Six Moon Summer by SM Reine Read Free Book Online Page A

itself as the animals fought to repel them. After many years of battling, the forest spirits imbued a curse as revenge upon the mortals that cruelly slaughtered them: the uncontrollable ability to transform into a monstrous wolf at the apex and nadir of the moon.
     
    Rylie shivered even though the day was warm. “Is this serious?”
     
    “It’s a book of legends,” Seth said.
     
    “So it’s not true.” She turned it over to look at the cover, which was plain green with gold trim. It looked serious enough.
     
    “Who said legends aren’t true? This mountain is holy for animal spirits, like Mount Olympus for the Greek gods. You’ve got the curse. You must have gone into the wild on the full moon.”
     
    “That’s crazy,” Rylie said. “I’m not a werewolf.”
     
    “Not yet ,” he corrected. “Haven’t you been feeling strange? Like your senses are more keen? Are prey animals more afraid of you?”
     
    “No,” she said stubbornly, but she couldn’t help considering what Seth suggested. It would explain the horses. It would also explain why she craved red meat. “Why should I trust you?”
     
    “Because I’m the only one who knows what’s going on,” Seth said. “There have been attacks before, so I knew you were in danger.”
     
    “Oh yeah? And how do you know that?”
     
    “Like I said, I was doing some reading. I think these camps were originally built to guard Gray Mountain. There were never meant to be kids here.”
     
    “Then we should tell someone,” Rylie said. “We should clear out the camps.”
     
    “Who would believe us?” Seth laughed. “Even you don’t.”
     
    She bit her lower lip. “No, I believe it. Look at this.” Glancing around to make sure nobody could see them behind the building, Rylie pulled aside the neck of her shirt to show him the scars. “They appeared after the full moon.”
     
    His laughter faded. “That looks bad.”
     
    “Yeah, I know. But why do you care?”
     
    “Let’s go for a walk,” Seth said.
     
    Rylie nodded. Louise wouldn’t be as forgiving as before if she discovered Rylie sneaking off again, but the counselor wouldn’t come back for at least an hour. Rylie wasn’t going to risk losing Seth. Who knew when she would see him again?
     
    Somehow, the horror of what Seth was trying to tell her seemed to recede a million miles away when they snuck down to the lake, dodging hikers and staff on the way. They slid down the boulders to reach the narrow shore where nobody could see them and walked along the sand.
     
    Seth spoke before Rylie could start asking questions again. “So where are you from?”
     
    “The city. I’ve lived there my whole life.”
     
    “I can tell. You’re not much for the outdoors.” He scooped a round, flat rock off the sand and bounced it in his hand, seeming to judge the weight.
     
    “Not really,” Rylie admitted. “But I’m starting to like it more. It kind of feels like I’m home here.”
     
    “Are you sure that’s you talking?”
     
    She ducked her head. “I’m not sure of very much anymore.”
     
    He whipped the rock out across the water. It skipped on the surface of the lake four times before sinking. They stopped to watch the spreading ripples.
     
    “There are more books at the camp library,” Seth said. “It sounds like it takes the curse a few moons to really settle in, so you’ll have a couple weeks or months before you become a wolf. Until then, you should have partial transformations.”
     
    “You actually believe this stuff? Legends and werewolves? That’s crazy,” Rylie said.
     
    “I guess I’m a crazy guy.”
     
    She took the diary out of her pocket, running her hand over the scratched cover. “How did you know this was mine?”
     
    “I didn’t. I was guessing. You look like the type.”
     
    “And what type is that?” Rylie asked.
     
    Seth flashed a grin at her. “Beautiful.”
     
    Her cheeks got hot all over again. Rylie stared down at her hiking