Among The Wolves

Questions

I was silent the rest of the way to the room that I was more familiar with although I hardly remembered the trek there. It seemed like my mind stopped functioning. I did not know what to think. By the time I sat down and lifted my legs up onto the bed I was able to start rationalizing things.  How did this happen? What now?

Physically, I felt no different so the concept of being horrified about it seemed wrong. What did even being a werewolf entail? Would I grow a tail? That concept did seem a bit unsettling.

Uncertain of anything. I quickly concluded that it was no use crying over my losses. What was done was done and my goal was unchanged. I still needed to go home.

As thoughts of escape entered my head so did anxiety about having to relearn everything. It would be so long! At the same time a hum thrummed in my veins. As if I had coffee with one too many espresso shots. I recognized this. Last time it happened it migrated into the worst headache I had ever known. Afraid that it would happen again I did my best to ignore the hum as I was reminded of another question. “Ty'Mee,” the black haired theta looked up from my ankle. “I notice a weird feeling, like a buzzing, I assume that it is connected to being a werewolf?”

Ty'Mee stood up straighter, her vibrant eyes narrowed. After a second, she looked back at me. “If you haven't ever experienced it, then yes, but I am perplexed.”

“Do you guys have that happen when you shift?”

“Well, no.”

I thought of the weird voice that came out of my mouth before the supposed shifting. “Is your wolf separate from you?” I asked.

Ty'Mee smiled widely,  “Shifting is like moving a leg, muscle memory. The wolf is not separate; we share the same body, the same blood, and DNA. We cohesively use the same muscles and feelings. My wolf is not a different entity. Just our cells have the ability to adjust based on the circumstances. Isn't that just amazing?”

My hand went up to rub the scar on my shoulder, as I was not entirely satisfied with the answer. “What is perplexing you then?”

Ty'Mee sat on the bed next to my leg. I could see her gears turning. “I've taken so many blood samples from you in the past eight months...”

My mouth fell, Eight months? I looked away from Ty'Mee. Eight months, gone?

Grandma surely had passed away by now. But what about Toulinska? What had happened to her? With tears pricking the back of my eyes I forced a swallow and redirected my attention to the talking doctor. “...your blood and the variant… or the venom from the attack is like a parasite or a virus in your system. It's a different entity that is using your DNA. It can work with or against you.”

“That means a cure is possible.” I was excited to hear about this. If the werewolf was different from me then it could be eliminated.

“Not anymore.” Ty’Mee showed off her pearly whites with an awkward smile.

I frowned as my excitement fell face forward into a black hole, the prospect of more discouraging news made my face fall. “Please explain.”

“Right before the attack you were 100% human. When the venom entered your system, it attached to your cells like an extra, foreign powerhouse.”

“The mitochondria?”

“Yes! Like an extra mitochondria. Oh sweetie, you are so smart! Now, your cells were still human, and that is when a cure would have been possible. But if your human cell died the foreign powerhouse rejuvenated the cell around itself. This makes your cells able to shift. Thus making you a werewolf. So the cell still has your DNA but technically not your mitochondria. Yet, when I do genetic testing, you still come out as human. The science is weird with you. Nonetheless, fascinating.