15. Rules are Rules

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Wednesday, August 26th
Sturgeon Moon

The next morning, my door was still locked and I was safe. The sun was out and Lilith was back in her room, sleeping the day away.

I wouldn’t have to worry about her tonight, because it was the night of the full moon, and I would be gone all evening, away from her.

After my classes, I gathered some clothes out of the Goodwill box. I’d gone shopping before I moved in, buying a bunch of cheap clothing for full moons. I also packed a change of clean, newer clothes for the morning, as well as my toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and a comb. I shoved everything into a small duffel bag and went out into the living room.

I read a chapter of my Biology book on the couch while I was waiting for Randall to get out of class so he could pick me up and take me to his place. He said that on full moon nights there was very limited parking at his house, so it would be easier if we carpooled. No one else was in the apartment, or if they were, they had themselves locked in their rooms like Lilith.

I was expecting my phone to ring, but it still startled me. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that an undead girl was sleeping in the room across the hall. My senses were heightened by the impending moon, and the smell coming from her room had me a little on edge.

“Hello?” I answered the phone. I already knew who it was from the caller ID.

“I’m out of class,” Randall told me, “I’m outside of your dorm if you’re ready to come down.”

“I’m on my way,” I hung up the phone, made sure I had my key, grabbed my bag, and went down to his truck.

The second I saw him, I began to blush. I did my best to hide it as I walked up to the truck. It was probably the moon making my emotions run high, but I was also a little embarrassed about the previous night. I still didn’t know what exactly it was that he wanted from me.

“Are you excited about tonight?” He asked as I climbed into the truck.

“Are you kidding me? I’ve waited a long time for a full moon where I could run free under the moonlight instead of caged away, all alone…” My eyes began to water and I stopped talking. I looked upwards, trying to blink away the tears. I knew he could smell them though.

“Not only will you be running free, but you will be running alongside me and the rest of the Pack.” I looked over at him and he smiled at me as he put the truck in drive and began to drive to his house. Neither of us had mentioned the previous night’s kiss, but it was still less awkward than I thought it would be.

“I need to tell you something that I’ve been putting off. There are special rules for tonight,” He told me as we drove.

“Rules? For what?”

“Well, tonight is sort of like an initiation for you. It’s your first full moon with the Pack. No one really knows you, especially since you were not born into the Pack, so they will all want to get a good look at you. Tonight, you will be the first to change, in front of everyone.” He glanced over at me to see my reaction.

I didn’t know how to feel. I had never purposefully changed in front of anyone before, especially not a crowd of werewolves.

“Like…a performance?” I asked him, trying to stay calm and not overreact.

“Sort of, but you’ve changed before, it’s not like you have any lines. You don’t have to do anything special, just change. It gets everyone in the spirit. Normally, the Alphas change first anyway, so it’ll be good practice.”

“How many people are we talking about, anyway?”

“Well, the whole Pack is there every full moon, almost ninety people.”

I nearly forgot to breathe. I had forgotten how many people were in the Pack. “I-I-I can’t! I can’t do that!” I began to fumble with the truck door, even though we were going fifty. I’d survive.

Randall slowed the truck down and pulled over to the side of the road when he saw me trying to get out. All I could see were cornfields; there wasn’t a house in sight for miles.

“Calm down, Selene. Everyone has to do it. You do it once in front of everyone then you don’t have to do it alone anymore after that. That’s the tradition.”

I opened the door and got out. I needed air, the truck felt too small, too closed-in. I began to run down the road in no particular direction.
“Hey!” He called after me, “Where are you going? There is nothing for miles that way except farmland! What will you do come nightfall when the moon is full in the sky? Change and kill some poor farmer’s livestock?”

I kept running, but I could hear him following me. He was faster than I was. I could hear his footfalls catching up to me, but I still ran. When he caught up, he grabbed my arm. I turned around to look at him, and I couldn’t hold back the tears. I tried to catch my breath, causing my breaths to come out as sobs.

He wiped away my tears and cradled my head to his chest. “Why are you so afraid?” He smoothed down my hair and I raised my head to look into his eyes.

“Ever since I became what I am…my parents have locked me away like some dirty little secret every full moon. You and your…family just expect me to embrace it. It is not that easy.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I will stand up there with you, so you won’t be all alone.”

“Will you change with me?”

A pained look crossed his face, “Next full moon I will, I promise, but this full moon, you must go first, then the rest of us will change. I will stand by your side, it’s the best I can do.”

I lowered my head back to his chest and sighed into his shirt. I’d wanted desperately to finally be accepted for what I was. Who was I to back out now? “We’d better go back. I left the door open.”

He laughed, “Let’s go then, and next time you want to go for a run, warn me to slow down before you try to get out.” I began to walk back towards the truck, but he still had my arm and he hadn't budged yet. I looked back at him and he smiled, leaned over, and kissed me. He let go of my arm and put his arms around me, bringing me closer into his embrace and the kiss. I wrapped my arms around him too, hugging him back. We were both sweaty from the run, and I could feel it through his shirt, but it was still a great kiss. The only thing that kept me from changing right then and there was the sun being high in the sky. If it would have been dark, or even later in the day, we might have both prematurely changed from that kiss. However, the creature inside me stayed silent, asleep. It would get to wake up soon enough.

Next Chapter
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A/N: Two more chapters till the actual change. Excited? Hope everyone has a fun Halloween this week! Don't eat any poisoned candy. :)