Lycan Pass

Lycan Pass - Chapter 3

      I felt a low growl erupt deep in my chest. John still stood smiling in front of me, but the man I assumed to be Trevor inched towards the double doors, blocking off my exit. I backed away in unease.
      
      "Trevor, that's not necessary. She won't run away, will she?" John's voice was pleasant but had a threatening undertone. I forced myself to calm down and sit. Trevor sat on the metal counter nearest the doors, still ready to barricade me in should he decide I was going to bolt. John shuffled over a few feet and pulled up a stool. He pushed his white lab coat out of the way as he settled himself. "So please, won't you tell me your name?" he asked me. 'How the hell am I supposed to talk?' I pondered. Like normal people do? Huh, may as well try.
      
      "Diane Fellow," I tried to say beyond my sharpened fangs. To my suprise, my canine lips worked almost as well as my human ones had, the words coming out in a voice the wasn't perfectly human, but clear enough to understand.
      
      "Diane, right." He paused for a moment. "Well, Diane. Do you know where you are?"
      "Lichen Pass, right?"
      "Sort of. We are called Lycan Pass, but we are miles away from the road you were traveling on earlier. Currently, you are in a small town called Edgewood, though you won't find it on any map."
      "What?"
      "This is a special town, Diane. It was built in 1898 for people like you. Like us." My thoughts stopped in their tracks. What did he mean, "Like us..."? John must have sensed my confusion, because he sighed and swung his lab coat off and lowered himself down on all fours. He let out a fierce howl before I heard the all too familiar sound of popping and crunching bones. John's limbs flung out violently and he hit the ground, hard. Coarse hairs shot out of him like porcupine quills. Sharp teeth protruded from behind his lips. In front of me stood a battle-scarred black wolf, his familiar eyes glowing greenly. I stood frozen in place; even my heart had seemed to stop. He chuckled endearingly at me.
      
      "You shouldn't be shocked, really. You've done this as well. He motioned me over towards a reflective metal cabinet. I followed and stared carefully at my reflection. Piercing blue eyes peered at me, surrounded by a halo of white. I shuffled around to get a better view of myself. I was an Arctic Wolf. But yet, this reflection... it seemed as familiar to me, like an old friend you haven't seen in years. I felt memories stirring in my head. Bold enough to know they're there, but too hazy to see. In a way, I felt... free? Like being born a human was an accident. I looked back at John.
      
      "What's happened to me?"
      "I'll explain, but I want you to shift back first," he told me. With that, he stood on his back two legs, his bones crunching again and his hair receding. His fangs were replaced with human ones and was now the John I had first met. "We haven't got all day, please change back now." I shifted uncomfortably.
      
      "How?" John stared at me, dumbfounded.
      "How?" he repeated slowly. "You mean your parents never... told you anything? Nothing at all?" Trevor stepped forward eagerly.
      "John, do you know what this means? She gotta be part of one of the Lost Families." John's eyes widened momentarily, and he paused to sit on this. He sighed, then turned my way.
      "I suppose I should start at the beginning."