Shifting Moon Ch 15

I slowed my pace and started to stalk quietly through the woods for the last few hundred meters from where I left the disassembled corps. I still wasn't convinced something could survive after having its head removed but 2 hours ago, I was convinced people couldn't change into animals, and Vampires didn't exist outside of books and TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and look at me now. Imagine what I could know in another 2 hours.

Banishing these extra thoughts, I concentrated on my new senses and tried to hear any movement up ahead. I could smell the sickly burnt sweet smell from here, but I had no way of knowing if that was from the fight or if he was still there. I had seen Sam move to circle around in the opposite direction when I left the trail and knew he was just a thought away.

As I crept through the woods, I found that I was thoroughly enjoying this. The caution, the slow stepping to make sure nothing was disturbed as I placed my weight on my paw. The sheer tension in my body and the ready to explode muscles at my command, it was all making me… euphoric. As I moved around a tree, my eyes picked up a leg in the middle of the trail and an arm slightly farther off. I didn't see any movement from them, but my instincts still called for caution.

I reached for the familiar mental pressure that was Sam and spoke, {"I can see a few limbs and they are not moving. You see anything from there?"}

{"By the ancestors, this thing smells horrible. I can see its body but not the head. No movement, so I think it's safe. I will get closer, be ready to back me up if it shows movement."}

I moved my eyes to where I figured Sam would be and closer than I expected I saw a shadow from a tree become larger as Sam stepped out from behind it and slowly entered the clearing. After a few cautious moments, I could see him visibly relax and start moving around in a more relaxed manner. He still looked like he was trying to hold his breath though and I found that slightly funny.

Without waiting for him to say anything, I stood up to my full height and entered the pathway. The vampire was just as torn up as I left him, so chances are that the stories of them healing were wrong or at least exaggerated. I started looking around more and saw where my clothes exploded when I made the change to this Tiger form. My jacket that I had just tied around my waist was still ok, but my shirt pants and shoes were all shredded. No saving them at all. Leaving them where they lay, I turned to head back to Sam.

{"Clothing is going to be an issue, isn't it."} I asked Sam.

Sam chuckled, {"Yeah, don't try to go the stretchy route either. If they stretch enough to stay on after the change, it is never comfortable. It's the reason I run around with just a light T-shirt and shorts all the time now. He shook his back leg, and I could see a bundle of cloth tied there. Closer inspection showed a dark band, like a hair tie holding the cloth to his leg.

{"That can't be very comfortable."}

{"Less uncomfortable than being caught nude walking out of the forest. I have enough rumors going around about me as it is."}

{"Hmm. Think I will have to place a backpack in a tree near the house for emergencies."} Thinking of that, I remembered the backpack the vampire dropped before coming after me. {"Be right back."} In a soft trot I made my way back up the trail and found the backpack where he had left it. I bit the hanger loop and made my way back to Sam. By the time I returned, Sam was back in human form wearing his Levi shorts and standing over a pile made of Vampire parts.

When I returned Sam spoke to me "The stories say the only way to make sure these blood suckers stay dead is if they are burnt. They're not very flammable until they are torn apart but once they are, their bile or venom is very easy to light on fire." He held out a piece of cloth he had torn off from the vampire's clothing or maybe it was some that I tore off in my effort to dismember. Sam then pulled out a lighter and held it to the cloth until it caught fire then he dropped it on the pile. Remarkably fast, the fire spread to all parts of the vampire and in a shorter time than one would think possible the vampire was a pile of ashes. The whole thing took maybe 15 minutes.

When the fire started going up fast Sam spoke "You should toss the backpack on the fire, it won't last long."

I looked for the pressure in my mind to tell him I wanted to keep it and learn what I could about him and why he was here, but the pressure was gone. So I just shook my head and walked back to my pile of clothes and carried the remaining bits with my phone and wallet in them back to the bag dropping them next to it.

We stayed to make sure the fire went out and didn't start a forest fire while burning, not that there was much of a chance that would happen this early in spring. As we watched the ashes settle into the ground, I waited for Sam to retake his Wolf form. Once he did, I asked my next big question.

{"So, how do I change back? Is there a certain time I have to wait before I can?"}

{"From what you told me about embracing the hot spot in your mind that I equate to my excess anger, then changing back should be as simple as finding that heat in your body and pushing it back to your mind. Of course, that's only if it works the same as my change."}

I laughed across our connection, {"Hot spot? It's a white-hot torch in my head."}

{"That's a little different from me, I have a ball of anger in my head, it flares up rather easily but with time it is changing to just a hot spot to embrace to make the change happen. But even now, if I get too angry it forces the change, so keep aware of your emotions. Hope my method works for you because I don't know any other way."}

My head hung down as I mentally searched my body for the warmth I could feel. I started gathering it at my feet, and as it moved through my body, I felt it get hotter and hotter. When the flame reached my throat, it was hard to keep together. But once I managed to push it into my head, it seemed to click into place, and I felt my body go malleable again. Suddenly, I was standing on my own two bare feet.

As I stood there fully nude, I felt weak, like I had lost all my energy and strength. My senses were not as strong as I had gotten used to in the short time I had been in the shape of a Tiger, but I quickly got over the moment of adjustment. My skin looked a little whiter, like I had lost my Phoenix tan completely and I also felt… Bigger. It was hard to explain. I took another moment to just move around before quickly realizing that my feet were not going to let me walk back without shoes, so I started to gather all my stuff and put it in the backpack. Once I was done, I again reached for the torch in my head and pulled on it, trying to push it into my body like I had before.

It took a little longer this time around, but I didn't have a super-strong super-fast Vampire looking to make me a chew toy either, so I was good with slow. It took me lots of effort to push the heat from my head and into my chest, but once I got it there, it dispersed itself in the rest of my body rather easily. Quickly, I was back into the Tiger shape I had quickly grown rather fond of.

{"What now?"} I asked Sam.

{"Now, I need to get back to my land, it's true that this is supposed to be neutral territory between the Cullen's and the Tribe. But the elders want me to stay within our borders since I am the first Wolf warrior of this generation. Plus, I need to be there when the next person makes his first change. There are several members of the tribe that are close, and one could be only days away, so I have to be there for him."}

{"Will you tell the elders about me, even if I ask you not to?"}

Sam sighs, {"Yes, I will. It is part of my duty to my tribe, and though you may be blood, you are not tribe. Sorry Thomas."}

{"It's okay, you have been very helpful to me, and I can't fault you for doing your duty. I was just hoping to keep this from Charlie and Bella for a while. At least until I figure out what it means to me now."}

{"Nothing to worry about there, they will not find out from us. After all, you hold our secret as well. For now, know you are welcome on our lands, so feel free to come to me with any questions you have."}

I watched Sam disappear into the forest and turned my head to bite the vampire's backpack I added the remnants of my clothes too. Once it was secure, I started to walk to my rock but stayed off the path. I really didn't need to run into another hiker, Vampire, or human.

I just moved without thinking too much for now, I felt that I needed to get comfortable with my new form before I would be able to make any decisions. I really needed to do some research and see just what type of tiger I am. The look I got in the pool of water made it look like I had a mane, and so far as I knew that wasn't a tiger thing. Also, if memory served, white tigers were not truly considered albino tigers, it's just a gene mutation.

Plus, I really doubt there are any natural tigers that stand over 6ft tall at the shoulder and who knew how long I was. Food source is another issue, will my family be safe around me? Sam said he was a protector and had no issues being around normal people, so I'm hoping I am the same. I mentally sighed, so much for not thinking too much.

The rest of the walk to my rock I tried to concentrate my thoughts on the sounds and sensations this new form brought to me. I was pretty sure I could hear everything within a couple hundred yards of myself. So, anything accidentally sneaking up on me wouldn't be a likely thing. I would need to pay attention to not be seen by people, or these woods could fill up fast with hunters looking for bigfoot or something.

When I finally got to my rock, I put the bag down and flopped on the ground. Not thinking about stuff was exhausting. After a few moments, I stood up and concentrated on pulling the heat from my body again until I stood there naked and alone. I opened the backpack and found my jacket, then spread it on the ground so I could sit as I went through the backpack's contents.

Pulling out any clothing first, I was rewarded with a pair of grey sweats and a couple of shirts that were too small for comfort. The sweats would get me in the house, and I could just put on my jacket to cover my chest. But this wouldn't pass a close inspection from Bella. I may have to wait for her to be occupied before making my way inside and to my room. Pretty sure I could stay in my Tiger form and be close enough to pick up where she is in the house. I may even get lucky, and she left the house to get ingredients for dinner or maybe she would go check out the library before putting dinner in the oven. I will play getting in the house by ear when it's time, I guess.

Looking through the backpack more, I found a book. When I opened it, I noticed it was actually a diary or something like that. It had hand-drawn pictures of a woman that looked remarkably like Rosalie. I had a panic attack for a moment there, did I kill a friend of the Cullen's? After thinking about it for a bit though, I decided that even if I did, it was justifiable. He planned to kill me, so that opened him up to being killed by me.

The writing in the diary read more like an old play with all the thee's and thou's and it was in the 3rd person point of view also. Weird for something that read like a diary, I decided to look into it later and see if I could make out who this guy was. Finally, just turning the backpack upside down I emptied it of its remaining contents. There I found several wallets with multiple ID's. None of them were from the same state and they looked nothing like each other or the Vampire, so I found it just weird.

Returning my attention back to the backpack I started going through the zipper pockets and found them to be either empty or filled with cash. After counting up the money, it came out to be just under 4,000 dollars. I debated turning the whole thing over to Charlie like a responsible person should. I could tell him that I just found the backpack on the trail and let it go from there. But for reasons I couldn't explain, that just felt like a bad idea that would cause me needless issues.

I opened my phone and looked at the time, then decided it was best to get to the house and see if I could get inside. Stuffing everything back in the backpack, I took a moment to shift into my Tiger form and keeping all my senses focused I moved toward home. As luck would have it, Bella did not appear to be home. The house was quiet minus some snoring coming from the area of Charlie's room and Bella's truck was gone.

I hurried up and changed out of my tiger form and on the off chance a neighbor saw me, I quickly put on the sweats and jacket then hurried inside and went straight to my room. Once there I shoved the backpack under my bead after retrieving all my stuff from it and grabbed some clean clothes, then made my way to the bathroom to get in a shower. I was relieved that the smells of Bella and Charlie didn't affect me, heaven knows what I would have done if they smelled appetizing due to my new form. I would have to make myself disappear and be just another lost hiker statistic. Not wanting to think of how that would affect Bella, I stopped thinking along those lines.

After going through my routine, I felt more relaxed and decided it was time to do some research. I moved to the living room and powered up the computer, then walked into the kitchen to grab a snack to keep me until dinner was ready. I knew that Bella would want dinner ready before Charlie left for work so she would be home soon.

Sitting down at the computer I started typing in my search questions and began reading up on tigers. The first thing I learned was that I appeared to be a very large Bengal tiger and what my reflection showed as a mane, was more like very long sideburns. Supposedly they are very sensitive and help tigers realize when something is going for their neck. When I think of a mane, I think along the lines of a tiger, where it wraps around their neck and is very bushy.

Looks like East Asia is the most prominent habitat for Bengal tigers, Nepal and China to be specific. Wasn't my dad from a small border town on the China / Nepal border? Looking into this brought me to some folklore of that area and something called Rakshasas. Though the information was scarce, it was a place to start looking. My musings were interrupted by the sound of Bella's big red monster getting closer and closer to the house. I closed up my search and went outside to see if she needed help bringing anything in.

I walked down the steps as she was getting out of the truck and asked, "Anything to carry in?"

"No, I just went to the library, it was not well stocked. Looks like any of the books I want we will have to go to a bigger town and find a bookstore to get them. I hear Port Angeles has some good bookstores. How was your hike?"

Thomas smiled, "Today's hike was mind-boggling. I saw some stuff you would never believe."

Bella just smiled in a humoring me kind of way, "Well I am glad you enjoyed it. Let's get dinner cooking, Charlie will be waking up soon."

Once Bella got the two pans of Lasagna in the oven she turned to me, "Are you still coming with me to La Push First Beach tomorrow?"

"That's the plan, I am looking forward to it. I have never seen the Ocean before, so I am very interested in it. You never did tell me what Edward was talking to you about Friday at lunch. He seems to be opening up to you?"

Bella's eyes got a little big and panicky for a moment, "You saw that?"

"Bell's, everyone saw that. You have no idea the eye magnet that guy is, and you pull more attention than you realize. Besides, you know I have to look everywhere when I'm in a crowded room like the cafeteria. Not to mention the nonchalant way he caught the apple you dropped, he almost looked cool for a moment. In a mopey Emo kind of way."

Bella shook her head, "I was hoping that habit of yours was calming down. You seem much calmer since we came to Forks. Do you think you will ever be able to be in a room without watching the doors all the time?"

"I don't know sis, but this close to the anniversary of it happening, I doubt it."

Bella just looked at me and then softly spoke, "That also means your birthday is very soon. You know it was bigger than Christmas for Aunt Nancy. I feel like I would be letting her down if we didn't celebrate it… Even if it is the day before… That happened."

Thomas tried to keep his face blank and his emotions under control, "Yeah, she was always over the top Mom on that day. She never really cared for the regular holidays, seeing them as days to get in good overtime pay. But she always took a full week off work for my birthday. Do what you want, but please let's keep it out of the public eye. I really don't want the whole school bugging me about it."

Bella looked down at the kitchen floor, "About that… Lauren kinda went through your records in the school office for your birthday and has spread it among the girls." She started to speak faster as she saw Thomas's face turn cloudy, "I told her you really didn't like a big deal being made about it and if she pushed it then you would be very unhappy. But I think she already got you a gift. She is also talking about asking you to the Sadi Hawkins dance this next Saturday."

"Yeah, I have been asked multiple times and turned them all down so far, her luck won't be any different. What about you? Have you asked anyone to the dance?"

"You know my issues with dancing. Why would I ask someone I liked to go with me to a place where I would for sure make a fool out of myself? Besides, he wouldn't say yes to me anyway." She said the last bit so low that just a day ago Thomas doubted he would have heard her.

"Don't be stupid, Edward would love to go with you, and I am sure he would be able to keep you from tripping over yourself."

"Who said anything about Edward? Just. Just never mind the dance! And if anyone asks, I am going to Seattle that Saturday."

"OH, that's a good excuse, I will use it too. Unless you really plan to go to Seattle then I will actually accompany you."

Bella shook her head, "I really don't have to go. Besides, if Edythe asked you to the dance, then saying you have to go with me will backfire on you."

"And if Edward asked you?"

"It's a girl's choice, we are supposed to ask."

"Do you really think that will stop guys from asking you to ask them? I bet at least 3 guys ask you between now and Monday after school. Mike and Tyler are a guarantee, and I bet there are many more. Speaking of, do you know if Angela is going to ask Ben?"

Bella leaned back into the kitchen counter, "I don't know. She is very hung up on her height. She was made fun of a lot about it during middle school and more in her freshman year of high school. She likes Ben but worries that her being so much taller than him will put him off."

"Well, if she likes him, then she should give him the chance. Maybe we should give her some encouragement tomorrow at the beach. Bummer that Ben couldn't make it, but he works weekends."

Their conversation was interrupted by Charlie as he sleepily stumbled into the kitchen. He mumbled a tired greeting as he walked directly to the coffee pot.

After giving him time to take a few sips of coffee to wake up, Bella asked, "Do you want me to make you a breakfast and then you can lake some lasagna to warm up at the office or do you just want lasagna for both meals?"

"You spoil me too much kid, no reason to make anything special for me. I will have the same as you guys."

Bella just nodded her head, "Well it's about 30 minutes before it comes out of the oven and 20 after that before it will be ready. I am going to go write mom since the computer is on."

As Bella left the kitchen, Thomas addressed Charlie, "Don't forget to bring out your laundry, I will get it done tonight.

Charlie lifted his coffee mug in a mock salute, and I decided to make my way back to my room and look over that diary some more. After reading the first few pages I came to the conclusion that the vampire's name was Henry Burgess, at least if I am right and the author was writing in the 3rd person perspective then the name mentioned the most would be Henry Burgess. He appeared to be a vampire turned sometime in the late 1700s England.

He also talked about a rash of killings he was responsible for in London during the 1800s, and that he set up a man named Aaron Kosminski to take the fall for. Apparently this Kominski was related to someone that Henry hated in his youth. Henry had to lay low when his activities drew the attention of someone called Aro Volturi, so he was never able to finish his plans to humiliate this grandson of his long-lost rival.

To appease this Volturi person, Henry started to send him information on all the vampires he knew in the area and anyone who passed through. As I continued to read, Henry wrote about his greatest contribution to Aro Volturi. Henry had discovered a rich merchant family that had a habit of always taking a trip out of town during the full moon. Henry had followed them once at a great distance and saw the family enter a well-hidden cave. Later that night as Henry was trying to figure out how to open the cave, he heard a great deal of howling and barking sounds coming from the blocked entrance.

Apparently, his passing along this information gave him a certain status of protection among Vampires. No one dared to mess with him after that.

My reading was interrupted by Bella calling me down for dinner. By the time I got to the kitchen, Bella was wrapping a lunch-size portion for Charlie's work meal and then we all sat down and ate dinner together. Charlie managed to embarrass Bella by asking if she was going to ask anyone to the dance and then he turned his attention to me and asked if I planned to go. It was a good normal family night after a very weird day of shape-shifting and learning about a whole supernatural world being out there.

I was seriously struggling with the idea of keeping my family in the dark about the whole thing. I really want to tell Bella as she had been so important to me while I recovered from my mother's death. Also, Charlie had been great, and keeping this danger from him felt like a bit of a betrayal. I just feel that I needed to learn more about this world before bringing them into it. Shortly after dinner, Charlie left for work, and I started to separate the clothes into their wash piles.

Noticing a distinct lack of girly clothes, I went and knocked on Bella's door. She called out, so I opened it and took a breath to tell her to bring out the clothes she wanted washed. I quickly paused when I smelled a strong sweet smell. It wasn't overpowering or anything, but it was still very noticeable. I looked around as I stepped into the room and found the smell centering around an old rocking chair in the corner and the window.

"You have anyone in here lately Bell's?"

Bella looked up from her book, "I haven't ever had anyone in here but you and Charlie. Why do you ask?"

"I caught a major whiff of the Cullen body lotion or perfume, whatever it is. Did you get some sprayed on you?"

I picked up the jacket that was lying on the chair. "It's really strong here."

Bella just shrugged, "I don't smell it. Maybe it got on my jacket, and I just got used to it. Anyway, what's up?"

"You still haven't brought out your clothes for me to wash, if you plan on wearing anything warm to the beach tomorrow, I need it now or you wear it dirty."

"Oh crap, thanks for reminding me." Bella jumped up and started rooting around her room for dirty clothes.

Once I got a load going, I returned to the Vampire's Diary. Now that I was used to the style of writing, it was going much faster. First off, I realized that this wasn't a day to day diary, just something he wrote in during significant events. I was now about three quarters through the pages that had been written on when I came across the meticulously drawn pictures of Rosalie.