Lupine Dreams---Chapter 11    Author:  Islador

They both woke up early the next morning, not really wanting to start the day, but dreading the thought of missing a single moment together.  They ate the cinnamon rolls that Nikki had made and smiled to each other at the breakfast table, but neither said a word.  They maneuvered around each other just like a married couple does after several years of being together.  Not needing words for each other to understand, or simply one was already handing the other what they needed before asking for it.

Finally Nikki had to get out and start preparing for the trip; she needed some specialized supplies for going into the high country.
  
“Dominique, why don’t you split the shopping list and I’ll help you get everything ready?”

“I thought you had classes today?”

“I called last night and they gave me one more day.  So I’m yours for as long as you need me, Luv.”

“Okay, well, here, you get the food bars and water purification tablets.  I have to get the truck serviced and lubed.  I don’t want to lose my four wheel drive half way up the side of a mountain.”

“What time do you want to meet back here?”

“I should have everything by eleven; so we can meet back just before lunch.  You can help me pack the truck and after lunch, well…”

“Yeah, I know.”

They kissed and drove out to get everything.  Nikki managed to get a new set of u-joints put on the truck at cost by flirting with the service guy.  She didn’t like doing it, but her checking account was going fast with all this camping equipment.  She had to get a new tent and that hurt, good high-country rated tents weren’t cheap.  

Neither was the forty gallons of spare fuel in the jerry cans, she needed it; after all, they don’t have gas stations at ten thousand feet.  She got the magnesium fire starting strips and picked up a half dozen fireplace logs, just in case the wood was wet and needed help getting it going.

They met back at her house just after eleven and they brought most of the stuff inside.  Nikki packed her largest backpack with cold weather clothing.  Lena questioned Nikki about this since it was over 70 degrees today. 

“It’s obvious you’ve never been up in the high mountains camping.  It’s warm during the day, but at night the temperature drops to freezing or below.  I might end up above the tree line or even the snow line, I just don’t know, so I have to prepare as if that’s where I’m going.”

“Oh, okay.  What are those brown packets you put in the side pockets?”

“Those are some MRE’s I got off the Internet.”

“MRE’s?”

“Yeah, Meals Ready to Eat.  They have their own heat source and even if they taste like crap, they have tons of calories and carb’s for energy when you need it.”

“I can think of one MRE that tastes great and has no calories.”

“God!  Don’t you ever get enough?”

“Nope.  Not when it comes to you I don’t.”  

Lena caressed Nikki’s butt and kissed her cheek.

They ate a light lunch and then they packed the truck with all the gear and food.  The last thing to go in was the duffle bag that Mark had given her.  Nikki put it in the cab with her.  As she closed the passenger door, Lena was standing there with her hands in her pockets and she had tears in her eyes.  This got Nikki to crying and they hugged.  Lena squeezed her tightly and kissed her cheek.

“Just come back, my Dominique.  I will take you however you are, just come back to me.” 

“I will, my lovely little Lena, I will come home to you no matter what happens.  I promise.”

Nikki got into her truck and drove off, looking back in her mirror, she saw Lena wave and wipe the tears from her face. 

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Two hours later she was slowly approaching the Ranger cabin where it had all started.  She stopped at the end of the fire trail and shut off the truck.  She pulled the duffel bag up onto the seat and opened it.  She pulled out the vest first, and even being in an awkward situation, she put it on inside the truck.  She wasn’t taking any chances.  She pulled out the pistol and double-checked it, slipped it into the holster and since she couldn’t put it on inside the truck she opened the door and carefully got out.  

She looked around again and listened.  She didn’t hear anything that she shouldn’t so she put on the gun belt and cinched the holster to her thigh.  She checked to make sure it was sitting just right for her hand and satisfied she locked the truck and started for the cabin.

When she got closer, she started to get a little paranoid, so she pulled the pistol out and attached the silencer.  She liked the way the gun felt with that extra weight on the front.  The balance was front heavy, so she knew that it wouldn’t jump up as much and she could keep it on target better this way.  She checked the wind direction, from her left.  

Well, it’s not perfect, but at least it’s not at my back and carrying my scent to who ever might be up there.  She listened for any change in the surrounding birds and insects, everything sounded normal.  She watched ahead for places to put her feet so that she didn’t step on any sticks or scuff against the rocks.

She reached the cabin and still there were no sounds.  She walked all the way around the cabin first, checking to see if anyone was hiding, but she didn’t see any traces of tracks or recent activity.  She came around to the front again and slowly walked up the steps, both hands on the gun, holding it with the barrel down, arms slightly bent; ready to bring it up if needed.  She got to the door and saw that it was slightly ajar.  

She stood off to the side and pushed it open with her boot.  The door hinges creaked but that was the only sound, there wasn’t any movement from inside.  She peeked around the door jam and looked inside.  She was shocked at the sight.

Someone had been here since she and Dagomarus had left.  Somebody that had been angry or very messy, the inside was in shambles.  The table was broken and upside down against the far wall.  None of the chairs were intact, and the cot had been ripped apart.  She carefully looked around the inside, there were no hiding places left.  

She checked around outside again, but couldn’t see or hear anything, so she stepped back inside to look around.  She stepped around the chair legs and debris of the cot, she stood in the center and slowly turned a full circle; taking in the destruction of the cabin.  She squatted down and picked up one of the table legs and looked it over.  There were no teeth marks on it.  So, who ever did this had used hands, it wasn’t Dagomarus.  That left only one person who she knew had this much anger and walked on two legs, Scott.  Shit.

She looked around again to make sure nobody was trying to sneak up on her.  Still nothing.  She took a closer look at the damage to see if she could tell how long it had been since it happened.  There wasn’t really anything unique about it that could tell her something specific.  Raccoons hadn’t come in to take advantage of the shredded blanket, so probably not too long.  She could smell things now, traces of herself and Dagomarus.  

She concentrated on those smells, trying to tell if the scent of Dagomarus was stronger than others.  There was a newer scent, but it wafted in from outside.  She took one more look around the cabin and deciding that there wasn’t anything useful; she walked back outside.
   
She followed the scent for a few yards and found the source.  A large pine tree had a slightly darker stain on the base of the trunk.  She looked around her again, but nothing changed in the sounds, and so she knelt down and sniffed the stain.  Yes, it was Dagomarus’s scent, and it was newer than the ones inside the cabin.  So, he had been here since we left that night.  She felt something click inside her head and she knew this was a territorial marking.  

Something else came over her; she had the sudden urge to pee.  Without really thinking about it, she loosened the holster and her pants and she squatted over that spot and squirted two pulses of urine over his mark.  Then the urge was over and she was just squatting next to the tree.  She shook her head at what she had just done and pushed aside the strange feelings.  She pulled her pants back up and reattached the holster to her thigh.

She looked around and sniffed the air, trying to pick up another marking scent.  Nothing.  She tried to think about how she had felt when she pissed on the tree.  The strong urge to mark the tree with her scent had been overwhelming.  It wasn’t a conscious decision; it was deeper than that; instinctual.   

She looked uphill, towards the peak of the mountain she was on, and slowly headed for the top.  She figured it would take about an hour to climb and there was still plenty of daylight left to get up there and then back to her truck.  

She took a while to get to the top, instead of going straight; she widened her search, trying to determine if there were any more trees with his markings on it.  She approached the top cautiously, not knowing if anyone might be on the other side of the ring.  There were still trees on top of this peak, so there could be someone hiding up there.

She couldn’t see any signs of recent activity, but that didn’t mean anything.  She was far from being an expert at tracking anything that didn’t leave obvious marks in the dirt.  The wind was much more noticeable at this altitude.  She sniffed the breeze and listened for anything out of place.  With the increased wind it was hard to tell if the extra movement of the trees was hiding someone.  

After several minutes of watching she didn’t see anything move that caught her eye as out of place.  She finished walking up to the top; she stayed away from the trees and larger rocks, just in case someone was hiding behind them.  She walked the perimeter of the top, sniffing the air for any sign of Dagomarus’s scent.  Nothing.  

Damn!  I had hoped this would at least give me a better starting point.  She fished out a small pair of binoculars and scanned the surrounding area.  They were fairly high end ones, with a zoom feature.  She had them on the lowest setting so that the field of view was the widest.
  
She was about to give up when she caught something in the view.  She slowly scanned the area to see if she could tell what it was.  There seemed to be a discoloration next to a large boulder on the opposite mountainside.  She put the pistol in her belt; the silencer was still attached.  Using both hands now, she adjusted the zoom on the binoculars.  There!  Was that movement?

Something slammed into her chest, knocking her onto her back.  She lay there, looking up into the sky trying to breathe.  She heard the sound, like rolling thunder.  She knew what had happened.  The pain in her chest was immense but there wasn’t any wetness.  Mark had saved her life. She tried to breathe; finally her chest spasmed, released, and she coughed and sucked in a chest full of air.  She moaned and slowly slid her hand underneath the vest.  OUCH!  Yep, that’s gonna to leave a mark.

She felt a pressure wave pass her face and there was a loud cracking noise next to her ear.  BOOOOM! The shot echoed across the canyon.  SHIT!  That asshole is still shooting at me!  She slid on her back to the nearest tree and put it between her and the shooter.  She sat there trying to think of how do get out of this mess.  

The ground exploded next to her thigh and the whistling whine of the tumbling bullet zinged off into the distance.  BOOOOM! Another rumble of rifle thunder echoed in the canyon.  Okay, Dominique, THINK!  The time between the impacts of the bullet and the sound of the rifle is about four seconds.  That means he’s about three quarters of a mile away.  However, the canyon separated them, so there was some time to put more distance between them.
  
She looked at the path she had taken up to this point.  There was cover to hide behind, but there was also lots of open space.  She gathered her feet under her and slowly stood up.  She unthreaded the silencer from the barrel and holstered the pistol.  There was no reason for her to waste ammunition shooting back at him; the short, fat bullets of the pistol would barely make it across the canyon.  

Securing everything, she picked her spot that she could hide behind next.  She launched herself away from the tree and ran as fast as she could.  The feeling of someone cracking a whip next to her head made her duck, but she made it to the boulder and dove over it.  She rolled twice and stayed low, hugging the ground.  BOOOM!  The rifle report echoed again.  She spun around and looked for her next hiding place.  There, that twisted tree.  After that, I should be able to crawl out of his line of fire.

She squatted, gathering herself for the next surge; she sprang for the tree.  She was almost there when a hammer hit her right between the shoulder blades and she went sprawling onto her face and stomach.  BOOOOM!  The adrenaline kept her going, and she scrambled for the base of the tree.  She made it around the trunk when a gouge of wood exploded right where her head had just been.  The whine of the ricocheting bullet sang through the air.  BOOOOM!  She stayed on her stomach and making sure that the tree stayed between her and the rifle, she crawled down off the top of the mountain.

Once she was sure that no more speeding chunks of copper and lead could find her, she got up and ran as fast as she could down the mountain.  She pushed off trees and large rocks as she careened down the side of the steep grade.  It didn’t take her long before she was back at the cabin, she passed it and kept going until she was at her truck.  She jumped in and started it, backed up and drove as fast as she could down the rough fire access road.  

Twenty minutes later she was at the junction point and she stopped, looking around, she couldn’t see any other vehicles.  Looking at the road, her tire tracks from earlier were the only ones that showed fresh on the dirt road.  She put the truck into neutral and set the parking brake.  She got out her map of the area and looked for the marking of the cabin.  It really wasn’t marked officially; she had put it on her map.

She looked at her options; nothing really presented itself.  She had hoped that she would have found something at the cabin to point her in the right direction.  Now all she knew was where NOT to go.  She looked down at her chest and found the base of a bullet sticking out of the vest.  She pulled it out and looked at it, a copper mushroom with a dark gray interior.  It wasn’t very big but it sure had hurt when it hit her.  She shook her head and mentally thanked Mark again for saving her ass.  She tossed the bullet into the ashtray, for some reason she wanted to keep it.  Looking at the map again, she tried to think of what to do next.

She got out of the truck, leaving it idling just in case she needed to move quickly.  She spread the map out over the hood of the truck and orienting it correctly, she got out her compass.  She looked at the map and then flipped up the lid, and positioning the dial correctly, she shot an azimuth bearing to the north.  Then sighting along the wire in the slot of the lid she rotated until it lined up with the peak of the mountain to her right.  

Looking at the degree scale she made a note on the map and then did it again on another mountain.  She made another mark on the map.  Okay, so I am on this spot.  She hadn’t marked all the roads and trails on her copy of a USGS topographical map yet.  She knew a GPS unit would be easier but her father had taught her how to use a compass and a map when she was little and her compass didn’t need batteries.

She traced her finger along a ridgeline marking on the map and then looked up to see it on the mountain to her right.  Okay, it looks like this fire road runs along that ridgeline.  That puts me going NNW for a couple miles then it hooks West for another three or four miles.  If I use that road, that puts several miles of trees and valley between that rifle and me.  It was as good a place to go as any.  She folded the map and stuffed the compass back into her pocket and got back in the truck.  She put it into gear and headed up the fire road.

It was slow going up the fire road.  They were barely roads; just paths cut through the trees for the Park Rangers and fire crews to get in on.  If she hadn’t put tall tires on oversized rims with a four-wheel drive truck, there’d be no way to go over these trails.  After traveling around the hook on the ridgeline she stopped and marked it on the map.  

Continuing for another four miles she crossed a creek, luckily it was shallow enough for the truck to cross.  She started gaining altitude after the creek and she made a few more marks on her map.  When she came around a bend and looked out over a long valley she stopped.  She got out and redid her azimuth bearings and made a couple more notes.
  
While looking at the map and checking it against what she saw in front of her, the light breeze brought her a scent.  She knew it for what it was, Dagomarus.  She reached in and shut off the truck.  She listened for any noises that might give her a clue that he was around.  Nothing but a few birds.  She sniffed the air again, and it was still there, a faint musk that said TERRITORY in her mind.  

She slowly walked around the truck and tried to locate the source.  The wind was coming up out of the valley in front of her.  I guess I know where I’m headed next.  She looked at the sky and then her watch; she was going to have to make a decision soon.  Either keep driving after dark or find a place to make camp.  If she kept driving after dark, her headlights would give away her position, and she knew that Scott wouldn’t stop looking for her now that he knew she was out here.  Common sense said GO HOME, but she had to find Dagomarus before she went all fangs and fur and did something bad.
  
She decided to keep driving until she needed lights.  If there wasn’t any place to put up a tent by then, she’d sleep in the front seat of the truck.  It sucked because the seats weren’t stuffed with that position in mind, so getting any real rest was pathetic at best.  Starting the truck and putting it in gear, she headed down into the valley.  She managed to cover another twelve miles, stopping and checking the breeze every mile mark on the odometer.  The scent became stronger as she traveled along the upper ridge of the valley.  When it was too dark to go on safely without lights, she found a spot where she could get off the fire trail and parked.

She got out and listened, but there was nothing but the breeze through the pines.  She sniffed the air again and found that the scent was rather strong.  She pulled out a flashlight and flipped its red lens down in place.  She also pulled out the pistol and threaded the silencer onto it.  She clicked on the flashlight and started walking slowly towards the scent.  She carefully walked about a hundred yards when she found the tree he had marked.  It was a huge pine, easily four feet across at the base.  She looked around on the ground but there were no tracks, the thick layer of pine needles prevented it.  She walked around the tree first, looking outwards.  There was nothing that registered as a clue, just more trees and rocks.
  
She squatted next to the stain on the tree and the smell was very strong in her nostrils, much stronger than the mark at the cabin.  That strange urge hit her again and she found herself pulling her pants down and squirting urine over his mark.  She stood up and refastened her pants, thinking to herself; damn that was weird.  She could smell her own scent now, covering his.  It wasn’t the same as the scent from her sex, close, but there was something else in it as well.  She sniffed it and that click in her head snapped again, this time the message was CHALLENGE.  Well, she thought, I guess I am challenging him and his claim on this territory.  Hopefully he’ll get the message.

She walked back to her truck and looked around with the red light of the flashlight.  She found a small flat area that didn’t have too many rocks.  She unthreaded the silencer and holstered the gun.  She reached under the seat of the truck and got out her camping shovel.  She flipped down the pick arm and locked it in place.  She went over to the area she had picked out and chipped out the larger stones.  She cleared a space on the ground for her tent.  She pulled out the pack and set up the tent.  It was rough going, this was a new tent and she wasn’t completely familiar with its little quirks in assembly, and the instructions were in Chinese.  Who the hell thought it was a good idea to print the instructions in Chinese?  Fucking morons.
  
She finally got it all together and staked out.  She was still pissed about the instructions.  She rolled out the self-inflating mat and unrolled her sleeping bag.  She really wanted to light a fire, but knew that it would be nothing more than a giant neon sign saying, ‘HERE I AM!  SHOOT ME!’  She took a long pull from her canteen and rummaged through the MRE’s until she found something appealing.  

She smiled at the thought of what Lena had said about the acronym.  That also brought a tear to her eye as she poured a little water into the heating pouch and shook it gently.  She had picked the Beef & Noodles, which was okay, but the salt content made her thirsty.  When it was done heating, she plopped down against a tree and ate it in silence, listening to the wind through the pines.

She hoped she was doing the right thing.  She hated to leave Lena back in town, but after the incident earlier with Scott, she was glad that she had.  What rotten luck to have that bastard find her on top of that hill right in his sights.  She tried to figure out why he had been over there.  Well, he is on the run from the law.  He tore up the cabin.  Maybe he had been hiking deeper into the woods when he had accidentally spotted her being stupid and standing up like a silhouette target at the gun range.  She hoped that was it.  She scolded herself for being that stupid.  She had been thinking ten feet in front of her, not across the canyon ahead of her.  Well, I learned my lesson on that today.  

She hoped that he would continue deeper into the woods, but she knew he wouldn’t.  Not now he wouldn’t.  She had to worry about him tracking her down out here in the deep forest, far from any help.  She kicked herself for not springing for the satellite phone, but the cost versus what she thought she needed had been too far apart.  She did have that handheld 23-channel CB radio, it had started off as a 4-watt transmitter, but a friend of a friend had boosted it to 12 watts for her.  The only trouble with it was she would have to be on top of a mountain to effectively use it; and due to the increased wattage, it sucked up the batteries fast.

She finished her meal and put the trash in her new container.  She had picked it up from one of the ranchers in town that sold them locally.  It was a simple 5-gallon bucket with a screw on lid and it had a mixture of crushed charcoal and baking soda in the bottom and in a pouch glued to the lid.  No smell from your trash, no hungry bears tearing your campsite apart at 3 am.  She took one last look around and then crawled into her tent.  She peeled the vest off with a sigh.  That vest wasn’t the most comfortable thing to wear for extended periods, but it had saved her body from two high velocity bullets, so she wasn’t going to complain about the comfort level too much.  

Her back and chest hurt from the impacts.  She couldn’t find the slug from the back of the vest; it was probably down inside the seat of the truck.  She lifted her shirt up and using the flashlight, looked at the damage.  There was an irregular bruise just below her left breast, if she hadn’t been wearing the vest, it would have been fatal.  She took off the gun belt and holster.  She removed the pistol, screwed the silencer onto it and set it next to her pillow.  She put the flashlight right next to it.  She crawled into her bag and went to sleep.

She dreamed of gunshots and blood.  There were growling monsters and torn bodies.  She heard a voice calling her name.  She knew that voice.  That deep bass of Dagomarus was saying her name.  She felt sick to her stomach and her skin itched.  There that voice was again.  She sat up, sweating and breathing fast.  Her stomach still felt queasy and she itched everywhere.
  
“Dominique.”  

There it was, that deep bass, and it wasn’t in her dreams.  It was in her ears.  WHAT?  She reached for the pistol and the flashlight.  She slid out of her sleeping bag and crouched.

“Dominique.  I am here.  You called me.”  

Now she was really frightened.  That was his voice all right, but it wasn’t in her head anymore.  It was outside her tent.  Her hands were shaking and she tried to control them.  She used the end of the flashlight to force the zipper up on the tent flap, holding the pistol back slightly.  She peeked out the flap and saw a human form in the darkness.  It was standing next to her truck.  She stepped out of the tent and stood up straight, holding the flashlight and handgun out in front of her, pointing at that form.  She flicked the switch on the laser sight and aimed it at the center of that form.  She flicked the switch on the flashlight next and she cursed.

There in the red light of her flashlight was a man, a naked man.  He was muscular and had a lot of scars, but that face, it was the one he had shown her in her mind.  That piercing gaze was the same, though.
  
“Hello, Dominique.  I am so sorry, Dominique.  I can feel it.  You can’t imagine how deep my sorrow and guilt for this goes.  I never meant this to happen.”

“How?  How did you change back?”  

She could see the sad smile on his face and the tears starting in his eyes.  

“I woke up like this the day after I left.  I’ve been trying to get up the courage to go back to you, but here you are. I felt you enter this valley.  I smelled the scent that you covered mine with.  I smelled the challenge in it.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I am challenging you.  You need to fix this.”  

She still held the pistol pointed at his chest.

“Oh, Dominique, I wish I could.  The change is permanent.  Don’t you think that in my two thousand years of roaming this earth that I haven’t tried to do the very same thing?”

“I had a feeling you were going to say that, but I had to ask.  The next thing I need to ask, then, can you teach me to control it?”

“I will do what I can for you, it’s the least I can do to alleviate what I have cursed you with.”

“Okay.  There is something else, Dagomarus.  We can never return to what we had.”

“I know, Dominique.  I can smell her on you.  Do you truly love her now?”

“Yes, Dagomarus, I do.”

“Then enjoy every day with her as if it will be your last, because one day, it will be.  I cannot prepare you for that day, but I can at least tell you what to expect.  She will drive you away.  She will demand that you leave because she can’t stand it that you have not aged a day and she has aged years.  I am so sorry, Dominique.  I have had it happen to me so many times, and I can still see their faces, and I can hear the resentment that so quickly turned to hatred.”

“Well, thanks for that, Dagomarus, that makes it all seem so fucking cheerful.  What other torments do I have to look forward to?  Huh?  YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!  YOU DID THIS TO ME!!  YOU FUCKED ME THREE WAYS FROM SUNDAY AND YOU LEFT ME WITH THIS!”  

She dropped to her knees, the flashlight and gun forgotten, and she sobbed.  The enormity of her situation slammed into her; the cold, dreadful words of Dagomarus telling her that the woman she loved would come to hate her and drive her away.  That there was no way to fix this curse.  What had she ever done to deserve this?
 
Dagomarus stood there and watched her sob, knowing that if he touched her, her anger towards him might set off the change early.  He waited for her to calm down.  Her sobs eventually tapered off and she remained kneeling, looking down at the ground.  She wiped the tears from her face and she looked up at him.

“So, now we understand one another, you’re sorry and I hate your guts.  Now what?  What else do I need to know about this, this, condition of mine?  I remember some of what you showed me, but will it be different for me?”

“I have no answers on that, Dominique.  I know it doesn’t help you feel any better, but you are the first person I’ve inflicted with this curse in two thousand years.  I have no idea what you can expect.  I can tell you that I feel pressured to move away from you or challenge you back.  It’s part of this ‘condition’, as you call it.  It is easier, however, to deal with because it’s you.  I don’t know if it’s because I am the one who passed it on or if it’s because of our prior relationship.  I will try to teach you what those monks taught me.  To control your mind and the new powers that you have.”

“Okay, so this queasy stomach and the itching I have is the thing that is telling me to leave or challenge you?”

“No, that’s the change coming on, and if you are feeling that right now, you are close.  The full moon is still a few days away, and you are already fighting off the urge to shift.  That’s not a good sign, Dominique.  When did these feelings start?”

“Well, the other day when I was really angry with someone was the first time, but I was able to fight it off with the help of my friend.  I felt it again while I was dreaming just a few minutes ago, just before I woke up and heard you out here calling my name.”

“Yes, anger will cause you to shift if you can’t calm down soon enough.  What were you dreaming of?”

“Blood, monsters, and torn bodies.”

“Okay, blood and violence will cause you to shift early as well.  However, I have never known dreams to cause it.  It’s the smell of the blood and the feel of the violence that stimulates the change.  Have you been involved in anything today that had blood or violence?”

“Yeah, I was shot twice.”  

He looked at her sharply and then shook his head.

“I see no wounds?  You heal that fast?”

“No, I was wearing a bulletproof vest, so all I got was a little bruised.”

“Amazing, a bulletproof vest.  Why did someone shoot you twice?”

“Remember our good buddy Ranger Scott?  Well, I had him arrested for trying to kill you and kidnap me.  He escaped, and is on the loose.  I stopped at the cabin earlier today and found it all torn up.  I went to the top of the mountain to get a look around and see if I could get a clue as to how to find you, and that’s when he shot me.  He hit me right in the chest.  Then as I was running away, he shot me again in the back.  He’s out here somewhere, Dagomarus, and he hates us both enough to try and kill us.”

“So, because of this vest, you didn’t get hurt?”

“I got a couple bruises, but yeah.”

“Scott is out here in my woods with a gun and he’s tried to kill you twice today and he is still out there somewhere?”

“Yeah, what’s with all the repeat questions?  This human form screwing with the thinking process?”

“No, Dominique.  It’s the threat level you are responding to.  I was just curious as to the effectiveness of this bulletproof vest.  You haven’t experienced pain until you have had a bullet wound.”

“Okay, I’ll take your word for it.  The bruises hurt enough as it is.  So, now what?”

“You get some sleep if you can.  I am going to go look for Scott.”

“You better not, he’s got a gun, a powerful one.  I was across the valley when he shot me and the first one knocked me on my back, the other knocked me onto my face.  It might not be a good idea to try to find him tonight; he should be miles from here.  I also didn’t light a fire or use the white light on the flashlight.  I don’t think he knows we are in this valley.”
   
“Okay, we’ll think more about it tomorrow.  I can’t stay around you much longer; if you shift, we’ll fight.  It’s that simple Dominique.  You won’t have control; you won’t even know you are doing it.”

“Okay, I understand.  Until the morning then?”

“Yes, in the morning we’ll talk some more.”

“Okay.  Wear something would you?  It’s a little distracting.”

“I don’t have any clothing, sorry.”

“I’ll give you a blanket.  Now let me go back to sleep.”  

He walked away into the darkness without another word.  She picked up the gun and flashlight and went back inside her tent.  She had a hard time getting back to sleep, but eventually she drifted off.

			***************

She opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling of the tent.  It was just barely light outside.  She had to urinate, badly.  Just normal urges this time she was happy to note.  She slipped out of her sleeping bag and put on her shoes.  She thought about the flashlight and looked again, no, won’t need that.  She did pick up the pistol, just in case.  She remembered that thing Mark had said, not needing it but having it anyway.  She unzipped the flap and stuck her head out.  Her head exploded in pain and then it went dark.

She found herself choking and coughing up water.  She moaned, her head felt like one of her subwoofers was inside and it was playing the 1812 Overture.

“Wake up, bitch.”  

Uh-oh.  Scott.  Shit.  Fuck.

“Open your eyes, cunt.  I know you’re awake.”  

She slowly opened her eyes.  There he was squatting down in front of her.  She was up against a tree, her hands and feet taped together.  He was holding her pistol and had it pointed at her head.

“That’s better.  You know, you had me fooled.  I thought you might be one too, but I found your little trick.  Where the hell did you get that vest from?  Never mind, I found it.  And this little sweetheart?  Nice toys you have, bitch.  I bet your deputy dick gave them to you, huh?  Yeah, that’s where you got them.  So you two were in on it together?”  

Nikki didn’t know what to do or how to answer his questions.  Where was Dagomarus?  Was he just waiting for Scott to screw up and then take him down?  What if Scott decides to blow my brains out before that?

Her head whipped around when Scott slapped her, hard.  She moaned again, tears running down her cheeks.
  
“Answer me, bitch!  Were you two in on it?  What about that fucking monster wolf you have?  Where is it?”

“I don’t know where he is.  No, Deputy Lockhardt wasn’t in on it.  The vest and gun are mine.”

“BULLSHIT!”  

He hit her again.  This time with his fist.  She saw stars and almost blacked out again.  She tried not to cry, but nobody had ever hit her before and it was a shock to her system.

“Stop your whining!  I haven’t even begun to beat you like you deserve, bitch!”  

He hit her again, not quite as hard as the first time, but hard enough.  She could feel the blood trickling down her chin.  She could taste it in her mouth.  It sent shivers through her body.

“You stay put.  I’m going to get my Jeep and then the fun will begin.  If you try to get away, the next beating will be worse, bitch.  You understand me?”  

She nodded her head.  He eyed her suspiciously.  He went over to the truck and picked up a roll of duct tape.  He came over to her and wrapped several loops around her, securing her to the tree.  He stood back and eyed his handiwork.  He nodded to himself and smiled.  It was an evil smile and it chilled Nikki to her bones.  He laughed when he saw her shudder.  He turned to walk away, then rotated his hip and kicked her in the stomach.  Her breath shot out of her and she puked.  The pain was terrible; her whole midsection was on fire.  She choked and tried to breathe.  He was laughing at her.
  
“That was for tricking me with the vest.  You shouldn’t have worn it.  It would have been over in a second.  Now it’s going to take hours.”  

He walked away laughing and dancing.

Something in her snapped.  Her whole body felt like it was on fire, liquid fire.  Her breathing became rapid and her vision blurred.  OH GOD!  Her bones hurt and her head felt like it was full of cotton.  She could taste the blood in her mouth and she loved it.  It tasted so good!  Her body went into convulsions and she could hear a snapping noise in her head.  It was her bones snapping.  Her skin stretched and her muscles flowed under that superheated skin like thousands of tiny snakes.  She took in a huge deep breath and she could feel her ribcage expand.  Her hands and legs broke free of the tape and she pulled herself away from the tree.
  
Her eyes opened and she sniffed.  The bad human had left a scent trail clear as day.  She sniffed again; there is another around here.  Not close enough to worry about right now.  The bad human was going to feel pain.  She launched herself off the ground and cleared the truck.  Landing on her two legs, she looked around.  There he is, dancing and walking.  She pushed off hard and ran at him, covering the ground in huge strides.

Scott was dancing his joy of getting even with that bitch for screwing up his life.  He heard something behind him and turned.  He screamed and raised the gun to shoot, but the monster was on him.  He felt his face being ripped off his skull.  He tried to scream again, but his jaw was pinned by two huge fangs.  Then he saw nothing, the torn skin of his forehead had dropped over his eyes.  Then he heard a tremendous pop inside his head and then nothing.

She jumped just as he turned and she opened her mouth as wide as she could and grabbed his face between her jaws.  She bit down as hard as she could, feeling the skin and muscle rip away from the underlying bone.  She felt him try to scream and she felt good inside at his terror.  She licked the blood from his face and it tasted delicious!  She grabbed his shoulders and picked him up, his feet dangling and jerking.  

She made one more effort to bite down on his head and she felt it crumble beneath her teeth.  It caved in and she suddenly had a mouth full of hot blood and brains.  OH!  Delicious!  More, I must have more of this!  She peeled the front chunks of bone away from the lifeless body.  Seeing the prize underneath, she slid her tongue out and gathered up the clotted pink and gray chunks of flesh, and slurped them down.  She drank the blood that had pooled inside the cavity after she had scooped out the brains.
  
She was still hungry for more.  She ripped the clothing off the body and ran her long fingers across the chest; reveling in the feel of her claws scraping the flesh.  She pushed four fingers into the chest cavity just under the clavicle and pulled down.  The popping of bone and the sound of flesh ripping filled her ears, and it made her so happy!  She pulled the bone fragments out of the flesh and then ripped a small chunk off and tossed it into her mouth.  MMMMMM, nice and warm.  

She wanted the heart.  She wiggled her long fingers into the chest cavity and felt it; she wrapped her fingers around it and pulled it out of the chest.  The dark blood oozed out of the tears she had made.  She pushed it into her mouth and chewed, savoring the flavor of that dense chewy mass of flesh.

She swallowed it down, feeling better now that she had the two best organs from the body.  She was still hungry; so she grabbed the remaining clothing from below the waist and yanked them off.  The leg muscles were good and fleshy, she lifted the body higher and she grabbed one thigh between her teeth and she sank them into the muscle.  It felt so wonderful to have that flesh trapped between her teeth.  

She bit down harder and felt it rip under her jaws.  She wiggled her muzzle back and forth, getting a good grip on that group of muscles and pulled back, feeling them stretch and give as she pushed the body away from her at the same time.  The whole front thigh muscle flopped in her jaws and she grinned.  This was so much fun!  This tasted too good!  She chewed it and swallowed it down.  That was delicious!  She ripped the other thigh muscle off and swallowed it down as well.

Finally, she was full, her belly distended from all that she had eaten.  She was getting sleepy from all the activity and the full stomach.  She tossed what was left of the bad human on the ground and went to find a place to rest.  She walked slowly back to where she had woken up before her meal and looked around.  There were scraps of clothing lying all over the ground.  She spotted the tent, ooh, that looks good.  She crawled over to it and opened the flap.  There was fluffy bedding on the floor.  Perfect!  She slid in and curled up, wrapping her muscular arms around herself and pulling her legs up, she went to sleep.

			----------------

Nikki opened her eyes; she could hear someone outside her tent.  She panicked, and reached for the gun.  It wasn’t there!  Then she looked at her hand and saw it was covered in blood.  Oh God!  What’s going on?  Then she looked down at herself and saw that she was naked and there was blood all over her and it had rubbed off onto her sleeping bag.  She was shaking and trying hard to think about what could have happened.  She couldn’t remember!  No wait, I woke up earlier, and I had to pee.  Then nothing.  Scott beating me?  Oh shit!  He did beat me and had me tied up!  I don’t know what happened after that.
  
The sound of someone outside her tent brought her back.  She cautiously opened the flap and looked outside.  There was Dagomarus and he was picking up some shredded clothing.  She looked down at herself and realized that it was her clothing.  Crap, stupid pack is still in the truck.  Well, he’s seen it before, but now it’s different.  She crawled out of the tent and stood up.  Strangely enough, she felt great; fully rested and energetic.  She looked over to see that Dagomarus had stopped and he was looking at her.  However, the expression on his face wasn’t what she expected when she stepped out naked.

“Well, how do you feel?”

“Ah, great.  I guess.  What happened?”

“Scott found you and, well, he is no longer a going concern.”

“What do you mean?”  

Then she put it all together; the blood, the missing time, and being naked.  OH FUCK!  She started shivering and walked over to the truck.  She opened the cab and took out her canteen.  She washed her hands and then grabbing a rag from under the seat, she wiped herself off.  She walked to the back of the truck and opened her pack, she pulled out a pair of pants and a shirt.  She put them on and then hopped up onto the tailgate.  She wiped her feet off and slipped on a pair of socks.  She reached over and grabbed her spare pair of hiking boots and laced them up.  When she was done, she hopped down and then grabbed a blanket, walked over to Dagomarus and handed it to him.

“Okay, how much trouble am I in?”
 
“Well, I’m not sure.  It depends on what you want to do now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, uhm, I, uh, VAE!  Come with me, Dominique.”  

He wrapped the blanket around him in a fashion she immediately recognized from history books, a toga.  He motioned for her to follow him.  She was a little confused, but did as he asked.  They walked a little ways up the road, and then she saw it.  The remains of a human body that had been ravaged by a wild animal; lying off to the side of the trail.  Most of it was missing.  She felt sick.  Her mouth started watering, but it wasn’t from hunger, it was the other reason.  She dropped to her knees and puked.

“I’m sorry I had to do that, Dominique, but it was the only way to get you to understand.  You have to decide what you want to do now.  I’ll help you bury the remains.  Then you have to do some thinking, you have taken a human life, Dominique.  The knowledge of that act is weighing heavily on your soul.  What you have to decide is whether you want to return to civilization or stay out here in the wilds, removed from that temptation.”

“Fuck you, Dagomarus.  This is just as much your fault as mine.”

“Yes it is.  I will live with it.  I have lived with it.  I’m telling you now, though, it will eat you up inside if you don’t do some hard thinking.  Taking a human life alters you forever.  Once you cross that line, there is no going back.  You’ve crossed that line.  There will be no going back.”

“What do you mean I can’t go back?  I can’t go back to Lena?  I can’t go back to work?  What?”

“Oh, you can go back to your life in town and act as if nothing ever happened.  But the nightmares will haunt you, you’ll see his face condemning you, haunting you for what you did.”

“What if I refuse to let it bother me?  He tried to kill me!  I was just protecting myself.  It just took another form; instead of a gun, it was me, the monster from inside me that did it.”

“Perhaps you will be lucky in that you can justify this in your mind and your heart.  That it won’t torment you for years.  However, that was this time.  What about next time, Dominique?  Will all of your victims be so guilty as this one was?”

“You’re just trying to get me to stay with you.   It won’t work, I will go back to my Lena.”

“No, Dominique, you don’t understand.  Even if I wanted to, we can never be together again.  You don’t feel it yet; you aren’t fully into being a werewolf.  It’s screaming inside my head, run or fight.  I ran this morning Dominique.  If I had tried to come to your rescue and you had shifted anyway, only one of us would have survived.  It’s that simple, Dominique.  If we are together when you or I shift, the other will do the same in response and then it’s a fight to the death.”

“Oh.  So, you never wanted this, did you?  This wasn’t some deep subconscious plan to get me to stay with you for eternity?”

“Oh gods, no, Dominique.  I loved you.  I still do.   But the change in you has caused that love to change as well.  I don’t know how to explain it.  None of the languages I know have a word for it.  It’s just, well, it’s different.”

“Okay, I believe you.  So, will you teach me how to do the mind stuff and control my shift?”

“Yes, I told you last night I would.  Our time will have to be short, however.  I cannot be with you for more than a couple of hours at a time, before my control is pushed to its limits.   Also, there are two things that I want in return for this help, Dominique.”

“Oh?  What are they, Dagomarus?”  

Nikki was instantly suspicious.  Dagomarus was different now and her trust in him was no longer what it once was.

“First, I need a promise.  You have to swear a blood oath to do something for me when our time is finished.”

“A blood oath?  Why?  No one does those anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter, you will do this or I won’t help you.  I hate to be so uncouth, Dominique, but I have to have this blood oath.”

“Okay, say I agree to do this blood oath.  What is it I have to do?”

“That will be revealed later.  I need you to swear that you will do whatever it is I ask you to do, no matter what you may wish at the time.  You must agree to this, Dominique.”

“So I have to swear to do whatever you want me to do, no matter what it is, and you won’t tell me what it is until then?  Do I have this correct?”

“Yes, that’s it.  Take it or leave it.”  

Nikki didn’t like those terms one iota, but what real choice did she have?  She knew it wouldn’t be sex, which was now out the window, and she knew it couldn’t be killing someone, because he was so torn up about what she had done.  So, what ever it is he wants me to do, it can’t be that bad, but he still wants his secrets.  Well, I guess we all do to an extent.

“All right, Dagomarus, I will give you your blood oath.  What do I do?”

“You must understand the consequences of this, Dominique.  A blood oath means that once sworn; if broken that person shall die because of it.  Think about this Dominique.  If you make this promise and don’t go through with it, I must kill you.  I mean it, I am deadly serious, Dominique.  You must believe that I will do that, and I am telling you now, I will.”

“You’d do that?  You would really kill me if I break this oath that you want me to swear?”

“Yes, I would.”  

Nikki looked into his eyes and saw the truth of his statement.  She saw her own death in his eyes.  Her blood went cold.  I know now what Scott saw that night.  

“Yes, Dominique, you see it now.  It pains me to my very soul, but I must have that oath.  I will return tomorrow for your answer.  Clean up your kill.”  

He unwrapped his makeshift toga and handed it to her.  He turned and walked into the woods, and never looked back.

She numbly walked back to the truck.  She had one thought running through her mind, he would take my life if I break a promise.  She never thought that she would see that in his eyes.  Love, yes.  Pain, yes.  Her death at his hands, no.  Now, however, that had changed, and she knew it.  He would kill her, and that knowledge frightened her terribly.  What could be so important for me to do that he had to exact that kind of promise?  She couldn’t think of anything that would match the seriousness of that.

She got her camp shovel out and walked back up the road.  She managed to not throw up again as she looked at the total destruction of Scott’s body.  She walked around until she found a spot that didn’t have too many rocks and started digging.  She worked at it while thinking about that blood oath, and what it could mean.  

Three hours later she had dug a hole deep enough that the frost heave wouldn’t push up the bones for a very long time, if ever.  She walked around and picked up the bloody tatters of his clothing.  She found his keys and pocketed them, remembering that he had told her he was going to go get his Jeep and come back and torture her to death.  She threw everything else in the hole.  The last thing was the remains.  She felt sick, but she managed not to do more than gag as she pulled the remains over to the hole and rolled it into the grave.

Before filling it in, she thought about something else that needed to go in the grave.  She went and got the vest and the rest of the gear that Mark had given her.  She tossed that into the hole.  She found the pistol, covered in blood, the bluing ruined.  She popped the magazine out and cleared the chamber.  She tossed the ammunition into the hole and then the gun.  She filled it back up with dirt and rocks.  

She eventually got it done, leaving a mound of fresh dirt.  She tried to arrange the rocks randomly and then covered the mound with pine needles and a few branches.  When she was done, she walked over to the road and looked back.  She couldn’t tell it was a grave by looking at it.  Only she would know that’s exactly what it was.

She walked back to her truck and grabbed the second canteen from beneath the seat and drank it all down.  She wasn’t hungry.  She didn’t know when she would be able to look at food again.  She cleaned up the campsite as best she could, trying to remove all traces of violence and blood.  When it was almost dusk; she was done.  If some tourist or park ranger came by, they wouldn’t suspect anything unholy had happened right here.  

She got out her campstool and sat down, emotionally drained and physically exhausted.  Her face went slack and her eyes lost focus as she reviewed what she had just done.  The ruined piece of humanity that had been lying on the ground numbed her sense of reality.  Her mind kept trying to come to grips with the fact that the white ragged sticks were bones, that the red mass of tissue had once been a human being.  The sickly pallor of the skin that no longer had blood flowing to it to give it that peach colored hue, the blood turning black as it dried in the cool mountain air.  The sickening slurp that sounded so loud in her ears as she picked it up and drug it across the ground to the hole she had dug.

She came out of her disturbing reverie to find her hands shaking and her skin cold and clammy.  A fine sheen of sweat covered her face, her stomach felt like it had turned to stone.  There was a strange sensation of floating in her head, like she was inside this giant indoor stadium and her body was weightless.  The strange feeling that her insides were larger than the outside of her body but she didn’t explode, she just expanded while staying the same size.  It was so surreal that she wasn’t sure she was truly feeling it but at the same time, it was happening while she sat there on her stool.  She could feel the cold aluminum tubes of the frame digging into her flesh, her clothing felt tight and damp, and she had the sensation of falling forward but she wasn’t moving.

She shook her head back and forth violently trying to get rid of this moment.  She succeeded somewhat, she still felt like she was falling forwards, but the floating was gone.  A dull ache deep in her gut hit her and she felt the sudden urge to empty her bowels and bladder.  She jumped up and ran to the truck, grabbed the roll of toilet paper and ran as far from her campsite as she could before the urge sent her scrambling to undo her pants before she had an accident.

When she returned to camp, she sat back down and thought about what she was feeling.  Is this what Dagomarus meant when he said that it changes you forever?  That every time I think about this I will get that horrible sense of floating and have to run when my insides turn to water?  The sickening realization flowed over her when she saw the truth, it would.  She had crossed that line.  There would be no going back.  She knew in her soul, that place inside her that she held tight as ME, was changed forever.  That no matter the justification she could come up with, no matter if that person had been evil and had meant to kill her, she still felt the horrendous guilt of taking that life.  That person would never breathe again.  Because of her, and her actions, that person would be gone.  

Oh god.  What have I done?  She suddenly wished she hadn’t thrown the gun into the hole and buried it.  Somehow the energy to get up and go get it wasn’t there anymore.  Her body was telling her that self-preservation was more important than any guilt she might feel.

She got up and then sat down.  She didn’t know what to do with herself.  She was confused and hyper, but she felt lethargic at the same time.  She finally gave up and went inside her tent and lay down.  Perhaps the escape of slumber would take this awful feeling away for just a little while.  It did; for little while.

			--------------

She opened her eyes and rolled over onto her back, she looked up at the ceiling of the tent and contemplated the weave of the nylon.  Funny, I never paid any attention to that before.  She couldn’t remember if she had dreamt while she slept, but maybe it was better that she didn’t remember those dreams.  She remembered Dagomarus’s warning, they will haunt you forever.  She hoped not, but deep down inside, she knew they would.  She sat up and examined her state of mind.  She felt okay, numb, but okay.  Well, this is a damn sight better than last night.  She didn’t ever want to go through that again.  She crawled out of the tent and found Dagomarus leaning against her truck.

“How long have you been there?”

“Not long.  I was going to give you a few more minutes before waking you.”

“You were right.  There is no going back.”

“I am so sorry that you had to find that out, Dominique.  Sometimes life can give you a really bad turn, but you must find it inside yourself to go on.  It won’t change what has happened if you go away.  Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I understand.  I don’t like it, but I understand.”

“Good.  One day you may heal from this, I hope that you do.  It helps if you have someone who will love you no matter what demons you bring home.  That will hold you in the night when you are screaming at the top of your lungs and you ruin their peaceful slumber.  If they still love you in the morning, don’t ever let them go.”

“Yeah, I think I have that now.  At least I hope I do.”

“Then you are truly blessed.”

“I’ll do it.  The oath.  Whatever it is, I’ll do it.  What do I need to say?”

“Thank you.  I won’t make you cut yourself and shake my bloody hand in return.  I can see it in your eyes and I can hear it in your voice.  I will exact that oath, Dominique.  I am truly sorry, but I will.”

“Fine.  Now what?”

“We finish what you started last night.  We need to remove all traces of him.  There is still the matter of his vehicle.”

“Oh.  Yeah.  Okay.  What do we do with it?”

“You are better equipped to know that than I am.  How do you get rid of someone’s vehicle and not have it come back to you?” 

Nikki thought about that and remembered watching one of those shows on TV about criminals and things they did to cover up their crimes.

“He was a fugitive, so we have to be very careful if we drive it out of here.  If we get caught on a main road, it’s over.  No, we need to take it deeper into the backcountry and abandon it.  They might not find it for a year or more.”

“Okay.  You’ll have to teach me how to drive.”

“You know something, Dagomarus?  That is one thing I never would have expected to hear you say to me.”
  
“Good, Dominique.  Your sense of humor didn’t disappear.  I’m glad.  Lead the way, let’s get this done.”

--------------

Four hours later they were wiping the inside of the Jeep down.  Nikki had explained the technology of fingerprints to Dagomarus.  He was amazed that someone had thought of that to catch criminals.  He did tell her that since she hadn’t touched anything inside the Jeep that she didn’t have to worry about it.  That no police department had ever gotten his fingerprints, he hadn’t been a human since the technology had been invented.

“It does matter, Dagomarus.  If they do find this Jeep, your prints will be inside of it and then they will be on record as being connected to a crime.  If you ever decided to come back and live like the rest of us, then you’d always have to worry about it.”  

He just gave her a blank stare and shrugged his shoulders.  He helped her wipe the Jeep down to make her happy.

She had him go through some of Scott’s clothes to see if anything would fit.  He found this amusing.

“What’s wrong with my toga?”

“You still show occasionally, Dagomarus.  That makes it tough for me to concentrate when you are talking to me.”  

He laughed.  He did as she asked and found some pants and a shirt.

“Here, take these back with you.  I won’t need them until tomorrow.  Go, now.”  

He walked off into the woods and left her standing there.  She shrugged and drove back to her campsite.

Sitting there for the rest of the day with nothing to do was driving her nuts.  She hadn’t thought to bring a book or anything to occupy her idle time.  She hadn’t thought she would have any.  She decided that she would do some hiking, look around, anything but sit on that campstool and contemplate things.  

She did listen to the stereo in the truck for a little while, but again, she had a very limited selection.  She hadn’t thought to bring much.  She did find one CD in the very bottom of the center console that she had forgotten she had.  She smiled when she remembered who had given it to her.  She had been at college and her roommate had been from the South.  

Her roommate had loved these guys, they were a small local band and weren’t on any major label, but they weren’t bad.  The lyrics were funny and you could tell that at least the songwriter had grown up in a white-trash trailer park.  “Drive by Truckers”.  What a name for a band.  Her favorite song was Bulldozers and Dirt.  It was rather disturbing in a redneck sort of way.  Some guy’s love for red clay, and his lust for his under-age stepdaughter.  There was musical talent for sure, but they’d never play this on the radio.
 
The next morning Dagomarus was standing next to her truck again.  She was a little disturbed about it and she told him.

“How do you sneak into my campsite every morning without me hearing you?”

“I have had a long time to practice.  I’ll show you how to do it if you want me to.”

“Well, I’m not sure if I really need to know how to do that, it’s just that I don’t like to have someone sneak up on me like that.”

“Knowing how to do something will allow you to detect it when someone is trying to do the same to you.”

“Oh.  I see your point.  In that case, okay.  However, I think I need to know the other things first.”

“Yes, you do.  My time is short so let’s get started.”

Dagomarus told her how he had found the monks and how they had immediately known what he was.  They didn’t hold it against him, so as long as he left when his change was upon him and he hurt no one, he could stay with them and learn.  He told her that even with his increased strength and speed, several of the monks were even faster and had bested him in many contests.  They taught him mental discipline and how to use that to control his anger and therefore, his change.  He taught her the mechanics of the rituals and how to use mental pictures to make it easier to get her mind to do certain things.  He told her to practice them for the rest of the day, and he left.

This went on until Saturday morning, when he was waiting for her, his demeanor was a little different.

“What’s wrong, Dagomarus?”

“I can’t stay for more than a few minutes.  You are getting close to your change and I can feel the moon even beyond the horizon.  I will not be in this valley tonight.  I have marked the perimeter, so you will know where you must stop.  You will know, even in your state at the time, you will not want to cross the line I have put up around this valley.  You will put your marks next to mine, and this valley will then belong to you.  Practice.”  

With that he left.

She spent the rest of the day doing her mental exercises and soon she could feel it too.  Her skin itched all day.  She was fidgety and hyper.  She was irritable with herself and was very glad to be by herself out here.  She couldn’t imagine how bad it would be if someone was within sight of her.  She tried so hard to concentrate, but by late afternoon, she couldn’t keep her thoughts organized for more than a few seconds at a time.

The sun finally slipped behind the mountains and then she could feel it, the moon.  It was calling to her.  A soft insistent surge of longing.  She felt on fire and stripped out of her clothing to try and cool off.  Her skin crawled like she was covered in ants and worms.  The white disc peeked above the rim of the valley and she fell to the ground as her bones popped and her muscles slithered beneath her skin.  She howled.  Her massive form stood and she pointed her muzzle at the moon and howled her pleasure at seeing its beautiful face.  She felt so alive!  She wanted to run, so she did.

She reveled in her strength and agility, grabbing trees and sinking her claws into the bark and climbing up the trunks.  Reaching the tops she would sway back and forth and howl at the moon, Thank you!!  I love you so much!  Thank you for this power!  She sniffed the air and she smelled the other.  The old one.  She leapt to the ground and ran at that scent.  She followed it to the edge of the valley.  

She found his TERRITORY and stopped.  So, he has left me with something.  She squatted and sprayed her own scent next to his.  This valley is MINE.  She ran along the edges of his markings and put her own along side them.  The night passed quickly for her and she knew she had to sleep now.  She knew where she had to go.  She ran for the tent.  The safety of that thin covering still held comfort for her.  She slipped inside and curled up, safe and content.

The next morning she awoke refreshed and so alive.  She heard him coming and slipped out of the tent before he got too close.  She found her clothing from the day before and put it on.  She was waiting for him with his clothing.  He smiled wanly at her and took it from her hands.  He put it on and then spoke.

“So, how do you feel this morning?”

“I feel so alive.  I’ve never had this much energy in the mornings.”

“After each time you change, it will be like that.  It’s the left over power surging through your veins.”

“Well, at least there is one small benefit to this.”

“Yes, but you have to go now.  I need to recuperate from this week with you.  I have no more reserves.  Come back three days before the next change and we will continue.  Practice every day what I have shown you.  When you do return, please bring a map of this country.  I want to study it and look for something.”

“Okay, Dagomarus.  Any particular state?”

“I don’t know what it would be.  When I last cared about such things there were no states out here.  It was covered in buffalo and the natives were in control.”

“Oh.  Okay. I’ll bring a book of maps and then when you think you know; I’ll get a more detailed one for you.”

“Thank you.  Now go.”  

He walked away quickly, but she could see it in his gait, he was exhausted.  She quickly packed up her gear and drove out of the valley.  She had to stop and refuel the truck at one point.  She was thankful she had thought ahead and brought along the full jerry cans.  She got the truck going again and she finally made it out of the park and onto the main roads.  She pulled into her driveway before the sun set on another day.

She unpacked the truck and cursed when she realized she would have to get another sleeping bag.  That was the trouble with blood; it doesn’t wash off.  She threw the sleeping bag into the trashcan and finished getting everything back into its proper places in her home.  She stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the shower.  She cleaned herself first, and when she had washed twice and her skin tingled from the scrubbing, she hit the stopper and filled the tub.  She poured double the normal amount of chamomile oil into the hot water.  She needed it.  

She stepped out of the tub and even though she was dripping, she went into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge.  She slid into the tub and shut off the hot water.  She popped the top off the first beer and drank it down in one long slow pull.  She set the empty bottle on the floor and popped the second.  She leaned back in the tub and let the hot water surround her and she set her second beer on the rim of the tub and closed her eyes.

She relaxed as the hot water and the chamomile did its work.  The beer helped, too.  She didn’t like to think about the beer too much.  She didn’t want it to become something she thought she needed to calm down, but for tonight, it would have to do.  The entire week was nipping at her conscience, letting her know that certain things would not be so easily forgotten.  Damn.  Well, I have to deal with this.  

I am a werewolf.  There, I said it.  I only hope that I am right about Lena.  That she will stay with me and hold me at night when the nightmares do come.  That she will love me in the morning when she has dark circles under eyes because I kept her up.