The Realm of Question

Chapter 8

A werewolf. I had come across that before once while reading a book. If I do recall correctly, Remus Lupin from Harry Potter was a werewolf. He certainly could transform, but only on a night of a full moon, not by choice. He attacked the main characters and almost killed them, because he couldn't control his impulses. Is that what Josh would do to me? Or Trish? Or even my new foster parents? I didn't know the answers. But I had been around Josh for almost a month and he had not yet attacked me. What would give him a reason to? I trusted him. He saved my life. He could never hurt me. Well, I suppose he could, he just never would.

I lay in his arms while he snored away. His snoring didn't bother me. I was quite used to it. I made no attempts to move because I knew I would rouse him. Sleep wouldn't come. It wasn't because I was scared. It wasn't that I feared him, or any of the Hunters for that matter. Josh was a werewolf and that's why his eyes changed colors with his moods and hunger. The darkest of indigos was reserved for the day he needed to hunt for fresh meat under the full moon and the new moon. Yes, he could transform on any day but the full moon was the night of the hunt, allowing his human side to crumble away and take down the wild prey of the forest. It was also the day they lay in the sun, letting their thick coats of fur take in its rays. The night of no moon in the sky was the day of control, and the night of release and capture. People believed because old movies showed that the full moon was the most dangerous time to be near a werewolf. It just went to show how little people knew. The full moon triggered their instincts and brought out the wolf inside of them without their control. The night of no moon made them unable to shift during the day. The new moon was the night each lupose would battle its inner animal, attempting to have the human side hold dominance. The fight to return to the human form was painful and mandatory, or they would have to remain inside a pelt that's not their own until the next full moon.

I think what I truly feared was that if Josh and his family were werewolves, and that's why their eyes changed color, did that mean that Mason was too? Were they from two enemy packs? Or was Mason something utterly and completely different? For now, my mind needed rest and I would not get it if I kept filling my head with unanswerable questions.

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The next day I sat anxiously at my desk for my class with Ryan and Mason. I decided not to cause problems and sat with a girl from my gym class. She was nice enough, a little quiet for me, but I dealt with it. I was normally making her laugh or listening to her explain something about a game or activity in gym I didn't understand. Her name was Natalie. I called her Nat for short. She and I had plans on Saturday to go to a place called Barnes and Noble to get books and coffee. I was quite fond of coffee, it made me absurdly jumpy and the Hunters liked to watch me fly out of my seat at the smallest noise or movement.

I watched as Mason swept dramatically into the room. His style came in various ranges. From what Josh called 'emo' to elegant sweaters and jeans to skater shoes and leather jackets. He decided to be 'emo' today or so it seemed. I had been so caught up looking at his face and his eyes which were lighter than usual today, almost brown, that I didn't notice the girl behind him until she placed her white hand on his shoulder. She was...beautiful. I despised her... She had straight black hair to her waist with a figure the models in Vogue would have paid millions of dollars for. Her beauty made me insanely jealous, an emotion completely new to me. I decided it was my least favorite emotion.

She had only slightly darker eyes than Mason's. She had full lips, and the way she walked made me hate my clumsy legs. The jealousy I'd had previously was nothing compared to the jealousy I felt when she took his hand and pulled him toward the back row. Who was this girl, and how dare she put her hands on my Mason?!? Wait wait wait! My Mason? He wasn't mine. I had no claim on him. He could be anyone's. Plus, I didn't want him. He was rude and arrogant and an antagonist and perfect and beautiful and mysterious and dangerous- Okay, stop! He's not mine! So why did this jealous feeling burn my gut and make me want to throw up my very delicious breakfast?