A/N: Hello, everyone. :) I'm back on Gravity Falls again. Now that I've had a better idea on where to take the story, I had decided to change the rating from T to M. And you can expect another chapter to be released sometime this week. For now, I hope you all like the introduction of Wendy's new pack. :)
Chapter 2: Wendy's New Pack
Wendy didn't know what to think about what was going on. She had a suspicion that the wolf that bit her that night was actually a werewolf, but she hoped it wasn't the case. And to add a turn to the already strange chain of events, she'd met two people who claimed they were werewolves like her and took her away. Well, they led her away after she ran away from home, but that was beside the point. All the same, Wendy had a lot of questions in her mind, and she needed them answered. Selene told her that she'd explain on the way, and if there was an opportunity for her to do it, it'd have to be now.
"So, what exactly is going on with me? And how do you guys know about this?"
Selene looked back to Wendy before she replied, bearing a look of patience on her face.
"Well, first, I think you already answered your own question. And we know about it because it's happened to us, too."
Just then, the trio heard someone making smooching noises. It was one of the band members of the boy band, Sev'ral Timez. Mabel went on them about the day before. She didn't know how, but Wendy had a feeling she had something to do with it somehow.
"Dang, girl."
While he continued smooching the tree, Selene, Luna, and Wendy looked on in confusion before Selene explained herself.
"For the record, though, he's not with us."
After a while, Luna couldn't help but laugh with a cute giggle at the scene in front of her before the band member shouted randomly.
"Yeah, kissing trees is pretty weird."
"2013!"
Just then, another howl came from far away before Selene did another howl, acting as a sort of beacon. Wendy looked on in confusion before Selene spoke up again.
"It's this way."
As Selene took her arm and dragged her quickly with Luna following, Wendy became as curious as she was worried, though she didn't show it.
"What? What's this way?"
"When we get there, you'll see."
Wendy wasn't sure if she should take her word for it, but so far, Selene and Luna seem to know more about her condition, for some reason. And whether she was to become a werewolf or not, Wendy needed to know. As far as she can tell, there was no other way to get the answers. Still, that didn't mean she shouldn't get to know them in the meantime. At least, they're better company than her so-called family was turning out to be. Wendy put on a laid-back look as she shrugged her shoulders and replied.
"Okay. I'll bite. But as long as we're walking out here, how did you guys know I was bitten by a werewolf?"
Luna pointed to the bite marks on the girl's arm as she gave her answer.
"I saw your bite mark. It looks just like a wolf's."
Although the answer was somewhat helpful, Wendy was still puzzled by the difference.
"Okay, but how did you know it wasn't just a normal wolf that bit me?"
Selene turned back to Wendy as they walked on the path headed upwards.
"It may come as a surprise, but there's no such thing as normal in Gravity Falls."
Wendy rolled her eyes at Selene's answer. Truth was, it didn't come as any surprise to her at all. After her misadventure with the ghosts of the owners of the abandoned Dusk 2 Dawn, she sat and stared at a wall, rethinking everything. And since then, she came to expect the unexpected. She still hung out with her friends doing their thing, but she still paid attention to when something's too dangerous for even her own good.
"Are you kidding? I took on a couple of ghosts even before I was bit."
Selene and Luna couldn't help but become surprised once again, though the latter was more impressed than frightened like Selene was.
"You fought ghosts?!"
Wendy saw the excited look on Luna's face and smiled to herself. She was just like Mabel. If the two of them ever met, she's certain they'd spend a lot of time together.
"Well, yeah. More or less. But we had a truce at the end."
Selene looked at Wendy in disbelief. She hardly saw any way that she could manage to defeat a ghost, let alone have a truce with them. In her experience, they can be pretty vengeful. So much so that they'd never leave anyone alive.
"And, uh, where did you fight these ghosts?"
Wendy looked at the worry on Selene's face and became a bit unnerved. But it wasn't enough to completely change her laid-back look.
"Uh, you know. Just at that one place. I think it's called Dusk 2 Dawn or something?"
The answer only made Selene surprised at how much trouble she got into. As if being bitten by a werewolf wasn't enough; she ended up inciting the wrath of ghosts, too?!
"You broke into that place, too? How are you even still alive? The ghosts of that place's owners hated teenagers with a vengeance."
Wendy was quick to answer Selene. She didn't know if it was out of concern or respect, but she didn't think much of it after she rethought everything. However, she also remembered the promise she made to Dipper to keep the Lamby Lamby Dance a secret with him, making her stop almost completely in the middle of her answer before she revised it, mostly to keep Dipper out of it.
"Well, we probably wouldn't have if… if one of us didn't do the Lamby Lamby Dance."
Luna became puzzled by the name of the dance. She didn't seem like she'd heard of such a thing.
"What's a Lamby Lamby Dance?"
Wendy blushed at the thought of explaining it, especially since she happened to have memorized it since her first time seeing it. Back then, it was quite a hilarious thing to see. Although, she had to hand it to Dipper; he worked really well in that costume.
"Oh, first you dress up in a lamb costume, and then you sing while doing a cute dance."
"Can you sing it to me?"
That made Wendy blush like wildfire. She never thought anyone would ask her to do that, not even for a dare. Then again, she never told that dance to anyone before today.
"Um… I don't know."
Luna only gave Wendy the cutest face with big puppy eyes as she pleaded once more.
"Pleeeeeeease?"
Selene snickered at the sight of Luna's attempt to listen to the song before she reminded her of the task at hand.
"Maybe after we get this sorted out, Luna. Right now, we have to go back to the Night Claws."
Wendy raised her eyebrows in puzzlement. That was something she never heard of before. Although, with the situation of her being bitten by a werewolf, it's a given.
"Night Claws? Is that some kinda Lycanthrope gang or something?"
"Uh, sorta. It's more of a community. But we don't hang around humans too often."
"Well, where do you guys hang out?"
As if to answer, another howl came from above, unsettling Wendy once again before Selene took notice of her slightly worried look before she reassured the redhead.
"Don't worry. It's just the signal. It's how we find our way back. Watch."
Selene howled out to the source again before another howl came. From that howl alone, Selene seemed to have pinpointed their location.
"It's really close. Our cave should be somewhere around here."
Wendy was confused. And yet, she somehow expected it. Gravity Falls isn't a normal place, as Selene told her. At this point, it wouldn't surprise her.
"And, uh, where is your cave?"
Selene turned back to Wendy as she replied.
"It's over there."
Where Selene pointed, it was a cave entrance itself oddly shaped like the open snout of a wolf just far away. Beside that was an encircled group of tents in a small grassy clearing with some rocks connecting to the cave and to the mountain above it. The redhead was a little underwhelmed by the sight.
"So, this is where you hang out?"
Luna only gave her an eager look as she smiled.
"Wait till you see it up close."
Luna took off towards the settlement with a giggle. Wendy looked to Selene, wondering if she should go through with this. Selene only responded with a reply.
"Well, you heard Luna."
With that, Selene led the way to the settlement with Wendy hanging back behind her. The closer she got to the scene, the more Wendy became convinced she must be dreaming. The tents were made of loosely opened cloth, held up either by strong sticks or repurposed metal poles. The cloth itself seemed dirty, appearing to have been stitched together after years of use. And the people? That's what surprised Wendy the most.
She saw little children running around playing tag (Luna included) as well as a woman preparing food. How could people thrive here like it's natural? But that wasn't what surprised Wendy about the people. Looking around, she saw that most of them were either half-clothed in pelts or completely in the nude! Wendy grew a big blush on her cheeks as she tried not to look directly at their exposed parts, catching Selene's attention as she checked with her. As for the people she saw, they merely waved to her like it was all natural. As far as Wendy was concerned, this was as far from natural as it could possibly be.
"Uh, why didn't you tell me most of these guys are naked?"
Selene then began to get embarrassed herself, having neglected to give her that warning.
"Oh, right. Well, since we're all werewolves, clothes are kinda like a secondary thing for us. It kinda saves us the hassle of ripping them up by mistake."
Wendy shuddered at the sight of this many people just wandering around buck-naked. She never could've imagined this, not even in her worst nightmares. And as if that weren't enough, she saw some of them noticing her and muttering amongst themselves. The fact that Wendy's hearing improved in this situation didn't help at all.
"Who's that girl?"
"I've never seen her before. Have you?"
"No. What's she doing here?"
Wendy began to show her nervousness as she inquired to Selene about a matter she came to expect from werewolves.
"Uh, they're not gonna attack me, are they?"
"Relax, Wendy. They're just curious. And they're usually a bit cautious around newcomers. But trust me. They're good people once you get to know them."
Just to be safe, Wendy made sure she didn't look the wrong way and stroke the wrong attention as she looked at the tents. But as she glanced in the open tents during her walk, she saw old dirty knickknacks inside, a lot of them reminding her of the Mystery Shack. One item in particular was a taxidermy of a fox with an armadillo with a fish head riding it. The redhead became puzzled as she turned to her guide.
"Where do you guys get all this stuff?"
Selene saw the fascination on her face and smiled at her before she answered.
"What'd you think? That we hole ourselves up in a dank cave all this time? We collected these things for years."
This threw Wendy off a moment. They didn't seem to have any money to pay for some of the stuff she saw.
"Uh, define 'collected'."
"Oh, you know, pick up? Add to a collection? Take them off the streets? Trade money for them at the Mystery Shack?"
The redhead grew a bit puzzled by this. But then again, it did seem to make sense. They must've actually bought Grunkle Stan's so-called mysterious merchandise. Although, it did raise one question to mind.
"But how did you guys get the money for those things? Stan charges top dollar for most of that stuff."
"Well, we don't actually pay for them, per se. But there were a lot of people who gave us these things."
That made sense to Wendy. They must've gotten wise to Stan's scams and traded them off just to get rid of them.
"Oh. I get it."
"Plus, our mailman gave us our own orders, too."
Selene pointed over to a mailman not far away. He was getting out a small statue of the Sas-crotch before handing it out to a little girl.
"Here you are. One plush replica of the Sas-crotch."
Wendy recognized the hairy features of the mailman, recalling what Soos told her before. Who would've thought he was right on the money?
"Hey, isn't that the mailman Soos told me about?"
Selene turned back to Wendy in puzzlement.
"Who's Soos?"
"Eh, just a friend from work. He told me he saw a mailman that looked like a werewolf."
Selene looked back to the mailman before she saw the confusion.
"Oh! No, he's not a werewolf. He's just our local mailman."
"Huh. Looks like Soos owes me some money for that bet."
On closer inspection, Wendy saw some homemade wooden tables and chairs for dining in their tent, playing cards, or even just sitting in general as a few members were using those items for just that. However, she learned that they had another use. Apparently, some tables were also being used to skin pelts or prepare the meat to cook for the tribe. For example, one of the tents had strung up animal furs on a clothesline, making Wendy grimace at the grisly sight.
Another tent, however, had pots, pans and several other cooking utensils set up around their tent along with a stone-made fire pit with which to cook the meals in a big, beat-up, black pot. If that wasn't one heck of a campfire by itself, Wendy wouldn't know what was. Which begged the question: how did they get their food?
"So, uh, do you guys eat people?"
Selene took offense to that almost immediately, but she knew that Wendy didn't try to be so stereotypical.
"What? No. We don't eat people."
Wendy drew out a breath of relief before she replied.
"Oh, good. That's a relief. Then what do you eat?"
Selene thought it was obvious as she reminded her of when she described the details of a werewolf to Luna.
"You said it yourself: we have to eat meat. Basically, we eat wild game like rabbits, squirrels, groundhogs, moles, deer, bucks, and moose."
Wendy shrugged at the dinner options Selene gave out. They reminded her of how her father always ate at dinner.
"That sounds a lot like stuff my dad eats."
Selene looked back over to Wendy with a curious look on her face.
"So, your dad is like a hunter or something?"
Wendy shook her head with a slight laugh before she answered her.
"Yeah, no. My dad's actually a lumberjack. He's a really nice guy, but he is kinda super-obsessed with being manly. I don't know if that's supposed to come with the territory, or if he's just doing that on purpose."
Selene gave her a soft smile. From the sound of it, her father must have a heart of gold, but he didn't seem to like sharing that about himself.
"Well, at least we can relate on what to eat. You must be lucky."
Wendy's face softened from hearing Selene tell that to her. Given what happened to her for the past week, she was anything but lucky. First, she got stood up by Robbie. Then, she found out he lied to her about the song. And to make matters worse, she was attacked by a werewolf. Lucky would be the last thing she'd call herself.
"Yeah. Right…"
Selene couldn't help but feel bad for Wendy. She didn't know how or why, but she had a feeling her father may have had something to do with her glum look.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Wendy only turned her head away from Selene as she spoke bitterly.
"I don't want to talk about it."
That got awkward really fast for Selene. Although, it makes some sense that she'd be reserved. She and Luna were basically taking her away from home. Who wouldn't be upset about that? Selene only turned away with an awkward smile as she responded.
"Um… okay. I mean, we only just met. So, it is a bit much to, uh… you know. Anyway, here we are."
Selene and Wendy had just arrived at the mouth of the wolf-snout-like cave. The jagged rocks in the likeness of wolf's teeth looked like a gate ready to drop. It's a good thing they were sturdy. But within the cave, there was a campfire of sorts within. Why would a campfire be left alone like that if people were outside? Selen turned back to Wendy before she spoke up.
"The Alpha should be inside here. I'll just go make sure he's okay with it. He doesn't particularly like outsiders so much, so you might wanna keep quiet."
Wendy looked back to the cave, admittedly unnerved about how ferocious this Alpha must be. She may or may not be turning into a werewolf, but she didn't want to get on his bad side so quickly if he's anything like the beasts she saw from the movies, not that the people around her seem to be anything of the sort.
"Um… okay. Whatever you think is best."
Selene then stepped into the cave and picked up a torch nearby on the cave wall before heading down to the campfire. When she got to it, two glowing wolf eyes appeared out of nowhere. Selene appeared to be especially anxious with them staring down at her before she spoke nervously.
"Uh, hey, Apollo. It's me."
The source of the eyes leaned closer to her, revealing himself in the campfire. He had a tall muscular body type with long shoulder length red hair with grey streaks, a square jaw line, broad shoulders, a dark, brown-like skin tone, a tattoo of scratch marks on a moon on his right shoulder, pale grey eyes, a long rough looking nose, and long fingernails. He was also wearing a loose grey tank top, a black leather vest with the left side open, and a dark pair of long skinny jeans with a black leather belt and brown slip-on shoes. There was a short moment of silence between the two before he began speaking in a booming deep, yet smooth voice.
"Selene. What news do you bring?"
Wendy overheard the conversation with her newly developed hearing and got chills to the bone from hearing this voice. It was so powerful, and yet, it was just as smooth. Not to mention it greatly rivaled his demeanor. She couldn't believe it, not even as she looked into the cave where she was and spoke to herself quietly.
"Whoa. That's the alpha? He looks… ripped."
Meanwhile, inside the cave, Selene cleared her throat timidly before she answered the voice.
"Ahem! Uh, okay. You're probably gonna laugh, but… Luna and I found a human near one of our sites."
Apollo looked at her seemingly indifferent, only for him to ask to hear the rest of the news.
"And?"
After a small moment of pause, Selene hesitantly gave him the news further.
"Well, um… apparently, she's been… bitten by a werewolf?"
The Alpha widened his eyes in surprise. This news was certainly shocking to say the least. But whether it was good or bad, Selene didn't know, and she didn't want to find out. However, Apollo spoke with concern next.
"What?! And where is this human now?"
In her answer, Selene tried to reassure the Alpha.
"Just outside the cave, actually. I had to bring her along and make sure she wasn't dying."
That caught Wendy by surprise and terror. She could die from being bitten by a werewolf? There was nothing in the movies about that being a possibility! Well, apart from when it bites you into something vitally important. All the same, the very thought of it made Wendy break out in a cold sweat. The alpha's eyes narrowed themselves down some before he spoke.
"Very well. Before anything else, however, I'll need an audience with this human."
Selene took a deep breath of relief before she nodded and spoke.
"Okay. She's just outside."
The two of them went over to Wendy, whose laid-back facade has now crumbled. When they reached her, Selene could only assume that she must've heard that side effect of the bite.
"So… I'm guessing you heard all that, huh?"
Wendy was quick to express her panic as she practically began to throttle her, placing her hands on her shoulders.
"What the heck?! You never told me I could die!"
Amidst Wendy's surprisingly strong throttle, Selene tried to explain herself to Wendy.
"But I wasn't sure if you actually were. That's the whole reason I brought you here."
Despite her attempt to reassure her, Wendy was still mad with her for keeping it a secret from her.
"What do you mean you're not sure?! You should be able to know, shouldn't you?!"
Before Wendy could throttle her any more, Apollo saw Selene's distress and snarled. He didn't hesitate to let out his booming voice, echoing as it jolted Wendy and Selene before they fell to the ground.
"Enough!"
As Wendy and Selene looked to the Alpha who towered above them, as did the other pack members, he called out again, sending more chills down Wendy's spine with his apparently short temper.
"Cease this foolishness at once!"
Selene looked back to Wendy, hoping to get on her good side as she spoke under her breath.
"Listen, I know you have a lot of questions. But for now, just go with it. I'll explain everything after. Okay?"
Wendy didn't like this, but as far as her life was concerned, she had little choice. She gave her a nod before Selene tried to introduce him to her.
"So, uh, this is the human I was telling you about. Apollo, meet Wendy. Wendy, meet Apollo."
Apollo looked towards her, making Wendy smile nervously as she tried to wave to him.
"Uh… hi."
Apollo only gave her a hard and suspicious glare before looking back to Selene as she went on.
"She was attacked last night. We don't know if it's one of ours so far, but for the most part, she seems okay."
The Alpha still maintained his disbelief as he glanced back at Wendy and spoke to her.
"Come with me, child. Before anything else, we'll see if you're truly like us."
Apollo then began to walk into the woods with Wendy and Selene following him, the former of the two being nervous with no idea what to expect. Far behind, Luna saw this and went after them, running on all fours.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
Later after that, the group was in a secluded part of the woods. By that point, the sun appeared to be an hour away from setting itself on the horizon. Apollo was standing in front of Wendy as Selene and Luna sat on a nearby log to watch his deduction. The redhead was confused by the whole situation and she didn't want to be rude about it, especially not to the Alpha who already proved he can make the earth shake with his voice.
"So, uh, what are we doing here?"
"To see if you are truly one of us, we'll need to do a basic thorough examination first."
Wendy couldn't help but blush madly at the thought. Selene saw that look before. It was when Wendy saw most of them were in the buff. To help it go easier on her, she gave out the one important detail about the examination.
"Don't worry, Wendy. You won't have to go naked."
Wendy let out a sigh of relief before she looked back up to Apollo.
"Thank goodness. In that case, let's do this."
He walked closer to her and began to sniff around Wendy. After he was done sniffing her, Apollo leaned closer to her face, looking into her eyes before using his hands to open her mouth and get a look at her teeth, seeing that they were only normal teeth instead of fangs. Then, he took a look at her hands, specifically the nails on them. They did appear longer, but not long enough to count as the nails he has. Apollo looked at her ears next, stroking her hair back to see them, making Wendy blush a bit with how gentle he stroked it. And then, of course, there's the bite on her arm. The Alpha's eyes widened a bit at the sight of it before they dropped down a bit before he crossed his arms.
"I'm not convinced. Nothing from my examination so far shows that you're even one of us, girl. They're not genuine."
Not genuine? What about her situation wasn't genuine? How could he say that when it's possible for her to die? Wendy tried to remind him of her bite as she piped up.
"What? But what about—?"
"The bite on your arm may have some merit, but it takes more than that to convince me. For all any of us would know, that could just be a ruse. I'll need more concrete proof than that."
"But the bite should be proof enough! It hasn't even healed since that night!"
Apollo still maintained his look of suspicion as he spoke again in a dismissive tone.
"Some bites and scars don't heal immediately."
Wendy only groaned in frustration. Why did she have to put up with this when her life is on the line? How could he demand proof when nothing about this town was normal in the first place?
"Ugh! What other proof do you need?!"
"You ask the obvious. I'll need to see your partial transformation for myself."
Selene and Luna let out a shocked gasp from behind Wendy. She didn't know why, but they seemed afraid of this partial transformation as the former spoke up her worries.
"But Apollo, that's asking too much for a first timer. It's almost impossible to do it voluntarily."
Apollo only raised his hand before speaking out to her with a stern tone in his voice.
"Stay out of this, Selene. I've made up my mind."
Selene's face softened into a frown as she replied.
"Yes, sir…"
Seeing this, Wendy became more irritated. For one thing, she wouldn't know how to do a partial transformation if she tried. And on another note, it wasn't right for him to shut Selene out like that, Alpha or not.
"What's your problem, man?! She's just trying to help! And how am I supposed to do a partial transformation anyway?!"
Apollo only maintained his stern look and tone as he turned back to Wendy.
"That's for you to figure out. Either you do what I ask, or you're on your own."
Wendy became agitated once again. Yet another example of men thinking about themselves. They never stopped to think about how others would feel. Those are the kind of people she'd rather tear the throats out of if she could. Right now, her only reason for agreeing to it is to somehow get the power to do just that as she groaned in frustration.
"Fine."
With that, Wendy clenched her hands tight and began to groan in strains, trying hard to force a transformation as Apollo told her. While she focused on forcing a change on herself, her body began to fidget in places as a strange feeling came over her. Wendy became convinced it was working somehow and kept up the effort as Apollo watched with indifference while Selene and Luna looked on in worry. But despite this, Apollo only began to put her down.
"I'm sorry, do you need a minute? It looks like you're in dire need of a bathroom."
Wendy only growled during her straining effort to force a change on herself. She knew from Selene and Luna that there's a beast inside her. And it was out when she argued with her brother Marcus. Why won't it come out this time?"
"Come on, child! Bare your fangs! Or are they as fictitious as your red hair?"
That comment puzzled Luna before she inquired to Selene about it.
"But doesn't he have red hair, too?"
Wendy groaned even harder as her cheeks turned red, making Apollo puzzled before he spoke.
"Oh, look at that. I wasn't aware humans could change to that color."
Eventually, however, Wendy only stopped her attempt, huffing and puffing at the effort she pushed onto herself. She closed her eyes while she took her breath to keep the sun out of her eyes. Meanwhile, Apollo looked down on her unimpressed.
"I knew it. You're not one of us, child. You're just a confused human who believed you were something you're obviously not."
Hearing those words was the last straw. Wendy only opened her eyes, showing that they had completely changed. They were a shining yellow with a black slit over each of them. Wendy wasn't aware of that change, but she didn't care. All that mattered to her was giving Apollo a piece of her mind. And she was going to give him the whole slice.
"Well, you know what? You're the biggest jerk I've ever met in my life!"
Selene and Luna were struck with shock from Wendy's words. Apollo turned around to glare at Wendy from her words.
"What was that?"
But when he turned around, he saw Wendy in her rage mode. He couldn't help but look her in the eye in shock from this as well before Wendy continued.
"You heard me, fangface! This examination, this partial transformation, all of it was just a waste of time! Well, I got news for you, pal! I didn't get dragged here just to be told I'm not good enough! And you know something else? I just figured out I don't need your approval to know that I have a beast inside me! And so help me, if you can't see that, then you're the one I'm letting it out on first!"
Apollo only stared at Wendy in shock and surprise. But the redhead only took it as another sign of how much of a jerk he is.
"What's wrong now?! You can't talk back now that the truth's been slapped on your face?!"
Contrary to what Wendy thought, however, Apollo was actually stunned by the more prominent matter. He tried his best to speak, but with what she could do,
"Your eyes. It's as if I've stared into the abyss. But that's impossible."
Wendy felt as though she should take offense to that. But a part of her wondered what was impossible about her eyes. Thankfully, despite the rage she showed in that moment, that side won out. For now...
"What? What's impossible?"
"You… you are one of us."
Wendy stared deep into the reflection of Apollo's eyes. And in doing so, the abyss had stared back into her, showing her the eyes she now held. She couldn't believe that she had such eyes. She never had them before. Selene and Luna went up to Wendy and saw that Apollo was right. Selene looked into the golden wolf eyes with astonishment at the fear being possible. Of course, the little girl was happier with what that meant as she turned to Apollo.
"Looks like he's right, Wendy. And you didn't even transform yet."
"Does that mean Wendy can stay with us?"
Apollo was at a loss for words before he cleared his throat and stood up. He never imagined that someone born a human would end up becoming a werewolf. Though, she did turn out to be stronger in will than he guessed.
"We'll, uh, have to see. For now, I must confer this matter with the council."
Apollo began to walk away. But as he did, Wendy changed her eyes back to normal and called to him again.
"Wait! What about me? What am I supposed to do?"
Apollo turned back to Wendy as he answered, still shaken by her wolf eyes that he doubted she'd ever get.
"You're going to stay here until night falls. That's when you'll transform. Selene and Luna will help you through it."
Luna pumped her fists in excitement just as she spoke to herself.
"Yes!"
Selene smiled back at Apollo before she gave the Alpha her thanks.
"Thanks, Apollo. I promise, you won't regret this."
Apollo looked back to Wendy, starting to form a look of regret for putting her down the way he did as he spoke to himself.
"Let's hope not…"
Apollo then went away from the group, leaving them in the woods to look after Wendy. Selene seemed pretty thrilled to be taking part in this matter.
"Wow. That went pretty well."
However, it didn't take long for Selene to notice Wendy's face. She had a sad, dismal tone all over it. From the look of it, Selene began to realize it didn't go as well for her.
"But that's not what you wanted, was it?"
Wendy looked over to Selene, feeling worried and a bit upset as she replied.
"No, it's fine. It's just… I don't want to die. I mean, transforming into a wolf I can handle, but dying? That's not in the plan."
Selene realized then she still hadn't answered her questions. Even with what she just went through, Wendy was still in the dark. If she's going to withstand the night, she'll need to know as much as possible, at least about her transformation. For now, it seems like the best place to start. Selene started with the good news, seeing how Wendy stood up to Apollo for her as she smiled.
"Well, I don't think we'll have to worry about that."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Thing is, werewolf bites are kinda like bee stings. You know how bee stings end up being fatal to bees themselves if they lose their stingers? Well, it's kinda like that, in a way. The Night Claws do that as a last resort to defend themselves against an attacker if they're cornered. If that person who got bit isn't strong enough to take on the curse, they end up being killed by it. Most people called it a plague in the old days. Not to mention it's a double-edged sword for the wolf that bites them, too."
Wendy hardly saw that as comforting as she frowned.
"And how's that supposed to make me feel better?"
"Because you are strong, Wendy. You just stood up to the Alpha for me. Of all people, a stranger. You could've crumbled from all the things Apollo said to you, but you didn't. You fought back. If you can do that, you can definitely take on that curse. So you'll be okay."
Wendy smiled back at Selene. She certainly knew good qualities in her when she saw it.
"And if this Robbie can't see that, then he's as blind as a bat."
Once she heard this, however, Wendy became puzzled.
"Wait a minute. I never mentioned Robbie. Why did you?"
Once she realized what she just said, Selene's face blanched in embarrassment as she blushed. It didn't take long for Wendy to get the picture.
"Wait a minute… were you the one who bit me?"
Selene only shook her head nervously before she admitted something else to her as did Luna as her own reaction inadvertently exposed her own role.
"What?! No way! I would never bite you! I told you it was a last resort! But, I was kinda watching you from the bushes this morning…"
"Really? I thought I was the only one watching her."
Selene looked back to Luna just as the little girl realized her folly.
"You were doing what?"
"Nothing!"
This made Wendy recall when she heard rustling in the bushes that morning by her house.
"I knew I heard something. You guys were watching me this whole time?"
Selene and Luna both had nervous smiles on their faces before the older of the two looked at Wendy and spoke with a time tone, trying to make a light-hearted joke.
"And the questions just keep on coming, huh? Well, I guess you were gonna know, eventually."
Selene looked at the sun on the horizon. When they got there, it was an hour away from setting itself. But since they started to analyze her, ten minutes had gone by.
"We still got 50 minutes. Might as well answer your questions."
Wendy gave Selene a soft look. She was trying to help her despite the two of them having been watching her before she replied.
"Yeah, well… I guess I owe you that much."
With that, she, Selene, and Luna sat down a lot before the older girl of the two continued, hoping she'd be able to process it all by the time the sun goes down.
"Well… let's start at the beginning."
A/N: And cue cliffhanger. Sorry to do that to you guys, but don't worry. You'll get your questions answered in the next chapter, which as previously stated will be up sometime this week. :) As for the voice of Apollo, he is portrayed by the legendary Keith David. The man gives each character the voice of a god, especially Goliath from Gargoyles. :) That said, I hope you're not too mad about this...