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WARNER

There are no clouds in the night sky, allowing the light from the full moon to spill down and bathe us in her cool glow. My wolf stretches under my skin, as if waking up from a long nap, and waits eagerly for me to take my animal form.

I’m eager too.

Once I’m wolf, my thoughts will be less focused. Instinct will take over, and I’ll be able to melt into the rhythm of the pack.

Thoughts of Zoey will tuck into the back corner of my mind. Worry about leaving her will hopefully dim.

There’s nothing to be anxious over. She’ll be in Pine Falls, right where you left her, once this night is done.

A dark voice in the back of my mind brings out my doubt. Will she though?

Things between Zoey and me are good. But they’re good in the same way that skydiving is good. All glorious rush and heady feelings, with the hope that once the rip cord is pulled, a parachute will deploy and keep me from smashing into a pile of blood, bone, and entrails when I hit the ground.

We’re falling, and as long as I don’t touch the rip cord, I can convince myself there is a parachute.

I can tell myself that falling for Zoey won’t end in disaster.

“If you’re separated, we meet back here at dawn. Head count is required before we head back to town.” Roderick’s normally steady voice is broken with a growling quality tonight. The change is gripping him as tightly as the rest of us.

A third of the pack is already in their wolf forms.

We’ve gathered in the field behind an abandoned barn. The land is owned by the pack, allowing us to park an entire fleet of bikes and cars here. Not everyone in the pack is a member of The Dark Moon Riders. Roderick said once that he thinks the pack instinct calls to some more than others, and those are the members who join the club. The ones who need that group around them for more than one night a month.

Prime example of someone who doesn’t have any interest in joining: Courtney.

She sits on the bed of her truck, wearing only a T-shirt dress and probably nothing underneath it. I already have my shirt and pants off while a good deal of other people are stripping or completely naked. Modesty isn’t a big thing among the pack.

“How’s your lady doing?”

Of course my friend would feel the need to talk to me about the one topic I’m trying not to focus on. And at a moment when talking normally isn’t encouraged. We’re supposed to be connecting to our animal forms, not having a casual chat.

“Home. Safe.” The growling is in my voice too.

Courtney’s eyes haven’t even turned black yet.

“Home? You think she’s sticking around?”

Because I can’t handle the panic that comes with any other answer, I give the one that will hopefully keep my wolf calm. “Yes.”

Shadows caress my skin as a tension grows. Courtney grins while she watches.

“Glad to hear it. I’ll have to make more of an effort.”

I’m past the point where I can ask what she means. A series of painful snaps shudders through my body like dominoes falling.

Then, my whole view of the world changes.

Thoughts blur into a series of feelings and urges while my senses sharpen. I shake off the tingles of left-behind magic, then recognize the call of my pack leader, mixed with the tease of Mother Moon.

“Run . ”

The simple word infuses my limbs, guiding me to fall in and follow. Loose dirt shifts under the heavy weight of my paws as I pick up my pace.

We head away from the makeshift parking lot and let the forest envelop us. Scents flow into me with each of my deep breaths. I want to consume the night, and I can’t help the joyful noises that push from my throat and receive responses from those flanking me.

Even as the thick branches block out the light of the moon, I can feel her glow on my back. She is glorious, giving off pure energy. My muscles surge with the touch of her magic.

My view of myself as an individual blurs until there are only thoughts of us. Thoughts of we. The pack moves as one massive, joyful procession through the night.

A scent drifts on the wind. Musky and warm. Hunger demands I follow, and I am not the only one. The animal flees from our pursuit, but it does not have the blessing of Mother Moon.

Soon, I feast on meat, blood dripping and pooling on the forest floor.

Zoey would hate this part. The thought is a light caress against my mind that drifts away like a breeze ruffling my coat.

My future mate is safe, and I will return to her when this celebration is done.

Belly full, I run again, soon mixing in with my pack.

We hunt and howl and fulfill a deep need in our souls.

The night passes, but I do not count the seconds. Time loses its meaning, and I give myself up to the wolf.