Chapter 9: What’s is to come

Kate

I follow Troy out of the meeting room and out the front door. We walk down the path towards the common area. I can hear voices in the distance, kids laughing, people talking. I take a look around and see it is really busy. There are little shop stands sitting around. Kids running and playing while parents stand nearby. I follow as Troy walks through the crowd, greeting people and shaking hands. I stop when I see a nursery full of kids. They are lying on the ground, coloring and making crafts. I walk over to them.

“Hello,” I say, greeting the teacher.

“Luna, Good morning, my name is Rebeca. I am one of the teachers here at the nursery. It is nice to meet you,” she says.

“Good morning. I love kids, so I just had to come over and meet them.” I say.

“You are welcome anytime, Luna. The kids love visitors,” she says.

I sit down next to the kids and start coloring with them, completely forgetting that I was supposed to be following Troy.

Troy

As I walk through the commons, I notice Kate is no longer behind me. I start retracting my steps to find her. Finally, I see her sitting in the nursery playing with the kids. I stand and watch for a bit. It is nice to finally see her smile and have fun. I see Rebeca walking over to me.

“Rebeca,” I say.

“Alpha,” Rebeca starts, “I meet your lovely mate. She is amazing, so nice, and she loves the kids. They also seem to really like her. I think she is going to make an excellent Luna.”

“Thank you, I hope she does,” I say with a smile.

“Kate,” I yell to her. She looks up, her smile fading as she sees me. She walks over after saying goodbye to the children.

“Sorry,” Kate says.

“Don't be sorry. You can come visit the kids anytime you want, but for now, I need to show you the rest of the pack,” I say.

“Okay, let's go,” she says.

I take her through the rest of the pack, explaining this is a safe place for our kind. Not everyone is so open to the idea of werewolves. I show her all the amenities we have, such as the pool, gym, and park. We finished the tour just in time for lunch.

“Do you have any questions so far?” I ask her as we sit down to eat.

“Yes, so how come I have never heard about werewolves being real?” she asks.

“Well, like I said, people are not really open to the idea of us. They like to believe in movies and ideas. When those fantasies become real, they freak out. There was once a time when the world was aware of our kind, and they hated us. Blaming us for any attacks or unexplained murders, even if it wasn't us that actually did it. Eventually, we found that disappearing was the best option to keep our kind safe. So we hid our wolf side and blended in with the humans ever since we have lived in secret,” I explain.

“So how come I am here since I am a human?” she asks.

“Normally, our mates are wolves as well. It is very rare that one of us has a human mate, but it is not entirely unheard of. In these cases, the human mate will be welcomed into the pack as one of us, since they soon will be anyway,” I say.

“What do you mean they will be one of you?” she questions with a look of fear.

“Once a human is marked by her mate, she will slowly start the transition into a werewolf herself. It happens slowly over the span of a few days to a week or two, depending on the person,” I say.

“You mean I am going to be a werewolf? No way that is happening!” She shouts and storms out of the room.

“Kate, hold on, let me explain,” I yell after her.

I watch as she walks out, slamming the front door behind her. Knowing it will not help anything, I just let her go. She needs time to process, and it will give her a chance to walk about and see the everyday life of the pack.

Kate

I slam the door behind me, walking down the pathway. I walk with no place in mind, ending up in the common area. I sit on a bench nearby to think. I can’t turn into a wolf that is crazy. How has this become my life? Why me? I was supposed to finish college, graduate, and start a career. Maybe eventually a family. I wipe the tears streaming down my face. Watching the people around go about their day like this is normal. I guess to them, this is their normal life, and now mine too. I watch as men pile wood into a large, cleared-out area in the center of town. Oh yeah, they are having a bonfire tonight, I almost forgot. I walk around the shops, just browsing to kill time, when I notice someone is selling a camera.

“How much for the camera?” I ask

“For you, it is yours at no cost,” the man at the shop says.

“No, how much I want to pay,” I say.

“Please consider it a welcome gift, Luna,” he says, handing me the camera bag.

“Thank you,” I say with a smile, taking the bag.

I walk back to the bench I was sitting at and pull the camera from the bag. I turned it on and checked to see if there were any pictures on it, but there were not. It did have a full battery and an SD card. Photography is one of the only things I love to do. I take pictures of the men stacking the firewood, the birds in the trees, and anything else I can see from my seat. As it starts to get dark, I notice everyone lights torches and gathers around the center.