I wasn't allowed to leave the room, no matter how hard and how loudly I banged on the door. I tried to break out, but I was a scrawny guy, and the door was surprisingly sturdy. Nearly broke my shoulder while doing that. Once it became clear that no one bothered to even tell me to shut up, I retreated into the farthest corner of the room and sat down. For a second, I thought about breaking the window and escaping that way, but I was on the second floor, and a coward.
I couldn't believe what was happening to me. I was technically kidnapped by a bunch of crazy people! There were no such things as werewolves! I mean, what the fuck? Both Ryder and Thisalee were completely mad!
And if they thought that keeping me here was a good plan, they were wrong. Utterly wrong. People would start looking for me. They probably already were looking for me. It was just a matter of time before they had to let me go.
While I waited, I listened carefully to the sounds around me. I could hear talking somewhere below me, but the voices were muffled, and I could only understand a few words here and there. The smells in the house were almost overwhelming, and for some reason, everything looked... sharper. Highly detailed.
I was getting a headache, so I closed my eyes, wishing I could close the other senses too. I tried to stay calm, but I had lost that state of mind the second this madness started.
Werewolves... What the actual fuck?
And then... I could feel something. Sadness... Misery... I focused on those feelings, but I was fairly certain they weren't mine... It didn't feel like those emotions were inside me. Like... Like I was feeling someone else's feelings.
I tried to ignore it. I tried to tell myself this was just a very odd dream, but that sadness... It started hurting my soul, and soon, I couldn't ignore it anymore. It became all I could register anymore. And I heard crying... Thisalee was crying somewhere close by...
I couldn't stand it. Whatever was going on, I suddenly didn't care anymore. I was a werewolf? Fine, just please, my love, don't cry...
A short moment later, I was banging on the door again, calling her name. She continued crying and refused to come to me.
"Thisalee, please! I was a jerk, I know, but please come open the door!"
I heard footsteps coming my way, but they were too heavy to belong to her. I could smell Ryder behind the door before he even stopped next to it.
"Go to sleep, Ray," he said in a hostile voice. "She doesn't want to see you."
"Please, let me see her. I need to tell her I'm sorry," I begged him, but he didn't budge.
"Go to bed, now," he said and started to walk away.
"I'm sorry, Ryder! You have to believe me! Don't go!"
"Goodnight, Ray," he replied, his voice still angry.
I stared at the door for a long time, trying to decide if I should try to break it down, but if she didn't want to see me... No matter how much I wanted to go to her, I had to respect her wish. I'd been a massive asshole to her, after all...
All I could do was hope that she was willing to speak with me in the morning.
*****
I didn't get any sleep. I kept tossing and turning and trying to hear Thisalee, but I guess she had fallen asleep at some point because I heard nothing. Her soul was much calmer too. I stared at the ceiling, my eyes wide open, unable to even think about closing them.
A werewolf... How was that possible? And why did Pretty Boy hate me so much he wanted me dead? Because of Thisalee? Did he really think that killing me would convince her to date him? What kind of sick maniac was he?
The images of me being ripped to shreds were lurking nearby, and every time they managed to invade my mind, I felt sick. I wasn't going to forget that pain anytime soon, that was for sure. I mean, they nearly tore my entire arm off!
I forced those memories out of my head and thought about Thisalee, but then I heard something. Not inside the house. Outside.
I quickly stood up, peered out the window, and saw movement behind the trees. For some reason, I had a bad feeling about it, so I made sure I was hidden behind the wall while I tried to get a good look at the figure in the woods.
Suddenly, I heard a loud bang coming from somewhere downstairs, followed by angry growls. The figure in the woods moved and ran across the yard to the house, and it wasn't alone. Wolves!
No... werewolves!
I heard Ryder's angry yell, followed by Thisalee's voice only a second later.
"Graham! Get the fuck out of here!"
"No!" I yelled, rushing to the door when the fight broke out downstairs. "Thisalee!"
She was scared, angry, and ready to fight, and I was suddenly filled with adrenaline and rage as I tried to get through the door. I could hear wolves fighting, growling angrily, or yelping in pain right below me.
I kept throwing myself at the door, harder and harder and harder. I had to get to her! I had to help her! And then, finally, the door gave in! I didn't waste a second when I ran to the stairs on my left and hurried down as fast as I could.
When I landed at the bottom of them, the wolves hardly even noticed me.
"Thisalee!"
Yelling her name was all I had time to do. I was suddenly on the ground, a set of sharp fangs sinking into my shoulder once again. I saw a black wolf in front of me, and I knew it was her. My Thisalee. She attacked the one who was trying to destroy my shoulder, and the sweet relief washed over me when she got him to back off.
But we were outnumbered. A big, brown wolf was the only one keeping the enemy from getting to me. Ryder. He had two wolves on his back, but he easily tossed one of them away before turning his attention to the second one. I quickly counted four... five enemies.
And Pretty Boy was one of them.
He turned his eyes at me. I could almost taste his hate toward me. Ryder was busy keeping the rest of them off, and Thisalee was bleeding heavily, but she still stepped in front of me, trying to protect me.
The second Pretty Buy readied himself to jump at her, something odd overcame me. My body suddenly felt like it was on fire. I could feel the change in me, but all I could focus on was protecting Thisalee. I got up on my feet, ready to fight the big wolf with my bare hands, but something was off. The floor was too close, but I didn't have any time to think about it further.
Pretty Boy was on top of me in a heartbeat. I saw his teeth flashing even in the dim light. I tried to protect myself with my hands, but for some reason, I couldn't. I couldn't get them up! His teeth were already sinking into my shoulder, but I couldn't feel any pain. I tried once again to get my hands up to push him away, but... I saw... paws?
I was so shocked I couldn't react in the next few seconds, but I wasn't the only one. Pretty Boy jumped away from me, staring at me with wide eyes. He was... scared.
They all were.
I was a wolf now. A big wolf. I could tell I was bigger than any of them. I looked down at my... paws. They were completely black.
Oh... I see now...
I would've laughed if I could. The odds had changed. Pretty Boy wasn't so tough anymore, but he wasn't done yet.
All five of them suddenly attacked me, trying to tear me apart, but I felt no pain. I grabbed the closest one with my teeth and threw them across the room. Thisalee and Ryder came to my aid, and we fought back. They did their best to win, but for some reason, I was too tough. They couldn't get a single bite through.
As a last resort, Pretty Boy suddenly attacked Thisalee instead, but the second his teeth touched her, mine were around his neck, and in my rage, I bit him so hard he had to let go so he could let out a loud whine. I pressed him against the floor, ready to murder him for even thinking about hurting my Thisalee, but she was suddenly in front of me in her human form.
"Don't kill him," she said. She didn't beg or plead, and in my soul, I knew she didn't care about his life, but mine.
I let go of him. They all left running without looking back.
Silence fell into the house. My girl sat down in front of me, wrapping her arms around my neck, and hugged me tightly. Ryder changed into his human form as well and stared at me in shock.
"You're an..." he breathed out.
"An Alpha," Thisalee said in a proud voice, smiling at me.