Cry to the Moon: Spoken Secrets

Moonlight reflected off his dark fur as the wolf ran within the woods. His yellow eyes gazed over with the thrill of the run and the night around him. He breathed the cold air greedily to fill his heated lungs. He concentrated on nothing, but the path in front of him. The world of humans fell away hours ago once he stepped on the path with his paws.

The dawn slowly broke the dark sky. The wolf finally stopped by a large oak tree to watch the sunlight stream across the land. He knew his night of freedom was done; now he had to go to class at nine o'clock. The wolf closed his yellow eyes as he turned back into his human form. The dark fur gave away to pale skin; a lean wolf body turned into a semi-ripped human body with muscular arms and legs. Sharp, triangular ears rounded out and formed back to the sides of his head. His wolf face returned to his human round cheeks, straight nose and his two day old beard. The fur on his head grew back into his shoulder-blade length, dark brown hair. His eyes opened, brown eyes now blinked repeatedly to adjust to the strong light of the sun. In the place where the wolf stood on four legs, now stood Raymond Kage, or better known as Kage, naked within the woods.

From a hole of the oak tree, he removed his bag of clothes and began to dress. Now, his mind was filled with tasks of the days and art projects due soon. Kage dressed quickly for the sunlight was taking over the sky. He didn't want people to question why he was coming from the woods outside the college campus.

He raced out from the woods, never knowing someone was watching him as he changed from wolf form. From her haven of leaves and branches, Anita's discovered Kage's secret. She didn't mean to spy on Kage; in fact, she didn't even know he was even in the woods. Anita went into the woods to clear her mind of problems. Now, with her green eyes, she watched a supernatural idea happened.

She climbed out from the tree. She decided that she would tell Kage that she knew his secret. Leaning against the tree, the shawl around her head cushioned her head from the tree bark. She thought about how she would tell him and feared his reaction.

"I will have to tell my secret." She whispered, as she walked from the tree. "It is only fair."

Later that day…

Kage was exhausted. Four classes back to back and finishing his painting for the art exhibit; all he wanted to do was crawl into his bed and sleep. Passing his computer, Kage noticed that he had one new message. He fell onto his chair and opening the mail. That is when the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up.

The message read, "Kage, I know about your secret. I know you are a werewolf. Please, I need to talk to you. Call me at 555-1273. Sincerely, Anita Willows."

Kage stared at the screen. Someone knew his secret. He searched his mind for that name; did he even know this girl? Yes, she is a friend of Katie's and he spent time with her after the Fall Dance. She was short with green eyes. The girl who always wore bandannas and fringed shawls on her head. She always said hi to him and they have talked sometimes.

Kage shot up from his chair and went to his phone. He pushed the buttons for Anita's numbers and waited. Four rings, then the answering machine click on.

"Hi, this is Beth Hudson and Anita Willows's room. Leave a message after the beep." Beth's voice said. The answering machine beeped.

"Anita, this is Kage. Come by my room around ten o'clock tonight. Bye." Kage hung up the phone and sank to the floor. He has kept his secret quiet from everyone. Now, he was afraid that there would be blood on his hands.

Anita was in her room when Kage called. She knew it was him calling, so she let the machine take the message. She listened to the message again, hearing the hidden fear and anger in his voice. Anita erased the message; she didn't want Beth asking questions about Kage and her. She knew where he lived from the night of the Fall Dance; they went there to get his cigarettes and beer. She looked at the clock. In two and half hours, she would be standing at Kage's door, ready to confess her own secret.

Later that night…

Kage sat on his chair, waiting for a knock on his door. It was now ten o'clock. As he stood up, a soft knocking sounded. He knew it was Anita before he opened the door. She wore her famous black fringed shawl on her head and gray hooded jacket. The rest of her outfit mimicked his, black t-shirt, blue jeans and dark shoes, but hers were sneakers and his were boots.

"Come in." Kage said, after moments of silence. Slowly, Anita crossed the threshold and Kage was in control. Once he closed the door, Kage pushed her against the cold mental. He slammed his hands against the door, blocking her between his arms. Kage leaned to her, almost pressing his body on hers. He bent his head to where his lips just hovering at her ear.

"So, you know my secret." Kage whispered. He pressed his body hard against her. He could feel her shaking beneath him. Her hands grasped at the door. He sensed that her eyes were closed. "You probably thought that you could blackmail me to keep you quiet. I guess you never seen a werewolf in action. I have been known to take down creatures four times bigger than you. Now, you have a choice, Anita. You can leave this room and forget everything you know about me or," He moved closer to her ear, "never leave this room."

"I …I don't want to blackmail you. She said, her body shaking even more. Kage lifted his head to look at her face. Her head was hung down and her eyes were still closed.

"The why did you tell me that you knew?"

"Well…" She began. "I believe when a secret is known, then another secret should be revealed. I want you to know my secret."

"What? His hand moved to her shawl, "That you are bald." He pulled the shawl away. Soft curls of dark red fell all around her head.

"No." She softly said. She lifted her head. "That is not my secret. This is." She opened her eyes as she placed her hands on his chest.

"What the f...!" He yelled. Her eyes glowed with a yellow colored with green specks. Feeling her hands pawing his chest, he looked down. Her nails were no longer human nails. They were claws, curved and very sharp. She gently pushed him to his chair; he was so shocked that he didn't even notice he was sitting.

"Yes, Kage." Anita whispered as she pushed a strand of hair from his eyes. "I am also a werewolf."