Fangs of the Moon

Small clouds of steam flowed steadily from my mouth, drifting slowly into the frigid, winter air. The sun was just rising over the horizon as my feet shifted slightly, one hand resting outside the trigger.

It itched as I sat and waited. Patiently.

The early morning hues splashed soft pinks and purples across all that the light touched, creating a scene of serenity.

A piece of me missed this part of living with my grandparents. Their property was huge and hunting was a big part of my youth.

Nostalgia clung to my heart as my eyes slowly dropped down from the deer stand to the ground. I was about 20 feet up in an old sycamore, the drop would hurt and leave a strong vibration in my legs but I was used to it. I just had to wait.

Wait for a reason to leave the stand. The whole reason I came out here.

I craved deer meat, bad. I missed the smell of gramps deer jerky when it was first made; sweet, smokey yet spicy. It lit your mouth up with a soft heat and went down like gravy. It was my favorite but gramps told me I had to get the meat myself.

A small scoff left my mouth at that thought. He's always had me do it.

"You're a clean shot, lil buck."

His words were always lighthearted and prideful when it came to my strengths. He taught me to shoot so he knows my aim is damn near perfect.

A loud snap from behind shook me from my thoughts. My eyes glanced over lazily, hungrily, at the buck who was cautiously entering the meadow. It peaked out from the tree line, looking both ways. Never knowing that I was above it. A sick satisfaction came with that thought; the evolutionary advantage of humans.

Slowly, I put the rifle against my shoulder, lining my sight up.

The itch grew; it went from my finger and up the side of my arm. Saliva filled my mouth as my heart began to pound, adrenaline starting to fuel my system.

The buck stepped out into the meadow, sniffing around through the early morning frost for any sign of food. A pool of steam came from its nostrils as his head slowly raised up, looking over towards the sunrise.

In the middle of the meadow lay a small pond with a short maple tree and large bolder beside it. It was serene as the frost glimmered in the sunlight, making it look as if the ground was covered in crystals. The buck slowly inched his way towards it, dipping his head ever so slightly and taking a drink of the frigid, almost frozen, water.

Another puff of steam rolled from my mouth as my finger wrapped around the trigger, I trailed the buck before slowly squeezing.

Before I could put full pressure on the trigger, a rush of silver came sweeping in from the side treeline, barreling into the deer and sending crimson splattering upon the tall, frosted grass. My heart dropped into my stomach as the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention.

The fear response was quickly replaced with rage.

The bastard took my kill.

Rage and adrenaline fueled me as I quickly locked the safety back and tied it to the rope-that was hooked into the tree- and sent it gently down to the ground.

I took a sharp breath in as I stood and dropped straight down. A grunt was forced from my lungs as I rolled off the ground, landing a few feet in front of the tree.

Grabbing the rifle off the rope, I stalked after the beast that stole from me. My legs were still vibrating hard as I pushed myself through the chilled air, the strong wind leaving streaks of red across my cheeks.

Following the bloodied crumpled trail, I eventually could see the reflection off the water. The beast was still huddled over its kill; silver splashing crimson against the soft crystaline morning. Logic soon began circulating in as soon as I saw it's full height.

On all fours, hunkered over, it still stood a good 5 foot. My brain pumped more adrenaline and fear crept it's way back into my heart.

Why did I do this? This has to be the most idiotic thing I've done.

I knelt on the ground and slowly crept forward until I could see it fully. It's fur was a soft silver, reflecting the sunlight like a prism full of fire. The creature's back was to me and the only sound in the air was the crunching of the beast's teeth against the buck's flesh, ripping it apart and refueling his being. He was a huge wolf, bigger than they should ever get.

The primal instinct in me was screaming at me to run, but, I felt frozen. I couldn't help but to be stuck in awe, staring at this monstrosity of a wolf. Besides the obvious threat, he was beautiful.

I clung to the rifle, keeping my finger ready to click that saftey off and shoot at a moment's notice. My heart pounded louder and the sound of blood rushed through my ears. As I put my finger over the safety, I swallowed softly.

But that was too loud.

The wolf's ears flicked for a split second before he turned around on a dime, teeth bared and muzzle bloodied. He was only 5 foot away and I could feel the color drain from my face.

But the wolf did not get closer, he did not move at all. He stood strong, his starling blue eyes flicking to me and then the rifle and then back.

I felt my knees freeze to the ground; I begged my body to move but it was to no avail.

Suddenly he turned, scooping the deer up by the neck ever so gently between his teeth and trotted off with his kill. He stood at the other side of the meadow, stealing a glance back before disappearing into the now rising mist.

The only thing that ever proved he was there was a small trail of blood from the deer.

The day was now in full swing, birds began to awake and chirp softly into the crisp air. I stood still for a few moments until the adrenaline began to fade.

The grass beneath me crunched softly as I stood, my bones creaking and groaning from the long wait. I slung the strap of the rifle over my shoulder and headed back the way I came.

The meadow we always hunted in was directly off the hunting trail. It was marked with bright orange bands wrapped around the trees, it twisted and curved and was, honestly, a bit of a hike from the house. But, the scenery was beautiful.

The icicles dangling off the trees reflected the sun's rays and lit up the forest with warmth. It was a quiet walk back as I struggled to comprehend what I saw, much less explain it to pops and gram.

__________________________________________

The back door shut with a soft click as I leaned against it, forcing it closed. A house this old always had a few flaws in it, this door being one of them. It never closed right.

Carefully, I silently stored the rifle back in the closet that was embedded beneath the staircase. I could hear Gram in the next room, the kitchen, making breakfast. She was humming and, even from here, you could hear her mixing the pancake batter so vigorously that the whisk continuously clinked against the sides of the bowl.

I felt high still, my nerves were shot and I coud feel myself shake ever so slightly. I took a few deep breaths before walking into the kitchen.

She was standing in front of the stove, radio on and hips swaying. She never lost her youthful vigor as her now greying blonde hair swayed with her motions, flowing after her like a silver waterfall. It was about waist length, tied back messily and the purple of her shirt made it all the more vibrant.

I missed this.

The warmth of the house, the feeling of home. I missed the warm nights beside her curled up, talking about everything and yet nothing. The nights where she stroked my hair and whispered sweet nothing's to my childish past self.

Yet, there was a pit in my stomach. A feeling that something wasn't quite right. And it ached with such a deep force that my chest felt too tight.

She turned around and the smile she had been wearing slowly fell away. Her hazel eyes brimmed with instant worry upon seeing my distressed look.

"Zelinia, what's wrong with you?"

I stared at her for a solid few seconds. Trying to figure out the wording to explain what I saw.

"Where's pops? I need to talk to you both."

Her eyebrow perked up slightly before she cranked the stove off and set the mixing bowl down. As she wiped her hands off on her apron, she came to the kitchen table, where i now stood, and sat down.

"He went to town, why? What's the matter?"

My mouth hung open for a few brief seconds before I had the courage to ask what I wanted to.

"Do the wolves around here get unnaturally big?" My voice felt small, but, it was strangely calm.

The question threw Gram off completely, she was the one to stare at me now. She shook her head slowly.

"They don't, but," she left her word hanging for a few seconds, struggling with what to say. "It wouldn't surprise me if there were a few lone wolves that were unusually large. Being on their own for so long with no other predators and a steady food supply would certainly produce something of massive size." It seemed she struggled with appealing to the logical side of my mind. Her entire posture was uncomfortable, she went rigid the minute I brought the wolf up.

"You may not be entirely wrong, but, that would happen with wolves who have little to no contact with humans. It wouldn't happen with local wolves, hell, even the ones with no human contact wouldn't be 5 foot crouched. That wolf I saw today was monstr-" Gram quickly cut me off.

"You saw one today?" Her face drained of all color and you could tell that her being was racked with anxiety.

"While I was hunting," the familiar pang of anger struck again as this morning replayed for the hundreth time. "The bastard stole my kill! I waited in that stand for hours, for nothing!" A frustrated groan escaped my lips as I ran both my hands through my hair.

"Honey, you're weary. Wash up and come eat." The reply was short, but, she gave a small reassuring smile before standing up and turning around to finish her cooking. It was obvious this conversation was over.

I needed to find Pops.

The smell of butter and batter frying made my stomach erupt in a growl.

I knew she was right, I was absolutely starving and the quicker I got out of the shower, the quicker I could eat. But, uneasiness clung to my gut like a leech.

__________________________________________

Warmth rained down my body, sending all the frozen tension of this morning's hunt down the drain. The shower was well needed. I hadn't taken a shower since I got back home yesterday, I was just too exhausted from the long drive to do anything but eat and crash.

I finally decided to let the stress go; no use in worrying about anything, I was home. I was safe.

Stepping out of the shower, I noticed how gaunt my face looked. The sides of my cheekbones were now apparent and my eyes sunk in more than I'd like to admit. My once delicate, tawny complexion was now snow white with a tinge of pink lining my cheeks.

My weight was another story all together; a deep frown engrained my face as I looked at the once familiar person in the mirror. My auburn hair flowed down in soft waves, still as vibrant as ever, but it was matted and the split ends were horrendous. The dark bags under my eyes blended in with the iridescent pools of honey all too well; I had ignored too much self care while away at college.

But, I didn't care at the time. I was concentrating on finishing the semester out with good grades, and, god damn it, that's what I did. I was striving for a career in a field working with animals. Veterinarian Technology at Oregon State seemed like a good start. I learned much, but my body bore the price.

A soft sigh left my mouth as I began to get dressed. I wore thermal leggings underneath my dark jeans and threw an old dark red sweatshirt on. I could already feel my hair soaking into my clothes, but, it's expected with hair that trailed to ones mid back.

Getting the tangles and knots out of my hair proved to be a chore, I ripped dead strands out as if they were weeds. I felt ashamed of myself for looking this unkempt. I could feel the softness return as I finished, my hair felt ten times lighter.

I began to put my clothes in the laundry bin that sat beside the window in the bathroom. Just as I stood upright, a figure from out the window caught my attention.

I could feel my brow furrow up and a small pit of anger and betrayal pooled into my stomach. Pops was walking around the side of the house, obviously coming from the trail as it was evident by the headless deer he had draped around his shoulders. From this height I could not see if he was bloodstained, but he was wearing his hunting gear.

He would've told me he was out there too, right? He said that he was sleeping in this morning and that I could get the meat on my own.

I felt hurt. Why the lie?

I slowly came downstairs, listening to gram. The clatter of plates and silverware indicated she was setting the table. As I walked into the room she grined softly and spread her hands out to gesture to all of the food.

Bacon, sausage, pancakes, muffins and homemade fruit spread all perfectly arranged. I felt the pinch in my stomach grow as a low growl emitted from it.

"You're grandfather just got home, Zel, why don't you go out and get him?"

I just nodded curtly, not even acknowledging the fact that she lied to me too. I trailed back through the stairway corridor, slipping my shoes and coat on as I approached the door.

The day was already warmer than earlier, the frost was gone and the only indication it was winter was the snappish air that grabbed the breath from your lungs and stung your cheeks till they were numb. My hair was already beginning to freeze as the dead grass crunched beneath my feet. I slowly made my way around the side of the house and approached the shop.

The smell of copper invaded my nose as soon as I came to the door. Pops had laid a large tarp out and had the deer hanging up on his gutting rack, he had just finished draining the blood into large buckets and was now fervently working on skining it.

He didn't even acknowledge that I was there, I doubt he even noticed me. I stood silent for a few more moments and just watched as his hands worked skillfully from years of practice.

"Nice to know one of us got a kill this morning." My tone was low, I tried not to sound pissed off but I couldn't help it. My heart hurt and begged to know why he would lie to my face over something this trivial.

He almost jumped out of his skin before turning around to greet me.

"My Lord, Z, you scared the livin' hell out of me." He had his hand over his chest, steading his breathing as he calmed back down.

"How'd your hunt go?"

"Terrible." I scoffed lightly as I came in, flipping an empty bucket upside down and promptly sitting on it. My hair felt stiff, as it was slowly freezing, my cheeks hurt, yet, I still felt I deserved an answer.

"What do ya mean?" He curiously glanced back towards me, his gentle blue eyes prodding.

His silvering hair was neat, slicked back with the moisture of the morning. Part of it fell to the side of his face as his hands worked skillfully down the buck, slowly sliding his knife under it's skin and pulling it off as he went.

"Gram said you went to town, you obviously didn't. Why'd you lie to her?"

His hands stopped and his posture straightened slightly.

"I didn't." His eyes became stern as he held my gaze. "Maybe she lied to you?"

A small scoff escaped my lips.

"Gram doesn't lie. Neither do you, matter of fact. So, cut the bull, Pops."

"What happened today, Zelinia?" He stepped forward, eyes softening as he slowly wiped his hands off on a handkerchief that had been tucked in his backpocket.

"There was a wolf."

"That's quite normal around here, Hon."

"No, a huge wolf. Like a really, really, big wolf."

His face shifted ever so slightly, his brows furrowed together as his calm smile fell away to a scowl.

"Well, it wouldn't surprise me if there were a few bigger wolves out here. Not all of them belong to a pack, some are on their own and they may get bigger due to that fact."

I slowly nodded as the pit within the depths of my stomach began to deepen. I felt sick and yet I couldn't pinpoint why. Nor could I disagree with him as he wasn't wrong.

"Gram said the same thing." He nodded as well before turning around and began to work on his kill again. His demeanor was still stiff and when he talked again his tone was lower, more serious.

"How have you been, Z? You haven't told us much since you've gotten home."

I don't know why his question threw me off, but, it did. I know I couldn't ignore their questions forever, but, I didn't want them to worry about my well being. College had been unproductive, I buckled down on class work and barely went out, barely ate. When I did, it was with a few friends from class, we went out, had a few drinks and went home.

"I've been okay. Better now that I'm home. I can actually eat." A sheepish chuckle escaped me as I finished my sentence. Gramps look over at me a little worried but he gave a small smile.

"We're glad you're home too. Did Gram send you out here?" He slowly began to put his tools down and threw the now completely removed deer skin off to the side, landing with a loud slap and sending small splatters of blood across the tarp.

"Yeah, the foods done." I hated how quick he changed the topic, right before I wanted to ask why the hell he lied to me. But I quickly decided it would be best to confront both of them at the same time.

__________________________________________

Warmth greeted my frozen cheeks eagerly as I shut the back door softly. Gram was waiting patiently, plates already portioned out, for all of us.

"About time, girl," her eyebrows perked up slightly when she noticed gramps wasn't with me. "Where is your grandfather?"

"He said he would be in once he hosed the skin down and washed himself up. Should be less than 10 minutes." I sat down across the table from her, picking up a choclate blueberry muffin and promptly biting into it.

Nostalgia began to cling to my heart once again as my mouth exploded and tingled with immense flavor. The chocolate coated my mouth with sweetness while the blueberries added a swirl of bittersweet. The breading was just perfect and slightly gooey. Gram's muffins were always the best.

My eyes flicked up to her smiling face as she watched my reaction to her food. Her hands were gently folded over one another on the table and a small laugh echoed from her chest. Her grin grew once she noticed that I was looking at her.

"Did you miss my cooking, honey?"

"More than you know." A small smile played at the edges of my lips as the pit in my stomach lessened slightly.

Within the next few minutes Pops came in and sat down in his spot beside Gram. Small talk ensued as we all began to eat but I zoned out quickly. Now that they were both here, I needed to ask. But, I wasn't sure how. I wanted to know why. Why did either of them lie? I didn't like this uneasy feeling that was creeping through my stomach like a termite through wood. I felt sick, but not physically.

"Zelinia, can you pass me the strawberry jam?" My attention was brought back quick at the mention of my name. I had a mouthful of eggs and wasn't even aware that they were both looking at me.

"Huh? Yeah." I shook my head quickly before grabbing the small jar beside me and handed it over. As gram's fingers brushed against mine, her eyebrows furrowed together with a small amount of worry.

"What's on your mind, dear? You're usually the talkative one out of us all."

I couldn't pass the opportunity up. I slowly set down my fork, wiped my mouth off with a napkin and folded my hands in my lap.

"Why did you lie to me?"

Both of their eyes widened in surprise before looking at each other confused. Pops was the one to speak.

"What do you mean? We've never lied to you."

"Someone lied to me this morning. You said I had to get the meat on my own and then you're out there this morning. You gave me no notice. What if I had shot you?" As I was beginning my bottled up rant, their looks of surprise turned to concern and regret. "Gram said you were in town. But you came back from the forest in your hunting gear with a fresh kill. Why the hell did someone lie to me?" No one spoke, the silence dragged out for what seemed like eternity before Gram's small, delicate voice spoke.

"Your grandfather didn't want me to tell you he was out there after you, just in case he had gotten back first." Her eyes flickered back and forth between us both nervously as the tension in the room became unbearable.

"I was worried you wouldn't come back with anything since it's been over 2 years since you've been hunting. I knew you wanted the meat, I just wanted you to take the initiative." I narrowed my eyes at Pops before shrugging my shoulders. He wasn't wrong, again, but something still felt off. I wasn't satisfied with their answers.

"Alright, but you should just tell me that. I'm 22. Not 12." My response was blunt and short as I picked my fork back up.

The rest of breakfast was suffocating. No one spoke, except for a few 'can you pass me that's. I felt awkward for causing it, but my chest felt lighter knowing the truth.

But the pit in my stomach stayed. Seeing that wolf today really bothered me and I was determined to find out why.

As Pops began to help Gram with the dishes I made my way to the back door, slipping on all the necessities before opening it. I knew there was only one place to go.

"I'll be back later, I'm going into town."

"Alright. Be safe, and, Z?" As I turned around towards the kitchen Gram was standing there, wiping her wet hands on a dish towel as she gave me a small, reassuring smile.

"Its good to have you home again. We've missed you."