Chapter 7 - Again

Chloe's POV

I came back to reality in a daze. I went from a bizarre dream about being kidnapped by alien baggage handlers wearing glittery pink waist coats, to find myself lying on a couch with a searing headache. I almost preferred the former - at least I could see something. At the moment, however, my vision was filled with splotches of blurred colour.

After much blinking, I could see almost as usual, though everything was slightly blurred. I assumed this was how people with bad eyesight saw the world when they weren't wearing glasses. I didn't know how they survived; my head was spinning after a few seconds. So I just laid there for a minute with my eyes closed until someone came into the room.

'You're awake.'

It was Matt. I knew it would be. I could tell I was lying on our couch as there was an incredibly fluffy pillow under my head, which meant we were home. I loved fluffy pillows; just imagine the fur trimming of the hood on a jacket all over a pillow - so soft and fluffy. And as far as I know, I'm the only person in the world that is obsessed with fluffy pillows. I had FPF - fluffy pillow fanaticism - and I was proud of it. So we must be at home.

And if we were home, no one else would be there, as I was not supposed to be making contact with the outside world. For some reason I did not know, Matt was determined to isolate me. I had asked why, and all I got was 'it's for your own good.' How was turning into a hermit good for me? I didn't know, but I was still under lock down.

Which meant that Matt was the only person who would be here, talking to me. I was quite proud of myself for figuring out all this, despite my killer headache. I heard Matt move across the room towards me and sit down on the other couch before he continued speaking.

'Why Chloe? Why did you leave the house, go hiking in the forest, and once again come back injured?' My eyes were closed so I couldn't see his expression, but from his tone of voice could tell he was simultaneously annoyed and worried.

'I did not injure myself. It was the same injury, just more crippling.' I could almost see his exasperated eye roll, despite still having my own eyes closed.

'But that's not what's important here. What's important is how I got out in the first place.' He huffed, and I smiled. No one could annoy my brother like I could.

'Are you kidding? Can't you stay on track for one second?' He paused, waiting for me to answer. I was silent, so he continued.

'Yeah, I want to know. I took the keys, and locked everything. I was certain you'd be safe.' Ah, I knew him so well. I knew he'd want to know, if only so he could prevent it next time. I also knew he would be glaring at me, which was I couldn't resist a smirk as I responded.

'Well, it's a trade secret. I'm not telling.' He groaned.

'You're impossible.'

I made a noise in agreement.

'But why did you have to leave the house?'

'Do you have to ask?' He knew I hated being kept inside.

'But why did you have to go into the forest?' I was just about to answer when I fully realised what he'd just said. I replied slowly, thinking.

'How did you know I'd been in the woods?'

'Paul told me. He's the one who brought you back' I quickly went back over everything that had happened in my head. I'd been walking in the forest, I'd shouted at the tree, I'd-.

Yelled at the werewolf for following me. Oh. That explained it.

But what hadn't occurred to me yesterday, and I was suddenly realising now, was that the wolf was probably following me for a very precise reason.

Matt had sent one me the pack to stalk me.

Paul, whoever he was, had been following me, scaring the life out of me, and had brought me back to Matt and told him everything. And now I was going to be under house arrest; great. Dislike flared to life, but was squashed as something else occurred to me.

If I knew my brother at all, Paul was probably in just as much trouble as I was. Matt would likely be blaming him for everything.

Not a good place to be.

My brother had already been protective an intimidating, even before he had phased.

Yeah, that was definitely not a day I'd be forgetting anytime soon.

I had known the legends, but of course I didn't think they were real. It was a shock to hear my brother was a wolf - shock was an understatement. And I didn't exactly hear the news - no, it happened right before my eyes.

Something had clearly been wrong with Matt. He had grown half a foot in less than moth, leaving him almost 6 and ½ feet tall, with bulging muscles and an unceasing fever; not what the average 18 year old looked like.

So of course I had been worried.

The problem was, no one else was.

Matt was normal - he didn't seem to think anything was different. Mum wasn't worried either - she acted like everything was fine, like there was nothing wrong. I was alone.

Then one day, in the kitchen, everything changed.

Matt came into the room, heading straight for the pantry as usual. He ate like a maniac, always hungry. He was a bottomless pit that never got full. Stuffing his face with chips, he took out a glass, filled it with water and began sculling it. I watched with amusement, waiting for him to realise I was there.

He turned around, saw me sitting on a stool at the bench top, and his eyes widened in shock. He looked guilty as hell for a few seconds, until he realised it was me and not mum. I laughed.

He tried to say something, but his mouth was full of food, so all I heard was 'pewidawtuwermm' I laughed again - it was impossible not to.

'You're such an idiot Matt, seriously' I said, turning and sliding off my stool. I expected him to make a sarcastic comment back.

He didn't.

I looked back at him to ask what was wrong, and I froze.

He was shaking, his fists clenched, eyes thin slits that were glaring at me. He looked seriously angry, and I instinctively backed up until I was pressed against the back of the couch. All my instincts were telling me to run. And then it happened.

He exploded.

I screamed and fell to the floor. I couldn't see anything except the outline of a massive something in the room where Matt had been standing just seconds ago.

I didn't understand. I couldn't think. I blinked, trying to get a good look at the thing in the kitchen. It was then that I realised.

It was a wolf. A massive wolf, as tall as me, that had brown fur. It looked at me. It actually looked at me. Its eyes were a pale blue, staring at me. Eyes that were just like Matt's. It was then that I fully comprehended everything.

Matt had turned into a wolf.

I did the only thing I could do - I ran.

I went to Nissa's house; she was my best friend. She didn't ask questions - something I was eternally grateful for - she just waited until I was ready to explain. And that took a while.

I can only imagine what I must have looked like when I turned up on her doorstep, soaking, outside in the pouring rain. I'd been crying, and I don't think I said anything before I hurled myself into her arms. I couldn't remember much of what happened that night, but from what Nissa said I don't think I was very coherent. And so I huddled in the foetal position for hours trying to come to terms with events.

After many, many hours, I think I began to come out of hysterics. I don't know what Nissa thought had happened, but I knew I couldn't explain everything without completely breaking down. But I wasn't rational enough to even start thinking up a reason for my hysterics when Nissa spoke for the first time since I'd arrived.

'It's your brother, isn't it?' her voice was soft and certain.

I glanced up at her. Her pale face was filled with worry; she was the only one who I told about my brother. I nodded.

She sighed. There was a long silence where she seemed to be trying to decide whether to say something or not. Then she spoke.

'What happened?' I just started sobbing all over again.

I stayed there all night, crying. In the morning, I wasn't much better - seeing your brother explode into a wolf isn't something you can just recover overnight from. But at least I had someone to take care of me. It didn't last. After many hours, Nissa tried once more to get me to talk - it was Saturday, so we had plenty of time - but she hadn't been successful.

I'd finally fallen to sleep after eating, and once I woke up, everything seemed a little less overwhelming. It was then, with my slightly clearer mind, I began to wonder how mum was dealing with all me this.

I had a suspicious feeling that she'd known. It was irrational, and made no sense, but it stuck with me.

My brother was a werewolf and my mum had known he was about to become one.

I didn't know what to do.

I couldn't just forget everything and go home. I was still an emotional wreck; even just thinking about all of this was giving me a killer headache.

I had to admit I was still absolutely petrified. I had run for the door, convinced I was going to die. My instincts had screamed to run, to get away. Such an experience was one I couldn't just forget.

I collapsed on the floor in a mess of limbs. Tears flowed like rivers down my cheeks as I struggled over to the wall, resting my back against it, bringing my knees up to my chest. It was all just too much to deal with. I needed someone to explain; to understand. But there was no one. Nissa wasn't here, not that I could tell her anyway. I was truly, completely, utterly alone.

Then suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door. I looked up at it - I was only about 3 metres away - and did nothing but continue crying. The banging continued, and got more and more forceful. They were rattling the doorknob ferociously, and then there was a loud crack. The door was open in a flash, and then once again I was confronted with the supernatural.

Glancing upwards, still crying my heart out, I saw nothing but a huge figure in the doorway. Whoever it was reminded me once again of Matt, and so I cried even more. Heart-wrenching sobs that echoed all around. I couldn't do anything but cry.

A warm form appeared next to me, and pulled me into its arms. I didn't know who it was, and I didn't care. Only hours later, after much comforting, did I realise who it was.

Matt.

I dragged myself away from my ramblings and recollections, shaking my head to clear it. There were more important things than reminiscing that had to been done.

And first on my list was yelling at my brother was his complete over reaction to try and keep me safe.

'You sent someone to stalk me' I accused. I would have glared, but the dizziness that came whenever I opened my eyes was enough of a deterrent to keep my eyes safely closed.

'No, I didn't. I just made sure you didn't get yourself into any trouble.' I stood up and turned to face him, or where his voice had come from. My voice was loud and authoritative. In other words, I was basically shouting.

'YOU SENT SOME ONE TO STALK ME.'