"What are you talking about Seth? I should be the one explaining to you." I said.
Seth shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I have something I need to tell you. I don't think you'll want to hear this in all honesty, but you need to know."
I was confused. I wasn't sure what he could possibly need to explain to me. He hadn't done anything wrong that I knew of. I waited anxiously for him to explain. I hope whatever it was would explain maybe why Leah hated me.
"Well I guess it'd be better if I just showed you. There's no way I could say this and you believe me at all." Seth said.
I waited a moment before speaking. "What could you possibly need to explain to me that wouldn't make any sense?"
Suddenly Seth disappeared and a wolf took his place. I was scared and shocked at this sight. I managed to stumble backwards. As I did I fell down and continued scooting myself backwards, momentarily forgetting where I was. This wolf was huge and it was frightening. That's when the cliff gave way under me. I was falling towards the water.
As I hurdled towards the water, I braced myself for a dive. I hit the water just right so I barely made a splash. I was able to surface and start swimming for land. Once I was on land, I hurriedly ran for my car. Luckily I had my keys and other items in my hand. I was so frightened and shocked by what I had seen that I didn't even speak. I hadn't processed what I just witnessed and probably wouldn't for a while.
I drove myself home in my car and went straight upstairs. I took a shower and went to my room. I opened my window and allowed some air to come in. I finally sat down on my bed and thought through the last thing that happened at the cliff.
When I finally put it into perspective, it was making sense to me. Seth had inherited the gene to change into a wolf. All the legends our tribe had were true. I never thought I'd have to take them seriously. I wondered how long Seth knew about this and didn't tell me. I also wondered who else knew about this. Or at least was a part of it.
I feel asleep that night thinking of nothing but Seth. I dreamed of him all night. I kept dreaming of us near the cliff. One minute it'd be just me and Seth. The next minute it'd be me and the big wolf that Seth turned into. I would get scared and run into the woods. I'd know where I was for a while, then I'd just get lost. I'd turn around to see the wolf snarling and growling at me. I get even more frightened.
I'd try talking to the wolf. I wanted to calm him. Tell him that I would never hurt him. I wanted to be friends with him. I could feel his anger. I could feel his sadness and frustration. It were almost as if we were connected emotionally. It was an odd feeling. I tried getting up to walk to the bear sized wolf, but my legs weren't working for me. I couldn't move and I was stuck sitting on the ground, leaning up against a tree. That's when the wolf crouched and leapt towards me. Before he got to me, I woke up.
I was hot and sweaty. I looked outside and saw that it was almost daylight. I checked my clock to see what time it was. It was a minute to seven. My alarm was about to go off. When it did, I shut it off and got myself cleaned up for school. In twenty minutes I was presentable enough to leave for the day. I realized I needed to talk to Seth. It was urgent. I texted him we needed to talk soon, preferably not at school, not at either of our houses or anywhere where someone would listen in. He texted back he'd meet with me where ever I wanted.
I went to school and did what I had to. I was so distracted by my dream and what I had witnessed yesterday, I was barely able to concentrate on school at all. My friends had noticed my sudden change in mood and were concerned by the fact that I wasn't with Seth. They wondered what was going on. I didn't even notice how they were staring at me at first.
"Britt? Are you ok?" Sara asked.
I blinked as I looked at here. "I'm fine. I'm just a bit distracted at the moment."
Sara looked at Allison and Jenessa. They watched me and didn't ask any more questions. They watched me for most of lunch. They were really worried about me and my sudden shift in mood. I could only imagine what they were thinking. I knew they wouldn't press me for any answers.
I stood up and meekly walked over to where Seth sat. He had been glancing at me during lunch or in the halls between classes. He looked so hurt, so lonely. That's exactly how I felt and I wish I didn't have to see his face like this. It killed me to know how I reacted was hurting him so much. I stopped short and thought about what I was doing. I was about to talk to Seth here at school in front of everyone.
I turned and ran out of school. I felt a wetness on my cheeks. At first I thought it was tears, and it probably was. When I looked up, I saw rain coming down through the canopy of green above me. I was crying and getting rained on. I felt horrible for running out, but I needed some time to think. I didn't know what was happening in my life. Everything was being flipped upside down.
Once I was deep enough into the forest, I found a log to sit down on. I needed to clear my head and think on what I was really wanting to say. I wondered why this was all happening now. I wanted to figure this all out and get back to being with Seth. I wanted to go back to hanging out with him and everything being fine again. That's when I felt a heavy pressure on my chest. It was very heavy and I wasn't sure why I was feeling it.
I put my head down between my knees. I needed to calm myself down. I listened to the animals around me. Suddenly I heard four paws thumping toward me quietly. Then there was a whimpering sound. A head nudged my arm. I pulled my head up enough to look at the wolf in front of me. I stuck my hand out and let the wolf nudge it. The warmth I felt from the creature was unreal. That's when the wolf laid down on the ground beside me. It looked as sad and hurt as I felt.
"Seth?" I asked.
The wolf whimpered in response.
"I'm sorry about how I've been acting. I haven't been very considerate about how you feel. Nor have I been very nice about any of this. I hope you'll forgive me." I said, looking down ashamed.
Seth nudged me again with his head. I smiled and kissed him on his nose. He laid his head on my shoulder. I rested my head on his. Seth adjusted himself enough to allow me to lean on him. As I got comfortable, I let his warmth flow around me. I eventually fell asleep here with him.