Wolf Among Us

07 Moonlit

07 Moonlit

Washington, the indie Twilight-famed state, seemed to be ninety percent forest. Even miles away, two years later, Avery managed to find herself in the same woodsy abode. It seemed now more like a certified fact that dark, endless woods would always draw creatures more than human.

In Washington, Avery Dunning was a little more easy, a little less hard than the girl she was today. Even though she had her mother's journal, the stories of werewolves and vampires and witches seemed to be just make believe. What fifteen-year-old, not drinking the fictional gothic Kool-Aid, believed that their lives were unmistakably and intricately woven into those fairytales.

She'd gone to her first party in the back-neck woods, just a bunch of solo red cups around the bonfire, skinny dipping in the nearby lake and kids blaring the best songs you could move to.

She was one of those, skipping off to the woods to make out with a hot jock.

Avery was a little drunk, and buzzing. And things got more heated and she needed it to stop. The sweet, drunkard kisses made her dizzy and her bare skin felt warm to touch. Too warm. Before she could get another breath in, the pressure became too much.

His kisses were suffocating, his hands rougher than she thought. Alarms bells started ringing.

So she struggled. She said no, stop. She found a surge of strength to push him off her. He would look at her with wild, disbelieving eyes. And she remembered feeling flushed, feeling heat curl up under her skin. But the wild, dizzying feelings was not her trigger.

It was his. The argument played out. Avery felt herself get really angry, and he got angry. It got physical, but Avery managed to keep pushing him off. Things got so out of control fast; one minute he was flinging leaves in her face, the next he was crouched over in rage, a horror show of transformation and the new creature, snarling and snapping, launched itself at her.

Its claws sunk, tore her skin and ripped its way down her leg. Those teeth gnashed at her, eyes mad and rolling.

"I hate the woods," Avery remarked, shaking away the memory of the shifter. After that night, she took to studying her mother's journal like it was the gospel.

And with all she knew, and all the dangers, here she was again, walking in the middle of the night through the dark forest.

"Too much horror movies?" Sawyer mused, turning to watch her through the corner of his eyes.

She gave a wry smile. "Too much horror in this reality."

Together they walked, Avery unable to see anything in front of her. They had left the dirt road ten minutes ago, hiking up to where Reece had texted her to meet up. "Can I use my phone's flashlight?" she asked, tripping over something dark.

Sawyer's hand shot out, grabbing her by the waist. "Easy," he murmured. "Probably not. There's a reason Reece wants all this cloak and dagger."

They continued to walk, Avery feeling a cold slink in and fresh dirt stain the bottom of her jeans. The trek was even harder with only one arm to swing around; she had tripped and bumped her way so often she had to keep clutching onto Sawyer's jacket.

"We're here," he said. He pulled aside a heavy brush and helped her clamber over some rocks.

They came out near a small glade, tucked between a rocky cliffy and the steep, wild forest. Avery could see properly in the small clearing, the waning moon bathing them in its light; the grass seemed silver, the rocks nearly glowing, the sounds of water falling cooling the night. She walked along the stretch of flat land, finding the rockface curve inward to a small pool where the water fell from the sky.