"Kye!" Gwynn said and chucked a grape at my head. "What?" I asked looking away from the window and focusing my attention on her. "I asked if you wanted to stay over Friday night? Samantha's coming and we're having our usual horror movie marathon," Gwynn explained slowly. "Why horror movies it's not halloween?" I asked. Gwynn sighed dramatically before she began her rant. "Horror movie are good no matter what time of year it is. I mean haven't you ever just wanted to curl up with a bowl of popcorn and freak yourself out while watching a movie? Get your adrenaline pumping and then end up staying up for the rest of the night with your light on?" She asked excitedly. "Umm....No," I told her. "You're no fun," she complained and sent another grape sailing towards my head. I easily dodged this one now that I was paying attention. "So are you coming?" She asked again. "I don't know if I can I'll have to ask Raiza," I told her honestly. There were strict rules for young werewolves when hanging out with humans but seeing as my wolf hadn't awakened, the rules didn't really apply to me and the decision should've been my dad's but in my case it wasn't that simple.
"Where is Samantha, anyway?" I asked. I looked around the lunchroom and noticed for the first time she wasn't here. "Wow, you must have really been spacing, she has a student council meeting today," she told me. "Oh," I said. I wasn't sure why but I was distracted lately and if I wasn't pacing I was zoned out. "Is something wrong?" Gwynn asked concerned. I shook my head. "I don't think so I'm just getting edgy for some reason," I told her. "Oh! I know!" She said excitedly bouncing up and down. "What?" I asked. "The full moon's this Sunday," she said.
The full moon doesn't really effect a werewolf, it is true that werewolves usually shift on a full moon but that is because there is more light and it is easier for them to see. Even with our night vision the light from the moon is helpful, or at least that is what I'm told.
"The full moon doesn't have any effect on werewolves," I told her. "Oh," she said. "And even if it did my wolf hasn't awakened yet so it wouldn't bug me anyway," I finished. We sat in silence for awhile and my attention was starting to slip again when I notice Gwynn glancing at me beneath her lashes. "What?" I asked. "It's nothing!" She said quickly, "it was just that you said that before about your wolf not being awakened. I was just wondering what that meant," she asked quickly. I took me a minute to think of a way to explain it that would make sense.
"Every werewolf is born with two souls, you could say. The human one and the wolf one, but they aren't separate souls but merged together so they reside in the same body. When we are first born the wolf part of our soul is dormant. Most believe this is because our bodies are to weak as babies and children to handle the wolf. Once we reach our 16th birthday however the wolf inside of use wakes up and it is no longer dormant and neither are it's powers," I said. "Do you change after the wolf wakes up?" Gwynn asked. "I'm not sure exactly I haven't really known anyone before the change and then after it. I do know that when the wolf wakes so do a wolf's instincts. One whole part of you that you never really have noticed was there comes alive and it's you but not the human you but the wolf," I said. "Why does he wake up on your 16th birthday and when exactly as soon as the clock strikes midnight or just at some random point throughout the day?" She asked. "The wolf wakes at the exact time you were born 16 years ago. As for why it wakes when your 16 I don't know but the popular belief is because our bodies are finally strong enough to handle the wolf because we're now adults." I explained. "So back to the horror movies," Gwynn started and I zoned out again.
***
The day was over and I was winding my way through the busses looking for the one that would take me home. I smiled when I saw it and bounded up the stairs. Tomorrow was Friday and I was glad the week was almost over. The bus ride home was quiet Ember was argue with Carson about homework and Savannah was in the back of the bus fighting over something with her friends, so I was able to do nothing for the whole ride. I was finding it hard to believe that I had only been here for nearly three weeks everything just seemed to fall into place.
The bus stopped and we all got off, as usual we waited for the bus to turn around and head back into town before we entered the forest. "So how's school going, miss smarty pants," Carson said leaning on my shoulders. He and Ember apparently finished their argument. "Fine," I answered. "Aww, come on, dish," Carson said. "About what?" I asked. "The student council president," Ember said, "He' had a crush on her forever," Carsons turned bright red when his sister mentiond Samantha. "I dont have a crush on her!" he yelled.
They eneded up fighting about it the rest of the way back through the woods. "Guys I'll meet you at the rec room," I told Ember and Carson as I changed directions and started for the meeting house. "Is everything ok?" Ember asked. "Yeah it's fine, Gwynn asked me to a sleep over and I need Raiza's permission," I replied. The twin nodded and went back to arguing of nothing.
The meeting room was empty, as far as I knew it was only every used on Fridays for the weekly pack muster. I walked up the stairs towards Razia's office, I had just stepped off the stairs when I heard voices coming from the office. I couldn't really make them out but they sounded angry, I really didn't want to interrupt so I turned around and started back down the stairs. Behind me I heard the door to the office open and I froze.
"Kye, my business has finished, you are more than welcome to come in," Raiza's voice called out from behind me. I turned and walked back to her office, she might've said everything was finished but I could sense her anger rolling off her in waves as I moved past her into the office. I stopped in the middle of the room when I saw the other occupant, Andrea. Her silver eyes appeared to be glowing and when her gaze met mine, I almost prostrated myself in front of her when I felt the power coming off her. "What do you want," she bite out. "Um....well I was..." I started. I was unable to form a coherent sentence around her when she was exuding so much power. I felt a cooling and calming touch against my cheek and turned to see Razia next to me. "What was it you needed?" She asked gently. She had just as much if not more power than Andrea but she wielded it differently, hers didn't tense you up or freeze you to the spot. Her power relaxed you and was comforting with an edge that seemed to tell you not to cross her. "A friend from school asked if I could come to a sleepover," I told her easily. "I don't understand why you need my permission, it is up to the parents of the wolf," she said simply. I shook my head quickly. "It's a human friend, from school," I told her. Razia seemed shocked by this but it quickly disappeared from her face. "When?" She asked. "Tomorrow night," I told her.
"I see no reason why not, you will need a ride back to the compound though," Razia told me.
"Really, so I can go?" I asked excited.
"Yes, just remember to be careful and ask Skye if she wouldn't mind picking you up on Saturday,"
"Wait, your just letting her go?" Andrea demanded.
"What would you have me do, Andrea?" Razia asked.
"At least ask her who she is going to be with, where she's going to be, and make her call and check in," Andrea said.
Razia turned to look at me expectantly. "Gwynn Thompson is the one who invited me and I will be at her house, she also invited another one of our friends Samantha Moore." I pulled out my phone and scrolled through texts between me and Gwynn. "This is her address," I said and handed my phone towards Razia she looked at it but turned to Andrea who moved from her position on the wall to grab the phone. "Well?" Razia asked. "Well what?" Andrea asked. "Can she go?" Razia asked. I looked between Razia and Andrea, why was she letting Andrea decide. No better question was why did I have to come when Andrea was here. I had seen her around during the last two weeks but other than when she introduced herself to me that night we ate at my aunt's she hadn't said a word to me.
"I don't see why not, the only problem I could foresee is she faints again," Andrea said. "That is a potential problem so just in case you can pick her up afterwards instead of Skye," Razia ordered. "What!?" I asked. I couldn't help it I was just so surprised and well not looking forward to the half hour drive back from town with Andrea. "If that's a problem for you than you don't have to go," Razia said. "It's not a problem I just wasn't expecting it and I don't want to have to bother Andrea during her weekend," I said quickly. Andrea was about to say something but Razia beat her to it. "It's not a bother because Andrea is going to be the alpha her job is to protect her wolves, this is part of that," Razia explained.
The look on Andrea's face told a different story but she didn't object. I quickly left the office and escaped the tension coming from the two women.
Hey, I can come tomorrow, I texted Gwynn.
Awesome, don't forget to bring extra clothes to school tomorrow
I won't. Gtg
See ya later than ;)
I quickly put my phone away as I entered the rec room. Ember and Carson were at a table waiting for me so we could start our homework. It had become a ritual of sorts over the last two weeks to do our homework together so that we could hang out and I could get to know them better. At least that was their official reason I really think they just liked the help on their homework because whenever we were at the compound we were usually already hanging out together.
***
"Hey," Samantha said as she sat down in front of me. We were in Ap English and I was still half asleep. "Oh, hey so do you know what movies Gwynn has planned for tonight?" I asked. "Um...no she usually picks, why?" She asked. "Unlike you two I'm not really good with horror movies so I was wondering how scary they would be," I told her. She tilted her head and studied me intently for a few seconds. "I think you mentioned that before," was all she said. Suddenly she stood up, "I'll be right back," she called over her shoulder to me. 'Weird' I thought before going back to my hazy sleepy state.
The bell rang and Samantha wasn't back yet and Gwynn wasn't here either. Mrs. Hall started taking attendance, "Samantha's here," I told her when she got to Samantha's name. She nodded and continued on with attendance. She was almost at the end of the class roster when Samantha and Gwynn came through the door. Samantha handed Mrs. Hall a pass before she sat down in front of me again Gwynn followed her and she sat in the seat directly next to me. They were both quiet until Mea. Hall finished talking and dismissed us to work on our projects. Gwynn moved her desk closer and Samantha turned hers around.
"Where were you two?" I asked. "Sorry I forgot I asked Gwynn to help out the student council with something and I had to go get her," Samantha said. "Ok, so what do we still need to finish?" Gwynn asked. We still had two weeks to finish the project on our book but we were almost done with it the only thing left was the presentation. Most of the groups weren't even close to done but they still had two weeks. "Not much really, we already turned in the paper, all that's left is the presentation," I said.
Mrs. Hall walked over as I said that and she stopped next to us. "Do you guys want to do your presentation on the first day?" Mrs. Hall asked. "That's fine," Samantha answered. Mrs. Hall smiled. "Ok, we'll make sure everything is done before first hour on Monday the 20th," she said. I pulled out my agenda to right the date down but I noticed something on the previous page. "Shit!" I said. "Kye! Watch your language," Mrs. Hall said. I looked up from my agenda to see half the class staring at me. "Sorry it's just that I forgot," I said. "Forgot what?" Gwynn asked. "My birthday is on the 18 which is the Friday before I won't be here Monday," I explained. "What why?" Gwynn asked. "Gwynn all the wolves stop coming after their 16th birthday," Mrs. Hall told her.
Gwynn didn't say much to me for the rest of the day, I almost wondered if she even wanted me to come tonight but when the finally bell rung letting me out of Geometry she met me at my locker. "Hey," I said. She looked up from staring at the floor and smiled at me brightly. "Hey," she said and moved so I could get into my locker. I grabbed my bag of clothes I brought and slammed the door shut. I saw Samantha running throughout the hall and she stopped in front of us gasping. "Hey, sorry but I can't come tonight," Samantha said. "Why not?" Gwynn asked. "My parents have some work thing and the babysitter can't make it so they need me to watch my brother," Samantha said. "That sucks," Gwynn said. Samantha nodded. "Anyway I have to go, you two have fun," Samantha said before walking back down the hall. "Well, let's go," Gwynn said. She lead me to the buses and we got on one that was already packed. I found an empty seat and sat down next to the window, Gwynn sat next to me.
We got off at the fourth stop along with 5 other kids. The neighborhood was quiet and filled with trees, all the houses were two stories and seemed older. I pulled my jacket tighter around me as the wind blasted to life, the weather was getting chillier and I really needed to buy another warmer jacket.
Gwynn saw and pulled a spare jacket from her bag and handed it to me, she had been oddly quiet for a while now and I was starting to get worried. "Is everything ok?" I asked her. She looked up at me and smiled. "It's fine I'm just thinking," she said. "About what?" I asked. She turned in the driveway of a large burgundy Victorian mansion, she pulled out a set of keys and opened the door. "Welcome," she said grandly and held the door open for me. I stepped through the door and took in the house, everything looked expensive with a very proper feel about it. I couldn't believe this was Gwynn's house because she was so relaxed and free spirited. "Come on," Gwynn said and started up the stairs. On the second floor she walked past all the doors until she reached the end of the hall. I looked at her confused until it noticed she grabbed the cord for the trapdoor into the attic. She pulled it down and I watched as the stairs unfolded, she stepped back and let me go up the ladder first. Her room was a rich midnight blue in front of me was a media center, to the left was a large king sized bed with royal violet silk comforter. The media center area of her room had a large screen tv, a large couch, two bean bag chairs, and two large cabinets on either side of the tv filled with DVDs.
"Well?" Gwynn asked. "This is your room?" I asked. Gwynn was staring at the floor again but this time it looked more like she was being self conscious. "Yeah," she told me. "It's amazing," I told her. She looked up and smiled she took my bags from me and tossed them onto the bed. "So, do you want food?" She asked. I just nodded as I studied her room more, she had a walk in closet and a bathroom up here and it was bigger than five of the rooms in the barrack combined. My favorite part of her room though was a large window seat that looked out at the backyard, next to the window seat was a bookcase filled with all different types of books. "The kitchens downstairs," Gwynn told me. I looked to see her standing next to the ladder an amused smile on her face. "Alright," I said and moved away from the window.
"Where are your parents?" I asked Gwynn before I took another bite of the pizza that had already been waiting on the counter when we got downstairs. It was my favorite kind of pizza Chicago style with mushrooms and green peppers. "Business trip, won't be back for a week," she said. "And your older brother?" I asked as I remembered that she mentioned him a couple times, his name was Zach and he was a Senior this year. "At a friends," she said. I looked up at the tone in her voice she was staring at me an emotion I couldn't place in her eyes. Suddenly it got hard to swallow and I took a sip of my water, I kind of wished Samantha was here. "Oh," was all I said and finished my fourth piece of pizza.
Gwynn took my plate when I was done and stuck it in the sink, she also stopped by one of the cabinets and pulled out some snacks: chocolate chip cookies, popcorn, cheez its, and a liter of Mountain Dew. I helped her carry the stuff back to her room and up the ladder. When we were back I. Her room she went straight to the tv and started pulling movies from the shelves. I noticed a few of the titles: the Exorcist, Halloween and Carrie. I went and sat down on the couch as Gwynn put the movie in.
I ended up curled in a ball next to Gwynn as we watched the movies, we were in the middle of the third one and I had a feeling I wasn't going to be able to sleep for a week, if not longer. I jumped as blood splattered across the screen and buried my head in Gwynn's lap, she reached over and soothingly ran her hand through my hair. I heard the movie stop playing and looked up to see that Gwynn had paused it. "!We don't have to watch anymore if your scared I have other movies," she said. "I'm fine," I told her. She smiled but instead of pushing play she set the controller down on the couch and tried to stand. I pulled her back down onto the couch. "I'm fine," I told her. "Ok, but I still need to go to the bathroom," she said. "Oh," I didn't want to let go of her but I did and sat further back onto the couch and pretended like I was perfectly fine. She moved further away from the couch and when she was halfway across the room I couldn't stay still I jumped up and followed her. I grabbed the back of her shirt and tugged on it, she spun around and caught my wrists.
"I-" She didn't let me get a single word out instead she pressed her lips against mine and pulled me into a kiss.