I’m still reeling over my meeting with Luna Bleeding Heart when a strange scent wafts from the trees around me. Werewolf lands are never fully tamed, so dark forests, treehouses, and wild fields are commonplace. Every wolf knows the scent of their land by heart; it’s like the comforting aroma of a friend.
This scent in the forest is new. It’s…wrong. Empty, somehow.
Cillian’s room smelled empty the morning of his death.
I clutch my nose and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to banish the wretched memory to the back of my mind. I dare to sniff the air again, and I pinpoint the scent. I creep closer, every muscle on edge. All I can think about is Cillian; I’m afraid of finding his dead body behind a tree. I’m afraid that I’ll turn around and Sorcha will be there to give me another scar—
Sobs. I freeze, confusion and worry overtaking me. Who’s crying? Why do they smell wrong? Oddly, this stranger’s sobbing gives me strength. They’re hurting…maybe I can help.
“Hello?” I call out. I almost call out Cillian’s name instead.
A gasp, rustling leaves. “Don’t come any closer!” a young girl cries out. She sounds like she’s my age – thirteen-ish. She’s right behind this old, gnarled oak just a few paces in front of me.
“It’s okay…I can help,” I reassure.
“No! You’ll hurt me!”
I take a few steps closer; I’m just on the other side of the tree now. “Why would I do that?”
“Because…Because you’re a werewolf!”
…Yeah? Wait – she’s afraid of werewolves? Does that mean…?
I step out from behind the tree, and I’m met face-to-face with a human girl. It’s actually a human – a real-life human!
Wait, no, I’m not supposed to be intrigued. I’m supposed to hate her. We hate humans. Right.
I clear my throat; I need to assert my superiority. Werewolves are the true tenants of the earth, not these Children of Cormac. We’re holy descendants of The Great Mother Aoibh herself, and this pathetic human is a spawn of Cormac. She’s cut off from the earth, she has no inner wolf, she has no strength – I’m better than her!
I need to show my superiority with these next words!
“Um…h-hi,” is what I manage to squeak out. My heart sinks, and any sense of bravado deflates.
I’m pathetic.
“You’re really not gonna hurt me?” the girl asks with mounting hope. Good Cadhla Almighty, her eyes are so weird. They’re not the bright gold or ice of werewolf eyes; instead, they’re brown like the earth after a cleansing rain. They’re strangely beautiful.
They plead silently at me.
“Um, no, I don’t think so,” I stammer. I know I should, but I can’t help but feel bad for the odd girl. That’s when the horrid tang of blood grips my skull. My eyes snap down to her foot, but something else catches my attention.
“Why do you wear shoes in the summer?” I blurt out as I tilt my head. Everyone’s barefoot in the pack – we wouldn’t dare sever such a sacred connection with the earth, lest the snow force us to.
The girl blinks at me, stupefied. “…Huh?”
“Nevermind.” I try to focus. “May I remove your shoe? You’re bleeding.”
Hesitantly, she nods. She undoes the laces, and I gently pull off the boxy shoe. A jagged, wooden splinter spears through the tender flesh of her foot, protruding out both ends in a bloody mess. Where are her callouses?
She stares unblinkingly at me, breathing rapidly like a snared rabbit. Wow, she really is afraid of me. I suppose it feels nice to be feared…I think?
Either way, this splinter needs to come out. In one swift motion, I tug hard, and I free it from her foot—
She yelps, loud, and she immediately claps her hand over her mouth as her outcry echoes throughout the forest. I jump and stand watch, my piercing eyes scanning the shadows for anyone who might have heard. If anyone from the pack saw me aiding a human, I’d be in big trouble.
“You could’ve warned me!” she hisses, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Why would I do that? No one’s ever warned me when removing my splinters or thorns. “Oh…sorry,” I murmur, still on edge from her outburst.
She slips back on her shoe and sniffles, eyeing me closely. “…Thanks,” she grunts.
“You’re welcome!” I chirp, before I once again remember that I’m supposed to hate her. “Er, um, I mean – you should leave. Before I hurt you.” Clearly, I’m not convincing, because a flicker of a smile brightens her pained features. Again, I deflate. Great, now this weak human isn’t even taking me seriously.
My curiosity gets the better of me. “What’re you doing out here?”
The girl rubs her arm uneasily. “My parents just moved to the area. I wanted to go exploring, but I got lost, and…” Her words drift away as she looks around at the maze of trees around her. What must be dizzying to her is my home, my haven.
“You didn’t get lost on a hunt?” I question. Tadgh’s brother was killed by a human Werewolf Hunter. Many of my kind are killed by Hunters – it’s why we hate humans.
She stares at me, horrified, and says, “Of course not.” I’m taken aback. But I thought all humans were Hunters! What do other humans do, then?
Well, I can think about that later. Right now, I need to get this girl off our territory. The sun is sinking fast below the horizon, and soon, every of-age werewolf will shift into their large, beastly forms. If this human girl is still on the territory by then, she’ll be in serious danger.
“Can you walk?” I ask, and she staggers to her feet. She tries to take a few steps, but with how severe her hobbling is, she won’t make it far without help. I groan inwardly – why am I even considering this? I’m risking my neck so much! I’d feel bad if I just left her, though…
I bite back my fear and offer her my shoulder. “I’ll help. C’mon.” The girl stares at me, having a harder time with her fear than I am with mine. After a moment, she relents, and accepts my help. Together, we limp toward the fastest exit.
Thirty long and silent minutes later, I hold onto her hands while she gets her footing. We’re at the very border of my pack, staring down a long, sloping hill into unclaimed fields. It’s a good thing she’d only scratched the surface of the pack’s territory. The grass is still, as though waiting with baited breath for the moon to finish its climb in the sky. The last traces of molten sunlight are almost snuffed out by the stars.
“Why did you help me?” the girl asks, the tremors in her voice finally gone. She looks at me, and I’m again surprised by her bizarre eye color.
I chuckle sheepishly and scratch my long, red hair. “I, uh…I dunno.”
The girl bites her lip as an awkward silence settles between us. “Um, try not to get lost again, okay?”
Really? That’s the ‘farewell’ I’m going with?
“S-sure,” she stammers, taking a few steps away from me. “…Bye, I guess.” She turns to descend gingerly down the hill.
“Erm, be careful—!” I call out, before swallowing my words. I faceplant and growl to myself. She’s a human! I shouldn’t even be worrying about her! Before I can embarrass myself any further, I turn tail and bolt at full speed back into the cool embrace of the forest, my cheeks burning with coals.