By the Pale Moonlight Ch. 02

She breathed heavier, grasping his hair even harder. His fingers quickened, he sucked and nipped at her bud, causing mini convulsions to run through her. They were locked in each other's eyes. Tara gasped feeling something build in her stomach, his fingers thrust inside of her as she threw her head back. Her legs shook as tremors shot through her body. She dropped her hand and opened her eyes. She was alone.

The moaning in the other stall had stopped, she assumed they left somewhere in the middle of her fantasy. Why did she think about him anyways? The crazy man who didn't believe she was a human. She sighed and turned off the shower grabbing a towel out of her bag. She dried her body and pulled the curtain back. The room was empty; the only sound was water dripping from a faucet. Tara pulled her clothes out of her bag and quickly got dressed. She threw her wet, unwashed hair into a high bun and walked out of the door.

As she walked down the hall back to her room the blaring sound of hip-hop overwhelmed her senses. How she hated that music, the auto-tuned, woman hating, bigotry of rap music. Tara opened the door to find Barbie combing her hair getting ready for the day. At least she had some clothes on. Leggings underneath a pair of Uggs, and some brand name low cut top. She glanced at Tara only slightly, and then refocused on her hair.

Tara didn't want to be there any more than Barbie wanted her there. She dropped her shower bag off and grabbed her back pack, throwing it over her shoulder she made her way out. She was opening the door when Barbie's phone started buzzing.

"Oh hey baby, I missed you last night. Why didn't you show up?" Barbie giggled. Tara almost felt bad for the guy she was talking to. Did he know his girlfriend was a complete slut; banging other guys last night? Maybe that's what he liked about her. Maybe he didn't care. Tara closed the door and headed for the emergency exit.

She opened the door and began walking down the stairs. She should be hesitant to take the stairs after last night. The simple sounds of her echoing footsteps reminded her of her fear. What if it was just her imagination? She was so hyped up from what happened in the café, she could have just imagined someone following her. She sighed not sure if she felt like an idiot or a fool.

Half way down on the landing of the first floor she noticed something on the ground. Bending over to pick it up she noticed it was a rock. No, it was prettier than a rock. It looked like something you might find on a beach; it was cream colored and nearly translucent. Tara wondered if it was a gemstone of some kind, it was fairly large, around the size of a golf ball and in a crescent shape. It was so unique; it must have belonged to someone. She put it in her back pocket and walked down the remaining stairs and out of the building.

Had Barbie really not been following her up the stairs last night? She had honestly never known the girl to take the stairs, she wasn't one for exercise. Tara would be caught dead before she ever used that death trap of an elevator again. Her first week at school the stupid thing broke down halfway up, locking her inside of it for nearly ten hours. Even though the stairs freaked her out, especially now, it was no comparison to that elevator.

Tara looked at her phone again, it was almost noon. Dr. Miller should be in her office by now; she hoped she would catch her alone. The doctor's office was in a large hall on the eastern side of campus; Tara's dorm was on the southernmost side. It would only take her ten minutes at the most to walk there. She held the straps of her backpack as other students walked by, some pushed past her; apparently she wasn't walking fast enough for them. Tara enjoyed walking around campus, she loved to people watch, and there was nowhere better to catch people unaware of their surroundings like a college campus.

A boy with sagging pants and purple boxers poking out passed by her with a nod. There was a group of 4 other guys playing hacky sack underneath a tree, one of them kicked it too hard and it flew away landing in front of a gossiping group of girls . They stepped over it and kept walking, chattering on about a party last night. One of the boys flipped the girls off and ran over to pick it up, continuing their game.

Tara came upon Terrance Hall. It was a large building, old and made of some sort of stone. Various students claim the building looks like a castle. Tara thought they had obviously never seen a castle before. She walked inside and looked at the names on the side of the wall. Dr. Fischer, first floor room 102; Dr. JaQuine, First floor room 104.

She continued down the list till she found her. Dr. Miller, Fourth floor room 408. She looked around for the stairs, spotting them in a corner next to a lone vending machine. She started climbing the stairs; they were steeper than the ones in her dorm. She noted how grateful she was that her dorm only had two floors instead of four, she couldn't do climbing like this every day.

Tara was nearly out of breath by the time she reached the fourth floor; she leaned against the railing for a moment before opening the door. Walking into the hallway she looked left to right. Right side was rooms 401 - 407, left side was rooms 408-414. The door nearly in front of her on the left hand side said "Dr. Miller." She knocked and waited.

"Come in." Tara heard Dr. Millers voice muffled from the other side of the door. Tara opened it to see Dr. Miller. She was an older woman, maybe in her mid 50s. She was short and thin with long white hair that was normally in an intricate braid down her back.

"Tara, come in dear please, sit down." Dr. Miller said as she looked up from her paper work, obvious concern and curiosity in her eyes. It seemed she heard what James had said to her last night.

"I'm sorry I missed class this morning Dr. Miller. I fell -"Tara started to explain herself only to be shushed by the good Doctor.

"No worries girl it happens all of the time." She stood up and walked over to the window opening it slightly, "Now how are your hands, they were bleeding last night, were they not?"

Tara looked down into her hands, even though the wounds occurred last night they had already seemed to be scaring over nicely. She loved how quickly her body healed itself. She had always been that way; she thanked an amazing immune system. She never could seem to get rid of the scars though, but that never bothered her. In all honesty she liked the way they looked.

"Oh I'm fine thank you." Tara started to feel a little awkward. Maybe there was no reason for her to be here. Perhaps Dr. Miller hadn't even heard their exchange.

"I assume you also came here to ask about my acquaintance, Mr. Lupus?" Dr. Miller turned away from the window to face Tara. She had a serious look on her face, but her eyes were lit up with excitement.

"I guess you heard what he said to me." Tara's face turned red. She recalled James' dark eyes staring at her with his hand wrapped around her wrist. "Was he serious, Dr. Miller?"

Dr. Miller sighed. "In all of the years that I have known James, I have never seen him act so brutishly. I apologize for his outburst." Tara wondered where she was going with this, she hadn't answered her question. Besides James only looked to be in his late 20's how long could Dr. Miller have possibly known him for?

"Tara you've taken many of my classes, right?" She sat back down into her chair and crossed her legs. Her wrinkled hands clasped on top of her knee.

"Yes I have, Three I believe" Tara was confused.

"Then you obviously know what I believe in." This wasn't a question, it was a statement. Tara nodded her head in agreement. She was starting to get nervous. What was all of this about?

"Do you believe in anything I teach? Do you believe in mythological creatures?" Dr. Miller couldn't be serious. Tara opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. "I see, you're not sure are you?"

She didn't know. Did she believe in were-creatures, vampires, ghosts, witches, fuck, maybe even big-foot? She thought it was possible they could exist. She wanted to believe in them, she had spent much of her life studying the possibility. She even followed Dr. Miller to this college to try to find the truth.

"Why do you take my classes, Tara? If you don't believe there must be a reason." Tara didn't know what to say, how much should she tell Dr. Miller? If anyone would understand it would be this woman.

"It's hard to explain" Tara closed her eyes. "Since I can remember I've been having these dreams. They aren't always the same or even involve the same people or places. But they all involve one similar thing; Animals." Tara opened her eyes and looked at the doctor.

"They involve large animals; sometimes their hunting humans. But there is something weird about the animals, I don't know if I can explain it. In my dreams when I look into their eyes I can hear them. They may look like animals on the outside but through my eyes I can see humans." Tara had never told anyone that before. She wasn't sure why she told Dr. Miller.

"When I was in high school the dreams started to get intense. I could remember every small detail of them and they were starting to take their toll on my mental state. But then you came to visit, and I heard you speak about Were-creatures. And I thought, Hey could this be what I'm dreaming of?" Dr. Miller looked at Tara.

"Tara I'm going to tell you some things that are going to be hard to hear. But you need to understand something. First off never repeat what I am about to tell you. Secondly," Dr. Miller took a deep breath "I may need your help."

Tara was taken aback, how could she need her help? There wasn't anything the doctor didn't know. "Yes, of course."

"First let me start by saying this. Yes, I can without a doubt say that many mythological creatures are in fact not so mythological. I have contact with many of them. In their world I have even been made into a sort of ambassador between some species." She stopped briefly, letting the words she spoke sink in. She looked at Tara for any indication she should stop. She saw confusion mixed with curiosity. She continued.

"I have met with vampire lords in England and America, As well as were-panthers, were-lions and have heard from just about as many Were -species as you can imagine. Though many of them are either extinct now or on their way there. Until around ten years ago one of the only were-species I hadn't been able to get a hold of was one that everyone knows. The wolf. For as many of them are there are, they are very well hidden and very difficult to track down. Their packs are tight nit and they don't trust many outsiders.

"As you know I've been doing my research for more than thirty years. Around twelve years ago, through a vampire source none the less, I came to learn about a very powerful pack of were-wolves. Through their Alpha, Gideon, they had taken control of pretty much the entire eastern coast of America. Though I know you don't understand Were-territories, but it is a great deal.

"He had convinced not only rival wolf packs but other were-packs into working together. Something unimaginable but through Gideon something amazing started! Were-hawks and Were-cougars working together, could you imagine!" Dr. Miller sounded excited, her eyes flared with color and she looked thrilled. Her eyes suddenly lost their excitement.

"It seemed Gideon disappeared. A large power struggle occurred within a few rival packs, and aided with some elder vampires; they took him down. He was last seen nearly dead. They claim he's dead though to the best of my knowledge his body was never recovered. Now, to where this story relates to you."

Dr. Miller smiled and looked to Tara. She didn't know what to think, this was crazy. This was all so sudden, she swallowed painfully; her mouth was dry.

"What do you mean?"

"The packs second in command took over after Gideon died. He lost some of their land as well as some of the other Were-packs; but through this new alphas strength and determination he was able to keep and maintain most of it. It took years and years to get him to trust me. And slowly but surely he has begun to trust me with their information.

"Tara, James is the new Alpha of that pack. Next to their disappearing Alpha, Gideon, James is quite possibly one of the most powerful wolves in America. I have never seen him react to anyone the way he has to you."

Tara's mouth was still dry, "I still don't understand what this has to do with me, or what you want me to do?"

Dr. Miller closed her eyes, "If he tries to contact you again, which I believe he will. I want you to stay calm and go with it. All I want is to see their pack. I want to watch them hunt, watch them mate. I want to see them transform, not just hear stories."

"You want me to be your in, into their pack? How do you know he'll come back for me? How do you know he won't hurt me?" This was crazy, what was her life turning into; none of this could be possible.

"Because, Tara, The way he reacted to you combined with what you told me of your dreams. If he doesn't come for you, someone else will, and I'm sure he knows it."

*****

This is the end of my second chapter. I tried to keep it from you guys for a few more days but couldn't keep it to myself any longer!

From here on out I'm going to try to make each chapter longer and longer, and trust me I'm a hard critic! But because of this I will plan to update the story around every two weeks. It can be I'll try my best to make it shorter but it could be longer. I will try my best to get them out as quickly as possible.