Free Riley's Curse, A Moon's Glow Prequel by Christina Smith Page A

call him William, Nathaniel
Riley.
    He will know you, Son. I don’t care what we
have to do, but you will meet your little brother.
    I must sign off,
    I love you so much.
    Your mother
    My chest swelled with emotion after reading
her letter three more times. I wasn't able to get to the rest for
fear of breaking down completely. Instead, I set them aside to read
at another time, and then went out to the stables to prepare
Franklin for a run. My spirits were a bit higher, and I was in the
mood to explore the property. Except once I put the saddle on him,
he bucked it off. It was one thing for him to lead me in the
carriage, another entirely for him to let me ride him. He had been
my horse before I was bitten, and we had ridden well together, but
now that I smelled differently he didn't trust me. After a few
attempts to mount him, he finally stilled, obviously realizing that
I wasn't going to give up. I had to lose my family for a time
because of what I now was, I wasn't losing him too. "It's okay boy,
it's just me. The same Nathaniel you've always known." I cooed at
him, rubbing his fur softly. With my words, he started down the
meadow at a slow trot. Eventually I prodded him to pick up his pace
and before long, we were racing through the property.
     
    If it was possible, over the next few weeks
my mood darkened. The silence was unbearable and I missed home so
much more then I ever thought I could. I was not meant for
isolation.
    Everything that needed to be done around the
cabin was finished. I now found myself bored, and with nothing but
books to occupy my thoughts, my mind often wandered to my parents,
my sisters, and to Lucy. I relived that horrible night more times
than I cared to admit, in my dreams, and in the brightness of the
day when I should be trying to move on. I dwelled on the past and
felt dreadfully sorry for myself. The only time I left the cabin
was when I went to town to mail and receive letters. I was running
out of food, but I didn’t care, I never had an appetite. Most days
I spent inside lying on my bed, asking God why this happened to
me.
    One evening as usual, I was lying back on my
mattress, feeling week with hunger and yet didn’t have the energy
to move. Instead, I was reading Robinson Crusoe, hoping to change
my dreary thoughts.
    When the sun went down I started to feel
tingling along my skin. I looked down and saw little hairs
springing up all over my body. I should have paid more attention to
the date. I forgot there was a full moon today, I wasn’t prepared.
It came on a lot faster this time and I barely made it out of the
cabin before my body transformed into a wolf. It was excruciating,
but since it was so quick, I almost didn't register the pain.
    As soon as the wolf took over, all it could
think about was…FOOD! I should have eaten better while I was
human.
    I took off into the forest desperately
hungry, in hunt for something to eat. I quickly devoured two
rabbits, but it wasn’t enough. I raced through the forest, flying
over tree stumps, thickets and fallen branches, in search of
something bigger. I was hoping for a deer but when I found one, I
couldn’t catch it on my own. I caught a few small animals, but they
barely quenched my appetite, and I was still savagely hungry. I had
been running for miles when I heard sounds of the town. Maddened
with starvation, the wolf had fully taken over, and I couldn’t
distinguish the different noises. I was so far gone, that human
sounds meant nothing to me.
    I came up to the edge of the woods when I
smelled an enticing aroma. The heart was beating and the blood
flowing through the veins of my prey was mouth watering. I acted on
instinct, I was a wild animal, a hunter, and I needed to feed. All
I focused on was that scent. I found my meal lying under a tree. I
ate my fill, and once I was satisfied, I ran off to the deep cover
of the forest to sleep.
     
    Something was splashing my face. I winked
and blinked as water dripped onto my eyelids. Was