* * Cameron * *
It had been three weeks and no one had seen del Russo.
His parents had come to get his car out of my drive way that next morning. I had stood on the front porch as his mother stayed in the car and his father got out to get in his son's car. They had even offered me a ride to school, but I declined.
I asked them what happened to their son hoping they would be honest and just give me some answers, but it was their turn to decline. They refused to give answers. I just nodded my head and waved to them goodbye. I stared after them until they disappeared wondering what was going on.
I was currently sitting in my kitchen playing with my cereal. I was waiting on another boring day of school to start.
"Grandma!" I shouted. I was surprised she was still here. She was usually gone in the morning.
She came rushing into the kitchen.
"What's wrong baby girl!" She squeezed me in a hug.
"I can't breathe." I gasped for air when she let me go.
What's up with her?
"Grammy, do you mind driving me to school today?"
"Of course, anything for you baby girl." She smiled down at me.
I took that moment to study her.
I looked exactly like her. She was average height. She had a curvy build, long curly hair and slanted brown eyes, just like me. Most people thought she was my mother. They were always shocked to find out she was my grandmother.
I guess when you think "grandmother," you think canes, dentures and dementia.
But, not my Grammy. No, sir. She didn't look to be a day over 40. But, I knew she was 72. It was our wolf genes.
Wolves were genetically wired to avoid rapid aging. We literally had "good genes."
My grandmother gave me a kiss on the forehead and rubbed my shoulders in a reassuring manner as she turned to leave the room. Probably in search for her purse and keys, I'm guessing.
Someone's clingy, I thought. I picked up my backpack and my cellphone and my cell charger. I couldn't go anywhere without the charger.
We got in the car and my grandmother looked over to me and reached over to adjust my seat belt.
What is with her today? Please God, don't let my Grammy turn creepy. I sent up a quick prayer.
I turned to look out the window during the drive to school. I thought about del Russo. What had happened to him?
I knew that he was getting his wolf on his eighteenth birthday. The way he had gotten so angry with Kingsley coming to the door with his shirt off and then the way he had been howling in pain made me think that he was in the process of beginning the transformation.
But, why did it look like that? He looked..different from a normal werewolf's transformation. Or maybe it's just I've never seen a transformation up close and personal like that? I thought of every possibility.
I don't know, but it didn't look normal. It looked so fierce and..raw. Savage like. I sighed now realizing that the car had stopped.
We were in front of my school and my grandmother was staring at my profile.
"Okay. Out with it woman! What's up Grammy? What's going on? And do not lie to me. Please.." I begged her.
She continued to stare for a while. "Did your father contact you?" She blurted out.
I blinked. It was my turn to lie. I was a horrible granddaughter.
I was taken by surprise at her question, but I recovered. "No he hasn't," I lied.
I avoided looking directly at her. I quickly unbuckled my seat belt and got out the car slamming the door on her shocked face.
I wasn't ever rude to her, but how could I maintain the lie around her?
Yes, my dad sent me a letter expressing his excitement to coming home. No, my grandmother didn't know about the letter. I only hid it because my dad wanted it to be a surprise. Or so he had mentioned in his letter. He had specifically told me "let's keep this between us for now."
Why did he want to keep it a secret? I don't know, but I was excited about his return so I had agreed by keeping my mouth shut.
And now it was a couple of weeks until his return home. I just had to hold on a little longer. I turned and waved to my grandmother to take the sting out my actions. She just smiled sadly and drove off.
What wrong with her?
I tried to shrug it off as I headed into school.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again, I was in English class trying to avoid speaking to Mr. Drake as much as possible. Today would be the last day for any poetry. We had finally gotten through nearly all types of poetry.
Before I got into class, I saw Lisa and Kingsley in the hallway. King's face had returned to normal. It had actually taken him a couple of days to heal believe it or not.
A normal werewolf could heal almost instantly if the damage wasn't too extensive. But the hit Kingsley took from del Russo was not like anything I'd ever seen.
How was that so? I wondered about that a lot, but could come up with nothing except wild theories like del Russo's an alien werewolf. Or maybe a mixed breed-- like a Lycan and shifter?
Then I'd just wind up dismissing those thoughts as illogical. I sighed.
Anyway, we just chalked it up to a lucky punch. We even made a joke out of Kingsley coming to the door without a shirt handy. Or at least I was the main one teasing him.
"I bet you'll think twice about putting on a shirt when opening the door for Sharkiesha!"
We all laughed and pointed at Kingsley. He was embarrassed to say the least. But at least he didn't let it keep him down. Besides, we had to remember that del Russo was soon-to-be Alpha and his hits would pack a punch.
I was now sitting at my desk on my phone reading some books on Wattpad. Rachel took that moment to take my picture. I was fussing at her to delete it when Mr. Drake called my name a couple of times. Not again! I thought.
Oh well, today would be the last poem I had to read in front of the class.
If I was being honest with myself, this poem was about del Russo. How ironic, my first poem wasn't about him yet he shows up to class. Now, I had actually written a poem about him and he didn't show up.
I shook my head. Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids!
I sighed and stood up to go in front of the class for the last time. At least I didn't trip this time, I thought with a smirk. Then I bumped into somebody's desk. Spoke too soon.
This poem was a mixture of Adele's music, Maya Angelou' poetry, and a little of my original work. I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing:
Is it the fire in his eyes
Or the pride in his stride
That many men have tried
To emulate, but fails
The fierceness of his personality
It is genuine, an alternate reality
Even the strongest of man hails
Him as some kind of God on Earth
Created in His image, but not from dirt
He's a daydreamer soaking up the sun
But a mysterious girl stole his fun
He met his match, but held his own
Who is this person you may wonder?
A girl with curly hair who made him groan
The battle ensued, no one really the winner
Both of them new and equally beginners
To life, happiness and friendship
Here lies the boy who loved my hair
Gone but not forgotten, it's fair
To say I might like him, truth or dare
I finished my poem and opened my eyes. Everyone wasn't looking at me, but they were looking behind me.
Oh great, no one paid me any attention again, I sulked.
Who were they looking at? I turned around...
◇ JAMES ◇
She had finally called me by my first name.
Too bad it had been during the worst time imaginable! And my name coming from her lips sounded like pure desire. Too bad I couldn't enjoy it.
I remembered everything from that night. She had on a red tank top with a pair of tight, light blue highwaist jeans and some red flip flops. She looked edible. Her hair was in a high ponytail that I wanted to wrap around my hand.
But, all that was over shadowed by the fact that she was with some other guy. Seeing her with someone else and her showing him care caused a rage to rise up inside of me so great, that it nearly frightened me.
My body began to twist and change. I had to run away from her before I did something I would regret later. Like kill him and her. That's how deadly the power inside of me felt.
I didn't mean to just disappear for three weeks. It was actually because of her that I had to.
I had run home withering in pain.
My father was waiting by the door for me. Why? I don't know because I hadn't told him anything. He just came out side and squated next to me on the ground.
"Son, what happened?" His voice was calm, but I could hear his heart beat. I mean really here it. Like I could hear the "lub," "dub" of each heart valve opening and closing. It was like a flutter of butterfly wings. It was poetic.
It was beautiful like Cameron's poetry.
But another wave of pain hit me and I didn't have time to relish it.
"Ugh!!!" I gasped for breath. "Dad..st-- stand back" I said weakly. I didn't want to hurt him with the anger boiling inside of me from the images of Cameron with the naked guy.
I began to growl. "Son, did someone hurt you? I just need to know. If this is the transformation then I'll let you be. Your mother and I will take watch. This can last a couple of hours."
I dug my hands into the grounds. They were full on claws by now and I could feel them slicing through the concrete. Holy shit!
My dad took note of that and stood back.
"I have my answer." He stated as he took a few steps back then turned to leave. Probably to get my mom.
I laid there for what seemed like an eternity. Every tendon and joint amplified through intense replication of my genetic material. Like I was cloning myself, but with a few alterations: a tail, a snout, paws and claws. I howled to the moon, which I hadn't noticed made an appearance in the dark, albeit clear sky.
After so many hours... my transformation was complete.
My mother had come during the transition to wipe my head down with cold compresses. They even covered me in buckets of ice seeing as my temperature had risen so high I should've been in a coma. The heat from my body temperature alone could've fried my brain like an egg.
My parents looked at me in awe. Maybe they didn't think I would survive it. Why?
As soon as the shift was finished, I broke out in a run. I didn't get too far because I noticed a pack of wolves following me. I could tell from the scent they were wolves from my pack. Why were they following me? I slowed down and mind linked them.
Do not follow me! My wolf roared in my mind.
I was taken aback. My wolf's voice was deep and gruff. He was a no nonsense type. I liked it.
He was most likely the side of me I was afraid to embrace because I wanted to be liked and accepted in school. Not anymore, I thought.
We have to follow you, James. Someone spoke from the group.
I could immediately tell it was Matthew by the timbre in his voice. My hearing was beyond pitch perfect. Wow.
Matthew is the one who said my fart smelled like the inside of a fake leg.
I laughed at that. I guess there was still some of me left in here. But, my wolf didn't like what he was hearing from Matthew at the moment.
You will not keep me from my mate. His tone booked no further argument.
Everyone in the group must've recognized my tone because they didn't speak again.
No, we actually can't keep you from seeing her. You could take on all 10 of us without a sweat. Another voice chimed in.
That was my dad joining the mind link. I could tell from the deep pitch in his tone. This was awesome! I was like a superwolf. I hear everything. I grinned. My wolf grinned too. Cool! we were in sync about something. I returned to the conversation at hand.
I will do as I please. I commanded to my father.
Son, it's for her own good. And yours. You could hurt her and you will never forgive yourself. My father was still trying to convince me.
My wolf was about to stalk forward.
She may even reject you if you hurt her in any way.
That made my wolf stop immediately.
He growled. He wasn't giving her a chance to reject him. And neither was I.
What should I do? I aksed.
I was willing to hear them out. If I didn't like the sound of it I would do as I damn well pleased.
We have to tie you down, someone suggested... That didn't seem so bad, I thought.
...with Wolf's Bane. My dad concluded.
Oh hell noooooooah! I reacted. They weren't do that shit!
My dad spoke up before I could reject.
You'll have to be in your human form. Your wolf could possibly break out of the confines.
I still didn't understand why I had to be in human form, but my father schooled me.
Locked up in your human form, you won't be able to shift. It'll slow the shifting process drastically.
I thought back to my transformation just a few hours before. If I had to go through resetting and mending of bones, but at a slower pace...I would be in pure agony!
I reluctantly agreed with my dad. My wolf growled at me, refusing to shift back.
We must teach her a lesson. He told me.
No! She won't understand right now. I argued back.
He really wanted to get to our little mate. My wolf was vicious. He really was the side of me I was afraid to embrace. He had been apart of me all along, just dormant.
I shifted back quickly and followed the group and my dad. They led me down to the dungeon where they kept prisoners. They locked me down in the very last cell at the bottom of the building.
My dad brought the cuffs.
They were silver too?! What are they trying to kill me? I thought.
Oddly though, I wasn't afraid. The cuffs were tight and they dug into my skin, the Wolf's Bane causing a fierce burning sensation.
I grunted and took the pain. On the inside, I was howling for mercy! My wolf and I would tough it out. We would do it for our mate.
We will do it to show ourselves restraint and control. My wolf added.
I nodded at that. My wolf and I would find our balance; I'm sure of it. And that was how I spent most of my absence from school.
Now, I was here in school leaning against the doorframe of Mr. Drake's class, watching my mate.
Cameron was reading her essay.
She was mesmerizing. She had her hair in the curly pattern today. I loved it. She was quite beautiful. How come I hadn't noticed before?
She was reading a poem that sounded dangerously close to the little war we had going on between us. Maybe she was talking about me, maybe not.
After she was done reading, everyone was staring... at me.
How do I explain my absence? Is Cam going to reject me when I tell her she's my mate? Those thoughts even made my wolf nervous.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*** How is James going to explain his absence to everyone?
What's going on with Cameron's grandmother?
Why did her father really want it to be at surprise?
Stay tuned!!
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