The more I start to think about it all, the more I start to become conscious of how my senses have increased. All the amount of sounds were still terrorizing my ears while the different smells joined into the chaos of my heightened and uncontrollable senses. The smell of bacon and eggs came from one of the houses outside the school. The smell of freshly baked muffins came from the school's kitchen that was on the other side of the building.
It was mindblowing yet making me dizzy with the new stimulus that my brain tried to take in and proceed and I am pretty sure I am having a sensory overload when I catch the ball that flies my way with ease and barely even registering what I just did. I throw it back with an unknown force as it almost knocks over the football player that had intended to throw it to his teammate behind me.
It's all too much, intense to take in and process yet my own body seems to have no problems with it while my brain felt like it was about to crash, about to explode. I somehow manage to make it outside, behind the school building as I head to the tall tree that stood on the small grass field near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. I drop my stuff beside me before dropping down on the ground and closing my eyes, trying to focus on the sounds in the woods instead of anything else that was going on around me. Tried to visualize my surroundings while trying to hear the chirping birds, the whistling sounds of leaves, cracking sounds of branches, or any other sound that was in the woods.
"Stop pushing me." "Sit still." "Be quiet." Fills my ears and before I know it I have located the place it comes from. Inside a vent in the school building near the trophy stand, close to the doors of the auditorium. My eyes flutter open and while it felt like I just walked towards that spot, I am still sitting against the tree with my stuff discarded beside me.
How was I even able to visualize a location by just hearing voices while being here?
So many questions dangle in my head and yet no one could give me answers to those.
Dressed in my cheer uniform, I stood beside the Aceys as the school principal started to talk. The auditorium was full of people and all the noises and for sure the loud music hurt my ears. I was slowly getting used to it, but this amount was just fully hurting my ears. The worst part was how it was the voices I heard earlier that filled my ears once again.
"The Great Alpha's near." "Focus. Remember, we're fierce, we're savage." "We're werewolves!" "That's right, Wynter. We're scared of nothing." "Except silver." "Yeah, silver." "And ticks." "And rabies." "Come on, if we're quiet, we can be in and out of here before they even know we're here."
Werewolves. They were here at the school. That's why they have been hiding in the vents. Okay, maybe having increased hearing wasn't that bad. "Werewolves?" Bree and I say in unison as Zed laughs. "Uh, no. Why would we want..." Zed chuckles as he looks at the doors, spotting the werewolves Bree and I had spotted before anyone else. "Werewolves!" Zed shouts as people start to scream and panic. I can't help but heavily flinch at how loud everything suddenly becomes and it makes my ears buzz.
I can hear Zed order his teammates to put up a protective wall to protect everyone against the werewolves who growl threateningly. "Are you okay?" Kevin asks worried, holding my shoulders after noticing how I am clutching my ears and trying to lean away from all the noses. "Everything is just so loud, it hurts my ears," I explain as Kevin looks around and frowns. "But it's not that loud?" He reacts. "Wait, is that why you left that suddenly? Did whatever you heard in class hurt your ears?" He asks, trying to connect the dots, or at least connect the few things he could.
"Everything was so loud, pens, clock, Bucky's breathing, the voices in the hall." I sum up in a whisper. "I mean yes, Bucky breaths loud but that was all I heard." Kevin shrugs as he rubs my shoulders in a comforting attempt even though he clearly doesn't understand anything of it.
But the bunch of werewolves that just got allowed to the school understood it better than anyone. For sure the brown-haired boy that had been the one that pushed away the feral werewolf.
"Everyone is leaving, we should too," Kevin suggested, nodding at Bucky, Lacey, and Stacey that were leaving along with a lot of other people that tried to leave as soon as they could. I nod, taking my hands off my ears, with everyone leaving and no one screaming anymore, it was more bearable.
I follow Kevin out of the auditorium, but instead of going to the canteen, he drags me outside after him to a quiet place. "What's going on? You've been acting weird since we crashed in the forest." He points out and I sigh. I knew I could trust Kevin but he was - just like everyone else - freaking out when everyone started to mention werewolves, so would it be smart to tell him? And what if he didn't believe me and would declare me crazy? I would lose my best friend and probably get kicked out of the Aceys - which I wouldn't mind - but would become a target to everyone. But I had to try, because how long could I bear trying to do this on my own as I couldn't even get a grip on my senses?
"I think I am turning into a werewolf." I breathe out, somehow giving me a feeling of relief. I never thought saying that would lift a lot of weight off my shoulders. Kevin starts to laugh. "Good joke, Ajax." He says amused. "I'm serious, Kev!" I respond, a serious look on my face as it makes the boy in front of me shut up. "After we crashed and Addison took off, I went after her." I start. "But I lost her and I got lost myself. I didn't know which way to walk so I just went into a random way and just kept walking with the idea I would somehow end up on either the side of the road or back in town. But then suddenly I felt followed and I heard snarling and growling and I just started to run and didn't look back, because you know what happens to someone when they look back in horror movies and I didn't want to die so I tried to not look back a-" "Breath." Kevin interrupts my rambling as I suck in a deep breath.
"I managed to hide behind a fallen tree and I tried to hold my breath because you know, I didn't want to die. And suddenly it turned death quiet, I didn't hear the growling and snarling anymore so I got back up and started to run again until a werewolf jumped in front of me. It jumped at me and I think that was the moment it bit me." I go on with my story, now talking a bit slower so he could follow me. "I turned around and tried to run away but it grabbed my ankle and pulled me to the ground. Kevin, I was almost werewolf food if there wasn't another one that pushed that monster off me. And I then took off and eventually found you all standing with Addison and Zed." I finish my story as I nervously start to chew on my bottom lip, waiting for Kevin to say something or to declare me crazy.
"And now you are one?" He asks. "Yes? No? I don't know!" I groan. "The bite mark and claw mark were gone this morning, and wait, I took pictures of it," I say and grab my phone, showing the pictures of the wounds I once had. Kevin gags at seeing the picture of the bite wound as he pushes my phone away from me and I quickly put him away. "Something like that doesn't heal within 24 hours!" I state. "I mean, it makes sense right? In a lot of movies and series, when a werewolf bites a human and they turn their senses get better and-" "You are a werewolf." Kevin states as his eyes grow wide, now connecting all the dots.
"And they are too." Kevin squeaks as he points at the bunch of werewolves that shows up behind me before he runs away screaming. "Kev! You gotta help me! You gotta be the Stiles to my Scott!" I yell after him but he is already gone. I turn around, meeting the eyes of the werewolves that stare at me. "You're one of us now." The tanned girl states more likely barks. "I'm not one of you, I don't have that, and that thing and those things," I say, pointing at the necklace they are wearing before pointing at their pointy ears and canines.
The girl rolls her eyes in annoyance as the boy steps forwards. "One of our packmates bit you, the bite has turned you. You are one of us. That's how a pack works." The boy explains as if it was obvious. "How can I become...me again? You know, human and get rid of this?" I ask them. "You can't." The girl with space buns quips. "Besides, why would you? It's so much fun to be a werewolf! Howling at the moon and running around the woods and owning the night and-" "Wynter." The girl and boy silence the werewolf girl named Wynter. "Sorry." She mutters before staying quiet.
"There is no way to undo it. Unless you kill the one that bit you." The boy explains. "But we won't allow you to kill one of us." The girl snarls. "I'm not a killer and I am not planning to become one," I respond with a huff. "But is there not another way?" I ask, more likely plead. "Why do you want to get rid of it?" Another werewolf boy asks, standing more in the back. "Because everything is so loud and it hurts my ears, all those smells are making me dizzy, I gotta be careful with everything or I either break things or I'll break someone's bones! I can't deal with all of this, I just want to get rid of it all!" I groan, is it obvious that everything was getting too much?
"I know you won't believe it now, but the bite? The bite is a gift. I didn't want to believe it either the first time they told me this, but looking back at this? It's nice, and you'll get used to it." The boy explains, pushing himself through the others as he takes place beside Wynter. "I've been through all of it myself. I'm Wren, the first human that became a werewolf by a bite of a wolf in this pack." He introduces himself before introducing the others. The tanned girl's name was Willa, I already had caught Wynter's name. "- and that is Wyatt." Wren finishes introducing everyone after pointing at Wyatt. He was the one that pushed the werewolf away, who saved me from becoming dog food.
"We don't ask you to trust us, but..let me- us, let us help you," Wyatt speaks up as the other werewolves nod. "Just tell me how I stop hearing everything," I ask, crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes. "Because of our heightened senses, we are constantly on high alert, we can't drown out every sound but we can 'mute' a lot. Try to focus on one thing instead, someone's heartbeat, a story your teacher is telling, the chirping birds. Focus on one particular sound until everything is drowned out, then focus on what you want to focus on. It'll get easier with time and eventually, it will all go automatically when you get used to it." Wyatt explains, taking a few steps closer to me. "It can also help to tell yourself that there is no need to be on high alert or to be very cautious. For smell is the same, basically focussing on one or a few things can help." Willa shrugs.
"It also helps if you find something that can 'ground' you. I like to call it an anchor. I just need to think about what makes me happy is thinking about running in the woods at night. Believe me, having an anchor is very useful for a lot of things when it comes to being a werewolf." Wren explains excitingly, happy that he is no longer the only turned werewolf but has now someone he could bond with and teach his own experiences to, as he never had someone for himself. "An anchor can be anything, a certain emotion, a person that means a lot to you, it can even be yourself, a memory, or a mantra." He grins.
"So, basically if you feel like losing yourself or feel like you are going out of your mind, an anchor is a way to keep yourself in hand, just like keeping your senses under control," Wyatt explains it more shortly. "Wow, that suddenly sounds so easy." I huff sarcastically. "But it isn't," Willa states shortly as Wyatt places his hands on my shoulders. "We're here to help you." He assures me. "Right, you just pop up here to help a stranger that's becoming a werewolf and not because you are looking for the Great Alpha, that was what you called them right? When you were talking about how fierce you all are." I say as Wyatt pulls his brows up, Willa and Wynter doing the same.
"You got us." Willa just shrugs. "But he's right, we're here now so we can help you." She nods at Wyatt. "Alright then, if you say so." I sigh. "You're gonna be fine." Wyatt smiles assuringly. Oh boy, what did I get myself into?