Bad Moon Rising - Chapter 10

"Tell me again why I agreed to this," Rory muttered.

"Come on Rory, it's the new moon," Lou grinned. "It's as quiet a night as we ever get... the timing couldn't be better."

"But the Starlight Accolades? You really want to watch this?" Rory demanded.

"It'll be fun," Demarco chimed in.

"I give, I give," Rory laughed. 

"I wish the screen was bigger," Lou commented as they settled into the small cabin that was Grimtooth's 'media room' and held one of the few working TVs in Moonwood Mill.

"Well, we could always pop down to S-Mart and lift one of those big flatscreens," Bianca offered.

"Oh no," Rory said firmly. "I'm not having either of these guys trashing the trailer over a damn footie match. Not again!"

"Quiet, they're starting," Lou said, bouncing to his feet.

"Hey, down in front," Demarco laughed. "I didn't know you were this excited about the awards show, Lou."

"Lou has a crush on an actress," Bianca teased.

"Yes, he likes to see her in pretty dresses," Kiril smiled. "Me, I like to see all women in pretty dresses... especially pretty dresses that show lots of leg, have plunging neckline. Maybe we get lucky. Have wardrobe malfunction."

"What happened to 'wolves mate for life'?" Demarco asked.

"Is exception for celebrity," Kiril said. "Freebie five. Everyone knows this."

"Guys, quiet, would you," Lou said, but he was grinning.

"There she is," Rory grinned. "The great Cassie Goth - musician, singer, songwriter, actress..."

"Cassie and Gwen," Kiril leered. "Imagine being lucky guy sharing bed with those two."

"Keep talking buddy, and you're sleeping in the yard," Bianca snarled playfully.

"I actually met her once," Demarco said. "Got her autograph and everything."

"I keep missing my chance," Lou moaned theatrically.

"And I keep telling you, Jake can introduce you," Rory said.

"And I keep missing my chance," Lou repeated.

"I just want to get my hands on whatever potion she uses to stay young," Bianca said. "I don't care how many newt's eyes are in it. I wanna look that good when I'm almost fifty."

"High priced beauty products and professional make-up artists," Demarco said confidently.

"Potion of youth," Bianca insisted. "Probably got like newt's eyes, frog parts, virgin's blood... the whole deal."

"You know the whole 'Raven Witch' thing is a just a PR gimmick, right?" Demarco laughed. "I mean, she's not really a witch. Witches aren't real."

The pack of werewolves looked at Demarco in silence.

"Wait, are witches real?"

--------------

A passionate debate whether or not Curse of the Pirate Queen really deserved a Starlight and the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of its depiction of vampires had devolved into banter between the couples. Being the only single in the pack, Demarco always felt a little left out when that happened. Kiril's humorous (she hoped) suggestion that the big bed he and Bianca shared had room for three wasn't tempting.

She was good with being single. She just didn't want to stick around when the couples got all couple-y.

"Demarco, hey," Etta wandered over from the converted bus that served as Grimtooth's bar. "Umm, can I join you."

"Sure," she smiled. "As long as you promise not to talk about Curse of the Pirate Queen or try to proposition me." 

"Deal," Etta chuckled.

"Look, I'm sorry I was such a bitch the other day," Etta said. 

"I was being nosy," Demarco replied. "I should have thought that maybe not everyone wants to share their life story. Hey, did you know witches are real?"

"Yeah, I did," Etta sighed. "Because I used to be one."

"I just stepped right in it, didn't I?" Demarco groaned. "Sorry!"

"It's OK," Etta said. "It's not like it I'm wearing my crushed pointy hat and carrying a broken broom."

"So..." Demarco started. "I have no idea what to say now."

"I misused my powers," Etta explained with a sigh. "I used magic to seduce, betray and kidnap someone who could have... should have... been my friend. Nearly got her killed. As punishment, the Council of Sages took my magic from me and exiled me.  The Collective gave me sanctuary. So, that's it..." [1]

"Ok... wow," Demarco replied. "I still have no idea what to say now."

"It's cool. I'll go," Etta said. "I just... you seem nice and I'm sorry for being a bitch."

"Kiril and Bianca used to rob service stations," Demarco burst out, "and they're my pack-mates."

"Ooooo'kay," Etta blinked.

"I'm saying, everyone has a past," Demarco said. "Doesn't mean we can't maybe be friends... unless you're planning on seducing, betraying, kidnapping or killing me. 'Cause then the whole friendship thing is a no go."

"Why?" Etta replied. "Not why can't we be friends if I'm going to betray you... that's pretty obvious. But what do you want to be friends at all."

"I don't know," Demarco replied. "I guess I just want to get to know you a little better."

"Look, I'm not into dating right now," Etta said firmly.

"Cool," Demarco said quickly. "I didn't mean... I mean.... Look, can we start again? Hi, I'm Lux Demarco."

"Etta Blackwood. Nice to meet you."

--------------

[1] Wyrd Girls, Book 2, Part 4, starting here

Bad Moon Rising - Chapter 9

To Demarco's surprise, it turned out Moonwood Mill had a library - converted from an abandoned factory and with a respectable collection of books. She was actually more surprised to discover that Lou played chess.

The library computers might be the finest in thirty-year-old technology, but at least they could connect to the internet (after a fashion). It wasn't like Moonwood Mill had WiFi anyway. Demarco could barely get a cell phone signal up here. 

The head librarian was a friendly older gentleman named Wolfgang. (Demarco was immediately reminded of a line from an old Spiderman movie she'd seen - "Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs... What are the odds?")

"It's amazing what you've done here," Demarco told him.

"Well thank you," Wolfgang replied. "I'm glad you appreciate it. Members of the community have given a lot of time and energy to make it what it is. Even Rory helped, by setting up a gymnasium in the back."

"Plus, you've got a great collection of werewolf folklore and fiction," Demarco added. "I guess that shouldn't be a surprise."

Wolfgang laughed. "Well, it's subject many of us here are passionate about... and a topic I've been researching for years. Also, there is a little 'cheating' in putting together the fiction collection. It's mostly publisher proofs of my own books."

"You wrote some these?" Demarco asked. 

"Yes," Wolfgang said. "In part I'm trying to provide some guidance to new werewolves, sneaking enough truth into the fiction to hopefully help those who don't have a pack to guide them. I'm also trying to encourage the idea of the 'friendly neighborhood werewolf' in popular culture. It will take some work, I know. The vampires have spent decades using the media to push the view that werewolves are mindless, savage beasts."

"Wow, that's really cool," Demarco said. "Wait, vampires? Vampires are real?"

------------

"Hey," Amid the surprising number of locals in the library, Demarco recognized a somewhat familiar face. "It's... Betty, was it?"

"Etta," the young woman replied stiffly.

"Right, sorry," Demarco winced. "When we met, I was kinda..."

"Semi-conscious, feverish, and generally going through a lot," Etta supplied.

"Yeah," Demarco said weakly. "Anyway... sit with me? Please."

"I wanted to thank you, and ask you to thank Lily for me," Demarco said, as Etta joined her on the couch. "You guys took really good care of me while I was... you know... and I just ran out on you. I feel bad about that."

"I'm just glad it worked out for you," Etta replied, "and don't feel bad. I'm the one who's sorry... I should have done more to try and stop you from running off, but frankly getting in the way of a cranky werewolf - or even soon-to-be werewolf - isn't something I'm very comfortable doing."

"Yeah. No, I totally get that," Demarco nodded, "and, like you said, it worked out fine. So, thank you."

"Anyway, we never really got introduced," she continued. "I'm Lux Demarco. Everyone just calls me Demarco."

"Claudette Blackwood," Etta said, a little coolly, "but everyone here calls me Etta."

"So," Demarco added quietly, "you're a werewolf too."

"No," Etta said shortly. 

"Oh, I thought..." Demarco started.

"Listen, Ms. Demarco," Etta said. "I'm glad things worked out for you, and I'll be sure to pass your thanks along to Lily. I'm just not looking to share my dark secrets with a stranger today. I know you're just trying to be friendly, and you seem like a nice person. So, let me give you some advice - you don't want to be my friend. It just ends badly."

"It's just Demarco," she said to Etta's departing back.

Bad Moon Rising - Chapter 8

"Let's do this," Demarco said confidently.

Rory took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "Feel your Power... your Fury. It's like an ocean, surging inside you. Some werewolves are afraid of it. They try to stay out of the water... until the full moon's tide drags them down. Some werewolves - like Greg - are drowning in it. I'm teaching you how to swim!"  

Rory shifted and Demarco shifted with her. The Fury of the wolf flowed through her, twisting her limbs, reshaping her body into an expression of that power.

With a wild howl, she hurled herself at the Wolf-that-was-Rory, testing her strength against another. It was play. It was sport. It was battle. This was what it felt like, to be alive!

There were no words... the Wolf did not have words... but Rory's approval was clear.

------------

"You're doing really well," Rory said later at Grimtooth's. "You've got control of the Change already. A lot of whelps struggle with that."

"I'm naturally gifted," Demarco grinned. "Plus, I've got a good teacher."

"Damn straight," Rory grinned back, "but you're right about being a natural. You're not fighting it... you accept it and work with it. I've seen others struggle with that."

"Did you?" Demarco asked. 

In the couple of weeks since leaving the Harbor, Demarco had lived and trained with Rory and the others - the Wildfangs, Rory called them. Her pack. Demarco's pack now. In those weeks Rory hadn't shown her introspective side often, and Demarco was curious about this fierce, powerful woman who had so effortlessly become her mentor, big sister and friend.

"You want to know my story, huh?" Rory said, with her usual insight. "I was an ordinary kid, in an ordinary family... until I wasn't. Most of us are bitten, like you... but the Fury is in your blood now. You can pass it on and not just in the bite. The Fury passes through families... to kids. Sometimes it skips a generation or two. If you thought puberty was bad, imagine getting hit with hormones, your period and lycanthropy."

"Pass," Demarco said earnestly.

"Anyway, I couldn't really explain to my folks how the living room got trashed," Rory continued. "They couldn't deal... so I split. Headed out into the woods. It just felt right. Managed it for a little while too... I always liked camping. That's where Kristopher found me."

"Kristopher?' Demarco mused. "I think I met him, that first night... but it's all a little fuzzy... no pun intended."

"Heh, yeah if Lily found you, she would have introduced you," Rory said, then bitterly added, half to herself, "Assuming he was around. He hasn't been lately... 

"Anyway, Kristopher is the big deal around here," Rory continued. "He's the leader of the Collective - the largest pack in the Moonwood Mill. In a real way, he's the leader of us all... the biggest, baddest werewolf, except maybe Greg."

"I wondered about other packs," Demarco admitted.

"Most are small, especially outside Moonwood Mill," Rory said. "Usually just mates and their kids... like my brother, Jake, and his wife."

"You have a brother?" 

"Adopted," Rory said. "Kristopher found him and took him in, a few years after he took me in. He taught us, like I'm teaching you. Makes us family."

Demarco considered the look on Rory's face for a moment. "I don't get along with my dad either."

Rory laughed, "What I was saying before, about werewolves who are afraid of their power... Kristopher is like that. He has so much strength... so much... and he won't touch it. We shouldn't spend our lives being afraid of who we are."

"No, we shouldn't," Demarco agreed.

------------

"So, can I ask you guys what your story is?" Demarco asked.

In the beat-up old double-wide trailer in the woods that had become her home with the Wildfangs, Demarco sat with Kiril and Bianca. After she'd talked to Rory the other day, Lou had told her about how he'd gotten bitten by Greg while trying to impress a girl who, he said, had been really into werewolves. It had made her wonder about her other two fellow pack members... 

"Of course," Kiril replied in his broad, Slavic accent. "I love telling this story."

"He really does," Bianca drawled, her own accent pure Willow Creek. 

"So, I am a visiting a friend in Willow Creek and there I meet the love of my life," Kiril started.

"I think she wants to hear about how we became werewolves," Bianca put in.

"I am getting to that," Kiril smiled. "A good story needs context, background, to understand the people... Where was I?"

"Meeting the love of your life," Demarco smiled.

"Yes!" Kiril said passionately. "Our eyes meet and, in that moment, we both know there is no one else for us in the world. Nothing could keep us apart..."

"Except the cops," Bianca put in.

"If that bastard hadn't rolled on me, they never could have convicted. Car theft, pah," Kiril said. "But true love endures... Two years later I am paroled. She is waiting for me."

"Forever, baby," Bianca smiled.

"So, is nothing for us in Willow Creek. We hit the road!" Kiril continued. "Was going good too... until... We are on the highway, just outside of Evergreen Harbor. We are almost out of gas, of food, of drink... and completely out of cash. So, we find a service station... ummm, what was it?"

"Gas N' Gulp," Bianca said. "We go in... Kiril tells the cashier to empty the register while I pick up some food for the road."

"Wait... you knocked over the Gas N' Gulp?!" Demarco gasped.

"What, you think we rob banks?" Kiril said. "Service station is easier. No guards."

"I shop at that Gas N' Gulp," Demarco muttered.

"Is nice place," Kiril smiled. 

"So," Kiril continued, "I am getting money from register. Bianca is getting food... and there is this old wino, talking to himself. Off his head. Won't get down like everyone else. My beautiful Bianca, she goes to tell him to shut up... then all Hell break loose. Instead of crazy wino, there is huge monster! My Bianca, she is screaming. I run to help but I cannot get a clear shot... then monster is attacking me. Bang, Bang, Bang. I shoot him... and he runs off! 

"We're all beat up and bloody and the sirens are coming... bastard cashier hit the alarm... so we run," Kiril shrugged. "We go to this old cabin I know, up on the mountains. Safe place... Rory, she finds us there. Now we are werewolf.

"It is good, being werewolf," Kiril concluded. "We are strong. We are fierce. We can feared. Only problem, Rory will not let us become wolf to knock over any more service stations. Attracts wrong kind of attention, she says."

"Well, there were those guys in the black suits and dark glasses," Bianca said.

"That was one time," Kiril insisted.

------------

Alright, Demarco thought, maybe Kiril and Bianca wouldn't have been her first choice for roommates back in Evergreen Harbor. Still, everyone had a past and it wasn't like they were robbing service stations anymore... that she knew of.

On the whole, life with the Wildfangs was pretty good. In a lot of ways, it wasn't that different from her old life. Mostly they'd hang out and listen to music... there was no TV in the double-wide. Rory said it had gotten smashed after Lou got "overstimulated" watching a footie match and she refused to replace it.

Still, Demarco knew she had a lot to learn about her new life. It wasn't like there was a manual about how to be a werewolf. 

"An Insider's Guide to Being a Werewolf," she chuckled. "Yeah, right... this is... surprisingly accurate. Wait, someone wrote a manual about how to be a werewolf? Hey, Rory..."

Bad Moon Rising - Chapter 7

"You didn't have to come with me, you know." 

Despite what Rory and the others had said about not being able to go back to her life, and despite her bone-deep feeling they were right, Demarco wasn't willing to just walk away from her life. She'd set out for her car and made the trip back down the mountain roads to Evergreen Harbor.

Rory had insisted on coming along.

"I told you, I took responsibility for you," Rory said, simply but firmly. "You may need me. Besides, I have a few things to pick up in town. I can always call Lou and get a ride back if you decide to stay."

Demarco didn't like the way Rory's tone made that seem so unlikely. Unfortunately, Rory had also just reminded her of the further bad news she'd already discovered.

"I can't believe I was out for a week," Demarco muttered. 

Finding an old charger in the car, she'd managed to bring life back to her phone's battery. Worse than discovering the date were the voicemails. Annie and Knox had managed to cover for her for a couple of days, but the last voicemail from her manager, the Rotten Josh, made it clear she didn't have a job to go back to anymore. No job meant no rent money which, unless she could solve that quickly, meant no apartment. 

Being unable to return to her old life was starting to seem as inevitable as Rory suggested, for purely mundane reasons.

"I've seen first changes go a lot harder," Rory offered.

"So you're saying I'm lucky? I sure don't feel lucky," Demarco snarled. "And what is that smell? And that noise?!"

"Evergreen Harbor," Rory answered.

"What do you mean?" Demarco groaned. "The Harbor's a pit, sure, but it's never smelled this bad... or been this loud."

"It's not the Harbor that's different," Rory said firmly. "You're a wolf now. Your senses are all dialed up to eleven."

"How can you stand it?" Demarco said, struggling to breathe through the pervasive stink.

"I've been a wolf since I was fourteen," Rory smiled. "I've gotten used to it... but there's a reason we don't come into town much." 

Whatever Demarco's response to that might have been was lost as her neighbor, Annie, spotted them and hurried over.

"Lux!" Annie gasped. "You're OK... you're here!"

"Hey Annie," Demarco said, a little flustered. Like most of her friends in the Harbor, Annie usually called her Demarco. She'd only used her given name on a few - rather intense - occasions.

"Hey Annie?" Annie blinked. "You disappear for a week and all I get is 'Hey Annie'? What happened!?"

"Sorry, it's been... well... a lot," Demarco said honestly. During the drive down, she'd thought about what she would tell people and had settled on the truth, if not all of the truth. "I had a kinda accident wandering around the woods after dark. Some of the folks up there took care of me for a couple days. I know I should have called but my phone died."

"My God! Are you OK?" Annie asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," Demarco answered, a little surprised by the simple truth of that. "Hey, I heard you tried to cover for me at the store. Thanks for that."

"Yeah, for all the good it did," Annie said. "Rotten Josh said you shouldn't come back. What are you going to do?"

What am I going to do, Demarco wondered. She'd been arguing with herself about that since her head cleared and she found herself standing naked on a mountaintop with a bunch of werewolves. After all, she had a a job, an apartment, friends... a life. Right? 

Only now, everything was different. She was a werewolf. Could she really go beg Rotten Josh for her job back, or try to find another one? Could she scrape together rent money or, failing that, crash on Knox's couch until she got back on her feet? 

Could she put up with the stink and noise and the soul-crushing grind of day-to-day life, knowing what it felt like to run under the moon? To catch a wild scent on the wind? To be really, truly, free?

All those thoughts ran through her head in a moment, and with them came the answer she already knew to be true. Rory was right. She couldn't go back.

"I'm going to crash with friends for a while, up in Moonwood Mill," Demarco said, nodding at Rory. 

"You're... you're leaving?" Annie stammered. "You're just packing up and leaving?"

"I kinda found something up there," Demarco said. "Something... amazing. Something I need to figure out."

"Oh. Oh! You and... her?" Annie gasped, nodding at Rory. " I mean... that's... that's great... for you. I guess... I mean... I hope you're both really..."

"What? No! No, it's not... we're not," Demarco stammered.

"You're not?" Annie looked confused.

"No. No, no, no. No!" Demarco said firmly.

"But you are leaving?" Annie asked.

"Yeah, I am," Demacro nodded, knowing the truth of it deep down.

"Well, OK," Annie said. "Maybe I'll see you around... sometime."

"For the record, sister, you totally screwed that up," Rory said.

"Yeah, but I pretty much screwed it up long before today," Demarco sighed. "So... help me get my stuff before the landlord changes the locks?"

"Sure," Rory smiled. 

As they moved her stuff down to the car, Rory never once questioned Demarco's change of heart.

----------

"It's like what we were talking about before I left, about waiting for life to start," Demarco said to Knox later at the Caboose, having filled him in on the non-werewolf parts of the story. "I feel like I'm finally done waiting."

"Wow," Knox said. "You know, when I said go up into the mountains, clear your head and breathe the air, I didn't think you'd do the whole 'tune in, turn on and drop out' deal. Crazy!"

"You have no idea how crazy," Demarco said earnestly.

"You do you, Lux Demarco," Knox said, "and if that means ditching the whole daily grind to go live up on the Mountain, I say go for it."

"Knew I could count on you for stoner wisdom, Knox," Demarco smiled.

"Always," Knox smiled. "And don't forget your friends here in the Harbor. Bring down of some of those Mountain vibes from time to time. I bet it'll help me clean up this town."

"You got it, man," Demarco laughed.

Bad Moon Rising - Chapter 6

"OK... what the hell?!"

"You Changed," Rory smiled. "You ran with the pack. You howled under the Moon."

"What the hell are you talking about?! Demarco demanded.

"You're a werewolf," Rory replied.

"I'm a... I'm sorry, what!?" Demarco blurted out. "Let me break my weekend down for you... I came up to get away from the Harbor, do a little fishing, breathe the air. I end up getting lost in the woods, bitten by some big hairy monster, sleep the whole day in the Cabin of Aging Hippies, get lost again, threatened... by you... and now I'm hung over and naked on a mountain top, with you guys... naked! And you're telling me I'm a werewolf!?"

"Feel better for that?" Rory asked.

"A little," Demarco admitted.

"Good. Look... sorry, I've forgotten your name," Rory said.

"Demarco, Lux Demarco."

"Right... Demarco," Rory nodded. "It's normal to be a little hazy after your first change, but think back. You remember running. The feeling of the earth beneath you, the scent of the others around you. Our scent. You remember running with the pack."

"I... oh shit," Demarco breathed.

"You remember standing on this mountaintop. The scent of the grass and the trees, of the lake below us. You remember the Moon above us. You remember howling to the Moon with us."

"This is... insane," Demarco stammered. "I... I remember. Oh shit, I remember!"

"You're a werewolf, Lux Demarco," Rory said. "You're one of us."

"You're a werewolf?" Demarco said, feeling like her aching head wasn't handling things well. "You're all werewolves? Right... yeah... of course you are. Wait... you knew! When I came to the fire, you knew. Was it you? Are you the one who bit me?" 

"No," Rory said. "I could smell the Wolf in you. With the moon rising, I knew the Change was coming. That's why I couldn't let you run off. There are some normals around Moonwood Mill. Keeping you with the pack, we could keep you away from them. Less chance of someone getting hurt."

"What about the... werewolf... who bit me? Noone kept him from hurting me," Demarco muttered.

"Let me guess," the brown-haired man put in. "Creepy house out in the woods. He was big, grey and black?"

"Well, I didn't get a really good look, on account of him trying to eat me, but yeah, sounds right," Demarco said.

"That would be Greg," the man said. "He got me too. I'm Lou, by the way."

"This is Bianca," Lou added, nodding at the fair-haired woman, "and tall, dark and sinister over there is Kiril."

"Nice... to... meet... you," Demarco said slowly, still uncertain.

"Look," she continued, "I don't want to make this weird... weirder... but can we talk about the whole 'everybody is naked' thing. I mean... did I? Did we?"

"Fuck?" Bianca finished for her. "No. Kiril's mine and Lou is Rory's. We don't fuck around on each other."

"Yeah, I've got an ex who talked like that," Demarco said, "until I caught him banging Missy from the gym."

"Wolves mate for life," Bianca replied. "We aren't normals."

"Anyway, clothes get in the way of the change," she continued. "Yours... all of ours... will be back at the trailer."

"I bet Demarco would feel more comfortable dressed," Rory said with a wicked grin. "Bianca, lead them back."

"Clothes, yeah," Demarco nodded, "clothes would be good."

"You just have to run naked through town to get them," Lou grinned.

"I hate you all," Demarco chuckled.

"Ok, so this is the craziest morning I've had in a while," Demarco said. "While I was sober anyway."

"You get used to it," Lou said. Demarco was starting to think that grin was just his resting face.

Back at the trailer, and with everyone dressed, she did certainly feel more comfortable. The entire night... nights... before was starting to take on an unreal quality in her mind.

"You're starting to think it wasn't real," Rory said.

"OK, can werewolves read minds or something?" Demarco asked, shocked to hear her thoughts spoken aloud.

"No," Rory grinned, "but I've seen a lot of people go through this. Everyone here, in fact."

"First you can't remember," Bianca said. "Then you can't believe and you wonder if it really happened. Then, you start to think you can go back... back to the life you had before."

"You can't," Rory said.

"Wait, what?" Demarco said. "Hey, I've got a job... OK, it's a shitty job, but it's a job... and I've got an apartment... ok, also shitty. I've got friends... not shitty friends! I've got... a life." 

A life waiting to get started, she thought. 

Did my life just start?