CHAPTER TWO
I woke up, finding Daniel watching TV in the living room. I yawned, stretched and sat next to him. He was watching a werewolf movie. The main character was now freaking out after having killed someone. Like any of this stuff would ever happen.
“Where you wanna go today?” Daniel asked me.
“Thought I’d call Thalia. I want to see if she’s okay. She seemed kinda upset last night.”
“Never noticed. Where do you wanna meet up with her? I’ll change clothes and meet you there.”
“I was actually thinking that I could spend the day with just her..”
I saw pain flicker through his eyes. Then he smiled a cocky grin and looked at me.
“Oo la la, someone’s trying to get in a girl’s pants.”
“Dude!” I yelled, laughing. “Seriously. Just friends.”
“It’s alright man, I know you like her. She’s yours if you want her.”
She’s yours if you want her?! He makes her sound like she’s an object, something you’d be fond of one minute, then see something new and forget about it.
“Yeah.. So, anyway, what you gonna do for the day?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Guess I’ll hang out at home, play some Xbox. There’s a free download demo of Gears Guns up today.”
“Cool.”
A little while after that Daniel went home. As soon as I saw him close his front door, I instantly grabbed my phone.
Hey Thalia, Joe here, wanna meet up at the park?
Send.
A reply came nearly instantly.
Sure! Meet you there in twenty mins, k?
I quickly typed K and hit send. Oh my God. A whole afternoon, just me and Thalia. My stomach felt like butterflies were flying about inside it. I had to get dressed! But first, a shower.
I took a quick shower, and then ran to my room with the towel wrapped around me. I pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a red hoodie with some logo on it. The hoodie was really warm. I could smell the freshness off of it. Mom had just washed it. Speaking of mom, why weren’t my parents up yet?
I checked their room to see them sleeping. I decided to write a note so they knew where I’d be.
Mom,
Gone to park with Thalia. You remember Thalia, don’t you? Yeah, the best childhood friend one. Anyway, met her near Cheese Couch yesterday and am meeting with her now. Daniel is not coming so if you can’t reach my cell, and if it’s an emergency, come get me at the park. I’ll probably be on the swings.
Love you,
Joe.
I quickly gelled my hair, grabbed a backpack, shoves all the food I could find in, and ran out the door. I checked my cell and I had three minutes to get to the park. Why was I so nervous over a girl?!
I started running, thinking I would take my shortcut when I remembered my dream. I stopped, turned around, and started running the long way. I reached the park, one minute after I was supposed to be there. Thalia was already there.
She sat on the swings, swinging, obviously. There was a slight wind , making her blonde hair wave. She wore a hoodie, and blue skinny jeans. She looked beautiful.
She waved to me and I walked over. I sat down on the second swing. I looked around at the park. The trees were a brilliant shade of green, and grass engulfed the ground. The swings we sat on were the only swings in the park.
There was a field behind us, and a path in front of us, which led into a forest. There were a lot of forests in Wolvhaven. Yeah, weird name. But then again, this town has always had a mystery behind it. You could just feel it.
I started to swings and soon enough, Thalia and me were competing each other to jump off at the highest point. She went first. She had gotten an inch under the top bar and she had jumped. She landed with her legs bent, her tip toes on the ground, and a hand on the ground too, to support her weight. It was awesome.
I tried to swing up to where she had gotten but it seemed impossible. I got to the highest I could, a little more than halfway. I jumped, tried to land coolly like Thalia, but just tripped and face-smacked the ground. At least I had hit grass, and not concrete. My jump had been long. I was proud of that.
Thalia rushed over and helped me up.
“You doofus!” She said, bursting out laughing.
“Hey! We’re not all as energetic as Olympic athletes, y’know!” I said, laughing a little too.
“No need to be jealous, Joe,” she smirked.
“I’m not!”
“Sure.” She smirked again. What a gloater. But, I have to say, it was cute.
“Wanna go for a walk? How about through the scaaaarrryyyy forest?” I said, wiggling my fingers like a ghost.
“Fine, but don’t blame me if you get kidnapped by a pedo,” she smiled.
We walked over to the entrance, and Thalia grabbed my hand, interlocking her fingers with mine. I froze. A simple touch. It sent shivers down my spine how right it felt. I knew what had led her to the hand holding. The forest was scary. Like, really scary! The trees hung low and wide, their branches looking like writhing hands. The ground looked like it had been painted with dry blood.
Thalia looked at me, and we turned around, heading back towards the swings. Until she tugged me a different direction. We headed along the forest entrance. I couldn’t speak with her holding my hand. She smiled at me and started skipping. I smiled back and ran after her.
We skipped and ran for a few minutes until we came to a little path at the edge of the forest. Thalia ran through, and then nodded at me to do the same. I did what I was told. The clearing I came into was beautiful. Much better than the forest. True, the forest did surround the clearing, but still, the clearing itself was so pure. Flowers stood around the edge, like protectors, blocking the forest form intruding. The rest of the clearing was soft, green grass. A half-broken boulder stood in the middle, so it pointed upwards, jagged.
Thalia sat on it, like she’d become comfortable with the jagged rock that nearly pierced her hands.
“Umm, Thalia, doesn’t that rock hurt?” I asked.
“Not at all. Y’know, looks can be deceiving.”
I know it was weird to think this, but I would’ve sworn Thalia seemed like she owned this place.
I lay down in the grass, arms spread. It felt so nice, so warm, so soft.
“So Thalia, how come I haven’t seen you around town in ages?” I asked, looking up at the clear blue sky.
“I’ve been… busy.”
“With what?”
“Stuff.”
“Right, that helps.”
We stayed in silence for a while, then Thalia came over and lay down beside me. Her eyes were so beautiful. I could look at them forever.
“How are your eyes purple?”
“I don’t know.”
“You sure?”
“No. I do know, I’m just not gonna tell you.”
“Oh..”
I couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed by her not wanting to tell me. Was she getting annoyed with me? Did she hate me now? I could feel my hands getting sweaty.
“Do you want to go now?”
“What do you mean? Go from here, or go from you?”
“Go from me..”
“No. I wanna stay.”
A smile spread across my face. I could feel her reach for my hand, interlocking fingers.
And we lay there, staring up at the sky, for ages.
Evening was coming and Thalia seemed to be getting nervous.
“You need to go again, don’t you?” I asked, remembering last night.
“Yeah. Just this thing that happens.”
“What kinda thing?”
“A private thing.” I could see her brows furrow as she said private, like I shouldn’t be asking.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“No it’s not. I shouldn’t be poking around in your business. I just get-“
“Worried. I know.”
The shock from her finishing my sentence must’ve shown on my face because she laughed and softly kissed me on my cheek. I blushed liked crazy.
She got up. I stayed where I was, unable to move after the kiss.
“Well?”
“We.. well what?” I asked, confused.
“You coming?” She asked, putting her hands out wide, like it should’ve been obvious.
“Oh, but I thought you had that something that happens every night?”
“I do, but I have a bit of time until that.”
I smiled, stood up and interlocked our fingers. She squeezed her hand to mine, and I squeezed back.
We walked back the way we had come. The park was eerie at this time of evening. The forest seemed scarier than before. I didn’t dare even look at it. Suddenly, Thalia froze.
“What time is it?” She asked quickly.
I checked my phone.
“Half six.”
“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, turning to her. Her eyes were the same as they were last night. Completely white.
“Your eyes.. They were the same last night.”
“Joe, go home. Now. Quick.”
“What? No, I’m not leaving you here, in this place!” I was astonished by what she had just said. What was going around in that head of hers?
“LEAVE!” She shouted. Her eyes seemed whiter than before. They were… glowing!
What the hell?!
“No, I’m not leaving you! Seriously.”
“Joe, if you don’t leave then we’ll never speak again. Is that what you want?”
I didn’t want to leave her, even though she looked like a girl from a horror movie, but I didn’t want her to stop talking to me either. She seemed to be shaking, and I was getting seriously scared. She looked like a serial killer that had gotten superpowers.
“Fine, I’ll leave. Don’t expect me to come save you if something happens.”
And I walked away, leaving Thalia shaking, white eyed, in the middle of the park.
CHAPTER THREE
What had happened last night, I don’t know. I was confused and angry, with a bit of sadness thrown in. Confused because what the heck had been happening to Thalia? Angry because she was being so bitchy, and sad because I left her on her own in the middle of the park at night.
I got out of bed, rubbing my right temple, trying to numb the headache that was forming. I went into the kitchen. My mom was cooking breakfast. Good old mom. Her hair was black, like mine, and it hung down to her chest. Her face was pale white, as it always was, and when I walked in her chocolate brown eyes looked in my direction.
She looked mad.
“So,” she said, “you were out late.”
“Yeah, I was with Thalia.” I knew she would remember Thalia.
“Thalia? Thalia from ages ago? Is she back?”
“Back from what?”
“Her family moved away.”
I was surprised by this. Why hadn’t she told me? It seems like Thalia keeps a lot of secrets.
“I guess they’re back..” I said quietly.
“Want so bacon?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
She put four pieces of bacon on a plate and I devoured them quickly, asking for more.
I had eaten nearly ten slices of bacon when my phone rang in the bedroom. I ran in and picked it up. Daniel.
“Hey Dan,” I said.
“Hey Joe, wanna come over today?”
I wasn’t sure if I did. I needed some space from everyone today. To try and figure out what had happened to Thalia.
“Umm, I’m sick.” I made a cough noise and then Daniel hung up. Uh oh.
I sat on my bed, looking through Google on my laptop. Glowing white eyes. Things that happen at night, That sorta stuff, but nothing that would make sense showed up.
Ugh.
I decided to just ask Thalia instead. I picked up my phone and sent a text saying:
Thalia, we need to talk. I’m not giving you a choice. Meet me at Cheese Couch in an hour.
I wonder if she would actually reply.
Beep beep.
Fine.
I didn’t respond. I just shut my laptop and lay back on my bed. What would her giant secret be? I was hoping it wouldn’t be that she liked girls. But it wouldn’t be that, I knew it. It was something extraordinary. I had a feeling in my gut that it was, plus the glowing eyes. It was two now, so I just had to wait until quarter to three.
And it came. I got up off my bed, where I had been lying, thinking about what Thalia’s
secret was. I changed clothes, into a t-shirt and jeans. It was warm today. Really warm. I grabbed my phone and shoved it into my pocket.
I went into the kitchen and told my mom I was going. She said I had to be back by five. I hate curfews.
I saw Thalia already had a seat in Cheese Couch. I sat next to her. She looked tired. There were huge bags under her eyes and her eyes themselves had lost their usual purple colour, and just looked like a grey-purple.
I took her hand in mine from across the table.
“What happened last night?” I asked.
“Do you really want to know?”
“I’m not sure I do, but that’s not the reason I need to know. The reason I need to know is because I’m worried about you, and I want to help.”
“Okay, I’ll tell you, but not here, with everyone around.” She glanced at all the tables, packed with people.
She stood up, still holding my hand, and pulled me outside.
“We have to wait ‘till night time.”
I nodded and started walking toward the park. Somewhere we could be alone. I felt like the park was our place. If someone was there, we could just walk to another spot, behind some trees. It was a place where we were always alone, together.
We sat on the swings again, silent. I swung high, Thalia swung low. There was a pain in her eyes, I could see it. Her brows were furrowed, and her lips were turned down.
“Is it that bad?” I asked. She saw that I noticed her frowning features.
“It’s worse than bad. It’s majorly passed bad. It’s way, way, way worse than bad.” She sighed, and stared up into the sky. We’d been here for a half hour. It was nearly five. Curfew. But I couldn’t leave Thalia. Not now, not when I was so close to finding out what was happening to her.
She was starting to sweat. Her swing stopped and she turned to me. Her eyes were the same white they had been the last two nights.
“It’s happening,” she said. “The change.”
I stopped my swing and stood up by her, taking her hand in mine.
“What change?” I asked, gently stroking her face.
“The change to another form, the form of AAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH,” she screamed. I grabbed her, she was shaking uncontrollably. Her eyes stared at nothing.
“Thalia?!”
No answer, she just kept screaming and shaking.
“THALIA?!”
Her hand whipped out, hitting my chest. I was sent flying backwards, into the forest. I hit a tree and landed. My head hurt. I touched it and felt blood. I tore off a piece of my t-shirt and placed it to my head. My vision was turning blurry. I staggered towards Thalia, my back aching form the hit of the tree. Shouldn’t I be unconscious?
She was in the ground. She seemed to be… growing fur? Her top burst open, and out grew purple fur, with streaks of black. I kneeled beside her. She was fur from her neck down. I touched her face. It was growing outwards, stretching. Her hair grew back into her scalp, and outgrew the same coloured fur as the rest of her. She looked at me, and mouthed the word, ‘Run’.
“No,” I whispered.
Her face kept stretching. She stood up. One last scream and her body burst, leaving the face and body of a wolf behind. She fell onto all fours.
She… she was a wolf.
“Thalia?” I whispered.
The wolf turned towards me. It’s eyes glowed white, her face, with it’s nose at the end, seemed angry. The purple fur was amazing. It was mesmerizing.
The wolf growled, showing her gums and her white canines. Could she understand me? Was she an actual wolf, or half human half wolf?
“Thalia, if you can understand me, stomp your foot twice,” I said, backing away slowly.
The wolf walked slowly toward me, and I ran. It gave chase. Well, more like a leap. It landed in front of me and growled again.
OH SHIT, this thing, my friend, was going to kill me. And also, OH SHIT, my best friend was a wolf!
I tried to stroke the wolf, but it snapped at my hand. Then I heard Thalia’s voice.
Joe, run. In this form, the wolf is in control. You need to run. I might be able to keep it from killing you. JUST RUN!
It came into my head, like telepathy!
I did what I was told, I ran. Thalia seemed to be doing good as the wolf stepped forward, then stopped, cocked her head, and whined, as if saying “Why can’t I eat him?”
I ran for the exit, but the wolf leaped, landed and skidded in front of it. Damn it, Thalia. I changed direction and ran into the clearing, the place Thalia and me had gone the day before. The wolf came in. Damn. Shit. Crap. I’m dead.
I backed away, nearly into the forest. The wolf seemed to be smiling. It walked over to the rock Thalia had sat on yesterday, and stood atop it. It started to howl. This was my chance. I ran. Back into the park, out into the street. I could hear it. Why was it so persistent on killing me?
I turned and ran for home, through the forest that led to Cheese Couch. I ran, and ran, and ran. The forest never seemed so long. And why hadn’t the wolf caught up?
I heard a growling from my right. It stopped, and I saw a shadow of a wolf. The wolf growled again. It leaped and I jumped forward, but the wolf had clawed across my back. I heard biting and ripping and whining to my left. I tried to look up, but I was losing too much blood. My eyes closed.
Then they opened. The wolf was nudging me, trying to get me to move. It whined, then licked me. I felt a tear on my cheek, but I didn’t belong to me. It belonged to the wolf. It rested it’s head on me. And I knew, I knew it would stay with me until I died.
CHAPTER FOUR
I woke in my bed. I ached everywhere. I remembered last night as if it were happening right now. Thalia and her secret, her beautiful purple fur, her growl, and her bite. The bite that should have killed me, but didn’t. I opened my eyes to see Thalia sitting beside my bed, on a chair from the kitchen.
She had been crying. Her eyes were all puffy and red. I tried to speak, but my throat was too sore. She tried smiling but couldn’t, and tears started to stream down her face.
Where were my parents? I was in this condition and they weren’t even here. Speaking of parents, I hadn’t seen dad in a few days, but that’s what its like when he’s away so much.
My back hurt so much. I wanted to scream, yell, roar, grab Thalia and pass the pain to her. It was annoying, not being bale to speak. I looked to Thalia. I caught her eyes. She let out a sob, and knelt directly next to the bed, taking one of my hands in hers.
“Now, I want you to know, this is going to hurt. It will really hurt. You saw it happen to me yesterday. You saw what I became. You saw what I did. That’s all going to happen to you, because of me. I know, I’m a horrible person.”
No, I thought, you’re not.
“I am. I truly am. I’m a monster. You can see it now, can’t you?” She stroked my cheek, then moved my head so I had no choice but to look her in the face. And I could see it. If I focused. I could see that her face was being shared with the monster, the wolf. I didn’t want to look anymore, so I shut my eyes. Thalia touched me again, the same place; my cheek. I opened my eyes, and saw her purple eyes flare white for a second.
“It’s time,” she said. I knew what was about to happen, and I didn’t want to go through it. No. I wouldn’t go through it. I would force the wolf that now scraped at my insides to stay down, stay buried deep inside. I could feel it now, for the second time. It scraped, it growled, it bit, it howled. It wanted out, and out it seemed it would get.
No, I told it.
GRRRRR! YES! OUT! It howled back.
NO! I yelled.
It howled in anger and started scraping again. It was getting stronger. It was getting out.
Thalia took both my hands, and tried to help me to stand. I collapsed to the floor, unable to feel any muscles. I tried to move my hand, and felt a finger twitch. Then three more twitched, then wiggled. At least the numbness was fading.
Thalia wrapped my arm round her shoulder, and for the first time I noticed I was wearing the same clothes as last night. The same, blood-stained, clothes. She basically dragged me through the hall, kitchen, and out into the street. It was night time. I had slept that long.
I stared up, at the moon that made the wolf inside me jump up and down, run around, bark, scrape harder, bite harder, roar.
I felt the change happening. Thalia had just gotten me to the forest that led to Cheese Couch and the park. I yelled as I felt a bone break in my arm. At least I could use my voice again. Pain soared through my arm up to my shoulder as that broke too. Another yell and I was on the ground. I lay there, clutching my shoulder, as Thalia screamed. She fell to the floor, the change happening to her aswell.
My legs broke in unison. I could feel power and pain coursing through me. My broken bones were re-aligning. Becoming that of a quadrupeds. My tongue began to grow. Sweat poured through my clothed, poured down my forehead. My tongue was now lolling out my mouth. Fur grew around me, snow-white. My teeth grew sharp, the big gest and sharpest the exact same place on top and lower gums. I snarled as the wolf face burst through, out of my skin. And then he took control.
I now felt what he had felt all day, being trapped inside of a body, trying and needing to get out. I clawed, but it was useless, he was much stronger. It was weird, I could see, feel, think like him, yet I wasn’t completely in control. He would make the movements, but they would be movements that I would have done. We were one of the same, yet different.
We watched Thalia as she finished screaming and turned into her wolf-self. My wolf loved her more than I loved Thalia, and it was his first time meeting her. I could hear Thalia, and the she-wolf, even though most of their thoughts were the same.
Thalia’s were more painful than the wolf’s though, and somehow, I knew that some of her thoughts weren’t able to be over heard by the wolves.
You okay? She asked.
I’m fine. How do I even know how to do this? Wait, holy crap, I’m a werewolf.
Well, actually, you’re not a werewolf. You’re a wolf, and you’re a human. You’re one of the same. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but you can control the wolf. Well, it’ll be easier now we’ve got a pack. Lone wolf is hard, they can’t take power from others in their pack. But with a pack, they’re strong.
Umm, okay, I think I got some of that. But why can’t I control him? You just said I’d be able to, yet he’s the one making the decisions.
He’s making your decisions, the ones you would choose.
Okay..
We decided to roam for a while, well, the wolves did. They entered the park, and then into the clearing. Thalia’s purple-furred wolf sat on the rock again. Rock now, not a boulder.
Why do you always sit there? I asked.
It’s where I first turned. It marks my territory. In wolf form, this is my home.
So, the forest back there is my home now? As soon as I asked the question, I knew the answer; yes. I felt attached already. I wanted to go back, make sure no one was trespassing. If they were, I’d rip them to shreds.
Easy there. You’re only a pup, you’re not as strong as you think.
Oh really? And what’s a pup in this case?
It means newbie. Basically. Right now I’m the Alpha. Not the real Alpha though. Just taking the role until you’ve settled into your new body. We’ll learn who the new Alpha is in time.
How?
We’ll just… know. I’ve read my family journal. That’s what helped me cope with my transformation. Like, really helped. I wasn’t bitten, like you. Wolf-blood runs in my family. It skips a few generations though. My parents know, but my father isn’t a wolf. Hey, we need a name for ourselves. Y’know, like werewolves.
How about Lunar Wolves? Y’know, since we change at night, when the moon is out.
For now, we’ll be Lunar Wolves, but that could change soon and fast.
What do you mean?
In the journal, my great-great-grandfather speaks about how he bit his friend, like me, and every night they would change. He also said that soon after he had bitten his friend, she bit her friend, and the pack became stronger. The strength of the pack allowed them to change at will. They could decide whether or not to change. If we chose someone who would be able to cope, we might not have to change again.
Both wolves growled and howled at the idea, then looked down at the ground, as if they knew that it had to be done. That it was for the best.
Are.. are we dangerous in this form? Like, will our wolves go off on a killing spree? I asked.
They could, but they won’t. My wolf.. my wolf and I have killed about twenty people. That was when I had first turned. I couldn’t control her. Now that we’ve bonded, she knows to only hunt other animals. Your wolf, however, seems to have just skipped straight to hunting animals. I can sense it. He’s speaking to my wolf. Can you hear them? Concentrate.
I concentrated. I opened my mind to the wolves, to let them in, to tell them to let me in.
ARF! ARF! AR—Cannot, we would have to separate. I do not want to leave you!That was my wolf.
I know, but they need a life. C’mon, they’ll let us out once in a while. And plus, their minds are synchronized now, as are ours. We can talk anytime. That was Thalia’s. Why did mine sound so formal?
But we cannot see. I need to see your beautiful purple fur, your mesmerizing white eyes. He reminded me of Romeo from Romero and Juliet.
Oh, shut up. Leave them have their fun. We’ll come out later in life for a while. I sense they’ll need us soon anyway. Can you sense who the third pack member will be? I can.
Kind of. I can sense their presence, but nothing else.
I guess I’ll leave it as a mystery for you then.
I could’ve sworn Thalia’s wolf winked at mine. I tuned out, my brain hurt. It was like crushing both brains into one head when I listened to the wolves.
When do we change back? I asked Thalia.
It depends. Our wolves decide, she replied.
I didn’t like that idea. What if my wolf didn’t want to change back?
He doesn’t have a choice. We’re stronger during daylight, so you can decide then. My wolf usually changes back around one in morning. Yours will probably change when she does. Can you feel the chemistry between them?
Yeah..
You can go to sleep y’know. Just shut your mind. I’ll be okay on my own.
As much as I didn’t want to leave Thalia be on her own, and as much as I wanted to see what would happen in wolf form, I shut my mind. The bite and claw had been sore, and had taken a lot out of me, even thought I had slept for nearly twenty-four hours.
My mind woke to see I was running through a forest. I was calling my wolf I now. We were becoming one.
Where are we? I asked it. I hadn’t spoken to it yet.
The forest near the clearing. The scary one.
Why?
I’m hunting.. We’re hunting.. I don’t know what to use. Are we two or one? Should I be saying I when speaking to you?
That’s what I’m trying to figure out too. We seem to be the same kind of mind, but different bodies. Your more animalistic, I’m more humane. So I guess we’re an I, just different thought directions.
Mhm. Okay. So, while we talk to each other, we’ll be a we, when we talk to someone else, an I?
Yeah. What are we hunting?
Rabbit. Look, there’s one now.
We pounced, and our paws landed on the rabbit. It yelped in fright and surprise. We slashed it’s neck in one quick swish of our claws. We ate it quickly. It was nice. It didn’t fill us, though.
I was scared at how much I felt at ease with killing and eating the rabbit. But, I did.
Where’s Thalia? I asked my wolf.
They’re gone hunting in the opposite direction… and they thought it was best I told you when we’re alone.
Told me what? I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
The third pack member… it’s destiny. There’s nothing we can do to change it, even though we hate the idea. I feel how you feel, and I feel protective over him too. The third pack member… it’s Daniel.
