Full Moon Rising

Author's Note: Thanks everyone for the wonderful reviews and encouraging me to write more. Enjoy.

Chapter 7


Everything stopped as raw energy flooded the room and the air crackled like static electricity before a lightening storm. A low menacing growl rolled like thunder throughout the room and vibrated all the way down to their gut. Almost as one they turned to face the source of the great dark power and shudder at the sight of a very angry young man with glowing green eyes.

“Oh Fuck!” shouted Anita as she quickly lifted her gun and pointed it at the dark stranger who suddenly didn’t seem so harmless anymore.

With a cry of rage Xander ran straight for Richard with violence burning in his eyes. Anita pulled the trigger and the bullet grazed past his ear, failing to hit its target. The dark-haired boy barreled into larger man with a surprising amount force, laying him flat out on his back, stunning him momentarily. Xander scrambled up Richard’s body and clawed his face with human fingers. The short blunt nails tore into his face leaving four angry red marks across his cheek. Jamil and Shang-da dragged the enraged young man kicking and screaming off of their dazed Ulfric before he could do any real damage. Xander continued to struggle in their grasp desperately trying to get to werewolf and make him pay for hurting his Nathaniel.

“I can’t hold on to him,” grunted Shang-da through clenched teeth and the others rushed in to help restrain the furious young man.

Just when Anita didn’t think things could get any worse the terrible familiar sound of tearing flesh and cracking bones filled the air. Long dark strands of brown hair sprouted from the man’s flesh as his skin stretched over elongated limbs. Large canine teeth filled his mouth and razor sharp claws emerged from hands and feet. The hyena spirit that inhabited Xander’s body had finally taken a physical form. Where there once was a man was now a vicious beast.

Stephen, Jason and Gregory had somehow gotten swept up into the change and were now riding Xander’s back like some bizarre rodeo, barely holding on as they sunk their teeth and claws into his hide. Asher who had given up trying to restrain the wild animal was clubbing the head with bare fist in attempt to knock him out or bash his brains in. Anita didn’t quite know which. The thing didn’t even flinch at the damage they inflicted on his body. In fact he wasn’t even really fighting back. The hyena was in a blind rage and getting to Richard was its only goal. The only thing that was keeping the beast from its prize was the sheer weight of multiple bodies piled on his back.

Snarling and spitting with rage, the hyena twisted and bucked like a wild bronco, trying to shake them off. Furniture was smashed and kicked across the room as they continued to struggle with beast. It was only a matter of time before he got free.

Anita threw away her empty hand gun and ran to the hallway closet. She pulled out her shotgun and loaded it with hollow tipped silver bullets. Her heart pounded painfully against her chest as the sound of cursing, growling and panicking shouts filled her ears. Once her gun was loaded Anita ran back into the living room. Her keen eyes searched for a clear shot among the pile of tangled limbs and flesh. The bullets were laced with silver nitrate and designed to cause the most damage by bursting on impact. One shot killed instantly and she couldn’t risk hitting her people. But Anita was betting that it was going take more than one shot to bring him down.

Finally she saw an opening. Anita ran towards Richard and stood between him and the snarling beast. She ignored Richard’s panic shouts for her to get out of the way and squeezed off a round of silver bullets into the beast’s chest. The silver tipped bullets penetrated the soft tissue like fresh dough. The hyena faltered then fell under its own weight with a soft thud. A dark stain spread across the carpet as it absorbed the blood pouring like water through gaping bullet holes. His chest rose and fell with deep shuddering breaths as his narrowed green eyes followed her every move.

Dear God. He was still alive. Anita stepped closer and reloaded the chamber with an audible click. Let see if he could survive a bullet point blank to the head.

A surge of panic filled Nathaniel’s heart as he watched Anita stand threateningly over Xander’s prone body with a gun pointed to his head. What was she doing?! That was still Xander underneath all that fur, sweet wonderful Xander who only wanted to protect him. “Stop! Don’t kill him,” yelled Nathaniel as he scurried across the room, placing his body protectively in front of the fallen beast.

Anita looked at the wereleopard like he was crazy. “Get out of the way Nathaniel. He’s too dangerous to be left alive.”

At the sound of Nathaniel’s voice the hyena struggled to stand. But he was too weak and he was barely able to lift his head a few inches before he collapsed onto the floor. Nathaniel dropped to his knees and gently cradled Xander’s battered face in his lap. The hyena closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath as he leaned his face into the wereleopard’s loose embrace. Nathaniel’s face crumbled with emotion and his eyes burned with tears as he wiped the drying blood from his shattered face. Even after all that Xander still wanted him, sought him out when his body laid broken and half dead on the floor. “Please,” cried Nathaniel softly. “He can’t hurt anyone anymore.”

Anita let the air rush out through her nose in frustration as she lowered her weapon. Damn her soft heart. She just knew she was going to regret this. “Alright. But if he tries anything all bet are off.”

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