13
Before I knew it, it was Saturday. Jason was leaving tomorrow to go back to college. I was thinking on the couch when the doorbell rang. I got up and answered it. It was Anna. The cut above her eye had healed and the scratches were gone. It didn’t look like just a week ago she had been in an accident. She wanted to talk and I had finally organized my thoughts. We went to the woods were we could be alone.
We were walking deeper into the woods when I turned to her and asked “The other day you said that you transformed when you got hurt. Do you transform anytime you get hurt?”
“It has to be serious. I heal much faster when I am a wolf.”
“So you were really banged up?”
“I had a broken leg and arm, a fractured wrist, and a puncture wound in my side. Along with a few scratches.”
I accepted that and moved on to a question that had been bugging me for a while. “How long have you been a werewolf?”
“I was turned in 1590, so about four hundred years.” I looked at her shocked. “I know, it sounds impossible. I am different from other werewolves. Most live to only be about a hundred but I have not aged in years. I don’t get weaker, and if anything I get stronger every year.”
“At what age did you stop aging?”
“20.” She smiled at me.
Anna and I talked all Saturday. We walked around the woods and she even showed me their nest. It was the clearing where I saw her two weeks ago. It was so beautiful to be there.
“Wolves won’t attack us will they?”
“No not while I am here.”
“The gray wolf had no problem attacking last time I was there” I reminded her.
“Oh Jared was just playing, I am sorry if he scared you.”
“Wait Jared is a werewolf? The guy I met when I was showing you around?”
“Yeah, that’s Jared.”
“He seems like a jerk to me.” I put my hands in my pockets.
“He is actually a really nice guy. He was just protecting me. He did not want me to get too attached to you and tell the secret.”
“Well, I guess he didn’t his job too good.”
“I would not say that. He did not want me to tell, and I didn’t. You figured it out. He did not count on how smart you are.” She smiled at me.
“But you did tell me. You could have denied it and called me a crazy person.”
Her eyes became serious. “I didn’t want to lie to you anymore. You deserve the truth.”
That brought new questions to mind. “Anna do you have history with Jared?”
“By history do you mean did we date?” I nodded my head. “Yes we did, but it was a long time ago and only for nine months.” Nine months. That didn’t make me feel any better.
“How long ago?”
“Five years ago. I am sure that he has moved on since then. I have seen him go on dates with other girls.”
I was glad to know that it had been a while. My mind was on a new topic. “Anna why the wolves only here in the winter? I mean I saw you some in the summer but that’s because you had moved here. Why did you move here?”
Anna laughed and said “One question at a time.” She took a deep breath and said “We come here in the winter because the woods here are a good hunting ground, and we moved because it was time. We had stayed in our old home as long as we could.”
“So you’ve moved a lot more than you told me didn’t you?”
She nodded her head. “I am originally from England. I was raised there until” she looked down and said “I was turned.” She paused for a second. “I moved around England for a while, never staying in one place for more than two weeks. But once the colonies were formed I decided to come over here. I moved around here for a while, but then I found a pack and I finally found a home.”
“I’m glad you came here” I told her. Anna stopped and sat down on a log. I sat next to her. “What do you eat?” This question had been bothering me all day and I hadn’t meant to just blurt it out.
“Meat. Deer is good, and rabbit is not bad but when we travel to other places sometimes we find more exotic meals. Mountain lion is good, and so is moose. My favorite is bear, black bear to be specific.”
“Do you eat humans?”
“No Shane, that is just a story. Humans actually taste bad.” She smiled at me. That was a load off my chest, but I was a bit concerned how she knew humans didn’t tasted good. I smiled at Anna, and the day only got better. After the woods we went to a movie, one I barely watched. I was too busy making out with Anna. After the movie we were driving and I asked her something.
“How about we go to your house?”
She looked startled. “Why?”
“Well since I know I could learn even more from your pack.”
“No” she almost shouted. “Shane you cannot tell anyone about me, I mean no one. My pack cannot know that you know.”
“Why not your pack? I understand not telling regular people, but your pack-”
“Shane” she interrupted in a rough voice. “I know, and I understand what you are saying, but a rule of the pack is to not tell anyone and to kill anyone who finds out.” I was so shocked I swerved the car.
“What? They’re going to kill me!” I had to pull over. I couldn’t drive and talk about my possible death.
“I would not let them Shane.”
I wasn’t sure to say to that. Would Anna fight against her pack for me? I wanted to believe that Anna would be able to fight them all. “How many werewolves are in your pack?” I asked curious.
“That is difficult. Here in Michigan there are 14, but we have more. Our younger members stayed at the old location. They can be called and we would total to I believe 30.” Thirty, was she serious.
“Anna if they found out, what would they do?”
“They would try to capture you. If they did they would take you to a trial of sorts. They would decide if you were worthy of being changed or unworthy and killed.” She looked at me with serious eyes. “But as I said before I would not let them.”
“Anna you can’t stop 14 werewolves. I wouldn’t want you to anyways.”
“Why?” she asked looking confused.
“Anna you could get injured. I don’t want that no matter what happens to me.”
“I will not watch them turn or kill you Shane, I won’t allow it.” I smiled and cupped her cheek with my hand. “Shane, I’m so sorry I got you into this.” Anna took in a shaky breath. “But when I saw you I remembered you from so long ago. I wanted to meet you and get to know the boy I saved. I never thought I would start to fall in love with you.” My chest seemed to burst. She felt the same way. My whole body felt light, like just a small breeze would blow me away.
“Anna” I whispered. I leaned over and kissed her. I drove her home and then spent the rest of the night with my brother. Then next day I really caught up with my brother and I was a little sad he was leaving. Anna came over later, just in time to say goodbye.
School on Monday was boring, and I slept through two of my classes. In English I noticed that Steve was back in school. I found him at his locker afterschool.
“Hey Steve. How are you?” I asked cautiously.
“I’m fine.” He still looked sad but he looked better than the last time I saw him.
Lucas walked over to us and said “Hey guys.”
“Hey Lucas, what’s up?” Steve asked. He put on a show and it was obvious he was trying to look normal.
“Nothing really. What are you guys doing?”
“Nothing why?” I answered.
“Well I was thinking that we could-”
“Guys” Bobby shouted interrupting Lucas. He was running towards us. “You guys will never believe this. There’s this really hot girl. You guys have got to check her out.” Steve looked excited, probably for a distraction. “I’m going to go ask her out. You guys in?” Bobby asked cockily. Bobby may protect plants like nothing I’d ever seen but when it comes to girls he was a normal guy. He wasn’t ugly or anything so he usually got the girls he went after.
“Yeah, I’m in” Steve said.
“Count me in” Lucas agreed. They all looked to me expectant.
“What? I’m going.”
“Good, can one of you guys give me a ride?” Bobby’s parents only had one car because they didn’t want to contribute more to the killing of our atmosphere. It made no sense to me since they had a car and it polluted but I didn’t question them.
Lucas said he would give Bobby a ride and then we all headed out. Steve followed Bobby and Lucas in his jeep and I followed Steve. I didn’t care about the girl, I had Anna, and no one compared to her. I was very curious as to where we were going though. A few minutes later we pulled into the parking lot at the gas station. I parked and met the others standing between Steve and Lucas’ car. I stood next to Steve who was laughing in hysterics.
“What’s so funny?” Bobby asked confused.
“Nothing” Lucas said looking like he was trying not to laugh.
“Okay” Bobby said confused. “Let’s go.”
We walked in and I was still oblivious to what was happening. I automatically turned to the checkout area and Anna stood there checking out some old lady. She looked over at us and smiled. I felt much warmer all of the sudden.
“Watch and learn guys” Bobby said and walked away. That’s when it hit me. I was furious. Anna is mine. I clenched my teeth and took a step forward but Lucas held me back. I looked at him fuming, but he just shook his head. I stepped back unhappy.
I couldn’t hear what was being said, but Anna put out a finger asking him to wait a minute. She went around the counter and walked up to him. She took off her name tag and continued to talk with him. They were slowly walking toward us. The three of us stood there and I glared at Bobby. Bobby trailed a finger down her arm. I clenched my hand into a fist, and took a step forward. Mine, mine, mine, rang through my head. Anna stopped and quickly looked over at me. In a second she winked and then looked back over Bobby.
“So how about you and I go catch a movie?” Bobby said in his most confident voice.
“Ummm…well actually I have a boyfriend. I don’t think he’d like that too much.” Her voice was gentle and remorseful. They were right in front of us. Lucas looked like he was about to crack up, and Steve was turned around laughing into his hand.
“Oh, that’s…” He let the sentence hang there. He looked embarrassed. My fury subsided, once Anna rejected him.
Anna walked right up to me and said “Hey Shane.” Anna went up on her tip toes and gave me a kiss.
“Hey” I said and pulled her next to me. I wrapped my arm around her waist. I looked over at Bobby whose mouth was hung open. Lucas was really trying not to laugh and Steve had lost it. “Bobby this is Anna, my girlfriend.” I hadn’t meant for it to sound so taunting but that was the way it came out. Anna giggled.
“Oh” he said a little taken back.
“How about we all hang out?” Lucas suggested. He had sobered.
“Yeah, that sounds…” a mischievous smile lit Anna’s lips, “…interesting.”
“Okay” I said prepared for the worst.
“I’m in” Steve said between laughter.
We walked out of the gas station and huddled next to Steve’s car. We were trying to agree on something we could do. Lucas suggested we get something to eat, but Bobby wasn’t hungry. Steve said we should catch a movie, and Bobby gave Steve a very dirty look. Steve started laughing again, and our circle got tense. Bobby suggested we all go to the woods, but Anna almost screamed when she said no. I gave her a questioning look but she just looked down. I suggested we just hang and talk at Kenny’s Café.
“I’ve never been there before” Anna said excited.
No one said anything, but I could tell that Bobby was very hesitant about this. A blue car pulled up and we had to move to let it in the parking lot. I was talking to Lucas about a better place to go when someone grabbed Anna and pulled her away from me. I spun around surprised and angry. Jared and two other men were behind me and he had his arms around her. She was pinned against his body. Jared was laughing, like he thought all of this was some joke. The two men behind him were deathly still. They looked a little scared. I looked to Anna, I wanted to see how she was feeling about this. She looked beyond furious, and her eyes were glowing with anger.
“What the hell’s your problem?” it came out more shocked than angry.
“Anna loves it when I do this. Calm down” he said lightly.
“Get your hands off of her” I said. My anger was rising.
“I do not” Anna said annoyed. She thrashed in his arms, but he held her tight.
“Calm down Anna, I need to tell you something.”
Anna squirmed harder. “You could have just called me. This is completely unnecessary.” She was pushing side to side.
I was getting angrier and angrier by the second. “Let her go!” I clenched my teeth so hard they hurt.
“Just listen,” he said cockily, “your FATHER” he emphasized father “is looking for you.” He looked much more serious.
The anger drain from Anna’s eyes when he said that. Fear and uncertainty took its place. I felt it in my stomach that she was terrified. That was it, I couldn’t take one more thing. Anger filled my body. I stormed over to Jared and violently grabbed his arm. I squeezed with all of my strength.
“Release her.” I glared at Jared. I felt a surge of power go through me. I felt beyond powerful, I felt invincible. I squeezed harder and Jared’s face crinkled in pain. His arms released Anna. With his free hand he gripped my wrist, as if he were trying to loosen my grip. I felt tremendous strength inside me but with it came aggression. My whole body seemed to shake with anger. Anna put her hand on my shoulder and I looked over at her.
Stop
I heard her voice in my head and it was asking me to stop. The anger drained from my body. I let go of Jared’s arm. He went tumbling backwards holding his arm. He fell and landed on his back. The two guys with Jared helped him up.
Jared looked at me surprised and pissed. “Anna-”
“Shut up Jared. You got what you deserved.”
“Anna I-”
“Go away Jared.” Anna spun around and looked at him. She got right in his face. “You have delivered your message, now leave me alone.” I couldn’t see Anna’s face and maybe I didn’t want to because Jared and the two guys looked terrified.
Jared nodded his head. The three guys turned and they got into the blue car that we moved to let in. Our group was tense after that, and I decided that we could all hang out later. I lied and said I was going to take Anna home. I needed to talk with her.
I was driving us to the woods when Anna said “Shane pull the car over.” I did. Before I could even look at her she kissed me. At first I was surprised but then I kissed her back. Anna pulled away slightly. “Thanks for standing up for me” she whispered.
I smiled and leaned over and kissed her. Anna was slowly making her way into my seat. Her hands played with my hair and it felt like a massage. After a while of kissing she was straddling me in the driver’s seat. My seat sank back and it startled Anna. After a moment she giggled and then leaned back down. My hands were slowly making their way up her side. When I felt the curve of her bra, she shivered and her whole body vibrated. My finger slid under the edge of her bra. Anna moaned into my mouth. She pulled away suddenly and put her hand over her mouth.
“What?” I asked breathless. “What’s wrong?” Anna’s green eyes looked darker. She closed her eyes and shook her head. I was breathing hard and I waited for her. After a while I got worried. “Anna, are you alright?” She opened her eyes but she left her hand over her mouth.
“My teeth” she said muffled by her hand.
“What about them?” I asked. She shook her head. “You can tell me” I reassured her. She looked at me uncertain. “Trust me Anna.” I really wanted her to able to tell me anything. Anna slowly pulled her hand away from her mouth. She opened her mouth some and I saw what she was hiding. She had fangs, but there also some on her bottom teeth. They weren’t as big but looked just as sharp. “Wow” I whispered. “You can grow fangs.”
“It is the beginning of my transformation.”
“Are you going to transform here?” I asked panicked.
Anna smiled at me. “No Shane. I lost control of myself, and the natural thing for me is to transform.” I was very confused about what she was saying. Anna chuckled and said “When we were kissing I was doing what was natural and what felt good. My body reacted to that and it wanted to transform.”
“So it feels good when you transform?”
“To me, I have done it so many times I do not really feel it anymore. In the beginning it hurt, but once I changed it was a wonderful feeling.” I moved my hands back up her side and Anna smiled at me. I leaned forward and I kissed her. In the middle of the kiss I remember why I had pulled her away. Jared. I pulled away and leaned back in my seat.
“Anna, what did Jared mean when he said your father was looking for you?”
“Oh he just meant that Oliver was looking for me. Something probably happened in the pack.” I didn’t believe her. I had seen her eyes and they were scared. There was something more than just some news. I nodded my head.
“Why is Jared such an ass?” I asked annoyed.
“He can act stupid sometimes but he really is a good guy.”
“He didn’t have to do that?”
Anna put her hand on my chest. “I know, I can’t believe he did that either.” Anna tilted her head to side and she looked at me with a puzzled look. “Is something bothering you Shane, you look upset.”
“I don’t like how he grabbed you” I admitted.
“Don’t worry Shane, I’ll make sure he gets punished for it.”
I looked at her shocked. “How?” I asked.
“I’ll tell Alpha and he will make him pay.”
“I know a little about wolves.” I said shyly.
“A little?” she asked sarcastically.
I gave her a look and she smiled. “But what exactly is an Alpha? What do they do?”
“Alpha is our leader. He tells us what to do and what not to do. He also punishes members of the pack that get into trouble and do not obey orders.”
We talked some more and I eventually drove Anna home. Her father-Oliver was waiting on the porch and he did not look happy. Maybe he did need to talk with her.