"I guess you underestimate my abilities. I just had to get her to do the talking. You guys want to hear about her story without getting to know her. It doesn't work that way. You get to know her first, then you get to know her story. That is how it works"
He said as he opened the refrigerator
"Damn!" He said
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know if she's a cola person or a Fanta person"
"I go for Sprite" Brie Said
"She doesn't seem like a sprite person. I think more of Pepsi"
He said as he grabbed a bottle of Pepsi
"Let's hope I'm not wrong"
He said as he left the dining room. He got back to her room and knocked the door before going in. He dropped the pizza box on her bed and opened it up
"I didn't know what pizza you liked best so I went for pepperoni. I hope I'm not wrong about that"
"You are definitely not wrong. Pepperoni is my favorite and Pepsi? How the hell did you know that? Did you read my mind or something?"
"I wish I could but I can't. I just guessed and I guess I was lucky to have guessed right"
"I doubt if it has anything to do with luck"
She said to him as she opened the box
"Why extra large?" She asked
"I don't know. You've not eaten in weeks and mom said you wolves have a large appetite so I guess I felt it would be appropriate to get an extra large pizza for you and I"
"you definitely do have a large appetite" Bethany replied
"Me? I don't think so. I'm not a wolf. I'm human"
"You serious believe that?"
"It is not about what I believe. It is about what I know. I didn't take mom's genes. I took dad's"
"Is that what she told you? You are obviously a wolf. Brie isn't but you are. I know one when I see one"
Bethany said as she picked up a pizza slice and ate it
"I'm Twenty one. I think if I was a wolf, I would know. I would have transformed at eighteen"
"You think? Some wolves transform way too late and some way too early. I transformed at age nine. That is way too early in any culture"
"I think I would know if I was one. Trust me. I don't have the wolf gene"
"Don't be too sure about it" She said, picking up another slice of pizza. "You have just not found the right condition to transform"
"And what do you think that is?"
"I don't know. I guess we would both have to find out"
He laughed. He looked at her. She was weird, full of mysteries. He couldn't understand or comprehend how a person could be so sure even when she was wrong, except she wasn't. The last line crept into his mind. He discarded the thought. A wolf? Impossible. There was no one with the wolf gene except Mom. That was why she decided not to have another baby after Carson because she was damn sure that the baby would come as a wolf. The human gene has been very dominant in the family and mom thought it was best that way but Beth said he was a wolf. For some weird reasons, he believed her. He wasn't totally convinced but he did believe her. They finished up with the pizza and he cleared the left overs away. Damn, she did eat a lot. She ate more than he did. He didn't expect less. She laid on her bed, filled to the brim with her tummy out
"I have never been so full in my life"
"Me neither" He said
"Thank you"
"What for?"
"I don't know. I just think I should say thank you"
"Well, I think you're welcome, Wolfie"
She smiled at him
"So, you guys own this place?"
"Mom does. She owns properties all over. This is just one of them. Maybe I could give you a tour around the house later in the week if you are willing to leave the comfort of this place"
"Maybe, soon enough. I just think the room is comforting. It's like this place just understands everything I am going through"
"I used to think Carson still came here after his death, I mean his ghost of course. So I would come here most nights and spend the night here. I don't know how but I would always feel better the next morning. Maybe I was right after all but I realized, if I was right, then that meant Carson never found peace in his rest and I knew I was the one holding on to him longer than I should. So at a point, I had to let him go. Hardest decision of my life but it was worth it. Maybe you just have to let them go too, Beth"
She sighed
"How? It is so hard without any of them"
"I know Beth, I do but you just have to. The only thing you can do is move on and wait until it's time to fulfill the prophecy"
She looked up and smiled at him
"Maybe we should really go on that tour"
She said as she got up
"Are you sure? I mean are you ready for it?"
"I think I am. I can't stay here forever. It's been two weeks now and I still don't know my way around the house not to talk of around the city. I'm just nervous"
"Don't worry, I would hold your hand"
He said as he stretched forth his hand. She took it and he held her firmly. Her hands were so soft. The last thing he needed was falling in love with his cousin but that was what was happening. He loved her from the moment he saw her. He has been taking sneak peeks at her until today. He had gone through her phone and taken most of the pictures she had on it and sent it to his phone just so he can stare at them at night. He pulled her out of the room and took her to the dining room first. She met all of them there, staring at her
"Wow" Brie said
"Glad to see you out of the room. Some sun would do you good" Emily added
She started at the both of them without saying a word. Carl took her hand and led her around the house and they ended up in his room after the tour. She got on his bed. It was way softer than hers. It was a little bit uncomfortable for her but different beds built for different bodies, she concluded. Time for dinner came and he made sure she ate with them. She had no appetite so she ate just little but it was fine with him as long as she ate
Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. It was now six months since she lost her family to that massacre. She was starting to adjust pretty well. She talked more than she did when she first got there and she was closer to Carl than anybody else in the house. She took her classes from home like everybody else and barely had real life friends although she tried to connect with a few from social media. She attended hang outs with Carl and Brie when she want busy. She was starting to fit into the routine of the house. She had meals with them like a normal family now and they felt like her family again. They did everything for her, gave her everything she wanted and not for one day did they make her feel like an outcast. She called Diane a few times but said nothing on her other end. She just needed to hear her voice. She did the same thing with Yale too. Yale called back a couple of times but she said nothing. She stalked him on social media. She could say that life had moved on for the residents of Southside and Cyrus was seen as a great ruler but she knew exactly what he was and she was going prove it really soon. She swore on her life that she was going to go back and end him once and for all. She just hated the fact that her Best friend was stuck in the middle of all this drama. She deserved someone better for a father. She had been training for a while with her aunt. She was faster and stronger now. She was getting better now and that was what she wanted. She was waiting though. She was convinced that Carl wasn't human but she couldn't understand why his transformation was delayed this way. She was definitely going to ask her aunt about it tonight after dinner. After class, she went to the gym to train on her own since her aunt was out and busy with work. She had her air pods plugged into her ears and had her music on the highest volume. Her music suddenly stopped. She looked at her phone and met Carl holding it. She removed her air pods and grabbed her towel from the rail
"Hey there Wolfie" he said
"Hey, Brie said you were out"
"Yeah. I was. I had something to do today at the mall and I had to go pick up dad's car from the mechanic too. I just got back. Had lunch yet?"
"Not yet. I prefer to stay light. It's a full moon tomorrow night"
"I wouldn't be able to go into the forest reserve with you and mom tomorrow. I don't feel so good"
"Since when don't you feel so good Carl?"
"I don't know. It started some hours back. I feel like…."
He said as he trailed off. He fell. She sped to him and caught him. She sped him to his room and dropped him on his bed. He was cold, too cold. She covered him up and grabbed her phone. She dialed his mom's number. She picked at the first ring
"Hey Beth"
"Aunt Emily, I think you should come home. Something is wrong with Carl. He's out cold. He's not breathing"
"What?! I'm on my way. I'd be there soon"
She tossed her phone and started to hit his chest.
"C'mon Carl. C'mon"
Brie walked into his room
"What is wrong him?" she asked
"I don't know. I have never seen something like this before. It has never happened. He was just fine. He was talking to me when he blacked out"
She said still hitting his chest. He woke up and his eyes were blood red. His fangs grew out
"Brie, run!"
Beth said as she moved back. She knew what was happening to him now. His wolf side was starting to come out forcefully. She moved back as Brie ran. She knew he was going to go after Brie. He was blood hungry. He has suppressed his wolf side for too long. Why would he do that? He needed human blood and he wasn't going to stop or transform until he had it. She grabbed him by the shirt and left him out. She stopped in what looked like an abandoned forest. Going to the reserve was better and she knew but people were going to be there so here was the safest place for him and for everybody else. She wasn't scared of him, at least not yet. Why would he do this to himself? He had argued the day she said he was a wolf. Maybe he didn't know he was a wolf
"Carl, I know you're in there, you need to calm the hell down and listen to me"
He growled at her and came after her. He was fast, too fast for a regular wolf, maybe that was because he wasn't a regular wolf. His mom definitely wasn't and she would have a lot of explanation to do