Well everybody thanks for reviewing! Ha….haha… Sorry-had to say it. Anyways-please review-I really would like to know what you think-good or bad.
Again, thanks to my awesome beta-Jmarcinikglsd! (Pst! If you're a twilight fan, look her up! She's a great writer too!)
Anyways-Allie's having a dream, hence the italicized stuff. Read and hope you like it!
"Mommy! Daddy!"
"You have to wake up, Allie." That was her father-messy red hair, bright green eyes similar to Nick's. He wore silver-rimmed glasses perched on the edge of his nose just like he had before he'd died with her mother in the car crash.
"I don't wanna wake up! It was scary when I fell asleep. Nick-"
"Nicholas needs you, Allie." This time it was her mother who spoke. She had mousy brown hair and stormy gray eyes, just like Allie. You have to wake up."
"He's a big kid. He don't need me…"
"Your big brother needs you just like you need him. You need to stick together."
"I gotted Nick hurt," she mumbled miserably. "I didn't want to leave without him and so we left and the wolf gotted us. What if it eated him? Besides-I want to stay with you! I miss you!"
They were waving goodbye. Allie ran after them, and they got further and further away; it was like trying to catch a missed bus.
"Allie, wake up. Please wake up. Please Allie." It sounded a bit like her father, but his lips weren't moving. The images of her parents disappeared, bringing a searing pain in her left arm, and a blinding light.
"Please Allie-you've got to wake up." It was Nick-her big brother. He was crying, holding her right hand in his hands.
"Wh-what's wrong Nick?"
He smiled, as if to erase the miserable helplessness of his face that had been there a second ago. Nick had never let his baby sister see him cry-never. Not when she was convinced that he was strong enough to protect her.
Instead, he ignored her question, still smiling a little sadly. "Hey Sleeping Beauty," he whispered in a semi-hoarse voice, pushing her hair out of her eyes.
Allie grinned, looking pleased. "Mulan's better."
His smile seemed a little happier. "Sleeping Mulan, then." She giggled, and he wiped at his eyes. "Are you alright?"
"My arm hurts," she complained, as if just remembering the pain of it. "Are you oka-who're you?" She looked past him at the man who stood in the doorway. He was wearing old jeans and a flannel shirt. He had brown hair, and warm blue eyes behind a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles.
Nick seemed to go into defensive mode. His body tensed as if he thought he ought to attack the stranger, moving so that his baby sister could barely see him anymore. He always did that, and talking to people she didn't know was a bad habit Allie had always had.
Still, the man smiled nicely at her. "My name is Lucian Graymark, and I'm glad to see you're both awake. What are your names?"
Allie opened her mouth to reply, but Nick beat her to it. "John and Sally Johnson," he lied.
"Nick!" Allie complained, glaring at him for a moment. "He's Nicholas Barnes, and I'm Allison. " She grinned at him. "Hi Lu-su…Lu-shu…Lu-see…"
"Lucian," he repeated with a smile. "Call me Luke."
"Luke," she repeated. "Allie and Nick." She pointed at herself and her brother in turn.
"How are you two feeling?"
"Fine," Nick replied hurriedly as Allie picked at the tight bandages setting her broken arm together. "Can we go now?"
Luke blinked. "I think it would be safer for you if you stay here."
Nick eyed him evenly. "And why do you think that?"
"Do you remember anything about last night?"
"We was attacked by wolves!" Allie announced. "How did you-?"
"I was there," Luke admitted. "I prevented him from killing you."
Nick glanced at his sister's broken arm. "Thank you. But…wolves shouldn't be here. They're not common, are they? And…the wolf looked strange…something about it…" He seemed less defensive and more curious.
"There were two," Allie added. "I think you were sleeping when the second one came. I heard it growl."
He looked at his sister, puzzled. "There were two?"
"I think so," she said slowly. "I mean, I didn't see it, but I heard it. Did you see another wolf Luke?" Allie stared at him, looking as if she were beginning to doubt what she'd heard.
"There were two," Luke agreed. "And they looked different because they were werewolves."
"Werewolves?" Nick asked incredulously. "But there's no such thing as-"
"Werewolves exist," Luke said forcefully. "As do a great many other things. That's for another story."
"But if they were werewolves…" Allie trailed off, looking up at Luke thoughtfully. "Are you a werewolf hunter?"
"No," Luke said, and his smile seemed fake, almost painful. "I was the other werewolf."
Nick grabbed his sister and dragged her to a corner, standing in front of her, fists raised. "Let us out of here," he commanded, his voice low.
"Nick-if werewolves don't exist, how come you believe he's one?"
"I-it doesn't matter. He's either a madman, or a werewolf. Either way, I don't care. Let us go." The man had made no move towards them, save to look at them.
"He said he saved us."
"He could be lying," Nick argued.
"He wouldn't lie and then tell the truth Nick!" she said, annoyed at him. "And he wouldn't save us to hurt us. Nick-I like him."
"You like everyone," he barked at her. "Be quiet Allie!"
"But if he's a werewolf-!"
"Allie! Please!" He was scared. His eyes were darting as if looking for a way to escape.
"You should listen to her," Luke said, and he sounded tired-so tired. And sad.
His fists didn't lower, but he stopped speaking. "If we was attacked by a werewolf, then aren't we werewolves too?" Allie poked her head out from behind her big brother.
"Tell the truth," Nick commanded. He sounded just as tired.
"Not all werewolf bites result in lycanthropy," he began with an air of someone who had said that exact phrase many times before. "Please, sit down, and I'll explain. I won't hurt you."
Nick relented. He wasn't reassured by the man, but he was exhausted, the adrenaline fear had packed into his veins evaporating giving way to pain. His leg hurt. He looked down at himself. He was wearing different clothes-sort of like the pajamas you got at the hospital. He could feel the roughness of bandages pressing into the skin of the leg that hurt. Where the werewolf bit me, he thought miserably.
He sat back down on the bed and hoisted his sister into his lap, wrapping his arms around her stomach protectively. Allie was wearing similar clothes to him, and they were obviously too big for her. He wondered if any other brothers were stupid enough to run away and take their baby sisters at night. Nick's stomach twisted in guilt with her bandaged arm. It was in a sling, and he wondered if it was broken.
"What's lice…lick…Like, um, Ly-can…fo, I mean fro…?"
"Lycanthropy," Luke repeated; he smiled, but it quickly vanished. "Is the name of, I guess the disease of being a werewolf."
"Is there a way to reverse it?" Nicholas asked; his sister's voice had taken him out of his guilt-filled thoughts.
"No, I'm afraid there isn't. If there was…" He trailed off, as if he couldn't finish the hopeful thought.
"Are we going to become werewolves too? And, how can you tell?" Nick inquired. He didn't know why he was believing the man, until he remembered the evidence at the back of his mind.
Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?
Nick's fingers clasped convulsively together, though the pressure didn't disturb Allie. He remembered, so well, reading the Three Little Pigs to his baby sister. "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf? Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Tra-la-la-la-la!"
He almost missed what Luke said next. "-can't tell until the full moon whether or not you're a werewolf. If you are, you'll change, and if not, you won't."
"That's it then?" Nick demanded. "We have to stay here until the next full moon? When is that, even?"
"Only a couple of weeks. Contrary to popular belief, werewolves don't need the full moon to change, or even night. The change can only be forced on you when the moon is full. But if you are werewolves, you won't be able to change until after your first transformation. You don't have to stay here. You can go back to your parents, but you must come back for the full moon, or they could get hurt."
"Mommy and daddy are gone," Allie murmured immediately. Nick felt her draw closer to him, seeking comfort. Her tiny fingers picked at the bottom of her shirt and she stared at her hands. He tucked her hair behind her ears with a brotherly affectionate flick of his fingers.
"It happened two years ago," Nick said calmly, but looked at Luke with anger. Don't talk about it, his look said.
"Then you are welcome to stay here."
"What if we're not werewolves?" Nick challenged.
Luke hesitated. "We'll find you a place to stay."
Nick stared at Luke for a moment, trying to read him. He had always been so good at reading people, but this werewolf seemed impossible to read.
"I'm hungry," Allie declared suddenly. "Can we get something to eat?"
Nick actually grinned. He kissed the top of her head in an affectionate, brotherly manner. She giggled happily at the smile she'd managed to get out of him. Some things would never change.
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