Chapter 8

Rosemary

I woke up in the same bedroom as before, my head pounding like someone was taking a sledgehammer to my brain. Groaning, I sat up, pressing my palms against my temples, trying to ease the throbbing pain. Everything felt heavy, as if the weight of last night’s revelations had settled into my bones. As I blinked the fog from my eyes, I noticed Nathaniel sitting in a chair in the room’s corner, his posture tense, as though he’d been waiting for me to wake up.

“You’re up,” he said, his voice soft, filled with concern. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I drank 10 gallons of tequila,” I muttered, rubbing my temples. The pounding in my head made it hard to think straight, let alone process everything that had been thrown at me the night before.

Nathaniel laughed, the sound warm but tinged with nervousness. “I stayed with you all night. I was worried.”

His words hit me like a punch in the gut. Worried? He should be concerned, alright. Everything I’d been told last night felt like some twisted nightmare, and the fact that I couldn’t wake up from it only made it worse.

“You should be worried!” I snapped, the frustration bubbling to the surface. “This is the worst prank ever!”

Nathaniel’s expression softened, and then he stood, walking over to the bed. He sat down beside me, close enough that I could feel the warmth radiating from him. His eyes locked onto mine, steady and serious in a way that made my heart skip. “Mer, this is not a joke. I wish I could tell you it is, but it’s not.”

I stared at him, my mind swirling with disbelief. How could this not be a joke? Werewolves? Is my entire life a lie? It was too much to handle, too absurd to even consider. But the look in Nathaniel’s eyes told me he wasn’t lying. He was dead serious.

He hesitated for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully, then spoke again. “Come with me, please.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice wary. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.

“You’ll see,” he said simply, standing up and holding his hand out to me. There was no hesitation in his eyes, only a quiet determination that made me nervous.

Reluctantly, I took his hand, feeling the warmth of his skin against mine. His grip was firm but gentle, and for a brief moment, I felt a flicker of comfort in his touch. He led me out of the room, down the long corridors of the mansion, and then out into the fresh morning air.

We walked through the woods, the sound of our footsteps muffled by the thick layer of leaves on the ground. The forest was dense, with towering trees that seemed to swallow us whole. Nathaniel held my hand the entire time, his silence unnerving, as if he were preparing for something. I wanted to ask him what we were doing, where we were going, but I was too overwhelmed to form the words.

Finally, he stopped, glancing around as if to make sure we were far enough from the house. The air felt different here - still, charged, like something was about to happen. Nathaniel dropped my hand and turned to face me, his expression unreadable.

“What are you doing?” I asked, a strange sense of unease creeping into my voice.

“You’ll see,” he said again, his voice low.

Without another word, Nathaniel started to undress. My heart raced as he pulled off his shirt, revealing the contours of his muscular body. I’d always known he was beautiful, but seeing him like this, so vulnerable and raw, made me feel something deeper, something I couldn’t quite name.

But then things changed. I heard it - the sound of bones cracking, popping, like something breaking and reforming inside him. His skin rippled, shifting, as his body began to transform. His nose elongated, his face stretching into something more animal than human. Thick gray fur sprouted across his skin, and his eyes… they turned bright orange, glowing in the morning light.

I took a step back, bumping against a tree, my heart slamming against my ribs. This wasn’t possible. This couldn’t be real. But before my mind could catch up, the transformation was complete.

Standing before me wasn’t Nathaniel anymore. It was a massive gray wolf, his fur sleek and his eyes, those same bright orange eyes, locking onto mine. My breath caught in my throat as the wolf padded toward me, slow and cautious, its snout nudging my hand gently. His warmth, the softness of his fur beneath my fingers… it was all so real.

I hesitated, my heart pounding in my chest, but something inside me shifted. Slowly, I reached out and ran my fingers through his fur, feeling the powerful muscles beneath his coat. This wasn’t a dream. This wasn’t some elaborate joke. This was real.

For a few minutes, I stood there in awe, petting the wolf who had been my best friend for years. The disbelief was still there, but so was the wonder. This was the most incredible thing I had ever witnessed, and part of me couldn’t help but marvel at it.

Then, just as quickly as he had changed, I began to hear the crackling of bones again. The wolf stepped back, and his body began to shift, contorting and shrinking until, within moments, Nathaniel stood before me once more. Naked, human, and very much real.

He met my gaze, his expression calm but expectant. “Do you believe me now?” he asked softly.

I swallowed hard, my mouth dry. The forest around us felt too quiet, too still, as if the world itself had paused, waiting for my response.

“Yes,” I laughed, my voice trembling. “I definitely do.”