Brandon got in Ryder's face. "You are a menace as a werewolf and a human. There is no separation between monster and man except those fangs."
Ryder seemed truly hurt by Brandon's comments. I guessed that was what Ryder feared-that he really was unlovable.
"But it's not the way you look now," Brandon went on. "It's the way you act-always."
Ryder's hurt morphed into anger. His gray eyes grew red with rage.
"You don't know anything about me-" Ryder said.
"You know I do," Brandon challenged back.
"I beat you before, and I can do it again-"
"Not this time," Brandon said.
The wolves crept closer and snarled as if they were ready to kill.
"You need your dogs to do your dirty work," Ryder jabbed.
"And you need a hockey stick to fight dirty," he said, referring to the championship game when Ryder had attacked him. "And now a gang of werewolves to get you a date. I'm not worried."
Brandon whistled, and the wolves retreated. He stepped closer to Ryder. "Now what are you going to do?"
Ryder looked to his friends, but they didn't budge. Instead, they backed off and stepped away from us.
"She said something about a cure-" Leopold said.
"Yes," Hunter said.
"Quit whining," Ryder said, "and help me."
"But we want her to help us … ." Leopold said.
"Forget that, you jerks, jump them!"
But Ryder wasn't able to command his pack as easily as Brandon was his.
"It was something she said-" Leopold appeared saddened that what I told him might not be true.
"We were hoping … ." Hunter added.
"It's true," Brandon said to them.
They both perked up. "Are you kidding? You have something to make us human again? All the time?"
He nodded.
They stepped between Ryder and Brandon.
"Hey-" Ryder said. "What are you doing?"
"Exactly what we should have done before," Leopold said. "Finding a new pack leader."
Hunter held Ryder at bay.
"I have to tell you, there's a chance the cure can backfire," Brandon said sincerely, "and you could end up a werewolf full-time."
"It's a chance I have to take," Leopold said.
"Me, too!" Hunter demanded.
"What do I do?" Leopold asked hurriedly.
The two eager werewolves hovered around Brandon as he grabbed the vial from out of his pocket.
"I only have one vial," Brandon said. "But the dose is strong."
"We'll share?" Leopold asked.
Brandon nodded. Then he uncorked the vial and handed it to Leopold.
I admired my boyfriend, who was so gracious to give his cure over to his enemies for the chance of making them well.
Leopold took a sip and handed the vial back to Brandon.
Nothing happened.
"I'm going to be like this forever?" Leopold asked nervously. He grew so upset he balled up his fists in frustration. I feared he was going to take off into the woods in despair.
"It's okay," I reassured him. "It takes some time."
"Like how long?" he asked worriedly. "What will happen?"
"You just have to be patient," I said.
"You are just fooling me-maybe what you gave me was poison!"
He began to lunge toward Brandon, but Brandon stepped back before Leopold made contact.
"Just relax," I said to Leopold. I went to him, and his gray eyes tensed in surprise that I'd approached him. I took his hand. He suddenly mellowed. "It's okay," I said. "We are here with you. You aren't alone. It takes a few minutes to affect your body. But we won't leave your side."
Leopold softened; I could feel his tense hand relax.
Then the hairs on his chest began to disappear. One by one. And his beard became shorter and then was gone. His fangs receded and his steely gray eyes turned hazel.
"It worked!" he said, laughing with relief. "It worked!"
"Let me have it," Hunter exclaimed. "It's my turn."
Brandon handed him the vial, and he took a sip.
Hunter tried to remain calm. But he kept checking his chest and arms to see if any hair disappeared.
"It takes time," Leopold assured him.
"I know, I know." He breathed in deeply to calm himself. "But it feels like a lifetime."
"This is all your fault," Leopold said to Ryder. "If you hadn't asked us to sneak into that wolf sanctuary, none of this would have happened."
"Don't blame me-" Ryder said. He was standing a few feet away from us, watching what was transpiring with his friends.
"I do blame you," Hunter said. "If this doesn't work, you'll be the one who needs a sanctuary." Hunter snarled at his former friend as the hairs began to fall off his chest and arms and his biceps returned to their normal size. He flashed a toothy smile and high-fived Leopold.
"Thank you," Hunter said to Brandon as he handed back the vial. "I owe my life to you, man." He shook Brandon's hand and hugged him, like they were players on the ice after a game. Leopold did the same as they were taken with delight in their sudden normalcy.
There was only one sip left. I could see in Ryder's eyes how he craved to take it.
But there was also Brandon, who had been waiting so long to be cured himself.
I didn't know what would happen next. I turned to Brandon, hoping he'd take it, but he didn't move. Instead, he stared empathetically at his last foe.
Brandon extended the vial to Ryder.
Ryder paused for a moment. He looked at Brandon, who was handing him an olive branch.
"I can't believe you'd give me your last dose," Ryder said. "After all we've been through-"
Brandon half smiled. "Go on already."
I, too, felt touched by the magnitude of the situation. Everyone was going to have a chance to be cured-everyone but Brandon. At this point, he was going to remain a werewolf.
Ryder appeared relieved by the vial of serum and all that it could offer him. He examined it and looked around at all of us. He held it up to make a toast. "Here's to normality." Then he took the last sip.
Nothing happened.
"It's okay," I said. "You have to wait."
But when two minutes turned into three, then four, then five, we all were saddened.
"It's all right-don't panic," Brandon said. "I can call my dad. He can work on another serum."
Ryder was so furious, he let out a ferocious howl. He hadn't been cured. He took off into the woods as we all stood still, saddened by his fate.
"I know he can be cured, too," Brandon said. "If only he would wait."
Hunter and Leopold walked over the bridge with us.
"You were right," Leopold said. "That angry werewolf is who Ryder has always been, even by daylight. Now he just has longer hair."
SEVENTEEN
full moon kiss
For the next month, everything was back to normal-as normal as it could be for a girl who was dating a guy from the Westside who was also a werewolf. Nash continued to be the star athlete in our school and never failed to try to tempt me to rekindle our relationship when he found an opportunity, while Ivy and Abby continued to plan their futures with Dylan and Jake. We three girls were still as close as we always were, talking about guys, love, and the latest fashions. And Brandon and I snuck kisses in between classes and explored the outdoors together after school.
As the next full moon approached, Brandon received a new vial of serum from his scientist father, who had come for a visit.
"This is your vial," Dr. Maddox said, placing it in his son's hand. "It's not for your friends. Or someone you might happen to meet in the next few days. It's not to be shared or given away. I made it for you. It's your cure. So you can be normal again."
"I'm not sure I can ever be normal again after everything that has happened," Brandon said.
"These events have made your life richer, that's for sure," his father said. "But you have so many things to look forward to-and I want you to be able to do them as yourself. Not some creature that has to hide in the woods."
"He's really not a creature-not like you'd think," I said. "He's as kind as a werewolf as he is as a human. That's why he shared it instead of taking it."
Dr. Maddox tapped my shoulder. "I'm glad Brandon has you by his side. He's so lucky he found you. This move was good for him after all, even after everything else he's endured.
"I'd stay and watch you take it this time," he said, "but I have to return to Geneva before the moon hits its full appearance. However, this will be my last trip-I'm making arrangements to stay here for good. It will be wonderful to have everything back to the way it was. Only instead of being in Miller's Glen, we'll be here."
I wondered what it would be like if Brandon had the side effects Ryder had and became a werewolf full-time. What kind of life would we have? He wouldn't be able to go to school, and we'd miss spending our days together. If others found out about him being a werewolf, he'd be forced to live in isolation. He couldn't play hockey, hang out with others, or go to college. What kind of future would it be? I only hoped that he was cured like Nash and Ryder's crew. Then he could be human again-but I knew there would be a part of me that would miss those nocturnal moonlit kisses.
On the first night of the next full moon, it was finally Brandon's turn to take the serum. I was as afraid for him as I had been for Nash and as much as I had been the first time I saw Brandon turn. Now he could possibly turn every night and begin an eternal battle within himself that he wouldn't be able to control. But then there was the other side-I was afraid that I'd be losing the side of him that I'd grown to love just as much. In fact, that was who Brandon was to me: a generous, courageous, thoughtful guy in class and a handsome, hot, heroic creature of the night. Could he be one without the other? For his sake, I hoped so, but I had to admit, I'd always miss that side that I'd fallen in love with as well.