Wisteria and the Pirate Werewolf

by April Marcom

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Excerpt

~ Unwelcome Intruders ~

 

Wisteria sat up in bed with a start. She recognized the distinct growling of werewolves outside, fully transformed and ready to kill. It was something she hadn’t heard since the night of the attempted attack on her sister and grandmamma when Wisteria was only ten years old. She had hoped desperately to never hear it again.

Five years had passed since then, three since the night she’d been gifted her cloak. Though it had hardly left her body, neither she nor her sister had any idea what power the horrors of this night would unlock.

Wisteria got up silently and went to her mother’s bed which was only a few feet away. “Mother,” she whispered, shaking the woman’s arm. “Wake up.”

Her mother opened her eyes slowly. “Have you had a nightmare?” The howling that suddenly filled the night echoed unnaturally, alerting her to the reason her daughter had awoken her.

Rose jumped from her bed at the terrifying sound. “Mother,” she said, tears springing to her eyes. Her body filled with a terrible fear.

Their mother got out of bed and went to hug her. “It’ll be all right,” she told them. “I want you both to hide underneath your beds while I get grandmamma.”

“Don’t leave us,” Rose choked out.

“You’ll be safe inside with the door locked.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll take the silver-tipped axe. You needn’t worry about a thing.”

Rose continued to cry as her mother began to creep down the stairs. She was thirteen years old now, but still very much a child at heart.

“Quickly,” Wisteria said, grabbing Rose’s blanket and handing it to her. Both girls pulled their blankets over them as they climbed under their beds, being sure to cover themselves completely.

As the minutes passed by and the howling continued off and on, Wisteria felt horribly confined. It was like she would never escape and the awful night would never end. The weight of her blanket pressed inward against her, giving her the sensation that she couldn’t breathe. She shut her eyes tight and wished with all her heart that she could disappear from Lampet.

The scratching at the door made her open her eyes. Rose whimpered and Wisteria shushed her. The scratching became more desperate. Next there was a thunderous growl, a loud crack, and then the sound of the door being thrown open and hitting the wall.

Wisteria’s breathing became shallow as footsteps entered their home. She flinched when she heard things being ripped from the cabinets downstairs and thrown to the ground. There was a lot of snarling and smacking as something ate their food. Please, please let them eat it and leave, Wisteria thought, still holding onto her wish.

The unwelcome intruders ate quickly and were soon roaming through the house once more.

Wisteria couldn’t believe this was happening: a werewolf inside their home. It was perhaps her greatest fear, and it certainly was Rose’s.

The movement ceased. Wisteria felt a dash of hope.

And then she heard something clambering up the stairs. The heavy feet beat like drums playing a death march. Her fear was enough to steal away all her breath. Heavy footsteps moved to her mother’s bed, where the blankets were ripped to shreds.

Then Wisteria heard something sniffing vigorously like a dog that had caught a new scent in the air. Suddenly, her bed was lifted and thrown over the edge of the loft. Wisteria’s blanket was removed and two giant werewolves with glittering black eyes and enormous fangs were standing over her. She tried to scream, but found herself frozen in a state of shock.

The hairy beasts growled softly in their throats as they walked past her. She watched in horror as one of the wolves reached for Rose’s bed next. Wisteria felt like a statue watching it all through someone else’s eyes. The bed was tossed downstairs easily, splintering to pieces and causing the entire house to quake.

Rose screamed when her blanket was taken from her. Her arms reached out for anything as her body rose on its own at alarming speed, hitting the ceiling with a dull thud. Rose looked petrified as she moved clumsily around until she was turned upside down.

One wolf leapt as he took a swipe at her, grazing her cloak and doing it no harm.

Rose screamed again as she shot through the air and went headfirst into the wall above the door.

The wolves jumped to the first floor and raced over to wait below her.

She went sailing through the air again, this time spinning uncontrollably as she went through the window behind Wisteria. The wolves chased her up the stairs and through the opening, and then Wisteria was alone.

She managed to press her hands against the floor to help her stand and discovered what had made the werewolves pass her over. Her hands were not there. Her legs were gone, too. Wisteria heard the frightening howling outside again as she pressed her hands against her stomach and back. She could feel them, but couldn’t see anything.

The fog in her head increased. Her racing heart sped up even more. Whatever breath she had in her body caught in her throat as her body became numb. She could feel herself falling, but was already gone before her body hit the floor.

 

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