Have No Fear

Why?

When I wake up in the morning he's not there anymore, but I did only ask him to stay until I fell asleep, so I'm not that surprised. I was just grateful he didn't make me feel weak because of my nightmares.

I knew I needed to shift today and at least have a wander around outside. Feeling cooped up inside all the time was making me more anxious if anything.

"Morning" he greets me when I come downstairs.

"Morning to you too".

"Feeling any better?"

"Yeah. Thanks for not making last night weird".

"It's fine. I used to get nightmares too, but I can't say that I've ever shifted in my sleep before".

"What were yours about?"

He puts down a plate of scrambled eggs and toast on the table in front of me.

"They were about the first night I shifted. I don't know what yours was like, but mine wasn't exactly painless".

"It hurt like a bitch".

"For how long?"

"Minutes".

"Mine lasted for over an hour".

"How?"

That sounds horrific. I couldn't even comprehend going through that level of pain again for even a second, let alone for any longer than that.

"I was scared and fought back against the change".

That was one of the things we're specifically instructed not to do growing up, but he wasn't raised among werewolves, so of course he wouldn't know that.

"That must've been awful for you".

"As you can imagine, that one hour felt like an eternity".

"And you used to have nightmares about it?"

"Like it was happening all over again, tied to that same tree outside. Mom used to bring me hot chocolate with honey in it to calm me down afterwards".

I needed to ask him one last time.

"Why did you leave, Conan?"

He finally sits down next to me and looks me dead in the eyes. The next thing he says to me makes me unable to tell if he's crazy or not.

"I've been travelling the world searching for answers so I can find out if there's a cure for this".

"What? A cure for...for being a werewolf?"

"I know how it sounds, and I'm not insinuating that there's going to be some miracle way to change all werewolves, just the hybrids".

"What makes you think that's even possible?"

"The werewolf gene is passed on through our DNA. It's nothing more than a genetic mutation and with me only being half werewolf, there could be a way to eliminate it completely some day".

I was suddenly so angry with him. How could he say that?

"So I'm just some mutant to you then?"

"What? No, that's not what I'm saying".

"That's literally what you just said, Conan!"

"Stop overreacting, Ren" he sighs.

"Overreacting? I never once judged you for being a damn hybrid, even though every book I've ever read says that I should. Then you just basically called me a genetic abnormality, like I shouldn't even exist, or that I'm some kind of mistake".

I head for the door and grab my car keys on the way out. I'm too pissed off with him to even be here with him right now.

"Wait! You're not supposed to go outside!" he comes after me.

"Tell your mom what you just said to me. I'm sure she'll understand why I need to be far away from you right now".

Before he has the chance to say another word, I slam my car door shut and drive away. I'd never been more angry at someone.

I'm not a mutant or some sort of monster. I'd actually felt sorry for him when he told me what he went through, and that was how he thought of me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why did I feel like I had to know? It was none of my business really, but I'm too stubborn to go back there just yet, and I'm definitely not apologising for walking out like I did.

All I've done is sit alone in my car in the pouring rain for the past two hours. Kind of sad really. Conan is probably sat stuffing his face with snacks, waiting for me to come crawling back.

Which reminds me, I should really go get some more groceries before I go back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He wasn't in the cabin when I got there an hour later. Just a few more days then Carol will be back home and he'll leave anyway, so I'm not stressing out about it anymore.

The front door slams shut and in comes Conan, ready to berate me for running off like that.

"Where the hell have you been?" he's surprisingly calm about it, even though he's annoyed.

"Just in town. Got you some more pop tarts, by the way".

"If something had happened to you..."

"Then what, Conan? I'd just be one less worthless werewolf to pass on my ugly genetic mutation one day, right?"

"You wanted to know why I left, and I told you".

True.

"So did you find this 'cure', or what?"

"Obviously not".

"So eight years of travelling the world and you've got absolutely nothing to show for it? Great work, so worth it".

"No, not nothing".

"What then? It must be something really good to keep you away from your home for all these years".

"Myself and a few others like me have been trying to locate some ancient texts. Rumour has it there's a lot of things written inside of them that have been kept secret from werewolves for centuries".

"And who's keeping them a secret from us exactly?"

"You're not ready to know that yet".

"For gods sake! Will you, or anybody in my goddamn life just give me a straight answer for once?"

"Vampires, Ren! Are you happy now?"

What in the teen romance novel is he talking about now?

"Vampires?" I laugh.

"They've stayed hidden in the shadows for centuries, but there are those that can walk in the daylight".

"So wait...vampires are real?"

"Yes, Ren, vampires are very real and very dangerous".

"And they're keeping these books hidden, why?"

"From what I've found out, some of them contain ancient prophecies. Serious mystical shit that they wouldn't want us reading about".

"I thought you didn't believe in all that kind of crap?"

"I don't, but if it potentially helps us then where's the harm in finding them".

"So have you ever seen a real vampire in the flesh?"

"A lot of them. You can't smell the difference between them and humans, but they're everywhere if you just take the time to look. Just listen out for a heartbeat if you ever suspect somebody".

My mind is blown!

"And only some of them can walk in the daylight? How?"

"The same way that I can touch silver. They knew the aversion to sunlight was just a myth that had been passed down over the centuries".

Well this day just went to a whole new level of crazy. There's nothing written about them in any of the books I'd been given. Does Ambrose know vampires are real too?