Crimson Moon

Early the next morning I got out of bed not able to sleep any longer. The sun was not out yet. It was a little chilly outside, so I decided to put on a thin sweatshirt and sweatpants and go for a jog in the woods to get my mind off of things. I quietly exited the door to our “house” making sure not to wake my sister or mother up. Katherine was still upset with me and I wasn't up for seeing her right now either. Once I made it outside, I realized that it was much colder than I originally thought. I put my hood up on my head and tucked my hair into it. Snuggling into my sweatshirt, I began to go on my jog.

I ventured out into the woods in areas I haven’t been before. Jumping over all of the fallen trees instead of going around them to get the most of my exercise. With everything that has been going on, I have been lacking in my physical fitness. Every morning I would go out for a run, not in my wolf, but in my human to stay fit. Since I’ve been here I have neither ran at all nor just ran in my wolf form. To me, this wasn’t acceptable and I would have to try to run harder and faster to make up for it.

After what I assumed was an hour the sun started to rise up in the sky warming the land below. As the rays descended from the sun it felt good on my soft skin. Warming my body causing me to take off the sweatshirt and sweatpants exposing my t-shirt and shorts underneath. I decided to quit jogging and to walk instead. I walked for at least five miles before I came across something that sparked my interest. There was a small pond-like structure that had a waterfall attached to it. I couldn’t tell if it was man-made or natural but my instincts told me that it was probably man-made. It didn’t matter to me though as I sat down on a rock by the waterfall to enjoy the view. It was peaceful, the sounds the waterfall made as it trickled down into the pond below. The only other noise that my ears could pick up was the sounds of birds chirping happily on the trees that surrounded me.

A twig snapped from behind, causing me to jump to my feet in one quick action. The shadow emerged from behind the trees with his hands in the air.

“Calm Calla, you really do need to learn to relax. You’re going to end up giving yourself a heart attack one of these days.”

I sat back down on my rock and rolled my eyes at him.

“What do you want Tiberius?” I asked him a little sharply as he gave me a questioning look.

“Is something wrong?” He asked me as he came to sit beside me causing me to scoot away from him. “If I didn’t know any better I would say that you are mad at me.”

Hurt sounding from his voice.

“No, I’m not. Everything is fine.” I told him.

He clearly didn’t believe me as he exhaled loudly next to me. “I take it they told you about Adelina.”

He said staring directly into the pond not looking at me. His eyes masking whatever he was feeling. I just looked at him and said nothing as the pain once again struck me in the heart. I was careful not to let it show on my face.

“I’m sorry Calla.” He said to me. “I should have told you sooner.”

I threw a small pebble that was beside me into the pond below still not looking at Tiberius.

“Yeah, you probably should have,” I said.

“I never knew that this would happen between us. I always thought that it was something of legends. My mother used to tell me about it all the time, how two could be destined for each other, but I thought that was something of a fairy tale. Until I met you, Calla. From the moment I met you, I knew that you were special. That I felt something special whenever you were near me. You make my heart race like no other can. You make me want to get out of bed in the morning. Even when I’m stressed you still manage to put a smile on my face. I know that this is hard for you to take in, heck it’s even hard for me, but I honestly do believe that we are meant to be together.”

It was then that I looked at him and he looked at me. My heart fluttered once more for him. My body full of the burning spark sensation, failing me on wanting to remain mad at him but I knew I couldn’t.

“I have never felt like this for anyone Calla, and I don’t imagine I could ever feel like this for anyone else. I believe that you are my one and only.” He said looking me directly in the eyes.

I searched his eyes for any hint of lying but I couldn’t find any. The only thing that I saw was honesty and seriousness.

“But what about Adelina?” I asked him.

Tiberius focused his gaze back on the water.

“After seeing you out on that bench last night, I knew I had to do something about it. Just seeing you sitting there made my heart go wild. I can’t have those feelings for someone else. It isn’t fair to either you or Adelina. Long story short, I told Adelina that I couldn’t go through with the marriage anymore.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Happiness began to rise inside of me, the pain dissipating.

“What about your father? I thought that he wanted you to marry her to help strengthen the pack?” I asked him. “

They really did tell you everything, didn’t they?” He asked as he too threw a pebble into the water below trying to skip it as he did so.

I simply just shrugged and said “maybe.”

He exhaled as he replied, shame showing on his handsome face. “I talked to him about it after I broke up with her. He was disappointed but I’m sure he will get over it fast. My mother was happy about it though for some odd reason. I don’t think she wanted me to be with her.”

“I don’t blame her,” I replied my jealousy showing through.

“Calla, you don’t even know Adelina.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” I replied truly ashamed for what I just said.

“It’s fine. I understand your feelings. Seeing you with the others drove me insane as well. I can only imagine how bad it would feel if I had to deal with what you did with Adelina and myself.”

“You can’t even imagine,” I said to him in all honesty.

“I’m sorry Calla.” I looked into his face and he looked into mine.

My eyes locking gazes with him. “I won’t do that to you ever again dear sweet Calla, I promise.”

We sat just like that staring into each other’s eyes. The world disappearing around us. Not a sound could be heard, not even the birds were audible. I could feel my heart beginning to race and pound in my chest. Tiberius ever so slowly leaned in towards me. My breathing increased as he came near. He was so close I could smell him. He smelled of sweet heaven. It made my mouth water as I leaned in closer to him. His chest pounded against mine as his lips were inches from my own. His lips brushed ever so slowly against mine as I closed my eyes.

Unexpectedly, a noise came from behind me making me lose my balance and almost fall into the water. Tiberius grabbed my arm as he steadied my balance scanning the woods for danger.

Reed popped out of the trees and exclaimed “Sorry, I was just coming to check on Calla. I wanted to make sure she was ok but evidently, you two made up and she is way more than ok.”

He walked straight up to Tiberius, holding his hands up, as we both stood up. Reed gave Tiberius a light punch on the shoulder as my face lit up bright red.

“No need to be embarrassed Calla, it’s just me. I knew it was only a matter of time. I can read Tiberius’s thoughts quite easily even if he was doing his best to block us. I mean he has been my best friend since we were children. I don’t need to read his thoughts to know what he thinks and wants, and you Calla are definitely what he wants.”

“Wait,” I replied. “We can block out each other’s thoughts?” I asked them.

“Yes, but it takes some practice. Don’t be disappointed if it takes you a little while to figure it out.” Tiberius replied to my question.

“The only one who is a little disappointed right now is me, I mean you chose Tiberius over me. Look at him I mean what does he have that I don’t. Well besides the black coat that is.” He said jokingly bringing out the Reed we knew so well.

Tiberius rolled his eyes as I laughed. “Maybe one day, I’ll choose you,” I said to him.

“Dude, don’t joke like that. You will keep me waiting for you for forever.” Reed replied.

We all laughed as Tiberius grabbed my hand and we made our voyage back to the castle.

Walking hand in hand with Tiberius, all three of us finally made it back to the castle. It was a long walk, I didn’t realize I went so far away. I must have really been out of it when I was running. They all followed me to the door of my house before they stopped and Tiberius let go of my hand as I opened the door.

“You guys can come in if you want. They won’t bite you.”

Reed replied, “Eh I won’t be so sure about that. I tend to bring the worst out in people.” Flashing me a smile and winking.

Tiberius answered, “Remind me again how we became friends Reed.” As he looked over towards Reed.

“Because I’m irresistible.” He answered back to Tiberius. “Isn’t that right Calla?” I just rolled my eyes at him as Tiberius did the same thing.

“Are you two coming in?” I asked them.

Truthfully, I wanted almost needed them to come in to distract me from Katherine. After the fight, I didn’t know if I wanted to confront her yet. She seemed furious at me and I wasn’t prepared to make it worse. Besides, she seems to really like Tiberius. Maybe he could calm her down.

They looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders and saying “sure.”

Tiberius grabbed the door from my hands allowing me to walk in first followed by Reed.

I muttered “thank you,” to him as I passed on through.

Reed on the other hand gently punched Tiberius in the stomach who made a grunting sound. In return, Tiberius rubbed the top of Reed’s hair who tried desperately to fix it back in place.

“Oh my, I brought children into the house,” I said to them rolling my eyes once more at their childish act.

For the first time, I noticed Tiberius’s face turn a shade darker.

I started laughing as I told him, “Don’t worry everyone acts like a kid at some point. I was only kidding with you. No need to get embarrassed.”

“I’m not embarrassed,” he told me as he avoided eye contact by looking towards the wall.”

“Uh-huh,” Reed said. “The big oaf over here would never admit he’s embarrassed.”

He gave a scowl directed towards Reed who just shrugged his shoulders and replied “What it’s true isn’t it?”

I left them alone why they had their little argument, their voices becoming muffled as I distanced myself from them. I went to go find where my sister and mother were located. As I passed my mother’s bedroom, I noticed she was asleep on her bed without her blankets on. It was quite cool in the house so I went over to her and grabbed a blanket to drape over her slender body. It was a little strange usually Kat was very careful in making sure my mother was in the best of conditions. Not that it bothered me taking care of my mother, but it was just not in Kat’s normal behavior. Maybe she was a little more upset than I originally thought. It made a butterfly feeling of uneasiness inside me as I came to that thought. I was never good at apologizing to people when I did something wrong that upset them.

I quietly left the room making sure not to make any noise that would wake my mother. I gently shut the door behind me. Walking towards my sister’s room I noticed the door was closed. Realizing that I would have to face my fears and acknowledge my sister, I gently knocked on the door calling out “Kat, are you in there?”

There was no response only dead silence.

I waited a few minutes before calling “Kat?” As I began to slowly open the door.

Again, there was no response and I peeped through the slit in the partially opened door.

Not seeing her, I opened the door very slowly making sure she wasn’t sleeping on her bed. My gaze went straight to her bed in which she wasn’t there. I scouted the entire room as I realized that she wasn’t there. I knocked on her bathroom door, no response. I opened it, no sight of her. I ran out of her room and went straight to the kitchen. She wasn’t there as well. Panic began to strike me.

“Kat!”

No response.

Reed and Tiberius appeared in the kitchen and Tiberius asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t find Katherine.”

Everything sunk in my body. Tears began to fill my eyes.

“Oh no, Oh no no no,” I said out loud. “Please tell me she didn’t.”

The palms of my hands going to my face.

Tiberius grabbed my arms and looked me directly in the face lowering my hands. He was bent down so he could look at me at eye level.

“Calla, what is wrong?"

I looked at him before I tried to pull away and run to the door. He was still holding my arm restricting me from movement.

“Please Calla, let me help. What is wrong?”

“Let me get outside and I will tell you there.”

I tugged my arm from his grasp and ran out the door into the hallway and then outside. They ran after me as I stopped in the grass needing all the fresh air I could get to fill my collapsing lungs. I heard Reed’s voice from behind me causing me to turn around and look at him.

“Calla, you’re scaring us.” He said with worry in his voice. “What is wrong?”

“It’s Katherine. I must hurry. We got in a fight yesterday. I told her that she couldn’t go home, not until its safe. Then she told me she wanted to be a werewolf and it made me upset. I think she went home alone.”

I scrambled as I turned around prepared to run back into the woods by myself.

“Calla, wait.” Tiberius’s voice spoke. “Let me go with you. You can’t go alone. It’s way too dangerous. I have no idea what Adolph will do to you if he finds you.”

“Alright,” I said bowing my head down. “Thank you, Tiberius.”

“No need to thank me, Calla.” He replied to me.

As we began to run into the woods Reed’s voice rang out “Wait up guys, you don’t expect me not to come and help do you?” He said as he chased after us.

We stopped and let him catch up.

“Thank you, Reed, you don’t have to do this. I don’t know what will happen.” I told him truthfully.

“I know I don’t have to, I want to.” He responded.

We all took off with great speed trying to get to my house as fast as we could. We had no idea what kind of danger Katherine could be in. For all, I knew Adolph could have gotten ahold of her and she could be dead by the time we reach her. Tears began to fill my eyes once more as this thought popped into my head.

Tiberius’s voice erupted into my head “Shh dear sweet Calla, don’t think that my love.”

I looked over at him saying no words. I was grateful for what he said as his words calmed me down some. I was overreacting. For all I knew Katherine could be in perfectly fine condition just feeding the livestock, enjoying what the sun has to offer.

As we crossed the border from our land into my old packs, their stench struck my nose. It made me nervous smelling it once more. The smell brought back old memories that haunted my dreams at night. Then I thought of the one person in the pack on which I thought I could trust, Rafiq. I was still a little sad that he betrayed me but more than the sadness I felt anger. Anger that he could betray me in such a way. One that almost ultimately led to my family’s death. I really hoped I didn’t see him again for fact that if I did, he would not be in a very good condition afterwards.

Finally, we came to my house as our footsteps slowed. I walked over to the barn hoping that was where she would be. I saw no sign of her but my heart sank, for what, I did not know. My body was trying to tell me something.

Reed’s voice spoke out, “Do you smell that?” He asked us.

Tiberius said with worry in his voice “Adolph.”

My eyes grew large as I smelt the air as well. It was indeed Adolph’s scent.

“Kat!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

“Shh Calla! We can’t draw Adolph’s attention. We have no idea whether she is ok or not. We must be quiet.”

“It’s my sister!” I yelled back at him terrified.

“I know Calla, but if the entire pack is here we are outnumbered. If something were to happen to us, your sister would be in even more trouble.”

I knew he was right, I had to be quiet. I tried my best to calm down.

Reed’s voice spoke as he was crouched on the floor huddled over something blocking my view. “Blood.”

He said to us looking us in the eyes. “I do not recognize the scent.”

I ran over to him and went to the blood spot. My worst fears came alive as I muttered. “Katherine.”

I dropped my head towards the floor. Tiberius and Reed exchanged gazes.

“It is too small of a blood splat for her to be in serious damage. She has to be around here somewhere."

Tiberius went towards the house and opened the door. A few minutes his voice popped into our heads

“Calla! Reed! Get over here. In the kitchen, now!”

I jumped up faster than I ever did before to run into the kitchen, Reed right behind me. I saw my sister huddled up in a corner as Tiberius was crouched beside her. Her arm covered in blood and tears dropped to the floor. I could not see her face for she had it bent down towards the tear-stricken floor. My heart was beating a million miles an hour trying to pop out of my chest. I could not breathe as Tiberius grabbed her arm to inspect the damage. His voice spoke for us all to hear bringing my worst fears alive,

“she’s been bitten.”

I ran up to Katherine as horror filled my body. I took her arm from Tiberius and inspected the damage for myself. Sure enough, there laid a bite mark. “What can we do to stop it!?” I yelled at Tiberius who in turn just lowered his head and avoided eye contact.

“You can’t Calla. What’s done is done.” I ignored him and focused my attention on Reed.

“Reed?!” I yelled at him.

“I’m sorry Calla.” Was all that he said.

There had to be a way to fix it. There just had to.

“Katherine, what happened?” I asked her, shaking her shoulders trying to get her attention.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I was feeding the pigs outside and I heard footsteps behind me. I assumed it was you and I was about to tell you that I was fine and to go back home, but when I turned around it was Adolph. Stupid me, I was too petrified to move and remained still as he approached me. He said that I was to tell you that you should be more careful in watching me and he also said that he will marry you one way or another. He told me to run before he would change his plan on what he had in store for me. I ran as fast as I could to get into the house. Then, before I could register what was happening, he transformed into a big black wolf and he jumped on my back and knocked me over. I tried to scoot away from him, but then he bit me and immediately got off of me. He backed away from me and I ran into the house and locked the doors until I heard you guys outside. I was so scared, Calla. I thought I was going to die. You were right, I should have stayed at the house where it was safe. What was I thinking?” Tears began to flow from her eyes even harder.

Tiberius looked over to Reed and said, “Come on.” They stood up and walked out of the door.

I took Katherine in my arms trying to calm her down.

“Shhh, it’s ok.”

“Will I be like you now, a werewolf?” She asked me as she looked into my eyes.

I couldn’t muster any words so I just shook my head clarifying to her that she would indeed be a werewolf. “I don’t know if I want this life.” She told me. “I thought I would but now I’m scared, Calla.”

I responded to her. “It will be alright Katherine. I will do my best to help you with your transition. I will be by your side whenever you need me. If you have a question just ask me, ok? I may not know the answer to it but I will find someone who does.”

Tears were starting to spill from my eyes as well as we held each other rocking back and forth. I failed my sister and it was all my fault. If I wouldn’t have been so strict with her she would still be a normal human. It was only due time before she would change.

“How long have you been in here?” I asked her.

“I left the house right after you did this morning. I tried to sneak here, not wanting you to find me. So probably around four hours.” “You were bitten for four hours?!” I freaked out on her.

“Not quite, it took about a half an hour for anyone to show up here.”

“Oh Katherine, I am so sorry. I can’t even imagine what you are going through.”

I stood up and went over to the sink in the kitchen. I grabbed a rag from one of the drawers and wetted it down.

“Don’t apologize Calla.” I heard her say. “I should have listened to you in the first place. You told me not to come here and you were right.”

“I pretty much drove you here,” I told her as I began to wipe the blood from her arm making her cringe.

“Calla, stop.” My sister said as she forcefully grabbed my hand that was wiping her arm. “Do not blame yourself. I do not want to hear anything coming from your mouth anymore about this ok?” She said to me, a strict motherly tone coming from her mouth.

I nodded my head and lowered my eyes. She let go of my hand and I began to wipe her arm once more.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and said casually “so when do I turn?”

I just looked at her surprised that she could be so calm already after all of this.

“I have no idea honestly.” I’ll ask Tiberius and Reed in one minute. First, we need to get a bandage on that.”

“Alright.” She answered me as she stood up and I followed her movements.

“You go get the bandages for your wound and I will go get Tiberius and Reed alright?” I asked her not really wanting to leave her.

“Ok,” and with that, she left the room to find the Band-Aids.

I walked outside needing some fresh air. I took a deep breath breathing in as much as I possibly could. I spotted Tiberius and Reed leaning against the wall discussing something under their breaths. As I walked up to them, they began to go silent. I looked at them before saying “What?” I asked.

Reed said, “we were just discussing what is going to happen to Katherine.”

“What do you mean? Won’t she just turn into a wolf in a few hours or something like that?” Reed lowered his head not wanting to answer.

This began to frighten me. “What?” I pushed them further this time looking directly at Tiberius.

He let out a deep breath. “Oh Calla, there is so much you still need to learn. If Katherine was a male, what you said would be correct. As she is not there is no certainty that she will be a wolf.”

“That’s good then!” I exclaimed excitedly. “That means she will still be normal.

Reed looked up at me his eyes full of sorrow as they both said nothing. Once more my heart sank.

“What?” I asked afraid to hear the answer.

Tiberius spoke very slowly “Calla, she will not still be human if she doesn’t transform.” I cut him off as he spoke.

“What do you mean she won’t be human? If not human then what will she be?”

Reed spoke very gently to me drawing in my attention, “Calla let him speak. It’s very important.” I turned back around to face Tiberius as what he said made me want to collapse.

“Calla, do you remember what I told you about the genes?”

I simply nodded not wanting to speak anymore.

“Either she will change by midnight or if her body doesn’t accept it, she will die. I’m so sorry Calla.”

“But won’t her body accept it because I myself am a werewolf?”

“No, I will be completely honest with you Calla. Since her body was already exposed to the possibility of becoming a wolf with her genes and she didn’t, she has an even lower chance of a survival rate.

My body began to shake as I heard the most dreaded news I have ever heard in my entire life. Tiberius walked over to me to steady me as he began to set me down so I wouldn’t fall over.

“It’s all my fault, I should have just turned myself into Adolf.”

“My dear sweet Calla, please don’t think that,” Tiberius said as he sat me down to rest my head on his lap.

He began to push the hair from my eyes setting it behind my ears.

“If you would have turned yourself in, I don’t know what I would have done. You don’t know how much you are worth to me.”

I looked into his eyes as I said, “thank you for trying to cheer me up.”

“I’m being honest Calla. We have no idea what kind of things he would have done to you. Just thinking about it makes me want to go find him and tear his throat from his neck.”

Anger flashed in Tiberius’s eyes. I gently placed my palm on the side of his face as he closed his eyes trying to calm him down.

The door opened and Reed’s voice broke out. “She’s coming.”

I jumped off of Tiberius’s lap and went over to her.

“What’s wrong?” She asked as she saw the tears falling from my eyes.

Her eyes darted between the three of us. I simply walked over to her and gave her the biggest hug I have ever given her. I did not want to let go being that I had no idea if I would ever see her again.

“When am I supposed to change?” She asked me confused about what was going on.

I let go of my sister to examine her face. I let out a deep breath before I spoke. I lowered my eyes to the floor as the words came from my mouth. “I’m so sorry Katherine. You have until midnight to change.”

“What if I don’t?” She asked me reading from my voice there was more to the story.

I looked over to Tiberius pleading for him to finish for me. His voice spoke out ever so slowly, “Katherine if you don’t change, it means your body rejected it. In other words, it means that you will die.”

I watched her eyes go wide as horror filled her, but she quickly covered it back up.

“Oh my,” she said. “I was not expecting that. Well if that’s the case, we should do something fun.”

My mouth dropped open as I just looked at her.

“You’re not afraid or upset?” I asked her.

“Of course I am, but there is no time to grieve is there? Everyone come inside and let’s find something fun to do.”

I just shook my head and said, “As you wish.”

I looked back to the others and waved my hand causing them to move closer to us. I grabbed Tiberius’s hand in mine as we all went into the house together. My sister gave me a small smirk as she saw us hand in hand. I just rolled my eyes at her, ignoring her.

We all stood in the kitchen as I heard Reed’s voice break out in my head, “how do you guys live in such a small place.”

I just turned around to look at him while Tiberius punched his arm and raised his hands.

“Ow, what?” he asked him. “Is that rude or something.”

I just laughed at him and said “Nah it’s alright. It’s all I’ve ever known. On a serious note, I would rather live in a small place like this than the castle.”

He just shrugged his shoulders and said “fair enough.”

Katherine just looked at us and gave us a puzzling look.

“What did he say? I didn’t hear him say anything.”

I walked over to her and let go of Tiberius’s hand.

“Apparently, we can talk in each other’s minds. Something sort of cool to look forward to when you become a wolf.”

“Sweet!” She exclaimed.

She looked around my body to focus her gaze on the others. “I told her that being a wolf can be fun!”

“Yes, you did,” I laughed at her excitement trying to distract myself from what could happen in only a few dreaded hours.

“Well I don’t believe we have officially met,” Reed said to Katherine as he came to stand next to me. “My name is Reed and you must be Katherine.”

“Hello,” she simply said smiling.

Reed gently grabbed her hand and kissed it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I rolled my eyes and pushed him to the side.

“Ouch Calla. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you are getting jealous. Don’t let Tiberius find out that you still want me.” He said as he smiled.

“Don’t mind Reed, he is the biggest player you could possibly meet.”

“Shh Calla, don’t tell her that.” He looked straight at Katherine and said, “I have no idea what she is talking about, I am a complete angel madam.”

“Oh, sure you are,” I said to him.

Katherine just giggled and said, “Don’t worry Reed, I don’t judge. You seem pretty cool.”

“See! Someone gets me.” He exclaimed a smile exploding on his face.

“Oh Katherine, you now made a new best friend,” I said laughing into the air as Tiberius walked behind me, putting his arms around me.

After a few minutes of Katherine and Reed talking she turned around to face Tiberius and me. “Can I ask something of you guys?” Her face was turning a little red from what I could tell from her actions, she was embarrassed.

“What?” I asked her.

“Since I have no idea what will happen later I want one final thing. I was wondering if you guys would transform into your wolves one last time. It interests me seeing you guys like that.” I shrugged my shoulders and looked at the rest.

“I will, but up to you guys if you want to.”

“Of course I will, my dear sweet Calla,” Tiberius said in my ear causing me to smile and look at him. His breath warm against my ear.

“Reed?” I asked before I realized he was already running out the door. I laughed and looked at Tiberius. “Does that mean yes or is he running for his life.”

“I’m pretty sure that means yes.” He said to me giving out a small laugh.

“Yippee!” Katherine exclaimed like a child running out the door as well leaving Tiberius and myself alone in the kitchen.

I tried to follow my sister out of the door, but Tiberius wouldn’t drop his arms from around my waist. I turned around to face him before asking “what’s up?” He smiled as he looked down at me.

“You know we never did get to finish what we were going to do earlier before Reed interrupted us.” He caused butterflies to arise in my stomach.

“Oh, didn’t we?” I asked toying with him.

“Hmm nope, I don’t believe so.”

He started to slowly bend down toward me as I stood on my tippy toes. We were only inches apart before I put a finger on his lips and smiled.

“You can get a kiss later. Katherine’s waiting for us.”

I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran out the door.

I heard Tiberius yell behind me, “Calla, you are such a tease!”

This caused me to smile even more. His footsteps echoed behind me as he ran to catch up.

When I entered the outdoors, I saw my sister standing there with Reed in his wolf form pretending to growl at her.

“Don’t mind him, he is quite the teddy bear. He thinks he is tough but he’s not isn’t that right Reed.” I said to him as I crouched down to pet his head.

He nipped at my hands, not causing any pain. “Feisty are we, Reed,” I said to him. “Don’t make me have to put you in time out.”

I heard his voice echo in my head. “Try it, I dare you.”

I just laughed and walked behind the house to change out of my clothes leaving the rest in the front yard.

I took off my shirt and began to unzip my pants before a smell overcame my senses. A scent that I knew all too well. I quickly zipped my pants back up and grabbed my shirt to cover my body before turning around.

“Rafiq, what are you doing here,” I growled.

“Ahh Calla, what kind of greeting is that. Don’t you miss me? Plus, I was actually quite enjoying the scene so if you could continue taking your clothes off that would be nice.”

“Get out of here,” I growled at him. “I never want to see you again, you traitor.”

He laughed an evil laugh at me. “But it was all too easy in making you trust me. So desperate for a friend that it clouded your judgment. Tisk tisk Calla, you really need to work on that. It’s sad really, your need to be loved. It makes you so weak, predictable even. Why else do you think Adolph bit your sister?”

I said nothing to him.

“Stupid too, I see. Anyway, he did it to try and convince you to join us, without your sister in the way, you’re an easy target.” He laughed once more as he finished what he was saying.

I looked at him with pure hatred in my eyes as he placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked down at it and ripped it off my shoulder.

“I never want to see you again. I swear to God I will rip your throat out if you come anywhere near me or my family. You are a sick person that doesn’t deserve to live. It is taking all of my willpower not to turn and kill you where you stand.”

He lifted his hands up and said, “You couldn’t hurt me if you tried. You’re too much of a bleeding heart for that, it’s pathetic.” He walked away from me stopping to say one thing.

“I’ll be watching you, Calla, beware.” He walked into the woods and disappeared as the trees devoured him.

I tried to control my heartbeat, not wanting to upset my sister any further than what she was already. She couldn’t find out about what happened. She wanted a good day and I was determined to give it to her. I wouldn’t let something like this keep it from her. I finished getting undressed before I transformed into my wolf. I padded back over to where the rest were.

“What took you so long?” I heard my sister call out.

Being that I was in wolf form I couldn’t say anything to her. She realized her mistake and said, “oops, sorry I forgot.”

As Tiberius walked up to me the wind blew causing my fur the ruffle. His ears went alert as he came close to me and I heard his voice full of worry in my head. “Calla! What happened? Why is Rafiq’s scent on your fur?”

He stood right next to me making sure I was ok. I noticed Reed looking over to me as well but keeping Katherine entertained.

“I’m ok Tiberius, I promise. He came here to just torment me but he left. Please don’t freak out, I don’t want Katherine finding out. She deserves a good night."

He brushed his head against mine and said, “I promise as long as you promise something for me.”

“What?” I asked him.

“Please stay by my side the entire time we are here. I don’t want something bad happening to you.”

I looked him in the eyes and said “I promise.”

“Thank you.” He said before we made our way back to Katherine and Reed.

It felt very awkward having Katherine look at us like we were some sort of new fascinating toy, especially since she isn’t a child. As I walked up to her she brushed mine and Tiberius’s coat saying, “I always wanted a dog, did you know that Calla?”

I, for a fact, never knew that. She always looked so happy taking care of my mother I never knew she wanted anything more in life. I sat down right in front of her, my white furry tail covering my front paws. The other two followed pursuit. We sat there waiting for Katherine to tell us what to do. Finally, her voice broke out as she said, “Honestly, I don’t know what to have you guys do. I just wanted to see it one last time. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that werewolves actually exist.”

I grunted and went to lay my head on my paws. My sister gave me a sharp look and pointed her fingers “no need to be so sarcastic lady.”

I swear sometimes she thinks she is my second mother. To give her a good show that I thought would entertain her, I rolled on my back giving her a submissive position. She came over to scratch my stomach, but instead of letting her, I jumped onto my front paws. I howled at her and charged her knocking her over as she tried to run away. As she fell over I licked her cheeks causing her to laugh and say “Calla! That’s gross. It’s so slimy.” I got off of her and walked over to the others, a proud stance in my walk.

After an hour of just messing around with Katherine, we all decided it was time to change back into our human forms. As I was trotting back to where my clothes were, Tiberius followed me. I gave him a puzzling look as he followed me.

“Don’t you want to go get changed?” I asked him. “Your clothes are over there.” I nodded in the direction of where his clothes were located.

“Oh, I know.” He simply replied.

I stopped walking and gave him an even more puzzling look. He stopped next to me and said, “Calla, you promised me that you would let me stay beside you at all times.”

“But I have to change back,” I told him starting to get a little worried.

“Shh Calla calm. I will not watch you change back if you don’t want me to. I will just stand close to you making sure that you are not in any danger.”

“Thank you, Tiberius,” I said to him grateful that he could always be such a gentleman.

Just like Tiberius said, he stayed in his wolf form and watched the woods alert to make sure nobody showed up. After I was done changing into my human form and putting my clothes back on, I walked over and patted him on his head as he trotted alongside me back to where his own clothes were located. I took Katherine inside with me letting Tiberius and Reed be alone for a little bit to change.

“Are you hungry?” She asked me.

“Yeah, sort of. You?” I asked her.

She nodded acknowledging the fact that she was indeed hungry.

“What should we eat? Is there anything in the house?” I asked her.

“I have no idea.” She answered me.

We then began to open all the drawers and cupboards in the kitchen. It began to look like we weren’t going to eat anything until Katherine was able to find only one thing. “I found some Ramen noodles.” She said. “It’s obviously not much but the only thing I can find.”

Just then I noticed Tiberius was behind me as he wrapped his arms around my waist again. “Ramen noodles are perfect Katherine. Thank you.” I smiled looking back at him.

“You’re welcome!” She said in a very cheerful mood.

“Ahh man Ramen noodles,” Reed whimpered. Tiberius and I shot him a dirty look making him change his mind and say “I meant yes! Ramen noodles!” I just rolled my eyes at him.

“I swear, what are we going to do with that little werewolf?” I looked Tiberius in the eyes.

“Don’t worry, I will send him to the dog pound.” He punched Reed in his arm who whimpered and said “Oh no not the dog pound.”

He threw his hands up in the air and wiggled them in a mocking manner. We all just laughed at him as Katherine placed the water on the stove to boil.

After supper, we sat at the table trying to get our minds on what was about to come. I really didn’t want either events to happen, but if I had to choose one I would definitely go with my sister becoming a werewolf. I knew that she was not ready for the world I lived in, too fragile for her own good. Being a werewolf tends to change you in ways you don’t expect. It tends to make you upset about different things much faster than if you were a normal human. I was worried about her, I really was. I don’t know if she will be able to control her emotions and if she can’t, it can lead to all of our downfalls. She has to be able to control her change, not allowing the public to know about werewolves.

“Calla?” I heard a voice say in my head.

I shook my head not realizing that I was daydreaming. My eyes began to focus when I realized Tiberius was looking at me with a worried expression on his face.

“Yes?” I asked him.

“Are you ok?” His eyes searching mine making sure that everything was alright.

I exhaled and said, “I’m ok.”

“If you say so,” he said to me. “Be careful around your sister ok? She is watching your every move, try not to make her more upset. We want to keep her happy for her transition.”

I looked over at my sister and noticed that she really was watching me as she was talking to Reed. “Your right,” I said back to him.

I just stared at her, losing focus of the world. I tried to memorize every feature on her face. How her eyes glimmered when she spoke, how her smile seemed to light up the room, and how her eyebrows furrowed when something unsettled her. No matter how hard I tried to memorize her features, I was not ready for what was about to come.

I looked to my left, my eyes finding the window to outside. It was dark out and the moon was in the night sky. It was a beautiful night, I wished I could go outside and enjoy it. Sorrow was deep inside me. It was only a matter of time before Katherine would either go through her first change or she would be killed. I didn’t even notice I was shaking until Tiberius grabbed my hand trying to calm me down. I snapped my attention away from the window and stared at our hands entwined together. Tiberius reached over with his other hand to gently grab my chin. He ever so slowly turned my head to face his as he smiled at me.

I flashed him a quick smile back before asking him, “What time is it?” I asked Tiberius, my voice shaking as I spoke.

“It’s 11:30,” Tiberius told me as he checked his phone.

My heart dropped to the bottom pit of my stomach. Katherine looked over towards me as she heard my voice fail me. “Calla, it will be alright. Please calm down.”

“I’m sorry Kat,” I replied back to her upset with myself that I could fail her by not keeping myself in check.

Minutes passed with a blink of an eye. Slowly Reed and Tiberius stood up and said “we should probably go out in the woods just in case.”

Katherine and I both nodded in agreement not saying anything. I could tell that she was nervous, but she was trying to stay strong. She doesn’t like looking weak in front of others. We all slowly made the trek into the wood together, Tiberius holding my hand still trying to silently calm me down. Reed and Katherine walked in front of us talking about something to which I did not know. Every once in a while Tiberius would search the woods for danger, evident that he was nervous that Adolph and the others would attack. Whenever I noticed him searching the woods, I would squeeze his hand trying to comfort him. He would look down at me and I would look up at him and smile. He would return the favor before he looked straight-forward to the others.

Finally, we arrived at our destination. Far enough in the woods in which nobody would see anything happen to Katherine. It was five minutes to midnight as I let go of Tiberius’s hand and went over to her and gave her the biggest hug as if my life depended on it, not hers. I closed my eyes not wanting to let go of her.

“I love you, Katherine, you know that right?” I asked her.

“Of course. I love you too.” She said to me returning my hug.

“I’m so sorry. All of this is my fault.”

“Shhh, my sweet little sister. If I would have been in your shoes I would have done the same thing as you.”

“But you always make the right decisions. You’re the perfect child in the family.”

I told her tears falling from my eyes and becoming embedded into her clothes. She began to brush my hair from my eyes before saying “Calla, that is not true. I’m only human just like you. Well sort of, but that’s beside the point. I admire your strength, something that I will never have. No matter how hard I try to be strong, I could never be like you.”

“Yeah because I am being so strong right now,” I said as I brushed the tears from my eyes.

Kat was just about to say something but was interrupted by a bone-cracking inside her body as she let out a deafening scream. Tiberius grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him as I yelled “No! Let me go! Let me comfort her!”

He pulled me into his arms as I ferociously tried to get his arms off of me.

“Calla you can’t! You don’t know how she will react. You know how you can’t control yourself when you first change.”

“But she is my sister!” I yelled at him desperately trying to break free.

“Please calm down Calla.”

He gently grabbed the side of my head and pushed it against his chest. I pressed my face into his chest and said “I can’t watch this.”

Screams after screams echoed in the woods making me cringe. More bones cracked as I heard her fall to the ground. I turned around to watch her to check to make sure she was ok. She was on her hands and knees, half changed.

“Does that mean she will live?” I asked Tiberius hope in my words.

He didn’t say anything as we watched her some more. Her breathing becoming labored. After a few minutes, I noticed she wasn’t changing anymore. She was still in her half-werewolf form.

“That’s normal right?” I asked Tiberius, again he said nothing. “Right?”

I turned to look at Reed who said nothing, only lowering his gaze away from me. My heart felt like it broke into millions of pieces knowing for a fact this wasn’t normal.

“Katherine!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “You have to keep going, you have to!” I yelled at her as she turned to look me directly in the eyes.

As she was staring into my eyes the world seemed to go quiet around us. It appeared that the world only contained my sister and myself. Time seemed to slow as my heart pounded in my broken chest. I watched a tremor pass through her body as a new scream sounded from her body. It was then that I noticed that her body was beginning to transform once more. I looked over at Tiberius who was able to read the expression on my face.

“Yes, that is good news.” I clapped my hand in excitement, happy that my sister was going to be ok.

“Calla, calm. This does not guarantee that she will survive."

Dread filled me once more as these words were spoken from his voice. I just stood there watching every move my sister made until she was fully transformed into a wolf. As soon as she transformed, she fell over not making a single noise. I escaped Tiberius’s arms as I ran over to her as fast as I could. I did not care about whatever danger that could happen being this close to her. My only concern was for my sister, nothing else. I put my ear on her chest realizing that she wasn’t breathing.

“Tiberius! She isn’t breathing!” I yelled panicking. “Help me!” I yelled at him when he didn’t move. “Please!” I begged him as I began crying once more.

“Calla. I’m so sorry. There isn’t anything we can do.”

“CPR?” I asked him.

He simply just shook his head. “I’m so sorry.” I grasped her grey fur in my hand trying to shake her body as she made no move. Faster and faster I shook her body trying to wake her up.

“Katherine! Wake up! Wake up!” I bawled into her fur. “You must wake up! I can’t take care of mother without you. I need you in my life. I can’t survive without you!”

Reed came over towards me and tried to help me up. I pushed him away from me and went back to my sister who was still not breathing. I couldn’t believe it. My loving older sister was dead, and it was all my fault.