Chapter Four- Lost Friendship.

Yusei's nose twitched and he opened his eyes, lifting his head and sniffing. Something smelled good and his stomach growled. He slid out of bed and headed down the stairs, following the smell to the kitchen. He entered to see Akiza at the stove and the twins at the counter with bread and lunch meat. The redhead turned and smiled at him. "Hello, Yusei. We thought we fix something simple for lunch." She gestured at the pot and the twins.

"Hmm." He sniffed the air. "Chicken noodle soup," he said. "Sounds good."

"Luna and I are in charge of sandwiches," Leo said. "We got ham, turkey, and chicken. What's your choice?"

"Ham and chicken sound good." Yusei watched as his unit put lunch together and he went to see what they had for drinks. He found only juice and milk in the fridge. All right. Juice, milk, or water to drink.

Minutes later, all four were eating lunch which seemed normal to Yusei. But, it's not, he thought. They're not human, they just look human. How am I supposed to live with purebloods who probably don't really know how it is to be human? I've got loose ends to tie up, but I can't go alone and I don't know if they would even understand why it's important to tie up loose ends.

"Yusei, we would be happy to go with you if you need to go to the human side," Akiza spoke up.

He blinked in surprise. "I do need to go there. Thanks. Uh, why are you using my name?"

"We decided on a compromise. We use your name during the day and call you beta at night."

"That's a good compromise. I like it."

"Do you have any stuff you need to get?" Leo asked.

"I do. It's in a storage unit not far from the border and I have two friends I need to see."

"We could spend the rest of the day there and some of the night," Akiza said. "We can get dinner at one of the butcher shops."

"Uh, don't they give you raw meat?" Yusei asked.

Akiza nodded happily. "We can eat raw meat as wolves and in human form, born or bitten."

"I see." Yusei didn't like the idea of raw meat; he preferred his meat cooked.

"I wanna meet your friends," Leo said. "Maybe introduce you to Dexter."

"Sure." He thought it would be interesting to meet a human who was friends with wolves.

Yusei felt as if he had come home. Everything was familiar, comfortable, and normal…except for the purebloods behind him. He saw the few stares directed at his unit and a couple of stares darting to him with widening eyes. They suspect that I've been bitten. And they're right.

"Hey! Dexter!" Leo called as the group reached the front of an apartment building. A boy with brown hair and glasses waved happily.

"Hi, Leo. Hi, Luna. How's it going?"

"Great. We're in a new unit and we have a new beta!" He swept a hand at Yusei. The teen gave a smile.

Dexter's eyes went wide. "Aren't you Yusei? You got bitten?"

"Yes to both and it happened last night. "Believe me, I didn't do it on purpose."

"Well, of course you didn't. None of the bitten cross the line on purpose to become a werewolf."

Yusei was tempted to say that he had done it on purpose, but squashed the impulse. I will never tell anyone that I crossed intentionally and why. He kept his silence as he hung out with Dexter and his unit. He found Dexter to be a friendly kid and made him forget he was a werewolf…until Akiza suggested finding Yusei's friends and then getting dinner before gathering Yusei's possessions.

"I don't have much," he said. "Mostly clothes."

"Well, you still need them and think of how much money you'll save without a monthly storage fee."

Yusei knew Akiza was right. He would save more money with a storage unit. I will be able to buy groceries and appliances for our home. He was starting to feel a bit better about being a werewolf. He had a home and a unit that was like a family. They were being considerate of his remaining humanity while helping him adapt to being a werewolf. Maybe this isn't so bad.

The sounds of a fight caught his attention and his ears picked up where it was as did his nose. He barely realized he was using his sharp senses; he loved a fight and couldn't resist charging toward it. He heard Akiza call him but ignored it as he raced off. She'll be able to track me, so I'm not exactly going alone.

Yusei rounded a corner and froze. There were Crow and Kalin and they were fighting the ones who had dared him. The sight of them sent a fury through Yusei. They were the ones who caused Yusei to lose some, if not all, of his humanity. He charged toward the leader with a low growl. His fist cocked back before slamming it into the guy's gut. He heard ribs crack and his opponent was laid out on the ground, bringing the other two fights to a halt. Yusei panted as he stood over the leader who groaned from his ribs. He allowed the guy's pals to gather him up and take him to get his ribs healed.

"Yusei!" Kalin said. "There you are! Where have you been all day?"

Crow gaped at his friend. "When did you get so fast and strong? I mean, you broke the guy's ribs with one punch."

"I got cornered by those jerks after we split up last night. They dared me to cross the werewolf border and I…" Yusei trailed off as the sun vanished and he changed instantly. Both boys gaped and took a step back as the unit came around the corner.

"Yusei?" Crow whispered. "You're a…werewolf now?"

"Yes," he said resentfully. "Believe me, I wasn't planning on it. Kalin. Crow." He walked toward them. "We are still friends. We can still hang out like we used to. This doesn't a thing between us."

"Doesn't change a thing between us?" Kalin repeated in a choking tone. "Yusei…you were bitten! You live on an entirely different side of the city and in an entirely different world."

Yusei rocked back slightly on his paws. "Kalin…"

"Sorry, Yusei but we're not friends anymore." Kalin walked away, Crow following with a sympathetic look over his shoulder.

Yusei stared open-mouthed at where his friends disappeared. He closed his mouth. Not friends anymore? Just because I'm a werewolf? I told them I didn't do it on purpose. He lowered his head to stare at the claws that extended from his paws. The sight of them shot his anger and resentment up high. He threw back his head and howled loudly and angrily. He lowered his head and blinked away the tears that threatened to fall.

"Beta?" came Akiza's voice.

"Leave me be, Akiza," he said tightly.

"But…"

"No!" he snarled as he faced her. "I'm going home! Just leave me alone!" He sprinted off for home, furious at himself and the world.

Luna and Leo whimpered behind Akiza who was equally scared of Yusei's temper. It had seemed like he was calming down and starting to accept his new life, even like it. The rejection by his friends had caused the anger and resentment to return and worse than before. I think I will let the alpha speak with him. "Let's get dinner, twins," she said at last, leading the way to the nearest shop.

Yusei ignored the plop of meat that had been pushed through his room's dog door. He was still too angry and resentful to care about anything else. His friends had left him and he was trapped as a werewolf for the rest of his life. Or maybe not. I could die. Buy something silver and impale myself on it. Yeah. Akiza and the twins would be better off in someone else's unit. I will not live this way anymore. He curled up, closed his eyes, and sighed softly as he fell asleep. Tomorrow would be the last day of his life and the pain in his heart would also end.

I know, this is exactly how Jack felt in the original story, but if you've read the original story, you know Yusei will get past this.