When the excruciating transition was finally complete, I lay there, panting and covered only by my pair of torn cargo pants. But I only gave myself a few seconds to rest. In mere moments, I was leaping to my feet, eyes burning, hands clenched into fists.
Sierra:
My head whipped around when I heard his feet hit the ground, and my eyes widened slightly in surprise. “I said I was sorry… Okay? I didn’t mean to do this to you. If I had been able to stop myself, I would have.”
I clenched my teeth to restrain myself from spitting foul curses galore. “I am going to go,” I forced out instead, picking my shirt and jacket off the ground. “And you had better pray we never see each other again. Where is my gun?”
Sierra:
“Where would you go? Back home? You’re still shifting uncontrollably, and you will be for a few days,” I said calmly, my voice betraying none of the anxiety I felt. I’d long learned to conceal it, so it wasn’t as hard as it used to be. “As for your gun, I don’t remember. It may still be in the woods.”
I plucked my discarded knife from the ground after pulling on my shirt and leather jacket, tucking it into my pocket. “Why should I believe anything you say?”
Sierra:
I raised my eyebrows at his question before shrugging. “I mean, I’ve gone through this before. Have you?”
"You also turned me into this," I answered harshly, looking her right in the eye. "For all I know, you could be an enemy of my family. For all I know, you could be lying."
I know I said I would wait for Rhys, but the longer he took, the more anxious I got. I didn't even know why, but I couldn't wait any longer, so I decided to go back to the house. I was far too curious to let it be, and despite the harsh results of my meddling personality, I still hadn't learned my lesson.
I was there just in time to hear the newly turned wolf snarl and speak. "For all I know, you could be an enemy of my family. For all I know, you could be lying."
I didn't know why I felt bothered to defend them. The girl, most of all. Rhys… Rhys had helped me, and I didn't want the stranger to think any less of him, so I spoke up. I just prayed Rhys wouldn't get angry at me for coming towards possible danger.
"They aren't lying," I said softly, arms crossed. "You don't need to trust them, but you can trust in the fact that they won't hurt you, nor would they get you killed. They just want to help."
My eyes narrowed, still smouldering as they took in the appearance of this new girl.
"Believing that is what gets people killed in my line of work," I said simply, flattening my voice into a hard, blunt weapon. "Similarly, when people lie to me about that particular fact, they end up injured or worse. So, unless you can cough up some proof, I'm leaving."
"I got bit, too," I said quietly, casting my eyes down. "A few weeks ago, maybe? I don't really remember. I don't even remember who Turned me, exactly. What I do remember, however, is being confused and scared and terrified out of my wits. And he–" I jerked my head towards Rhys. "–helped me get through it. As I said, I won't tell you to trust them. I won't tell you to keep your guard down. But what I can tell you is that they can help, and they can only do so if you let them."
I clenched and unclenched my hands, turning this new piece of information over in my mind. I was good at detecting lies, an expert, and unless these people—things—whatever they were—were phenomenal Hollywood actors, I doubted they were making things up.
"And what, exactly," I said slowly, "Would that help entail?"
"They don't want anything in return," I answered, though I wasn't exactly sure myself. "Just your own effort. If you don't accept what you've become, it would be harder for you to survive. From what I've learned, you can't control your two forms, not at that level."
I found that ironic. Even I hadn't accepted who I had become. A werewolf, that's what I was, but I didn't want to accept it. Deep down, I still prayed that I was a human. That I would wake up and it would all be a bad dream, and my father would hug me like always and tell me I was safe. But that never happened, and I was stuck in this nightmare. But it seems I wasn't the only one, and knowing that… as selfish as it sounded, knowing that helped.
"You're not answering my question," I told her bluntly, my eyes flickering back and forth from her to the other two. "What would they do to help me?"
I opened my mouth to answer but closed it soon after. I didn't know it myself. After all, I had just met Rhys yesterday. The realization made me feel like a fool–trusting someone like this after knowing him for just one day.
I stayed silent, looking over at the werewolves, waiting for their answer to his question.
Sierra:
I felt my cheeks redden darkly at the conversation. What if we couldn't do it? What if we really couldn't help him? He'd be so ticked…
"We can show you how to be a wolf," Rhys said, calm as ever. He gave the girl a small smile before turning back to the other guy. "And help you with your heightened senses."
My lips twisted into a frown.
“Is there no way I can get rid of the wolf part entirely?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Kill it off?”
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"No," I answered quietly, letting him smell my dejection. Letting him know the truth hurt me just as much as it did him. "It's permanent."
Sierra:
The smell of the emotional pain in the room was overwhelming. I turned away from the others for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm myself down. The only one who didn't have the sad, fearful scent rolling off him was Rhys, but he's been born into this. He wasn't like the rest of us.
A hand rested on my shoulder, and I immediately recognized the touch of my old mentor. A glance over showed Rhys giving me a soft look. He knew what was going on… He always knew…
I clenched my teeth tightly.
“No. I refuse to believe that. There must be something—what if I went somewhere sunny? And warm?”
Rhys:
I turned from Sierra to fix my eyes on the other man. Raising an eyebrow, I sighed as I decided how to answer. "No. It wouldn't work. You would simply become hypersensitive to the cold."
I growled in frustration.
“And what if I died in my wolf form?”
Rhys:
I felt Sierra stiffen behind me, and I cast a worried glance over my shoulder. She seemed extra sensitive today… It made me wonder if something was wrong.
"You would die. You would stay n your wolf form, but you would be dead in both worlds," I answered calmly.
I flinched, wrapping my arms tighter around myself. Dead as a wolf. If I died as a wolf… they wouldn't even be able to send my father my body. I hated this change more and more. Funny how Rhys made me like it one second, and then I'd go back to hating it the next.
I clenched my hand into a fist and drove it into the wall, anger rolling off of me in waves.
No. This wasn’t possible—This couldn’t be happening.
“How do I control it?”
Rhys:
I raised an eyebrow at his reaction. This was a very violent man… Could it lead to bad things happening around the town? If it did, I knew there were ways to prevent it, but I hoped it wouldn't.
"Right now you can't. I can't even control it, and I was born a wolf," I answered with a long sigh. "Unless you're already in one form and want to stay in it. Then you have to concentrate on staying in that form. And it takes a lot of practice. Even then, the most skilled wolf can only hold it for about a day before he shifts."