Chapter Fourteen: LessonsA Chapter by Joshua DonahueForbidden. After Evan's little "breakdown", his mother tells him he needs to give the werewolf thing a try, even though, she, herself, doesn't want him to. She knows it's something he must do.
Previous Version This is a previous version of Chapter Fourteen: Lessons. FORBIDDEN
BY: J O S H U A D O N A H U E
Chapter Fourteen Lessons Following my escape
attempt and breakdown, I ended up finding my cell phone after all, but the
screen had a small crack in it. Surprisingly, my mom promised to get me a new
one, but I was indifferent about the whole thing. When it was just me and my
mom with my dad still alive back in San Francisco, having my phone gain a crack
across its screen would probably have been the most tragic thing that had ever
happened to me. But not anymore. Things change. And apparently, so do people (into wolves). As for me as an
individual, I had moved on from my breakdown, and I realized that life
continued taking no notice of my actions. So I would continue on as well. I
wanted to just live my life normally, but my mother encouraged me to give the
supernatural a try. She didn’t want
me to do it, of course, but she knew it was something that I had to do. I
couldn’t run from my family problems and neither could she. After giving me
some time to think it over and to allow me to come to terms with my genealogy,
Otis and his werewolf pack thought it would be best for me if I start training as
soon as possible. I still wasn’t familiar to the idea of being able to
transform into a wolf, let alone actually performing it. But Luke promised he
would show me how to do it once we met up. He was supposedly going to go over
the rules, traditions, and abilities of a werewolf and whatnot this Saturday---which was today. I had a report due on Monday for History class and an
essay that needed to be written based on Romeo
and Juliet for English, so I had to make this little “lesson” as short as
possible. * * * I was presently
standing in a field---the very same one that we had passed through that night
when Luke took me to their little wolf meeting and I freaked out. Luke said no
one would come our way, and he claimed that he and the rest of the family
roamed these fields all the time without any worries. The Saturday wasn’t too hot or too cold as the
sun kissed the land with its bursts of light. It was just right for me. There
was a slight breeze in the air that ruffled my hair a little, but that didn’t
bother my skin. It was pleasurable to hear as the wind shifted the weeds around
with its wispy fingers of air. It reminded me that there were still some things
on earth that made logical sense as to why certain things happened. I admit,
however, that I was anxious to become a wolf because a fraction of me assumed
that what I had seen Daryl perform the other day in Otis’ house was all just a
hallucination. “Okay, well the first few main rules are…”
Luke began. “Wait!” Are you sure
all of this is real?” I asked with pure skepticism. After all, this was just a
tryout period for me. Luke just stared at me with a look that said, “You can’t
be serious?”---as if I was the crazy one. “Fine. Do your thing,” I said, motioning him on. Pretending I had never even said anything, Luke said:
“One, a werewolf must never expose himself to the
public in any shape or form. Only family is allowed to know. Two, the pack’s
secrets stay secret, no matter what,
unless otherwise told by Otis. Three, a werewolf must never transform in the
open, unless under certain circumstances.” “Wait. Does Otis make us recite these rules
word for word?” “No.
Why?” I
looked at him for a moment. Then he caught the meaning to my words. “Whatever,
dude. I’m just saying what Otis told me to say.” He realized that the way he
was explaining the rules to me seemed too professional for someone like Luke. I
grinned at him. He
shook his head to himself. “Four, a werewolf must never harm an innocent human,
and is only allowed to hunt on fellow animals as prey.” “We
kill?” I interrupted him for a third time. “How
else do you think we fill our stomachs up? By just human food?” He laughed, although
I didn’t find it all that humorous. “Five,
a werewolf is to follow the direct orders that are received from his leader---Otis---whether
he likes them or not. Six, a werewolf must never communicate with a nymph.” Luke
knew that my decision was to join their pack and forget about all else, but he
gave me a stare nevertheless that said more than words could describe as he
relayed the sixth rule to me. I
ignored it, however. “And
finally, a werewolf may be banished from the pack voluntarily, but when
banished involuntarily, he must
follow the direct orders of the pack’s leader.” For some reason,
the final rule stuck to me a little. It seemed to stand out from the rest
because it showed to me that the pack wasn’t as friendly as they seemed when
they walked around in their “human skin”. Regardless, I nudged it to the side
quickly. It was important and cool information, for
sure, but I was just ready to get onto the enticing things, such as transforming
rather than just learning about it. But
Luke continued on with the werewolf philosophy mumbo jumbo; he told me of the
traditions. The pack holds monthly meetings like a support group, he explained.
Only the pack didn’t have addictions to alcohol or need help getting over
something tragic because it was a group for werewolves. Ha! I’d like to see a flyer calling all werewolves to join their little
“group”, I thought jokingly. And
then Luke went on and told me how silver had no effect on werewolves and that
we had no current weaknesses like that, except those of humans. He also
elaborated on how our pack was divided by levels of authority: the alpha or
alpha pair (Otis and Susan) was the real
deal and was not to be defied, the
betas were the direct sons of the alpha (Daryl and Trent), and then the next
generation of werewolves were the subordinates (Edmund, Luke and Derek).
Apparently, as Luke explained, there was even a lower class known as the
omegas. This included me and Michael, since we were both very young in the
werewolf world; and soon, we would be a subordinate. Sigh.
My lesson seemed to be very similar school, I realized. “And
now, I’m going to teach you how to morph and how to morph back. After that,
we’ll talk more about the powers that we werewolves have,” Luke said. He was
acting more like a teacher now, and making me feel like a pupil that was so
young and new; it made me feel left out, in a way. Nevertheless, Luke and I were
closer now more than ever because we had something in common, and I no longer
felt uneasy around him about that night when they had invited me to their
meeting. “Now,
Evan, I want you clear your mind of all thoughts. Don’t think of anything; not
the people, the places, or the events that have occurred in your life,” Luke
instructed me. Yeah, right! I thought pessimistically. “Then,
I want you to picture a wolf. But don’t just see the wolf, I want you to be
the wolf. Running through the woods, using your enhanced sense of smell, and
being free of all ties that bind.” I
tried, really I did. But I just couldn’t do it. After minutes filled with futile attempts, I
let out a breath of aggravation. “Don’t
worry, you’ll get it. It takes some practice. Here, watch me.” Then he started
removing his clothes. “Dude,
what are you doing?!” I asked. “Undressing.
I don’t want to rip my clothes, do I?” He shook his head to himself as if it
was a simple task that everyone should be used to. I
merely looked away to give him his privacy. Within
a moment, he had jumped from the ground. While in midair, he transformed, landing
on all fours as a dark brown, almost burgundy-colored, wolf. The shade of his
fur was so exquisite, the gradients on it were vibrantly shown. This wolf,
however, was massively bigger than those wolves seen on the Discovery Channel.
It was larger than the average dog, but not quite the size of a horse either. It
looked at me for a minute with the shiny, vivid blue eyes of Luke from the
intense sun. Within a flash, the wolf disappeared as Luke took its place,
snatching his shorts on quickly. Seeing
a human transform into such a beautiful beast for a second time was enough evidence
to convince me that it was indeed real. “See?”
Luke said, “Nothing to it. Now let’s try again.” It
wasn’t until almost an hour later when I finally got it. I didn’t perform a
fancy air leap like Luke had; I just stayed still and transformed. Feeling no
pain but a funny, tingly feeling, my body stretched and seemed to rearrange its
entire anatomy until I had the look of a golden-brown wolf. I felt like a
creature, a hunter, whom every other animal ran from. My hands were now paws
twice the size of my human versions. My legs felt strong and muscular, as if
they were made of pure steel. No longer could I feel my washboard stomach, but
a stomach coated in nothing but fur. Without even touching it, I knew it was
extravagantly smooth and silky. Nevertheless, it felt awkward considering I was
on all four legs and my ears were practically on top of my head---not to
mention the appearance of a tail that looked like a whip of hair. But it also
felt spectacular and far more pleasing than my first transformation. It wasn’t
like before, when I had a very small range of human thoughts because now I
could think anything I wanted to, just like a normal human. Not
to be left out, Luke morphed too, and he was that same brownish-burgundy wolf.
His color wasn’t like mine, but size comparison wise, he was a hell of a lot
larger than I was. “Congratulations!”
someone said. “See, told you so. Now, let’s go through the woods over there and
see what you can do, shall we?” I
glanced around quickly, but I saw no intruders. Then I cocked my head sideways
with what would have been a confused human expression at Luke. “Oh,
right. I forgot to tell you. While two werewolves have morphed into their
animal selves, they can have sort of internal verbal conversations with one
another!” I
still looked at him with puzzlement. “See,
it’s like groaning when you’re human. A werewolf uses his vocal chords to do
the talking for him just without moving his mouth and only other werewolves can
pick up on it. Other animals or people just think we’re groaning inside---which
we can do if we want. Just pretend your speaking inside your body verbally,” he
explained. Being
a werewolf was anything but normal, that much I now understood. “Mm…hey?” I replied internally. The
wolf facing me seemed to let loose a grin of humor, and then said, “Don’t worry.
You’ll get the hang of it. Now, let’s go hunting.” He dashed off faster than I
ever thought possible through the field and towards the forest. “Catch me if
you can, newbie!” he shouted back at me. Feeling
the surge of energy race through me like never before, I followed in hot
pursuit with natural instinct. He was quick, but I was no slouch either. Within
mere seconds, I was gaining on him by the time we traveled across the lengthy
field and was entering the forest. When I ran, I felt free. The closest way
that I could describe it was to flying, even though flying couldn’t stick a
candle to the roaring fire that I now was. My speed was incredible and so was
my strength. I could feel the power that I used as I kicked off the ground
every time to thrust forward, and yet, my power still didn’t feel like it was
to its maximum---like I still had to find out my true strength. I felt like a
super hero---except I had a tail instead of a cape trailing behind me. After
what appeared to me as a minute of running, I found that I was well deep into
the forest with Luke ahead of me. We both skidded to a stop on the soft soil
below each of our four feet, and we became very still. It wasn’t because this
race was over; it was due to a smell of some sort. I couldn’t quite place it,
but it smelled delicious. Food-like delicious, in fact. Luke sniffed the air
for a moment, and so did I, consuming the wispy scent that fluttered in the air
of the forest. Suddenly and out of instinct, we both zoomed off hoping to be
the first to find the source of the scrumptious smell. I couldn’t quite explain
it, but it felt right to me somehow; as if I was acting like a lunatic before
to think something this magnificent couldn’t possibly exist. It
didn’t take long before the scent got so strong that I could feel my animal
mouth watering, ready to devour the food. And sure enough, Luke and I found it:
a stray, white-tailed deer was wandering freely in a small field on the
opposite side of the forest from which we began our journey. My first instinct
was to charge after it, but my animal senses told me to go easy so I wouldn’t
scare it off. The sweet scent was the only thing that I could think about, so I
didn’t really pay attention to Luke at all. I
flattened my wolf body against the ground and used the tall weeds for
protection as I crept closer to the deer. Every second or so, the deer would
pause as if it had heard me, but then it would go about its business. The
thrill of the entire event excited me. I longed for it. I loved it more than anything. Once
I got in leaping distance, I bounded at the deer with full force. Before it
even had time to react, the deer found itself under me as I ripped into it. The
warm liquid that splattered upon my face and covered it felt good, but the meat
was better. It didn’t resemble any human food I had ever eaten before because
this was the best food ever: raw food. After
a minute of chewing down like I was completely starved to death, I felt filled
with pure power and no trace of weakness. Then a voice came into my ear: “All
done?” Luke
came up on the other side of me, licking his lips from his own kill apparently. “Feels
good doesn’t it?” he asked me. “Yes.”
I still felt like opening my mouth to reply because speaking internally felt
abnormal to my human side. But the bonds of that side were slowly being
severed. I knew that is what I wanted to be---what I was meant to be---with no distractions of a love life or a normal life.
This was it. This was me. “Just
don’t get used to it all the time, ‘cause we don’t normally kill the wild
animals. Only when we need strength, show the newbies how it’s done, or when it’s
simply planned. So just don’t get too attached,” Luke warned. “
‘Kay.” That was all I could say because even though my stomach felt full, my
mouth wanted more. But I followed Luke’s instructions and pushed away the
carnivorous side of me with a tremendous amount of effort as I reluctantly
pulled myself away from the animal. Everything
seemed so usual to me. No, I didn’t feel human, but I felt normal nevertheless---the
way I ran, the way I thought, the way I moved, and the way I hunted in order to
get the kill. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that I had been
transforming into a werewolf my entire life. “Good.
Now that you have done your first kill―which was not too bad for a newbie―, I
can show you all of your werewolfy powers that you now have. Follow me.” Then
he raced off back into the trees; I followed. “Being
a werewolf grants you endless possibilities, Evan!” Luke sent back at me as he
jumped high over a fallen tree. “It’s just a matter of whether or not if you can
figure out how to use it to your advantage, so I’m going to show you.” Then, before I knew what he was doing, he instantly
ran up the side of a huge tree, digging his claws into the trunk of it to pull
himself up, and ended up on a branch some ways above me. “Whoa,”
I said, more to myself than to Luke. “Exactly.
You have impossible speed, stealth, and strength. With it, you can climb the
highest trees, take down the worst of enemies, and be at the top of the food
chain. Now, try what I just did.” I
charged at a tree opposite of the one Luke clawed up, and I followed his exact
moves. Like a large, furry cat, I extracted my claws instinctively as far as
they would go, and worked my way up until I was as high as my friend. “Good.
It took me two tries to get it done when I first started. You’re a natural,” he
said over to me. “But
why am I so much smaller than you?” “Newbies
are always smaller at first. Until you truly become a werewolf. Then you hit a
growth spurt, sort of, where your transformation will change.” Luke
jumped down from his high position and landed on all fours, a fall which no average
human could withstand, but I copied him easily. Then he said, “As you may have
noticed during your hunt, you also have the gifts of any wolf-to-be: extreme
vivid sight, very ranging audio, and a predator’s sense of smell. Use those
during your hunts, and you’ll never miss. Now, charge at me and attack.” “What?!
Are you crazy?” “Just
do it. I won’t defend myself. Promise.” “No
way!” “Do
it. It’s part of your lesson.” “Fine.” And then I ran forward at him,
expecting a defensive blow to knock me flat on my wolf butt. But instead, my
claw came in contact with the side of his face, as I swiped at him, leaving
deep claw marks there, and blood oozing out. “Dude, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean---” “It’s
fine, really.” “What
do you mean it’s fine? It’s---” “Gone,”
he finished. “Huh?”
I asked. “It’s
gone. See for yourself.” He turned
his animal head sideways so I could view where I had attacked him, and I couldn’t
believe my eyes: his face looked untouched. “But,
how---” “Another
little werewolf gift. We can heal extremely fast, making us almost
invulnerable. Almost. We don’t cringe from silver or anything like that, but we
can still die by human means.” “Meaning?” “Meaning,
if we get harmed too much at one time, not allowing our bodies to fully recover,
we die.” After
explaining all the essentials of a werewolf, Luke finally got to show me some
tricks. He told me that some werewolves know the basic skills as soon as a
werewolf morphs: hunting, attacking, running, and so forth. But he said it was
necessary that I learn even more. Firstly, he had me truly race him to test my speed---which I lost miserably. Then he forced me to play a game of
hide-and-seek with him to test my hunting skills. At first, it seemed childish
to be a dominant wolf and play an eight-year-old’s game, but Luke was a
challenge for me. I was accustomed to looking in human locations, but Luke was
hardly human at the moment. Occasionally, I would find my opponent, but I never
could catch him. Each time I would look in a spot, he would jump out from the
opposite side and tackle me down, making me frustrated. Pretty
soon, Luke required that I go on a hunt with him
again. He made me watch him at first, as he snuck up
on squirrel, making it pause only twice checking for nearby predators. Easily,
Luke clamped the little critter between his monstrous teeth, but he didn’t kill
it. He let it go. Then, he made me hunt down a squirrel of my own while he sat
on the sidelines watching my every move, dictating me on what to do and how to
do it correctly. Again, frustrating. When I finally did find my intended prey, I
had a hard time grasping the creature because the little guy was quick as
lightning. I was like a cat trying to catch a mouse; every time I would clasp
my paws together as agile as possible, I would slowly pull them back to reveal
merely the ground. At
around seven-ish, Luke called it a day. We
got to the truck that Luke had driven us out in, and we transformed back into
humans. When I morphed, I found that I still had my human clothes on, but Luke
was nude. So I asked my cousin, “How come I still have my clothes on?” “Well,
don’t get used to it because that’s what I was meaning earlier about when you
hit that growth spurt. After a while, when your body really starts to adapt to
the werewolf lifestyle, you’re going to need an extra pair of pants to put on
after you morph. At first, you are allowed to keep your clothes on and all your
accessories and junk---even though it kind of makes you look like Paris
Hilton’s pup.” Luke laughed. Then he continued, “But afterwards, everything you
got on gets ripped to bits. Kind of sucks really, especially when you have to find
an outfit every time you morph. But at that moment, when you feel that growth
spurt, your size will change and so will your clothes. You will then begin to
look like the rest of us. It’s a liberating feeling.” After
Luke got on some clothes to cover himself up at the back of the truck, we got
in the cab of the pickup. I thought of my other cousins that I had barely
bonded with since I had arrived, and I remembered something. “Luke, remember
that night when you took me to you guys’ ‘meeting’ or whatever, and I ran off?”
I said. Luke
cackled, thinking back at that memory. “Yeah. What of it?” he asked while cranking
up the vehicle; it rumbled to life. “Well,
when I was hiding in the woods, if werewolves are such good hunters, why---” “Couldn’t
we find you?” he finished for me.
He was beginning to drive back out to the main road now, along the dusty dirt road
with fields of grass and weeds on either side of us. “Yeah.” “That’s
the thing. We may be some of the best hunters, being able to sense practically
anything for miles, but it’s difficult to track our own when that person has
not morphed before. It’s like that person doesn’t exist quite yet, because he’s
not a human or a werewolf.” “Oh…”
“But,
when that person is in wolf mode, another werewolf of the same pack can
pinpoint the exact location of him. Well, only a beta can. Omegas aren’t that
skilled yet.” “How
come I can see and hear better and stuff like that while I’m a human even
though they’re my werewolf powers?” I asked him. “Because
a werewolf is a part of you, Evan. You may not be able to keep the entire super
speed and strength while being a human, but you can keep a fraction of it. Like
you will be stronger than your average self before you became a werewolf, but
you won’t be as strong as you could be while in wolf mode. It’s all
complicated. The point is that you can still have the werewolf powers while
being a human, just not all of them. But the few powers you can get can come in
handy sometimes,” Luke said. We
had reached the pavement now from the dirt road. Luke turned to the left to
head back to my house. “Do the others have different fur colors and
size?” I asked with my head still piled to the roof with questions. “Yeah. We all got different color shades of fur. As for size,
you can typically tell who the young and the old are of the group, especially
those who haven’t hit that growth spurt yet,” Luke revealed. “Why do you ask?” “Well, that night, when I was trapped in the woods, I
think I whipped one of my own family members in the face with a tree branch,” I
said. Luke laughed at me. “You mean Michael?” “I hit Michael?” Seeing my remorse in my expression and hearing it in my
voice, Luke smirked. “Yeah. You kind of ruined his face now. He had to have
surgery yesterday.” “Dude, are you serious?” He appeared to be trying to keep a straight face, but it
lasted for only a moment until he belched out a laugh. “I was just kidding,
dude.” I playfully punched his arm, making him go a little wonky
over the road. “Hey, do you wanna end up in a ditch somewhere? Alright
then, no attacking the driver. At least, not until he has a fighting chance,
anyways.” “Is that a challenge?” I asked my cousin. “Don’t even fool yourself. We both know who would win,”
Luke said with a laugh. I smirked. It felt odd considering the fact that not too
long ago I was living in California with just my mom and how, after school, I
would go out with my friends and hang out in the city, being the rebellious
teen that I wanted to be. But now, everything had changed. I was living in
South Carolina, in a small town, with a long-lost family that I had never met
before, and who was a pack of werewolves, and now I was one too. And yet, here
I was in a truck, with this dude that I had known only what, a month? And he
was like my best friend because he was my cousin. Funny how things work, isn’t
it? Especially my mind. I mean, ever since I had walked out
of Hale the other day, I had not once thought of “you-know-who” since she
proved to be a two-timing liar that was playing a joke on me. It’s just--- No. You know what?
I’m not going to think about that, her, or the situation, I thought. It’s all in the past now. I’m going to focus
on being a werewolf. After all, the
adventure can’t stop here, can it? © 2010 Joshua DonahueAuthor's Note
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StatsAuthorJoshua DonahueJefferson, SCAboutUPDATE! 06.27.13 Hello, WritersCafe! I realize that I have abandoned my account since the summer of 2013. Since then I have started college, and I have experienced... a lot. However, this does no.. more..Writing
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