Riley
(Authors Note) – I'm terribly sorry that I didn't update yesterday but in the morning hours I got pretty sick and had to stay in bed all day. I really tried to write the chapter but I was just too out of it in order to do so. Sorry for the delay.
The werewolf roared and launched at me.
The child of the moon bounced of its legs with all its strength and crashed through the mist to jump right at me. It tried to encircle my body with its huge furry and dirty paws but before it had jumped I positioned my legs to my stomach as it took me to the cold ground of the street. I pushed my legs back as far as they could go into my stomach and with all my strength shoved against it and threw it over me into a nearby tree. It landed with its body bent down and with its back crashed into a tree behind it that splintered into a million pieces as I jumped up, and turned my body in the air so that I was crouching. It was angry now as its yellow eyes became even darker. With a huge wipe of its big brown claw it slashed the tree beside the one that was just destroyed and it fell to the ground. It looked at me with its repulsive yellow eyes and slowly pulled its long black lips back to expose a huge set of silver fangs. I could see its own venom within its mouth as it drooled and let it drop to the forest ground. The werewolf got up from the ground and stood on its high legs in the moonlight that still fueled its powers. It was at least over seven inches tall and had long dark brown fur as it slowly bent its upper torso down to the ground with its arms out to its sides, and its razor sharp claws wide open. I crouched even further down to the ground in defense and exposed my own set of razors as low menacing growls escaped my lips, and then I heard a car door slam.
NO! Edward had gotten out of the car and jumped to my side in front of me and put his one arm out in a defensive strike, and crouched as well. NO THAT FOOL! He doesn't know what he is doing! From Edward's reaction earlier on in the car to the foul stench I could tell that he didn't know what we were attacked by, and had never dealt with them before. The werewolf took a small step back and was now glaring at Edward through its dark yellow orbs; hungry. I was about to tell Edward to get out of here when he bent down his knees and prepared to assault the wolf; just to protect me. Edward didn't get far. As he was about to jump I grabbed the back collar of his shirt and yanked him back and threw him into the shadows of the forest. The only vampires that know how to fight children of the moon were those that had fought them before and survived. It was a complicated logic and one that I knew I would have to explain to him later. I looked back at the wolf whose huge monstrous face was only inches from me now. Its arms were wide out and headed for my throat as more of its venom dripped over its disgusting chin. I had to use the only advantage that vampires have over the moon children and used my speed. Just before it could get a grip of me I let my body fall backwards to the ground and with my back to the creature I slammed my hands into the concrete without breaking it, and pushed my palms up to slide through its legs. It landed on the empty spot of the ground and slammed a huge hole in the street with its fists that were originally meant for me but it was too slow. It turned around swiftly but still slow and crushed a huge boulder from the street between its claws. It looked like a human smashing butter. I had to think for a second, literally.
Children of the Moon are extremely powerful when it comes to their strength. When humans are first bitten and are affected by their venom they would transform into a newborn wolf with the rising of the next full moon. Newborn werewolves were much more powerful that even newborn vampires. A blow from a newborns fist into a stomach of a mature vampire would seem like nothing compared to this abominations blow. I could tell from the orange flecks around its pitch black irises that it was indeed new to this cursed life which meant that there must be another werewolf around here or it just traveled this far west on its own. That however, made no sense to me. The only way to destroy this dog was to tear apart its head and to make sure that its brain was torn apart so its madness would be silenced. They had amazing regenerative abilities just like vampires but indeed had one weakness or more like a fear.
Just a second had passed when I thought about my options, and the fact that I HAD to get to its head somehow. In the past I had used my talent very effectively against these beasts and it never took me all too long to take care of them. At one point I even took out two of them that attacked me…and my friend in Romania. The werewolf's fur now stood up all the way on its back and it howled its ear piercing howl. I bared my teeth and growled at it when I heard footstep approaching from behind the wolf. NO! Why didn't Edward listen to me in the first place? I don't know how far I had thrown him into the darkness of the forest but I could hear him approaching now. Maybe I could use this to my advantage. I crouched back down and prepared to jump and it did the same. I hoped this would work and wouldn't end up badly for Edward, I HAD to protect him. I saw the wolf's long pointy ears pop up as it finally heard the approach from behind and turned its head and body towards the direction Edward was coming from. THERE! My chance I thought, and launched myself at the beast. I jumped on its back and trapped it with my legs around its waist and jerked it with all my strength backwards so it fell on its stomach. There was no time. Uhh… it smelled even more disgusting so close up but I couldn't think about that now. I reached around its head as it roared in anger. Perfect, I thought to myself and had to take this opportunity. My left hand reached for its upper jaw and I dug my middle and index finger into its nostrils and started to pull up while I positioned my other hand on its lower jaw and dug my fingers between its teeth, and pulled down. Ahhh… this thing was stronger than I thought as it slowly fought against my grip and was on its way of closing its mouth. This might be the only change I could get. Where's Edward I thought panicking? I tried to tighten my grip around its jaws as I looked up and saw his eyes fixed on me and this monstrosity. He looked like he didn't know what to do. He kept taking a step forward and back and raising his arms towards me but then let them fall back down to his sides. There was something he COULD do.
"EDWARD" I screeched while I tried to hold down this mistake of nature. He looked up somewhat startled and focused on me.
I could see him taking a step into my direction. He must have thought that I called out for his aid to hold down this thing but that wasn't it. He and I together couldn't pull its mouth apart far enough in order to kill it. I needed him to scare the hell out of it.
"EDWARD, STOP WHERE YOU ARE. GO TO THE CAR AND FIND A LIGHTER, MATCHES OR ANYTHING THAT CAN PRODUCE FIRE. NOW! I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN HOLD ON!" I finished during struggles to hold down the werewolf.
Edward looked at me surprised but nodded his head. I followed his movements back to the car and heard him rummaging through the glove departments. I had to throw my attention back to my furry friend. Its mouth was almost closed now and I couldn't hold on much longer. If I could only use my talent then this battle would have already been over and done with but I couldn't, not with Edward here. It was waving its arms and legs around beneath me as my legs pinned it to the ground. I was too small and it couldn't reach me on its back. I had to startle it and make it cry out so I could kill it. That was my only option. I heard Edward take his place next to me and I looked up to see a small green lighter in his hand. He looked at me still confused and anxious while he awaited my instructions.
"EDWARD I NEED YOU TO VERY CAREFULLY STEP IN FRONT OF THIS THING BUT WATCH OUT. I MIGHT HAVE IT NOW BUT I DON'T KNOW FOR HOW MUCH LONGER. I NEED YOU TO LIGHT A FLAME RIGHT IN FRONT OF ITS EYES DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" he looked confused but nodded his head in agreement.
He moved around our intertwined bodies and knelt down to meet the monsters face. I could see Edwards lips pull back over his teeth and he started to growl.
"EDWARD FOCUS. DON'T LOSE CONTROL. I NEED YOU!" I screeched between my struggles.
He looked up and his golden eyes were now black. I could see it in them. I could feel Edward's bloodlust. This happened to almost all vampires when they first encounter a child of the moon. They'd lose control along side with the wolf and would engage battle without even thinking about it first. That's, how we were natural enemies. The mere presence of one another would turn us into bloodthirsty monsters but at least vampires had some control like Edward was showing right now. He snapped out of it and looked at me. His eyes were regaining some color and he was trying to control himself. Edward hesitantly held out the lighter in front of the monster as it growled at him. Stupid mutt I thought and pulled its jaws tighter apart. Edward placed the lighter in front of its dark yellow eyes and with one last glance at me ignited it and let a small flame spark to life.
The werewolf went insane just as I knew it would. It led out a loud howl in fear of the small fire in front of it and it was over.
As it howled in fear and opened its mouth even wider it involuntarily aided me in its death. With all my strength I pulled both of my arms as far apart as I could. There was a loud cracking sound and I noticed that it must have been its skull as it shattered through my action. Its body stopped moving and it lay lifeless on the ground. I looked at both my hands that now held a piece of the monster head in both of them. I shoved them off and threw them up in front of me in disgust and looked at my hands that were covered in the beast's black blood. While I tried to wipe of the blood on the beast fur I noticed Edward standing a couple of feet in front me with an expression of horror covering his features. I sighed and wiped of the remaining traces of its blood on the monsters fur and slowly got up to stand in front of him. Edward looked at me with a worried glance.
"Told you I wasn't the same Bella anymore" I spoke truthfully and a bit sad. I looked down to the ground and wiped my hands in front of me as a sign of a job well done. I couldn't help but smile mischievously at the thought that I had killed another one of its kind before Edward buried my head in his chest and embraced me.
I was a little surprised. I was sure that he was scared of me or might have been repulsed at the way I killed the werewolf but there he was holding me next to the three pieces of the monster. He reached his arm underneath me and gripped my waist and held me tight to his body as his other hand cupped my head underneath his. I was confused.
"You aren't scared of me?" this really was strange I thought while Edward snorted.
"Why would I be afraid of you love?" he asked confused now.
"But the look on your face. I thought you were repulsed or disgusted" I murmured into his chest. Edward laughed.
"My silly Bella. I could never think such things about you. I was merely surprised at how you were so bent on protecting me and keeping me out of that confrontation. It reminded me of a time when I was so obsessed about your safety, and how frustrated you must have been love" I had to laugh and looked up into his smiling face that had turned into a mask of seriousness within a second.
I stopped and examined his features and knew the question boiling on his insides. He looked over to the beheaded wolf and gasped. I turned around swiftly in fear it had survived but that couldn't be because I tore its head off. I relaxed when I saw that it was merely transforming back into the innocent human that it once was.
The furry body slowly grew smaller as the hair on its back grew shorter by the second. The big brown arms of the beast became smaller and smaller alongside its legs. It's once huge and razor sharp claws became short and dull until they took on a pink form again. I looked over to the two pieces of its head as the big black nose fell back and became more straight and pointier. Edward tightened his arms around my waist as we watched the scene before us. The murderous wolf had returned to its original state. Me with knowledge and Edward with surprise now stared at the body of a naked beheaded man on his stomach. Edward released his hold on me and stepped around me as my eyes followed his movements. He walked over to the body slowly and examined it hea…neck to toe before tapping his foot at the man's side, and made my eyebrows furrow in confusion as he spoke.
"He's not Indian"…okay?
"Why would he be Indian?" I asked with confusion written all over my face. Edward turned his head back to me copying my expression.
"You mean…this is...NOT one of the Quileute's?" oh, I got it.
Edward had told me about the Quileute's and the treaty they had made over a hundred years ago and informed me that they could transform into wolves. At the time I got a little worried but when he told me about some of their physical characteristics I knew that they weren't related to the children of the moon. It also explained why the La Push Ocean smelled so disgusting that one time I had taken a whiff looking for Edward, compared to Jaspers scent or any other ocean that smelled nice. Some of them must still be there. Unknowingly Edward had also helped me to understand why my best friend Jacob had rejected me back then and told me he couldn't hang out with me anymore. Jacob was only a blurry vision in my memory and I couldn't even really remember his smile but I didn't really care anymore. At least Edward told me the truth about what he was.
"No Edward. This WAS a full blown werewolf" I replied. His eyes narrowed and he looked at me suspiciously and turned his full body back on me.
"You fought them…before?" he asked surprised.
"How do you think I knew it was terrified of fire?" I shot back.
"So when did…" I cut him off.
"Edward I'll explain on the way back but let's just burn the body, and go back to your house alright? I'd like to think about why it was here in the first place anyway" I saw Edward nod with a sigh in frustration and make his way towards his damaged car.
My eyes traveled to the body in front of me as I kept my hands in the pockets of my jacket and my memories went insane. I guess I'll have to tell him the truth about Romania and all the atrocities I had committed there. I could hear fluid moving around inside a small canister and turned my head back to the car. I saw Edward removing it from the back which surprised me at first. Why would he carry gas with him? I guess it wasn't that confusing when you really thought about it. You never know when you were going to run into another vampire and had to take defensive measures. Edward sped back over to my side before I gave him a nod in encouragement and he started to remove the lid of the canister. I ran over to the body and grabbed the human's feet and started to drag him towards the forest. If you really thought about it I did do him a favor for releasing him from the curse that turned him into a monster with the rising of each full moon. Edward had retrieved the two pieces of the man's head and followed me into the forest. We went for about a mile until we came into a small clearing. I dumped the body with no respect into the middle of the field while Edward threw in the headpieces and started to dump the gas over the body. Finally seeing that it was enough he tightened the lid back onto the canister and held out the small green lighter before looking at me. I nodded my head with no hint of emotions in my eyes. Edward nodded back and lit the lighter and dropped it on the lifeless body. As soon as the body was lit I passed it without any interest of watching it burn and grabbed Edwards arm, and towed him back to the car. He followed confused to my reaction but he would know why I hated them so much soon enough. I didn't just hate them because they were the vampire's natural born enemy but for what they took from me.
Edward and I emerged from the bushes and I looked at his car with a small smile playing around my lips.
"Do you think it can make it back?" I teased him and he growled playfully.
"Yeah I think so" he replied annoyed.
"I'm really sorry about your car you know" and I meant that with all honesty. I knew it was his favorite.
"It's just a toy. Besides, the important thing is that you're safe." he shrugged and smiled at me.
Edward walked me to the passenger side and opened the door for me. I was really irritated that we couldn't complete our evening but as it was I really didn't feel like going out anymore. Edward slid in beside me and purred the car to life. I couldn't help but laugh as I looked at the big dent in his car and he growled at me. I raised an eyebrow at him as he backed it up.
"Let's go home. I really don't feel like going to the restaurant anymore. You can give me your present later at my place" I suggested.
He sighed heavily and I could tell that he was disappointed but it didn't really matter to where he gave me my present. He nodded and turned his broken car around and we were now heading back to his house. Did it matter to him where he gave me my present?
As we were speeding through the night I knew that out the corner of his eyes Edward was staring at me. I knew he didn't want to rush me and I would have to explain my knowledge and expertise when it came to THEM. I adjusted myself in the seat like I was uncomfortable in the position I was sitting in and took in a big unnecessary breath before I started to explain without looking at him.
"It happened over thirty years ago in Romania. You should know that I wasn't always on my own Edward. I made a special friend along the way and his name was…Riley. He and I traveled together for about three months, and he was like a brother to me. I wasn't attracted to him or anything but we did get pretty close" Edward's golden eyes were now fixed on my facial expressions as I fixed my own violet eyes on his.
"We only traveled together for a short amount of time but we did get pretty close like I said. He and I had some things in common. He was alone, and I was alone. He was the only other vegetarian I had ever encountered on my journeys and the same went for him. We were happy to have found each other. I'm not going to go into detail but let's just say that when we entered Romania for the very first time we were attacked by THEM. Them being the children of the moon. There were two of them and they were covered in blood. Looking back on it now I think they must have been fighting amongst themselves before they noticed our scent. Once werewolves catch the scent of vampires nothing else matters to them anymore. They seek out the source of the smell and go for the kill. It was too late when I noticed them but Riley already had. He pushed me off to the side as they jumped him. I was frozen at the sight I had to endure. It was indescribable. They tore at him and scratched up his body as his screams still to do this day haunt me whenever I think of it. It was just like with Laurent. I was too much of a coward to do anything about it and watched my friend get massacred as they finally bit of his head and put him out of his misery" I started to cry and covered my eyes with my right hand.
"It was then that I butchered them. I never knew that I was capable of such a thing. But using my talent I tortured them all night long and wouldn't let them escape until the moon finally disappeared and the sun took its place and they shifted back into human form. I knew that they probably didn't remember what they had done but I didn't care. I sliced of their heads and burned the pieces" Edward moved his hand over to my shoulder while I was sobbing.
"You know. Many times I have thought back on it and wondered if I could do it again if I would spare them or make it a quick death for them. But every single time I remember, I know that I would have done the exact same thing and I don't even feel sorry. He was the only one I had at the time and they murdered him just because of that whole natural enemy's nonsense. On that day I promised myself that if I should ever encounter more of their kind I would not hesitate to kill them. You have no idea how many I have killed Edward" and with that I finished my small story about Romania and Riley even though that wasn't it when it came to the small country.
I buried my face in my hands out of hatred and sorrow over the memory of Riley's passing and Edward stopped the car. He took my shoulders and embraced me.
"Bella I'm so sorry. If I would have known… I would have never expected for you to divulge anything to me. Please forgive me love. " he said through his teeth with a pained tone.
"No Edward. You needed to know and besides. I would have mentioned it sooner or later and I'm glad that it's over with, and I won't have to speak of it again" I sobbed into Edward's chest.
Edward was silent after that and stroked my head and I heard his mouth open with a question that might hurt but I would happily answer.
"Tell me Bella but only if you want to. What was Riley like?" I had to giggle at the memory of my late friend.
"He had short blond hair and of course golden eyes since he was a vegetarian like us. He was about nineteen or so when he was turned and that must have been around two hundred years ago. He was upbeat and made the most out of what he had which wasn't very much. He could always make you feel happy no matter how low and depressed you were. He was truly and honest to god, a good person and friend" I finished and started to sob even harder.
Edward started to press me harder against him but I pushed away. He looked hurt when I sat back up in the car seat and ran my fingers through my hair. I started to control my sobs and looked back to Edward.
"I don't want to think about it anymore. Let's just go back to your house. I think it's a story your family should hear as well but from you and not me" I said with more control over myself now.
Edward nodded understanding and turned his attention back the road and put the car in drive. He was speeding over a hundred miles an hour back home as my worries and confusion consumed me.
Why would a werewolf be so far out west? They usually stayed in parts of Europe and Asia. They preferred the cold and not wet climates. It made absolutely no sense. I noticed Edward's eyes on me again. He must have taken in my discomfort and lack of knowledge. I started to think again. More importantly why would a newborn werewolf of all things be so far out here? It truly was a riddle until realization hit me. The werewolf wasn't here by accident but somebody had brought it here. It was the only answer that made sense, somewhat. But why here and who was it? Vampires never associated with werewolves and most definitely didn't use them for their own personal gain. You couldn't control them and they would certainly never do what you asked them to do. They were out of control beasts once they transformed and could never be used in such a manner.
It was truly a mystery. A werewolf could have never journeyed so far into the western hemisphere without help. Was there another one around here? It was a newborn and wasn't very old. Maybe a year or so judging from its movements I had observed during battle. Head on, and counting on its strength while it kept slamming into nothing. Older and more mature werewolves even had a better sense of orientation than that.
My eyes wandered to the moon that I now observed through the shattered glass of Edward's car. How could something so beautiful and peaceful create such horrific and demonic creatures I thought to myself silently. I placed my index finger and thumb to my chin and must have had that "I'm plotting the end of all times" look when I thought of a certain narcissistic vampire that would just do what I thought was done.
Would he go that far to use werewolves as a means of revenge? I did insult him and sort of embarrassed him in front of his mate but using children of the moon? Would he really go so far just because I didn't want to join his coven? He WAS the only vampire I had ever made enemies with. I shook my head and looked back at Edward whose eyes were sternly on me. I smiled at him and scooted over in my seat so I could place my head to his shoulder and he in turn put his arm around me.
While I was watching the street and noticed the lights of Forks in the distance I thought about it some more and came to the conclusion that it couldn't have been him. Would he really sink as slow as using THEM for his own vendettas and bring shame to his coven?
A coven, which was over ten thousand years old.