Chapter 30 A Werewolf
Every step I take toward his house, my nerves grow more and more. I thought about having Beth come with me, but I didn’t want to start the meeting on the wrong foot. I worried Alec would take offense.
I step onto the path he created for me, bringing me back to our first date. It was so incredible that it made me feel as if I had already found my soulmate. Nothing else mattered but him, the effort he put forth for some random girl he had just met. The way he looked at me with so much undeniable love and care.
I stop a few steps from the opening into his backyard. I take a few deep breaths in and out, counting to five in my head. It’s just Alec, he’s going to explain everything, and it’ll all be okay. But I can’t get rid of the gnawing feeling in the depths of my stomach that our relationship may be over. Our in reality short but absolutely passionate relationship. It’s now or never.
I step out of the brush, shocked to see him sitting on his back patio already. He looks up as the sound of my footsteps alerts him to my presence. He stands up quickly from the lawn chair. He takes steps towards me, meeting me halfway in his yard.
He looks awful. His eyes have large bags under them, and his hair is a complete disheveled mess. I made the decision right there that I’ll forgive him no matter what, as long as he wasn’t cheating on me, I will forgive him right here and now. It bothers me on a deep level to know I am part of the reason he looks and feels so poorly. I’m sure I look similar as I can feel the exhaustion this situation has caused and the emotional toll.
“Thank you for coming.” His voice is barely above a whisper.
He wraps his hands together; he wants to touch me. Physical touch has always been his love language.
“Thank you for waiting.” I’m proud of the confidence in my voice, even though I feel less than, I’m not letting it show.
He opens his mouth, closing it again, looking away from me, scratching his head. “I don’t know really where to start.”
I feel bad for how nervous he is. I’m not strong like Beth; I can’t keep her words focused in my head.
“At the beginning? Telling the truth.” I offer trying to calm him.
He looks back at me; his eyes look less pretty, the brown dulled.
“Yeah, I will. Um-” He stops again. I don’t say anything this time, waiting for him to collect his thoughts. I don’t want to rush him.
“I’m going to tell you something, but I need you to believe me. I need you to promise me you won’t run away when I tell you.” His tone is more serious than I’ve ever heard him before.
“Okay, I won’t run away.”
“You have to keep an open mind.” He continues, slowly putting his hand on my arm.
I try not to acknowledge the warmth spreading through my whole body from just his touch.
“I will, I promise.” I nod again.
He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “I’ve been trying to figure out exactly how to say this for the past few days, but I really don’t think there is any great way to say this, so I’m just gonna say it.”
I nod my head, my nerves building with every word. What is so bad that he doesn’t even know how to say it?
“I’m a werewolf. My dad is the alpha of our pack, Noah, the friend you met; he’s also a werewolf. Cassie is a werewolf, too; she’s part of our friend group, the ‘little pack’. I had her become your friend because of that perfume you wore the first time I met you, when you went swimming. I recognized the scent from another incident, and I thought you might’ve been involved. She became your friend to introduce us, but I didn’t want her to continue a friendship that started on a lie, so she stopped going to the camp. That’s why you saw her here. We’re werweolves.”
I stand there completely still throughout his whole speech. I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. I could no longer comprehend anything beyond his first sentence. He’s a werewolf. He says he is a werewolf. That his dad is the alpha of the pack, Noah is also a werewolf. He looks me over frantically.
“Say something.” He pleads.
“What?” My voice sounds foreign.
He’s got to be on drugs. Or extremely drunk. Did I cause him to have a mental breakdown?
“I’m a werewolf. So is Cassie and Noah.”
I take a step away from him, worried for his mental sanity. “Are you feeling okay? Have you taken something?” I ask, genuinely concerned.
He shakes his head, looking desperate. “No, Anneliese, I’m being honest, I am completely sober. I’m not sick, I’m not playing with you. I’m a werewolf.”
I shake my head. “No, you’re not, that stuff isn’t real.”
He sighs, looking down at his hands. “You don’t believe me?” He asks, the hurt obvious in his voice.
“No, Alec, I don’t believe that you and your friends are werewolves. You guys are not some mythical animal.”
He nods to himself. “I’m going to show you. Don’t be scared, and please don’t run away.” He pleads with me taking steps away from where I stand.
I stand perfectly still, still in shock and confusion. Does he genuinely think he’s about to turn into a wolf in front of me? He’s several feet away from me when he starts taking off his clothes. He takes off his shirt first, and for probably the only time ever, I don’t feel like oogling at him. He then quickly pulls off his pants, making me look away.
“No, watch me, Anneliese.” He commands me.
I look back at him standing there in his boxers only.
He leans forward slightly, his breath coming out faster, his body shaking more with each breath. And then, before I can understand what’s going on, I hear bones crunching, his body bending forward, changing from a human to a full-blown wolf. Gone is Alec; instead, a brown, larger-than-life wolf stands there looking at me, reading me.
Oh my gosh.
He’s a fucking werewolf.