It was such a dark night that she was a silhouette against the sky, but her pupils reflected the light of the moon. She looked bestial. The hair rose on the back of Seth’s arms.
She didn’t move when Seth drove down the hill with Abel’s motorcycle right behind him, but by the time he turned the corner, she had vanished.
Eleven
The Bite
Seth and Rylie didn’t talk openly at school. Even though she didn’t see Abel circling the school in his Chevelle anymore, neither of them wanted to tempt fate.
They slipped each other notes as they passed in the hallways. Rylie wished she could have told him what she was really thinking in her letters, but they kept it strictly business. The new moon was coming in two days. They needed a plan.
She sat with Tate and his dumb friends like usual over those two days, picking at her roast beef with less enthusiasm than usual. Seth was eating with a bunch of jocks on the other side of the quad. He had joined the track team like the rumors said, and now it looked like they were trying to recruit him for football, too. In such a small school, most athletes played all the sports.
Rylie would have preferred to sit with him instead of listening to the guys talk about video games and weed. And judging by the occasional looks Seth threw in her direction, he didn’t like her sitting with them very much, either.
The day before the new moon came too soon. The sun was setting earlier in the day, and she struggled with control as it got darker. Rylie couldn’t sit with Gwyn that night. She begged sick and hid in her room to watch the minutes tick by on the clock instead.
If she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, she could almost smell the faint odors of pine and icy river water. It was like Gray Mountain had followed her out into the country, and the wolf longed to run through the forest.
The distant rumble of a motorcycle’s engine approached. She stood by her bay window, suspended in fear as she peered through the dark night. Was it Seth or Abel coming up her road?
The wind shifted and she caught a smell of the rider.
Seth .
She peeked into the hallway one last time to make sure her aunt’s bedroom light was out before slipping out her window and running to him.
“Get on,” he said, tossing his helmet to her.
“Why do I have to wear it and you don’t?”
“Because I only have one helmet. Hurry up. We don’t have much time.”
Rylie tugged it on over her head, hoping it wouldn’t give her funny hair. She had spent ages in front of the mirror with the flat iron and makeup even though she always woke up after a moon looking like she had been caught in a stampede.
Sliding her arms around Seth’s waist, she rested her head against his broad back with a sigh. He felt even more solid than he looked. She was glad the motorcycle drowned out the sound of her smelling his back.
They rushed through the night with the wind beating around them. Seth must have been going way over the speed limit, but the roads were empty, and nobody tried to stop them.
He stopped a good thirty miles north of town, and Rylie got off, smoothing her hair self-consciously as Seth hid the motorcycle in a cluster of bushes.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“You’ll see,” he said. “Follow me.”
They hiked across the empty hill. It might have been nice getting to walk alone with Seth if she hadn’t been feeling so moon-sick. Thousands of stars were visible this far from the city, and Rylie thoughts he could see a misty galaxy stretching above the horizon.
But the sky wasn’t half as interesting as sneaking a peek at Seth. He had a little bit of beard growth on the sides of his jaw, and it made him look older. Rylie didn’t think he had any stubble when they kissed over the summer, but it had been so fast, it was hard to tell. He’d grabbed her while the other werewolves were attacking the camp, and she’d barely had time to realize what was happening, much less enjoy it.
Rylie wondered
She didn’t move when Seth drove down the hill with Abel’s motorcycle right behind him, but by the time he turned the corner, she had vanished.
Eleven
The Bite
Seth and Rylie didn’t talk openly at school. Even though she didn’t see Abel circling the school in his Chevelle anymore, neither of them wanted to tempt fate.
They slipped each other notes as they passed in the hallways. Rylie wished she could have told him what she was really thinking in her letters, but they kept it strictly business. The new moon was coming in two days. They needed a plan.
She sat with Tate and his dumb friends like usual over those two days, picking at her roast beef with less enthusiasm than usual. Seth was eating with a bunch of jocks on the other side of the quad. He had joined the track team like the rumors said, and now it looked like they were trying to recruit him for football, too. In such a small school, most athletes played all the sports.
Rylie would have preferred to sit with him instead of listening to the guys talk about video games and weed. And judging by the occasional looks Seth threw in her direction, he didn’t like her sitting with them very much, either.
The day before the new moon came too soon. The sun was setting earlier in the day, and she struggled with control as it got darker. Rylie couldn’t sit with Gwyn that night. She begged sick and hid in her room to watch the minutes tick by on the clock instead.
If she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, she could almost smell the faint odors of pine and icy river water. It was like Gray Mountain had followed her out into the country, and the wolf longed to run through the forest.
The distant rumble of a motorcycle’s engine approached. She stood by her bay window, suspended in fear as she peered through the dark night. Was it Seth or Abel coming up her road?
The wind shifted and she caught a smell of the rider.
Seth .
She peeked into the hallway one last time to make sure her aunt’s bedroom light was out before slipping out her window and running to him.
“Get on,” he said, tossing his helmet to her.
“Why do I have to wear it and you don’t?”
“Because I only have one helmet. Hurry up. We don’t have much time.”
Rylie tugged it on over her head, hoping it wouldn’t give her funny hair. She had spent ages in front of the mirror with the flat iron and makeup even though she always woke up after a moon looking like she had been caught in a stampede.
Sliding her arms around Seth’s waist, she rested her head against his broad back with a sigh. He felt even more solid than he looked. She was glad the motorcycle drowned out the sound of her smelling his back.
They rushed through the night with the wind beating around them. Seth must have been going way over the speed limit, but the roads were empty, and nobody tried to stop them.
He stopped a good thirty miles north of town, and Rylie got off, smoothing her hair self-consciously as Seth hid the motorcycle in a cluster of bushes.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“You’ll see,” he said. “Follow me.”
They hiked across the empty hill. It might have been nice getting to walk alone with Seth if she hadn’t been feeling so moon-sick. Thousands of stars were visible this far from the city, and Rylie thoughts he could see a misty galaxy stretching above the horizon.
But the sky wasn’t half as interesting as sneaking a peek at Seth. He had a little bit of beard growth on the sides of his jaw, and it made him look older. Rylie didn’t think he had any stubble when they kissed over the summer, but it had been so fast, it was hard to tell. He’d grabbed her while the other werewolves were attacking the camp, and she’d barely had time to realize what was happening, much less enjoy it.
Rylie wondered
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