Chapter 11 - Monsters
Never be ashamed of who you are
Your flaws are what makes you beautiful,
And what makes you a monster in your eyes
Is that makes you special to others.
The pack watches me, their dark eyes tracing my movements, and following my thoughts. I stand in front of them, in wolf form. Carefully, they take a few steps back, ensuring that they are far enough away from everyone else. Then, they strip, sparing the clothes they care most about.
"Three, two, one," I say in my thoughts, which they can hear. "Phase!"
All at once, they jump up into the air, snarling and growling, as their forms grow and shift, their legs lengthening and their backs arching, their noses and mouths stretching away from their face to form a snout, all while a thick coat of fur appears all over their skin. Once they have fully transformed, they growl and yip, inspecting themselves, I am about to praise them when I look across the pack, and notice once single person who is not in wolf form.
Dahlia.
She stands, unchanged, her arms folded across her chest, her mouth twisted into a frown, and her eyes watching everything in horror.
"Keep practicing, alright," I tell the pack, and they nod sheepishly.
I quickly phase out behind a tree and throw some pants on to talk to her. She flips her still long hair over her shoulder, and marches towards the house, fuming. Her tall heels make huge dents in the snow, the thin layer of ice which covers it snapping with every step.
"Dahlia, wait," I tell her.
She doesn't respond, she just keeps marching towards the house, her hair bouncing in the slight breeze generated by her gait. She prances up the stairs and across the long wooden porch to the front door, and slams it behind her. I open it gently, and find her, sitting bolt upright on the couch, her arms folded and her face twisted into a sour expression.
"Dahlia," I sigh, walking over to sit with her.
"What? You want me to turn into a beast, to cherish the fact that all of us are monsters? I won't do that, Jacob Black, I refuse."
"This isn't something you can choose, it's how you were born. It runs in your veins. And it's nothing to be ashamed of."
"Why would we hide it if it's nothing to be ashamed of?"
"The rest of the world doesn't understand," I say. "It's not our fault. They would be after us with guns and scalpels if we told."
"So what you're saying is that we are monsters, and the world wouldn't understand."
"No, we aren't monsters," I say again, more firmly this time.
She leaps to her feet, hot blood rising in her cheeks. "Then why won't anybody accept us?"
"Calm down," I tell her, "you might phase-"
Suddenly, she phases, her body arching backwards, hair bursting from her skin, and her body shifting into that of a wolf, her fur a deep black shade with piercing green eyes, instead of brown or gold. She snarls, her teeth snapping and foaming, filled with contempt and rage.
She raises her paw, sharp claws protruding from her thick black fur, and she swipes down at me, narrowly missing me when I jump out of the way. I phase now, feeling my wolf form take hold of my entire being, and becoming the animal inside. I snarl and attack, my sharp claws digging deep into her skin, making her howl in pain. She bites my neck, her canines ripping into my flesh, the force of her crushing jaws choking me for a moment. I shake her off, and attack again, pushing her back against the wall and glaring at her.
"Heel," I think, as loudly as I can.
She looks away, only for a moment, before she stares back, her thoughts screaming, "get off me!"
"Cool it, Dahlia," I order, bearing my teeth and snarling.
She whimpers, and finally looks away, before phasing out, clutching the gashes in her side. Her skin is soaked with dark red blood, which stinks of iron and salt. I look away, and phase back. I stand there, my back to her, not a scrap of clothing to be found.
"Are we cool," I ask.
"We'll never be cool," she snaps, finally rising and making her way upstairs to change.
I sigh, and put my hands on my hips. This is going to be harder than I thought.
Dahlia joins us after a few days, finally doing as she's told and practicing her skills. She's faster, stronger, and a quicker learner than the others. She may be destined to be a chief, though she may not know it. She barely looks at me, and when she does, she makes a disgruntled sound. She keeps her focus on more important things, like her cellphone and the latest bit of gossip from school.
One day, as we're training in the woods, I sense a presence quite familiar to me, and smell the most disgusting scent a wolf's nose can smell.
Vampire.
I whip around, expecting Bella or Edward to be there, but I'm taken aback.
Instead of beautiful Bella or stone cold Edward, another vampire takes their place. A vampire I had heard about, but never met. She's tall, her thick, dark hair cascading over her shoulder sin orderly locks, and her bright yellow eyes peering back at me, the slightest smile on her full lips.
"So this is the werewolf boy," she starts.
"Faith, I take it."
"Pleased to finally meet you," she grins, her perfectly white teeth shining in the midday sun. "I was hoping to get a sneak peek of the newest addition to the alliance."
"Who is that," one of the boys calls.
"This is faith, she's one of the vampires we've grown to trust," I explain.
Dahlia only sees her for a second before we all feel her world being ripped away, the ground falling out from under her feet. Her heartbeat quickens, and blood rushes to her cheeks.
She imprints on Faith.
Several of the members of the pack look over at me, confused. I glance over at Dahlia, dumbfounded. I thought female wolves couldn't imprint.
"What's up," Faith asks, weirded out from the silence.
"Wolf... Thing," I stutter, staring at dahlia as she looks back at Faith, her eyes sparkling with pure love.
"Should I go," she asks, trying to be polite.
"No," dahlia bursts. "No, I want to talk to you."
"Not a good idea," I warn her. "You don't know what you're doing."
"I can handle myself," she snarls.
I let her go, and she marches across the reserve with faith in tow, who glances back concernedly.
"What's going on," asks a young wolf.
"She imprinted," I explain. "She'll be obsessed with Faith. She'll do anything for her, be anything for her. I just hope she doesn't get bitten by her own destiny."
"Have you imprinted," asks a young girl.
"Yeah," I smile. "And I nearly lost my life because of it."
"Her parents weren't happy?"
"Her parents are vampires."
"But it worked out?"
"Yeah," I smile.
"So how is this any different," she asks.
I pause. "I suppose it's not."