Training Him

Chapter 1

Word Count: 1367

        When I was 12 years old, I knew I wanted to help people. My mom tried to convince me to become a nurse, so I could work on pack lands and have a steady job and steady income because , according to her, "Werewolves always need someone to help stitch them up and get them back to their full strength". Yes, werewolves do exist, no I am not a werewolf. I am human, but we all coexist peacefully. I have known about werewolves for my whole life, in fact, we (all the humans) are mandated to have a curriculum on them from the time that we're in fifth grade, all the way to eleventh grade. That's a lot of years to learn about them. They start by bringing us all into the auditorium, and there's always someone that volunteers to shift in front of us, which freaks us all out, but then they explain that everything is okay, and we have nothing to worry about. Yea, that's real great, just scare a bunch of fifth graders.

You see, werewolves have existed with humans since the late 1800s, when our leaders sat down with their leaders and decided it would be better to embrace the differences, rather than continue fighting. There are some hunters, or hitmen as I like to call them, who exist, but it is very rare that they attack unless they are paid to do so. I grew up in Ohio, but there were very few packs around where I lived. Most packs are further South, like in Virginia, Texas, Colorado, Arizona and westward. They tend not to go too far South, as they cannot handle the heat. And prefer to be up in the mountains.

Werewolves get their mates when they turn 20, and then a whole slew of events follows the finding of their mates. I tuned out during that part of the lesson, I mean who cares? The chances of me being mated to a werewolf are very slim as there are more werewolves than humans. When my mom told me to think about being a nurse, I considered it up until the year before my senior year. That year, I was in a car accident with my friends, and after that how could I be a nurse and help others, when I couldn't even help my own friends? There were six of us in the car, and only 4 survived. Although only 2 of us walked away with minor injuries. The other two weren't so lucky. Marcus, who ended up being a paraplegic, and Sarah, who lost her leg. Micah and I walked away after three days in the hospital. Sarah is my very best friend, and I went with her to every Physical Therapy appointment she had, because they said she needed someone to help motivate her. She lost Billy, her boyfriend, in the crash. He was crushed by the tree we hit, there was nothing to be done to save him. So every Tuesday and Thursday of Senior year, I would drive Sarah and I to the doctor and help her do her exercises. It was there I realized that this is what I was good at.

I applied to many colleges, both near and far, to become a Physical Therapist. I eventually got accepted to my top picks, University of Michigan, Michigan State, and Baylor University. I decided on University of Michigan, because it meant I could live at home with mom and save up some money for grad school. Luckily I was able to finish my undergrad in three years, and I went on to get my Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Duke. I'm two weeks away from graduating from Duke now, and I couldn't be more ecstatic. Especially since I am turning 22 tomorrow, I skipped a grade in elementary school and with saving a year of undergrad, I am younger than most of my peers.

"Yo, Charlie! You getting ready for tonight?" asks my extremely loud roommate, Gabe. I moved in with him after I showed up crying at the coffee shop he works at, and told him all my problems. I currently live with Gabe, Jessie, and Carter. I didn't realize how much I would grow to love these people when I first met them.

"Goodness Gabe you seriously don't need to shout, I am 6 feet away from you," I answer back.

"Okay but you didn't answer the question Charlie, are you getting ready?" he says, still talking very loud.

"Gabe I just need like 20 more minutes studying and then I swear I'll get ready!"

"Nope you've studied enough over the past four days, I mean on the last test you got a 104, the high was a 100. You're going to be fine for your final on Thursday!" Gabe grabs the book I was currently reading, and dropped it on the floor, picking me up cave-man style over his shoulder and throwing me onto my bed. "Now get ready," he says as he walks out of my room, not bothering to shut the door.

"You could at least shut the door you know!" I yell back at him as he walks into his room.

I grab my phone to play some music and settle on St. Vincent's song Los Angeles, then I look through my closet for something to wear. We're going out tonight since tomorrow is Sunday, and we all have finals on Monday. I pick out a cute A-line jean skirt, and pair it with a short sleeve black V-neck shirt. I quickly put on makeup, nothing much, just enough to look like I haven't been sleep deprived for the last two years. I straighten my medium brown shoulder length hair, and go to pick out shoes. I decided on my slip on vans, because honestly who needs heels?

Jessie comes into my room and says, "Damn girlfriend, you look hot! The guys at the club are going to have a hard time keeping their hands to themselves!" I laugh at this remark from her, and we go to get the guys to leave. As per usual, Gabe and Carter aren't even ready yet. They're playing Fortnite. Jessie walks over to Carter and kisses his cheek and tells him something that immediately makes him get up and go get dressed. Gabe looks up from his controller and smiles at me and then says, "You look nice Charlie, bunch of guys are going to notice that!" Gabe is my best friend, as he was the first person I met when I moved here. Soon enough the guys are ready and we head out to the club.

When we're walking into the club, I get an email on my phone and immediately start to read it.

"Dear Ms. Allen,

On behalf of Mr. Collins, I would like congratulate you on your job as our new Trainer and Physical Therapist. Mr. Collins would also like to invite you to one last interview, to iron out legal documents, your pay, where you will be living and other technical details. We are extremely excited to have you join the pack, and cannot wait for your arrival on May 4th. All the travel information will be sent to you soon by Jack, Mr. Collins' personal assistant.

Best Wishes,

Abraham Knight

Head of HR

The Grey Pack and Corporation"

I immediately scream, which makes all my friends turn to me, Gabe is the first to my side. "What's wrong Charlie? Is everything okay? Is it Joyce?" Gabe asks me.

"Oh my god I got the job with the Grey Pack as their Trainer and Physical Thera-" I stop mid-sentence, realizing what he said fully, "wait why are you concerned about my mom Gabe?" I finish.

"Because she's a lovely woman whom I adore," is his answer. I roll my eyes at this and then get into a group hug with my roommates, and with that we go into the club and proceed to get drunk and dance until our feet and legs are tired. Around 3 AM, Gabe gets us an Uber, and we get back to our apartment, where we all fall asleep after getting into bed.