WEREWOLVES NO.1 || Unchained ✔️

28; trying to be normal ...

Saturday morning. otherwise known as the aftermath of crashing Jessica Peterson's party. also otherwise known as growing claws and hairy hands and arms with the risk of everyone seeing it.

yep, that's how one could tell that life definitely wasn't normal anymore.

Rhi yawned and stretched in her bed, suddenly catching a whiff of bacon with her enhanced sense of smell. she could also smell the coffee, although it hadn't even brewed yet. all the more reason to get up and go get some.

fortunately, Rhi wasn't feeling any regrets about last night OR the classic hangover this morning... unlike the last time she had been to a party all those weeks ago.

she walked downstairs and greeted all the delicious smells that came her way as she walked into the kitchen. the bacon was still sizzling on the pan, the coffee was just now brewing, and now there were chocolate chip waffles being made. "hey mom."

"good morning sweetie. did you sleep well last night after your party? how was it by the way?" Jenny still tended to breakfast as she spoke— and what was this? she was pulling out HASHBROWNS now? oh hell yes— with one hand on her hip and the other holding a spatula.

"oh, it was great. way better than the other party that Amber and i went to." Rhi was now making herself some coffee, suddenly thankful for the caffeine that now flowed through her veins.

Jenny nodded once. "good, good... well i'm glad you had an awesome time. of course when i picked you and Amber up last night, you two were practically full of energy."

Rhi hadn't been drunk to forget the ride home last night; unlike last time; but she still couldn't remember waiting for Blake to pick them up and take them back to his house for Rhi's mom to arrive. which was still kinda weird that they couldn't just let Jenny drop off and pick them up at Jessica's house.

gee, she really hoped she would remember the next car ride home the next time they'd have to go to a party.

"so what are your plans for today, hon?" Jenny was almost done with breakfast, and Rhi continued to sip on her coffee. "uh, i'm not sure. i honestly wasn't planning on doing much this weekend... but i'm still up for options because it's only Saturday morning."

"right... well, i was going to run some errands today, and one of those errands will be at the mall, so that's why i was curious. would you like to come with me?"

Rhi instantly thought of the overwhelming tide of smells from last time, and she visibly shivered. thank God her mom's back was turned. "oh uh.. no thanks, that's ok. thank you for offering, though?" she took another long sip of coffee.

the sun's rays were really turning the kitchen into a golden disco, with the walls turning bright yellow and the sun having spilled out onto the floor. it was always too beautiful to miss out on by waking up earlier on weekends. and waking up for freshly made bacon and coffee also bear sleeping in late.

"soup's on!" Jenny announced, sliding a plate full of soft bacon, hash browns, and chocolate chip waffles over to Rhi. she really wanted to save the bacon for last to bless her future self, but no, her present self wanted to eat the bacon now. after devouring that, she tore into the hash browns and got into the waffles not too long after that. Jenny didn't even get to sit down yet before Rhi polished off her plate and took it to the sink. "wow, someone sure was hungry."

"yep, it's like ever since i reverted back to eating like a normal person, i've been eating a heck of a lot more than i usually do." or it could be because of my newfangled werewolf appetite, but eh, we can talk about that later.

"oh yeah, how's that going by the way? you were a vegan for about 1 or 2 years. i can't remember." Jenny was eating her bacon much slower than Rhi had, and her mouth started watering. she had to turn her back so her mom wouldn't see. "it's been better. like i said, that whole thing must've been a long-term phase." Rhi found two extra pieces of bacon by the stove and ate those up, but of course her stomach was still growling after that. "well, i'm going back up to my room to get dressed for the day. thank you for breakfast."

she hurriedly washed her dishes and then instead of going upstairs to her room, she snuck into the basement and made sure to close and lock the door with a key that she had found several days earlier. very useful for times when she didn't want her mom looking into the basement and finding a ginormous cooler full of raw, packaged meat.

and also useful for keeping Rhi's wolfish secret.

as soon as she locked the door, she crept into the basement and tore into the cold and refreshing meat, every bite like a bloody and delicious dream. of course that feeling never got old every time Rhi came in here to gorge, so it was always heaven.

after 30 minutes, Rhi snuck out of the basement again and locked the door behind her, walking back up the stairs to go to her room for real. it wasn't as chilly today in Moondale, thankfully, so Rhi decided to go with a t-shirt that just barely touched the knees, and some comfy leggings.

meanwhile, on Instagram, Amber was raving to all her followers about how the two of them had 'crashed' Jessica's party last night, even giving off hints that Rhi had been about to punch Jessica's face in. Rhi almost wished that she had punched that girl's face in, since she had totally deserved it by being smug about her money and popular status, and also claiming that Rhi was a total homebody on weekends. so annoying.

and Rhi was also proud that she had stood up for herself in front of Jessica, gaining a weird amount of courage to stand up to the snarky princess. it had been a wild night.

after scrolling through Insta, Rhi put the phone down and, for the hundredth time, looked at the white steak in her hair. it was kinda pretty the more she looked at it, and looked really good with the dark brown of the rest of her hair. to this day she still wondered how she had gotten it and why it was there, but she had stopped questioning it for a while because it just became... normal, supposedly.

"i seriously don't know what to do with you," Rhi told her reflection. "you're a total werewolf, you have been one for weeks now, and you totally almost wolfed out last night at some snobby girl's party. plus you like talking to yourself because you think it'll help your case." suddenly, she felt something swell up beneath her ribs, and gasped as she got the mental sensation of something else occupying her mind. it's you again, she told her wolf. of course you're here.

and that would probably be the first time Rhi had ever communicated to her wolf in her head.

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the rest of the day dragged on after Rhi finally got out of her room and decided to take a walk in the neighborhood. she watched in fascination as all the animals ran away from her in pure terror, even dogs. she had expected them to smell her and maybe think of her as one of their own, but no, they thought she was a pure predator. which actually wasn't totally wrong, but it still hurt to see dogs running away from her now instead of barking at her or coming up to greet her and be friendly.

she used to be a literal dog princess, but now she guessed she had been dethroned.

and of course now squirrels thought she was a literal she-devil, even more scared of her now than when she had been a human.

a fresh breeze rolled in through town, bringing in the scents of food, people, objects, and even the cold air and rivers brought down from the mountains. only the wilder smells grew appealing to Rhi, so she steered herself into the direction of the forest and found herself walking through the trees and undergrowth. she used to hate walking in the forest because everything was too dark and close together, but the moment Rhi became a werewolf, she had found a new love for the forest. it was almost like a second home to her, and the wolf within enjoyed it way too much.

after nearly an hour of walking, Rhi came across a cliff that overlooked the entire wilderness beyond Moondale. there were trees that stretched on for countless miles to the mountains, with their snow tipped peaks promising a freezing and harsh lifestyle. Rhi's sense of smell was so powerful that she could smell the faraway ice and snow, her nostrils flaring as she caught it on the breeze. she sat down and let her feet dangle over the edge of the cliff, sighing contentedly as she basked in the quiet solitude of the wilderness.

all until she smelled a bear approaching.