Page 19 of The Wolf Moon

“Liar,” She said easily, “You like the feel of it. That wolf under your skin.”

I stared at her with wide eyes.

“As a human, you hide. You’re afraid. It’s all submission and peace, but as a lycan, you fight. You have power. You hone it and others are afraid of you. You like it,” She reaffirmed her previously statement determinedly. Then she stood her full height, shrugging off her statements easily. “I understand. I like it, too. Are we going to the temple? Is this part of your plan to seduce the Alpha?”

I nearly choked on air.

“What?”

“Well, to get him to mark you, you must be seducing him.”

“I tried to kill him,” I corrected her firmly.

“Huh… yes, I can see how that would be seductive to him,” Cate answered thoughtfully, no doubt trying to imagine the entire scenario. “So you lock yourself in the temple until he has to come break you out. I understand, I think.”

“He already knows I can get out. That makes no… wait, I’m not trying to seduce him,” I shook my head, already entirely confused by the direction of the conversation. I tried to continue on my path, but Cate stepped in front of me forcefully. I attempted to step around her twice before glaring at her. “What?”

“I’m bored,” She sighed then, her face a picture of ultimate melancholy. Just as quickly, her features lit up. “I have an interesting idea. Will you match against me?” I stared at her openly, expecting her to laugh and say she was joking. When she didn’t, I scoffed.

“Are you asking me to fight you?”

“Yes,” Cate seemed quite excited suddenly. “Not a challenge, just a match. For fun.”

“But you’re a warrior and I’m just-” I hesitated, about to say ‘a girl’, but Cynthia was suddenly there in my thoughts. I’m just a girl. She’s just a wolf. I had killed a wolf already and fought against the King Alpha twice. Perhaps a part of me did like the violent aspects of the wolves and their culture. “You won’t kill me, will you?”

“That’s against the rules,” She teased, reaching out to pat my head. I slapped her hand away, irritated by such a gesture. I wasn’t a small child. But at the same time, it reminded me of my younger brother and I. How many times had I placed my hand on his head teasingly?

“Okay, a match, then. How does it go?”

“Follow me,” Cate said, waving her hand before walking away.

As I followed her through the village, the lycans that had been just slightly curious before were all eyes. They watched Cate strut in front of me, her lance now propped over her shoulders with her arms dangling from it, and then stared as I followed behind her purposely. Some began to follow as well, seeing that I was interacting with one of their own.

We reached a building and Cate led me further in, opening a particular set of doors to what looked like an armory. I stared with wide eyes as she indicated for me to pick from a vast set of weapons. Behind me, several lycans were peering at us from a distance, curiosity bringing whispers along the hall.

I stepped forward, finding a section of bows. I picked through them, feeling their weight and aiming them briefly before deciding on one particular bow that seemed to fit me perfectly. I picked up a quiver filled with arrows along with an arm-brace and leather gloves. Once I had everything ready, I unlatched my blade, flipped it in the air once to make sure it was well enough, and then grabbed a block I spotted for sharpening.

Cate watched me with amusement, but also a type of excitement on her features. She was sharpening her own weapon; that dangerously long and threatening lance. She removed her own blade from her hip, revealing that forearm length blade only a few inches bigger than mine. When we both were prepared, she tilted her head for me to follow her once again. I did so, feeling much better equipped with my familiar weapons. It was as though I was going out for a hunt.

“What’s going on?” A man not much older than me asked curiously out of the gathering pack.

“A match,” I lifted my bow as indication of the fact before continuing after Cate, who hadn’t stopped to answer at all. The man seemed shocked and those who heard began to hiss whispers at one another; some running away immediately. I thought about asking what their problem was, but an eagerness was growing as Cate led me towards the woods.

As we walked, lycans began to fold between and around us, suddenly less timid and more excited. Hands brushed over mine briefly and when I looked at those who touched me, they bared their necks and danced away. When I looked to Cate who was being separated from me, I noticed many doing the same to her, as if they were wishing us luck.

I was tugged by the arm to the right while Cate continued left until I could no longer see her at all. A man pulled on my arm and pointed at a tree, catching my attention.

“Blue means you’ve reached the edge of the match. If you go past, you forfeit,” He told me over the sound of excited chatter. I could see blue paint lined along the trees, accentuating a barrier in which I would be allowed to fight in. I nodded in understanding, glad that someone would think to tell me the rules. “When you hear the first howl, that means the match has started.”

“I can’t believe you’re fighting against Cate,” another lycan stated with disbelief, “She’s known as the Shadow of Death, you know.”

“She came here with Diana from a pack of rogues,” a voice added unhelpfully.

“Her lance is considered blessed by the Crone. It’s laced with silver; untouchable by anyone except Cate herself,” another hissed in excitement.

“They say she gave up her voice to get that blessing,” one agreed with the previous statement, “She’s never said a word the entire time she’s been here. The only time you hear her is when she howls.”

I turned at this comment, now certain they were all just telling me nonsense to frighten me. Before I could dispute their facts, the man who pointed out the trees pulled on my arm to gain my attention once again.

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