Once I had what I needed from my locker, I put the lock back on and left the school building. Now that it was the end of the school day, all I wanted was to be home, in my own room, so I could think. I walked to the edge of the woods and sat beside a tree to rest. I sighed. I needed this moment, alone with nature. As my body relaxed, I realized just how tired and sore I was. The adrenaline was wearing off, and the aftermath of my spikes of high anxiety took its toll. Gingerly, I reached behind me to see if I could tell, by touch, the extent of the bruising on my back. The bruising went down, following my spine. From the feel, I could tell not only would they be an ugly bluish- purple, but that some were still swelling. I knew it might not be as bad as it felt, as I bruised so easily. I counted myself lucky that I healed twice as fast as a human. "If I had the healing rate of a werewolf, I would be healed by now." I said to myself. "Some people get all the luck!"
The sound of male laughter coming from my right made me turn my head. There was Kyle, walking closer to me looking amused. With the angle my body was at before, I didn't see him getting closer; nor did I catch his scent as I was upwind of him not downwind.
"You been reading too many werewolf trilogies?" he asked me with a chuckle.
The fact that he was laughing at me and probably thought I was a crazy person and was making fun of me made me mad. I really didn't like this guy. Perhaps it was the silly grin on his face or maybe teenage hormones and not thinking before speaking, or maybe a combination, that pushed me over the edge into fury. What I did next was not something I could take back.
"How dare you?!" I shouted at him, "Laugh at me, and insinuate I am crazy, while you know full well I am right!"
He looked shocked at this outburst.
"And what's more," I continued yelling, "you mock my beliefs, when you, yourself are a werewolf standing not three feet away from me!"
Suddenly, my brain caught up to what my mouth just said. As the implications became clear to me, I clapped a hand over my mouth and my eyes opened wide in horror. I took a few steps backwards as my mind reeled. What had I just done? I just gave away so much! I felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest and do a half marathon while my stomach dropped to my feet and tried to get absorbed by the ground. My back hit against a tree trunk and I ignored the pain as I felt around with my hands and slowly inched myself around to the other side of the tree. I felt tears prick at the edges of my eyes.
Kyle came into view from around the other side of the tree and I heard the palm of his hand smack against the tree trunk, as he blocked me. I had tried to run from him. He then put his other arm on the other side of me as well, so I had no where to go.
"How do you know I am a werewolf?" He asked softly.
I didn't want to tell him, so I struggled to escape. When that didn't work for me, I burst into tears of frustration. He was all blurry in my my vision from the tears.
"It doesn't matter if I tell you or not!" I said angerly to him, "You will kill me regardless. So, I won't tell you. I may not be able to save myself, but I can still protect others!"
"What?!" He demanded angerly. "What are you talking about?! What is all this about protecting people? Has someone been threatening you?" He leaned forward to try and see clearly what emotion my eyes betrayed, but with the amount of my tears I don't think he could. He sighed and grabbed my chin with a hand. He tilted my head up, so I was face to face with him.
"I am not going to hurt you; I am never going to hurt you. Do you understand?" he asked with sadness in his voice.
I shook my head 'no'. "I wish that I could believe you, but I can't." I said my voice quivering.
A pained expression crossed his face for a moment.
"I don't understand why you would think I would trust you," I continued, "you are a werewolf, and a stranger, and I haven't even known you for a full 48 hours. Not only that you have displayed today some red flags of someone who would become my stalker!"
He reacted like I had punched him in the gut with my words. He took a step away from me. He looked almost ashamed of himself. I could see his face clearly, as the tears had stopped.
"I'm...I'm so sorry. I never meant for you to feel distrustful, frightened or threatened by me. I'm sorry. I honestly have no intention of harming you."
He watched my face carefully, trying to read my expression, but I kept my face blank. I didn't say a word.
"I knew you were new here. You didn't talk to anyone. I thought you probably didn't have any friends; and I was so worried that the Beta in the hallway would snap you in half. How could I live with myself if I just stood by and let some power- hungry Beta pummel a new student on the second day of school?
He paused for a moment, like the very memory infuriated him.
"This whole day has gone so far off- track from what I wanted it to be." He sighed, in a defeated sounding way. "I really wish we could start over. All I wanted was to befriend you. I thought maybe you would like to hang out with my group of friends once in a while."
I softened a bit towards him at the thought of having him as a friend. 'What would it be like to have a whole group of friends?" I wondered.
A question popped into my mind, and I asked him, "How do you tell the difference between Betas and Alphas?"
He seemed perplexed by my reaction and said, "Why don't I walk you home? On the way, if you agree to tell me how you know I am a werewolf, I agree to tell you how to tell the difference between Betas and Alphas.
I looked at him for a long moment.
"Deal?" he asked as he held out his hand for me to shake.
"It's a deal," I said, "as long as you understand that my trust is something you will have to earn; it's a privilege, not a right."
With a smile, he said "Deal!" and shook my hand.
"Well, let's get going then." He said and gestured in the direction away from the woods.