by Karen Ruth
“Holy crap! How did I sleep that long?!” I asked myself amazed.
Cath simply laughed. “You were tired Nina, don’t fret about it.”
I felt a drop of sweat fall from my forehead. I placed my right hand on my forehead. It was soaking wet. My hair was plastered to my face and neck. My heart was racing a hundred miles an hour. Catherine’s face was full of concern once again.
“Nina, what were you dreaming about?” She asked me.
“It was nothing.” I quickly replied to her not wanting to discuss it with her.
“Nina.” She started but I cut her off. “Please Cath, I’d just really rather not talk about it.”
“You could be having such bad dreams from that fall you took you know? Seth bashed your head into that tree super hard. You could still have a concussion.” Cath said to me with a voice full of concern.
“Cath, I’m ok,” I replied agitated.
“Alright.” My sister said giving me a small understanding smile.
“Thank you, Cath,” I said to her.
We both climbed off the luxurious bed that was now soaked with sweat. She placed a small hand on my shoulder and flashed me a quick smile. I returned one back to her. She removed her hand from my shoulder and exited the room.
I plopped down on my bed, my mind beginning to race. Who was that guy? What the heck is a TWHS that the man mentioned? Is it even a real thing?
“Of course, it’s not Nina. It was just a dream. You have to calm down.” I told myself.
I took a deep breath in and exhaled it. If I was in the cold a puff of air would have escaped. Everything was going to be alright. I had to tell myself that in order to believe it. I had to get out of bed and face the day. No more hiding in my room. No more avoiding people just because I was afraid they would mention my mother. It was time to face life and there was no more hiding that I could do. It was time to grow up and finally leave the comfort and isolation of my room.
I walked into the kitchen towards the noise my sister was putting off. When I arrived I noticed she was washing the dishes. I let out a tiny chuckle. She looked at me with a question on her slim face.
“Sorry. Just a few days ago mom got mad at me for not doing the dishes. Remember?” I said to her in a hushed voice.
Cath smiled back at me. “I remember. It’s funny how a terrible memory has turned into a good one isn’t it.” She said to me.
“Well, actually, I kind of prefer it. The more memories the better right?” I questioned her.
“You know I never thought of it like that. I agree.” She said as she wiped her hands on the towel.
“Hey Cath, would you like to go for a run with me in our wolves?” I asked her.
“Of course! I thought you would never ask!” She exclaimed jumping for joy. I couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh.
“Alright chickadee. Try to contain the excitement.” She grabbed my hand and ran me out the door.
As we were “walking,” pretty much running through the hallways, we almost ran straight into Lucas. My heart sank at the sight of him.
“Nina,” Lucas started.
Cath slowed down, so we could talk.
“Sorry Lucas, we can talk later,” I said to him not giving him a chance to say anything before running away.
I wasn’t ready to face him quite yet. I wasn’t ready to break his heart. Cath flashed a confused look towards me but said nothing.
“Nina, what’s the matter?” Lucas said to me in my head. I didn’t respond.
“LaLaLa,” I said in my head to keep my thoughts hidden under the noise.
“Why are you doing that?” He asked me.
“Doing what?” I pretended to be innocent.
“Never mind.” He said to me in an agitated tone. “Just talk to me later.” He grumbled and the connection was severed.
I let out a loud breath thankful that he couldn’t hear what I was thinking.
Finally, we made it outside. We both went behind different trees and changed into our wolves. It took Cath a few extra minutes before she was able to transform. I just sat in front of my tree waiting for her to arrive. A slight summer breeze blew the scent of the forest to my nose. It caused excitement to erupt within me. My wolf was anxious to feel the wind on her fur. To feel the thrill of the hunt. Unfortunately, since it would only be Cath and I, there wouldn’t be much of a hunt. We would have to stay with rabbits or something small to make sure Cath was safe. It would be her first hunt after all. Finally, Cath arrived to me in her beautiful grey wolf. It would take me a bit to get used to the fact that she is indeed a werewolf now, just like me.
“Are you ready to go?” She asked me bubbling with enthusiasm.
“Yes,” I replied as I started to turn around.
A flash of red presented itself in front of my face causing me to jump backward in surprise. I heard a low laugh erupt from the source.
“Jesus Reed. You scared the crap out of me!” I yelled at him.
“You should have seen the look on your face!” He laughed even louder.
I rolled my eyes at him.
“Hey Reed, we were just going to go for a run. Would you like to join us?” Cath asked him.
I glanced over in her direction.
“That is ok right Nina?” She asked me suddenly aware that we never discussed asking others to join us.
“Of course it is Cath. It’s your decision as well. You don’t have to ask for my permission.” I said to her.
“Sure! I would love to join you guys!” Reed exclaimed.
“Alright, let’s go,” I said to them out loud.
“Reed, I swear if you start flirting with my sister right in front of me, I’m going to tackle you.” I said to him within my mind.”
“Aww is babe getting jealous.”
“You wish,” I replied.
“Decided Lucas wasn’t as good as he seems. Decided that I’m better, huh.” He said jokingly.
The smile wiped from my face as my heart dropped by what he said. I started to turn my head back towards the woods without saying anything.
“Wait, what’s wrong Nina.”
“Nothing,” I replied.
“Nina, please tell me you’re not doing what I’m thinking.”
“And what’s that?” I asked him.
“leaving Lucas.”
“I don’t have a choice,” I replied. The hurt was evident in my voice.
“Nina.” Reed started.
My sisters' voice cut him off making me shake the voice out of my head. “Hey! Come one guys! I can’t hear you when you talk within your head and you know that! Don’t leave me out! What were you guys saying?” She asked.
“Don’t worry about it Cath. It wasn’t anything important.” I said to her not wanting her to know what was going on.
“Then get going.” I flashed a face towards Reed telling him that he better not tell her what we were talking about.
He simply shook his head sadly and followed us into the woods.
Chapter 2
As we began walking in the woods, I looked over at Cath.
“So, what did you have in mind Cath? What did you want to do?”
“Uh, I dunno?” She replied. “I just really wanted to get out of the house and get more experience with more wolf stuff.” She said sheepishly.
I refocused my attention on Reed. “Any idea what’s a good thing for her to get practice with Reed? I’m sure you have more practice with this than I do.”
He lightly bit his lip, deep in thought. “Hmm. You know, I’m sure hunting would do her some good. She would get experience with running, fighting, and using her senses all in one.”
“What would we be hunting?” Cath asked Reed.
“I wouldn’t recommend anything too dangerous as this is your first time. It is your first time, right?” Reed asked her while cocking his head sideways.
“Well, kind of.” She answered before giving out a large sigh. “Seth made me hunt for my own food when I got hungry.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t very good at it. I was lucky if I got a rabbit.” She muttered quietly with her head low to the floor.
Catching up on my sister's feeling of shame, I walked in front of her path, cutting her off. I turned around to face her so I could get a better sight of her. Apparently, she didn’t see me as she ran straight into me.
“Oomph.” She said in surprise. “Sorry, Nina!” She quickly replied, shock evident on her small face.
“Cath. You must not be ashamed of anything that happened with Seth. We do not expect you to be the best werewolf suddenly overnight. You literally just turned into one. There is no way you should be that good at hunting quite yet. To be honest, it took me a few tries to even get a single rabbit. So, by the sounds of it, you are already doing better than I did.”
“Same here.” Reed chipped in. “Plus, I knew that I was going to be a werewolf. I was trained into it, and it still took me a few times.” He replied as he was sitting on the ground with his tail wrapped around his paws.
“Thank you,” I said to him in my head, happy that he chipped in to make my sister better.
Although she loves me, sometimes she doesn’t quite believe what I am saying. Having someone other than family always helps cheer her up.
“Thank you, you guys.” She blushed with a small smile on her face.
“We mean it, Cath,” I said to her.
This caused you to give off an even larger smile. “I know.” She spoke once more. “So what animal should I hunt?” She asked me.
I shrugged my shoulders, not sure what was the best animal. Without saying anything, I redirected my attention to Reed. He saw the look on my face.
“What? Why me?” He asked.
“You’re the second in command, your decision.”
“What about you?” He questioned me. “You’re also an alpha.” I simply laughed at him.
“I will never admit that so by default it’s your decision.”
“Ahh come on. That’s not fair.” He whined.
I simply stuck my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes.
“You’re lucky I’m feeling nice.” Cath and I let out a joyful laugh.
“Oh yeah, because you’re soo scary,” Cath said in a mocking tone.
This caused me to laugh even harder.
“Hey darling, don’t make me show you otherwise.”
“Uh-huh, sure.” She replied.
“That’s it!” Reed exclaimed as he lunged at her knocking her small frame over with his larger one.
He used his weight to hold her down looking into her blue eyes.
“This doesn’t prove anything. As soon as I learn to fight, I’m going to kick your puny butt.” She said staring back into his eyes, smiling from ear to ear.
“Oh, I can’t wait to see that.” He said to her.
“Hey Nina,” Cath said to me.
“Yes?” I asked her.
“A little help?”
“Oh, I was thinking you were never going to ask.” I sputtered back to her.
I backed up away from them, crouched down to the forest floor, and pushed forward with my strong muscles. I ran into Reed with the speed that I mustered causing him to fall over on his large back with a thud. I jumped on him in the same way that he jumped on my sister. I held him down while my laughter filled the forest air.
“You realize I could easily knock you back over Nina. You don’t weigh that much. You’re pretty much a feather.” Reed said as he rolled his eyes.
“Yes, but what fun would that be,” I said while cocking my head to the left.
Reed started pushing himself off the ground and I called out to Cath.
“Cath come help me!” I yelled in a playful tone.
She bounced off the floor and ran towards us. By the time she reached me, Reed was already standing on his four legs. She pounced on him and I did the same. We all went rolling around in a ball in a moment of happiness. It was nice to have this distraction. For a moment, I forgot about everything wrong in my life. We all laughed as the day ticked by.
After a while we all laid on the floor exhausted.
Panting, Cath said to me “Nina?”
“Yes,” I responded looking at her.
“What is going on between you and Lucas? You look sad.” She replied to me.
I exhaled loud enough so they could hear. “Don’t worry about it Cath. Everything is fine. We should start your training with hunting before it gets too late. What do you think Reed?” I asked him in a tone that showed that I didn’t want him to say no.
“That sounds like a good idea to me.” He said as he pushed himself to a standing position, shaking the dirt off his red fur.
Catherine hesitated but reluctantly accepted.
“Alright, just know that if you ever need to talk, I’m always here for you.” She muttered. “Of course, I know that Cath. Thank you.” I said to her, looking deep into her eyes. She bowed her head and continued walking down the long path.
Reed and I stopped in our tracks. “Rabbit.” He said to me within my head.
“Yes, but we must wait for Cath to say something. Otherwise, she won’t learn to smell for herself.”
“Like you’re that good at smelling yourself.” Reed joked to me.
I flashed him an evil eye.
“Rude,” was all I said in remark.
It took Cath a few more steps before she smelled the air. “Do you smell that?” She asked him her eyes sparkling.
“Yes, go get it.” I flashed her a small smile in encouragement. “Remember to walk slowly, keep your feet light as a feather. You don’t want them to hear you. Rabbits have excellent hearing. Walk up slowly in a crouched position, and pounce on it when you feel the time is right.”
“How will I know if it is the right time?” She questioned me back.
“Trust me, you will know. Just let your instincts take over. Your wolf will know what to do.” I said to her in a serious manner.
Catherine nodded her large grey head and crouched low to the ground. Her legs rippled as her large muscles shook with anticipation. She sniffed the wooded floor and followed the scent of the rabbit. Scanning the ground, I saw the white furry bunny. It was an adult with no other animals in sight. I had to suppress a sigh. I knew that if Cath saw another rabbit next to it she would immediately think that it is its baby and couldn’t go through with it. Suddenly, Cath jumps on the rabbit and biting its neck with one swift nip. A loud crack sounded from the rabbit as its neck was severed. The small black eyes glazed over as the life left the body. The last breath exited the body in the sound of a sigh. The sigh of death.
A loud whistle erupted from next to me causing me to jump into the air.
“Good job babe!” Reed yelled at Cath.
“Jesus Reed! You about gave me a heart attack!” I yelled at him and swung my hind end at him, causing him to sway sideways.
Reed simply just rolled his eyes.
“Thanks, Reed!” Cath yelled in excitement.
“Very well-done Cath!” I called to her as I walked up to her.
“Go ahead and eat it,” I said to her looking down at her kill.
It was a medium-sized rabbit, not too small or too large. It was a pretty decent kill for it being one of her first times hunting. The snap of the neck took a little longer than I would have liked but I wasn’t going to complain. She was happy and that was all I wanted.
“What about you two?” Cath asked, snapping my head from its day-dreaming state.
“Huh?” I said shaking my head to clear the thoughts.
“What are you two going to eat? There isn’t enough for all three of us.” Cath said as she looked from me to Reed and back again.
“Oh, don’t worry about me Catherine,” Reed said. “I don’t eat rabbit. I prefer the larger animals.”
“Same here Cath, and no do not feel bad that you caught a rabbit. You are too new to this to be hunting the large animals. You did very well. Eat your prey and we will lay here until you are finished.
Don’t hurry and take your time.” I said to her.
“Thank you, you guys. I’m starving.” Catherine said to Reed and me. Her stomach growled in acceptance. We both simply nodded our heads in a yes position and laid on the forest floor.
After Cath finished eating and cleaning off, we started to head back to the castle. Reed and Cath talked most of the way, but I remained silent. I preferred listening to the birds chirp around me and smelling the scent of the forest. The scent of all the animals mixed together. The smell of the rain still trapped on the leaves of the plants around me. The smell of the dirt that we walked upon. The smell that reminded me of Lucas. I shook my head at that thought. “No Nina. You cannot think that way anymore. Lucas has a deeper purpose in life. Something that you would never fulfill.” I thought to myself. It really hurt my heart, but what choice did I have? It had to be done no matter how bad it hurt us in the end. Lucas would understand, he must. I really wish he had other options than Adelina. I know that she makes him stressed and causes him pain, but there is no other option. If they get married, they can unite our pack with the British pack. That could benefit so many lives in the process.
I was so distracted by my own thoughts that I didn’t even realize that we made it back to the castle until Cath bumped into me and said, “Nina? Are you okay? You have been daydreaming for quite a while now?” She asked me concern in her small alto voice.
“Yes, sorry Cath,” I responded back to her.
She simply just nodded her head sideways getting the hint that I really didn’t want to talk about it. I snuck a glance towards Reed. His eyes showed sympathy as he knew what I was thinking. Just as I thought he was going to say something, he turned his head away and ran towards the castle.
“Catch me if you can Cath!” He yelled back at her turning his head in her direction.
Catherine chased after him as fast as she could. Before I knew it, they were out of sight.
It was then that I realized the true reason Reed left me alone. Walking towards me was no other than Lucas himself. To my surprise, he was dressed in a very formal black tux. He sat down at the rock next to me and watched me. Without him saying a word or having to read his mind, I knew exactly what he wanted. I let out a huge sigh and went to where my clothes were stashed. Quickly, I changed back into my human counterpart and walked over towards him.
