The Lycan

Chapter 12

Nero jerked up from his sleep with sharp breathes. Another one of those dreams. He had been having these strange, sometimes disturbing dreams for the past month. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He turned his head to the window; he was surprised that he slept through the night. It must have been the bed he slept in, as he never really slept in a real bed before.

He stood up from the bed and stretched with a quiet yawn. Cracking his neck, he picked up a smell. He didn't know what it was. He could determine it was coming from downstairs, so he headed down to the living room. Across the living room he could see Katie behind the counter that separated it from the kitchen.

"Morning, Nero!" Katie greeted cheerfully. She had a plate of pancakes in her hand and set it down on the table, butter and syrup melting off of them. "Is this your first time trying pancakes?"

"Pancakes?" Nero repeated, curious. He sat down at the table and examined the plate in front of him. He couldn't deny that it smelled delightful. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! C'mon, I think you're gonna love them," Katie sat down with her own plate. "My mom back in New York would make this for breakfast every weekend when I was little."

"New York?"

"Yeah! Oh, um, New York is a state I used to live in. It's kinda far from here, but I managed to move maybe a few months ago." She took a bite of her pancakes. "I love New York but it's kinda loud and crowded over there, I don't think you'd be a big fan of it. It's a city, and there aren't a whole lot of forests there. Take a bite." She gestured to the pancakes in front of Nero.

Nero hesitated for a moment, but he picked up the fork and took a bite. Katie watched eagerly.

"So?" She asked, a funny look of anticipation on her face.

"It's good," Nero said. "Thank you."

"Yes...!" Katie whispered as she pumped her fist. "Hold on." She got up from her chair and took a cup of coffee from the counter and handed it to the werewolf. "It's hot so be careful."

Nero stared into the cup of coffee. He wrinkled his nose slightly at the smell, but took a sip anyway. He immediately spit it back into the cup, coughing.

"You okay?" Katie said, not being able to help but chuckle a little. Seeing her, Nero couldn't help but join in.

"How did they drink this at the lab?" He asked humorously.

"Sorry. Would you like chai tea instead?"

"If that's okay, yes please."

For the rest of the month, the bond between the three of them would deepen, with Katie and Matthew sharing their world with Nero, and Nero sharing his in return. Katie would have numerous sketches from the trees to the waterfalls, to Matthew and Nero themselves.

...

It was the third week of August. Nero sat in the car, fidgeting restlessly. He couldn't believe he agreed to this. Matthew had invited him to an outing to see something called the pier.

It wasn't the fact he was going to a place he's never been that worried him the most. Another month would mean another full moon. And it was tonight. Matthew and Katie had somehow convinced him that everything would be alright, that there was a wooded area nearby where the pier was so he could change. He denied the offer multiple times, but he'd eventually caved in.

Matthew opened the car door, and sat in the driver's seat next to him. "Okay," he said. "You ready?"

Nero hesitantly nodded.

"I told you Nero, it's gonna be fine. Trust me, you're gonna love it. It looks the best on the night of a full moon, and there's a forest right across from it, so you could go right in there when you need to. Is your seatbelt on?"

"Yes," Nero took a deep breath. "Okay, we can go."

Matthew started the car and they were off. Nero did his best to reassure himself. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. At least he'd be able to spend time with Matthew.