Moonlit Dangers

Chapter Nine

        "Really?" I said sarcastically.

         "Yes." He replied. He narrowed his eyes at me as if wondering about my state of mind.

        "No, I mean 'really' to the fact that you act like my best friend shouldn't be important to me. Do you honestly not have friends? Do you just not care?"

        Kory glared at me. "Yes, I have friends. Yes, I care about people. People being the important word here. Once someone has been bitten, they cease to be a person. Did you  not see your 'friend' in there? Even though I was trying to kill her, don't you think that perhaps, she should've noticed you? I don't know, maybe called your name? Or said something? She didn't. Not once. That's because she was no longer thinking like a person, she was thinking like a starved animal who saw meat and wanted it. Got it?"

        "You can be really cold, did you know that?" I whispered, looking away.

        "I have to be." He retorted. He put his knife away and pulled a cell phone out of his breast pocket. Opening it, he dialed a number and held the phone to his ear. "Hey. It's Kory. I need you to come to Thurston. Yeah, Elle's place. There's a newly made one here. No, she wouldn't let me. Really. Yeah, send them now." He hung up, turning to me. "Listen, a few of the team will be here soon. They are going to come get her and take her to the compound. We have the tools necessary to hold her there."

        "What are we going to do about her?" I asked, gesturing at the bedroom door.

        "There's only one way we can stop this transformation once it's began. And that is to kill the lycan that bit her. And let me tell you, the phrase a needle in a haystack doesn't even begin to compare to how difficult that is going to be."

                                                                 ***

 Fifteen minutes later, the team of guardians arrived. I watched from one of my front windows, the breeze coming from outside buffeting my face. I recognized Lee and Evelyn as they stepped out of the black SUV, but there was one man I didn't know. He reminded me of a reed, tall and thin, and his hair was such a pale blond color I would've thought he was an albino. However, his close set eyes were a brilliant azure blue, and he had tan so dark that he looked like he was one sunbathing away from cancer. Each of the team grabbed a few cases from the trunk of the car and turned to head inside.

        Kory greeted them at the door. "She's in the back bedroom. Be careful, we knocked her out and tied her up, but she woke up a few minutes ago. Been roaring ever since. I imagine she's pretty angry." Nodding, they immediately went to the back. A short while and large amount of noise later, they proceeded back through the house, surrounding their prisoner. Lina was almost unrecognizable. A short snout had formed on her face, making her head misshapen, and her long, beautiful curly hair was gone, emphasizing the shift her ears had made from the side of her head to the top of it. She was covered in a thick curly pelt that ran down her body, which I was somewhat thankful for. She had grown in stature to the point that her clothes had torn and now hung sadly around her in pieces. If it weren't for the new pelt, she'd have been nude. They had chained her much like the lycan I had seen at the compound and she was bent over and shuffling to be able to move with the heavy silver weight. She had a muzzle on, but I could still see her eyes. While they were still the light, shiny brown eyes I had grown up with, even I could see that there wasn't a speck of humanity left in them. My vision swam as my eyes filled with tears.

        "We're going to fix this Lina. I swear. I will figure it out. I'm so sorry." I warbled. Her head turned toward me, but the only response I received was a muted growl. I stepped closer to her, reaching out to touch what used to be her face. "I mean it Lina. You may as well be my sister, and I love you. I will not leave you like this." She stared at me, a low growl still rumbling from her chest. She made a small movement toward me, and just as Lee yelled for me to look out, she head butted me in the nose. I made an unintelligible gurgling sound as blood sprayed from the front of my face. Covering my nose with two hands, I moaned from the sudden white hot pain. "Owwwww!" I moaned, tipping my head back. Oh good little mother; It hurt so bad! The sudden flood of copper on my tongue let me know she had busted my nose.

         "What is wrong with you?" Kory spit out as he held a towel up to my nose. "How many times must you be told that they no longer think like humans? I know you've heard of how a trapped animal will lash out at anyone. Blow your nose." I did, tears streaming as it burned. I felt myself blanch when I saw the amount of blood on the towel. He sighed as he turned me to sit down on one of the few pieces of furniture that wasn't broken, and then placed his hands on either side of my nose. Before I could say anything, he'd put my nose back into place with a crunch. At my holler, he said, "Had to do it before it got too swollen." He went into my kitchen and came back out with a handful of ice. Holding the towel to my face, I watched through my busted door as they took Lina to the car, now yanking on the chains to get her to move. Apparently Kory wasn't the only one aggravated with the two of us. After securing Lina in the trunk of the  SUV, they quickly got in and took off in a spray  of gravel.

         "What now?" I asked him, as he squatted next to me.

        "The lycan that bit her is around here; In this area." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It would have to be. They will travel to hunt, but usually it's in a twenty mile radius or so, never too far from their den. That way, they can return home before daylight." He turned to look at me. "Even though they think somewhat like rabid dogs, they know that to be caught outside come daylight is certain death. Most people would gun them down at first sight."

        "Unlike me." I joked. Inappropriate I knew, but couldn't help myself. "I just try to keep them living."

        "Yeah." Kory grunted. "You are a little too compassionate for your own good." I smirked at him. Shaking his head, he continued.  "So, since we know that it is around here somewhere, we are going to have to stay here. Look for clues, maybe try to flush them out."

       I thought for a moment. Thurston didn't have many places to stay short-term. The only time anyone ever came to town was for our Independance Day fireworks show. "Well, there's only one motel in Thurston. It's pricey, but otherwise you would have to drive a good twenty minutes or so before finding one less costly." 

         He stared at me a moment and then started laughing. When I raised an eyebrow, he laughed even harder. "Elle, that was a good one. No, we are going to be staying here. With you. In your home."

        "The hell you are!" I sputtered. "I have a two bedroom house. There would be what? Five of us here? For god knows how long? Nope. I don't think so." 

Kory stopped laughing.

        "Yeah, you heathen. This is my home, and here I make the rules." I sat back smugly. Try to just take over my house? I didn't think so.

With a lightening fast move, Kory had snatched the back of my  neck, turning my face to look at him. "Make no mistake. Yes, this is your home. Yes, usually you would get to make the rules here. But not right now. Right now, this is our base of operations. We will remain here as long as necessary, because even though you want to find Lina's maker to kill him, we need to find him to kill him. Do you think Lina was a random attack? I guarantee she wasn't. It's too much of a coincidence that your best friend happened to be in your home and transforming. This was a message to you. They want you, and while you can defend yourself against one or two lycans, if they decide to swarm you, you are grade A meat on a platter. So don't kid yourself. We are staying here for your own good; Believe it or not." He searched my eyes as he let that sink in.

        I felt an instant headache as I realized that he was telling the absolute truth. I had thought at first that Lina might have stumbled upon the aftermath of the attack that took place in my home a mere couple of weeks ago. However, even if she had, the lycans had no reason to merely bite her. Even a wild dog doesn't only bite once and then leave its victim alone. Which meant that Lina was a special message for me. Come out, come out wherever you are.

 ****I hope you are enjoying Moonlit Dangers so far! Please don't be a stranger: let me know what you think, and if you like it, vote.  I love the input! Thank you so much for your support!****