Caleb runs to keep up, but he loses sight of Archer. Turning a corner, he skids to a stop when he sees the hole and Archer pacing beside it. “This can’t be happening, Caleb he has her!”
“Who has her?” Eric demands and Archer turns to find a shotgun pointing at him. “Where is my daughter?”
“Uncle Eric, you have to listen. Archer had nothing to do with this.” Caleb promises.
“Well, that’s not exactly true, is it Caleb?” Archer says softly and his silver eyes flash. The sun has set and the first beams of the moon shine down on the boy and the shift begins again. The pain is not as bad this time, it rips through his body and he falls to the ground curled in pain.
Eric cocks his shotgun and steps in front of Caleb. “Where is my daughter!” he roars again. One single beam of moon light washes over the body of the boy, blinding Eric for a moment. In a blink the boy is gone, replaced by a wolf with silver eyes. The wolf stumbles to his feet and stares at the pair of humans looking at him with their mouths hanging open.
“That is sick!” Caleb says smiling. “Never gets old!”
Eric’s trembling hands lower the gun and he stares at Archer. “What is… happening?”
Archer sniffs the ground and digs away some snow, revealing its hidden treasure. He grabs something and walks carefully towards Eric, dropping his prize on the ground. A red dart! Eric drops down and lifts the dart up. “I’ve seen this before!” In his mind he sees the dead wolf in his clinic and his heart drops. “No.”
“Uncle Eric, what is it?” Caleb asks.
“I found a dart like this with a dead wolf. Someone is darting and torturing them.” He whispers. “She tried to tell me!”
Archer growls low in his throat and turns to leave. The wolf pack must be lead to safety! But he can’t be in two places at once! Makenna needs him!
Mother moon whispers, “Save the girl, Archer. The pack will be protected.”
Archer runs, he doesn’t look back as he follows the scent that is hers. Makenna! He will find her!
Caleb watches Archer run and turns to his Uncle. “Listen, I don’t have time to explain and I am not sure I understand it myself, but Archer is here to help. Makenna found a wolf pup months ago, on Grandpa’s land and she took care of him, turns out he was Archer.”
Eric looks at him and stands up. “I remember, she told me about him. I don’t know what I just saw Caleb, but I know who owns this dart. I am going to get the police, you get back to the house in case she comes back, wait for her. Okay?”
“Yes sir, no problem.” Caleb promises.
Caleb watches his grandfather leave from the front porch and says a quick prayer for his cousin. He is heading back to his house to wait, in case she goes there. The moon watches the large teen pace on the porch and smiles down on him. Her rays wash over him and it feels cool to the touch. He smiles and that’s when he feels it, the first wave of pain.
“Uggh,” he moans falling to his knees. He looks up at the moon clutching his stomach and his eyes go wide.
“I forgot that he bit me.” Another wave of pain and he falls to his side, screaming. The scream fades as a popping, crunching sound is heard. His body reshapes into a large wolf. He stands completely white, with ice blue eyes lined in black lashes. He stands enormous at over six feet tall!
“Caleb, you need to lead the pack to safety,” The moon whispers to his mind. She tells him of secret hiding spots that only she knows about.
He stumbles to his four paws and leaps around, bounding off the deck he follows the direction she places in his mind.
The pack smells him before he arrives, they howl to warn each other of a strange male. Sam killed and trapped the Alpha again. They were leaderless, but that doesn’t mean they are not willing to fight.
Caleb’s heart beats faster, when he hears Mother Moon say, “You must challenge the leader, if you win, they will follow you!”
He snarls and steps into the moon light and the pack surrounds him. Young and old they have come to watch the timeless battle for leadership.
The first to challenge him is the Beta. Each pack has an Alpha Male, and Alpha female. If the male dies or is defeated, the Beta takes over. He leaps at Caleb.
Determined not to hurt him, Caleb meets his blow by leaping out of the way. They circle each other and he swipes at Caleb’s face, catching his nose with the tip of a claw. His red blood sprays the snow and the burning sensation reminds him. He is in a fight for his life!
This time when the wolf leaps Caleb does not hesitate, he seizes him by his throat and pins him to the ground until the yelping stops. When he releases the smaller male, he rolls over showing his belly, in a sign of submission. The Alpha female is not so easily won over. She hits him from the side with no warning and they tumble through the snow. She fights for her pups, afraid that he will kill them once he takes over. She goes for his legs and he smacks her hard to the ground. He growls loud enough that all the wolves fall to the ground showing submission to his power. She whines and licks at his paws.
“Well done, now they will follow you. Take them to safety, high into the mountains. They must remain there until is it safe to return.”
With a sharp bark, Caleb runs and they all follow.
