A Rare Full Moon

CASSIDY

Hours pass inside the pitch-black Mute-Sanctum. My knuckles throb, raw and bleeding from pounding the heavy wooden door. My voice is gone, reduced to a pathetic, raspy wheeze that scratches at my throat. I finally surrender to my grim fate. Sliding down the rough wood, I collapse onto the freezing stone floor. Pounding the heavy door is useless. I am going to die here. The agonizing fact that the bus left without anyone noticing my absence solidifies my feelings of irrelevance. The engine rumble faded away hours ago. The teachers did a head count, and they missed me. The students climbed aboard, and they ignored my empty seat. No one cared. Even my new friend Keira will soon move on. We only met a month ago, and a month is not enough time to forge a bond worth remembering. The school will forget I existed by Monday morning. I pull my knees tight against my chest. I sit in the suffocating silence, wrapping my arms around my legs, waiting for the end. The darkness presses against my eyes, heavy and suffocating.

"Wake up!"

I jump to my feet. My heart slams against my ribs, echoing in the dead space of the room. A shrill, mystical voice shatters the oppressive darkness. I stumble back, my shoulders hitting the cold stone wall. The sound is ancient, laced with an otherworldly resonance. It echoes from everywhere and nowhere at once, bouncing off the damp walls and vibrating deep inside my own skull. It feels like the voice is speaking directly into my mind.

"Open the door!"

The command strikes through the darkness once more. It is terrifying, yet strangely calming. My frantic pulse dials back just a fraction. Fumbling blindly, I stretch my hands out in front of me, inching forward until my fingertips brush the rough, splintered wood. My hand finds the cold metal knob. I wrap my fingers around it and turn. The door that securely trapped me, the door I spent hours throwing my weight against, opens effortlessly. It swings wide on silent hinges, revealing the yawning abyss of the corridor outside.

Cold, stale air from the hallway hits my tear-stained face. I creep into the pitch-black corridor. I press my back against the freezing stone wall, sliding my feet forward one inch at a time. The darkness inside the school is suffocating. I cannot see my own hands in front of my face. I inch my way down the unlit path, navigating purely by touch, until I finally push my way through the heavy exit doors and escape outside.

The night is suffocatingly dark. Panic sets in the moment the freezing wind bites my exposed skin. I break into a blind run. I stumble and fall through the thick forest, my boots catching on twisted roots hidden beneath the underbrush. I scramble up, ignoring the sharp sting in my scraped knees. Sharp branches tear at my skin, slicing long, stinging lines across my arms and cheeks as I run blindly from terrifying, unseen sounds. Twigs snap in the black void. Leaves rustle with heavy, hidden movements. Something is out there in the trees. My lungs burn, fighting for cold air, but I force my legs to move faster, desperate to find the main road.

Suddenly, a mystical, blinding light breaks through the thick canopy above. I shield my eyes, gasping for breath, throwing my hand up to block the sudden glare. I look up to witness a full moon shining at its brightest peak. It makes zero sense. The moon is not scheduled to be full tonight. We track the lunar cycles at school, and the last full moon appeared just a calendar month ago. Yet here it is, shining directly above me, casting a brilliant, silver beam through the dense trees. It illuminates my path and tracks my movements like a protective cloak.

I do not stop to question the mysterious supernatural voice that freed me. I do not stop to question the impossible lunar event happening right above my head. I just keep running. The unearthly light glides with me, guiding my desperate sprint through the treacherous woods, refusing to leave me behind in the dark.

Then, an earth-shattering howl shakes the trees and rattles my very soul.

The heavy thud of massive paws crashing against the ground rushes toward me like a tsunami. Trees groan and snap in the distance, yielding to a colossal force. The damp earth vibrates under my boots. A monstrous white wolf with golden streaks and blazing red eyes leaps through the air. It clears the thick brush and lands just feet away with a deafening thud. The sheer size and force of the beast drive me straight to the forest floor. Dust and pine needles kick up into my face, stinging my eyes. The wolf is the size of a small bungalow, towering over me with murderous intent.

Paralyzed by primal fear but driven by raw, desperate survival, I scramble to my feet. I pivot and sprint the opposite way, my boots slipping on the damp earth.

A gigantic black wolf with golden streaks and piercing blue eyes cuts me off. It steps out from the shadows with a low, bone-rattling growl, its massive frame blocking my only exit.

I pivot again, my breathing frantic, and dive toward the only remaining escape route through the trees.

A third beast appears. A golden wolf with green eyes steps into the silver light, blocking my path, exhaling a hot cloud of breath into the frigid night air.

Cornered in all directions by these gigantic predators, I freeze. My chest heaves. I feel insignificant, a helpless, tiny prey trapped beneath the impossible moon. There is nowhere left to run. The three massive wolves stare me down, their eyes glowing in the dark. They howl and shake their massive bodies in perfect unison, the sound vibrating in my teeth.

I squeeze my eyes shut and wrap my arms around my head. I brace for the inevitable, gruesome mauling. I wait for their massive jaws to snap shut and tear into my flesh.

Instead, I hear the sickening sound of bones cracking. Wet snaps and deep, muscular stretching echo through the silent clearing.

I pry my eyes open, my breath catching in my throat. I witness the massive beasts shifting into human forms right in front of me under the silver light.

The furious white wolf transforms into Kaidan Thorndrake. He stands there with fangs bared and claws out, his chest heaving as if he is ready to tear me apart with his bare hands. The raw, unfiltered rage in his eyes pins me to the spot.

The black wolf becomes Cyprian. He stands tall, his face expressionless, his blue eyes cold and unreadable. He watches me without a single twitch of emotion, a stark contrast to his brother's fury.

The golden wolf shifts into Ryker. A smirk plays on his lips. He looks strangely amused, staring at me with his claws still out, acting like he is in on an inside joke that I do not understand.

They are the Thorndrake triplet princes.

They close the remaining distance, stepping perfectly in sync under the spotlight of the unnatural moon. My back hits the rough bark of a giant oak tree. There is nowhere left to go. The three brothers lock their eyes on me. They speak in perfect unison, uttering the last word I ever expected to hear from them.

"Mate."