Blaine couldn't believe what was happening to him.
It was barely a week ago that he had first felt it, the curiously intense need to enter the forest surrounding his home. He was no stranger to these woods, having accompanied his father on numerous trips into them during the early years of his life, but whatever had been pulling him in recently was like nothing he'd experienced before. On more than one occasion, Blaine felt like some outside force was beckoning him. The impulse continued to grow stronger, and Blaine could feel his resolve weakening with each passing day.
And if this new temptation weren't enough to raise red flags in his head, Blaine was certain that he was being followed. The hairs on the back of his neck seemed to stand on end every time he stepped outside his house, sensing eyes on him. And just the other night, he'd seen dark figures, large like bears, stalking through the woods, casting shadows on the walls of his cottage when the moon was bright. He tried to make himself believe that it was just a trick of the light, but he could only fool himself for so long.
Blaine knew there was something out there.
He had been lying on his bed, trying to will himself to sleep when he heard a disturbance in the woods. Actually, he had felt the disturbance, but believing that to be impossible, he had dismissed the idea and pulled on his boots. Once he loaded his rifle, he wandered out into the darkness, prepared for anything.
It wasn't long before he had encountered the wolves, having heard what was unmistakably a human voice crying out in anguish. Through the trees, he'd seen someone pinned down by one wolf, while another skulked nearby, watching but not engaging. Intent on chasing them away, Blaine had taken careful aim and shot the one wolf, hitting it in the shoulder and sending it running, and rescued that mysterious boy in the process. As he had watched the wolves retreat, Blaine knew he would have to remain alert for their return, prepared to finish the job, if only to keep his livestock safe.
He had been concerned about the boy - Kurt -, although he was somehow seemingly unharmed, but then he took off so abruptly, leaving Blaine stunned. The woods now calm, Blaine had turned around to head back home.
As he had trudged along the familiar beaten trail, he still felt like he should be heading in the opposite direction, like he had unfinished business, and he pivoted back around, retracing his steps for a few paces until he stopped, shook his head, and realized he was being ridiculous. The next thing he knew, his rifle had been ripped away from him, and one of the wolves had tackled him to the ground, knocking the wind right out of him.
He had laid there, trapped under its weight, gasping for air.
It had sniffed at his chest, neck, and face, blowing rapid puffs of hot air against his skin. Blaine had felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck, and then an enormous paw came up and swatted him across the face, knocking his head to the side as claws dug into his flesh, causing him to cry out. He could feel his own warm blood begin to trickle down his cheek from the superficial gashes that, nonetheless, stung immensely.
Blaine had been certain that he was going to die.
He had closed his eyes and braced himself, wishing the beast would be quick, wondering why it was taking its time, having only scratched him, an action with no intent to kill. But then the wolf growled in his ear, and he heard a low voice in his head that seemed to answer his thoughts and chilled his blood.
"That's for the hunk of metal you buried in my back."
The wolf had been looking straight into his eyes with eyes too human to belong to an animal, eyes too wise to be wild. Blaine's body spasmed as the wolf pushed his shirt up with its snout, and a tongue licked up his already quaking torso, tracing the ridges of his ribcage.
"W-what the hell are you?" he had stuttered, gasping for air. In the midst of all his uncertainty, one thing he was sure of was that it could understand everything he was saying. The thing had been inside his head, and he'd thought he was going mad.
"I'm exactly what you think I am."
"Werewolf," he'd spoken just above a whisper. It was the only thing that made sense to him, and, yet, it had made no sense at all.
"More or less, yes. We've been watching you...I know what you are."
He'd sniffed near Blaine's ear again, sending more chills through his body and causing him to shudder.
"You're one of us."
"What do you m-mean?" Blaine continued to stammer.
"A shapeshifter. Funny how I hadn't figured it out sooner."
When Blaine had registered the beast's words, he let out a strangled yell, his adrenaline pumping and anger building at how helpless he felt in the situation. His body grew uncomfortably hot as his anger surged through him.
"I can sense that you're alone. We can offer you protection. We have a place for you."
"No! Please just let me go!" He writhed underneath the bulk of its body, but it was no use.
"It runs through your veins. Because of what happened tonight, you're going to shift. There's no fighting it."
The Alpha wolf had barked and then let out a low growl-like howl.
But before Blaine could respond, he felt like he had been bludgeoned over the head with something sharp and heavy. Then he realized that the pain had been coming from inside himself, like a tattoo beating against the inside of his skull. It had felt like his bones were shifting and growing, threatening to break through his skin, but his skin grew thicker, and dark, chocolate-colored hair had begun to sprout on the exposed areas he could see.
His heart pumped rapidly, and his chest rose and fell painfully. He had screamed, closing his eyes tightly, seeing only a blinding white behind his lids, but the scream had come out something unrecognizable. Disoriented, he had pushed himself up from the ground, and registered the claws that had once been fingernails, but then his entire world turned dark.
When Blaine came to, he was lying on his side, sprawled out in the dirt. When he breathed, his lungs were on fire, and his entire body ached. He slowly reached up and touched the spot on his face where the flesh had been torn and winced but then gasped when he didn't feel any pain.
With some difficulty, Blaine rose from the ground, feeling lightheaded for a moment. But he was fine, right? He was alive.
Somehow he made it home. After peeling off his tattered clothing, he climbed into the shower and scrubbed all of the dirt from his skin and hair.
When Blaine got out and toweled off the fogged-up mirror, he noticed that the marks were completely gone from his cheek. Suddenly, the previous night's events began to replay in his head. He heard a jumble of voices, remembering how he had been attacked. Was he attacked? By wolves - werewolves. There was a moment of pure panic, and Blaine turned away from the mirror, holding his head between his hands.
He couldn't believe this was happening to him.
He was one of them. He had shifted. Had they turned him?
Blaine tried to push the idea from his thoughts as he went about his day, but then he began to notice little things about himself that made it impossible to ignore any longer. Everything he ate throughout the day tasted different than usual, stronger or something, and his sense of smell seemed more acute, so much so that he gagged from a mildew smell in the bathroom he had never noticed before.
His appetite was also considerably different, and he began to have weird cravings for things that weren't really part of his diet before.
As the week passed, Blaine began to worry and ponder what exactly it all meant.
One thing was certain, he wanted answers, and knew he wouldn't find them if he remained cooped up in his home. He didn't know if he would shift again, and, if so, when.
When night fell, Blaine wandered back out into the woods, retracing his steps back to the place he had found the wolves and the beautiful, elusive boy he couldn't get out of his head. That boy had been attacked too, he remembered. Had he been okay?
But when Blaine reached the small clearing, much to his dismay, he found nothing. He wasn't even sure what he was hoping to find. It was calm, and there were no wolves to be seen. But then a chill ran the length of his spine, causing goosebumps to rise on his skin. Blaine was terrified. He had changed. Something had happened to him, and now he was alone again. He braced himself, balling his hands into firm fists at his sides and biting the inside of his mouth before venturing farther into the woods.
He was determined to find those wolves. He had no other choice.
After hours of wandering without a destination, Blaine began to pick up a scent, and his ears perked up as he heard what he thought were people coming toward him - two to be exact.
Sure enough, two young men came into view, and Blaine stood firmly, planted to the spot. Then the one spotted him and called over.
"You, there," the taller, thinner man said. "We were wondering when you would finally come back." He grinned a crooked, toothy, almost flawless grin.
The other slightly stocky, more muscular man added, "You put up quite the fight the other night."
"Huh?" Blaine said, stepping back now. What were they talking about? He had never seen these men in his life.
"It was only a matter of time before you lost it," the taller one said.
Then Blaine caught a whiff of something familiar as he gazed into the man's piercing green eyes which were filled with utter amusement. No, it couldn't be. But it must be...
"You - you turned me," Blaine said, his brow furrowed and fists at his sides, prepared to defend himself if he had to.
"Oh, no, sweetheart, that's where you're mistaken," he said. "I didn't turn you. You were triggered by the filthy parasite."
"What? Who are you?"
"Of course. I apologize. How could I be so rude? I'm Sebastian, the one who took your bullet," he pointed behind him, "this is Hunter, and absent is Wes who - oh you didn't have the honor of meeting Wes. He's still being a pussy about being bitten by the vampire and decided to lie low."
"Vampire?" Blaine echoed in confusion.
"Did I stutter?" Sebastian quipped.
"B-but I -"
Sebastian and Hunter began to laugh cruelly.
Then the one named Hunter asked, "What's your name?"
"I'm Blaine."
"Okay, Blaine," Sebastian began. "Well it turns out that you're one of us, one of our tribe, and that leaves you with one option. I strongly suggest that you come with us. Your potential is going to waste, and it's doing no one any good for you to be putzing about in that little shack. You're one of the chosen ones, a guardian of the forest and of people. It is our duty to protect the area from the cold ones, the vampires," he added after noticing Blaine's confusion.
"But I've never seen a vampire in my life," Blaine said.
Sebastian laughed again. "Oh, honey, you have a lot to learn. I can tell you don't get out much." Then he walked forward and placed a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "What do you say, though? We need you in our pack. Not that I'm even giving you a choice."
"I - I'm a guardian?" Blaine asked. "I get to help people?" It was all too much to process in the moment, but it resonated with Blaine when Sebastian spoke of being a protector.
"Yes. So I assume that's a yes?"
"Yeah, I guess. I mean, yes."
"Good. And to clear up your confusion, there was a vampire in the woods that night, and that's what triggered your phasing. I almost had the little bastard too."
"But I thought you attacked me -?"
"Oh, I did," Sebastian grinned and licked his lips. "You did shoot me, after all, but that's not how it works. We're shapeshifters, not Children of the Moon. They're pathetic loners with little to no control over themselves. We're powerful and have a duty - they are destructive and useless."
"Okay," Blaine began slowly. He swallowed and shifted from one foot to the other. "What do I have to do?"
"Come with us. We'll show you where we congregate, and you'll be introduced to Wes and the others in a more formal way. We'll teach you everything you need to know about our kind, our tribe, and how to gain control over yourself."
"Am I dangerous?" Blaine asked quietly. He had no real recollection of what had happened after he shifted, and he had a lingering fear that he could cause someone harm. And possibly already had.
"Oh, no, not at all. Unless, of course, a vampire happens to cross your path, and then he'll most likely have a very bad day. But no more talk here. We're safer at Dalton."
"Dalton?"
"We've gotten clever over the years. It's our base, but it's under the guise of a very exclusive all-boys private school called Dalton Academy. If anyone ever took the time to investigate, they might realize that we're actually twenty-five-year-olds posing as sixteen and seventeen-year-olds, and there are no actual teachers or lessons." Sebastian let out a low laugh as if it were an inside joke.
"Well, lead the way then," Blaine said, feeling a little bolder. He had never wandered very far from the reservation, but he decide to trust these men who claimed to be members of his tribe. The fear he had been feeling earlier had dissipated, and he felt a sort of unnatural calm in their presence.
Blaine followed the other two for quite some time, wondering when they would finally arrive at Dalton. Once they cut through another grove of trees, they came out to a perfectly manicured green lawn that led up to a three-story brick building. It looked like a school to Blaine, and if they hadn't told him the truth, he would have never known. The French-Colonial architecture definitely screamed stuffy private school, but when the front doors opened and they stepped through into the foyer, Blaine gasped. Standing before him was a small assembly of six more hulking young men.
Sebastian stepped forward to join them, assuming his position at the head of the pack, and then turned around to face Blaine.
"Welcome to the distinguished halls of Dalton Academy," he said gesturing around the room. "Everyone, this is Blaine. He'll be joining us."
One of the young men nodded at Blaine. "We've heard about you. No worries. You'll fit right in."
"Yeah. We're a great group," a blond added. "The name's Jeff," he pointed to the brunet beside him, "and that's Nick." They smiled friendly smiles, and Blaine smiled back, although still a bit uneasy.
Then Sebastian stepped forward, wrapped his arm around Blaine's shoulder, and pulled him in against his side and into the group. "Blaine here just began phasing, so be nice to him. We're gonna need to teach him everything we know." He motioned to a round-faced man whose eyes lit up, and then he stepped toward Blaine.
"I'm Trent. I'll be helping you out while you're here and teaching you the basics of controlling your shifting." He was probably the least threatening of the group.
"Hey," Blaine said, and he suddenly felt very self-conscious. All eyes were on him, scrutinizing, sizing him up. The group was even more intimidating because almost all of them seemed to be at least six feet tall and towered over Blaine.
"And this is the aforementioned Wes," Sebastian said, pointing out a raven-haired guy, and it clicked in Blaine's head. This was the 'pussy', as Sebastian had put it. But he didn't look weak to Blaine. He seemed to have the same air of authority about him as Sebastian, but it was obvious that Sebastian was in charge.
"Allow me to tell you about our history - but let's go sit in the common room, it's more comfortable," Wes spoke and then gestured for the others to follow him.
Blaine followed them into a wood-paneled room, the center of which was furnished with large, squishy brown leather chairs and couches. They all filed in and seemed to take assigned seats as if by order of command.
Blaine glanced around, his eyes following Sebastian, Wes, and Hunter, and that's when he noticed a long table situated along the one wall.
Blaine took a seat. "Is this like a cult?" He spoke without thinking and immediately regretted it.
Wes looked at him curiously, but then sat in one of the chairs behind the table at the head of the room. "No, not a cult. We're a brotherhood here." He folded his hands on the tabletop. "Listen, Blaine. We understand that you've been living on the reservation alone for years now. Our people, the Quileute have been scattered across the continent over the past few decades. Many have left the tribe and established lives away from the rest, believing that they could escape their fate."
"But I'm Shawnee...there must be some mistake," Blaine insisted. He had no idea who the Quileute were. They certainly weren't native to Ohio.
"Is that what your parents told you?" Sebastian laughed and rolled his eyes.
"There's no mistake, Blaine. It was our ancestors who first merged with the spirit of the wolf to protect humans from the cold ones. You are a descendant of the wolf as well, and we are family. There's no other explanation for why we could track you down and why you shifted. But now that the cold ones have reappeared in the area, it is vital that we stick together. We don't know if it's just the one or if there are more, and we need to be prepared."
"And I'm going to learn to control myself? Can I keep myself from shifting?" Blaine asked.
"Yes, but you will continue to shift as long as the cold ones still remain a threat. That is, until we destroy every last one of them," Sebastian said with a smirk.
"So now you know, Blaine. Let me know that you understand," Wes said.
"Yes. I understand."
"Good."
There was some chatter around the room as the others began to rise from their seats.
Trent turned to Blaine, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Now let's go work on control," he said with a genial smile.
Blaine was glad to be getting away from the rest of the pack. He rose from his seat and followed Trent out of the room, up a spiral staircase, and into a study, closing the door behind them.
Trent exhaled and turned to Blaine. "I hope they didn't scare you too much."
"No, not really. It's just a lot to take in."
"Yeah, it is. So - let me give you a heads up."
"Okay," Blaine said automatically.
"Not everyone in the pack agrees with Sebastian and Hunter. They are the Alpha and the Beta, and we all follow them, but we don't exactly follow them, if you catch my meaning. We just keep the peace because that's what we really want, peace. Not all of us are out to destroy the vampires like we're supposedly meant to. Many of us are for peaceful co-existence unless actually provoked, you know? We haven't even heard of any humans being attacked recently."
"That makes sense," Blaine said. He decided that Trent was the most level-headed of the pack - and the sweetest. He was relieved and happy knowing that Trent would be his mentor rather than one of the others.
"You seem like a smart kid," Trent said. Then he cleared his throat. "So, I'm going to tell you something else, and I want you to really think about it. I will teach you how to control yourself, but I want you to understand the importance of having control over your shifting. You have a choice, Blaine. You can't escape this fate, it's true, because it's in your blood. But you can make the decision to continue shifting, to hunt, and to continue hunting for eternity," he explained.
"There's another choice?" Blaine asked.
"You could choose to stop shifting. But if you choose to do so, you will continue to age like a human. You will be mortal, and you will inevitably die."
"I never thought I had any other choice but that," Blaine said in a small voice.
"You do. Just don't ever let anyone make that choice for you. That's all."
Blaine stood there deep in contemplation for a few moments, wondering why Trent felt so compelled to tell him all of this. After some thought, he realized just how admirable it was of Trent, and a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Thank you, Trent," Blaine said. "Is it weird if I say that I like you?"
Trent laughed jovially. "It's not weird. I'm kind of the resident softy. I'm not like the others. I hear their jokes about me, the pushover Omega. It's hard enough to not fit in anywhere else, so I do what I can here." He paused. "And I like you, too, Blaine. You seem like a good guy."
"Thanks." He found himself beaming. "Um, Trent? Are Sebastian and the others really as bad as they seem?"
"Sometimes. We're supposed to be a brotherhood, but the pack mentality tends to get in the way, and the power goes to their heads," Trent said. "Don't be afraid of them though. You seem to have some fire in you, like you could stand up to them if need be. C'mon, let's go unlock your potential," Trent said with a wink. "I've wasted enough time."
Blaine wouldn't necessarily say that their time spent talking was wasted, but he nodded and listened to Trent as he began the lesson. He had learned an incredible amount already, and it seemed like he had so much more to learn.