Chapter 14: The Animal Inside

After I had changed my clothes and went through my daily routine I was out the door. I had to see Owen. I knew his secret. I couldn't believe he couldn't tell me. I wonder if they had something to do with this. I pulled up to Owen's house and got out. I ran up to the door and knocked. Trevor appeared and smiled.

"Hey Zane, what brings you here?" he asked. I could tell he was uncomfortable. Good, he should be.

"I need to see Owen. It's really important." I said Trevor looked hesitant for a moment.

"He, uh, actually just left. And I don't know time he'll be back." He said. I really couldn't handle the games anymore. So I let myself in.

"Yeah, but this is really important." I said as ignored Trevor's protest. I went to his room and opened the door to see a passed out Owen and Tristan.

"He's really out isn't he?" I asked. Tristan turned towards me and smiled.

"Hey Zane! What's up dude?" he asked all chipper, just like an excited puppy. I was just about to answer when I saw something outside. I looked out the window and saw some boys walking towards the house. Those must be the other pack members. Boy do I have some words for them. I quickly turned on my heel and exited the house. As I crossed the yard, I instantly recognized the boys. It was Roscoe; Owen's brother, Drew, Adam, Luke, and Dallas. I had my eyes on Owen's older brother.

"Hey! What the hell have you guys done!" I yelled.

"Zane, what're you doing here?" Roscoe asked. I finally got to them and started my rant.

"No, my question first! I wanna know what you guys did to Owen?"

"The question is, what did he tell you! I knew your brother couldn't keep his mouth shut!" Dallas said.

"Actually, he never said anything to me. No matter how much I pried. But it's mainly because he's terrified of you!" I said. They actually had the nerve to start laughing.

"Look, why don't you just go home, Owen doesn't want to be bothered by you." He said. I lost it. Before I knew it, my fist connected with his nose. I actually felt a sense of accomplishment at that. But I might have totally made the wrong decision, because after he recovered he started to convulse. His breathing became erratic.

"Zane it's time for you to go." Roscoe said. The rest of the guys tried to comfort Dallas but he was having none of it. Then all of a sudden his skin seemed to tear. After the ripping of clothes, a brown-grey colored wolf stood in front of me.

"Zane run!" I heard Riley and Zoey's voices shout. I quickly turned around and ran for the house. Zoey was standing beside, who I'm assuming, was her boyfriend and Tristan, while Owen was running towards me.

"Owen are you insane! Turn around!" I yelled. But instead of taking my advice he leapt up into the air a human, and came down the chocolate brown and white wolf I had seen in the forest. Not paying any attention, I managed to trip over a stump and fell. I hurried to turn around to see the two enormous sized wolves fighting.

"Dallas! Owen! Enough!" Roscoe yelled. But the animals just kept going at it. When they finally disappeared into the brush, Zoey came over to me.

"You okay?" she asked. I just stared at her. How could she ask me that. I just witnessed my best friend turn into a wolf! I mean, I already knew about it, but actually seeing it up close. That was a lot to handle.

"I'm fine." I muttered. They helped me to my feet as I stared at the other boys.

"So the secrets out. Let's go eat." Drew said as he rubbed his stomach. I couldn't help but gawk at them. They didn't even seemed phased by anything. And neither did my sister. We all decided to go back into Owen's house.

"Hey everyone." Katie said as she sat a try of food down. "Everything's nice and hot. Enjoy." I took a croissant and took a bite. Surprisingly it was really good.

"Okay, so I'm guessing you're a wolf too right?" I asked her.

"Actually no. But I am dating one." Katie said proudly as she looked at Drew. I was so confused. How much information was I missing here?

"Wow, okay. I need to know all of this. What am I missing?" I said.

"We'll let Owen tell you that." Said gruff voice that can only be described as Roscoe Milligans'. I have to admit, he looked good. He was about six foot three, had short brown hair, and had ice blue eyes like Owen. "It's better that way." He said as he sat on the couch. Owen and Dallas decided to join us.

"Alright Zane, I believe it's time we go for a walk. But um, Zoey? Thanks for keeping our secret." He said with a smile. She just nodded her head as she sat on Wes' lap. Wait she was in on this secret?

"What the hell Zoey! Why didn't you say anything!" I exclaimed.

"It wasn't my secret to tell. Besides, by the time I got home, you were asleep. And considering that my boyfriend is involved with this too, I couldn't just tell you. It would be breaking his trust." She said. Ugh, why does she choose now to be all logical?

"Fine. I'll deal with you later. But now, I'd like the full rundown of this secret." I glared at Owen. Just when we were about to walk out the door, Dallas grabbed my wrist.

"Hey, um, I just wanted to say sorry. I'm a bit of a hot-head. I hope I didn't scare you too much." He chuckled.

"Please, I was bitten by a vampire. Nothing scares me anymore." I lied smoothly.

"Good to know. But we werewolves can be pretty scary. I mean we can hear each other's thoughts."

"Which is totally annoying the way. I get so sick of seeing Drew's French kissing with Katie over and over again." Adam said. I heard Drew shout a 'Your just jealous' from somewhere in the house.

"Anyway, we're much cooler than vampires." Dallas said proudly.

"Yeah, but you're not as fast." I said and left him looking stunned at the door.

"Nice one. I bet he'll feel that sting for weeks." Owen said as he got in my truck. What makes him think that we were going anywhere?

"What are you doing in my truck?" I asked.

"Uh, we're gonna go talk. The place where we practiced with the go carts would be perfect." He said. I rolled my eyes and entered the truck.

"Man, you've got a lot of explaining to do." I said as I gripped the wheel even tighter. He just bowed his head.

"I know. It's complicated." He said.

"Oh boy do I know something about complicated." I said.

"Seriously it is." I glanced over at him. Okay, I just need to calm down. Oh, Langston, is there seriously no end to this ride on the supernatural? Am I ever gonna be able to not wonder what other supernatural creatures are on the rise? Maybe there's witches, magic wardrobes, talking lions, oh and don't forget UNICORNS!

"You're a werewolf." I said simply.

"Yes. Uh, that night at the carnival, when my temperature spiked? Yeah it was the start of the change." He said.

"Hmm, okay so the stomach flu symptoms?"

"Were part of the transformation, yes. The body has to adjust to the physical change. Once a vampire is in the area, it sets it off."

"That's why the boys at school were sick for all those days." I said.

"Yep. Well, except for K.C. he was actually really. And no he's not a werewolf either. I'm really sorry about what I said that day in the bathroom. Since I couldn't tell you, because of dear brother-slash-alpha, I had to come up with an excuse." He said as we arrived to our destination. We both got out and started to walk.

"Wow, so you were just acting like you wanted to hurt me? You didn't mean a word you said?" I asked.

"Oh god no. You're my best friend. I couldn't even begin to describe how I felt lying to you. But I am grateful that you figured it out." He said with a smile.

"Yeah some am I. But I just wish you could stop. I mean, don't you think what you're doing is absurd?"

"I don't get it. It's in my DNA to be this way. I can't believe you. What? Do I have to a vampire now to please you?" he scowled.

"No! This isn't about what you are. It's about you guys killing people. It's wrong and you should stop." I said. He did a double-take and started laughing.

"Dude, you have it so wrong. We're not killing people. It's the vampires. That's actually the only thing we do kill. Humans are what we protect." Oh, that means…

"No, that's impossible. You-you just can't…" He put his hand up to silence me.

"Relax, we won't go after the Stavros'. Or their little friends Kurt and Blaine. Well…" he scoffed. "Unless they were to break the treaty. Then it's game over."

"Wait, I'm confused. Who's Kurt and Blaine?" I asked. He just looked at me like I had grown two heads.

"Seriously? For a person who used to hang around vampires, you couldn't tell that we had two of them in our school?" he asked. I just shook my head.

"Oh, right, they don't go by those names. I think you know them as Kyle and Blake? Something like that." He said. I felt my mouth hit the ground. I knew it! Those new students were vampires. And now that I think of it, they were also the ones who helped with my Junior Prom outfit.

"Oh my god. I knew it. I had my suspicions, but I didn't have any proof. Those are Riley's friends. Maybe he came back." I said hopeful.

"I wouldn't give my hopes up Zane." He muttered. I just rolled my eyes.

"But what I want you to understand is that vampires are strong. They could kill you extremely easy." I said.

"Really? Because the leech we killed that day in the forest didn't even make us break a sweat." He said smugly.

"Y-you killed Vince?"

"Sure did. And it was easy too. Now all we have to do is take out his black haired friend." I felt my heart stop. Jay was really back? I am so dead. "He took us on a bit of a chase all the way to the border. The bad news is that he keeps coming back. I wish I knew what for."

"Jay? I can't believe this." I said as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Wait you know him?"

"Yeah. His girlfriend is the one that tried to kill me. But Riley and his family killed her and now he wants to kill me. Vince said to think of it as a compromise. My life for Alex's." I said. I saw a flicker of anger in Owen.

"Well that's not gonna happen. I'll make sure of it. And with Wes on our side, you and Zoey will be just fine." I smiled a serene smile. I'm glad I have Owen.

"So is there any way we could go back to the way things were?" I asked. Owen came over to me and gave me a hug.

"I'd like nothing more." He said as we began walking back to my truck.

A few hours later Zoey and I were back at home. Zoey went inside with Wes, while I stayed outside with Owen. I looked around the front of the house suspiciously. Owen just smiled.

"Don't worry, no one's gonna get you. As long as we're around, you, Kim, and Zoey are perfectly safe." He said.
"I know. It's just that Jay, is incredibly fast. Plus he's very good at hiding. I mean, I didn't even know he was back. And neither did, Riley or his family." I said.

"Thanks Zane, we had absolutely no idea that vampires like Jay were good at hiding. Thanks for insulting our skills." I could hear the sarcasm dripping from that sentence.

"Oh ha, ha, ha, I was just being helpful." I said as I playfully hit his arm.

"I know, but it can become quite an insult to us when you think you know more than we do." He said amusingly.

"Sorry." I giggled.

"Well I need to head back." I could feel the anxiety building up.

"Do you really?" I asked.

"I wish I didn't. But this vampire isn't gonna stop until it either kills you or gets killed. And I would prefer if he got killed instead."

"Okay. I just wish… you what, never mind." I said as I looked sadly at the ground. I felt him grab me and pull me into another bone crushing hug. Wow, he's gotten stronger.

"It'll be okay. It'll be over before you know and we'll be back to doing what we used to do. I swear." I looked into his warm blue eyes.

"I trust you."
"Good." He said as Wes came out of the house. He kissed Zoey goodnight and ran with Owen to his car. We both waved as the two boys left.

"Wow, today has been tough." Zoey said.

"I know right. So many secrets. Is it possible that there is no such thing as a normal life?" I asked.

"I guess not." Zoey replied. We were just about to watch T.V., when we heard a knock at the door.

"Who could that be? Mom's asleep so she shouldn't be expecting any visitors." I said. I went to the door to see two figures standing outside.

"Who is it?" Zoey asked. I opened the door to see Kurt and Blaine standing outside. They weren't wearing their human disguises this time.

"It's just Kurt and Blaine." I said as I hurried and pulled them inside. I couldn't believe Riley's friends were here.

"Damn those wolves blew our covers didn't they?" Kurt asked his golden eyes like ice. I just nodded my head. Zoey came to stand beside me.

"I'm like totally lost. Who're you?" she asked. Kurt and Blaine looked at each other and smiled.

"We're the cousins of the Stavros' and we're here to protect Zane, you, and your mother. The wolves are helping out too." Blaine said. Zoey sat down on the back of the couch.

"I don't get it. Why would he send you guys here?" she asked. I actually want to hear this. I mean anything about Riley would just make me very happy. Could this be the return of the Stavros'? God I hoped so.

"Well it's kind of a long story. After he left he felt horrible that he'd left Zane alone. And with Jay still being on the loose, he thought that maybe Zane needed more protection. So he sent us. We'll be watching over you and helping find Jay with the wolves." Kurt said. He sounded just like an angel. His voice was so melodic.

"Are they coming back?" I asked hopeful.

"We've actually said too much already. You weren't even supposed to know about us. Those damn werewolves ruined everything." Kurt said. I couldn't help but feel my wounds starting to come back.

"Oh well, thank you for letting me know. And I appreciate the protection." I said.

"We're truly sorry about everything that's happened. And we hope you find happiness again. Oh and Riley said once again to stay safe and not do anything asinine." Blaine said as they left. My heart started to flutter at Riley's words. After they were gone, I went up to my bedroom to sulk. I can't believe I was so close to seeing Riley again, but yet so far.

The next couple of days were complete hell. Langston, I need you guys back. My life just isn't the same. I thought I could cope with Riley being gone, by hanging out with Owen. But sadly he's not around much anymore. He's out trying to kill Jay, while my mother is out hunting for him and the rest of the pack. Zoey was with her boyfriend and Meagan for most of the time. I had no one. I didn't even see Riley anymore.

As I sat on my bed, pondering on what to do. I came to a sudden decision. If I wanted to see Riley again, all I had to do was put myself in harm's way. And I knew exactly what I was gonna do.

A/N: Ooh Zane what are you thinking boy? Kind deviated from New Moon a little bit. But I wanted to make it exciting. I love Klaine so I just had to put them in there. I hope you guys like it. There's only 4 more chapters left before Autumnal Equinox. Read and please, please, please review. I really like the feedback. Non-members can review too.