Four
1588 Words
Chapter Four
Timothee
Rogues.
My grandmother's words rang through my ears. We are rogues. Which could only mean one thing. We are werewolves.
The moment she whispered to me that once again we were homeless, no pack to call our home, I felt like my world crash for the first time. I knew she didn't mean for me to feel that way but in the middle of the disaster that just happened, she probably couldn't stop herself from saying it.
I felt like home, no wonder. It was a pack of werewolves that took us in and made us their family. I belonged there. My grandmother and I belonged there.
That time, the survivors were aiming to rebuild their pack. They had Chester to be their next alpha. But he was much too young. They would need to find a refuge first before they start all over again. They needed another home.
For wolves, family is everything. A pack is everything. We respect the hierarchy that comes with the organization of the group. From alpha, to his luna, beta, warriors, hunters, trackers, pack doctors, and omega... or more.
Though I learned this from Chester, my grandma never told me a story about it when I was younger. She spoke of the chosen ones. She was always happily telling me tales of two wonderful wolves during the time of her great ancestors. And I never got tired of hearing it. They're my favorite though I didn't really know where they came from or if they were at least...real.
When Chester's pack decided to take refuge with their allied pack a little far from their territory, my grandmother and I couldn't go with them. She spoke to her elderly friend before they left. It was a brief chat but it seemed to me that they wouldn't see each other again.
I was right.
And I never saw Chester again.
I didn't understand why my grandma didn't want to go with Chester's pack. They were family. I couldn't bring myself to ask more questions because I could feel how hard of a decision it was for her too. I also could sense that there was a big deal of a reason for us not to go with them.
My grandma and I traveled again to a new land. We took a boat then a bus. It was a long trip. Soon, we arrived in a beautiful place. We had to rent a car to get to our new home.
At first I thought we were just going to another city like we did when I was a little kid. But it was a land surrounded by forests. The roads we passed by were concrete but the surroundings still felt untamed and raw. It was green everywhere. It reminded me of Chester and his pack. That time my tears fell for the first time remembering how much I missed them.
Through my blurred vision, I saw the first building in the area right in the middle of a large clearing.
Moonstone University.
How I wished I could study there, too. But with what money? It looked expensive just looking at the rest of the buildings surrounding it. Maybe at least until high school?
I didn't say anything until the car stopped in front of a small log cabin in the middle of nowhere. I didn't need to ask.
It was our new place.
And for the next five years of my life, my grandma and I called that cabin our home. There was no pack, no raiders, no bullies, no authorities to chase us when we somehow ended up sleeping in the streets. It happened once before we lived with Chester's pack when we got kicked out of the apartment. In that cabin, it was just me and my grandmother.
The cabin and the small clearing would provide me enough space to hone my skills in defense arts. And one day if I get to see Chester and his pack again, I would be able to defend them. But when I turned twelve, it all went crazy from there.
I phased.
Days before that fine December midnight, my grandmother had a visitor. He was a fine looking man. Tall, strong, and dominant. He came with a beautiful woman. His wife.
How I wished I had parents like them. I grew up with only my grandmother, I love her to the moon and back but at times when I saw kids at the school I used to go to, I would wish I had parents like them.
I was excluded from my grandma's conversation with the couple. Adult talk, I guess. It has always been like that. She would exclude me from her discussion or chat with an adult. I didn't mind. But I was curious.
I wanted to eavesdrop, I knew it was rude. But even without me trying or intending to do so, my ears would pick up whatever my grandma talked about with other people. Even when she would tell me to stay as far as I could.
They were talking about phasing again. And school. I got excited when school was mentioned, I couldn't help but celebrate mentally. I didn't pay much attention after that and before I knew it, the couple had left.
The next day, the perimeter of our cabin was surrounded by weird plants; I didn't know what they were called. But since my grandma would sometimes plant stuff I had no idea what they were, I shrugged my curiosity off.
I figured they would be herbal ones like the ones she used to heal our wounds whenever we practice together. They were very effective. In the morning, I would wake up with no traces of a cut or even a scar.
The evening before my birthday, my grandma told me to take off the bracelet Chester gave me. I asked her why but she only said, "I'll tell you after midnight." I had a love-hate relationship with my grandma's riddles and confusing lines. But I agreed. I took it off and she kept it until the next day.
It was cold, but my grandma wanted to watch the moon come out that night. The hunter's moon was due at that time. We call it the blood moon. It’s going to be huge and full. And would appear red from where we were.
So, we camped outside. We had a campfire and we waited for the rise of the full red moon. Looking back, it was very odd for a blood moon to appear at midnight. And it was the first time it would appear as full as it could ever had in twelve years. That's what my grandma told me. She was very excited but at the same time I felt her growing anxiety. Later, I learned why.
As midnight approached and the imminent full moon was going up, I felt my insides hurt. Something was trying to connect with me. Like a spirit that was trying to be with me, be one with me. It spoke.
I was confused as hell. Scared? No. It was more like I was about to find something really amazing. I glanced at my grandma, looking for answers. was what she said to me. Just like the voice from inside me.
I let the voice take over as the moon finally took its full form. I felt my body change along with the bones cracking, and my muscles stretching. It was painful but exhilarating. Soon as the phasing was complete, for the first time, I felt so alive. And very strong.
I was reborn. It wasn't me but it was also me.
I didn't know how but I saw myself clearly in my grandmother's eyes as she looked at me admiringly. I was a wolf. A pure white wolf. The one that took over my consciousness was a beautiful white wolf.
As I stood there on all four paws, my grandma took some leaves off the plants in our fence. She rubbed it on me. "This will hide your scent." I was confused but the wolf me didn't complain. He understood.
I then saw my grandma transform as well. A gray wolf. I had never seen her in that form. I was puzzled. In her form, she nudged on my side with her muzzle.
I didn't know how we communicated after we phased. I heard her voice in my head. I rubbed my nose against the fur in her neck and soon we were sprinting through the trees around our cabin. We ran in circles several times. My legs were strong and my paws were light. I could feel that my grandma had a hard time catching up so I purposely slowed down.
The running came naturally to me. I didn't know why. It just did. Once we stopped at the clearing in front of our cabin, I lifted my nose and smelled everything. I noticed how I was able to sense what's around me so easily. The scent, the sound. Of everything. All my senses were heightened.
My excitement upon my first transformation must have overtaken my awareness of what's around me. When I stopped, that's when I realized my grandma and I were never alone.
We were living among werewolves.
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- Writer
