Chapter 59: National Hunting and Fishing Day

I woke up to the smell of burning marshmallows. It smelled awesome. It was National Hunting and Fishing Day. We were having a big party. There was a bonfire out back, stories of past hunts, fishing, and those who had shifted would go on a hunt. I was really looking forward to the day. I wanted to hear about the hunts of the past. I was also looking forward to fishing. I had never been fishing before. Before I could even get downstairs, I had to rush to the bathroom. I was getting tired of throwing up.

I cleaned up and headed downstairs. Walking to the kitchen, I collapsed on the floor. It felt like every bone was breaking. My mom rushed over.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” She asked.

“Sort of, I think Dad and Layla were right, I’m about to shift.” I moaned.

“Stay here, I’ll go get your father.”

I wondered where I would go, being in so much pain. Mom came back with Dad.

“How are you doing, son?” He asked.

“Just peachy,” I snapped.

“Watch your tone, young man,” my mother said.

“It’s going to get worse before you shift. Just breathe through it.” Dad said.

“Ahh, I think my bones are breaking,” I moaned.

“That’s normal, just breathe.” He said.

“It stopped, The pain is getting less. Is that normal?” I asked.

“It will happen a few times, EJ. You just have to bear with it. I know it hurts, but every lycan goes through it. I don’t know how different it will be for you, but so far it seems to be the same.” Dad said. Mom kissed my forehead and went back to the kitchen. Dad helped me up from the floor. “Maybe you should stay inside today and rest.”

“And miss the stories and fishing.No way!”

“Okay, but you know everyone is going to be fussing over you.”

Yeah, because they don’t already?”

“Stop with the attitude, we’re only trying to help.”

“Fine. Are the guys here, yet?”

“Yeah, they are roasting marshmallows.”

“Great. Thanks, Dad. See you later.” I ran out back.

I stood by a tree watching the guys with their marshmallows. Roasted marshmallows smell so good. I snuck up on them and gave them a big bear hug.

“Hey, you’re awake.” Ethan said.

“I can’t breathe.” Lucas complained.

“Morning guys. How are the marshmallows?” I asked.

“They’re great!” Lucas said at the same time Ethan said, “delicious!”

“I’ll grab a stick and join you.”

We roasted marshmallows and talked about the stuff we would be doing. We were joking around and goofing off when I fell to the ground again. Ethan went to get my dad and Lucas kept telling me to breathe. I was getting annoyed by his voice. “Shut up!” I yelled. Wow my voice sounded demonic and Lucas backed away. Lucas was staring at me with a strange look on his face. “Dude your eyes,” he said. I was having trouble breathing so I couldn’t respond. What was wrong with my eyes? Then like in gym class, my arm had a mind of its own. It lashed out and scratched Lucas’s face. What? Those were claws, not my hand. Lucas got to his feet and so did I.

“I’m sorry, Lucas. I didn’t mean to scratch you like that. My arm did it on its own.”

“Sure it did man, it’s just like in gym class when you hit that guy. You claimed you didn’t mean to. Whatever.” He wiped the blood from his face and then abruptly punched me in mine. I looked at my hand and it was normal again. I jumped on him and we fell to the ground. We were rolling around trading punches when my dad and Ethan came out. Dad grabbed me and Ethan grabbed Lucas.

“What is going on?” Dad shouted.

“Nothing, sir. Just a little goofing around,” Lucas squeaked.

“EJ?”

“Yeah, just a disagreement between friends, Dad.” I said. “Besides, it wasn’t really me, it was like something was controlling me.”

“That’s your wolf, son. Get him under control before you shift fully or Lucas here is going to get really hurt. Seems your wolf doesn’t like him.” Then Dad headed to the grill and got it started.

Lucas and I apologized to each other. We resumed our places around the bonfire with Ethan. We would be going fishing soon. More people joined us around the fire. Soon the whole pack was present. Former Beta Kit, his daughter Kat, and a few others passed out the fishing poles to those who wanted to go fishing. Once we had our gear, the guys and I headed to the fishing spot. We got to eat what we caught so we wanted to catch the most fish.

When we got to the fishing spot, I collapsed again. This time the change happened faster. Lucas went to get my father and mother while Ethan stayed with me. I watched as my skin was replaced with fur. My hands and feet became claws. Lucas got back with my parents just as the transformation was completed. I looked at myself in the water. I was standing on two legs still. Did something go wrong? My eyes were an eerie glowing pool of red and blue. Why one red and one blue eye? Something must have gone wrong, I didn’t look like any of the other wolves.

Son, my father mindlinked.

Dad, I think something went wrong. I mindlinked back.

“You’re half vampire, we expected you would look different,” he said aloud. “Try to change back.”

How, I mindlinked.

“Think of what you look like when you are human.”

I did as he said. I felt myself changing back. Then something else happened. I began to shift again. It was different from the first shift. My fur was thicker. I had paws instead of claws. When I looked in the water again, I was a wolf. I still had one red eye and one blue eye, but they weren’t glowing.

“You have two wolves!” My father gasped.

“What? Is that even possible?” Lucas exclaimed. Ethan just stood with his mouth dropped open.

“Apparently,” Mom said.

“This explains why you attacked others while your body was preparing to shift. One wolf was fighting the other for dominance.” Dad said.

I shifted back to my human form. “Why do they look different and why do I have two?” I asked.

“The first one was a hybrid. The second is a lycan. It means you had a twin that you absorbed in utero. Not only are you a hybrid, but a chimera as well. Your brother’s wolf lives on in you.”

“But wouldn’t he have been a hybrid, too.”

“Yes, he would have, but I think only one hybrid can occupy you. That is why I think they were fighting for dominance.” Dad said. “Give it some time, when your wolves find their voices, you can ask them more about it. Be prepared for it to get loud in your head. And let us know their names.”

“Okay. How do I prepare for loudness?”

“You’ll figure it out.” With that said, we all grabbed our fishing poles and went fishing.