The Wolf In Me

Chapter 6: A Clearer Picture

Lisa thought for a moment. "Does it happen gradually or all at once?"

"It happens gradually and is reversible, but we almost always stay together once bonded. At first, they will feel a kinship for each other, it will just feel right. You'll feel a pull, almost a magnetic one."

The expression on Lisa's face suddenly changed to that of surprise. "You said it feels right? A magnetic pull?"

Sandara carefully read the expression on Lisa's face. "Yes, why?"

Lisa got up and began to pace nervously. "I'm guessing that Jennie has already begun to bond with me, but I feel something more than just attraction. It's strange, it's also strange that the fact that Jennie is a werewolf doesn't freak me out."

Sandara leaned forward and listened intently what Lisa was saying. "Go on."

"I'm not sure why I'm saying this but I had a dream last night. I saw a wolf with Jennie, a black wolf. I sensed that it was her mate and it protected her. But the bizarre thing was that the wolf had my eyes. After that, I couldn't sleep. I kept feeling like something was missing."

Sandara quickly put her hand to her chin and began to think. She sat there quietly for almost a minute before saying anything.

Finally, Sandara spoke, she looked a bit puzzled. "It sounds like you've begun to bond with yourself but you're not a werewolf. If you were, I'd know it in an instant."

Lisa shrugged. "No, I'm not."

Sandara put her hand to her chin and began to think again. "You couldn't, unless..." Sandara suddenly looked as if she had an idea. "Do you have any old family albums? Like relatives that are no longer with you, Grandparents and others." Sandara suddenly asked.

Lisa gave Mrs. Kim a confused look. "Yeah, would you like to see them? Why?"

"It may be nothing, if you would, please humor me."

"I'll be right back." Lisa said as she left the room.

A few minutes later, she returned with 3 albums. One very old and two not too old. "Here, there are more but the rest are packed away." Lisa said as she put them down.

Sandara took the newest looking one and opened it.

"That's my mom's family." Lisa remarked, having no idea what Sandara was looking for.

Mrs. Kim spent several minutes looking over the pictures without saying a word. Eventually, she put it down and grabbed another one. Like before, she quietly paged through the album as if she were looking for something or someone.

"That second one is my dad's father's family." Lisa remarked.

From the look of frustration she saw, Lisa could tell that Mrs. Kim was coming up empty.

Finally, Sandara got to the 3rd album. It was an old thick album with a metal clasp.

"That album is my dad's mother's family." Lisa said as Sandara opened the album and turned several pages. Finally she reached a page and stopped where she starred at a picture of a man. She looked at it for several seconds, and then continued. Lisa noticed that she paused at several pictures in that album and went back to the first picture.

"Lisa, can you tell me who this is?" Sandara asked as she pulled out the picture.

Lisa stepped over and grabbed the photo. It was a young man around 25, he was standing in bathing trunks at a beach somewhere. He had a smile and was making a strong man pose. The picture appeared to have been taken in the 20's.

Lisa flipped the picture around to see the writing on the back. Someone had written...

J-Hope Manoban. Venice Beach, August 1922.