Chapter 3: Lovelorn

I sat at my desk in my dorm room and tried to do homework. It was almost impossible to focus on something as silly as homework when more serious things had my attention. There were other wolves out there. They could help me learn to control and use my inner wolf. Casey seemed to be a people person, very outgoing. River had opened up to me a little over the last few days. The three of us spent some time together and got to know each other. I could tell she was a good person, very protective. She seemed to be world weary, like she had lived a very difficult life. Being a wolf was very difficult to begin with, I got the impression her human life had been just as stressful.

My roommate walked into the room and interrupted my thoughts. Quinn dropped her book bag on her bed and greeted me. “Hey, how’s it going?” I responded. Quinn was in a few of my classes and we seemed to get along well. We were friends, she just hadn’t made it into my inner circle of close friends but she was well on her way. “The new guy is kinda cute, huh?” I shrugged, “Guys really aren’t my type.” Quinn’s eyes widened, “Oh do tell! What’s your type then?” I could feel my face flush, I felt kinda embarrassed. “I usually don’t talk about stuff like this. I’m kinda a private person.” The glimmer of excitement faded in Quinn’s eye. “Well, we kinda are stuck together until school ends, we are roommates after all. But if you don’t want to share, I’m not going to pry.” There was an awkward silence and Quinn got up and shuffled to her side of the room. “Oh what the hell,” I muttered to myself, spun around in my chair, and spoke, “Girls. I like girls.” Quinn sat down on her bed and looked at me. “Girls are magical,” Quinn confirmed, “I like both guys and girls.”

“So do you have a crush on anyone here at school?” Quinn was inquisitive and extroverted. I figured she might be able to help pull me out of my introverted shell, so I humored her, “Kinda sorta. I’m not going to go make a big deal of it though.” I could see the look in Quinns eye and answered the question I knew she was about to ask next. “Because I just met her and know next to nothing about her, besides she already has a significant other.” Quinn sighed, “Unrequited love is the worst.” I rolled my eyes, “I said crush not love. There’s a big difference.” “Uh huh, sure there is,” Quinn remarked sarcastically. She grinned and dug into her homework. She seemed to understand I was reaching my social limit. “Just don’t wait too long to say something.” I didn’t say anything. River was cute for sure, but she had Casey and I didn’t know either of them well. I never really had someone really special. I had gone on one or two dates, but nothing ever came of them and now I had a wolf inside me. Who would be crazy enough to love a wolf?

I turned my head and looked over my shoulder at Quinn. I never really noticed before how pretty she was. Her strawberry blonde hair covered her face as she bent over her homework, deep in concentration. I began to wonder what her lips would feel like... ‘Yikes! Where’d that come from?’ I thought to myself. I snapped out of my stupor. “Back to homework,” I muttered to myself. I tried to focus, but my thoughts kept drifting back to Quinn. “I gotta get out of here,” I mumbled, possibly too loudly. “Have fun,” Quinn responded. I practically ran out the door. I pushed open the door to the building and stepped out in the fresh air. I could smell a hint of moisture in the air, it was going to rain soon. I could see Casey and River down the path enjoying the great outdoors. Now that I was outside, I felt calmer, like I could think more clearly. I wondered if that was a wolf thing.

Casey and River were sitting at picnic table under some shade trees. As I approached, River noticed me and waved me over. “Hi Reese,” Casey greeted me as I sat down. “What’s up?” River chimed in. I was quiet for a minute, trying to formulate my question. “How did you two meet? How did you get together?” River smiled up at Casey. “That is an interesting story,” she began. “I was a new wolf.” “extra fuzzy, ″ Casey interjected. “Extra fuzzy,” River continued. “Casey found me and showed me the ropes.” Casey put an arm around River, “Kinda dangerous too. She had difficulties shifting back to a human. She’s pretty good with those claws. I’m surprised you beat her that easily.” River playfully slapped Casey, “I wasn’t that bad!”

Casey chuckled, “maybe not that bad, but I had to earn her trust. In the beginning she was more wolf than human, I think we connected more as wolves faster than we did as humans.” River added, “We as wolves interact a little differently than we as humans. We can’t speak English but we do have a kind of telepathy. Kinda mental images and urges. Hard to explain.” I shrugged, “sounds familiar to how my brain normally works.” “It looks like being a wolf comes naturally to you,” Casey commented. I frowned, I don’t know if I liked that or not. “Don’t worry. You’ll pick it up quickly.” River piped up. “I mean it’s hard enough being human, now I have to add werewolf on top?” I complained. Casey nodded wisely, “Yes there are hardships, but I gotta say the perks are kinda nice. Better sense of smell, more physical strength, faster healing, quicker reflexes.” I was beginning to get a little overwhelmed. I took a deep breath and let it out real slow.

“I don’t have much experience with this stuff. I’ve only shifted once or twice, the other night included.” Casey looked into my eyes ,“How many months has it been since you were turned?” I thought for a second before answering, “maybe six months or so. It was before I came here to college.” River and Casey looked at each other, “you’ve been a wolf for six months and turned only twice? How?” I was taken aback… “aren’t you supposed to be the wolf experts,” I asked. “Well I thought I was decently knowledgeable…” muttered Casey. “Most wolves shift on the full moon.”“We can’t help it, the wolf inside just rips its way out and plays all night. We wake up human the next morning. Full moons are when we are most feral, most aggressive. It’s usually a three night span, the night before, during, and after the full moon.” I looked away and asked, “The other night, was it a full moon?” River shook her head. Casey continued, “I learned to shift at will and I taught River too as well. But you shifted on your own that night. I assumed you knew how to already.” I shook my head. “Well, it sounds like Wolf 101 is about to be in session,” Casey grinned at his own cheesy joke. I rolled my eyes and River chuckled softly. “You dork!” Casey’s grin widened, “why yes! Yes I am!”