by Unknown
“Okay Dad but do I have to worry about having a random tail come out at school?” I asked half jokingly.
“Hah no son, well not yet at least” he said with laughter in his voice. And he turned at the sound of Lisa coming in.
A few hours of movies did well to distract me for awhile from the most insane conversation of my life. While going to my room later that evening it felt like I took hours heading up the stairs, because so many things were going through my mind. I felt restless with the idea of being a wolf. I couldn’t sleep. So I took out my laptop and start doing research of my ancestors. I wanted to know who they were. I found no history of my ancestors! It had to be a site problem I told myself but I double and triple checked on different sites, still nothing. I gave up after 4 hours and went to bed since my eyes started to twitch. My phone woke me up at 6:00 in the morning. I immediately hated whoever was calling me. As I fought to get off my bed I tripped on my football that was on the floor. Of course, it didn’t hurt that much now that I apparently have these animal genetics. By the time I got to the phone it stopped ringing. Go figure. I crawled back into bed and tried not to think of tomorrow at school and how weird I am going to feel knowing I will never be normal like all the kids I walk past in the halls. Ughh. I’m already in a surly mood. So this is who I am. A pure blood Alpha descendant with midterms, football season, college applications, and a crush on a non-wolf, at least I think she’s not a wolf. I decide to get up and get a good work out in to clear my mind before Dad dumps anymore wolf facts on me.
I can already tell today is going be bad day just by how it started. After I got myself cleaned up and ready for school I notice my body has changed a little, my muscles have gotten more defined and it appears I’ve gained some more mass. I couldn't resist flexing in the bathroom staring at the mirror. These changes feel good so far. Maybe I hadn’t changed at all but just knowing I had this wolf blood made it seem like my body has gotten bigger. After having my little fun in the bathroom I went down stairs to get some food in me because I’m starving. I hoped to find eggs bacon and more but just my luck today I found nothing but salami. I bow my head in disappointment with what I have in the fridge, so finally I opt for toast until I can raid the school vending machines. I’m grumpy and irritated, which is not like me.
On the plus side, I noticed my eye sight had improved by the tiny details I was able to observe around me when I arrived at school. I saw someone’s text message from across the common area, which told me more than I wanted to know about some people’s love life. I struggled to ignore the details since it had me standing around looking like I was in a daze. Before I knew it the bell rang and snaps me out of it. Geez I need to learn how to control this better or I won’t make it through the day.
In Geometry class Mike was messing with me to get my attention but I couldn’t stop focusing on every thing around me. I look at my teacher, Mr. Van, and I’m curious about one thing. We have a bet in class as to whether he has a hair piece or implants, and I wonder if I can put the bet in my favor. As he turned to write on the board I focused on his head and in a split second I see the individual plugs and I’m ready to up my bet to twenty bucks. I got called on, of course, and I have no idea what Mr. Van asked nor how to answer him. Mike jumps in and saves me from looking like a complete space cadet. He looked over to me a bit concerned but I just give him crooked smile.
By the end of the day I wished I had Mike in my other classes because I could have used his help a few more times today. Not only was my heightened sight getting me in trouble but my hearing was too. I was spending so much time listening to conversations I normally would have never heard that I had some more clueless moments in my other classes.
Luckily school was over and it was time for practice. I was eager to put today behind me and enjoy my new gifts on the field, but Lisa wasn’t at school today which worried me a bit since she always calls me to let me know when she won’t be there. I figured I’d call her after practice to make sure everything is ok. It’s my turn to quarterback and as the ball is snapped to me I hear a loud squishy sound. I immediately thought it was the sound of my teammates’ cleats on the grass as they were running towards me, but unfortunately what happens next confirmed what it was. I catch the smell of a decomposed animal. I feel like the scent is choking me and making it hard for me to breathe. I concentrate on the scent to find out where it’s coming from thinking I’m sure to find a decaying body nearby. I quickly catch the scent’s trail which leads me to look across the field at its source. To my surprise, the sound came from head cheerleader, Lexi, who happens to be the hottest and snobbiest girl in school and apparently the gassiest girl too. I’m gaping at the realization that the most popular girl in school just sharted the nastiest fart that would rival Mike’s, when I get bulldozed by my teammates, and I am sacked for the first time all season. I am starting to think there is a downfall to having heightened senses. When I jogged past Lexi I couldn’t help but stare at her with a perplexed look on my face. She must have guessed what I was thinking because she stormed off to the girl’s locker room but not without turning crimson red.
On my way home I was thinking about all the weird experiences that happened today at school. I called Lisa twice and got her voicemail. If she doesn’t call me by the time I get home I’ll head over to her house. When I reached the front porch and overhear my father on the phone with Mr. Van. I should have guessed my teachers would have called since it was so unusual for me to slack off in class. Just the thought of my dad being angry with me made chills go down my spine and I considered not going inside and heading over to Lisa’s instead. But I had to face him sooner than later and I walked in with my imaginary werewolf tail between my legs.
“So having a bit of trouble in school today, Connor?” he asks with a smirk on his face. “I guess it could have been worse but I am glad to see the worst thing that came out of sending you to school after breaking the news to you was phone calls about how distracted you were today.”
“Sorry Dad. I was a sort of overwhelmed with picking up on everything around me. I sort of zoned out a lot in my classes today.” I go on to give him the details of the day and we both had a laugh at Lexi’s expense. “Dad, how can I use my werewolf senses without looking like a drooling moron? I mean, there is so much going on at once and I can’t focus long enough on a single thing to figure out how to tune everything else out.” I find a seat across from him at the kitchen bar and he serves me up some juice.
“Connor, you did well today so don’t beat yourself up about it. In fact, you already instinctively picked up on a few tricks to controlling your wolf senses.” He joined me at the bar pulling the fruit bowl we keep stocked between us.
“When you were telling me about Mr. Van, you said you made yourself focus to see more defined details. Well that’s exactly how you control the heightened sight. You can manipulate your eyes to see like you always have but when you need to; you can focus in on any object or person within 10 yards as if it were in front of your nose. I can get up to 50 yards of detail but I’ve been perfecting it for a couple hundred years. It gets easier to shift between your distance visions, and eventually you will be able to do it as fast as you can blink.”
“Ok, sounds easy enough to work on, but what about hearing and smelling? The only time I could focus on one sound at a time was when one particular noise was so much louder and stronger than the others. Like I could hear more of the guys at school and teachers than the girls because it seemed their tones were overpowering the other noises. Does that make sense?”
“Of course it does. That’s actually a good tool to have and it usually takes time to develop it like you’re describing. As Alpha, I have to know which wolves are more likely to have alpha-like qualities and more likely to try to challenge me. One of the ways I do that is by listening to their tones and the authority and strength in their voices. The reason you hear some voices clearer than others is because some people have more weight to their words reflecting
their power, confidence, and aggression. A simple way to control the sounds you hear is by narrowing your ear canal. It sort of filters what you hear. Try this. Pretend to yawn. Hear how your ear drum seems to contract? Well your wolf transition will make that happen instantaneously and you will filter out the white noise.”
I try it and I immediately hear silence with the exception of my Dad’s voice which sounds crisper. I can even hear the tones he was talking about as if it were layers that my brain was peeling back. I almost hear the concern in his voice which makes me nervous. What has him so worried? Does he think I will fail as a wolf or is there more than what he’s been telling me?
“So, if I tune out all background noises, isn’t there a chance I can miss some important stuff?”
“Your wolf instinct will pick up on anything you need to know. Once you transition your wolf instincts will make it easier to control all these physical changes. You will get more powerful not only through your physical abilities but your mental ones too.” He handed me a tangerine he had already peeled and I felt like such a small child again. But I’ve been feeling that since he told me how old he was. I was still having a hard time wrapping my mind around it.
“I’ve been thinking of the transition that’s coming, and I don’t really know what to expect when it comes to what part of me will still be me. You know, will I remember places and people from my human life? Will I go into hunter mode and chase after any animal that moves, or worse, after people?” My voice is quaking at that last part but I have to know.
“I’m going to take you to the campground for your transition, that way the environment is more freeing for your wolf and adaptable for you. I don’t know what it will be like for you since you are a pure blood wolf, but I can only tell you what it was like for me the first time I changed.” He took a deep breath.
Rafe – The Descendant
I look at my son nervously waiting for my story, I know I must tell him the truth of it all if he is ever to rise up and join me to lead the packs. So, with a big breath I start to tell him my story:
“I grew up as one of the children of the first wolf there was. It was a time when mythical creatures roamed and their legends were normal topics of conversation at dinner. My mother died giving birth to me and my dad was left to raise me and my older twin siblings on his own. My brother Jonathan was such a great hunter only rivaled by my sister Shannon who loved a battle more than anything. I was the youngest and I guess the favorite of my dad’s kids. He was always very protective of me since my older siblings always found ways to pester and tease me. He said they were jealous of our bond and didn’t know how to cope with it. Finally one day when I was seven my siblings revealed their true selves to me. I never imagine they would try to hurt me, I mean all the fights we got into were kid stuff, but I wasn’t prepared to meet their wolves. They shifted so fast and before I could get the scream out of my gut they had me pinned down and both took a bite into my calves.” I know Connor is worried and upset but I had to awaken him to the reality of the ruthless world of Weres.
“I just remember it burning and thinking I was going to die, when the biggest wolf I have ever seen snagged them both by the collar in a single bite. It was my dad. He placed his fangs into both cuts and the burning eased and I felt a warm wave wash over me. He later explained to me that my siblings wanted to kill me with their venom.”
“How is that possible, Dad?” Connor asks visibly disturbed.
“Apparently, it is rare for a human to survive the venom of the wolf. If they do, they turn into a wolf themselves. Wolves hold the venom in an inner fang which they develop once they mature.” I said while pointing to where my fang would be.
“See the transition to wolf happens with the moon once your body fully absorbs the venom which takes years. Once you mature you can shift without the moon and you develop enough venom for one human change. My mother didn’t die in child birth but instead she died when my father tried to change her. She had been too weak from bearing the twins who were born as wolves and I was the final straw. The twins thought with double the human dose of venom I would surely die.” I stop to gather myself since the wolf inside has yet to forget the betrayal. I knew Connor was watching me intently so I continued.
“My father, afraid to see me die the painful death my mother experienced, tried to speed up the process by overloading me with venom to the point of killing me instantly. Instead, he actually healed the pain and I survived with more than the guarantee of becoming a wolf, I survived with more power than they even knew.” And then Connor blew out a heavy sigh that snapped me back into the present.
“What kind of powers Dad? I mean are you like a jacked up Were?” He asked confused and intrigued. I was proud he was taking this well and not in a state of shock.
“My family possessed powers in addition to being wolves. Jonathan had a gift of immunity. He was immune to mythical creature’s spells and powers, including my sister’s. Shannon had the power to see a person’s energy and power. She could see if someone was a follower or a challenge, a liar or a truth sayer, nervous or brave. Most Weres can read human emotions but she was gifted beyond mere humans. Her skill reached even mythical creatures. I think that’s why she enjoyed battles so much. She always had an upper hand.” I could feel my wolf uneasy and restless at the mere mention of Shannon and Jonathan. It still thirsted for revenge and I knew I had to quell my beast for Connor’s sake. I got up and poured myself some water to take the edge off before I could finish the story.
“My father had an incredible gift.” I said and then took another sip and set the glass down. I leaned back against the fridge and tilted my head up to the ceiling closing my eyes as I began to tell him about my father.
“He was able to detach himself from his spirit wolf.”
“What do you mean ‘spirit wolf’? I don’t remember any stories about ‘spirit wolves’.” I realized there was so much to explain as I opened my eyes and saw the puzzled look on Connor’s face.
“He essentially became two wolves, his physical wolf and his spirit wolf. The spirit wolf is what we all have that drives us once we shift. It’s the mystical part of us that to some is quite difficult to control. Those of us who control it well are at an advantage. With my father it helped him in fights and to hunt. His spirit wolf performed just as his physical wolf doing the same amount of damage with the exception that his spirit wolf could not be killed. It was glorious to see. His spirit wolf looked like a water shadow of his wolf. It was translucent and yet you could see each detail of his muscles and features. He was the most glorious sight that words could not even come close to explaining. I loved him very much and I was lucky he cared for me so well.” My voice dropped and tilted my head up again as if communicating my words beyond Connor to my dead father.
“Dad, you don’t have to keep going. As much as it is blowing my mind right now to hear all this I don’t want to take you to a sad place.” Connor said picking up on the pain in my voice.
“It’s ok Connor.” I said, bringing myself back and taking another sip of the water to steady my wolf again. “You have to hear my history. So I kept going. “Shannon had attempted for years to change a healer or doctor to help her recuperate after her battles. The problem was that most healers in our time were older and could not survive the venom and much less the transition. She wanted someone who would last to maturity so they can be as ageless as her. Finally she found one healer Fridolf, who made it through.”
“Wait, Fridolf! Holy sh..” Connor blurted out almost dropping his glass.
“Hey! Watch it!” I said not as sternly as I would have liked since he had me chuckling with his reaction.
“Yeah, sorry Dad, it’s just that he doesn’t seem like the Were type. He’s so grandfather-like.” Connor said while standing up to shake off the surprise.
“Well he was my savior in a way. My dad used him to help me when I first changed with the moon. I was only 16 and it was a scary experience to say the least. I woke
up in a cold sweat one night and my body felt achy. Almost like when you have the flu but from my scalp all the way through me.” I gestured with my hand trying to convey the sensation I knew was impossible to relate. “Then the pain began. It was ripping right through me and I could not help but scream at what felt like needles coming out of my skin. My father came in with the healer just as my fur was coming out. Then the healer worked on me as quickly as he could so that by the time my bones and muscles were reforming I didn’t feel the agony of it.” I could see Connor getting anxious and the thoughts I’m sure flashing in his mind are of how it will be for him.
“With Fridolf’s help instead of pain I felt my body being tugged like a strong water current pulling at me. Finally my face, mouth, and eyes changed and I was standing in a room that now felt too small as a wolf. I felt like a pilot of a plane, in a body that was not part of me but that I was simply using. It took awhile for me to learn to accept my wolf so we could become one. Later I learned that to control the pain during the change you have to be able to remove yourself mentally from your body and without the resistance to the change your body can work faster through the transition. Eventually it happens as quickly as a turn of the head.”
That’s the problem with new wolves; they are so anxious and resistant during the change that they slow down the process and make it more painful. Needless to say my siblings were too afraid of my powers as a wolf to ever pose a threat to me again. But I knew I had shocked Connor enough and he didn’t need to know the rest.
I look at my son and hope his change is easier than mine. I hope his life will be easier than mine. Looking across the kitchen at his blood drained face I know it is my job above all else to protect him and do everything to make this new life one he won’t resent me for.