Wishes by Moonlight: Betrayal

Caeson stared blankly at his leg, where the vicious imprints of a large bite still lay. The moonlit Lupe (or rather, Darigan, because of his close appearance to one) sighed. It had only been hours ago that he had been attacked by a pack member, the brown Lupe by the name of Uye.

      Caeson had never been so confused... so terrified. The very sight of Uye, his size multiplied at least three times, with enormous claws and monstrous fangs, struck fear into him. He didn't understand it - he just knew that it was terrible and powerful. Wild Lupes didn't know much about Werelupes. Their mothers spent more time teaching them how to hunt and fight rather than telling them bedtime stories.

      Chayla was suddenly sitting next to him. Caeson tried to avert her eyes for fear of showing anxiety, but the Lupess easily caught his gaze. "What's wrong?" she asked almost dully. "You look pale."

      "Nothing's wrong," Caeson said a little sharply. "I'm just tired, that's all." Chayla raised her eyebrows coolly. "Oh?" Caeson hated it when conversations got like this. The Lupess usually came out with what she wanted. Chayla smiled wolfishly.

      "You're worried about the attacks, yes?"

      She was playing him. Soon enough, Chayla would use her quick tongue to worm something out of him. "Yeah," Caeson replied weakly. "I mean, with Uye being attacked and all... you'd think another pack was trying to invade..."

      "Yeah," Chayla said, sounding casual. "You must've been attacked last night, too, by a pretty big Lupe judging on the looks of that bite..."

      "No, it was--" Caeson shut himself up. Chayla rose her eyebrows, her white pupils boring into his. "Well...?" Caeson sighed in defeat. If he didn't speak up now, Chayla would hound him until he opened his muzzle, and it got really annoying to try and defy her. "It was Uye," he whispered in horror. "I went out looking for him last night, and he attacked me..." He watched as Chayla's eyes widened considerably.

      "I didn't even recognize him at first," he said, shuddering at the thought. "Then he suddenly woke up and told me to run... But not after biting me." He displayed the rest of the bite to the Lupess. "See?"

      Chayla's lip was quivering. She looked at Caeson, terrified. "You... you haven't heard much about Werelupes, have you?" Caeson shook his head. Chayla looked down at her paws; this time it was her refusing to make eye-contact. Finally she did, and the Lupe was extremely surprised to see her on the verge of tears.

      "A Werelupe... Caeson, they mainly bite you, but if one gets really carried away, like Uye probably did last night, they'll kill you. Werelupes are very powerful, and if you're bitten by one..." She bit her lip until she drew blood. "You're a Werelupe, Caeson."

      Caeson paused - the shock was only a small effect. His usual laid-back attitude was getting the better of him. "It's not that bad," he said, grinning. "If it makes me powerful, that is." Chayla's expression of fear turned into that of annoyance, but a hint of playfulness. "You're terrible!" she grinned, elbowing him in the belly. "Just make yourself scarce every full moon, you got that?" With that, she stood, giving him a last smile, and left. Caeson watched her leave, then curled up and let sleep overtake him. It was still very early in the morning - he would have a few hours of sleep then wake up later.

      A subtle chuckle sounded from behind one of the trees - a young red Lupe by the name of Raguel sneered as the plot formed in his mind. "Our beloved leader, a Werelupe?" he chuckled again. "This might come as a slight shock to our dear pack..."

     *

      "You've heard of what Werelupes can do!" he roared to the others. They barked in agreement. The red Lupe slammed a paw on the ground, breaking a stone. "They can possess you!"

      Growls met his statement. The red Lupe stood up on his hind legs, swaying slightly.

      "I hate to break it to you..." he began slowly, muzzle forming into a sneer, "but one of us is a monster." In the midst of the crowd, the brown Lupe called Uye shivered. "Our very leader, the Moonlight Lupe called Caeson, is a Werelupe!" Instead of howls of approval, like before, a stunned silence met him.

      "You... you're lying," one said quietly, disbelief evident in his voice. "Caeson wouldn't harm us..."

      "That's what you think!" the young Lupe snapped, rage livid in his voice. "He killed Rann and Naguel, didn't he? And what of our missing pups?"

      The pack took a moment to contemplate this. Lately, young pups of the pack had been disappearing. Their leader had suggested human thievery, which was easy to believe, but now that the young one mentioned it, it did seem strange...

      "I say we drive the enemy away!" he roared. "We shall destroy Caeson for our loss of pups!" One by one, the pack members looked at each other uneasily. An old one spoke up, this one more bold than the others.

      "Caeson is our leader..." he began in a slow, cracked voice. The white Lupe glared at him icily, but the old one didn't falter.

      "He is good and just, unlike Rann and Naguel had been..." he was cut short as the young Lupe bowled him over, knocking the wind out of him.

      "I suggest you talk different, old man," he snarled, baring his teeth. The Lupe, having regained himself, was silent. The red Lupe got off and roared to the pack.

      "We are not weak! We shall kill Caeson and end the loss of our dear pups! Or do you value his life over our young ones'?" The pack was silent. Then, one Lupe barked in agreement. The others barked in unison, inspired by the new idea. The red Lupe, Raguel, snickered as flames danced in his mind's eye. Among those imaginary flames, a Moonlight Lupe howled in agony.

     *

      Things had been quite over the month of Eating. Caeson stretched out, yawning, as the pups played around him. It was odd - he enjoyed playing with the pups more than he did the other Lupes. Maybe it was the fact that they didn't play at all.

      Chayla had given him plenty of warnings regarding the full moon, and Caeson waved them off - she was too bossy. It wasn't really that urgent: he would leave the pack before sundown with a good excuse, hide himself somewhere concealed for the night, and wait out the Werelupe stage. He yawned again. Was tonight the full moon? He didn't remember. Oh well, Chayla would tell him, that was sure enough.

      He stood up, pups still clinging to him, and walked towards the forest. Chayla was hunting out late tonight. He would ask if tonight was the full moon. As the sun bled into the distance, and the lush grass bent underfoot, he thought almost wistfully of the Lupess. Chayla had always cared about him, in her own bossy way... He suddenly smacked himself, feeling stupid.

      He walked through the forest as the sun began to set. Caeson's ears pricked every once in a while, but when he turned to find the source of the noise, nothing was there. He shrugged off the ominous feeling hesitantly and kept walking. Where was Chayla?

      This time Caeson was positive. He whirled around, looking for the source of the growl. "Alright, come out," he snapped. A young red Lupe emerged from the foliage. Caeson strained his memory slightly... Ah, yes. This was Raguel. Caeson didn't know of the young Lupe's origins, or of his name.

      "Raguel," he began, a firm note in his voice. "Go back to the pack. I'm solo hunting right now." Raguel raised an eyebrow critically. "Oh? Looking to satisfy your hunger... by feasting on a Lupe or two?" The comment made Caeson stop dead in his tracks. "...What?"

      "That bite on your leg makes it obvious," Raguel sneered. "You're a Werelupe. There's no denying it."

      Caeson glared at him. "Then get lost, 'cause I'm pretty sure tonight's a full moon, and I would like nothing better than to bite you."

      "You know what happens to Werelupes?" Raguel asked nonchalantly, as if he had never heard Caeson's first comment. "They get exterminated."

      Then, without warning, two other Lupes flew from the foliage, pinning Caeson down. He recognized them as Mac and Terease, two young Lupes who were a little more muscle than brains. "Gerroff me!" he snapped, sending a heat wave pulsing through his body. The two Lupes didn't move, though they winced in pain at the incredible heat running through Caeson's body.

      "Lika!" Raguel ordered, and a third white Lupe emerged from the woods, claws brandished. "Kill him!"

      Lika neared Caeson, her claws brandished, and leaned in close... The edges of her knife-like claws were at his throat...

      Chayla ran from the foliage, ramming Lika hard in the shoulder. The other Lupess silently rammed her back, letting no words come from her muzzle, as the two fought. Chayla ducked and wove through Lika's attacks, and ended the battle easily by smacking the Lupess across the skull and rendering her unconscious.

      Raguel roared in annoyance and ran towards Caeson, claws aimed for his throat. Chayla ran in to interfere, but she was too slow. Caeson closed his eyes as he prepared to feel the raking claws...

      Something pulsed inside him. Caeson opened his eyes as time seemed to stop, looking up to the sky to see the full moon shining down on him. He felt a second pulse, far more powerful than before, and gasped. The claws met his throat... but didn't break the skin. Raguel looked at him, then whirled to look up at the sky. He was suddenly backing away, leaving the two other Lupes staring blankly after him. It was like they were in a trance of some sort. Caeson's stomach suddenly lurched, the feeling of immense hunger running through him, as he felt his limbs grow insanely. He doubled over as his body grew to about three times his size. Chayla shoved Mac and Terease harshly. "Move, fools!"

      The three Lupes began to run as Caeson caught them in his sight. The hunger was unbearable... Lupes... food... He ran after them, a little surprised that the massive girth he now was could move so fast. He was even more surprised to find that he enjoyed this - the thrill of hunting these pets that had once been his comrades. Terease and Mac had suddenly recovered themselves, like they had been in a trance of some sort, and realized the trouble they were in. The two Lupes whined and ran harder, but that only urged Caeson to pick up the pace. Chayla, being quick of mind and foot, shoved the two Lupes behind the nearest tree and opened her wings, easily taking to the air. Caeson's hunting instinct wanted to go after the more challenging prey, and he was soon airborne and on Chayla's tail.

      "Caeson," she panted, "Stop! Please!" Caeson was oblivious to her cries as he lunged forward, teeth bared, and attempted to sink them into his foes leg. Chayla flew up and easily missed the attack, but her energy was running low. She'd be easier prey soon.

      A bright flame suddenly burned into Caeson's sight. He blinked, floating for a moment, and dimly recognized it as a weapon he had used only a while ago. It flared angrily at his stupidity, his raw moronic behaviour that seemed to disgust it. In a quick, almost harsh blast it shoved the Werelupe instinct back, fighting for Caeson's consciousness, then dimmed again. Caeson found himself staring in disbelief, then shook his head quickly. The Werelupe was gone... He looked up, sure that a full moon was overhead, but was surprised to see the sun breaking over the horizon. Chayla looked back and fixed him with a stare that questioned his sanity. "Caeson...?"

      "They're not gonna let me stay," he mumbled hoarsely. Chayla flew over to him, positive that the curse had left. "You mean the others...?" Caeson nodded dumbly.

      "I nearly killed them tonight," he whispered, horrified with himself. Chayla nodded in silent agreement - she knew it was pointless to lie. The other Lupes would hate Caeson for this, especially that arrogant one called Raguel. She turned, looking to the horizon, and muttered, "We could still see them."

      "Huh?"

      "Those other Moonlit Lupes..." she started flying, and without question, Caeson turned and followed. He didn't know where they were going - the only thing he knew was that he was relieved to be doing so. His mind was blank as he followed, intent on meeting the others that Chayla had mentioned so long ago.

      Caeson looked back down upon the forest, and, wishing that he could argue with himself more, he turned his back on it for the last time.

     ~*~

      Raguel grinned as he watched the two Lupes fly away. Coward, he told himself. "Oh well," he said aloud. "Makes my plans for this pack all the easier..."

The End?