Nessie stared out the window into the night. Her room was on one of the top floors of the tallest dormitory on campus, giving her a far view over the nearby forest, illuminated in the light of the full moon. She thought about the previous day. Even though her expectations were low, the sorority somehow managed to disappoint her. She thought about her options…
She reminded herself that she didn't need to make a commitment now. Plus, it wasn't like hope was lost, she reminded herself that in a few years, she'd be able to try again at a different university. Was that what she wanted? She thought about the people she'd met today, Holly and Zoe. She felt guilty, knowing that in 4 years, she was intentionally going to disappear off the face of the earth and never see them again. Maybe it was wrong for her to seek out companionship amongst humans. Every plan for a long-term friendship was under false pretenses.
At least she had Kat. Nessie became grateful for Seth's imprint. She would get to learn the truth. Nessie wouldn't have to lie to her about anything. They could say friends forever. Well, maybe not forever. After all, Kat was only human.
Out of the corner of her eye, Nessie saw movement.
Nessie locked eyes with a pair of big, yellow eyes. The face was distinctly canine, but Nessie knew the creature was different from the werewolves she was familiar with. Its muzzle was too short and its ears too rounded. It was like a cross between a wolf and an ape, only much bigger. Nessie was only able to catch a short glimpse of the monster before it turned and ran off into the woods at inhuman speeds.
Nessie stifled her gasp, not wanting to disturb Kimmy, asleep in her bed. Nessie dashed out of the dorm, faster than she should have. When she reached the woods, she broke into a sprint. She pulled out her phone and made a call.
"Hello," Edward answered.
"Dad," she answered. "I saw something in the woods." She described what she'd seen.
"Alright, stay in your dorm, we'll check it out."
"Too late," Nessie answered. She could reach it before them. By the time he arrived, it may be long gone. Storm clouds were starting to roll in, threatening to wash away any trail that may be present.
"Nessie—" Edward started to protest.
"Gotta go, bye!" Nessie hung up. She knew she was going to be reprimanded later.
She slowed as she approached the location where she saw the creature. She sniffed the air, searching until she found what had to be the creature's scent. It was like nothing she'd ever smelt before. It wasn't human, but it wasn't animal either. The smell more closely reminded her of vampires in that there was nothing appealing or edible about it, but it was woodsy rather than sweet. The smell made her skin crawl. Some dormant instinct told her to turn back. Whatever this creature was, it was no friend of hers.
Not long after finding the trail, she spotted a paw print in the mud. The print wasn't quite canine, but it definitely wasn't human either. There was no heel in the print, indicating that the creature walked on its toes like an animal. The creature had four toes varying in size, with the largest on the far left. There were scratch marks on the ground where the creature had dug its long nails into the ground as it moved. A wave of fear rippled down her back.
She didn't go after the creature. She stayed where she was and let her thoughts be a beacon for her father. She wished Jacob was in town. He'd be able to be here in seconds.
She looked up at the sky and saw the full moon, still visible despite the impending storm. This creature definitely wasn't a werewolf—at least, not one of the werewolves she was familiar with. But what about the other species of werewolves? Werewolves whose transformations were controlled by the phases of the moon. Nessie recalled a conversation from long ago. What had Edward called them?
Children of the moon. Nessie knew she was right. The creatures had nearly been eradicated by the Volturi long ago, but some had slipped through their massacre.
After what felt like an eternity, she heard her family approaching in the distance. Edward was the first to reach her. He listened to her thoughts as she shared her speculation.
"I don't know," Edward admitted. "I'm not familiar with the species, but you could be on to something."
Bella, Emmett, and Carlisle caught up to Edward.
"Are you alright?" Bella asked.
"I'm fine," Nessie said.
"Nessie suspects she saw a Child of the Moon," Edward described the creature Nessie saw.
Emmett's eyes lit up.
"What!" Bella exclaimed. "You should've waited for us."
"Carlisle, what do you think?" Edward asked.
"It could be," Carlisle said. "What you described matches everything I've heard about them."
"Awesome!" Emmett exclaimed. "Let's go fight a werewolf."
"Easy, Emmett," said Carlisle. "The moon is already beginning to set, we most likely won't have time to find it tonight."
"Then we better not waste any more moonlight," Emmett grinned.
Edward and Emmett disappeared into the woods. Carlisle made a phone call to the rest of the family. Jasper was to join the hunting party while Carlisle, Rosalie, Alice, and Esme fanned out around campus to protect the unsuspecting student body.
Bella drove Nessie to the Cullen's house, lecturing her on how irresponsible she'd been.
A couple hours later, the vampires returned home.
"We tracked it south past Salem. It disappeared along I-5. We suspect it had a car waiting for it when it transformed back," reported Jasper.
"How is that possible?" Rosalie asked. "I thought they lose their minds when they transform."
"That's what we thought," Carlisle said, "but it's possible that our understanding of the species is incomplete."
"What do we know about them?" Bella asked.
"The Children of the Moon are the source of most werewolf myths," Carlisle explained. "Most days, they are indistinguishable from humans, but on the night of the full moon, they transform into uncontrollable beasts. Like our kind, they typically hunt humans and reproduce by bite. I've never encountered any before. Volturi hunted them to near extinction long ago. If there truly is one in the area, we'll have to deal with it ourselves, or we risk the Volturi returning to the area to pursue it."
"Now that it's phased back, how do we find it?" Bella asked.
Everyone's eyes turned to Alice. She shook her head in defeat.
"I don't think I can see it," Alice said in frustration.
"Now that the moon has set, we're hunting a person, not a wolf," Edward explained.
Emmett let out a disappointed sigh.
"Which is probably for the best. They're no threat when they aren't in their wolf form," Carlisle sighed. "As much as it pains me to have to kill another intelligent creature, I'm afraid we have no choice. We don't want to give the Volturi any reason to accuse us of wrongdoing."
"By the time the creature reached the vehicle, it was starting to change," Jasper explained. "We could tell by the prints and the scent. We suspect that it smells mostly human once it's completely transformed."
"Did you warn Seth?" Nessie asked.
Edward shook his head. "Not tonight. We didn't want the wolves getting involved tonight. They're stronger in a pack and we didn't want to risk him getting bitten. We have no idea what would happen."
Emmett's eyes lit up at the concept as if he was imagining fighting a double werewolf. A grin crept across his face.
"We'll tell them in the morning," Carlisle promised.
"What do we do now?" Bella asked.
Edward shrugged. "For the next twenty-eight days, there's nothing to do. We'll continue going to class as normal. We'll see about forming a larger hunting party next month. We should get in touch with the Denali's. Eleazar might be able to provide some additional insight."
Bella drove Nessie back to the university in silence, too concerned about the threat to lecture Nessie.
Nessie tried to sleep, but she was too keyed up. She took a walk down Greek Row. She felt bad that she couldn't tell Seth about the threat, the least she could do was keep an eye out for Kat. The street was quiet at this early hour. The BIT house looked dormant, though the lights were on downstairs. She wondered if they ever turned them off. All of the fraternity parties had gone quiet. The hosts were fast asleep, mostly inside. Outside of the house of Kappa Epsilon Nu, a half-naked man snored peacefully in the bushes. One of the cars behind the SAE house was occupied. A couple was making out with gusto. Nessie crept closer to get a better look. The car door swung open and a disheveled Kat stepped out wearing a shirt far too small for her. The words Sigma Alpha Epsilon on the shirt cracked and deformed as it was pulled too tight around her chest.
"We're not done here," the man said, getting out of the car after her.
Kat threw her hands up. "Yeah, I think we are. What else do you want from me?"
Nessie stepped forward, making her presence known. "Is everything alright?"
The man stopped in his tracks and just glared at Kat.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Kat said. She kept walking. She reeked of Axe body spray. Nessie breathed through her mouth to avoid the smell.
Nessie walked beside her back to the sorority house.
"Who was that?" Nessie asked.
"Don't worry about it," Kat growled. Her voice cracked as she spoke.
"I thought you said you weren't ready for a new relationship?" Nessie asked perplexed. She thought Kat's statement had been pretty clear. Was there some other meaning that she had misinterpreted?
"Stay out of it," Kat said as she reached the steps of the sorority house.
Nessie looked at Kat, trying to decipher the situation.
Kat took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you. I really need you to keep quiet about what you saw this morning. Please?" Her eyes were pleading.
The missing piece clicked into place. Kat was still seeing her ex behind everyone's back.
"Of course," Nessie lied, fully intending to tell Seth the moment she could.
Nessie went back to her dorm. As the campus started to come to life, it became easier to believe the Child of the Moon was truly gone for now. Exhaustion overtook her and she fell quickly.
Chapter Playlist:
Don't Trust Me - 3OH!3 - Kevin
Cannibal - Kesha - Kat
Last Friday Night - Katy Perry - Liam
