By Moonlight: Vamp Rising Part 6

She couldn't wait.

Chapter Four.

The afternoon pa.s.sed quickly for Gwen. She stopped by the cafeteria expecting that she'd be hungry for lunch since she hadn't eaten breakfast, but that wasn't the case, so she poured a coffee, doctored it with cream and sugar, and grabbed another banana for no other reason than it seemed easy enough to carry. After finding a seat in the cafeteria, she realized she had no interest in being ridiculed again so she left her chair almost as soon as she sat in it, walked from the cafeteria building to the Training Center, found her cla.s.sroom for the next period, and took a seat at the back of the cla.s.s.

According to her training schedule, which was printed on card stock that she kept folded and tucked inside the bosom of her dress, this cla.s.s was an hour long, met twice a week, and covered the history of vampires, as well as other undead species and shifters. She didn't recognize the name of the teacher, but a.s.sumed he was a shifter. Interesting that Christoph wasn't teaching it.

A dozen students eventually joined her, filling seats between Gwen and the chalkboard, and soon the teacher arrived. The cla.s.s pa.s.sed quickly, during which Gwen noticed the students, though shifters, weren't making the kind of snide comments she'd come to expect from them, even though the bulk of the lecture focused on vampires. They were either coming to terms with the fact that a vampire was in their midst and accepting it, or the teacher's presence was enough to keep them in line. Whatever the case, Gwen enjoyed the cla.s.s and before she knew it, the period ended and it was time for the next cla.s.s.

Gwen didn't have to check her schedule to know that she needed to return to the black room where Christoph had conducted her morning session, but when she arrived he wasn't there. Figuring that he was probably just running late, she paced slowly through the perimeter of the room and ran her fingertips along the wall. It wasn't merely painted black, she discovered. In fact she didn't think it was paint at all. The walls seemed to be made of a black veneer and the closer she looked she realized they were actually silver.

As she pa.s.sed the window, she drew the blinds shut and by the time she came full circle, arriving at the doorway, Gwen shut the door, allowing herself to be swallowed by the incredible darkness. She felt instantly relaxed, like if she closed her eyes she would fall into a deep sleep. And the deep relief that came with it caused her to feel oddly hungry.

The door opened, spilling light in from the hallway, as Elektra stepped through, startling Gwen. "Christoph had to leave the Cascades for the rest of the day," she informed her. "He's postponed your cla.s.s until tomorrow."

"Oh," said Gwen surprised. "Is everything Ok?"

"There's a matter in Italy he needs to tend to," explained Elektra obscurely. "He asked me to let you know this and that he'll be back in time for your morning session tomorrow."

"Ok, thanks for letting me know," said Gwen, as it started to dawn on her that she was free for the rest of the afternoon to do whatever she wanted.

She must have been smiling, because Elektra lingered, eyeing her. "How are you liking it here?" She asked perhaps a.s.suming that the answer was already written on Gwen's face.

Gwen was tempted to point out that she didn't exactly have a choice and that there were no other options, that everything about this was completely surreal, never mind whether she liked it or not, she was just trying to keep her head above water. But the way Elektra was studying her told her not to say that. The woman was thoroughly intimidating. Her height and stature alone implied her physical prowess and the damage she could do with it, and even her deep tone of voice, the weight she a.s.signed each word, carried a threatening edge. Gwen wasn't sure if Elektra's formidable presence was in her nature or a demeanor Gwen brought out in her, so Gwen treaded lightly and responded, "I like it. The cla.s.ses are helpful. Christoph is certainly opening my eyes to everything."

"I know it's only your first day, but has he taught you how to hunt?" She asked, narrowing her gaze on Gwen.

"He started to," she offered. "But no, I guess we haven't got the logistics of it, yet."

Elektra didn't look pleased with that answer. "We have a code here at The Cascade Sanctuary & Wildlife Preserve, and I believe vampires live by a code as well. I'll leave it to Christoph to educate you on those points, however I'd like it to be crystal clear to you that we live by a 'Do No Harm' policy, and we expect you to live by it as well."

Gwen's eyebrows shot up and she began nodding emphatically, "Of course."

"I want you to understand something, Gwen. We will not tolerate violence."

Elektra was really driving the point home and it caused Gwen to wonder how much of this warning was based on Gwen's actions and how much of it was pure prejudice. The student body had been treating her as though she was a menace to society, and now Elektra seemed to be a.s.suming Gwen was capable of committing some kind of heinous act, as though it would only be a matter of time before she did.

"I'm completely clear on that," Gwen a.s.sured her.

"I'd like you to spend the rest of the evening in your room," ordered Elektra.

Gwen pressed her mouth into a hard line, refusing to react. It was barely 4:30 pm and the suggestion that she lock herself away in her room until tomorrow was absurd, but she couldn't express that without giving Elektra the evidence she needed to confirm that Gwen was reactionary, hot tempered, and out of control. Why was this woman treating Gwen like she was a juvenile delinquent when in reality Gwen was a 29 year old professional?

"Can I ask you," Gwen started, "Are you a werewolf? Or some other kind of shifter?"

"I'm a werewolf," said Elektra proudly. "Ismay, as well as Joseph and the other members of the Administration and Board of the Sanctuary are all werewolves, of the same pack."

"How do you hunt without harming?" Asked Gwen point blank.

Elektra stared at her momentarily then said, "Because we're wolves and follow the natural order of the wilderness, we only take down the weak and the sick, and we only hunt when necessary. Often we can eat meat just like the humans do. It's only on occasion that we must kill in the wild. And when we do, our role only supports the law of survival of the fittest."

"That doesn't sound like 'Do No Harm', it sounds like a double standard," Gwen challenged.

"Vampires live by a different set of morals than we do," stated Elektra. "It will be easier for you to abide by the 'Do No Harm' policy than it would be for you to attempt to exercise your willpower over killing only the sickest and weakest. Not to mention your appet.i.te likely won't be stirred by wildlife, but by the students on campus."

"You think I'm going to eat the students on campus?" Gwen blurted out she was so offended.

"I'd like you to go to your room now," Elektra reiterated. "And stay there until Christoph returns."

Astonished as she was, Gwen held her tongue and left the black room under Elektra's watchful glare then made her way through the back of the building where she exited, heading straight across campus to Little Bear. But when she reached the front door, her thoughts were racing terribly and she didn't see how spending the long night ahead cramped in a small dorm room would do her any good, it would just cause her anger to stew and eventually anxiety and resentment would take hold.

In Seattle, Gwen had been an a.s.sociate at one of the biggest marketing agencies. She was respected by her coworkers, admired by her subordinates, and praised by her superiors, despite the office politics that often hindered projects and risked deadlines. Gwen was the ultimate diplomat. She knew how to work both sides of the equation. She could put out a fire with one hand, mediating interpersonal conflicts, and push a project forward with the other, drafting and finalizing content to save her team. If she had been judged at all in that environment, it had been on her merits, nothing else. So it drove Gwen absolutely nuts that Elektra had prejudged her based on a.s.sumptions. In fact, Gwen found herself so riled up over it, that retiring to her room seemed out of the question.

Gwen glanced over her shoulder to check that she wasn't being watched, and when she observed that the few students who were milling across campus took no notice of her, she used her incredible vampire speed to swiftly glide from the front steps of Little Bear, through the clearing, and into the forest far enough that she was certain no one would be able to see her through the trees.

She just needed to get some air, clear her head, take stock of the big picture that she won't be here forever, and find a sense of peace. She wished Christoph was here and thought it odd that he'd left abruptly without speaking to her himself, but then again she had no idea what he did in Italy or how indispensable he might be. Though their morning session had at times seemed to be crossing a line, Gwen realized that it was only her human mentality that had caused her to err on the defensive. Christoph had actually been extremely helpful and she trusted that everything he needed to teach her was imperative to her survival. What would he say about all this? What advice would he have regarding Elektra's unwarranted discrimination against her and apparently all vampires?

As her racing thoughts calmed and began to meander ruminatively, so did Gwen, strolling through the forest, which grew thicker and thicker as she went until it occurred to her that she'd ventured far beyond the Sanctuary's forest and was deep in the Cascade wilderness.

The sun was sinking in the sky, causing an orange glow to cut through the trees eerily. The odd sense of hunger she'd felt in the black room was reemerging and Gwen wondered if the setting sun had something to do with it. Was the insurgence of nightfall the vampire's cue to feed?

As Gwen's hunger twisted through her stomach like a knife, Elektra's warning came to mind. She was starving. And though it was true Christoph hadn't taught her the logistics of hunting, Gwen guessed she knew enough of the basics to hunt. She could cast glamour effectively and that was the most crucial step. Once influence was established, Gwen figured instinct would take over and the actual act of feeding would be a cinch. However, Elektra's double standard then reared its ugly head. If Gwen were a werewolf she'd be permitted to hunt down a weak animal and feed, but since she was a vampire she wasn't permitted to feed whatsoever?

It didn't seem fair.

And she hadn't eaten since before the fall. She hadn't tasted blood since she'd been turned into a vampire. The urge was becoming overwhelming. It seized her and her craving for blood was suddenly so strong she could smell it, taste it, as though it was in the air. The irony-tang scent filled her senses and was so real that Gwen began scanning the forest for an injured animal. There was no way that smell was just in her head.

Then she spotted something. A furry mound up ahead. The blood smell wasn't in her head after all. As she came upon the animal, gliding slowly towards it, she realized it was a bear cub. The bear was on its side, struggling to breathe. Its chest heaved it short, desperate clips. It had been shot in its abdomen. The wound, which its tucked hind leg was covering, bled freely. Gwen wanted to feel terrible for the animal, but instead a dark urge swept through her. She could put it out of its misery and stop her hunger as well. Win-win.

Kneeling beside the wounded cub, Gwen conjured up raw glamour and immediately cast it over the cub, influencing it to calm, as Gwen eased away the pain. The small bear had been tensely tucked into a ball, was now relaxed and unfurling as its breathing steadied into deep full breaths.

Suddenly, Gwen's teeth and gums felt achy and her mouth began to water, but then she realized it was only the work of her fangs growing. Once she felt certain the bear was free of physical pain, Gwen cautiously lowered her mouth to its jugular, careful to keep her glamour flowing so that the animal wouldn't lash out and bite her. Her fangs were pressing into the cub's throat when a tremendous roar stopped her. She looked up and discovered a gigantic bear was standing on its hind legs, roaring down at her.

The sight made her heart stop, scaring her into a petrified state, but then her instincts took over, not her human ones, but brand new intuitions. Her fear was instantly replaced by blood thirst and the mother bear looked so much more appetizing than her wounded cub.

Just as the bear began falling forward, aiming its front claws at her as though it was going to grab her head and crush her, Gwen sprung towards it, flying up and trying to clamp her fangs into the bear's neck. The bear fought, clawing at her. Its fur was exceptionally thick and the skin beneath it tougher than Gwen could've antic.i.p.ated. Her fangs barely grazed the skin's surface. They weren't long enough, she realized, as she found herself in the throes of wrestling the giant animal whose deafening roar was enough to jumble her thoughts into a panic.

Thinking fast, Gwen tore at the bear's fur, pulling out clumps in hopes of clearing access to its jugular when without warning she was suddenly thrown off the great animal after it forcefully tossed its head. Flying backwards through the air she slammed into the broad side of ma.s.sive oak tree where her right shoulder was immediately impaled by a broken branch, like a spear.

Gwen screamed as pain radiated from her shoulder, searing through her entire body. As her scream subsided, but not the pain, she glanced down and realized she was hanging five feet above the ground. She was pegged against the tree.

The bear roared again and lumbered towards her, as she tried desperately to wriggle free, but it was no use. She was speared to the tree thanks to the branch that had impaled her and any attempt to move caused such excruciating pain she couldn't stand it. Scrambling, she thought to cast glamour over the crazed animal, but the pain in her shoulder was so consuming she couldn't latch onto the feeling that the glamour required. Suddenly she remembered the whistle around her neck and fished it out from her dress with her left hand. Just as the bear rose up on hind legs to reach her, Gwen blew the whistle as hard as she could.

It didn't make a sound, but she supposed that was to be expected since it was like a dog whistle and only audible by canines, so she blew again and again and again, as she kicked at the bear that was swatting her feet, fangs bared and roaring, trying to bite down on one foot then the other.

Brandon heard the whistle's piercing tone from where he was scouting along the base of Mount Rainier just shy of the Hollis Lake. The sharp blow kept repeating itself, distressed and deliberate as though Gwen was in immediate danger. According to the sun it was just after five and Gwen should still be in cla.s.s, not deep in the western corner of the Cascades, but he didn't have time to make sense of it. He had to act.

He howled, as he collapsed into his wolf form, alerting his two dogs to follow him. They leapt to action in perfect unison, sprinting after him and towing their sled. With his dogs at his heels, Brandon tore through the woods heading west in the direction of those punctuated whistle blows until he found Gwen pinned against a tree and fighting off a grizzly bear.

Without making a sound, Brandon turned human, dropped to his knee then reached over his shoulder for the tranquilizer gun that was resting at his back, and swung it forward taking aim at the grizzly's neck where the tranquilizer would take the fastest effect then fired.

The dart struck the grizzly's neck and the bear immediately started wobbling on its hind legs. After a moment it dropped to all fours, and then toppled over with a loud thud.

Brandon rushed to Gwen, wanting to take hold of her waist so that her body weight would no longer strain the wound at her shoulder, but when he stood directly beneath her he realized she was too high up.

He called his dogs over and positioned the sled at the base of the tree then stood on it, which gave him just enough extra height that he could grab her.

"Wrap your legs around me," he ordered, as he held her bottom with one arm.

She did as she was told, though she was overcome with pain, as Brandon a.s.sessed the branch that was sticking through her shoulder.

"How'd you get yourself into this mess?" He asked, as he wrapped his hand around the branch.

"The bear threw me," she said wincing through her teeth.

"I'm going to snap the branch as close to your shoulder as possible then I'm going to slide you off," he informed her.

"Ok," she said, sucking air through her teeth in preparation for the agony that would surely follow.

"One, two, three," he said and snapped the branch on three, which jarred the wound just enough that she yelped. Brandon inspected the break in the branch and decided it was clean enough that she wouldn't get splinters pa.s.sing off it. "I'm going to pull you off the branch now, fast, like ripping off a band aid."

Gwen snorted out a half-laugh that twisted into a painful grimace, and sensing her body relax from laughter, though only slightly, Brandon jumped on the opportunity by quickly pulling Gwen towards him in one fast jerk until she was free of the branch.

She screamed then held her left shoulder, as blood poured from it. But Brandon didn't pause. He lowered her down to the sled so that she was sitting on its edge then sat beside her and began inspecting the wound.

"How long will the bear be out like that?" She asked, staring at the giant creature that had tried to kill her.

"Hours," he said, before whistling through his teeth.

The dogs approached then stood still in front of Brandon, while he unzipped one of the packs that was strapped to the nearest dog's back. Choosing carefully, Brandon extracted disinfectant, gauze, and first aid tape from the pack and set each item down onto the sled.

As he worked to disinfect the gash in Gwen's shoulder that was a good two inches in diameter, he felt suddenly overcome with anger. He'd seen the bear cub and knew that its mother wouldn't have attacked Gwen unless it had been provoked. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but it was obvious what had happened. Gwen had attempted to hunt and it had gone terribly wrong. If he was upset with her reckless attempt that could've harmed these bears, he was even more furious at the danger she'd put herself in. He didn't know much about vampires, but the law that a stake through the heart could kill them came to mind. If Gwen had been thrown four inches to the right, the tree branch wouldn't have sliced through her shoulder. It would've sliced through her heart, and she'd be dead. Permanently.

Gwen noticed Brandon had fallen silent working on her wound, but sensed it was more than just concentration. His brow was furrowed and he seemed to be avoiding her eye. Then he began handling her roughly, as he twisted an alcohol-laden pad into the wound.

"Ouch," she said under her breath.

"What were you doing out here?" He asked sternly.

"My cla.s.s got canceled," she said, which narrowly avoided answering his question fully.

"So why didn't you go back to your room?" He pressed.

"Would you have?" She challenged.

"You could've waited there a few hours until I came for you for our hike," he said dryly.

"I felt the need to get some air," she offered, again without elaborating.

"Did you come out here to hunt?" He asked flat out.

"Not initially," she said, admitting that's what had occurred.

"But you were going to attack the cub," he stated.

"It was dying anyway," she pointed out then realized afterwards that this was news to Brandon.

He looked over at it and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I think it was shot," she said, though it was only a guess. "It's bleeding from the lower abdomen."

"Hunting isn't permitted here," he said to himself, as he sewed up the gash in her shoulder that was now cleaned thoroughly with disinfectant, coldly blocking her out as before by avoiding her gaze.

"Look, I'm sorry. Elektra had me all riled up. Everyone seems to think I'm a danger to the Sanctuary, and I needed some air. When I got out here I guess I smelled the cub's blood and lost all sense of myself. I wasn't going to kill it, really," she said, though as she listened to herself she found her words disingenuous. Even she wouldn't have believed her. Never the less, she went on, "I glamorized it." Brandon shot her a confused look, to which she clarified, "I influenced it so that it wouldn't feel any pain, which worked. And I was only going to take a little blood, but then that other bear tried to attack me."

"That other bear is its mother. She was protecting her cub. She didn't attack you. You were the one that attacked her family."

"But I didn't actually," she objected.

"Well she didn't know that," he countered. "I spend all day out here trying to help injured animals. And you're sneaking off to hurt them?"

"It was impulsive and I wasn't thinking," she apologized.

Brandon straightened up, having finished dressing her wound. Gwen could feel his eyes on her, his interest in her shoulder having turned from strictly medical to something else, but he immediately denied it and went to the bear cub.

After a long moment of a.s.sessing the gunshot wound in the cub's abdomen, Brandon gave the animal a shot (Gwen guessed a sedative or tranquilizer since the animal immediately slumped loosely after he'd administered it) then he cleaned the wound with disinfectant, bandaged it and lifted the animal into his arms. As he carried it to the sled, Gwen rose to make room, so that Brandon could gently set the cub down and strap it in.

He met her gaze then and said, "You're lucky that branch didn't stake through your heart, you know that?"

It hadn't occurred to her, but he was right. She was lucky.

"You're not immortal, you know," he went on.

"I hadn't thought of that," she said, considering the close call.

"I don't want you going anywhere by yourself," he stated. "And I'm sure Christoph would agree."