wilderness | paul lahote

{24}

He took a deep breath in before sitting straight up again.

"Do you have any questions? Theories?"

I racked my brain. I did. I had millions upon millions. But I didn't know where to start. And I found it hard to say any of them out loud, afraid of being stupid or wrong.

"I have too many." I sighed.

"Just start with something." He seemed frustrated.

"Who... What was the lady in the forest? Victoria." Her name slipped out of my mouth as a mere whisper.

He scoffed, his eyes going dark again. "A leech." He looked back at me. "Our tradition calls them the cold ones."

I didn't say anything, letting him go on.

"Your tradition probably calls them Vampires." I gasped.

"The world isn't what you make of it, Ariah. There are things that exist that you've only ever heard of. All the fairytales and horror stories are true. In my world at least."

"So does that make you a...werewolf?" I asked, feeling stupid already.

He chuckled, but his eyes stayed cold and serious. "Not exactly, but close. We are the descendants of the spirit warriors of our tribe - the Quileute tribe. We call ourselves shape-shifters."

I looked at him, not knowing what to say. This all felt so unreal to me. How was it possible that these things that only existed in the books and movies were actually real and existed along side all of us. Was I being pranked? Was I in some sort of a weird simulation? Had I hit my head that hard? 

Something he had said had sunk in now. 

"We?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

He nodded. "I'm not the only one. Sam, Jared, Jacob and Embry as well." 

"I've been living with wolves the entire time and no one thought to tell me?" 

"We can't exactly tell our secrets to anyone, Ariah. It's a rule." 

I looked over to the window, lost in thought. Everything made sense now. The fact that the boys were always out of the house. The brotherly bond they all had with each other. They already acted like a pack, I just didn't ever even know to think they actually were one. 

"We'll have another bonfire night next week, now that you've been let in to our secrets. The elders will be talking about our legends and the history. You'll get a better understanding then." 

I nodded. "What makes you change? Do you have to wait until the full moon to shift? Does this mean everyone on the tribe is a wolf?" The questions flowed out freely now. Somehow I felt so comfortable in his presence. Even if I knew  there was a wolf inside of him.

He shook his head and laughed a little. "Not everyone. You've got to have the blood in you. We shift when there are vampires near. It's like a primal instinct to protect our tribe. And no we do not need full moon, that's another myth your people have made up." 

I felt embarrassed for that question now. He seemed frustrated, his elevated mood was now gone. 

"I'm guessing you're not happy about being the way you are?" 

He sighed. "Not exactly. I don't like being a monster. I don't like being a threat to others. Or most importantly to you." He looked at me now, his eyes cold, his jaw tensed. 

"But you're not a monster." 

He groaned, lifting his palms against his forehead. "You don't get it, do you?" His tone was harsher now, louder. I was taken aback by it.