Wolves of Alverton

Chapter 9

The sounds of the boys running to my aid sounded like distant echoes in my ears. Once I regained consciousness, I looked around weakly. I noticed that I was laying on a bench next to the volleyball court, and that my head was in Jet's lap. I began to slowly sit up, but I flinched as another sharp pain hit my head even harder than before. Jet glared at me and began to talk. "I knew you were fucking lying earlier," he said with a stern but concerned tone. The pain dissipated, and I was able to feebly look around. Austin and Samir were sitting on the ground in front of me. I looked at Jet, and he had a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked. No one responded. I looked at the boys but no one said a word. They just stared. I looked at Jet again and he began to talk.

"We aren't sure what exactly is going on, but we think it might be linked to your first transformation." I stared at him longer. Austin and Samir moved to a crouching position and looked at me. "Remember that headache you had this morning?"

"Yes. I told you, it's nothing. Really," I persisted. I've had headaches before, but I could tell something was different.

"No, Brooke, it is something. But usually it isn't this bad. What did you do after you took a nap?" asked Jet. I sat back for a moment to think. The headaches had filled my head with a high-pitched ringing, and I was having a hard time recalling details from earlier.

"Well, I ate some food and talked to Mrs. Davenport about why I haven't brought my friends around," I began. Most of the details were still there, but some things were fuzzy static in my head.

"You told her about us?" asked Jet.

"No. I didn't say anything about you guys. She asked me why I haven't had any friends over, and I told her I wasn't comfortable since they weren't my "official" family." Even just thinking about it made me sad again. The boys could never fully understand what I was going through.

"That shouldn't have triggered a reaction this bad. What did you do after that?" Jet asked calmly.

"Well I was upset, so I went to my room. That's when you texted me. After you texted me, I had another headache, so I took some Advil," I explained. The boys' expressions changed almost instantaneously, and they looked slightly alarmed. Jet grabbed my arms and examined them closely. Then he placed his right hand on the side of my head and stared into my eyes. When he let go another headache hit me, so I grabbed onto my head and groaned. The boys grabbed a hold of me and desperately told me to snap out of it. I had my eyes closed and hadn't noticed that I had been moved to the ground. When I opened my eyes, I was shaking. The headaches were getting worse with each wave. I whimpered softly and felt warm arms embrace me. The waves of calm and comfort slowly coursed through my veins. I realized that I was sitting in Austin's lap. Samir placed a hand on my leg to try and combine his energy with Austin's to help me calm down. Jet had his arms folded, and waited patiently for me to stop shaking.

"Wolfies aren't supposed to take medications of any kind, or it will make the symptoms worse. The headaches should wear off in a few days, but they are the least of our concerns." I slowly snuggled up into Austin's embrace, and stopped whimpering. "You have to handle these symptoms without medication. For now, we need to focus on keeping you calm and stress free." I looked at Jet and felt a sudden surge of anger course through my veins. I snapped and charged for him. Austin grabbed ahold of my arms without hesitation, and Samir grabbed my legs.

"I thought you said it was painless, you fucking liar!" I shouted. I could feel my rage building with each passing second.

"This isn't calm, Brooke," Jet said calmly. Austin and Samir pinned me down as I erupted into a fit of rage. Then I felt a warm breath as I heard Austin whisper something in my ear.

"Tame it." I felt the anger slowly ebb from my system as I gained control of my emotions. I calmed down enough to the point where I was allowed to sit in his lap again. Jet got down on my level and stared at me. He maintained his calm demeanor while also giving off an air of confidence.

"Brooke, I need you to listen to me. I'm just going to be honest here and tell you that these next few weeks are going to suck ass. I know that I told you it's painless, but I was referring to the actual transformation. The process leading up to your first one can be extremely painful, and there will only be so much that we will be able to do when it comes to providing comfort and bringing you out of your distressed state," he said. I stared at him and said nothing. How was I supposed to be stress-free for three weeks? If I slipped up and showed even a part of my wolf-self to the Davenports, I would be out of there before I could blink. "You are more than welcome to stay with one of us for a while until the full moon. Our parents can discuss it with the Davenports, and we can make sure you are in a safe, controlled environment. The more access you have to other wolfies, the better your next few weeks will be," said Jet. I continued to stare. It felt as though all the emotions had been drained from my body. I felt Austin pull me closer to him. I could tell he was attempting to use any part of his wolf-self to calm me down. I knew if I left the Davenports, there was a high chance they would become suspicious. I sat with my thoughts a little longer before speaking.

"What's your plan, Jet?" I uttered. Even though the Davenports might be wary of my absence, I knew that it wouldn't be safe for me to stay there. I didn't even know if I could leave, because of the legal ramifications surrounding my foster and adoption process. Jet grinned and began to speak.

"Well, something you don't know is that our families all live next door to each other. You pick who you want to stay with, and we can all easily get to you if something goes wrong." I looked around at each of the boys and tried to decide who I wanted to stay with.

"What are you going to tell the Davenports? What about the legal issues of removing me from a potential adoption placement?" I asked.

"The plan is to send over one of our parents and tell them that you are going to a music camp for a while along with your fellow classmates. We even have a fake brochure and website that solidifies your cover. As for the legal side, it's not like you're going to live with another family. You also wouldn't be leaving the state. The lie is based on the idea that you are going to a camp. I'm pretty sure you are at least allowed to do that much without the Davenports being your legal guardians." I snuggled back up with Austin before I spoke again.

"Okay. I just wish it didn't have to be this way."

"We all wish it didn't have to be like this," said Samir.

"The world isn't a perfect place, and our kind wouldn't be accepted in society as equals. People are afraid of what they don't understand. Based on past experiences, humans don't handle the discovery well. It's just not safe for us to be out in the open," said Jet. I nodded in understanding. "So, who will you be staying with?" I looked at each of the boys and wrapped my arms around Austin. "You want to stay with Austin's family?" asked Jet. I nodded silently. "Alright. For now, you should go home. We will swing by later to pick you up." After Jet finished talking, everyone embraced me. The warmth and peace their combined energy gave off was intense. I was a little confused how there could be times where their energy wouldn't be enough to bring me back if I was distressed, but I guess a pre-transformation is more powerful than their energy can handle. They helped me get up and walked me to the country club entrance. They waved goodbye, and I walked home.