Arriving at school, Erica hoped out and made her way in like she had every other day. Me, I decided I wanted to make a dramatic entrance, to go with my new look. I waited until most of the outside drifters made their way inside, and then I got out. On my way to the front door alone, I was turning heads. Making the loner boys outside gasp at my presence as I shot them a wink before heading inside. With just a hint of my new strength I threw open the doors to the school with a bang as they hit of the walls. Everyone stopped what they were doing – whether it was walking by or talking with their friends. Everyone just stopped and turned before the boys' jaws dropped along with half the girls while the rest shot me the stink eye.
There it was, that rush of power. Feeling unbeatable and perfect. I smiled out at them all, soaking up their looks before shrugging them all off as if they were beneath me. I started to walk through the school, sending smiles and winks as I went. I managed to shake the feathers of a few girlfriends, making their boyfriends drool over me as I went by. I'd dreamed of being one of those girls. The ones with the jaw dropping looks that could have any boy they wanted, and now I finally was. Any boy in the whole school would be lucky to have me now, they'd be grovelling to get a chance with me.
I rounded a corner about to head to class when I spotted Scott and Allison by a row of lockers. Smiling at each other dreamily as they both laughed at something that had been said. I supposed I should introduce myself to him, being a new Werewolf and all. And if he was in Derek's Pack as well, then that made us family – in Werewolf terms I guessed. Though it seemed I wouldn't have to make the introductions as Scott spotted me before I could start moving. He looked at me, still smiling and then began to frown a little. Allison followed his line of sight to me, looking confused herself.
"Who's that?" Allison asked, hugging Scott's chest as she did, her arms wrapped around him while his own rested on the small of her back.
"I…don't know," Scott said slowly, his eyes remaining on me. I could see the gears turning in his head, trying to figure it out. I knew because it was the same feeling I was having. How I knew him, but I didn't. His smell, which I could sense from down the corridor, was warm and comforting…almost friendly. He'd be smelling the same thing off me but couldn't work out why. I knew why, because we were both Werewolves.
I raised my hand, flirtatiously waving at him with a smirk to back it up. I saw hurt confusion flash through Allison's eyes and my smirk turned to a smug smile. She was the enemy as Derek had told me, plus she'd been miss popular from the moment she arrived. As far as I was concerned she deserved to feel that way. I'd felt that way my whole life, at least until I got the bite. And with that I turned on my heels and headed the other way, my smile unwavering as I walked off.
"What was that about?" Allison asked, and I stopped, surprised I could still hear her.
"I'm not sure…but I felt like…I knew her," Scott admitted, confusion in his voice. I looked back over my shoulder seeing the two love birds frowning at one another. When they turned to look back at me I turned away swiftly and continued on as if I'd never stopped. Another of my werewolf powers kicking in. A useful one too.
I decided to skip class, in too good a mood to waste my time with plain old school. I was a Werewolf now, above the petty stuff everyday teenagers had to deal with. The only question was what to do with my new-found abilities? As it turned out, I didn't need to ask that question for long. The second I stepped out the school I saw Derek waiting for me. Once again leaning against the hood of his Camaro, facing me with a smirk. I smiled back and made my way over to him. My Alpha.
"Hey, you," I said teasingly as I skipped over to him before firmly stopping before him.
"Enjoying yourself?" Derek asked as he looked down at me.
"Sorry, is that not allowed?" I retorted, cocking my head to the side with playful attitude in my voice.
"No," Derek said with a smile. "I gave you the bite to help you. I'm glad to see it has." He grew more serious as he continued on. "But you remember what I told you, what it means for you."
"Yes. And I'm aware there's a full moon coming up," I admitted as I straightened up, placing my hands in my jean pockets. I'd looked it up last night, realising it was only a few nights away. But I'd deliberately held off on my preparation, for obvious reasons.
"Do you have a plan?" Derek inquired.
"No," I answered before kicking the ground beneath my feet. "I was just enjoying today, the new me and all. I was going to come and find you tomorrow. Ask if you could help me." Suddenly I felt him grab my chin, lifting it up until my eyes met his subtle green ones.
"You're allowed to enjoy the new you. But we have to get you ready first. You can play around after the first full moon and a bit of training," he explained before letting go of my chin.
"I'm not doing anything now," I said with a sly grin and shrug. A small smile before he nodded towards his passenger side door.
"Get in," he ordered.
He drove me through Beacon Hills taking me to the edge of town where he pulled to a stop outside an old run down building. This would have been the last place I expected him to live. If anything, I would have expected an Alpha Werewolf to be living in some mansion in the forest. I didn't say anything though, didn't want to disrespect him after everything he'd done for me.
I followed him inside in silence and he led me down a rusting old staircase and into a dirty old basement with an empty subway car at the back. A few crates were scattered here and there, and some lights had been set up around the room.
"Is this where you live?" I asked as I glanced over the room, stepping off the final step.
"Sort of," Derek answered as he stopped and turned back around to face me. I stood before him, ready to listen to what he had to say. "But it's were we'll both be staying the night of the full moon." I raised my brow at him, folding my arms as I looked around.
"And this place is meant to hold me how?" I asked sceptically as I turned back to Derek. He smiled a little. Smug. Before turning around and stepping into the subway car. A second later he returned with chains in his hand. At first, I didn't think that much of them. Then he dropped them on the ground and a tidal wave of dust shot out around them as they landed with a heavy thud. From the sound alone, I knew they were strong, good chains. My brow remained raised, but no longer sceptical, more because it seemed over kill. I lifted my gaze from the chains to meet Derek's amused look.
"Trust me. I know what I'm doing," Derek said.
"I guess that's why you're the Alpha," I said as I knelt down, picking up the chain and running it through my hands. I gripped it tightly, seeing if I could break it with my new strength that I was yet to access. It budged, but not a lot, however, on a full moon I'd be stronger too.
"And you're sure these will hold me?" I asked with a worried look up to him. He could tell I wasn't questioning his methods, just worried about my first full moon.
"If they don't. I will," Derek promised as he bent down to my level. "I promise. I won't let you kill anyone, especially those you care about. I'll make sure you stay down here until morning and then I'll take you home." I nodded, letting the chains go as I stood up. I began hugging myself, suddenly nervous and jumpy about the upcoming full moon. Derek must have sensed it. "It'll be all right."
"I know," I said nervously nodding my head, like my old self. I had to get a grip, stop myself from sliding back into the wimpy little Dylan I'd been before. I liked the new confident Dylan, wanted to keep being her. I let my arms drop, slapping them against my thighs as I plastered on a confident smile once more. "So, you going to start training me or what?"
Derek smirked at me. He could probably still tell I was nervous, but he didn't say anything. Instead we just began my training. He taught me a few basic fighting moves and we had a couple of rounds of sparing, all of which he won. He tried to get me to pull out my claws, but I had no such luck. He gave me some exercises to practise. Clenching my fist and then quickly flexing my fingers out. I did it a couple more times but still nothing. He ended the lesson with a few tips on staying in control of my Werewolf side, though he said he'd go over them again when the full moon was closer. He talked about an anchor, something that keeps you calm. It was basically something you deeply cared about and loved. I decided to use my sister, Erica. He also taught me that anger would bring out my Werewolf side and that if I tapped into it I'd be able to - for lack of a better term - 'wolf out'. Then I got a lecture about staying in control for the next few days and to call him if I felt like I was going to lose control.
Before I left I told him about Scott. He asked if he knew what I was now, but he didn't. He told me not to tell him but if he found out it wasn't a big deal. When I asked why, he explained he was testing Scott. So the scent I had picked up, the unique smell he had, had been because he was a Werewolf. I already figured that out, but Derek wanted to see if Scott could too. I agreed, liking the idea of playing with the guy's head a little and then Derek was kind enough to take me back to school.
Once again, I didn't bother going to class, it was only half an hour left anyway. Instead I went to cafeteria where a lot of students hung out during their free periods. I normally spent mine in the library, away from prying eyes and hurtful words, catching up on work or getting into a good book. Now I didn't need to do that. I had the looks to catch everyone's attention when I walked in. So for the next half hour I sat contently as the boys crowded around to compliment me, while the girls all scowled and glared. I just smiled back sweetly at them, laughing at the boys' jokes – even the ones I didn't find funny – and pretended to consider kissing them. I never would though. I hadn't forgotten how they treated me before I changed. I would never forget. But now it was my turn to play with them all, like they'd done with me. And I was loving every second off it.
I had to end it eventually though, and although the boys were sad to see me go, the girls were happy to wave me off. Though I did get the last laugh when I promised to drop by tomorrow and all the boys began drooling once more. I did enjoying soaking up that look of pure desire on their faces. I could definitely get used to that. As I was leaving I sent a wink to one of the boys, making his girlfriend turn red with anger. I could hear her shouting at him even once I was beyond the door. The heightened hearing made it so much easier to hear how I'd messed with their pretty little heads.
I met Erica outside by the car, her arms folded with what she would call an authoritative pout on her face. "What's up, Sis?" I asked playfully as I stopped opposite her. She continued to scowl at me, like a child who hadn't gotten what they wanted.
"Where were you today?" Erica asked. I went to answer but she cut me off. "And don't say you were in class because I know you weren't." My smile dropped, realising I'd been caught. "I texted you umpteen times and you never got back to me." I frowned before checking my phone and then groaned when I saw she was right, I did have a screen full of messages from her. Some big sister I was. So caught up in the new me and Derek's train that I'd completely forgotten about Erica. I hadn't even asked Derek about offering her the bite yet. I felt horrible. I'd done the one thing I never wanted to do, ignore Erica. I'd let all this go to my head and now Erica was suffering because of it.
"Erica, I'm sorry. I was…busy," I cringed at the lame excuse.
"That's not good enough," Erica said with clear irritation.
"It's hard to explain."
"You know what, forget it. You don't want to tell me, then that's just fine. I just never thought you'd change this much overnight. I mean, I like the new you. But I don't like the new lies that are coming with it," Erica said sadly, with about as much confidence as the poor girl could muster. She never used to have a problem speaking to me. Did the new me really intimidate her that much, make her think of me as one of the popular girls now. Did she think I was going to abandon her? I refused to believe that because I was never going to do that. I'd taken the bite for her, for us.
"Erica, I can't tell you everything yet. But I promise I will, I just need you to trust me for a little while, okay," I begged, stepping forwards and taking her hands in my own. She looked down at them, somehow they must have felt different to normal as she frowned at them before looking into my eyes. I smiled, trying to show her the old me, let her know it was still me underneath my new look and confidence. That I was still her loving sister. But apparently, she didn't make the connection, because she pulled away.
"I think I'm going to walk home," Erica decided with a sad look as she pulled her bag back over her shoulder.
"No," I quickly jumped in, before I fished out the car keys from my pocket and forced them into her hand. "You take the car. I could use the walk," I said with a forced smile. Another suspicious look from Erica as she frowned at me.
"I still have to get my license, remember?" Erica pointed out, staring at me like I was crazy. I could have slapped myself. I really was loosing it, how could I forget something so obvious – heck it had only been her birthday a week ago. I was getting too swept up in the new me. I knew I had to make things right, and do it now before whatever gap had just formed between Erica and started to grow out of control.
I opened my mouth to speak to her, but she'd already pushed the keys back into my hands and turned away. I stepped forward to follow her, ready to call out, but empty air left my mouth as I helplessly watched my sister walk away from me. It was only then I realised just how complicated my life had become by taking the bite. Not one day had passed since I got it and already Erica was running the other way from me. I just wanted to help her. But I couldn't do that and keep her in the dark at the same time apparently. I would need to come up with some sort of a plan, and ideally before my first full moon.