Selena was taken back.
"What is going on?" she screams internally.
She could see her reflection! She touched her own cheek in disbelief as she studied herself for the first time.
"This is what my face looks like," she thought. Her skin was very pale, almost white. She had small ruby red lips and red eyes with specs of orange which were now flickering in the mirror.
She immediately took off the towel and her damp white hair fell almost framing her face. Selena began to brush her hair watching the reflection copying each brush stroke.
Selena had seen a portrait of her younger herself once when Blade took her to explore the castle, however, the face which looked back at her was that of a woman. She could not take her eyes of herself, in disbelief.
Selena heard footsteps approaching the cottage. She quickly left the bathroom and went back into the messy living room.
She smelt his sweet aroma from outside.
The door to the cottage swung open.
Lowe was back but this time he was with a scraggly looking boy.
Neither of them said anything they both just stared at her and then each other.
A few silent moments passed.
"Hello" she said to the strange looking boy.
Lowe responded by stepping in front of the boy. Selena wondered why he was trying to protect the boy, did he believe that she was dangerous? The voice in her head whimpered as soon as she thought this. "Stop whining!" she thought in response to the voice.
The boy nodded at Lowe.
"Stay there," Lowe said and with that he left again.
Selena finished drying her hair. No more than 10 minutes had passed since that strange boy had left with Lowe. Selena stood back in front of the mirror looking at her shiny white hair in the reflection.
Lowe made his way through the living room to the bathroom.
The door to the bathroom opened and the next thing she knew he was hugging her from behind. She could see his reflection in the mirror.
She watched as his eye colour went from blue to orange whilst he held her. She wondered whether changing eye colour was a werewolf trait.
She caught him glimpse at her reflection in the mirror but his expression did not change.
A few moments passed before she turned around and pushed him away. She now faced him with a small distance between them. Neither of them made a sound. Tension filled the air.
"Let's eat" he smirked, breaking the tension. Selena nodded.
Selena spent several days with Lowe. He would occasionally disappear without warning but be back after a few hours. Lowe helped her search the woods for her necklace but she had not yet found it. Lowe explained the history behind werewolves and vampires. She found herself telling him stories of her past and the castle. Lowe was a good listener as he usually sat there silently staring at her.
The more knowledge she gained the closer she felt to discovering her parents.
Selena had worked up the courage to ask him whether anyone was searching for her. However, it turned out they were not looking for her.
Tonight was the first full moon since Selena had met Lowe.
It was late in the evening and Selena was getting dressed and ready for the late night hunt.
The voice in her head was excitedly chattering away about spending time with our mate as she liked to call him. Selena had gotten used to her voice now.
They both set out together into the forest for their nightly hunt.
"I have something I need to tell you," he said nervously to her.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I think you are part werewolf," he explained. Selena was taken aback by what he said.
"How can I be a werewolf? I am a vampire," she protested.
"You told me you find yourself getting angry for no reason. As I previously explained, wolves transition around the age of puberty. When they transition the young wolves find themselves becoming irrational and acting out. Usually they tear apart furniture, have fits of emotion and are unable to control themselves. In addition, your scent isn't one of a usual vampire and you can see your own reflection. Vampires are unable to see a reflection so that must be the wolf inside you. I do not know why this happened to you now at such a late age but I myself have transitioned so I recognise this.
Lowe paused whilst Selena tried to process what he was telling her. He held her hand and began to rub it with her thumb. This calmed her down slightly.
"The voice in your head, I have one too. Werewolves call it their inner voice. It is your inner primal wolf. You will hear this when you feel extreme emotion. Only werewolves have an inner voice. That boy you met, his name is Jimmy, he informed me that when he met you he smelt both the sour smell of a vampire but also the metallic smell of a wolf. At first he recognised you as a wolf as we are naturally drawn to the smell of our own above others."
"How is that possible?" she asked, dismayed.
"I am not sure. As far as I know you are the only one of your kind. I want to test to see if you really are a werewolf. If any part of you is a werewolf then tonight you will transform during the full moon."
"That is insane" I screamed. "how can i be a werewolf and not know, it doesn't make any sense".
Lowe held her arm with his hand and gripped it tightly, scared that she might try to flee.
"At first I thought you might have additional strengths similar to those of the werewolves as you are the Queen but you possess too many werewolves traits for it to be just that."
Selena stood there in silence, her mind racing. Everything started to make sense to her but this also produced more questions for her.
"Am I a werewolf? And if I am, why am I transitioning now. I'm not exactly young." she wondered.
"Let me show you what you are," he said.