In My Eyes

Chapter 2

"Falling in love is very real, but I used to shake my head when people talked about soul mates, poor deluded individuals grasping at some supernatural ideal not intended for mortals but sounded pretty in a poetry book. Then, we met, and everything changed, the cynic has become the converted, the skeptic, an ardent zealot."
- E. A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly

Chapter 2

It was bright and early when I awoke the next morning. The same humidity touched my skin, the sun shone through the windows, and the birds chirped. It was peaceful outside, but inside, I was feeling like a bomb ready to explode.

Before I went to bed last night, I had decided that I would talk to someone. It took me a while to decide who to talk to.

I could tell one of my teachers or a student counselor about what was happening, but most of the teachers in our school were werewolves and answered to my father and the Alpha. And then I thought maybe the police could help, but the police were humans and had no idea what werewolf laws were like and our pack would never let their children be taken into human custody.

The only real option left was to talk to the Alpha about the situation.

And I was extremely nervous to even contemplate this option.

My father and Alpha Peter had been best friends since childhood, connected by that Alpha-Beta bond. They knew each other well and were close confidants to each other - though I strongly doubted he would ever utter a word about what happened in this house.

If I did go to the Alpha about this, how did I know that he would believe me? He could easily take my father's word against mine and banish me from the pack instead, leaving Nathan behind to deal with our father.

I battled with this thought for hours before deciding that I would have to. Either I got banished or I would die, whether by my father's hands or my own; or he would believe me and help my brother and me.

I didn't know exactly when I was going to do it, but I knew that I needed to do it sometime this week.

I got out of bed and went through my normal routine of showering, brushing my teeth, and getting dressed. Today I adorned a new pair of mom jeans, a thin military green long sleeve, and a pair of black converse.

After I finished dressing, I noticed the throbbing pain in my arm again. I walked to the bathroom and unwrapped the bandage around my arm and I huffed with frustration.

The burns hadn't even scabbed over yet. Given that I was a werewolf, I should have stellar health and I should heal from wounds quickly. But because I was told to restrict my meals, I didn't have enough energy most of the time to heal properly, hence why my ribs were still bruised and aching two days later.

I wrapped my arm with a new bandage and walked downstairs to make breakfast.

Nathan was already sitting at the counter eating breakfast and I was about to join him by pouring myself a bowl of cereal when I felt a hand wrap around my wrist, stopping me from reaching for a box of rice squares. I turned and saw my father standing next to me.

"No eating today," he said.

"But," I began to exclaim.

He pressed his thumb against the burn on my wrist and I whimpered in pain.

"No. Eating." He growled out and I cowered back, nodding.

He released my wrist and I walked over to the stove and started making his breakfast. I placed the plate in front of him and poured him a cup of coffee.