the girl who cried wolf|Wattys 2015

the girl who cried wolf: thirteen

thirteen: forming ties

"Lucy, think about what you're doing." Mason said. I was thinking, I had thought about it as much as I could within the hour. It was a rash decision and maybe a bit irresponsible , but I knew that it would, in the end, protect my family as best as I could. If I wanted them to believe me, I had to change in front of them.

Of course, this proved difficult. I had never shifted on my own and shifting earlier was completely a shock and involuntary. Forcing my body to go through the act again was hard. My eyes were closed tightly, my face all pinched as I focused on changing, but I couldn't. no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't.

"Lucy. We will forget about this foolishness. We'll just take you home and forget all about this, put it all behind us."

"No!" I yelled. "We can't put any of this behind us because we're in danger. This whole town is in danger and it needs me, it needs us to help protect it." As I became angrier I recalled the memory of the conversation I'd had with Analise and Mason and the others. Emotions. Emotions fueled change, anger was the strongest of all. If I could channel that anger, the anger of fear and Lyus then I could shift. "I can't hide who I am. I'd be lying." I whispered as my hands balled tight into fists. "Believe me. this is the right thing to do." The same fire that lit in me when I saw Lyus was alit once more and I could feel it growing inside of me like a great big snowball as it steadily rolled down a hill.

I was ready for the pain, the uneasy jolt in my stomach and the creepy crawly feeling as my body shredded its human nature and became a beast. In a fluid motion, there was the sharp sound of my clothes ripping and the floorboards beneath my feet creaking at the weight of my body.

Staring up through different eyes I could see my parents faces: the shock on my father's and the fear etched so clearly in my mother's eyes before they fluttered close and she came falling to the ground.

__________________________________

"That was a stupid thing to do! Do you realize the danger she has put us in?" Analise yelled. I stood outside while she and Mason battled over me. After Mom's fainting spell, the others took her up to a room where my father stayed at her side. They were guarding the door to make sure my parents and Marcus didn't leave.

"She had to do it! Do you really think they would let me out of the house after what happened tonight? This was the only way to be sure that she didn't hurt them. She has to be out there to find Lyus and kill him. This was the only way."

"Whatever Lyus is planning will fall through. He will tie of this town and move on somewhere else. I can't let Lucy risk the fate of my own pack. Who knows who will come after us if her parents or Marcus lets something spilt. She's stupid" Analise retorted.

"That's enough!" Mason's growl seemed to shake the door off its hinges.

" Just because you've some sick and uncontrollable desire over her means nothing! She's a monster, like Lyus and we should just get rid of her and leave. We can't save these people and you know it Lyus and his pack are stronger than us. we weren't born to fight."

"But we were taught to protect at all costs. These human lives mean just as much as ours and it is up to us to make sure Lyus doesn't ruin that. He's killed before, they all have and all they want is to take over this town and hunt on poor innocent people. Can you live with yourself if the trail you leave is a bloody one Analise?"

I was distracted by the conversation at the sound of someone coming down the stairs. Looking over my shoulder I found Chandler with his hand locked to Marcus' arm.

"He wants to talk to you." Chandler said. My lip pulled up again. As if threatened by an enemy I could feel my body readying for defense. Marcus wasn't my enemy, but now I couldn't even correctly file him as an ally or a friend.

"Fine." I stated. Marcus walked down the stairs and together we headed into a separate room. I was upset, angry about what Analise was saying and the fact that things were still a bit screwed up. not to mention, the fact this was all my fault.

"What do you have to say that's so important? I'm finally the wolf girl you've been talking about all this time. I'm a freak, a dangerous one."

"I couldn't believe what I saw. I needed to know if it was true o not."

"Why? Why does it matter? Why couldn't you just forget and go along with your life. It's easier, not knowing about any of this."

"Is what you said about that wolf, that Lyus guy true?"

"So what if it is. Right now, we are defeated and separate and if we don't men the tie between us all there's o way we can even put a minor stop to Lyus."

"If I tell my father about these wolves, he can rally up a team and he can-"

"That won't be good enough. They kill humans Marcus. It is up to people like us, special people to go after him."

"You can die." I hadn't been looking at him until that point and I could see in his eyes that he was scared. But it wasn't a fear of me, but for me. "Why risk your life for us? why not ask for help? There are more of us than them and if we band together we can put a stop to them."

"This isn't your battle. This isn't your fight. It's us against those things."

"No." Marcus said, his hand reaching out to press against my cheek, forcing me to continue to look at him. "I became involved the minute I saw that beast and the minute you became anything but human in front of me. There are people in this town I care about and I want to help stop them."

"Well. That's just the two of us." I muttered, nearly speechless.

"Plus one more." Mason now stood in the doorway. "The others might not want the trouble, but I can't allow you to fight solo. I'm on your side Lucy."

So this was it. Marcus, Mason, and I - putting our lives on the line. Things had just become real, real fast.