I didn’t sleep well last night. My heavy heart and scattered mind kept her awake with fitful dreams of being chased and of getting separated from Alex.I send my mother a good morning text, as I’ve done every day since I arrived here, then climb out of bed.Alex’s words last night weigh on me. No one has ever spoken the words “I love you” to me except my mother. Even now it makes me want to hug the pillow and cry.Only I can’t cry now. I need to be strong for Alex. It isn’t fair to make him regret the inevitable more than he already does. He can’t help his fate anymore than I can, and I can’t make him feel guilty for choosing to follow the path set before him. It’s not like he has a choice, anyway.But I don’t have to like it all the same…or Rita.Speak of the devil, as soon as I walk into the kitchen to get a glass of milk, I see Rita is seated at the table, drumming her fingers. Her scowl sets me on alert. If looks could kill… I try not to make eye contact, picking up my pace and be

With the assailant down, I’m able to get to Rita. She can’t stand in her present form, despite several efforts at getting to her feet.“I don’t know what. To do,” I admit to her. “I—I can’t. Help you. Too big!”With great effort and a lot of pain, Rita shifts back to human. It’s a slow process, and hard to watch. I have to turn my head because of the nature of the process and how coarse it really is. They’ve always changed so quickly that I never noticed the details.The details. Are. Gross. So is the wolf who is barely alive. He isn’t shifting, and his large body twitches sporadically. I wonder if he’s going to die here.After Rita has finally taken human form, I hear her ragged breathing. She sits up, gasping and trying to calm herself.Then she turns to me, and for the first time, I see real concern in her eyes. “Are you okay?”“I—yyy-yeah,” I say giving my body a glance over again. Amazed as I am at my fortune, I’m still too shocked to be grateful. “How are you? Your leg?”I kneel

You learn so much by watching people. Ryan, for example, is an excellent cook and looks right at home in the kitchen. Alex even helps, and I didn’t know Alex could cook.I help put out the place settings and set the food on the dining room table: chicken, bacon, biscuits and a mix of random vegetables that don’t look like they belong together. I soon figured out Ryan put that unusual ensemble together for me, the human. “I’ve heard not all humans eat meat,” he explained.Rita wanted to eat outside to get some fresh air, but Ryan pointed out that we would be discussing delicate matters and shouldn’t be outside where just anyone could get wind of the situation. Alex agreed, so we each took a seat and filled a plate.As we eat, with me being the only one to touch the vegetable mix, they discuss events as we know them. No one seems to understand why I’m a factor in the rogue upset, much less me. No one knows for sure whether this is a coordinated effort against the Ayzena pack, or if the

At first, I don’t want to touch him; I don’t know what’s wrong and I don’t want to make it worse. I kneel beside him. “What’s wrong?” Ohhhh…“Ahhh…” is his only reply.His breathing becomes erratic. I sit on my knees and scoop his head into my lap, lightly touching his hair, afraid to touch him anywhere else.“Sssomeone—help!” I cry out, but my voice cracks.Alex’s eyes are closed tight and he’s taking great pains to steady his breathing. “Owww…” he moans, still grabbing his stomach.“I don’t… Don’t know what to do…”I look back at the door to the house but no one’s coming. I’m afraid no one heard me.“I’m going. To get help,” I tell him as I move to lift his head off my thighs.Alex grabs my wrists. “No,” he moans. “Just wait.”My eyes start to tear up. It breaks me to see him—my strength—this way…in this much pain. “What isss it?”“I don’t know. The pain…just…came out of nowhere.”We sit like that for moments. He is eventually able to unfurl as the pain subsides. As his breathing st

It felt like it took forever to fall asleep, but I don’t know that I’ve ever slept so well! I dreamed of Alex. I don’t remember much other than that, except that we weren’t here, he wasn’t a werewolf, and we were happy.I slept with him behind me all night, wrapped around me like a security blanket, and it was wonderful.Now I’m awake before him. I roll onto my back so I can admire him. He is still sound asleep, and his face is angelic. No hint of beast or temper.No hint of pain, either.A sound down the hall startles me and catches my attention. I don’t want anyone to know I slept on the couch with Alex, so I gently slip off, careful not to wake him, and with great caution and finesse soundlessly make my way back down the hall to my room.Only I know everyone probably heard me, and when I close the door, I stand on the inside for a moment, my ear against it, listening for anyone else. It would be great to have werewolf hearing, I think to myself. It really sucks that I’m the only on