Full Moon Rising

Chapter 9


Xander sat on the edge of the bed in a pair of borrowed sweatpants gingerly rubbing the numbness from his sore wrists. Nathaniel was perched next to him with his naked torso pressed firmly against his side. The wereleopard’s body was a warm and solid weight against his back and the scent of sweat, arousal and shampoo lingered in Xander’s nose.

He allowed Nathaniel’s warm comforting presence calm his shaky nerves as he tried to understand what Jason was saying. So far the whole story sounded ridiculous and he raised his hand, gesturing for the werewolf to stop. “Whoa, so let me get this straight, I turned into a huge hyena?”

Jason nodded.

Then Xander pointed to Anita and asked calmly, “and she shot me?”

The werewolf nodded again. He was a bit surprised about how well Xander was taking the news. Most people would be crying or shouting in denial by now. Then suddenly the brunet began to laugh hysterically and Jason thought that he may have spoken to soon.

Xander wiped the tears from his eyes and grinned widely at the small group. “You're putting me on. This is all a joke right?”

No one even cracked a smile.

The amusement on his face slowly disappeared and was replaced with dread. ‘Oh God. Oh God. Why weren’t they laughing?’ thought Xander nervously. “You guys aren’t joking.”

This couldn’t be happening to him. It just didn’t make any sense. Not even hellmouthy kind of sense. “But that’s impossible,” shouted Xander in denial.

Lillian’s eyes creased in sympathy. “I’m sorry. It’s a lot to adjust to.”

Xander continued to shake his head in denial. “How?”

Lillian blinked in confusion. “How?”

“How did I get infected if I've never been bitten, scratched or attacked by a were hyena?”

“Are you sure?” asked Lillian in disbelief.

Xander gave the older woman an incredulous look. “I think I would remember if I've been mauled by a three hundred pound hyena,” responded Xander sarcastically.

“But that’s impossible!” exclaimed the wererat in denial, echoing the exact same words that Xander had used just a moments ago.

Xander nodded rigorously. “Exactly!”

Anita’s brow creased in concentration as she began to pace the full length of the room. “People don’t just spontaneously shift for no apparent reason. There has to be something you’re missing. Like a bad batch of Lycanthropy vaccine?”

Xander shook his head.

“Unexplainable scratches or cuts?” Lillian asked.

“Nope.”

“Any wild uninhibited sex with strangers?” offered Jason helpfully. Both Nathaniel and Xander gave the werewolf a pointed look at that question. Jason smiled wolfishly and winked at them. “Other than Nathaniel of course?”

“No. Nathaniel is the first person I been with in two months.”

“Two months?!” exclaimed Jason in disbelief.

Xander flushed slightly at Nathaniel’s wide astonished eyes. “I had just gotten out of a long relationship with the woman I thought I wanted to marry. After being committed to just one person for so long I didn’t think I could bring myself to be with someone else. It just didn’t feel right.” Then Xander gave Nathaniel a lopsided smile as he brushed his knuckles softly across Nathaniel’s smooth cheek. His dark brown eyes were full of longing and he once again felt the keen edge of loneliness pressed heavily against his chest like a lead weight. “Then I saw you and you made it okay, more than okay.”

The wereleopard turned his face into Xander’s open palm and nuzzled the slightly rough surface with his nose and lips. If Nathaniel could he would have melted into a puddle around the man’s bare feet. He couldn’t quite explain it, but Xander made him feel things that he never felt before. Things that he never thought were possible for a person like him. He felt wanted, cherished and needed. He felt special.

Jason looked wishfully at the oblivious couple. Jason knew that he could be a bit shallow at times but even he could see that something more than lust was going on between Nathaniel and this man, something private and fragile. So just this once he reframed from sullying their private moment with any of the dozen derogatory comments that just popped in his head. He was happy for the wereleopard. He deserved it. For such a sweet guy Nathaniel sure had a hard life.

Jason saw the scowl on Anita’s face and the smiled died on his face. It seemed that he wasn’t the only one to notice the growing affection between the two men and Anita didn’t look at all happy with the new development. He just hoped she wouldn’t spoil it for Nathaniel.

Anita cleared her throat loudly. “Well there has to be something.”

‘Could it be the hyena spirit? No, it wasn’t the same thing,’ thought Xander dismissively and he started to shake his head then abruptly stopped. ‘But still it was the only thing that could possibly explained the change,’ thought Xander apprehensively. “Well I was once possessed by a hyena spirit.”

The small dark haired woman threw up hands in exasperation. “Why didn’t you tell us that before?”

The hairs on the back of Xander’s neck rose. He didn’t like the tone of the woman’s voice and neither did the hyena. “Well excuse me if I didn’t make the immediate connection. It happened years ago when I was still in high school and since I never felt the urge to become furry during the full moon it didn’t occurred to me that maybe I was a shifter,” shouted Xander angrily as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Well that shut everyone up much to Xander’s satisfaction.

Anita gave him a peculiar look as if she was trying to figure something out. Her dark brown eyes studied him warily. “You never changed,” she asked quietly.

“That's what I said,” answered the stubborn brunet.

The dark haired woman than turned to Lillian who was also staring at Xander oddly. “Is it even possible to become a lycanthrope through possession and have enough control to hold off the change?”

Lillian refused to turn as her eyes remained fix on Xander. “It shouldn’t be. I've never heard of it happening before and even the most strongest lycanthropes can’t hold off the change during the full moon if they have a true beast,” answered the wererat with a slight tremor in her voice. The very idea of a shifter strong enough to hold off the change was not only unbelievable but frightening.

“And neither have I,” said Jean Claude as he glided silently into the room. Anita swung around in surprise. She had been so preoccupied she didn’t notice that the sun had set. The vampires have arrived.


Author Note: So sorry for the long wait. This story is un beta so please tell me if you find any glaring mistakes and as always please review.