Here's the second chapter - hope you enjoy!
"Brother?" I said, choking out the word.
"What are you doing here Christian?" Mason asked in a tired voice.
"I came to see you little brother." He peered over Mason's shoulder where I stood, bewildered. "And your girlfriend."
"How kind of you," he commented sarcastically. I smiled at how foreign sarcasm sounded in his voice. "But we have to be going."
He grabbed my hand and we made to run off but the other one who'd been standing by, was suddenly in our path, his array of dark hair sticking out everywhere. "We were looking forward to hanging out with you Mason," he said, showing off his large pearly white teeth.
"Sorry to disappoint you Nate but we've got to get home."
Mason sidestepped Nate's hulking figure and pulled me along with him.
"We'll see you later Mason," I heard Christian call out after us.
He was quiet the whole way home. We arrived on my doorstep and I put my hand on his arm. "Talk to me."
He sighed. "I don't like to talk about my family. That's why I never told you about Chris." He paused. "How much do you know about werewolves?"
I shrugged. "Not much considering we've been going out for three months."
Mason smiled ruefully. "I'll start by telling you this: there are two types of werewolves. Those who hunt humans and those who don't. I'm one of those who don't but my family are those who do."
I took this in with a quick breath. "I didn't know that werewolves still hunted humans."
He took my hand and looked into my eyes. "Not all werewolves are good. Some are bad. Christian is bad; so is his friend Nate. I need you to understand that."
I nodded. "Okay."
"I want you to be careful. Don't underestimate his charm."
I kissed him softly, hoping to erase his worries. "It must run in the family."
He laughed quietly and we sat on the step outside the front door for a while, staring up at the stars. He held me and I never felt safer.
"You know, it's your birthday next week," he whispered into my ear.
"I'm aware of that," I replied back, gazing at the sky.
"What do you want for your birthday?"
"I don't know. I'm sure I'll think of something," I said, leaning back into his body so he held me closer. We were so close and tangled up in each other, it was hard to see where he ended and I began; just the way I liked it.
He went silent, perhaps surprised by my forwardness and our close proximity. "I'm sure you will," he said huskily.
"Alex I'm so sorry."
I tried not to feel angry but right now it wasn't working. It was first birthday with Mason and the party was tonight. Only one small problem; tonight happened to be a full moon. He told me it was a rarity and that there shouldn't have been one for another few weeks. Stupid lunar cycle.
"What if you're inside?"
He shook his head. "I can't risk it. I can't risk hurting you or anyone else."
He looked sad and part of me wanted to let him off the hook. The other part was pissed.
"Please don't be mad Alex; I'll make it up to you somehow. I promise."
I sighed. I knew he would. I knew he'd do some over the top spectacular gesture just to prove how sorry he was. But that didn't change how hurt I felt.
Sensing he'd said all he could, he kissed my forehead and left the sub shop. I wanted to run after him but Harper was arriving at any moment to set up a party I really hadn't wanted in the first place; I'd only agreed so I could spend time with Mason and now he wasn't even going to show up.
I was seventeen yet I found it hard to get excited.
"Cheer up Alex, it's your birthday," Harper said, waving a balloon in my face.
I popped the balloon with a single nail and gave her a not-in-the-mood look. She took the cue and went off to find Zeke in the crowd. That shouldn't be too hard, I thought. He'll be the one dancing weirdly in the middle of the floor who everyone is looking at.
I sighed and looked around at the people dancing close by. Everyone seemed to be having fun, except me. And it was my birthday.
Careful to make sure Harper wasn't looking (because she'd do a nut if she knew I was skipping my own party), I slipped out the door and into the night. It was cold outside and I hugged my jacket closer to my body. I held my hand to my warm cheeks; it had been hotter than I'd thought inside.
I sat on the step and looked up into the stars, remembering when I'd done this last week with Mason. I wished he was here right now. I could really do with the body warmth his fur gave him. As if on cue, I heard a throaty murmur and a rustling behind me. A hulking figure approached and I broke into a smile, expecting to see Mason step out. But the figure stepped out of the darkness and into the streetlight, revealing a disfigured face with hair everywhere. I recognized it as the 'in-between' state of a werewolf but my heart sank when I saw that it wasn't Mason. My smile disappeared and my fear levels shot through the roof.
"Nate?"
The werewolf smiled. "You recognized me. I didn't think you would."
I half-reached down, ready to grab my wand if necessary. But his sharp eyes caught my tiny movement and as quick as a flash, his rough hands were around me, clamping my arms down by my sides; out of reach to grab my wand.
"C'mon Alex, don't be like that," he said in a low voice. It was almost mesmerizing but I was adamant not to fall for his trap.
"I just wanna play," he murmured seductively, grazing his pointy teeth against my neck. "You know in just one bite, I could tear off most of your limbs. I wonder how you taste."
I shivered but it had nothing to do with the cold. Damn it Alex, get a hold of yourself. You're Alex Russo. You're sneaky, conniving, and deceitful. You've faced worse than this before; you can do this.
"Wonderful I bet," I replied, trying to sound believable. "You don't have to threaten me if you just want to play. Mason doesn't have to know."
It worked. Man I was good. His grip relaxed ever so slightly but it was enough for me to lift my knee and sink it into his fleshy stomach. He groaned and fell back for a moment before straightening up lightening fast, ready to attack.
"Get away from her!"
The roar, so loud and earth-shattering, usually would've scared me to my wits but I recognized the British accent; it had to be Mason.
A furry figure leapt through the air and tackled Nate's body to the ground. They tussled and it was hard to see which was which. That was until Nate's claws found Mason's face and he fell back against the cement, blood gushing from his cheek.
"Mason!" I screamed, rushing to his side.
He glanced up at me and I when I saw his eyes, I finally realised. "I'm not Mason honey," he murmured with a wolfy grin before getting back to his feet and launching himself at Nate.
I had no time to even care that it was actually Christian; I just pulled out my wand.
Except I had no spell in mind. "Oh crap," I muttered, waving it around a couple of times, hoping something would happen.
A flash of light struck both Christian and Nate and they were flung through the air. Wow, did I do that?
I turned around and saw a blond haired boy standing with his wand pointed in the direction of the werewolves. Of course I didn't do it.
I looked back only to see the wolves had scarpered. I took a couple of deep breathes; I felt dizzy, like the whole world was swimming underneath me.
"Are you okay?" my blonde haired savior asked me.
"I don't know," I said slowly. That was all I had time to get out before my legs buckled underneath me.