Okay guys don't kill me, but I wrote this after Code, not Exposure. I'll be doing a Exposure one soon though, don't worry.

I've cut out the 'wrong' stuff too. Tell me if u really want me to post it though and I will.

Enjoy.

It's Monday morning.

Eleven-thirty am. I'm sitting in the witness stand, waiting patiently as a man with curly reddish brown hair and a brown moustache questioned me on the events that took place the night before.

I was exhausted. It felt like days since I'd slept. I'd been dozing off in the stand all morning.

"So, Miss Brennan, tell me, do you need a break? You've been dozing off all morning and this unacceptable! Do you need a minute to get your facts straights?"

His deep voice boomed round the chamber and snapped me from my trance.

"No." I responded, trying not to yawn, "I'm fine, thank you, I apologize for my behaviour. I will try not to doze off anymore." I attempted a smile, but failed.

I must have managed a really bedraggled look on my face, because Shelton put his head in his hands and Hi put his hand next to his neck and whipped it back and forth.

The classic 'cut' movie gesture.

I cursed in my head. They both wore the clothes they'd worn last night as no one had gone home to change. Ben wasn't there as one witness can't present for the testimony of another.

I glanced into the gallery outside the thick wooden doors, but knew he wouldn't be there. We hadn't spoken since the hospital room, where Ben had confessed to me about his alliance with the Gamemaster, and his, well, feelings.

Why he did it. I honestly still don't know how I feel about what he said to me.

His voice still echoed in my head.

'What if being packmates isn't enough for me…'

Was I ready for that? With Ben?

Last night it was just all Nope. No. Nyet. Negatory. But now, I don't know.

So, here's the frosting on the cake, I was sitting in a court room, with witnesses and jury's, because the night before, we had been in a park with a madman, guns blazing. He's created what he called 'The Game.' It was a series of puzzles which lead to location after location. At first, it started off harmless, but then when one of the clues lead to castle Pinicky, (soz, don't know if the names right.) the puzzles turned deadly. Bombs had started to explode, and one had burned my wolfdog, Cooper's mouth. Later, bombs had turned to a version of poison, which if we hadn't solved the clues and puzzles in time, would've killed over three hundred people. We had been trapped in a room below the ballroom at cotillion where the poison should've been released, with thick steel grate blocking the way to survival and freedom, the poison running into the room, threatening to kill us. We escaped, obviously, but only because the Gamemaster doesn't know about us. Who we really are, right down to the core. You see, we aren't your normal everyday teenagers.

We have special abilities. Powers really. A curse? A gift?

We don't know but a few months back, we rescued a young wolfdog pup, (Cooper) who had been illegally experimented on by Dr Marcus E. Karsten, former director of LIRI, the job my dad, Kit now has.

He'd injected Cooper with an altered version of Parvovirus, a lethal disease that infects dogs and wolfs.

Except this supervirus could infect humans as well. 'Parvovirus XPB-19.' We caught this virus from Coop, and it changed our lives.

Rewrote our genetic code.

After it invaded our body, we became 'kill me now' sick. You name it, blackouts, headaches, vomiting, diaherra, everything. We felt so bad we just wanted to commit suicide.

We'd had wolf-like behaviour issues as well. We lost control. We'd just snap in class, or on the weekend, and try and eat animals.

Crazy huh?

Well, it was.

After a couple of weeks, the pain and the sickness faded away. And we'd been changed forever.

Our DNA altered.

We had wolf DNA mixed with our own.

Hidden inside us, and sometimes, the wolf came out to play

. Our eyes blazed with golden fire, and all of our instincts, our senses, and our minds just snap into impossible clarity.

Sight.

Smell.

Hearing.

Taste.

And even touch. The wolf gave us the same powers, but the mutation affected each of us differently. Whatever the reason is, draws out our strength that we already had, and enhances them more than the other Virals.

Hi has eyes like an eagle.

Shelton can hear individual grass blades brush against each other in the breeze.

Ben becomes the strongest and fastest, like a cheetah on steroids,

and my nose becomes so sensitive I can smell people's emotions, deception and fear. Also, other things I'll save you the pain from knowing.

Recently, the powers have reached a whole new level. Anyway, mine have. The boys can't do it. They don't like it. We don't know why I'm the only one who can do it, but we don't fully understand ourselves anymore.

When we flare, and we're in close proximity, I can reach out to the other Viral's minds, and connect our thoughts and then pass on mine. This talent has saved our lives more than once. No one knows about our curse, our gift.

Some people have witnessed the wolf come out.

To see our eyes glow gold.

They believe we're possessed, but no one believes them. For the moment, our secret is safe.

"Let's continue then, shall we?" Red Beard asked. I nodded.

"Well then, tell me, you claim you were lured down into that room by my client, where then after a few minutes a metal grate slid down from the ceiling and trapped you in the room. Correct?"

"Yes" I answered.

"When we went and inspected the room, this grate was lying the floor, and the clamps that were supposedly locking it in place, were also on the floor. And the most stunning as all, the lower part of the steel grate was twisted round like play-doh. How do you explain this?" "Who was with you when you were 'trapped' in this room?"

"Myself, Hiram, Shelton, Ben and Jason Tyler."

"So, this is the same Ben who has spoken in this courtroom?"

"Yes."

"Benjamin Blue, when in this courtroom, confessed that he did plan the game with this man," he pointed behind him to the Gamemaster, "but the game changed, and he didn't know about the bombs and the poison. Do you know this?"

"Yes."

"How do you know? Did Ben Blue admit what he had done, to you? Or were you part of this plan as well?" His questions made me perk up.

Damn it. I shouldn't have answered. I decided to admit the truth on this part. I took a deep breath and answered.

"Ben admitted to me what he'd done. And for the record, I believe him. Also, I was not part of the plan!" I had started off calmly but then had lost it.

"And why should we believe you?" He pushed. "That you were not part of the plan?"

"You should believe me, because," I paused. Should I really say this? I did.

"Because Ben did it… for me. He started it because he wanted me to see him. So I'd think he was really smart, and so I'd like him more." I trailed off to a whisper and put my head down so I was looking at my shoes.

Faint whispering filled the court room. Stunned at this new confession. I

looked at Hi and Shelton. They both looked at me with fish faces. Mouth open, eyes wide.

Kit was staring at me, shocked I hadn't told him this.

Red Beard looked around the court room, then back at me. He took a deep breathe then asked, "Why would Benjamin want you to like him more?" I stared down at my shoes again.

Not wanting to answer. Seconds ticked by. Minutes? Suddenly a voice erupted from the side of the room,

"Because he loves her!" The voice was coming from the Gamemaster.

Who had been twitching, annoyed with no attention. I stared at him, eyes wide, shocked by his words. I knew Ben had felt something for me, but, I didn't know he loved me.

It all clicked in my head. That's why Ben despised Jason so much. Jason was hitting on me a lot and Ben was jealous. I was paying Jason a lot of attention, and Ben wanted me to him. Whenever Jason was doing something to me I didn't really like, Ben stepped in to protect me. Why he was upset when he was going to help or do something for me, and Jason took his place. I was mad at him, but how I can be mad now? I have to speak to him. I must.

The Gamemaster's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Ben told me things! Personal things! He told about Jason and Victoria! And how he was so jealous! He admitted that he felt she" he pointed at me with a big chubby finger, "was out of his league, but he felt what he felt! He'd tried to crush the feeling but it wasn't going!" he roared. "For months he's felt this way Victoria! But he was too chicken to admit it! He wasn't strong enough! Physically and emotionally!"

Oh my god. Why didn't Ben say something? What should I do? I'll tell how I truly. I can't let him go to jail for this, and if he does he needs to know first. Needs to know I love him. And I'll get him if it takes me a million years.

I yelled at the Gamemaster. "He is not chicken! And I will not listen to you say all that shiv about him!"

I leapt over the witness stand door and charged up to the Gamemaster and grabbed his collar and brought his face to mine.

"You know what, Roman?! I changed my mind! I don't care what you think about Ben! He's my friend and the thing is, I LOVE HIM TOO!"