Lifeline

18. Turning

Third Person POV

Jay drove faster than the speed limit as they rushed to the institute.

Not that this was an issue, they were glamoured so that mundanes couldn't see them. Still, he drove so fast that it made Astra's body feel weird when she leaned forward. She stayed against her seat, disliking the feeling. This is what told her Jay was speeding, she didn't know by just looking for that. The reason for this was that there had been little time to look forward between glancing at the back seat every second.

At this point, Astra was regretting sitting up front, rather then in the back with the boy 'Hunter Clement'. She wished she and Jane were reversed right now - that she was back there with that poor mundane boy (or rather, lycanthrope now). She wished she was back there because, for some reason, she cared a lot about this, and was very worried. As soon as they got to the institute, Jay swerved the car to a stop, and Astra was jumping out of the car before Jay could even get the keys out, and she opened the door to him. She activated her strength rune again, and as she had done before to get him in the car, put her arms under his knees and back, lifting him easily.

After everyone else was out, the car kept moving. Probably going to park, she thought somewhere in the back of her head. The main part of her brain, though, was completely focussed on her running towards the doors to get the guy contained. Jane was already there, holding open the doors for her.

"ACH!" Hunter let out a scream of pain, and there was an audible crack! Astra winced as she glanced down, seeing his calf looking unnaturally shapen.

"It's happening!" Jane yelled as they ran through the halls of the institute. "You don't think I know that!" Astra snapped. They reached the door to the room where they contained threats, and Jane opened it. They kept hearing sickening cracks and noises as Hunter screamed and changed, looking less and less human as his first change into a wolf continued to mishape his body.

The room was large, and though they had never called it that, it looked rather like a dungeon. It was a big cold room made of stone, with pillars that had shackles built into them.

"If we use chains, remember to go iron, not silver. We don't wanna give this guy any scars." Jay, who had just caught up to them said. Before Astra could formulate a response, Hunter thrashed in her arms and fell to the ground, leaving her with her arms flailing from her failed attempt to catch him.

"No time. Besides, he isn't dangerous, he's just in a lot of pain. Also, when you guys found me, the chains really hurt, and I didn't need that with everything else that was happening and all the other pain." Jane replied to Jay, her eyes on Hunter with a gaze if complete sympathy. A flash of guilt overtook Jay's face.

"Jane, I'm so-"

"SAVE IT! We need to leave, NOW!" Astra screamed at the two. There was no time for this right now, Hunter was almost full wolf now. Astra grabbed Jay and Jane's hands and dragged them out of the room, closing and locking the door on their way out.

***

"What is going on!?"

Astra, Jay, and Jane all looked up to see Aunt Katy standing there with Amelia at her side. Aunt Katy was holding little Amelia's hand as the toddler figited and looked around. When her gaze landed on Astra, she tilted her head.

"Why you sweaty Mama?"

"Uh-" Astra looked up at Aunt Katy. "We... Jane found a um..." Aunt Katy raised her eyebrow at Astra, who didn't usually stutter.

"There's a werewolf... we found him right after he was scratched." Understanding passed over Aunt Katy, and they both glaced at Amelia. While the guy was not at fault, not in control, and most likely not a bad person, he was unaware of his surroundings. While they were more than capable of handling this, Amelia was only a kid, and they all wanted to make sure she was safe.

Astra walked ove to her daughter and knelt to be eye level.

"Hey sweetie, do you wanna hang out with Aunt Katy and Uncle Ricardo right now?"

Aunt Katy and Ricardo had been on and off from before Astra had even come to the institute (though they were off at the moment she had arrived). While they weren't married, he had been such a consistent factor in Astra's life that he was basically her uncle. He had his own apartment away from the vampire den, and worked night shifts for a construction company. Also, since Astra and Jay's parents lived in Idris since they she was fifteen (ad Jay was sixteen), and they hadn't been since Astra decided to keep Amelia, Katy and Ricardo were basically her grandparents, and Jane and Jay were her godparents.

Amelia loved Ricardo. He was always really good with her, and she loved going to his place. While Katy took out her phone to text Ricardo and tell him her and Amelia were coning over, Amelia's eyes widened with excitement.

"YES! Yes, yes, yes!" She grinned widely, showing off a missing front tooth as she jumped up and down. Aunt Katy looked at her niece.

"You'll need to get him food, their always really hungry after turning the first time."

Astra nodded. "That's a good idea. You want me to drop you off?"

"Good idea. Let's go."

Astra turned as Jay threw her the keys, catching them in midair as she rushed Aunt Katy out the door with her daughter.

Sorry this took so long, it's been a bit crazy. I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you next time! <3

-Kaylee