Under Pale Moonlight

Under Lonely Moonlight

A waning gibbous nearly as bright as a full moon hung above a dusk eastern skyline, illuminating nightly shadows with a ghostly shimmer. Somewhere in the remote wilderness, where humanity had yet to leave its impression two shadows, one distinctly male and the one female, challenged each other for ultimate dominion. Their razor-sharp claws and jagged teeth glowed under the light of the moon as their throats rumbled ferociously, frightening the wildlife to the next mountain for their lives. The menacing, feral expressions they exchanged would have pierced doubt into even the bravest individuals who were not immediately intimidated by their immense strength or raging golden irises. Yet, for all their frightening appearances, both held a mesmerizing splendor under a silver radiance that inspired awe and thoughts of a mystical beauty most appreciated on a full moon.

None of their hypnotizing mysticism could be confused with their gestures of impending violence as they circled each other very slowly, however. For what seemed like an hour they held their ground, unrelenting despite the other’s threatening snarls and tensed muscles, but neither seemed brave enough to initiate the first strike. When it seemed like all signs of the passing day had vanished, the male silhouette sighed, finally breaking the cycle between them.

“What part of ‘stay the hell away from me’ didn’t you understand? I thought I made it pretty clear I wanted to be alone.” His voice vibrated the air with a surprisingly human-like tone for how lupine he looked.

“Sean please; this isn’t right.” The female insisted, “We shouldn’t be fighting like this.”

Sean’s ears flattened, “Nothing is right anymore Alyssa, not after what you did to me.”

“I thought I said I was sorry!” She barked, “Besides, what about last night?”

He snorted, “Last night was the full moon. You know we can’t help ourselves. You just want to make excuses.”

Alyssa dipped her muzzle and sighed, “I know you feel betrayed-”

“Betrayed?!” Sean cut in, “You biting me; that’s betrayal. You could have left me alone and we could have figured something out, but you had to insist on ‘tradition’. No; what I’m talking about is murder. Taking my little sister and… and mauling her to death because she found out her big brother… was a werewolf.” Tears began clouding his vision, “And you just accept everything as right in the world because it’s tradition!”

He heard a whine escape from her lips, “This is my life Sean. I don’t know what you want me to do.”

Sean’s ears flattened against his head, “I want you to take my side in all this. Don’t listen to your family; they’re monsters underneath it all.”

“Don’t talk about my family like that.” She growled, her eyes meeting his again. They were quickly defused by his split expression between unadulterated rage and grief.

“Your family killed my sister! They’re pathological maniacs who methodically plan every detail when they need someone to die so that their little secret stays safe.” Sean pointed at her, “I can’t believe you would even think to condone that.”

If the walls hadn’t felt suffocating to Alyssa before, Sean’s on-point argument against everything she knew and understood threatened to smother her alive with righteous conviction and condescending looks dreadfully anticipating more betrayal to come, on top of what she had already committed. She couldn’t deny the pain in her chest was for him and his sister’s death, but he didn’t understand her family the way she did either. She could never expect him to; they had always been this way. Paranoid, insecure, constantly breathing down her neck and forcing her to obey their rules; Alyssa had grown up living under their strict rule. It wasn’t all bad either. Once her parents trusted her with their secret she had been allowed to live a normal life, even joining sports and the cheerleading squad with their approval. Up until six months ago she had been allowed to have boyfriends too, but she had only herself to blame for that restriction. In short, the pit in her stomach wasn’t dug single-handedly by Sean, no matter how much he wanted it to be. She had made her mind up; she couldn’t turn away from her family.

“I’m sorry for everything; I really messed up.” She began, her rumbling voice distant, “If I wouldn’t have bitten you, then your sister would still be alive and we could still be together.” Alyssa hesitated, reluctant to continue, “But I don’t know what to do. I betrayed my parents too with you, you know.”

“Alyssa!”

Their faces turned into snarls.

“WHAT?!” She roared at the top of her lungs, “What do you want me to do? Turn my back on them because I have feelings for you?” Her mind was buzzing; she needed a break from this. One look at his face told her that he felt the same, especially after what she had said to him. Alyssa forced her guard down with a controlled exhale, despite what her instincts screamed.

“Look, if you hate me for choosing my family, I won’t blame you. They did something awful I can’t justify.” She admitted, “Just don’t tell your parents. Please; I don’t know what they’d do if they ever found out your parents knew too.”

Sean shook his head, “No, we both know what they would do. They might do it anyway; you don’t know.”

Their eyes briefly met, but their moment was short lived.

“So I guess this is goodbye then.” Alyssa whispered.

“Unless you change your mind, yeah, it is.” He confirmed.

Her muzzle perked up.

“Sean?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry I did this to you.”

“I know, but don’t think I hate you." Sean said, "I think becoming a werewolf has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me.”

Alyssa looked up and saw a little shine of his teeth as his face cracked into the first hint of genuine happiness of any sort between them in months. For an instant, the pit in her stomach vanished and she felt whole again with Sean. Then, just as Alyssa began to return the smile he spun and dashed away, disappearing into the forest and leaving Alyssa behind. He was as silent as a mouse, just like she had taught him. Her warm smile turned sour; regret dug a new hole in her belly. The pain felt so bad she contemplated chasing after him so she could tell him he had changed her mind, but she knew it would be a lie. She had chosen, and it wasn’t him.

God, why does it have to hurt like this?