Unending Moonlight

Forward

Thunder crashed in the distance, but the storm was still very far away. The full moon illuminated the ground around Castle Amor. Cynthia gripped her battleaxe. They would be here soon.

“Come and get me.” she said, more to herself than anything. “I’m waiting for you.”

 

 

Chapter 1

“You,” the alpha werewolf growled,”you are just some worthless human.” He spat on the floor as he said it. The other werewolves around him cackled and some howled in agreement.

“Be that as it may, you still would deny my request to fight you for your spot?” Cynthia’s eyelids were only half-open. She may have just been a human, but humans can be dangerous foes, even for powerful creatures such as lycans. She smiled, still leaving her eyelids to relax. “If you ask me, then my being human is all the more reason to accept my challenge. After all, I’d be easy to kill, wouldn’t I? I say you’re just scared of me.”

The alpha werewolf stood up from his throne to his full height. Lycans, when on four legs, looked like wolves, but when they stood up on two legs, they looked not unlike the men they once were, albeit a good deal bigger and wolf-like. The alpha growled fiercely, clearly having been agitated by Cynthia’s comment.

“I am the Alpha. I have this rank because I am afraid of nothing! Do you hear me? Nothing!”

He slashed his claws into the air a few times and howled. All of the other lycans around him returned his call, as well as others who were in different parts of the cave, and even the ones just outside. Normally, this would have intimidated a lesser foe, but Cynthia was not a lesser foe.

“You still have not answered my question.” Cynthia managed a yawn as she spoke. She wasn’t tired, but she was trying show that she wasn’t impressed with the lycan’s little show. “I am challenging  your rank as alpha wolf. Do you accept?”

The alpha sat down. He clutched his face, as if he had a headache. Cynthia knew, though, that werewolves don’t get headaches. He did however, let out a long sigh.

“It would appear I’ve been a lycan for too long. I’ve forgotten how to deal with humans. I remember being afraid all of the time, before I turned. But you, you show no fear. You interest me, human.” He rubbed his chin while he considered Cynthia.

“Out of respect, I will ask one more time, so as to save face for you should you decide to simply step down. If you do not answer me, I will simply attack you and kill you.” Cynthia planted both of her feet firmly on the ground and slightly apart. She raised her battleaxe in the direction of the alpha lycan. “I, Cynthia Von Stryker, challenge you, Damascus Wolfgut, to a duel for the right to throne of the lycans, and the title of ‘Alpha’. Do you accept my duel and its terms?”

The alpha sat in the same position, virtually unmoved except for his chin rubbing movements. He stopped, and placed both hands on the armrests of his solid granite throne. He squinted at her, as if he thought she was asking for a staring contest. Finally, he spoke.

“I, Damascus Wolfgut, deny your request for a duel. You are a human, and no human may sit on a lycan throne.” He raised one of his arms, still letting his elbow touch the armrest, and he placed his head in his hand. He smiled slightly, if you could call it a smile, and said cooingly, “Of course, we can change that. Right here and now we can make you into a shewolf. And, if you want, I could make you one of my concubines. Once you’ve turned, that is.”

Cynthia finally let her eyelids close. She did her best to ignore his lewd suggestion. She breathed in, and opened her eyes fully. “You need to pay more attention to your own rules, king. Your tenants state that as long as the ruler can maintain power after ascending to the throne, he or she will be recognized as Alpha for the rest of their days. So, if I can defeat you, and defeat any other challengers, I have the right to become Alpha, ruler of the lycans.”

There was an arrogance in Cynthia’s tone that offended the alpha. He growled at her and almost got up to fight. But instead, he collected himself and once again spoke. “You are neglecting one small detail, human, those tenants only apply to full-blood lycans. Clearly, you are not even of lycan descent,  let alone a full-blooded one, otherwise we’d be able to smell it off of you. Therefore, even if you defeat me, you will not be recognized as ruler. Now, I command you to leave. You interest me, which is why I will not turn lose my subjects on to your flesh and allow them to rip you to shreds where you stand.”

Cynthia leaned slightly back. She held her chin with one arm and looked up at the hole in the cave ceiling. It was not a natural hole, and was clearly put there so as to allow the eternal full moon’s light into the cave. Lycans turned whenever there was a full moon, and there had been a full moon for over one thousand years. This of course affected more races besides lycans, but in this case she was dealing with lycans, and had to conjure up all of her knowledge about them.

There were two kinds of lycans. The first kind, the rarer and generally stronger kind, looked more like a large human with a wolf head, fur, and claws. They could stand up on two feet and could use their hands just like a human. Though their claws might get in the way, their thumbs were opposable and capable of minute action. They could run using all four limbs, but when in combat they would stand on two feet, usually. The second kind, the more numerous and usually weaker kind, looked more like a large wolf that could speak like a human. This kind could not stand up straight like the first. Of course, having a body that was built for four-legged travel meant that they generally were faster than their stronger brethren when traveling distances, but when it came to actual combat the first kind held a greater speed advantage.

They turned during a full moon, but were even stronger when the full moon shined on them directly. Since the cave had a large hole, the moon was shining on the werewolves directly, thus increasing their power. Cynthia considered her options. She could leave, and for certain live. Or she could fight and possibly die or live. It was hard enough getting into the lycan’s throne room undetected, and she could be sure that they would tighten security after she left. After all, if a human can get in, then what about something much more powerful?

Cynthia sat motionless and considered the lycan king in front of her. He was the first kind of lycan, the stronger kind. He was twice her size, obviously much stronger and faster, and years of being unchallenged did not seem to have left him complacent. She had no obvious edge over him, and she hoped that she would. If she could just get him off of his game by just a little bit, then she might stand a chance at winning.

“Alright,” Cynthia said at last. “I wish to accept your earlier offer.”

The lycan king leaned forward, wondering for a moment what she meant. His eyes widened as realization set in. “Ah! So you wish to become my concubine, hmm? I shall see to it that you are turned and prepared immediately for your… duties.” He chuckled slightly, in the way that lycans do, with a throaty growl mixed in.

Cynthia bowed, but shook her head. “No, my lord, you do not understand. I wish to be turned by you. Won’t you please? I’ll make my first duty as extra special as I can if you do.”

The eyes of the lycan king widened, but the members of his “court” began to whisper among themselves.

“Er, you do realize that in my doing so, you will be given a lesser form of my strength? I-I…” He trailed off for a moment, as his court continued to whisper. He was slightly taken aback by her sudden forwardness. “No. I cannot. Doing such a thing will make you one of the most powerful werewolves in existence, besides myself and my offspring. Doing so would threaten my throne, especially since you just came here and threatened me for it. No.”

Cynthia cringed on the inside. Her plan, and all of its last-minute improvisations, was backfiring. Next time, she thought, she would do her research more thoroughly. She did, however, have one more trick up her sleeve.

“I’ll admit, I came here with the intentions of killing you and taking your throne. I did very thorough research on every aspect of your bodies, your strengths, weaknesses, general likes and dislikes, and your… preferences. I know how to pleasure you in ways that will probably put even your most experienced concubine to shame.” Cynthia lowered her eye-lids again. “And since speaking with you, you have impressed me enough to the point that I now have a deep respect for you. I wish to serve you for eternity. Long live the lycan king!”

She ended her little speech with a raise of her fist and a very low bow. Apparently, it was working.

“W-well. You see. I…” He trailed off again, unsure of what to do. The room was filled with noisome chatter from the lycan king’s court. Cynthia already knew that, despite their ferocious appearance, even the toughest lycan had trouble resisting sex. The king slammed his fist on the granite armrest, causing an echo in the cave room which signaled for the chatter to stop. “I, Damascus Wolfgut, king of the lycans, ruler of the great city of the lycans, Halfpaw, will turn this human into a lycan myself. Any wolf who disagrees with my decision may speak now and may challenge my right to the throne.”

There was silence. Cynthia gazed around at the group of “officials” in the lycan king’s court. The evidence she’d gathered just from looking at them supported why Damascus had not been challenged in over a thousand years. Even though these were supposedly the most powerful of the most powerful werewolf clan, the elite of the elite, none of them could barely fill even the shadow of their king. She teased the idea of actually letting him turn her, and then using that power to dethrone him.

Of course, such a thing was out of the question. She could handle him, with or without lycanthropy. But she did want that edge over him, this was exactly how she intended to get it.

“I, Damascus Wolfgut, seeing as how I am unchallenged, will now do as I have commanded thus.”

He stood up from his throne and strode over to where Cynthia stood. He seemed even bigger up close, and he had to kneel to her level. He opened his jaw and brought his mouth close to her neck. Cynthia could feel his breath. He drew closer and closed his eyes, slowly closing his mouth around Cynthia’s neck. Just before his teeth punctured her skin, Cynthia lunged her battleaxe into the lycan’s thigh.

The alpha reared up and fell back, clearly in immense pain. Every werewolf in the room jumped up and came after Cynthia. She batted two of them away with the flat side of her axe, and the group stopped, and as a whole simply encircled her. Cynthia felt a slight nick on the right side of her jaw. She reached up and felt it with her fingers, and found that she was bleeding. More than likely it came from when the alpha quickly jumped backward after she slashed him. After all, his teeth had been rather close to her neck. Cynthia was glad it had not been a full bite, though. That would have been a serious game changer for her.

The alpha sat up, but did not stand up. He looked at the hole in his thigh and watched as it closed up and the fur grew back. He growled at Cynthia, and demanded an explanation.

“Why, I simply hit you in the leg with my axe. Is that so hard to understand?” Cynthia answered in her most dead-pan voice.

“You will pay for your insolence. You will be turned, but not by me, and you will still become my concubine.” His tone was dark and menacing, even by werewolf standards.

“You’re right.” Cynthia said. “I will pay. But not in that foul, dull-witted, manner which you have devised. Your tenants state that the alpha must not allow himself to be shown as being weak. If you do not kill me where I stand, then you will be disobeying your own rules.”

The lycan king did something akin to a shouting roar, and it showed his frustration. He spoke, angered beyond all reconciliation. “I will kill you, human. Not because of some tenants or loss of honor, but because you have just simply angered me. I will spill your blood and use it to write a message to all of your kind. So long as I am king, and possibly even after that, your race will be even less safe around lycans. Unlike before, where we hunted out of hunger, now we will hunt simply for the sport of it. I hope your people thank you.”

Cynthia had been waiting for this moment for a while now. She wasn’t sure if it would even come. But now that it had, the real fun could begin.

The lycan king lunged at her, with more speed than she had anticipated, and made a gash in her left shoulder as she dodged his attack. Cynthia winced in pain. This wasn’t how she had intended to start off the fight, but there was nothing she could do now. She rolled to the side as he once again lunged at her. This time, she was able to predict his attack with ease and could dodge it accordingly. A thousand years of unchallenged alpha status may not have left him complacent, but he sure had gotten sloppy.

“Come on,” Cynthia taunted him. “where is that legendary Damascus Wolfgut? Terror of the Bloodied Fang? I came here to fight him, not some overgrown pup who is fat and lazy.”

Her ploy to anger him further and cause him to slip up was working. His footing wasn’t very good, and she slashed his leg with her axe. Blood spilled out as the lycan king’s leg was lopped off at the knee. He howled in pain, and Cynthia stepped back for a moment while she waited for his leg to grow back. She wanted to drive her point even further by licking her axe clean of the blood, but didn’t for doing so would have disastrous results. Instead, she slashed her axe in the air in the direction of the alpha, and some of the blood flew off and landed on his face.

As soon as his leg had healed, the lycan king sprung into action once more. This human was really giving him a harder time than he thought she would have. He would not make the same mistake of letting her taunts get to him. Instead, he planned a fake-out attack. It was simple, easy to execute, and she wouldn’t see it coming.

But she did see it coming. As soon as he had moved in to strike with his right paw, he swung his left in for the killing blow. Surprisingly though, she hadn’t turned to face his right side, but instead leaned back at the knees and dodged his attack. The only thing he’d managed to do was slash a few of her long, black hairs off at the ends. Thinking quickly, he decided to bring both paws in a sweeping motion to his left while she was bending at her knees and unstable.

However, something he hadn’t counted on was that she simply let herself fall to the ground. He missed her completely, and Cynthia stood up ready to go again. She jumped slightly, axe raised above her head, and she slashed off both of his arms at the elbows.

Cynthia was proud of herself for having done that. This time she took full advantage of his temporarily weakened state, and chopped off what was left of his arms. As he lunged at her with his powerful jaws, Cynthia skidded underneath him and cut off his right leg. The lycan king fell to the ground, howling in pain. Cynthia quickly stood up, and hacked off the regenerating arms, so as to further delay them. She then swung her axe at his neck, and stopped just millimeters from his throat.

“I’ve beaten you.” She said. “I do not wish to kill you, for there are many uses for you. But I have won, and therefore I am now officially Queen of the Lycans.” She turned to the members of what was now her court. “Do any of you contest? I will gladly fight and kill all who oppose me, just like the tenants state.”

There was some agitated growling among the other werewolves, but eventually Damascus spoke. “Silence you fools! She is not the alpha! She is only human! I am still Alpha!” He was about to get up and continue fighting, but his neck was cut slightly on the sharpened edge of Cynthia’s battleaxe.

“No, no. I have beaten you and have rightfully ascended to the throne. You were right, I did not have the right to challenge you to such a duel. However, nowhere in the tenants does it say that your loss of kingship had to be through a duel, and therefore you’re fighting against me and losing constitutes enough as a loss for me to ascend the throne. I have chosen to spare you though, because you will serve me when the time comes for it.” Cynthia seemed to be slightly out of breath, but other than that he had done little else besides causing the gash in her arm.

Damascus sighed. The Lycan tenants weren’t just there to keep everyone in line, they were there because they had to be followed. They were rules that no lycan break, regardless of how strong that lycan might be. They were as much apart of a lycan’s life as was the moon, and could not be ignored any more than a vampire can ignore a hunger for human blood.

“What is it that you intend to achieve, human? Now every werewolf clan in existence will be rising up to challenge our authority over them. A lycan civil war will ruin our numbers and make us vulnerable to attacks once more. Is this what you wished for? For the destruction of all lycans?”

Cynthia looked at Damascus with a straight face for a long time, but eventually she burst out laughing. Damascus was at first surprised, but became genuinely offended when she carried on. Cynthia tried to right herself several times, but consistently failed. She eventually collected herself and was able to answer properly.

“Destruction of all Lycans? Hahaha! Of course not. I have my reasons, but you do not need to know them now. Besides, if all of the lycans died, who would be around to tell the tale of the first human Queen of the Lycans?” Cynthia began laughing again, though not as hard nor as long as before.

Damascus snorted. He was already upset that he had lost, and to a human of all creatures, but the fact that she didn’t seem to be taking this seriously at all made him very agitated. “Regardless of your intentions, that is still what you have now started. We must now declare that you are Alpha and that all should submit to your rule, and at such time you must subdue any resistance.”

Cynthia stopped laughing and considered Damascus carefully. He did have a point, even if she wasn’t happy to admit it. Being queen of something that was dead wasn’t going to help her in the end. She needed them alive for her plan to work. She looked up at the moon in the hole in the ceiling. It had not moved in over one thousand years, and it wasn’t going to ever move unless her plan was seen to fulfillment.

Sighing, she moved the axe away from Damascus’ neck. “Here is what is going to happen. I am going to retain control over you and your kind, by creating a new rank that is special for me, and is just above Alpha.”

The werewolves in the room began shouting in disagreement. All except Damascus were crying foul, saying no one was higher than Alpha. Damascus spoke. “Listen, you fools. She has the right to do so, and for two main reasons. One, she is alpha. Whatever she says is law. Two, she is not a lycan. Therefore, she is not bound to adhere directly to the tenants as we are, and she has the right to change them at will.”

Cynthia smiled at Damascus. He wasn’t sure what kind of smile it was, but it was a smile. She spoke. “Exactly. Now, the powers and privileges of such a rank are the exact same as the alpha’s, except I will have control even over the alpha. Also, I cannot be challenged for my position, and only I, Cynthia Von Stryker, may choose who my successor is, if I should even choose a successor. And, this rank must have a title…” She thought for a moment. “Ah! I’ve got it. My title will be exactly for what I intend to use you for in the near future. ‘Blood caller.’ I will call for you to spill blood in my name. I will say nothing more for now, though.”

Damascus stood up and stretched. His limbs had grown back and he wanted to move again. He leaned in closely and squinted at Cynthia. “A fine rank and title to be sure, human, but exactly does it solve?”

Cynthia gave him a hard, yet mischievous look. “First of all, you must stop calling me ‘human’. You love me, and you wish to show it. When speaking to me, you must refer to me as ‘my Lady’, or ‘Lady Cynthia’. When speaking about me, you must refer to me as ‘Lady Cynthia, Bloodcaller of the Lycans’ or simply ‘Lady Cynthia’. Second of all, it solves much. You no longer need to go out and tell everyone that the position of Alpha has changed. I am giving you that rank back, Damascus, and nowhere in the tenants does it stipulate that all who witnessed the rank of Bloodcaller become fulfilled must tell all other Lycans about such an event taking place. Therefore, no one will challenge your right to rule and there will be no Lycan civil war and no attacks. And I hereby command each and every one of you in this room to never tell any other creature, living or undead, about what transpired here today, unless I tell you to do so.”

The idea was not exactly pleasing to the lycans in the room, but the result it gave was enough to keep them quiet. Cynthia was incredibly pleased with herself for having finished her first task with such ease and grace, but she still knew that there was much more left to do. Before she could continue on, however, she needed to discuss a few simple matters with her newest subject.

“Damascus,” Cynthia said, “I need to speak with you, alone.”

Damascus grunted and waved the group of lycans in the room out. Quickly, all of them left and the room suddenly seemed much bigger to Cynthia now that it wasn’t crowded with werewolves.

Damascus, in typical werewolf fashion, was impatient. “What is it that you want, Lady Cynthia? Though I may not look it, I am a very busy Alpha.”

“Oh really? And what might be keeping you from doing?” Cynthia responded with a chuckle.

“Well, I, erm. You see…” Damascus was clearly struggling with finding an answer.

Cynthia tried to guess what it was that was keeping him from answering. “Might it be that you simply do not wish to have me around? That you view me as nothing more than a nuisance who bothers you?”

Frowning, as much as a lycan can, Damascus started to answer her, but a little hesitantly. “My Lady, you are undoubtedly well aware of how even immortal undead such as lycans need to eat…”

“I am.” Responded Cynthia.

“Then no doubt you know what the main item on our diet is…” Continued Damascus.

At this point, Cynthia realized what he was getting at. Nevertheless, what he was talking about surprised her far less than how he was going about telling her. Never before had she seen or heard of a lycan acting timid around non-lycans, especially ones considered weaker than themselves. Perhaps the old myth about lycans being bound by their tenants was true, and now Damascus both feared and respected her out of sheer necessity. Or maybe he was now more mild because he’d been put in his place because of having lost to her in one-on-one combat. Chances were though that he thought maybe the subject was a little touchy for his new master.

“I see.” Said Cynthia. “So you’re telling me that you need plan something along the lines of a hunting trip for human flesh?”

“Er, yes.” Damascus’ eyes betrayed his fierce appearance. They gave every indication that he was fearing the worst, that is, that Cynthia might call off anymore human hunts.

Damascus’ fears were not justified, however, when Cynthia spoke. “Very well. You may do so, but only after I’ve talked with you about–…”

Before Cynthia could finish her thought, Damascus interrupted her. “Wait. You aren’t going to ask us to call off the hunts we perform on your people? Why not?” His face was as bewildered as a lycan’s face can be.

Cynthia sighed. She didn’t like being interrupted, but she would let it go this time. “In the future, do not interrupt me unless it is of vital importance. As for why I am not calling off the hunts, what do you care? Do you want me to? I can if you really want me to.”

Damascus realized what he had done, and kicked himself for it. “I’m sorry, my Lady. Please forgive me. And, no. I, and so would every other lycan, prefer that you not call off the human hunts. Still, it confuses me to see that a human does not care for the survival of other humans. But I suppose that I should not question your motives, my Lady.”

Cynthia was so giddy, she had to just outright laugh to keep herself from giggling. Having the strongest lycan in history under her thumb and nearly trained like a good little house pup was just too much for her to keep quiet about. Still, she needed to explain to him why she was alright with the hunts still taking place, or else she feared that they might not get anywhere.

“It’s quite alright, Damascus. You’ve not had to listen to anyone for over one thousand years. That much power in that amount of time would cause anyone to become set in their ways. As for my reasons as to why I am alright with the hunts still taking place, let me say this: I’m not, exactly. Preferably, I would like that no more humans should have to die, but truth be told I value my lycan subjects a little more than I do some farmers in a remote village that I’ve never met before. If you cannot operate on your top efficiency, then why should I even use you? Yes, you may continue your hunts, because both you and I know full well that you will never kill all of the humans at once. For if you did, you would lose your main supply of food in no time at all. And do not worry: questioning the motives of your leader isn’t always a sign of insubordination, but a sign of intelligence in that you can identify unknowns that may hinder you in the future.”

Damascus was surprised at what Cynthia had said. He had always thought that humans were spineless creatures who wanted to find the easiest and most pleasant way out of things. She could have easily told him that lycans would have to make do with livestock, which they could, and that could have been the end of it. Instead, she was willing to sacrifice some of her own kind to further her goals, which he did not know yet. This made Damascus very weary, because if she could easily throw away some of her own kind, then he wondered how easily she could lead his lycans to the slaughter.

Cynthia noted Damascus’ nod in agreement and she continued to speak, this time in a dead serious tone. “Now, as I was saying before, I wished to speak with you alone for a reason. That reason is: You and your race are an instrument in my plan. You are a vital one, but an instrument nonetheless. That being said, I don’t want you to do anything foolish that would cause you or your race to fall into a state unusable by me, do you understand? Also, please keep in mind the fact that, being as you are an instrument, I will use you when I please and how I please, so don’t do anything that would cause you to be otherwise engaged when I call for you, alright?”

Damascus’ wariness increased with every syllable that passed out of Cynthia’s mouth, that he thought he might break out in a cold sweat, if werewolves could sweat. Everything she said furthered his fear that Cynthia might one day lead his lycans to their doom. He just couldn’t quite get past a nagging feeling he had that he should just kill her now, or die trying. Even with the lycan tenants in place, he felt almost like it was the right thing to do, regardless of what his curse bound him to do.

“Yes, I understand perfectly, Lady Cynthia.” Damascus’ voice was low and somewhat sad, though the latter part was virtually undetectable.

“Great! I’m glad you understand. Now, I’m afraid I have much more to do. This place was merely first on my list, and I still need to visit several more places before I can call it a day.” Cynthia’s voice had changed from dead serious to energetic with a touch of sarcasm.

Almost in a skip, Cynthia started running out of the room and started heading for the entrance;
human legs were small compared to a lycan’s, and even more so was the advantage the lycans had over humans in speed, so it would be a long run to the entrance of the cave for Cynthia, since the cave had been carved out by lycans for lycans.

Damascus wasn’t sure how to take the sudden turn of events. He called in his court, and as he walked toward his throne, he thought maybe when he sat down he would wake up form a weird dream he was having. Sadly, when he sat down he didn’t wake up, only proving that he was already awake and that what had happened truly indeed happened.

Damascus Wolfgut, King and Alpha of all Lycans, also know as werewolves, for over one thousand years, had been beaten by, and was now serving, a girl no older than twenty-five.