The following day, I gazed at the empty chair in the back of the classroom.
Now that I was certain Brandon was a werewolf, I knew what I'd be dealing with when the full moon showed its haunting glow. As the moon would appear full for two more evenings, he'd be absent from school for several days, likely spending his nights in the woods. All day long police and animal control cars patrolled the suburbs and school in case the wolves showed up again. The people of Legend's Run were up in arms about the strange animal behavior.
I was desperate to be with Brandon, but Ivy and Abby had wrangled me into watching Abby's volleyball game after school.
Abby's game was delayed and didn't end until just after dusk. Ivy and Abby were going to join the other girls for a celebratory dinner, but I planned to head to Brandon's. As I left the gymnasium, I heard faint howling coming from a tree-filled lot near the back of the school. I ignored it and continued on to my car until I saw Brandon's Jeep parked by the school fence.
Two patrol cars were stationed in the middle of the student lot.
"Brandon?" I called.
I snuck into the edge of the woods without venturing in too far. I'd learned my lesson when I'd gotten lost in the blizzard. I wasn't about to put my life or anyone else's in danger.
Lights from the parking lot and gymnasium streamed in through the trees, illuminating a small portion of the woods. A fingerless-gloved hand reached out from the darkness. Brandon, in werewolf form, was leaning against a tree, smiling at me.
Happily, I took his hand and he drew me into him. He grazed his fangs against me. I touched his stubbly face. I ran my fingers through his locks, as he did the same to mine.
"I missed you today," I said.
"I hunger for you all day and night," he said as he kissed the nape of my neck.
He gazed at me. His lips were only inches from my own. I was longing inside to finally have them touch in the moonlight. You must never kiss a werewolf. I heard Dr. Meadows's warning in my head, but I wasn't sure if I could wait any longer.
He pulled my hair off my neck and leaned in. He breathed in as if he was inhaling me. I had dotted myself with perfume and sugary vanilla body lotion. The scent of my hair and body seemed to be intoxicating to Brandon. He tugged at my henley with his fangs and nibbled my shoulder. I was so entranced, enamored by his seductive power. I was only moments from kissing the most romantic werewolf in the world. I remembered Dr. Meadows's words but I didn't want to heed her warning. But my skepticism toward Dr. Meadows was what got Brandon into this state in the first place. What was I supposed to do?
"I don't think I should - " I said, breathless.
"I understand." Brandon must have sensed my distress.
"But that doesn't mean I don't want to - " I vowed.
He pulled away.
"I know someone who can help you - or at least wants to try," I said.
"Who?" he asked, excited.
"Dr. Meadows. She's the one who gave me the reading and warned me about the full moon."
"Does she have experience with werewolves?" he asked.
"Almost - she's a psychic."
"I know... but has she dealt with werewolves before?"
"Well..." I said, "she's never seen one."
He couldn't hide his disappointment. Brandon turned away from me. "There isn't anyone to help me - " he said.
I felt awful.
"I don't want to be some stranger's experiment," he continued.
"I understand - "
"It's hard enough making excuses to my grandparents why they don't see me for a few nights," he said. "If word gets out in town about me, then I'll have to remain in the woods during the daylight, too. I won't be able to show myself to anyone. But I've got to find a way to stop this from happening."
"Celeste?" I heard my name called from outside the woods.
"I have to go," I whispered, but Brandon had already retreated into the darkness. I heard his heavy breathing but couldn't see him to even hug him good-bye.
"Celeste! Where are you?" a girl's voice called.
I jumped out of the woods to Ivy and Abby's shock and horror.
"What are you doing in there?" Ivy asked. "Are you okay?"
"Of course I am," I said. My hair was damp from the snow and my coat soiled from brushing against the tree bark.
"What were you doing in there?" Ivy asked. "We saw your car and freaked!"
"I thought I saw someone," I said.
"Someone in the woods?" Abby said.
"There could have been wolves in there!" Ivy warned.
"Or worse!" Abby said. "Are you crazy?"
I think I was. Crazy in love, that is. But I wasn't about to tell them that.
"You've been acting so strangely lately," Ivy said, "ever since you and Nash broke up. You're hard to get hold of and always seem distracted. But we'll fix that, won't we?"
Ivy took one arm and Abby linked the other. Both girls escorted me back to my car and followed me as I drove out of the school parking lot.
I was lucky I had friends who watched out for me. It was one of the many reasons I didn't want anything to jeopardize my relationship with them.
The following day I stopped in Penny for Your Thoughts again. It was the third glowing of the full moon and I wanted to see if I could finally get help for Brandon.
I waited for a client to leave and another one to pay for some amethyst geode bookends. I was getting so agitated I was almost pleading for her herbal tea.
"He doesn't want anyone to see him," I told Dr. Meadows when the store was finally empty of customers. "Can you still help him?"
"I'm afraid not," she said.
"Please," I begged. "Don't you have a crystal charm or some of those teas you make? Surely you have something I can just give to him."
"I need to see him to properly diagnose him," she said emphatically.
"You have to believe me. When it's a full moon he turns into a werewolf. I didn't believe it myself at first, but there really isn't any other explanation."
"A doctor can't give a prescription to someone they've never met."
However, the patient had to be willing to be seen. And in this case, I'd have to do more convincing.
"Then I must see him, tonight," Dr Meadows pressed. "Tell me where he will be."
"I don't know," I said. "The woods."
"Which ones?"
I shrugged.
"Then bring him to me before sunset," she said. "I'll meet you here at my shop. Then I can help him."
Dr. Meadows was pushing me in one direction while Brandon was pushing me in another. With all my research for my own essay and helping Brandon, the only cure I'd found was a silver bullet. And that definitely wasn't an option.
I knew Brandon didn't want anyone to see him after the sun set. I would do my best to delicately broach the subject again with him, but if I pushed him too hard, he wouldn't want to be around me, either.