taking her off her
feet. Irritation died in her throat. She had to trust his
judgment.

“Clara,” Callan hesitantly touched her arm
in an encouraging way. “I might not see you for awhile.”

“How long is
awhile
?”

“Just a few days at the most, I’ll catch up,
okay?”

She nodded, blinking back tears.

“We have to go.” Tyson moved from him. “Put
your arms around my neck,” he muttered begrudgingly. “You may want
to close your eyes.”

She obeyed and wrapped her arms around his
neck. Her head lowered in order to shut her eyes when something
caught her attention. A pink rose stood out in the midst of the
rubble. She had no idea if it was the one she’d seen in her room,
but it was unnerving to see it lying in a puddle of blood. Tyson
began to move just then and the world blurred as wind ripped her
hair. She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped Tyson tighter. She
thought she heard him laugh, but pretended not to notice. It wasn’t
the only thing she tried not to notice. Beyond the smell of rubbing
alcohol, he smelled of fresh plants and his muscles were strong
under her touch. She felt ridiculous while observing these things,
while at the same time her heart tore in her chest. All the pain
that had built since her brother left threatened to manifest then.
She pressed her eyes shutnharder as if that could stop the pain
that flowered from their separation.

A few minutes into their venture, she
mustered the courage to open her eyes, peeking through one lid. She
forced her eyes open and the wind instantly drew tears. Trees and
undergrowth passed too quickly to discern except in blurs. Finally,
she turned her head and closed her eyes, wondering how long Tyson
could go on that way. Callan said they wouldn’t see each other for
a few days, would Tyson insist on carrying her all that time? She
pushed the idea aside and focused her thoughts back on her brother,
remembering how tired his eyes seemed. Worse, the spark seemed to
have gone out from them.

Her thoughts broke and shattered when the
sound of rushing wind stopped with such abruptness that her ears
popped. A loud
crack
resulted when something collided with
Tyson and they went flying. Instinctively, she knew whatever could
knock Tyson from his path was strong and quick. He dropped her and
she hit the ground rolling until pain exploded on the entire side
of her body, instantly blinding her.

She knew blackness as her mind buzzed in and
out until she finally came to with a gasp. She lay in the dirt at
the foot of the tree she’d slammed in to. As near as she could
tell, mere seconds had passed since she’d fallen. Snarling and
blazon barking broke the silence. She reeled to discover the source
of such an intense, fear inducing sound—sure the crazed dogs had
somehow caught up with them. Through the trunks surrounding her she
saw two wolves that were so large she mistook them for grizzly
bears at first. The black wolf was darker than night and the other
had a brown coat with a white belly and markings.

Her heart should have been paralyzed with
fear, but she couldn’t find it within herself. Instead, she
carefully got to her feet, gasping in pain, yet unable to take her
eyes from the horrific battle. The black wolf was the stronger of
two—it was also the defender. The brown and white wolf attacked
only to be forced back each time it sprang up with teeth flashing.
A sound that shook the forest erupted from its throat and
thunderous snarls curled its lip. With hackles raised, it attacked
yet again. The black wolf grabbed it with strong jaws, throwing it
to the ground with horrific force. The brown wolf thrashed when the
black wolf’s teeth closed around its throat. Blood gushed from the
wound and pooled in the dirt.

Sure she was about to witness the canine’s
death, Clara limped toward them. She was within twenty feet when
the black wolf’s attention snapped to her. Their eyes locked and
her heart started in her chest. Tyson’s icy blue eyes stared at her
from the wolf’s body. He dropped the other wolf as if he just
realized what he was doing. The brown wolf twitched then jolted
upright and, like any sensible creature that nearly lost his life,
he scampered away. The black wolf—Tyson—growled, but didn’t take
his eyes from her. His ears fell back and he tilted his head.

In a second the ground rushed at her.
Disoriented and dizzy, she was suddenly falling. She was mildly
surprised when someone caught her, stopping the impact. She thought
she heard Tyson speaking. In the end, she lost the battle to hone
in on his voice and fell unconscious.

The next Clara
woke, it was to shady, cool dark. She lay in dirt and leaves on the
ground, curled in a ball to keep warm. The musty smell of the
forest was comforting. Sitting up quickly, she discovered she had
been concealed in a thick of trees. The darkness was heavier than
she was used to as the canopy overhead allowed very little light to
touch the ground and she was far from city lights. From what she
could see, she was alone. Her thoughts were occupied by the memory
of the wolves and how terribly they’d fought—and how Tyson’s eyes
had watched her from a black wolf’s body.

Her thoughts left her feeling insecure and
she hugged her knees, shivering against the chill of the evening.
She wore nothing but a tee and light cotton pants, the same outfit
she’d discovered in her room. Warmth eluded her and she wondered
how foolish it would be to get up and start wandering in search of
it. A puff of hot breath hit the back of her neck and she swallowed
a scream. The large black wolf’s head came around to stare at her
with penetrating, telling eyes. Every bit of Clara’s body wanted to
be afraid, but Tyson’s icy eyes struck a sense of calm in her
heart.

“Tyson?” she breathed and raised a hand to
the wolf’s muzzle. He let her stroke the dense fur on his cheek,
never answering her query. Offering his warmth, he wrapped his long
body around her. Uncertainty fled and she only hesitated a moment
before laying her cheek against the vast side of his chest. His
great heart beat like a drum and she enjoyed the gentle rise and
fall of his ribs. The wolf warmed her enough that she was able to
fall back to sleep.

The sun climbing the sky woke her the next
morning. The black wolf had vanished and she sat up with a start.
Brushing leaves from her hair and clothing, she stood. Her
attention was arrested by a grocery bag, tied and sitting at her
feet. She opened it, finding a wrapped sandwich, an apple and a
bottle of water. She ate hungrily for a time. Tyson emerged just as
she finished the water.

“You slept late,” he said to cover the
shocked silence.

“Tyson!” Without thinking, she dropped the
crust of her sandwich and marched over to touch his chest. “How is
it possible?” she asked after assuring herself he was real.

“How is what possible?” he asked
skeptically.

She glared at him. “You deny it then?”

“Deny what exactly?”

“Don’t play with me!” she waved a finger in
his face. “I know what I saw! I just don’t know how it’s
possible!”

His gaze shifted to her finger and he stared
at it for an instant. With a furrowed brow, he looked her in the
eye. “If you know what you saw, how can you stand here without a
trace of fear?”

She inadvertently stepped back. “Should I be
afraid?”

Tyson drew to his full height in anger and
annoyance. “Are you insane?” he demanded, his voice booming. “YES!
You should be afraid! You’re saying you aren’t?”

“You haven’t given me reason to be and I…”
The sentence was left hanging when she almost admitted to trusting
him. She bit her lip and averted her gaze.

“You what?” Tyson urged.

“I just want to know how it’s possible.”

Tyson kicked at the leaves underfoot. “You
saw me in my werewolf form,” he stated. “I tried to avoid
discovery, but you woke last night and it’s incredibly hard to
fight the moon.”

“The moon?” She remembered how sick he’d
been when they unceremoniously met. “The moon was full when Mark
brought us together, was that why you were so ill?”

“How can you talk as if nothing’s
wrong?”

She ignored him, her mind reeling. His
strength and his speed were both evidence he spoke the truth.
“Callan?” she gasped.

“Is going to kill me,” Tyson said as if
finishing a sentence for her.

“What?”

“Your brother wanted to tell you this
himself.”

“Then he is a…a…”

“Werewolf, yes.” He had to finish the
sentence when she couldn’t bring herself to say the word.

“Mark?” she asked, suddenly thinking of
him.

“My brother is a werewolf too, yes. I
infected him and he blames me for his unhappiness.”

“You
infected
him?”

“It wasn’t intentional. I had no idea what I
was at the time.” Tyson ran a hand through his hair. “Mark is
deranged.”

“He’s your brother?”

“Yeah, Mark is my brother.”

“Why did he try to kill you?”

“Which time, last night? How did you know
that was Mark?”

“I meant before.”

His cold eyes darkened. “Like I said, he’s
deranged. He wants to get even with me for causing him so much
misery, but he wasn’t trying to kill me.”

“The brown wolf was Mark then? Why was he
attacking you if he wasn’t trying to kill you?”

“He wasn’t trying to kill anyone. He was
trying to infect you.”

Her heart skipped and her chest filled with
raw fear. “Why me?”

His jaw tightened and his icy eyes burned
with anger. “He knows infecting people is the best way to hurt
me.”

The amount of anger and hate displayed
between the brothers staggered her. “Is it really that bad to be a
werewolf?”

His eyes lit at the preposterous question
and that was all the answer she needed. “We really should be
moving.”

“Do you think those things will find
us?”

“No.”

“I’ve never seen a dog so ugly and
sick.”

He glanced around nervously before
answering. “They weren’t dogs. They were once, before they were
infected.”

“They were werewolves too?” she
squeaked.

“In a way, sure, but they were only dogs.
They were trained by Parker to find and attack you.”

“
Me
?” she gasped. “Who is
Parker?”
“I’m sorry, I know it’s unfair, but I can’t allow you to linger
here. We really should be moving.”

“You just said we don’t have to worry about
those dogs.”

He glanced around the trees once again. “I
know and you don’t. We are in the territory of a werewolf I’ve
never smelled before, we have to be careful.”

It was her turn to look around expectantly.
“Where are we going?”

Tyson raised an eyebrow at her and looked
all the more impatient. “We really—”

“You can answer that at the very least,
can’t you?” she demanded.

“I’d rather not say, not now. I can tell you
we’ll be safe for a time.”

Her mind itched for answers. She also knew
she had little choice but to do as he said. When her argument died,
he revealed his plan. “I have not made an alliance or asked
permission to wander these lands. I’m going to survey our
surroundings to make sure the werewolf isn’t near. Things could
turn ugly if we run into them. I won’t be back for fifteen
minutes.”

“Is it safe?”

“Of course not, your life has changed for
the worse. Safety is not a luxury you have anymore. I will protect
you. Stay here and nothing will happen.”

Having said that, he left in a blur. Her
mind needed time to absorb everything she’d learned and she was
relieved to have a few moments alone. Presently she knew fifteen
minutes had passed and she worried. Her heart jumped when he
emerged not as the Tyson she expected, but as the giant black wolf.
The enormous black bundle of obvious strength approached slowly as
if he expected her to make a dash for it. His icy blue eyes watched
curiously and even seemed surprised.

“I guess we better get going?” she asked
weakly. Tyson moved so his shoulder was parallel with her line of
sight then crouched low. “You want me to…sit on your back?”

He nodded his enormous head once.