Their ugly-sounding whispers came into my head. “Come with us, little Gruff. Come with us and learn the truth.”
I backed away, snarling louder. Inside I was quivering with fear. My mud-covered fur bristled threateningly.
“GRRRRRRRAAAAAAA!” I snarled at them to get away.
Instantly all of those eyes became narrowed slits, shooting bolts of red fire. The creatures raised their terrible claws and gave out an ear-splitting shriek that meant, “You belong to us!”
Then they hurtled straight at me, fangs dripping. The forest shook with their stampeding feet. Hundreds of claws aimed directly for my eyes.
The night creatures—the werewolves—were going to rip me apart!
Chapter 13
I crouched, cringing in terror.
But I felt the power flowing into my haunches. I jumped, and the force of my muscles lifted me up, over the heads of the shrieking beasts. Their questing claws just missed me.
When I landed, I found myself clinging to the swaying branches of a tall tree. Scrambling up higher, I perched at the top, my chest heaving.
“There he is! In the tree! Get him!”
Below me the pack of night creatures gathered around the tree, peering up. Their piercing red eyes found me easily.
They snuffled and whined below me. “Why do you run, little one?” they taunted, their uplifted faces grinning horribly. “What are you afraid of?”
I shuddered as their voices sifted up through the tree, making the leaves shiver.
They began to scrape their claws against the bark. “You are one of us!” they howled inside my head. “Come down and let us show you the way of the night!”
I shuddered, trying to shut out the snarling sounds—and that’s when I happened to notice my hands, grasping the branch in the cool moonlight.
My fingernails had become sharp yellow claws that dug into the tree branch. My feet, too, curled around the branch in a way no Leg-walker or wolf feet could. But my claws were long and graceful, not scabbed and thick like theirs. And my feet were smooth, not gnarled.
Long hair covered my powerful arms and legs and my wolflike chest. But even covered with mud it was silky looking, not wiry like the night creatures.
Maybe I was a monster, but I wasn’t like them! I wasn’t. I wasn’t!
I looked down at their burning eyes. Their long misshapen arms waved at me. They jumped from foot to foot on bowed, ugly legs.
They were horrible, evil! Nothing like me.
I shut my eyes, not wanting to see them. What did these twisted, red-eyed beasts want with me? I just wanted to run, find my wolf family, and show off my new power. I would never be like these disgusting creatures of the night. Never!
I kept my eyes screwed tightly shut, hoping they’d tire of taunting me and go away.
And after a while the low snickering laughter and sneering calls did stop. I started to breathe easier. Maybe it was all a dream. I was asleep, and when I woke up I’d be just Gruff again.
Then the air whooshed!
Something large landed right beside me on the branch.
Chapter 14
The branch barely quivered, but the swampy death smell of the creature nearly knocked me off my perch.
Don’t look, Gruff! I told myself. Don’t look and it will go away!
I kept my eyes closed. It had to be a dream. A horrible nightmare.
A growling sound made my ears twitch. Then I realized the thing beside me on the branch was laughing quietly to itself. It was a soft, evil sound.
The evil laughter chilled me to the marrow.
It was laughing at me as if it could read my thoughts, as if it knew exactly what I was thinking!
I heard a slithering sound and then something cold and slimy touched me. I jerked away and started to fall. Teetering, I opened my eyes.
Inches away, red eyes burned into me.
“You are mine!” it said inside my head. “Mine, mine, mine!”
The horrible creature grinned at me. Saliva dripped from its teeth. Somehow I knew it was the same werewolf that led me here into the swamp.
I opened my mouth to scream and all that emerged was a hissing sort of growl. I had to get away! Without thinking, my feet let loose of the branch.
I fell.
A gleeful howl rose up from below.
Too late, I remembered the night creatures gathered down there.
I was dropping right into their wide-open jaws.
Chapter 15
Faster than a striking snake, a long arm shot out of the dark and gripped me.
I dangled motionless, high above the ground.
Soft laughter, dripping like venom, came from above me as shrieks and growls of disappointment erupted from below.
I moaned in fear, unable to escape. The werewolf claws were icy cold but somehow burned into my arm. Slowly, it pulled me back up to the branch where it crouched.
As the thing growled, words dropped into my brain, hissing like hot coals spattered with rain. “I am called Ripper. Don’t try to get away from Ripper, little one.” The creature’s stinking breath choked me as it pulled me close. “You cannot escape!”
The thing laughed again and released my arm. Even though it was no longer holding me, I could still feel its grip burning and stinging.
I looked at my arm. My skin bubbled under five slime trails left by the claws. And at the end of each slimy burn was a mark, curved like a half moon. Small red dots appeared at each tiny wound.
I stared in horror as the dots of blood swelled.
“You have nothing to fear,” the creature called Ripper purred in a soft, oily voice. It was trying to sound kind and soothing, I realized.
But something dark was dripping from its claws. Blood. My blood.
“You must come with me,” Ripper said, absently raising a clawed hand to its face. As I watched, it licked the red drops with a flicking tongue.
“Mmm,” it said, glowing eyes half-closed in pleasure. “Your blood is delicious, but too thin.”
Then its eyes snapped open and bored into mine. I couldn’t look away. “You will come tonight and
