Chapter Two: Moon night

It's a full moon night and James runs wild through the streets, snapping at birds, chasing scents and yelping happily.

The other wolves smell him and his freedom and howl miserably, trapped in their pens. Stupid brothers, he thinks, bounding down the street.

Letting yourselves get locked up on a moon night. Even at his lowest point he never went to the pens. He let the wolf run wild, enjoying itself, and for a while his hurts were less. He never hurt anyone on moon nights anyway.

As long as people stayed out of his way he stayed out of theirs.

He chased birds instead, alley cats, every now and then a car or two. It is freedom, and the wolf aches to sing out. Somewhere, the pack is watching for sunrise.

They've laid out a trail for him to follow through the city�"fun! The wolf yaps�"and there's definitely something blood-soaked and delicious waiting at the end of the hunt, and he wishes they would run with him, but it's okay that they can't. He has a pack. They're a bunch of humans (and one of them does not smell that nice all the time) but they are pack, and they watch out for him.

The wolf likes pack. It’s happy, urging him to run, to hunt, chase, howl, and he can't help it, for the first time in ages he throws his head back and howls�" the moon shines brightly over the city.

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"A werewolf," James says, crouched over Octavian. His hands are slick with blood, pressed against Octavian's chest. "I can turn you, it's a moon night." Both men are shaking, Octavian from shock and pain and James from fighting down the wolf. Fury and the moon sing inside him, howling, demanding the shift.

Octavian wheezes.

"It has to be now, Octavian," James says urgently. He doesn't have much time. He can't fight back the wolf for long, and Octavian is dying.

But werewolves heal faster. A turn now would save Octavian.

"Please," James growls. It'd be easy to just bite him, but he doesn't want to force Octavian into this life, into the wolf.

"Does it hurt?" Octavian gasps, and James knows what he's asking. Will it hurt to walk, to run, to move his neck, even as the wolf.

"Only for a little while," James says. "The wolf heals."

Octavian squeezes his eyes shut, blood leaking from his mouth. James smells it and the wolf inside screams its fury. No one hurts pack. No one.

"Make a choice, Octavian," James says through gritted teeth. His fangs are coming in, ripping at his lips. The wolf says bite him but he won't, not if Octavian doesn't want it. He will not be that wild animal. He is not a wild animal.

Octavian opens his eyes, choking on the pain. "It won't hurt," he gasps.

"Not after the change is done," James promises. His claws break free and his tail squirms against his spine, itching to break loose. He can't hold it in for much longer�"

"Do it," Octavian hisses, and James breathes a sigh of relief, letting the wolf burst out�"

He shakes himself free of his human skin, and sinks his teeth into Octavian’s shoulder.

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Moon night

Sarah Greene is twenty-six years old. She has a boyfriend, a little brother, and two parents who love her. She has her whole life ahead of her, and it's shaping up to be an important one�"already she's involved in some of the most talked-about issues of the day.

Sarah Greene is a lawyer, and she has never seen a werewolf.

She is about to die.

Sarah Greene is human, and so she doesn't see the shadow slip behind her, hears the rattle of claws on concrete. She doesn't smell the old blood or hear a soft, hungry growl.

She doesn't know she's going to die.

Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howls, and others join him in song. Sarah Greene isn't worried. Everyone knows that wolves are penned in on moon nights, so they can't hurt normal people. She doesn't even think to look behind her, at the shadow creeping closer.

Sarah Greene doesn't look around. She doesn't stop, even for a second. She turns down a dim street, typing on her phone (she's late for a date�"she thinks her boyfriend might propose), and doesn't hear the excited snarl.

Sarah Greene smiles at her phone and almost makes it across the street.

Then, Sarah Greene is dead.