Chapter 2

I open my eyes slowly and see a white ceiling. Was it all a dream? I tried to sit up but the pain I felt only made my attempt worse. Along with the pain came memories. The fight...The pit...The moon.Tears of frustration well up in my eyes. I looked at my shoulder.Bandaged.But when I look at the ceiling,I also see a face.” Oh, you’re awake”, said the stranger. He had blonde hair,slicked back with gel,

mesmerizing green eyes, and one hell of a cute cheekbone.

“Where am I?”,I ask weakly.

He smiled.” Just know you’re safe”.I was tired of everything that had happened and the answer he gave me didn’t satisfy me.” First of all, tell me exactly where I am and why I'm here.What is gonna happen to me?”.The stranger looked stunned and at the same time confused.” I will tell you everything. But, I just want you to relax and know you’re in good hands and nobody will hurt anyone”.He looked at my clenched fist and I loosened it.

He gave me a carefree smile and slowly told me everything.

“My name is Jay. Tristan, my identical twin brother, took you hostage. He’s a little sick in the head because we grew up as orphans and all. He had a fiancee, Angela. You must've heard about her because he thought you were her. After all, you look just like her. But days after his proposal, something went wrong..".His eyes seem to go a little distant at the word 'wrong' but he regains his composure."She's been missing for weeks and Tristan kind of lost it and here we are!".He gestured to the room,flashing another carefree smile but by the look on my face, he could tell I was not having it."I will do anything, absolutely anything to make it up to you. My brother is a major dickhead-".

"I just wanna go home", I say. His explanation wasn't making anything better. All I could think about was how worried my mom would be. Jay must've sensed my worry because the next thing he said shocked me.

"If you're thinking about your mom, I let her know you were at a friend's and sent her a picture of you all tucked up right here in bed. Fast asleep. She kinda thinks I'm your boyfriend-"

"WHAT?. I need to go now! And you better tell your dickhead brother that he should compensate me for the 3 days that I was stuck in that pi-"

A sharp ache in my shoulder silences me. I groan in pain.

"Look, I’m sure you know you were bitten by not just any wolf...”.He paused and gave me some time to recall the events of last night. The memories poured in and it seemed to amplify my pain. The truth was unbearable. I was a monster, an animal. A werewolf. Jay reached out to me. I pulled myself away and ran out of the room despite the pain.My room was adjacent to 6 other rooms in a row.There were more?.

The staircase was double L shaped,I had almost tripped at the stairway corridor and basically jumped the last flight of stairs.The living room was humongous.It had large couches which looked like you could sink into them yet a small TV at one end.There was a sliding door at one wall and I could hear the sound of other people behind it.

Other werewolves.

I heard Jay's voice call out to me and ran out of the house.The farther I ran,the more I looked back.They had quite a big,cozy,minimalist house,and it was in the middle of the woods.How ironic.

I caught site of a bare path that looked like it could lead me out of here.The further I walked down it,the more dense it became.I may have been wrong.l held my shoulder as I pushed away branches to make way.I recited a mantra in my head the whole time.I'm a normal girl.I'm a normal girl. Finally, the path got less dense till there were no more branches in the way. Just a few meters away,was a stream. I haven't taken a bath in days. Slowly and carefully, I removed my dirty clothes. I put one foot in the water and felt myself shiver at the cool temperature. The current was slow and smooth and water wove in between my toes and I yearned for more. I put my whole body in, avoiding my bandaged shoulder. Everything seemed to fade away. It almost felt like I wasn't stranded in the woods, with a werewolf possibly after me.

”You know, if you wanted to take a dip in, you could have just told me”.I almost drowned when I heard the voice. Jay stood not too far off, with his arms crossed."Let's get you outta here".Before I could protest I could feel my waist and shoulder in foreign hands."Don’t be scared, it’s me".How did he get here so fast? I try to slap his hands off me."Pervert!", I say."Right now isn't the time for that. Your powers are already manifesting. You ran all the way here without having anything to eat”, he says.

I hadn't considered that at all. I really was turning into a proper werewolf.

I felt his warm strong hands underneath my thighs and on my upper back as he lifted me out of the stream. My hands feel confused but hesitantly I place them on his chest. With that, he brings me closer."You must be cold", he says as he looks down at me. His mesmerizing green eyes render me speechless. He pulls his face closer and I feel his hand slowly drifts closer to my butt. I almost accept what he's doing till.....

”Let’s go back”.Our little moment ended as soon as it started and he walked through the forest, not even glancing at me but from beneath his jawline, I could see how hard he was blushing. All the while he carries me back, I completely rest my body and feed my eyes with how good he looked from underneath. I didn't even notice when we got back. Jay kicks the door open.” We’re back!”, he said. He takes me to my room and lays me on the bed. He starts to dry me up and all the while I say nothing. Deep down, I was enjoying every single moment his fingers brushed my skin. It gave me warmth and not the kind you get from a blanket. He drapes the towel around my neck leads me to the bathroom and hands me a white towel.” There are some clothes in the cupboard. Whatever you need is right there, including your phone. Wifi password is HOWL123. Breakfast is downstairs. Please hurry up. We have a lot to discuss".He walks to the door. When the door was closed, I felt my cheeks; they were red hot.

************

I hear a lot of noise from the kitchen door. Are there other people...other werewolves?. I walk in, hoping not to draw too much attention but I’m too late. The door creaks open loudly and Jay announces my presence by pulling me in to meet others. I don’t see another Jay so Tristan isn't here. I saw 4 people in the kitchen and gave them a little wave. A tall girl with pale skin, auburn hair and hooded eyes who looked like she was in her 20s, waved back and smiled. A boy with dark brown hair was doing away at his cereal.He looked up for a moment and I noticed his dark blue eyes.He gave me a friendly wink, and then went back to his cereal. A girl with tan skin, long blonde hair and too much eyeliner gazed at me in a weird way. " I hope you understand why you’re here, Camilla", Jay says like he expects to easily adjust to this new way of life.

"I don’t even know these people so that’s a no", I replied.

” Oh, I’m Lizzy”, said the girl with auburn hair. She looked friendly. She looks me up and down." And those are my clothes", she says with a giggle."I’m Spence", said the brown-haired boy, still doing way at his cereal. The girl with too much eyeliner said coldly,”I'm Andrea.Who are you?”.

"That's how she is", Jay whispers in my ear before shooting her a look. Andrea forces a smile.

”Look...”.Lizzy says as she comes closer.” Turning into a werewolf can be stressful and a lot of things change”.She looked dead serious like I was going to die.” You may experience cravings, transformations at the wrong times, strong emotions, and a very serious hunger”.She held my hand.” But I believe that you can control it ”.Jay sat beside me.” You’re gonna train with us and we'll teach you how to hide your inner wolf. Only then can you go home".So I was gonna be stuck in this house for a while?" But it’s summer. You can't keep me here !", I snapped. Jay holds my shoulders and looks deep into my eyes." I promised that I'd pay for whatever damage my brother caused you but you really can't go out into the real world the way you are. You will be a danger to the people around you, like your parents".

My mom. I could already picture myself turning into a horrendous monster and ripping my mom to pieces and then snapping out of it and feeling the worst regret known to mankind. There was a short silence at the table. Even Spence stopped eating his cereal. I sat down and massaged my temples, all that rage had made me dizzy.

"I'll do it. But please make it quick. This whole thing seems horrendous as it is".

Jay gives me a pat on my good shoulder and then places a whole plate full of food in front of me."Dig in and when you're done, come outside. The sooner we begin,the better”.I looked down at my plate and realized how hungry I was. I gobbled the whole thing up like I hadn't eaten in days and technically I hadn't.