"Athena. Honey, it's time to get up." My mom shakes my shoulder gently. I groan, rubbing my eyes.
"Mom, it's like 9 in the morning. I'm gonna be late for school."
"You aren't going to school today. Your dad and I need to talk to you about some things." I look at her confused. I feel like crap, so missing school is a good thing today. I feel cold and shakey and a bit nauseated.
"Why do I feel so horrible?"
"Well, you just turned 13, so we owe you an explanation." My dad says while sitting on my vanity chair.
"An explanation of what? Puberty?" I quip.
"Sort of. You see, tonight is a full moon, and your mom and I, we're werewolves, and so are you." I laugh at their ridiculous explanation.
"You're crazy. There's no such thing as werewolves."
"You feel cold, shakey, and like you're gonna throw up, right? That's normal. This is the first time you'll be turning into a wolf. And you'll feel this way every full moon for the rest of your life." I groan, flopping back onto my bed.
"First, I have to deal with a period every month. Now I have to turn into a wolf. What the hell is next?!" My mom blushes.
"Well, instead of periods, you're going to be going into heat. Until you turn 17 or 18 and imprint. Whoever you imprint on will probably be an Alpha. Alphas, like your dad and Omegas, like you and me, always end up being imprints." I look silently up at my mom. "Once you have imprinted, your heat will go from once a month until you get pregnant off of your imprint. Most wolves have two pups at once, but sometimes you'll only have one. And the imprint will be for life. So yes, most wolves end up as teen parents. Sometimes, there is an age gap, and the alpha doesn't imprint until the omega is 18. That way, your body is fully mature." That explains why they were fine with my brother getting a girl pregnant at 18.
"So, I want to make sure I understand this when the alpha imprints on me. Will I go into heat immediately? Or what happens?"
"I went into heat immediately. That's when your oldest brother was conceived."
"Ewwww! I don't wanna think about that." I bury my tomato red face in my hands. Granted, I have four older brothers, so I know how gross boys are. I don't want to think of my parents doing it.
"Rest, now. We have a long night ahead." My mom tucks me back into bed. They really woke me up to tell me some crackhead insane bullshit and then tell me to go back to bed. Maybe this was all just a fever dream. All my symptoms make sense if I'm sick. This is all just a dream. It has to be. Werewolves aren't real.
I wake back up around sundown. My skin feels tight, and I feel even hotter. At this point, my eyes are burning. I'm definitely sick. Just my luck, I turn 13, and my immune system goes to shit. My dad walks into my room. Wait, are his eyes gold? That's not right. His eyes are usually green. Those colors are nowhere near each other. I'm hallucinating.
"Come on, the later it gets, the closer you get to turning. And you don't want to be in your room when it happens, trust me." I listen to my dad and follow him into our backyard. Thankfully, where we live in Indiana is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I watch as my parents and brothers transform into large timber wolves. All of them have fur that matches their haircolor. My dad's is mainly gray with some black throughout it. I wonder what would happen if I dyed my hair? That would be cool, maybe I could be a rainbow! Or if I got it bleached, then my fur would be blonde? I feel a sharp pain shoot through my body as I transform into a slightly smaller wolf. I notice that each of my brothers has golden eyes just like our dad, and my mom has the prettiest blue eyes that contrast with her gray fur. I enjoy the wind blowing through my fur as we run through the forest, tracking some deer.
