Welcome to the sequel to Bad Moon Rising! If you haven't read that yet I advise you do so, otherwise some things in this story might not make sense. As for my veteran readers, I hope you enjoy the sequel. As you'll see, the song lyrics have been replaced by excerpts from poems, since there aren't enough songs with lyrics relating to werewolves/wolves/the moon.

HUNTER'S MOON

Chapter One: A Hot and Copper Sky

All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Lake District was famous for its wet, windy climate, but for the last month the weather had defied expectations and been warm and sunny. It wasn’t hot, precisely, but certainly warmer than usual in summer, and the normally lush, green vegetation was beginning to look parched; the Lake District was having its own version of a heat wave.

Given the unpleasant memories certain rainy nights a few months previously conjured for Hannah Madison, she was one of the few residents of the National Park who was enjoying the warmer and drier weather. The temperature was only in the low twenties, but she was happily stretched out on a deckchair, attempting to get a tan. Her shoulder-length brown hair was kept out of the way in a messy bun, and her hazel eyes, framed by long dark lashes, scanned the pages of the book she was reading. Her body was exposed to as many of the sun’s rays as possible, only covered by the skimpiest olive green bikini. It wasn’t an outfit she would ever dare wear in public, but in the privacy of her boyfriend’s back garden it was acceptable.

A shadow fell across her book, and she glanced up to see said boyfriend, Adam Rhoades, standing over her. At the colossal height of six foot five, it wasn’t difficult for him to block out the sun. The bright light made his hair, normally a dark blond, shine like burnished gold.

“Move,” Hannah told him, not unkindly. “You’re in the way.”

He laughed, a deep rumbling chuckle that made Hannah shiver in the best possible way, but he made no attempt to move aside. “Sorry, Miss Sunshine, but this is your wake up call. You need to get dressed now or you’ll be late. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to soak up some more cancer rays tomorrow.”

Hannah gave an exaggerated groan and heaved herself out of the deckchair. “Remind me why I’m actually bothering to take these exams?”

“Because you’re mental?” The inflection he put on the last word made it sound like a question.

She made a face at him. “Thanks.”

“And because if you don’t, you’ll end up working in McDonald’s for the rest of your life,” he added.

“That’s more like it.” She brushed past him to the patio door and into the house. It opened onto the kitchen, which was currently so clean the surfaces were practically sparkling. Adam had inherited the house from his parents, who’d died in a car accident when he was eight, but he wasn’t too concerned about keeping it tidy. It was Hannah who seemed to have become his personal maid, although she didn’t mind the position too much.

She picked up her backpack, which had been dumped on one of the kitchen chairs, and went upstairs to the main bathroom to change into a pair of denim shorts and a shirt that made her look like a lumberjack. Adam remained downstairs – the two of them had an unspoken agreement about such things, as Hannah was fairly modest (at least when there wasn’t a full moon) and they hadn’t quite got to the horizontal stage of their relationship yet.

She emerged downstairs a couple of minutes later to find Adam in the sitting room watching something on the telly. She stood in the doorway for a moment, content to watch him. There was no denying the man was handsome, albeit in a rugged, untamed sort of way. The expression in his hazel eyes could change in a fraction of a second from mischievous to feral, while something about his square jaw and the strong angle of his cheekbones gave him a predatory air. His bow lips contrasted starkly with his strong, masculine features. Adam usually had a negligent attitude towards his appearance, as proven by his dark blond hair, which was a little too long, and the stubble on his jaw that was way past a five o’clock shadow.

He turned his head and caught Hannah staring at him, which made his lips curve in a slow, satisfied smile. He knew exactly the effect he had on her. “Perving on me, are you?”

She smiled. “Something like that.” She checked her watch, and added, “We need to leave now.”

“All right.” He heaved himself out of the chair and ambled outside. His car was a vintage MG in British racing green that Hannah was secretly a little in love with, and she watched with amusement as Adam folded himself into the driver’s seat. It wasn’t the most practical car for someone so tall but, like the house, he had inherited it from his parents and would never give it up. She hopped in on the passenger side and buckled her seatbelt before leaning back against the cream leather seat and closing her eyes, utterly content.

The village of Fairfield, where they both lived, was too small to have its own secondary school and sixth form, but there was one in a nearby town that served the majority of the villages in the area. Fairfield itself only had a population of perhaps one and a half thousand, but it could swell to almost twice that during the tourist season. There were few shops: a butchers/fishmongers, a bakery, a chemist, a post office, and a pub. There had been a Woolworths, but it had closed due to the credit crunch – the only other shops were ones for tourists that sold postcards and commemorative thimbles, and a small café called Blue Moon. This was where Hannah’s friend, Summer Meyer, worked as a waitress.

They drove along the High Street and then, after a small residential district, into the wood surrounding the village. It was particularly beautiful at this time of year, when the leaves on the trees and bushes were a palette of different shades of green, and the wildflowers – in every colour imaginable – were all in bloom. Hannah breathed in their scent as they drove past them; to her, the woods would always smell like pure, unadulterated freedom. She had only moved to Fairfield four and a half months ago, and already she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. More importantly, she couldn’t imagine herself wanting to live anywhere else.

She suddenly remembered something she had been meaning to talk to Adam about. She bit her lip and gave him a sideways glance. “Oh, by the way,” she began cautiously, “my grandparents are coming to visit on Sunday. They’ll be staying for a week.”

He looked across at her and raised one blond eyebrow. “Your grandparents? Will I have to meet them?”

She lifted one of her own, darker eyebrows in return, and said in a dangerous tone, “Is that a problem?”

“I’m just surprised. In case you haven’t noticed, your parents kind of hate me.” His tone was casual, almost joking, but Hannah could tell it bothered him.

Her parents hadn’t minded their daughter seeing Andrew Meyer, who was handsome and kind, and was following in his father’s footsteps in becoming a doctor. They were far less thrilled at the idea of their daughter dating Adam, who was five years older than Hannah, had his own house with no parents to play chaperone, and had no better prospects than working for the local forestry commission. Her father, who was the more relaxed of the pair, didn’t seem to mind too much, but her mother made her dislike of Hannah’s new boyfriend known to one and all.

“They don’t hate you,” she replied with a frown. “They just don’t know you very well. But I thought maybe we could have a family dinner or something while my grandparents are here. It will give you a chance to get to know my family better, and vice versa.”

He sighed. “If you say so.”

“I do say so,” she retorted firmly. “Besides, you’ll get a free meal out of it.”

He gave her a wry look. “When you put it like that,” he said dryly, “how can I possibly resist?”

“That’s the spirit.”

All too soon they arrived at Hannah’s school. It was a medium-sized, redbrick building – very ’70s in its architecture – with one or two outbuildings, and a small playground that was currently populated with the pupils in years seven to ten: it was lunchtime. Adam parked in the student car park and turned off the engine. He looked down at Hannah, and for a moment they just stared at each other. Something like an electrical current passed between them as their eyes – both hazel, but his tinged with green and hers with gold – met and held.

“Good luck,” he said eventually.

She grimaced. “Thanks. I’m going to need it.”

“You’ll be fine.” He lowered his head to plant a kiss on her lips – he had clearly intended for it to be a brief one, but Hannah curled her arms around his neck to stop him from escaping, and deepened the kiss. She gave a low moan as his tongue slipped past her lips. Adam’s kisses had become as vital to her as oxygen.

“Hannah, if you don’t stop trying to suck Adam’s tongue out of his head, you’re going to be late to the exam!” a familiar voice said in a teasing tone. They reluctantly broke apart and glanced to where Summer was standing, her twin brother Andrew a step behind her.

The twins made a striking pair. Summer was quite tall for a girl, and her features were angular, her concave cheekbones emphasised by her heart-shaped face. Her eyes were a stormy grey, and her hair was long and dark with a distinct wave to it; she could actually be described as beautiful were it not for her expression, which was typically somewhere between boredom and sarcasm. Andrew’s features were softer than his sister’s, but he was no less good-looking – his face looked like one Botticelli might have painted to depict an angel. His cheekbones were a sculptor’s dream, and there was a sensual curve to his upper lip. He had always worn his dark hair long until recently; now it curled at the nape of his neck. His eyebrows were two dark, decisive brushstrokes above eyes that were a startlingly clear grey.

He was also Hannah’s ex-boyfriend – whom she had cheated on with Adam no less – and such a genuinely nice bloke that she had been trying very hard not to subject him to public displays of affection between her and Adam. She felt her cheeks flame with embarrassment at being caught in a lip-lock, but Andrew’s expression was good-natured – either he was hiding his unease very well, or he genuinely didn’t mind Hannah and Adam being together. She wished she knew which it was. They weren’t dating any more, but they were still very good friends, and she hated to cause him pain.

“I’ll see you this evening,” she told Adam, clambering out of his car. “Andrew can give me a lift home after the exam.”

He nodded, and a lock of hair fell across his face that he brushed aside absently. “See you later.” He turned his attention to the Meyer twins. “Good luck, guys.” He put the car in reverse and backed out of the bay. Hannah watched as, with a wave of his hand, he disappeared out of the car park.

She turned back to her friends. “So, on a scale of one to ten, how worried about this exam are you?”

Andrew laughed. The three of them fell into step together as they walked towards the gym, where the examination was being held. “Not too worried, actually. I’ve done all the revision I could possibly do, I think.”

Summer rolled her eyes, and said in a stage-whisper, “He’s done nothing but revise for the last month. You’d think he wanted to go to university and become a doctor or something,” she scoffed. “I, on the other hand, have been spending my time far more productively: watching telly.”

“Liar.” Andrew gave her a playful push. “Don’t think I didn’t catch you reading through your revision notes this morning.” He directed his attention towards Hannah, who had been watching the twins’ bickering with amusement, and asked her, “What about you? Did you do any last-minute revision today?”

She snorted. “No. I spent it sunbathing.”

Summer laughed, but Andrew frowned at her disapprovingly. “Hannah, these aren’t some rubbish little exams that don’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things. These are our A Levels. They determine our entire future! You need to do well in these if you want any chance of going to a decent university in September.”

She shrugged uncomfortably. “Well, that’s not a problem, since I’m not going to university.”

Summer and Andrew stared at her as though she’d just announced the moon was made of blue cheese. “What do you mean?” the former ventured eventually. “You told me you applied to university in January and got accepted to all six of your choices! Are you just going to throw that opportunity away?” She made a face. “God, I’m starting to sound just like you,” she said, directing this last part to her brother.

“Look, it’s not a big deal,” Hannah protested. “I…I just don’t think university is for me. Can we please drop the subject?”

Summer held her hands up in defeat. “Fine, I’ll shut up. But, for the record, I think you’re making a big mistake. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in Fairfield?”

Hannah could think of far worse things. Her thoughts drifted to Adam, whose whole life was in the Lake District, and wondered whether their relationship would survive if she went to university. To be honest, that was a large part of her motivation in staying in Fairfield, although she would never tell anyone this – especially Adam himself.

“We’re never getting out of Fairfield, Summer,” she pointed out instead. “Not permanently. This is where the pack is. Unless we want to be lone wolves, we’re stuck here.”

The three of them considered this for a moment.

“That’s a little depressing,” said Summer finally.

“Tell me about it.”

They quietened as they entered the gym, where fifty or so desks had been arranged in rows. Most of them were already filled with students taking their exams – GCSEs, AS Levels and A Levels. Hannah’s younger brother, David, was taking his GCSEs, but he didn’t have an exam today. Summer went to sit with the other people taking Sociology, while Hannah and Andrew sat with those doing Geography. She was beginning to feel the first sign of nerves: her stomach felt like someone had tied knots in it, and her palms were sweating. Thank God this was her last exam!

As the invigilators began the examination, she glanced across at Summer, who was at a desk a few seats to the right of her. Their eyes met and they both smiled; Summer mouthed, “Good luck!” and she returned, “You too.” Then they both turned their attention to the exam paper in front of them.

Three years ago Hannah would never have dared imagine her life could end up the way it had become. She hadn’t believed she would ever have friends or be happy again. She had been bitten by a wolf– a werewolf, as it turned out – at the age of fourteen and become a lone wolf, moving around the country every few months with her family as they searched for a werewolf pack to take her in. It wasn’t until they’d moved to Fairfield that they had actually found one.

It seemed ridiculous, incredible, and if it hadn’t happened to Hannah herself she would have laughed in the face of anyone who suggested it. Werewolves were the things of horror movies and nightmares; they weren’t supposed to be real. People in real life didn’t turn furry at the full moon and weren’t deathly allergic to silver – or so she had always thought. It had taken her a long time to come to terms with her strange path in life, but she was finally happy. Becoming a werewolf had eventually turned out to be a blessing, not a curse.

As she forced herself to concentrate on her exam paper and answer a question on the detection of tidal waves, she sent a silent wish up to the heavens to keep things exactly the way they were.

She should have known better than to tempt fate that way.

The situation, Phoebe Benson decided, was dire. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been quite so heartily bored. Stretched out on the backseat of the car, she watched through the window as rolling green hills and craggy grey fells flashed past. The sky was a beautiful, vivid blue, not marred by a single fluffy cloud, but Phoebe remained unmoved. She sighed dramatically.

Her mother, who was manoeuvring the battered blue Vauxhall along the narrow country roads, glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. “What’s the problem now?” she asked, resigned. Phoebe had been nothing if not vocal about her disinclination to come on this holiday, and since getting in the car early that morning she’d kept up a constant supply of complaints.

“Nothing,” she grumbled.

“Ignore her,” said her brother, Nick, with a roll of his eyes. He was seated beside their mother in the passenger seat, his brown eyes focused on the game he was playing on his mobile phone; normally he’d be texting one of his friends instead, but since passing through Kendal there had been no signal. “I think you need to take the next right,” he added to their mother, looking up from his game; a map of the Lake District was balanced on his lap.

“What’s the name of this place again?” asked Phoebe curiously.

Her mother indicated – although there were no other cars to make this strictly necessary, she’d always been a careful driver – and turned right into a country lane that looked exactly the same as the one they’d been on before, or so it appeared to Phoebe. “Fairfield,” she replied finally. “It’s supposed to be a very charming little village. Even better, it’s not too great a distance from Windermere or Wordsworth’s house.”

Phoebe brightened marginally at this. She liked poetry. She could think of worse things than visiting the old house of such a famous and talented poet. The problem was that Phoebe had lived in London all her life, and was therefore a city girl by nature – mostly when she thought of the countryside, she thought of creepy bugs and inadequate toilet facilities. The prospect of spending a month surrounded by nature in all its “glory,” with only her mother and brother for company, was not a very appealing one.

She sat up to get a better look out the window, and was momentarily distracted by her reflection in the glass. The weather had been wonderfully hot recently, but here in the Lake District it was not only warm, but humid. As a result, her short blonde hair had gone frizzy, giving her the appearance of someone who had stuck her finger in an electrical socket. She grimaced and tried to flatten it with her fingers, but it was hopeless.

She really hoped there was a dearth of good-looking guys in Fairfield. She would just die of embarrassment if any of them saw her looking like this.