I could hear the howls of my comrades as they entered the clearing I knew so well. Rob shivered once more and stood up on his human legs. He slid on some shorts while we, the girls, looked away. After we turned back I couldn’t help but marvel his tightly packed stomach. His dark blonde hair was now cut short from the last time I saw him. I glanced around at the mismatched group around me. Iz sat, straight and proud, her long black hair blowing in the light wind. Beside her stood Heather, Parker, and Hunter, who were all brother and sister. They were all shorter than I, with silver hair that shimmered in the waning moonlight.
“Hey guys,” Rob greets us warmly. We lifted the corners of our mouths in a somewhat smile. Hunter growled; it was a low rumble in his chest I hadn’t heard before. I twisted around to look at him; everyone else did the same.
I hate this. He thought angrily.
Deal with it. I shoved the thought at him. He glared at me with fire burning dimly in his now black eyes. I scowled back as I turned around back to Rob.
“Okay, well, I have some news for y’all,” Rob said, wincing slightly. Any human wouldn’t have noticed it but our eyes notice things closer than most. Sometimes it can be a gift, other times it can be a nightmare. “Reuben is back.” Iz glanced at me in confusion. I nodded quickly. Being the heir to our clan, I had the most power under Rob.
How can that happen?
I thought he was dead.
What do we do?
Ash, what can we do next?
SHUT UP. I squeezed my eyes shut. All the voices in my head stopped except one.
Why didn’t you tell me? The high pitched whimper of Iz caused me to look up at her. She was upset; a tear rolled down the cheek of her big head. Without one more thought I trotted into the woods and came back out on two legs. I had slid on some shorts and a t-shirt over my naked body. The other wolves watched me as I took a stance beside Rob.
“Rob is right,” I started, still unsure of what to say. “Reuben is back. We need to stop him. I was chasing him yesterday afternoon. I didn’t know it was him until I looked into his eyes. This time we have to kill him. This time we have to make sure he is dead. We can’t let him come back again. We can do this.”
After I ended my speech, there was an eerie silence. They waited as I changed again so I could talk to them. When I entered the clearing again they were whimpering lowly to themselves.
Guys, cut it out. I cried to them. Don’t worry. We will kill him. I howled up at the lowering moon. After a moment, my friends joined me and we howled together.
My pointed ears pricked as there was a rustling in the leaves. A harsh sound echoed off the trees; it took me a moment to realize the sound came from me. My lips curled back and I hunched into a crouch. The others were watching me, fright masked their expressions. The rustling got louder and everyone backed away from me. It was only a few feet away and I was ready to attack.
My brother entered the clearing. I snarled once more and pounced.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Dang sis,” my brother complained rubbing his arm again. “I still can’t believe you wrestled me to the ground. I laughed freely; I was back in my human form. The other’s had left and we were back in my room.
“Don’t worry bro, you’ll catch up soon.” I ruffled his golden hair. I had told my brother right after the transformation. I had transformed when I was 14. My brother’s birthday was in a few weeks. My parents still don’t know that I turn into a giant wolf and sneak out late at night. “Oh, and you will get feeling back in your shoulder in a few hours.” Aaron chuckled; He was hoping that he would be a wolf too. I didn’t think it was so great. I mean, we had to protect a lot of people; it got tough.
“Good, I have basketball tryouts tomorrow and this is my good arm.” He started to mumble lowly to himself. I looked at him quizzically as he started pacing around the room.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, touching his arm silently.
“I think I’m changing.” His voice went up too high again and I giggled like the girl I am.
“No duh,” I said between giggles. Aaron spun around and a growl came out from his bared teeth. My eyes widened in surprise. “What the heck was that?”
“I told you, I’m changing!” he cried out. I slipped a sympathetic arm around his shoulders. “I’ve grown four inches in the past week, I growl like that, and I shiver more.”
“Little bro, you’re gonna be just like me. In a day or so when you shiver, you will turn into a wolf.” I squeezed his shoulders and he grinned up at me. “How tall are you now?”
“Five foot eleven inches,” he said. I gave him an impressed look. A ring from my cell phone jolted reality and I flipped it open expecting to hear Iz’s voice. Instead I hear a low rough voice in the speaker.
“Hello?” I said confused.
“Ash,” Ashton’s frantic voice interrupted me.
“Ashton, what are you calling for?” I asked, curious now.
“I just wanted to congratulate…” There was loud crash in my room and I turned to see Aaron on the floor shivering like crazy. “What happened? Do I need to call 911?”
“No,” I said calmly. “I have to go. Tell me tomorrow at school.”
“Wait…” I could hear his protests as I flipped the phone shut. I knelt down beside Aaron and grazed my fingers on his wrist. His pulse was jumping back and forth.
“It’s happening,” I murmured and moved backwards. Sisterly instincts told me to help him but I forced myself to stay back.
All of a sudden, light brown hair burst out on his body and his face grew into a muzzle. He was being transformed in front of my eyes. In a matter of seconds Aaron crouched before me with a sneer on his face. I placed my hand out slowly, not wanting to scare him. He sniffed it once and relaxed his stance. His head rolled into my hand and he whimpered softly. I tugged through the tangles in his fur. My phone rang again and I sighed.
“Hey,” I answered excitedly.
“What happened to Aaron?” Iz’s soft but urgent voice said.
“He finally changed,” I said proudly.
“Oh my gosh, let me talk to him,” she almost yelled.
“That will be hard because he isn’t human right now.” I pulled my hand through Aaron’s fur as I talked. I listened to Iz laughing through the phone.
“Okay, I will talk to you tomorrow. Bye,” Iz mumbled. Her parents must have walked in because I heard a man’s voice then the line went dead. I tossed the phone on my bed and sighed gruffly.
Suddenly, a blast of air knocked me away and in front of me laid Aaron, shivering and curled up in a ball. I reached for an extra shirt I had and he slid it onto him along with some sweatpants.
“That was horrible,” his said, teeth chattering. I smiled apologetically and nodded.
“It hurts for the first few times but then it gets more natural,” I said. “It’s like breathing for me now.” Aaron nodded once and I helped him up onto his feet. He swayed for a moment then regained balance.
“I’m going to bed,” he told me after a short silence. He left without another word and I flopped down onto my bed. I blew some pieces of hair out of my face and closed my eyes.
I thought about Ashton, the way his eyes were full of excitement when I talked to him and the way his fingers seemed to brush against my skin at random moments. I also thought about Aaron. He couldn’t go to school tomorrow. He was too unstable. I would have to stay with him. It was 2 o’clock before I finally fell asleep with my thoughts jumbling around in my head.