On Saturday morning, I woke up without knowing what to do next. Ivy and Abby had insisted I join them and Nash at the mall. I couldn't convince Ivy that today wasn't good. Once she got something in her head, there was no changing her mind. There wasn't much daylight in the winter months and I didn't have much time, so I'd have to make my visit with them quick in order to still have time to convince Brandon to go with me to Penny for Your Thoughts before the sun set.
I wanted to take a quick stroll with Champ prior to heading out. It would give me a chance to get some fresh air and maybe some fresh ideas on how to convince Brandon to meet Dr. Meadows. As soon as we hit the end of our street, Champ was barking wildly. I did my best to calm him down, but all the dogs in the neighborhood were barking as we passed by their houses. Champ was growling toward the wooded area behind the snow-filled soccer field, and I began to wonder if I should be worried about wolves, even with Champ along with me. I started pulling him back toward home when "Fly Me to the Moon" started playing from my back pocket. I was exhilarated. It was Brandon.
"I'm right behind you," he said when I answered the phone breathlessly.
I spun around. There was a figure standing next to the woods beyond the soccer field; it was the exact direction in which Champ was barking.
I tried my best to hold on to Champ's leash but he broke loose. I chased after him down the hill.
As soon as Champ reached Brandon, my out-of-control dog was suddenly silent.
Without so much as a command or a treat, Champ sat down and faced Brandon.
"You have a way with animals," I said when I finally caught up.
"And girls, I hope."
I wanted to kiss Brandon so badly my heart hurt.
Brandon petted Champ as if he were his own dog.
"I'd like to take you out on a real date," Brandon said. "But I know there are many complications with that. I mean, there's Nash, for one, and me being from the wrong side of town... and of course we'd have to be back before sunset."
"But I'm not dating Nash," I tried to assure him. "And to me, any side of town you live on is the right side."
He smiled a sweet smile.
"I should have listened to Dr. Meadows," I said.
"I don't know why you blame yourself."
"If I hadn't been so skeptical of her prediction, none of this would have happened."
"Celeste - there is no way you could have known. Besides, it's not like Dr. Meadows predicted the future. She said things that anyone could have said to you."
"I know - but it happened. Perhaps she really knew."
"And what if she didn't? What if it was just coincidence? Or you read too much into her reading?"
"But she's the only one I know who can help you," I said wearily. "She wants to see you. She says that is the only way she can help you. And if you don't go, then you might be a werewolf... forever." Tears began to well in my eyes.
"It's okay..." he said, putting his arm around me.
I couldn't even bear to look at him.
"I'll meet her," he said.
"You will?"
"Yes, if it will make you happy."
I gave him a huge hug. I didn't care whether the neighbors saw me do it, even though I knew we were hidden away.
"I'll just take Champ home and I can drive us."
"We're going now?" he asked.
"What's wrong?"
"I was hoping I'd get to see you today - for a real date. But it seems like you already have plans."
"I do - but I can see you later tonight." I realized I might have been too eager.
"Because it occurred to me," he continued, "since I can't remember the nights, I don't know how I am when the moon shows... I don't want you to be in any danger, so I thought I'd just try to get a glimpse of you before sunset."
"You haven't hurt me before when you've been in your werewolf form," I said. "And I've seen you change twice. What makes you think you would harm me now?"
He turned away. "I don't know what I'm like, Celeste."
I would love a real date with Brandon, but convincing him to be with me while in his werewolf form was another thing.
"Then let me be with you and I'll tell you tomorrow what you were like. I'll be able to reassure you."
I wanted to see him again as a werewolf, with his magnetic features. And since he needed to know what he was like in his werewolf form, I could tell him. I'd been waiting for months to have a real date with Brandon. Dr. Meadows had only been waiting for a few hours.
I could see that Brandon was torn.
"I'll bring Champ," I said. "If that will make you feel better. He can protect me."
"Against a werewolf?" he asked.
"I don't think either one of us is in any danger. I know you don't remember, but I do. You could have hurt me last time - I fell and you could have overpowered me, but you didn't. Instead it looked like you were going to help me."
"Okay, then," he relented. "Will you meet me tonight?" he asked. "In the woods behind my house?"
I nodded excitedly. It was official: our first real date.
"You won't remember," I said. "But I'll be there."
"I'll remember this," he said, and pulled me into an embrace and kissed me.
As soon as he left, Champ began barking again in the direction Brandon had gone.
When I arrived at Brandon's hilltop hideout in the woods behind his grandparents' house, the scene was magical. Tiny snowflakes danced down from the sky.
Brandon was waiting for me next to a bonfire. He was as majestic and handsome as I'd ever seen him. The fire crackled and lit his features. His dark hair was tousled and sexy. I walked up to him, and I could feel the heat radiating off his body as strongly as from the campfire. I was addicted to Brandon Maddox. He wasn't like anyone I'd ever met. During the day, I found him to be a sensitive, caring guy - unlike all the guys I'd ever hung out with - and when the sun set and the full moon glowed, he was wild and irresistible. He had fangs that could pierce a girl's soul.
Champ was silent at my side. It was as if he was as mesmerized by Brandon as I was.
All at once the woods filled with the sounds of howling. Champ began to bark, too.
It was then I noticed the eyes of several wolves peeking from the dark edges of the clearing. Champ was still. Normally he would have lurched forward and I'd have been thrown into the snow. Instead, all the animals were tranquil.
I was frozen with fear. Too recently, wolves had surrounded me and I feared for my life.
"Don't be afraid," Brandon assured me. "It's okay."
I stood behind him, and Champ did, too.
The wolves, one by one, lay down in the pure white snow. The sight of the gorgeous gray wolves, which looked soft and sweet instead of fierce and dangerous, was unbelievably breathtaking. It was as magical as any footage I'd seen on animal and nature programs - only this was real.
Brandon happily petted the wolves, which were as playful as any domestic dog.
"Don't try this at home," he teased. "But do you want to try it with me?"
"I'm not sure." The wolves were amazingly beautiful. A smaller one came forward. Brandon nodded to me, and under his careful watch I suddenly felt safe. I reached out and gently touched the wolf pup. Its fur was soft and luxurious; I caressed the adorable wolf just as I had petted Champ for so many years.
It nuzzled up to me and licked my cheeks, causing me to burst out giggling.
"Okay now - " Brandon said to the pup. "Now you are getting on my territory."
He whistled, and the wolf retreated from me and returned to the pack. They all hunkered around Brandon.
Brandon seemed more at peace than I'd seen him since his arrival in Legend's Run. These wolves comforted him - like Champ comforted me.
Brandon took me in his arms. Normally, in a situation such as this one, I'd be terrified. I was in the woods, surrounded by wolves, and in the company of a werewolf. But with Brandon, I felt at ease. I must have been under his spell.
"I must say, I've never had a date like this one," I said.
"Me neither," he said.
"But if you don't remember," I said, "you could be bringing cheerleaders back here every night."
"I promise you that isn't happening."
I gave him a kiss on his cheek.
"I'm starved," he said.
He pointed to the fire, where several steaks were cooking. I peered over them.
"Where did you get these?" I asked.
"I don't remember..." he said.
My stomach turned. It couldn't be. A once-cute deer with Bambi's face now lying on this fire? I turned away.
"I'm only kidding," he said. "They're from my grandmother's freezer."
I sighed with relief. Brandon was such an animal lover he'd be even more devastated than me if he discovered he'd been hunting wildlife.
We sat down together on a huge fallen tree.
He tugged at the steaks with a stick as they sizzled.
I looked around for a backpack or a picnic basket. "Any plates? Forks?"
"Oh no - I forgot," he said. "What was I thinking?"
Brandon speared one of the steaks with a small branch and handed it to me.
"I guess I'm not a gentleman after all," he said, embarrassed, as I eyed the skewered meat.
"I prefer you in the wild," I said.
He tore into his steak as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. I wasn't used to camping - my experience with campfire dining was just bringing snacks from home like our sixsome had done this past fall.
I held the branch, the meat hanging on it. This was a lot different from roasting marshmallows. If Ivy could see me now, she'd faint. Not only would I have to eat with my fingers, an activity that Ivy found revolting, but I didn't even have a napkin. I had mild trepidation, feeling like an animal myself. But I didn't want to offend Brandon, and I wasn't about to spoil our first date together.
"I'm sorry," he said. "We're really roughing it."
Though I felt uncomfortable eating in an unladylike way on a first date, there was a part of me that felt free. All these years I'd played by the rules, and it was slightly liberating to eat in the wild.
"I'll have to stop at a camping supply place after school."
"I'll remind you," I said.
If Brandon didn't remember this night together, maybe this was my chance to say things to him I wouldn't be able to say during the day. I could use this opportunity and finally confess my love to him. And in the morning, when I brushed past him at school, he wouldn't be aware that I'd already bared the depths of my soul. However, Brandon did say he recalled certain images when he awoke. And with my luck, the one where I confessed my love and he laughed in my face would be that moment. So I nibbled on my steak as daintily as I could.
Brandon devoured his steak and threw the bone to his wolf pack. He took mine when I was done, then washed his hands off in a clump of snow. Brandon put his arms around me. He gave off as much heat as the crackling fire.
"This is the best date I've ever had," I said truthfully.
The night was enchanting. The snow had stopped falling, and now the clouds parted and the icicles glistened in the moonlight. Brandon warmed my hands in his. We watched as the wolves playfully bit each other and rolled around together in the snow. Then they yawned and stretched, and before I knew it, the wolves, along with Champ, were lying sound asleep. The trees were lined with snow, and I was in the company of a magnificent wild animal of the lycan kind.
The full moon shone above us. Brandon leaned into me and rested his stubbled cheek against mine. I wanted so badly to kiss him, but I recalled Dr. Meadows's words. I couldn't take the chance. For both our sakes I had to pull away.
"I'm not supposed to kiss you when you're like this," I told him.
"Then what if I kiss you?"
He drew me back and kissed my neck, then nibbled his way to my shoulders. He nuzzled his nose along my neckline. He touched my hair and breathed it in as if the scent placed him under a spell.
I spent the rest of the evening trying to avoid kissing a werewolf.
