The Full Moon

One of the oldest traditions of being part of an undefeated Rugby team involves the building of a bonfire by students to be burnt before the annual game.

However, instead of the bonfire being done within the school's property, the majority of the players and supporters agreed to have it done outside the campus for the first time.

This time, we built the bonfire in the middle of nowhere in between a dense woodland where we could play hide and seek, and a wide blue ocean where we could go for a swim at any time.

My name is Ethan Park. Twenty-six years old. I am no longer a member or player of this undefeated Rugby team, but my eighteen-year-old brother, Aiden is, as one of the hard full-backs.

And in a few hours, we are about to celebrate Aiden's eighteenth birthday. I already prepared something special and expensive for him but I did not bring it with me to the camping. My wolf wants to surprise him alone.

He and his friends invited me, no, they forced me to come over to make sure of their safety as one of the school's security guards. Yes. I am working as one of the security guards at a werewolf-owned school for six consecutive years.

Because our numbers are decreasing year by year, the school faces a major loss not just in their income, but pack members as well.

That is why the school's board members agreed to accept human enrollees from all over the world. As long as we kept our secrets safe, everything keeps moving according to their plan.

The most ridiculous reason they vest on me is that their female classmates and friends are not joining their night bonfire unless they could convince me to be there.

Well. I can't blame them for that. Working as a security guard in a werewolf-owned school required my wolf to be physically fit.

Most of them, including my fated mate, also claim that I am the kind of man every woman ever dreamed of. My body was gifted with 185 cm. tall which outshines all male security guards in the school and even in the pack.

Having a small face with double eyelids doe eyes that can melt a woman's heart every time I stare at them. Every time I blink at them, their knees weakened like jelly.

It was also claimed that I inherited my slim high bridged nose from my deceased dad. Having slim heart-shaped lips that everyone wants to kiss. Sharp jaw lines. And having a fit body with good musculature and prominent shoulders that completed my perfection.

"Guys, listen up! We don't have beers and food snacks anymore." announces one of the male human students. "Can someone get us some? I have some in the car. But it's already dark. And I'm wasted as you noticed that. "

To make it more convincing, he flipped over their storage containers and nothing was poured out aside from the drops of water that melted from the ice cubes.

Most of the students, especially the female ones suddenly pointed their fingers at my brother as though they shared the same thing in mind.

"Come on, dude, among us here present in the middle of nowhere, you were the most audacious and fearless one we have ever known."

The wolf who keeps on teasing Aiden is no other than his best friend, Conrad Parker. Aiden and Conrad were more of a brother compared to me to Aiden.

My only assignment being his older brother is to keep an eye on him, guiding him in the right direction. Making sure that he will be equipped with everything he needs to know for being a half-human and half-wolf.

And of course, being the only family member he had left, I paid for everything; his school tuition fees, our monthly apartment rent, food, and his annual membership fee for being part of the Rugby team.

One thing that I learned being the eldest always lies a great responsibility. Part of me sometimes wants to give up because I have been doing everything for my brother's sake. I even forgot about my wants and needs, especially giving up my dreams for his dream.

But Aiden is all I have left. I would rather sacrifice and forget my dreams to make his dream come true. As they say, a brother may not be good at telling their sincere love for their siblings, but they are good at showing it.

"Don't worry, Aiden, we'll come with you, right guys?" the one proposing as far as I could remember is Penelope Garcia.

I have heard from Aiden's classmates, especially from Conrad that my little brother had been daydreaming about Penelope since the sixth grade.

Not that I am against his unrequited feelings for her, but Penelope is a pure human. A human and a werewolf always end up getting hurt when aside from the fact that it was strictly forbidden to our kind, I already have him arranged to get mated to a female wolf.

Her name is Malia. She is Lilith, my fated mate's first-degree cousin. And we plan to introduce her to him a day after his eighteenth birthday.

"Fine," Aiden uttered before he moves out of his seat. "Give me the keys to the car."

Penelope and the ladies eagerly followed Aiden. Most of them brought their respective flashlights but Aiden no longer needs one. I already taught him how to follow scents and remember things in detail.

Because I trusted Aiden he could protect his female friends from wild animals in the middle of the woods, I simply and solemnly stayed in my perfect spot on top of the trunk of a huge tree, having my cans of beer until ten minutes later.

"Guys, look?" says one of Aiden's friends. As far as I can see him, his head and finger were pointed to the moving sky. "Who could have thought tonight's the full moon?"

His statement startled me to the point that I drop all my empty cans of beer along with my body to the ground. Before I could get up, I quickly enhance my werewolf senses and flashed them to Aiden's whereabouts.

My anxiety started to burst out when a boisterous screaming from the distance echoed in my ears. I gritted my teeth when I could not believe my brain forgot tonight's full moon.

What worried me the most is that tonight will also be the first time to shift. I expected that the full moon is bound to happen in two weeks. That is why I agreed for Aiden to celebrate his eighteenth birthday with his circle of friends.

Once he could stain his hands with fresh and pure human blood, it will be hard for him to stop the urge. He will keep longing for killing someone.

There were around forty or more people in the camping. He can kill them all without any signs of hesitation. I have learned that from my lesson.

And I don't want him to experience what I had during my first shift. The experience was brutal. My wolf even has had endless nightmares since then. If not because of my fated mate's help, my wolf could not have overcome it.

"Shit!" I could help myself from uttering profanity before I shift into a wolf and run as fast as my wolf could heading to Aiden who is about to shift in any minute.

When I reach the spot, all of Aiden's friends have already evacuated the place aside from Penelope, my fated mate, and Mark, my best friend.

"Lilith? Mark? What are you two doing here?" I worriedly asked when they were surrounding Penelope whose body was as hard as steel.

To my surprise, Lilith uttered to Aiden and Mark, "Kill her!"

Before Aiden or Mark could lay the tip of their claws on Penelope, I bump into their bodies. Hard enough they were thrown away from her.

Then, I ejected warm air out of my mouth straight into her face and uttered, "Penelope... R-U-N!!!"

As soon as Penelope got her consciousness back, she screams and runs as fast as she could. Mark and Lilith try to follow her but my wolf keeps dragging them back, even using my claws and fangs.

Thereupon pinning them both to the ground, I drag my eyes clouding over Penelope's direction. My eye vision even surpassed her running speed and was surprised when she was running in a different direction from her friends.

Instead, she was heading to the end part of the woods which is the twenty meters depth cliff. And under the cliff was a high tide of seawater.

My wolf has left with no choice but to let go of Lilith and Mark and flashes at the speed of light in Penelope's direction before she could fall into the cliff.

As expected, Penelope was not aware of where she is heading to. What matters to her is to get away from us as far away as possible.

As soon as Penelope drops her left foot off the cliff, I tripled my speed and even ignore I have my claws and fangs on as long as I could save her.

She screams like there is no tomorrow when my sharp and elongated claws sink into her right arm. Blood immediately poured onto her shoulder and down to her face.

"Please hold still," I uttered in a rush while searching for something that can support my legs.

My body is in wolf form so it was hard for me to stand still while supporting her entire weight from falling. The worst part is that I could not find anything to support the rest of my feet. I'm afraid that sooner or later, my wolf will give up, and I might fall into the cliff as well.

"Please, help me!" Penelope begged me with her eyes started pouring like an open faucet. "I don't want to die. Don't want to die like this. Please."

Seeing her tears falling into the cliff squeezes my heart so badly. I haven't seen someone as desperate as her to stay alive despite the cruelty of the world.

It gives me hope. She gives me hope and reminded me that no matter how hard life is, there is always a way. I can always find a way.

"No one's dying tonight, Penelope," I assure her that. Though my wolf certainly hates promises, I left no choice but to convince her that nothing bad will happen to her. And I am not backing out of my word. "At the count of three, I am going to lift your, body, okay?"

"Let her go, Ethan." Lilith and Mark suddenly appear behind me. They were still in their werewolf form. "She already knows our secret. Your secret. So, if I were you, let her go."

"This might hurt more, but I'm gonna shift back into a human for three more seconds, okay?" I said to Penelope, ignoring Lilith's suggestion. "can you hold your other hand onto the rock?"

She nodded.

So I shifted back to my human form as fast as my body can and held her left hand with both of my hands. "One... Two... Three!"

I lift her body and was about to catch her but Aiden, in his final phase of being a werewolf, bump into my body and tried to save Penelope but it was too late when I first let go of my hands.