Dying For You

Chapter 18

Laila's pov

Everyone stays quiet, looking at each other. "What's a werewolf?" I ask again. I knew they were hiding things from me! I knew I shouldn't trust them!

"Princess, we are werewolves. You are a werewolf. We are all half-wolf." Dad says.

"I don't know what that is." I shake my head.

"Will you come outside with us, and I'll show you what it means?" Theo says.

"Ok." I nod.

After a few minutes, we are outside in a big, open, bright, warm area. I think they called it a training field. Now, Mom is holding my hand and using her other hand to rub my arm as she talks. "I don't want you to be scared. I'm right here, and he wouldn't hurt you. And your Dad's here to protect you, too. Theo is going to shift, so you can see what we mean. But he isn't going to approach you. He is going to stay exactly where he is right now; we are going to follow your lead. So just do whatever you're comfortable with." Mom says.

I nod, and Theo takes off his shirt, tossing it aside. "Are you ready, Laila?" Theo asks.

"Yeah." I nod, taking a deep breath.

Suddenly, Theo turns into a large furry beast. It happens so fast that I can't help but scream. "It's ok, Laila," Mom says, grabbing me tighter.

"Princess, it's ok. Open your eyes, don't panic." Dad says.

"No!" I shake my head while clenching my fists and trying to get away from them. I don't know what that is, but I don't want to be near it.

"Laila-"

"No, Dad, please!" I beg.

"Laila, look at me," Dad yells, shaking me. I open my eyes to see him standing next to me, and the beast is still where he was before. "Stop screaming; you're not in danger." Dad hugs me as I calm down.

I look at the beast who used to be Theo. "Dad," I whimper.

"You're okay, princess. It's just Theo. He won't hurt you," Dad says. You know Theo. He won't hurt you. You don't need to be scared," Dad says.

"This is a wolf, Laila. It's what a wolf looks like. But this wolf is Theo; he won't hurt you." Mom says.

"That's Theo?" I ask, looking at the wolf. The wolf nods.

"Yeah." Mom nods.

"I don't understand."

"Do you want to get closer?" Dad asks. I turn to question him, but he continues, "It's safe. I promise."

"Ok," I take a deep breath.

I slowly walk closer to it, leaving my parents where they are. It doesn't make sense. How does a person turn into an animal? I don't get it. That's not something people can do. Mom and Dad said they were werewolves, too. That means they also turn into this… this thing. The wolf is massive and only an arm's length away.

I never realized how much detail there was in things until I got these glasses. Now I can see the dark eyes are not just black, but they have flecks of brown, soft waves of hair, and dark black claws. Claws that could hurt me.

I slowly reach for it but stop short, unsure if I should touch it. The wolf lowers its ears, pinning them to the side of its head, then lowers its head. It extends its neck, putting the top of its head against the palm of my hand. It's soft. I scrunch my fingers, and the extra leg behind it starts to move.

"He likes it; he's wagging his tail," Mom says now at my side, pointing to the extra leg. I guess it's a tail, not a leg.

"That's Theo?" I ask Mom quietly.

The wolf nods, then moves its head, licking my hand. "Yeah, that's Theo." Mom nods.

"Is he stuck like that?" I ask.

"No." Mom laughs. "He can change back to his human form if you want."

"Yeah." I nod.

"Ok. Let's back up and give him some room to shift back." Mom says, putting one arm around me and pulling me backward lightly.

"I'll get some shorts for you, Theo," Dad says, then walks away.

"He's going to shift back now; it looks scarier than it is, so you don't get scared. I suggest you cover your eyes." Mom explains.

"Is he going to die?" I ask.

"No. It just looks scary if you aren't expecting it, and I don't want you to be scared." Mom says.

"Ok." I cover my eyes with my hand and hear some scary noises.

Before long, I hear movement. "OK, I've got shorts on. You, ladies, are okay to look," Theo says.

I move my hand and open my eyes to look at him and see him pulling his shirt back over his head. The shirt makes some of his curly blonde hair fall in his face. He uses a hand to push some hair out of his face as he looks at me with a smile. He looks like the normal Theo; he doesn't look hurt.

"That wasn't so bad, huh?" he asks with a smile.

"No," I admit.

"I would love to explain some more things about werewolves to you. Do you want to sit and talk, and I'll try to answer all your questions?" Theo asks.

"Ok," I nod.

"We will try to answer all your questions as best we can!" Dad says with a smile. "There are some bleachers on the other side of the training field; we can go sit there."

We all walk silently for a few minutes before we get to what Dad calls bleachers. I guess it's just a row of seats.

We all take seats, looking at each other. "Let's start with the basics." Dad sighs.

"So we all can turn into wolves like you just saw Theo do. The whole pack can shift like that. That's what makes us a werewolf pack. You're part of the pack. Since you are our daughter, you should be able to shift too. You're brothers and their mates all can shift too." Mom explains.

"The pack is made up of many members from many different families who all have their own jobs to perform that help that pack. There are cooks, teachers, bakers, doctors, nurses, warriors, maids, and everything you would need to run a town. And it's all led by the Alpha and Beta." Dad says, looking at Theo.

"Normally, the Alpha title is passed down from father to son, but every Alpha gets to choose their own Beta. And naturally, the Beta Female position goes to the Beta's mate, and the Alpha's mate takes the Luna position." Theo says.

"But everyone is a member of the pack. It's made up of families just like ours: a mom and Dad and their kids. And when the kids grow up and meet their mates- it's so exciting because normally that means the kids are starting their own families. Like your brother Reid, he and his mate are having a kid of their own. But that doesn't mean they aren't part of our family anymore; it just means that between the mate and the new baby, there are more people to love." Mom says.

"What's a mate?" I ask.

Theo smiles. "Mates are two halves of the same soul. Once you find your mate, the world makes sense, and they change every part of you. It's like suddenly you would risk your life for someone you barely know, but you don't care enough to fight it. You'd do anything to spend time with them and see them smile. Wolves are possessive of their mates and want to spend every waking second with them." Theo says, never looking away from me.

I turn to Mom to see her nodding, looking at Dad. "Are you mates?" I ask. Dad grabs Mom's hand, and they both nod.

"Yes. We are mates." Mom answers.

I look at Theo. "You know a lot about mates. Do you have a mate?" I ask.

Theo looks at my parents and then back to me with a nod. "Yeah. It's you."