All Hallows' Moon Read Free Page A

tried not to trip over the laces as Gwyn shoved the bag into her arms. Rylie threw it over her shoulder.
    Her aunt gave her a funny look, and Rylie suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be a normal teenage girl instead of a super-strong werewolf. She feigned weakness. “Oof,” she said, staggering.
    It might have been the worst performance of her life, but it was good enough for Gwyn. “Feed the chickens, collect the eggs, and meet me in the barn.”
    Rylie hesitated. Animals didn’t like her anymore. The last time she had run across horses, her collarbone had been broken. They were a lot bigger than chickens, but... “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    Gwyn was already gone.
    Standing back amongst the cabbages placed her upwind of the chickens so they wouldn’t notice her. The bag of feed felt like an oversized pillow to her, but the lead weight of worry in her gut anchored her to the spot.
    So what if the chickens didn’t like her? What could they do?
    “Feed the chickens,” Rylie muttered. “Collect the eggs.” A rooster cried out mockingly on top of the coop.
    She eased inside the gate. It smelled like the henhouse hadn’t been cleaned in a couple of days, and there were flies everywhere, but the hens weren’t making noise. Maybe they were still asleep. Maybe she could get in and out before they even—
    Feathers exploded around her. The rooster panicked and cackled, flapping its wings to send droppings flying everywhere. The hens awoke all at once, gabbling and bursting out of the coop.
    Shocked, Rylie dropped the bag of feed. It opened and dumped across the ground.
    “Oh no!”
    The presence of food didn’t calm the chickens. The wire enclosure rattled as the rooster flew at her, trying to attack her, and it was so ridiculous that she would have laughed if it wasn’t also a little terrifying.
    And if her stomach wasn’t growling.
    Rylie could see herself snapping her jaws on the neck of a hen and shaking it until its spine snapped. She thought how good it would taste, even if it was a little small, and...
    Wiping drool off her chin, she backtracked out of the coop and latched the gate behind her. Gross . Rylie’s stomach turned. The chickens smelled awful, not delicious. Those were not good thoughts to have.
    Her aunt was saddling up a horse when Rylie poked her head around the barn door.
    “Where are the eggs? And where’s the rest of the feed?” Gwyn asked.
    “There weren’t any eggs.”
    “And...?”
    “I dropped the feed bag,” Rylie said to her feet.
    Her aunt rubbed her face. A deep line had taken up permanent residence between her eyebrows. “Why?”
    “It was heavy.” When her aunt gave her a Look—the kind of Look that said she was reconsidering having Rylie help around the ranch—she hurried to add, “I’m really sorry.”
    “You know what? It’s fine. Come in here and saddle up Butch. You’re going to ride out to the goat pasture with me, and then we’ll check on the cows.”
    Rylie stared at Butch without coming into the barn. He looked about a million years old and as gentle as a bunny on Vicodin.
    “I can’t,” she whispered.
    “What’s that? Speak up.”
    “I can’t ride horses anymore. I’m... uh, I’m scared of them.”
    Gwyn planted her hands on her hips. “Stop talking nonsense. You’ve ridden my horses since you could barely reach their knees. I don’t have time for games, so get in here and saddle up.”
    “Isn’t there something else I could do? Something that doesn’t involve animals?”
    “Honey, this is a ranch. Everything is for the animals. You want me to call Jessica, or are you going to help out?”
    Having her mom pick her up sounded almost as fun as getting her collarbone broken by a horse again. Maybe Butch wouldn’t notice that she smelled like a wolf. Maybe he’d let her ride him, and she could do her chores... until he realized there was something evil on his back.
    “Are you sure there isn’t something else I could