Chapter 8

It was on the sixth day that we had an unexpected surprise. We were walking towards the gym when I saw her. Mother. She was getting out of a ratty looking car. I stopped in my tracks and started shaking. Riley looked from me to her and growled, instantly knowing who she was. She was a little taller than me and fat. And when I say fat, I mean grossly overweight. I guess I had gotten my chubbiness from her and the girls got their slimness from their father. She was wearing an ill-fitting red dress. Her thinning hair had been brushed and pulled into a bun. She looked horrible, and I couldn't believe she was actually my mother.

I was about to turn away and head back to the house when she looked over at us and saw me. "Calliope Anne Miller! Get over here right now!" She yelled. I just stood there, my back to her, not moving. Not wanting to obey her anymore. Riley growled again, a real threat in the tone. It raised the hair on the back of my neck to hear him be so aggressive for the first time.

When I didn't go over to her, she came to me, pissed off. "When I tell you to come to me, girl, you better damn well do it." She demanded. I still just stood there. I didn't know how to react. Part of me wanted to run, the other wanted to beat her like she used to beat me.

I felt Riley put a hand on my shoulder, to keep me from doing anything rash, and I was thankful for it.

She finally reached us, and I turned to her slowly. Before I could react or know what she was going to do, she slapped me hard enough to make me turn my head and leave a bright red imprint. Riley growled louder. She barely glanced at him. Her attention was on me. She reached up to slap me again, and Riley stopped her with a hand around her wrist. She shrieked her rage. "How dare you! You do not come between me and my daughter, ever!" She screamed at him. I was dying of embarrassment because she was drawing the attention of people around the compound. I could even see the Alpha coming closer. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me, or better yet, her.

I finally had enough. I wasn't going to be embarrassed or threatened by her anymore. "That is enough out of you," I told her. She stopped her raging to stare at me bug eyed. "How dare you talk back to me? You are coming home right this second."

"I sure as hell am not. I am home. I refuse to go anywhere with you ever again. I am where I want to be, with who I want to be, and I will not leave it." I looked her up and down with disgust on my face, "you are nothing but a bug under my shoe. You will no longer be able to lay a hand on me again. Try to do so, and I will break it. Got me?" I had enough. I had been saying I didn't want to be a victim anymore and now was my chance to prove it. She tried to hit me with her other hand, but before I could do anything, the Alpha stopped her.

"No more. You will not strike a member of my Pack." He told her firmly, and it was a bit more than a promise.

"Your Pack? She is just a lowly human girl. She isn't a part of your Pack."

"Your wrong, Mother." I leaned in close to her and let my wolf have her way and rise to the surface, which she was more than happy to do. I could feel her straining to get out and attack Mother, but all she could do was make my eyes change from their bright green to amber and filled with rage.

Her eyes went even buggier, and she took a step back. "You monster!" She yelled.

"Don't you forget it, ever. As of this moment, you are not my mother. I will never go back to that hell house. I want you to leave here and never come back." I demanded of her. I was fighting my wolf. I don't know how much longer I could hold out from showing the internal fight that was going on.

The Alpha handed her the money I had given him to give to her. "You heard her. You have your money, you now know she is wanting to stay here. So you can leave. I don't ever want to hear that you or your daughters have entered the Pack Compound. Get in your car and go." He told her sternly.

The Alpha made a motion with his hand, and several Pack members came over and escorted her away. She was still raging, calling me a monster, saying I wouldn't get away with this. Once she was in her car, the Pack members got into a car and followed her out.

Once she was out of sight, I collapsed in Riley's arms. I surprisingly didn't cry. I was more furious than anything. My wolf was still trying to scratch her way out of me, and she was hurting me in the process. I tried to control her, to get her to calm down. It took a lot of will, but I finally managed to get her to stop hurting me. I was gasping for air from trying so hard to stop her.

I had fallen to my knees during the fight with my wolf, Riley still holding me tightly. Fletcher was even kneeling in front of me, his hand on my shoulder, giving me the strength I had needed to fight my wolf. I could feel the power emanating from him and into me. It was a heady feeling. But it helped in getting my wolf in control.

I looked up at him gratefully. He gave a slight nod and stood back up. I stayed on my knees for a moment or two longer then I got up on my feet. I was a bit shaky but okay. Riley kept an arm around my waist as support.

I dusted the dirt from my knees. Trying not to look at the people who were still watching. I still felt embarrassed that they had witnessed my insane Mother hitting me and raging like a lunatic.

Fletcher made a motion with his hand, and the people started dispersing. I was again grateful to him for doing that. Riley started to take me home, but I shook my head.

"No, I would rather work out. I am to agitated to sit at home." I told him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked me. I nodded, and we headed to the gym. Once there, I went straight for the boxing bags and started hitting away. I kept seeing Mother's face, and I just hit the bag harder and harder. I only stopped when my hands were sore, then I started kicking the bag.

Riley made me stop because my leg was turning purple from the abuse. I barely noticed. I didn't want to stop. I wanted to keep going at it till her face was mangled. But he pulled me away. I fought him for a minute before stopping and calming down. Once I calmed down, I noticed that not only was my leg hurting, but my hands were a mess too.

Riley wanted to carry me home, but I wouldn't let him. I had already been made a spectacle once today. I didn't want people to see me being carried away like a weakling. So I limped towards home. I didn't protest, though, when he put an arm around my waist to help support me. When we got home, no sooner did we step inside, then Riley swept me up into his arms. I didn't protest this time. I was hurting too much and was too tired to do so.

He sat me down on the lid of the toilet and picked up a first aid kit he had under the sink. He dabbed at the cuts on my hands with iodine, causing me to hiss in pain. He just frowned at me. Next, he doctored my legs, which caused me to yelp in pain. He picked me up again and laid me in bed, taking off my shorts carefully, so I could be more comfortable. He went away and came back a few minutes later with a couple bags of ice to put on my shins. I whimpered at the coldness but didn't move away.

"What were you thinking doing this to yourself?" He demanded. "I wasn't thinking. I was just doing." I shot back. Then I realized how ridiculous that sounded and blushed.

"That's exactly what you were doing, not thinking!" he nearly yelled at me. It startled me. I had never heard or seen him like this. He was really angry, and it was at me. I didn't know how to react. Yet I wasn't scared, but upset that he was that angry at me.

"Why are you mad at me?" I was shocked and confused at his anger.

"Because you weren't thinking and could have really hurt yourself." He thundered.

"Well, I am a werewolf now, right? So it will all heal soon anyway. It doesn't matter that I did this because of that." I told him.

"It does fucking matter. It matters to me." He hit the wall leaving a hole in it. I was shaken. I didn't expect him to be this upset over something so small. I mean, yeah, I did hurt myself, but I'd heal.

He growled, "yes, you will heal, but do you think I liked watching you hurt yourself, especially when there was nothing I could do to stop you because I knew you had to work it out? It killed me inside." He punched the wall again, leaving another hole.

"I'm sorry," was all I could say. I didn't know what else to do or say. I tried to sit up, but he pushed me back down. "Stay there," was all he said before leaving the room. I wanted to cry because of how angry he was at me. I really didn't like him upset with me. It tore me up inside.

Soon I could smell food cooking in the kitchen. I sighed as a few tears leaked out. I hated him being mad at me. Soon a flood of tears came rolling out. I hated that I was so weak to be crying all the time. It was pathetic, I was pathetic, this whole situation was pathetic.

Riley came back into the room as I was crying. He picked me up a little so he could sit behind me, with my back resting on his chest. "You are not pathetic, or weak. I am sorry I got mad at you. It just hurt to see you doing that to yourself." He soothed.

"Don't be nice to me now." I wailed. I don't understand why I am losing it right now. I was fine one minute, then his being angry at me just made me feel everything I had gone through today. I guess it was hitting me all at once. I didn't want to cry like a baby, but I couldn't help it.

Seeing Mother again, her berating me, the pain of abusing the boxing bag, and then Riley being mad at me was just too much. I had no choice but to let the tears flow.

Riley rocked me as I cried. I clung to his arms as I ignored the pain in my hands and legs and curled up. I finally stopped crying and just sniffled every now and then.

Riley kissed the top of my head, "are you okay now?" He asked me. I sniffled and nodded. "Well, I think we are going to be ordering out tonight. I don't think dinner survived the inattention." He chuckled softly. "How does Chinese sound?" I sniffled again and shrugged, "I've never had Chinese." I told him. "Well, you are in for a treat." He promised.

He laid me back gently on the bed and reached for his cell phone. He dialed and soon spoke into the phone. He ordered a bunch of unfamiliar items. One I understood: fried rice. I hope whatever he got was good. I'd hate to not like it.

He sat on the side of the bed with me and just held my hand. We didn't say anything. I was still a bit upset about the day and his anger with me.

After a while, we heard a knock at the door, and Riley went to answer it. It was Joe once again. He came back with bags and the breakfast tray.

I moved into a general sitting position so he could put the tray across my lap. He then started pulling out these funny shaped boxes. He set them across the tray until it was full. He started opening them, and the smells were delicious.

He handed me a pair of sticks. I looked from them to him in confusion. What was I supposed to do with them? Stab the food? He laughed when he saw that I was perplexed, and showed me what they were for. I tried it several times and failed. He laughed again and got up to go to the dresser before coming back. He took my sticks and put a rubber band at the ends of the sticks, tying them together. I was then able to use them to pick up the food.

The first meat he had me try was something he called Mongolian Beef. It had a sweet heat to it and was very good. He then had me try General Tso, and that was very good but spicy. He had me try several different meats and the vegetables. I surprisingly liked all of it. He kept feeding me pieces of meat, and I did the same to him with my jury-rigged chopsticks. We ended up laughing and having a good time, forgetting for the moment how the day had gone.

We ate nearly everything. The only thing left was a few bites of rice and vegetables. The meat was all gone. Riley reached into the bag and pulled out two little clear packages. He handed one to me and kept the other for himself. I looked at the strange-looking cookie and watched as Riley crushed the cookie in the bag. He then opened it and pulled out a little piece of white paper.

"A good way to stay healthy is to eat more Chinese food." He read and laughed. I copied him, opened my little package, and picked out the paper. "Change can hurt, but it makes a path to something better." I looked at Riley a bit confused. "What are these?" I asked him.

"They are fortune cookies. You break them open to read your fortune. It's just something fun to do after you eat Chinese." He answered. "Are they real fortunes?" I asked him. "No, but some seem to hit the nail on the head. As if they were written just for you." He told me.

I nodded and studied mine. This one did seem to be written just for me. Change was hurting me, but I was on a better path then I was before. It was a little creepy how right it was. I don't think I liked fortune cookies.

By the time we were done with dinner, my hands were healed and my legs were nearly completely healed as well. But Riley wouldn't let me get out of bed to help clean up. He insisted I stay there, and because I didn't want him to get upset with me anymore, I listened. He cleaned up the boxes in record time and took the trash and tray away.

I was asleep before he even got back to the room.

I woke up on my stomach and a weight on my back. I had somehow gotten topless during the night, and I suspected it had something to do with Riley. I still had my panties on, though. I was glad I had slept without another nightmare.

I tried to move to turn onto my back, but Riley's weight wouldn't let me. I turned my head to look at him, and he was watching me with a slight smile on his face. "Trying to get away, Sunshine?" He asked. "No, not yet at least," I told him. His eyes narrowed. "Not yet?" He demanded. I smiled impishly at him.

"I do plan to get away at some point," I told him, his eyes narrowed even further till they were mere slits. "I am going to have to go to the bathroom soon." I laughed. He moved till he could get over me and started to tickle me. I laughed and tried to wiggle away, but he had me good and pinned.

I finally had to plead mercy because my bladder was about to burst. He reluctantly let me go, with a kiss on the nose. I ran into the bathroom to do my business, then jumped in the shower. I looked at my hands and shins and was happy to see that they were completely healed.

I made my shower a quick one. I jumped out and wrapped a towel around me. I walked into the bedroom to see Riley still lying in bed with his arms behind his head, and a sheet barely covering his yummy parts.

I stopped and took in the sight before me, tempted to rejoin him in bed. I thought about it for a few before shrugging my shoulders, dropping my towel, and jumping back into bed with him. I pounced on him causing him to let out a small 'oomph.' I giggled and started to tickle him, but unfortunately, he wasn't ticklish. He just turned it around on me. In seconds, he had me on my back with his whole body on top of mine.

He stared down at me. I was gasping for air. Looking in his eyes, I got serious, "I am sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to make you so mad." I apologized to him.

He shook his head, "don't apologize. I understand why you did it. I shouldn't have gotten so angry."

I leaned up and nipped his chin, since I couldn't really reach his lips. "Let's forget about it and just go from here, then." I nipped him again. He growled and leaned down to where my neck meets my shoulder and nuzzled me before nipping me there in return.

We didn't get up for quite a while, and when we did, it was lunchtime. I laid in bed while Riley took his turn in the shower. I only dressed when he got out and dressed. We went into the kitchen to find fuel. The dinner he had started last night was still on the stove and counter, so I set about cleaning it all up while he made us something to eat.

Once lunch was over and the kitchen cleaned up. Riley led me back to the gym. I had been half afraid he wouldn't let me back there after what I had done to myself, but he did. Though he didn't let me go to the boxing bags. He took me to the weights and added more to the ones I normally lifted.

I did a few sets with the new weight, and it was good. I was pleasantly sore and tired. When I was done, he led me to a machine that looked like a pulley system and set the tension before showing me what to do. I took over and did some sets. This machine made me more sore and tired, but it really stretched me out.

We did a variety of workouts on different machines before heading home. I took my normal bath with the jets while Riley made dinner. I could already see some results that the working out has done. I was definitely toning up.

I got out of the tub and jumped in the shower, thoroughly washing all the sweat off. I got out and wrapped a towel around me. I dressed in a nightgown and headed into the kitchen.

Riley had meatballs and spaghetti cooking again, a new favorite, and it smelled delicious. I leaned my hips against the counter as I watched Riley cook. I thought about what would happen in less than a week. The full moon was going to be upon me soon, and I was excited yet anxious about it.

I had not broached the subject of the change because I was afraid to find out if it was painful or not. The closer the full moon came, the more I had to realize that I was no longer human. That I was essentially what Mother called me: a monster.

Riley turned to me and gathered me in his arms, "you are not a monster. We are not monsters. We are wolves."

I nodded against his chest. "I know. But I am a little afraid of the change. I don't even know what to expect or what I will look like. I don't want to be some creepy looking wolf." My words were muffled against his chest.

"There is nothing to fear. It will be OK," He tried to reassure me.

I nodded again and stepped back. He cupped my cheek and kissed me lightly on the forehead before returning to his cooking.

It was while we were eating dinner that I broached the subject again. I fiddled with the noodles on my plate, "do you think you could tell me about the change?" I asked.

He set down his fork and looked at me. "Well, the change is different for everyone. Some experience pain. Others are able to shift multiple times. As you know, some can go into complete wolf form or a half-man, half-wolf form. But all can go into a complete wolf form."

"How do you do it, though?"

He thought about it for a moment before answering, "I never really thought about it. It just comes naturally now. I just think of my wolf form and let my wolf rise to the surface to take control, and voila, I am a wolf. The first time I shifted, it just came upon me. I didn't have to think about it, but when I wanted to go back to my human form, I had to concentrate on the form I wanted. It took some time, but I managed. After that, it just got easier and easier, and now I don't even have to think of it."

I looked down at my plate before asking my next question. "Could you show me? I haven't seen anyone as a wolf except the night of the attack. I want to see for myself that it's not as scary as I am currently thinking it is."

Riley nodded, "sure, I can show you, but let's finish dinner first." I nodded in agreement, not sure, though, if I could finish dinner.

I surprised myself and did eat all of my dinner. We cleaned up our dishes and headed to the bedroom. Once there, I sat on the bed as Riley stripped off his clothes and folded them onto the settee.

He came over and gave me a quick kiss. "You ready?"

I clasped my hands in front of me and nodded.

He moved to the middle of the room, and I saw a slight shimmer around him, then the next thing I saw was a pure black wolf with amber eyes. He stood there watching me to see my reaction, and I must admit, I was a bit scared, but also intrigued. I wondered if it would be that simple for me to change form.

"You OK?" I heard Riley ask.

I answered him aloud, "Yes, I am fine. Could I…could I touch you?"

In answer, he walked over to me, giving me a goofy doggy grin with his tongue hanging out. I knew he was trying to ease my trepidation, and I appreciated it.

I reached out and slowly placed my hand on his fur. It was a combination of soft and course, it was nice. I stroked my hand across his body, absorbing the feel and texture of him. This wasn't so scary, I thought. I could handle this, I think.

"Good. I'm glad this has eased your fears. It will be a while before I can shift back. I can do so now if you wish, but it would take a lot of energy. I suggest we head to bed, and I will be me again in the morning."

I shook my head, "no, it's OK. I understand."

I got up and put on a nightshirt, then climbed into bed. Once I was settled, Riley jumped up and curled himself next to me. I laid there in bed with Riley curled up beside me and fell asleep with my hand in his fur.