Chapter 24
The feeling diminished the faster we ran. Rain started pouring from invisible clouds, water glistening in sunlight as it fell through the air. At first it was only a drizzle but by the time we reached base, it turned much heavier.
Julien grabbed me by the waist just before we reached the edges of the village. Pushing me against a tree, he leaned down for another kiss.
This one was harder than the last and I accepted fully, wrapping my hand around his neck as he did so. Our mouths moved against each other and my body craved more. Naive nervousness held me back and when he pulled away, I only stared up into his brightened eyes.
The rain dripped from his long lashes and he laughed at how torrential it was coming down. Grabbing my hand again, we ran back towards camp, heading for shelter.
As soon as we entered our hut, men’s smells struck my nose in the cramped space. Both Marek and Jax were damp and sprawled out on their cots.
At the sight of us, Marek gave a knowing smile and Jax rolled his eyes before continuing his whittling. We took our seats on our own beds, occasionally giving flirtatious glances.
Marek had green strings in his hand that he was weaving together with an intense enthusiasm. Asking what he was doing, he paused his work to show me.
"Its palm leaves, you can create a string and make ropes or mats."
I looked at the twine piled in his lap. "Could you make clothes?" I asked.
"I can, would you like me to make you something?" I nodded, having a less sticky pair of pants in mind. If I had known I would be stranded on an island for who knows how long, I would’ve chosen much more realistic clothing instead of tight-fitting jeans.
Dominic pulled the door open then and entered, adding to the dense mugginess of the small space. I wondered how hard it might be to make a new hut, large enough to accommodate a wolves den.
Dominic was huffing, rain turning to steam on his hard as stone chest. He kept his eyes on me and I couldn’t decode the meaning behind them.
My back went stiff as I waited, unsure if he was angry at Julien and my absence. Wordlessly he pushed Jax’s feet aside and took his place on the cot. I looked to Julien, then to Marek as they both shrugged and settled into their hobbies. It felt as though he knew about Grayson watching us and was...checking on us?
He pulled a knife from its sheath on his hip and a stone from his pocket. He settled as much as his hard personality would allow and concentrated on sharpening the blade to perfection. The room returned to quiet as everyone concentrated on their task while we waited for the rain to stop.
Aside from what happened the day Grayson escaped and his bad attitude, Dominic hadn’t caused me anymore unease. I was beginning to soften to his presence again, allowing Julien and I to go to the beach also helped.
Relaxing into my own bed without the threat of confrontation, I turned to my own thoughts. I was in an ecstatic mood after my kisses with Julien and being surrounded by these wolfmen in the cramped hut gave me a sense of belonging and wholeness, the only piece missing was Grayson.
As everyone around me went about keeping themselves busy, my mind went to Grayson. I wondered where he’s been the last few weeks. Was he at our former camp or did he make a new one? Was he eating, did he heal after that fight, was he worried about me?
The last thought made me ache in my belly. Was he worried about me? I tried picturing him fretting over my safety and well-being but failed to conjure the image. More than likely, he was angry.
Angry at the sight of Julien and I on the beach together, sharing a moment that was meant for him. Angry that I haven’t tried to find my way back to him, despite being bonded to him.
A pull tugged at my chest and the feeling of escape became hard to avoid. I knew it was the bond, the feeling struck me at odd times ever since Grayson and I had parted but I was usually able to ignore it. Today, it was stronger and I wondered if that was due to the blooming relationship between Julien and I.
The sound of rain above us receded suddenly, like the sky had turned the water valve off. I didn’t think I would ever get used to island weather. Marek opened the window hatch beside his bed to let in fresh air and we all continued to sit in each other’s presence for a while longer.
For lunch, I picked leafy greens with Julien at the garden beds built behind the village. The variety was large as the group had years to find each plant throughout the island landscape and cultivate it here. Julien explained to me that there were a few instances where they mistook plant species and collectively shared in the consequences.
The other men sat near the fire, drying out the things they needed for the remainder of the day. We had prepared bowls for everyone and I went to hand the first one to Marek. He was lost in his project again and while passing the bowl from my hand to his, it fell from his fingers at the absence of attention on his part.
He jumped up from his seat, knocking into me and making me drop the other bowls in my arms. I fell back onto my butt with the sudden loss of balance.
I had expected a hand to reach out to help me but when I looked up, I saw Marek seething instead. His eyes lit into that golden glow and teeth beginning to grow. My mouth fell open at the sight of him, I hadn’t experienced him mad yet and it made me quake with fear.
The way he looked at me wasn’t a look I’ve seen before, it was dangerous and deadly. I crawled back slowly on my elbows as Jax and Julien jumped between us. Dominic had been on the other side of the fire and approached a moment later with a steady hand.
"I’m sorry," I said. "I didn’t mean to..."
Dominic raised one hand to me in a ’stop’ gesture and placed his other on Marek’s chest.
"Take a walk," he told him. Marek’s eyes shifted from mine to Dominic’s before he turned, stepping over the bench and storming away.
Julien turned to me, bending down to help me up and asking if I was ok. "What’s wrong with him?" I asked, completely perplexed by his odd behaviour.
"It’s not him," Dominic answered. "The full moon is approaching, it sets all of us on edge."
On my feet, I wiped the dirt and salad greens from my clothes. The full moon and werewolves, of course, I thought. I had no idea about what that meant but from what I’ve seen on TV, I figured it wasn’t good, especially with how my gentle giant just acted.
The encounter and lack of lunch left a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t believe it had been almost a month since the night of my rejection from Grayson and the last full moon. The pull of my thoughts towards him felt to make more sense now.
I sat with Julien to calm myself while Jax went to prepare a new meal and Dominic went to check on Marek.
"What happens during the full moon?" It felt like it would have an obvious answer but I wanted to know exactly what to expect from the werewolves I was surrounded by.
"Our wolf form becomes harder to control," Julien began. "Marek isn’t himself right now, what happened isn’t your fault. The forces of the moon will make it to where we’ll have to turn. During a full moon, we don’t have a choice."
"Why is Marek different and not the rest of you?" I asked, still confused as to how someone so sweet could turn so sour that quickly.
"His beast is stronger than the rest of ours, but it will happen to all of us the closer we get."
I thought of how large the moon already felt the night before, if I could guess, we were only a few days away.
"What will happen to me?" I asked with a touch of fear in my voice.
I thought of the movies where people would lock themselves away in dungeons or cells to keep their loved ones safe when they turned. I doubted Marek’s palm rope would hold any of them back.
Julien tried to look reassuring but I could see the fear in his eyes as well. "We’ll keep you safe," he told me and pushed my hair behind my ear.
How? I thought. If they were all trapped in their wolf forms for the entire night, who would protect me? Again, my thoughts moved to Grayson and his words while he was tied to the tree. He had told me that he couldn’t hurt me, as though the Lunar Laws wouldn’t allow it.
I stared at Julien with worry. My heart broke and grew with excitement at the realization that Grayson might be the safest place for me during the cursed full moon.