A Damaged Heart Still Beats

Chapter 3- What just Happened?

Catori POV

My drive home is only filled with the sound of music. Music has always been my saving grace and today I’m in the mood to let off steam with Korn. I listen and sing along until I see my house up ahead. As I pull in the driveway, I realize that everything is currently complete and utter chaos. I mean sure our family is always chaotic, but this is a whole new level of crazy. Dad got off early today because the twins have a doctor appointment, and he came home to get them there. Apparently, Cali forgot all about it because dad walked in after picking the twins up from school and Cali was nowhere in sight. I guess Dad went to the bedroom, only to find her in bed with another man and, now, he is literally just throwing all of her s**t out the front door. ‘Hell yea! Go dad!’ I think to myself as he pushes past her sobbing figure, she’s begging for another chance, to simply add a shirt that she missed to the pile. Toma isn’t home yet so he must have practice today, but I cannot even contain my happiness that home life is going to be so much better with her attitude being sent on its way! The smile that creeps on my face does not go unnoticed, and I’m shocked as Cali lashes out at me just as dad heads back inside. I recoil back into my car as she is beating on the window screaming at me that this is all my fault. I can’t help but shout out, “What the hell do I have anything to do with you cheating, you psycho w***e?!” Of course, this only makes her angrier.

She drags me out of the car yelling that if she hadn’t been so stressed because I’m such a troubled individual, then she never would have felt pressure and distancing between her and dad. Speaking of Dad, he walks out and sees her going after me. He rushes over and grabs her. then he tosses her away from me, asking what the hell her problem is.

“Dyami! This! This is our problem right here!” You always stand up for your precious troublemaker when she is clearly the cause of all of our issues!” Cali stomps her foot as dad stands between us.

I can’t bite my tongue while she talks s**t, “b***h! I’m not even the problem!!!! I didn’t make you cheat on my dad!” I shout jumping up into her face now.

I didn’t notice Toma had pulled in and of course he heard what I said, which did not please him at all. While I was finishing my words, he lunged at me and I was taken totally off guard. We tumbled down the small hill into the back yard with him taking over me completely with his hands now around my throat. All I can think in this moment is ‘what the f**k just happened’ not to mention the fact that I am currently lacking air in my lungs. That realization hits me at about the same that time dad throws Toma across the yard. He jumps back up only to be grabbed by Cali in her attempt to save him from my father’s rage. Dad looks her in the face and finally yells, “GET THE f**k OFF OF MY PROPERTY AND TAKE YOUR ASSHOLE SON WITH YOU!” Needless to say, the next move Toma makes only fuels dad’s anger. As he lunges forward again and he flinches like he’s going to hit my dad, I grab his hand and drag him to the ground. He struggles to get free from my grip and as I go down with him Cali kicks me. THE b***h KICKS ME!!! WHATTHEFUCK???!! I start to black out and the last thing I see is the look of pure terror on her face as my bones crunch and crack to reshape themselves into a whole other being. I’ve never felt so much rage in my life and yet I can laugh internally as I stop to think, ‘who knew that all these years of my dad joking about werewolves, wasn’t really a joke at all.’ Then the shock hits me. “HOLYFUCKIMAWOLF!” of course it comes out as a confused growl, but my head is spinning as my world goes totally black.

-          - - - - - - - - -

I’m jolted awake with beads of sweat pouring down my face. I look out my window and see that my dad is sitting by a fire alone, and figure I should probably go talk to him. I mean was this all a dream? Or did I really just turn into a giant animal during a fit of fury? My mind is spinning as I try to piece it together. I step up to the fire pit and place my hand on Dad’s shoulder briefly.

“Dad what’s going on?” I ask. He gives me a sideways glance but doesn’t move from his spot. “Catori, Hey kid. Why don’t you sit down?” I sit and just stare at him blankly.

He extends his hand with a Red Dog in it, “Beer? With what we’re about to talk about, I feel like you might need it.” I didn’t even realize the pain in my throat from being choked earlier in the day, until he offered. Realizing this, I honestly can’t chug the beer quick enough to cool my insides. “Another?” he looks at me as I crush the can, with patience being the only emotion showing in his features. I deny the second beer only to ask, “Dad? What am I?” He looks down for a moment and then sighs. He starts, “Remember all those times that your friends were joking about your dark humor and saying ‘oh Cat’s a vampire, all dark and sulky all the time?’” I nod and he continues, “well I have always corrected that our family is a bunch of werewolves rather than vampires and of course everyone thought it to be funny. Truthfully, what I said was never fully a joke. Our family does in fact derive from a long line of werewolves. We just have cross bred over time, so to speak with werewolves falling in love with humans, and the were-genes have been suppressed generation to generation… Well until now. We haven’t had an actual wolf come about in years in our family, and even though many of us have wondered if we could be wolves none of us actually have shown any signs. I always knew your temper seemed way heavier than most and also noticed your love of nature as well as your solitude. I questioned the possibility, but with your mother dying when you were so young and me having no contact with her family I didn’t know if they had the genes as well. As it turns out they must have because here we are, kid.”

At this point my jaw is hanging slack at his words. “I’m… a… were…wolf? How the hell did I never know until now?! What does this mean for my future? What do I do? Can I stop it? I don’t wanna be a wolf daddy pleasehelpmeihavenoideawhattodoimsoconfused!” And now as my words run together, I’m sobbing to the point I start hyperventilating. And to my surprise my dad just stares at me with total resolve etched on his face. So, hoping he will answer my questions, I take a deep breath to calm my nerves and circle back to “what the hell just happened?”