Alone - In Spirit

CHP 6

That night Xera and Vanessa stopped by the dorm I shared with Artemis. All three of them demanded the details and Artemis eventually noticed the bruise on my neck.
My breath hitched when he asked what it was, and I shrugged quietly.
He didn't push but he looked... infuriated.

Soon enough the full moon rolled around, and Artemis found me just after I'd shifted. If I'd waited a few seconds longer he would've seen me shift, it was a really close call.
I was taken aback as he stormed towards me, glaring.
"I've been patient with you- even when you hurt me, I was patient."
What is he talking about?
My inner wolf growled.
"But you've gone too far hurting my friend."
Xera shouted at him to stop as I took steps back to keep a distance between us. Artemis' eyes were glowing green with fury, and I was scared he was going to curse me.
In fact, he did curse me, but I was able to sprint away before it took effect.

He used a spell to force me into my human form for the rest of the night, so I stayed alone in a dark cave where they wouldn't find me, crying as my body demanded something impossible, and trying to be quiet as pain shook me from my core. The moon was commanding me to shift, the spell was keeping me from it.

I didn't get any sleep that night.

The next morning, I was exhausted and still a little achy as I forced myself into my room through my window. I'd barely spent five minutes in bed when my alarm clock went off, reminding me that I had school.
The worst part, I reflected as I made my way to the cafeteria for breakfast, was that he'd never apologize for it. Even after seeing the culprit face to face, he still believed it was me. Of course, I wasn't permitted to show myself to him, and I didn't want to.
I bit back a whimper as someone shoved me aside, still tender from the morning, and kept my head low as I grabbed a carton of milk. I wasn't particularly hungry.

Life went on, I avoided isolated places where I could run into the werewolf and made it to class early, so I was always with a crowd. I was quiet during lunch and after classes, usually just heading straight for my bed. For the remaining two nights of the full moon, I went to a part of the forest that was closer to where Felicity's house was, away from Artemis and the others.
Artemis was worried for me, but my inner wolf was bitter at him, so I ignored him for the most part.
This went on until thanksgiving break.

I spent the first night of my break from school in Felicity's basement.
Unusually, I was relieved to be back to the normal, and I never thought I'd say that. 

I sat quietly against the wall of the cold, dark room, and stared out the miniature window that acted as a sort of vent to let in fresh, colder air. I was used to the low temperatures.
Sometime in the early morning Felicity came down and released me to take care of my chores. Based on the smell, her husband had already left for work and Jax wasn't awake yet.
I wasn't allowed to see either of them.
After scrubbing the entire house, I stopped to lean back against the wall and catch my breath. I was running on pure adrenaline, hoping my body wouldn't reprimand me too sharply for all the physical labor I was typically accustomed to.
I knew it was optimism, and that never got me anywhere, but it was worth a shot. In the meantime, I went to ask Mrs. Felicity what else needed cleaning.

The day after thanksgiving, Mrs. Felicity announced that we'd have two guests joining us in the afternoon.
As always, it was my job to prepare for guests, so I started brewing some tea before I worked on cleaning. Everything had to be perfect or... I'd get hurt later.
Around 12:30, there was a knock at the door. I was about to answer it, but Mrs. Felicity shooed me away and greeted the guests herself. I retreated to the kitchen while she exchanged pleasantries with the guests.

"Artemis, would you do me a favor and serve us some tea?"
I froze.
Artemis.
What?
Wait, tea? That's where I am.

I could hear him getting closer. My friend.
I growled at myself internally.

I don't have any friends.

Who would be friends with a monster?