Ch. 2 I Dare You to Think Otherwise
(ADAM)
"Jenna and I have talked about forming a band before b…" I stop talking when I hear a blood curdling scream! We all hear it and we all stop talking, Jake had some music on his phone and he turns it off.
"AAAAGGGHHHHHHHHH!" Another scream, one of pain and fear.
"That's Clare," I say, leaping up. I start running and the others follow me. We hear another scream, and another. I'm trying to follow the sounds but it's not easy in the woods.
"CLARE," I holler out. I'm answered by another scream. "This way," I say urgently, running as fast as I can. "CLARE?"
"Ad…" Clare starts but she gets cut off by her own coughing. I come through some trees and see her in a small clearing lit by the moon. She's staggering toward us and she's covered in blood.
"SHIT CLARE," I gasp, running to her and holding her.
"Fuck, what happened?" Jake asks. He's holding her too, we're holding her up.
"Wolves," she says weakly.
"She's bleeding a lot, we need to get her to the hospital," Drew says quickly.
"I got you Sis," Jake assures her, taking her from me. He picks her up holding her in his arms.
The girls don't follow us but we get back to the cabin quickly and get Clare in the front seat of the truck. Jake drives, but he can't go very fast on the dirt roads and it seems like it takes forever to get into town. When we get to the hospital Jake picks up Clare again and runs inside with her.
"HELP! My sister was attacked by wolves," Jake yells at the hospital staff.
"Sam get a gurney, Justine page Dr. Greenwood," a nurse orders.
A gurney is brought over and Jake gently lays Clare on it. She's wheeled back and we're left standing in the waiting room, hoping that Clare will be okay. There was a lot of blood, a lot of bites and she's weak.
"I have to call her mom," Jake says.
"We'd better check in with our parents too," Drew comments.
"It's an old hospital, we'll have to go outside to use our cell phones," Jake says to us and then looks at the nurse at the desk. "We're going to call our parents, if there's news on my sister will you come get us?" Jake requests and the nurse nods.
We go outside and Jake takes a deep breath before getting out his cell phone. As Jake begins to dial, Drew takes out his phone and puts it on speaker. He calls Dad instead of Mom because she will jump in the car and start driving here.
"Drew? Everything okay Son?"
"We're fine, but Clare was attacked by wolves. We're at the hospital in town with her," Drew says.
"How bad was the attack?"
"It looks pretty bad, there seemed to be a lot of bites," I answer.
"You said wolves, was there more than one?" Dad asks.
"What's going on?" Mom asks from the background.
"Clare said wolves and not wolf, but we didn't see them. We heard her screaming and went running. When we found her she was staggering toward us and the wolves were gone. We did see a lot of blood and bites though," I reply.
"We just wanted you guys to know, we're fine but we're going to stay at the hospital until we know about Clare. Jake's on the phone with Clare's mom right now," Drew says.
"Alright, you boys be safe and check in with us in the morning, we love you."
"We will Dad, love you too," Drew and I say at the same time and hang up.
"Helen's freaking out, she and Dad are coming up first thing in the morning," Jake tells us, slipping his phone back into his pocket. We go back inside and sit in chairs while anxiously waiting for news on Clare. When an older man in scrubs comes out Jake hops out of his chair. "Dr. Greenwood, how is she?"
"Jake, good to see you again, you brought the young lady in?"
"Yes, she's my sister, or will be, our parents are getting married in June."
"She's lucky, we've cleaned the bites but there wasn't much to do, they were already remarkably clean. We're giving her blood and fluids and we drew some blood to look for infection and bacteria. We'll keep her overnight for observation, but she's not showing any signs of bacterial infection, it's very odd," Dr. Greenwood comments.
"What do you mean?" Jake questions.
"Animal bites, even those of domestic animals, are notorious for causing infection. Even human bites will do so, the mouth is riddled with bacteria. For the number of bites she's showing Clare is in remarkably good shape. She doesn't have a fever, she not nauseous, she's not sweating, she says she's not even in pain. I hesitate to give her antibiotics if she doesn't need them, unnecessary antibiotics can cause harm in the body. I've put a rush on her bloodwork and we've given her something to help her sleep. She'll be out until morning, you three should return to the cabin and get some rest, you can see her in the morning."
"Okay, I'm going to leave my cell phone number, will you call me immediately if anything changes? Our parents will be up in the morning," Jake says.
"Of course," Dr. Greenwood nods.
Jake writes his cell number on a piece of paper and leaves it at the desk. We leave the hospital somewhat reluctantly and get back in Jake's truck. We're tired when we get back to the cabin but none of us can sleep. We spend all night in the living room, there's no TV but Jake puts on music. We play cards, watch our phones and sit in silence. Despite the doctor's assurances, or maybe because of the weirdness of it all none of us sleep that night. As soon as the sun starts to rise we're back at the hospital. We find Dr. Greenwood and he says Clare's still sleeping but we can go back and see her. He shows us back to Clare's room, she's still sleeping with an IV in her arm and bandages on her arms. I know there's some on her legs too, but those are hidden by blankets. Dr. Greenwood checks her chart before leaving the room. There's only two chairs so I sit on Clare's bed and she starts to stir.
"How do you feel?" I question.
"Like I want to go home and be out of the hospital," she replies. Her voice is a little groggy and weak, but she did just wake up. It could also be the effects of whatever they gave her to sleep.
"I don't think they'll release you until your bloodwork is back. Our parents are on their way," Jake tells her.
"My mom's going to freak," Clare groans.
"She already did that on the phone last night. Are you in a lot of pain?" Jake asks.
"No, it hurt when they bit me but I haven't been in pain since the initial bites. They must be giving me some strong pain meds," Clare remarks.
"How many wolves were there?" I question.
"Three, they came at me on the deck. I tried to get into the house but it was locked, so I ran. I ran as fast as I could but they were close. I looked back to see how close and I tripped. I tried to hit one with a stick and it bit my arm, then it kept biting, it was strange though."
"What was?" I prompt when she looks away before continuing.
"There were three wolves, but only one bit me, my arms, my shoulder, my legs. The other two wolves, it was like they were holding me down or distracting me while the first one bit me. I think…I think the wolf was licking the wounds after it bit me, why would it do that?"
"I don't know, I've never heard of wolves behaving like that," I shrug.
"Me either, the whole thing was very strange," she repeats.
A nurse comes in now and we all go quiet. The nurse checks her vitals and says she'll have breakfast brought up. The mention of breakfast makes our stomachs growl.
"There's a coffee shop a few doors down, you boys should get some breakfast," the nurse says.
"Go eat, I'll be okay," Clare assures us.
We leave her hospital room and go down the street to the coffee shop. We get some breakfast and as we're walking back to the hospital we see Glen's truck puling up. Glen parks and they wait for us, although Helen looks like she wants to run into the building.
"Are you boys okay?" Glen asks.
"We're fine, come on Clare's room is this way," Jake replies.
When we get to Clare's room she appears to be talking to a representative of the Canadian Wildlife Service. They seem to be just finishing going over the events of the attack.
"We'll look for the wolves that attacked you, but we've had no other calls about attacks or vicious wolves," the woman says.
"Thanks," Clare nods and then looks at us.
The woman excuses herself and leaves the room. As soon as she's out Helen rushes to her daughters side and hugs her tightly. Helen spends a few minutes fawning over her daughter and then Dr. Greenwood comes in. He tells them everything he told us.
"Her bloodwork is clean, if I hadn't seen the bite marks for myself I wouldn't have expected an animal attack. I'd like to keep her another day or two just to be safe, observe her for any signs of infection. After that it should be safe for her to go home," Dr. Greenwood says.
"Thank you Doctor, I'll be staying with her," Helen says.
"Mom I love you but please don't, you'll drive me crazy if you stay with me all day," Clare replies.
"We'll stay with her. We can take shifts and you both need to get back for work," I comment.
"There's really nothing to be done. You two should return to Toronto, Clare is fine and if anything changes I'll have the hospital contact you immediately," Dr. Greenwood adds.
"Alright, we'll stay for the day and return home tonight," Helen says with a very reluctant sigh.
"I'll need you to sign some papers," Dr. Greenwood says, ushering Helen out of the room.
"Thanks Adam," Clare smiles at me.
"I got your back," I grin, "always."
(FITZ)
"Do you plan to attack her at the house because it's the only time she's been alone since they came up here," Jay remarks as we eat breakfast.
It's early Tuesday morning and we're pretty much alone in this restaurant. I tracked Clare's scent to her friend's house Saturday, and the following day to the cabin. When I knew they were going out of town and what I needed to do I asked Owen and Jay to come with me. I've been watching Clare from a distance, waiting for her to be alone.
"Not if it can be helped, if we have to subdue one of the others to get to her then we will. I'm not making the mistakes my father did, and she won't understand until it's happening. I don't like doing it this way but I don't see another option. If I try to talk to her, to tell her she'll laugh in my face. She has to be feeling it, feeling what I am, neither of you can understand. Owen you haven't found your mate yet and Jay you mated with Paige, she's one of us she knows. After what happened between my parents and being the Alpha I've got triple the pressure, especially with my mate being human. She has to feel it, to feel the mate connection, the desire to be together forever and never be with anyone else. For that to happen she has to begin to turn."
"We know, and we support you, the others may not understand the way we do. Getting her alone may be a problem though, we don't want to turn any of the others," Owen says.
"I know, so we keep watching, if we don't have to attack her friends then we won't."
We finish breakfast and I pay then we return to Clare's cabin. Owen parks his SUV amongst other cars parked near the public beach. We take our wolf forms and pad through the woods unseen, keeping watch on Clare's cabin. We're there all day without leaving, without eating, that's why we had such a large breakfast. As they're eating breakfast we get closer to the cabin to where we can hear their conversation. Humans couldn't hear it but our ears, especially in wolf form, are far superior to humans.
We watch all day, leaving only in the late afternoon to eat dinner while Clare and the others are still at the lake. When we return to the cabin they are eating dinner, and during the conversation we learn all the boys will be gone tonight. Clare will be alone tonight, tonight is when we attack if we have to get into the cabin to do it.
I nod to Owen and Jay but they already know it's happening tonight. We wait for the boys to leave and then watch from the trees. I'm wondering if we're going to have to do this in the house when Clare goes out to the deck. She's drinking a cup of tea, watching the sky. She looks so serene, peaceful and beautiful right now. I hate to disturb that but this has to be done.
"Jay, go in the front door and lock the back so she can't get away." I order through our telepathic link. Jay nods and goes around front while Owen stays with me. Jay returns a moment later.
"Backdoor is locked," Jay tells me.
I watch Clare finish her tea and set down the empty cup. She stands up and takes a deep breath enjoying the night air.
"Now," I command them both through the link.
We take formation, me in the front, Jay flanking my right and Owen flanking my left. I growl and Clare looks around frightened. She sees us now, coming for her and she backs up slowly, toward the door. I hate seeing the fear in her eyes but this has to be done. Clare tries the door but of course it's locked.
She's panicked, doing the only thing she can and that's to go over the deck railing. She lands hard on the ground and keeps running. Even running down the stairs we catch up to her quickly. She's ahead of us still but we could pounce on her at any time. She looks over her shoulder and trips on a tree root, she turns over but we're on her now. She grabs a stick and tries to hit me, I bite her arm, she screams in pain.
Hearing her in pain tears at my heart but this must be done and I can't stop now. I lick the wound, consuming her blood and treating her, cleaning it so she'll heal. It's part of the ritual, keeping the wounds clean, the exchange of blood and saliva. While Owen and Jay hold her down I bite Clare a total of eight times, her right arm, right shoulder, left arm twice and twice on each leg. Each time I bite she screams and each time I clean the wound.
"That's enough, let's go," I insist.
"Are you sure that's enough?" Owen asks. I've already turned away and run into the woods, they're following me.
"I hope so, I don't want to bite her any more."
I hear Clare's friends coming, we hide in the trees until they have her. We return to town, to our rented room and clean up. We were lucky to find a room but one motel had a no show. We eat a little, and watch TV, but I don't sleep. I know I did the right thing but I still feel guilty. I'm also worried about Clare, I've never done this before. Did I bite something I shouldn't have? Did she make it to the hospital okay?
"I'm going to the hospital to make sure she's okay. When I know she's alright we'll go home," I tell Jay when he wakes up.
"You want us to come with you?" He asks.
"No, I better go alone, I just have to know I didn't hurt her too much," I reply.
I take Owen's keys and drive his SUV to the hospital. I slip in the door unseen and find Clare's room, peeking in but she's asleep. I stay at the hospital for a couple of hours. I see her friends come and then leave, and Clare is brought breakfast. An official looking woman stops in and asks about the attack. Clare's friends return with her parents and the woman leaves. I stay and listen to what the doctor has to tell them about Clare's condition. Assured that she'll be okay I return to the motel and we drive home. Owen dropping me at my house, I shower and just as I'm getting out my doorbell rings. I pull on some jeans and run down to open the door.
"Did you take care of it?" I question, stepping aside to let Jeff Michalchuk into my home.
"Yes, starting Monday you four are enrolled in DeGrassi. Are you sure about this Fitz? If she is your mate she's human, your children may not even be wolves."
"I'm aware of that, but she is my mate, I know she is, I knew from the moment I picked up her scent. It was exactly as it's been described, I never thought it would be so definite, so instantaneously changing until it happened. If our children are not wolves I'll relinquish Alpha, but it will be years before we even know. Until that happens I'm still Alpha," I reply in a firm voice. I lace in enough growl and alpha influence to make sure he knows his place.
"You bit her didn't you? That's why you three have been gone isn't it?"
"Yes, and cleaned the wounds as I was told to. The doctor said she was in good health and the wounds were clean, free of infection. I'll be able to keep an eye on her at DeGrassi."
"How will you tell her? You'll have to talk to her, she'll start to turn and she won't understand it."
"I don't know, I can't just come out and tell her, she'll think I'm crazy, she'll run like my mother did. She'll start feeling the change soon, when I know she's started feeling it I'll tell her. She has to know it's real, that it's really happening before I talk to her, but I will talk to her."
(CLARE)
"Are you sure you should go to school?" Mom asks Monday morning.
"I'll be fine Mom, I feel fine," I assure her.
"I'll watch out for her Helen," Jake says. Mom requested that he and Glen stay at the house since Jake and I arrived home on Thursday evening. Mom was worried about me trying to do anything or suddenly showing signs of infection. When the doctor released me from the hospital he said I was okay and I could resume normal activities. She still asked Glen and Jake to stay all weekend and made me stay in bed.
"Just be careful Honey, if you start to feel sick you come home," Mom insists.
"I will Mom," I reply, rolling my eyes.
"We have to go," Jake remarks, taking my hand and pulling me out the door before my mom can argue any further.
"Thanks for getting me out of there," I say to Jake as we get in his truck and start driving to school.
"Your mom needs to chill," Jake responds.
"Yeah, I know, maybe your dad can help with that."
The remainder of the short drive is made in silence. When we get to school Jake lets me out at the steps where we see Adam waiting. Jake says he'll see me inside and goes off to park.
"How you feelin'?" Adam asks.
"I feel fine, I have felt fine since before I even got out of the hospital. My mom still forced me to lie in bed all weekend," Clare complains.
"She's a mom, she's being cautious. How are your wounds?" Adam questions. I take off my sweater and pull up my sleeves to show him my arms and then pull the neckline of my shirt aside so Adam can see my shoulder. It's not all of the bites, but the others are on my legs. "That's not possible, they've healed already, there's barely a scar. You were bit less than a week ago," Adam exclaims.
"I know, I can't explain it, and I wouldn't let Mom see it, I had Jake help me change the bandages. I'm only wearing bandages for my mom's sake. I didn't put any on this morning because I was wearing long sleeves and a coat and she wouldn't have seen. I don't know how it's possible, but very little has made any sense since my mom and Glen announced they were engaged," I reply.
Adam looks as bewildered as I felt when I first saw how the bites had healed. Before either of us can say anything else we see a very nice SUV pull into the parking lot. We can't see who's in it though because all but the front window are tinted. The two of us and every other kid in the yard watches the SUV park. All four doors open and four new kids get out and begin walking to the entrance. In the center of them is Fitz!
"Adam that's him," I sort of shriek in a whisper as I grab onto Adam's arm.
"Him?"
"The guy from the night of the dance. I slept with him a little over a week ago and now he's at my school with three other kids. Remember what I said about things not making sense?"
"I gotta admit, that is an odd coincidence," Adam responds. The group of new kids are still near the cars but they look right at us. Fitz's eyes lock onto mine and he grins at me.
"Shit, he's seen me, let's go inside," I insist. I take Adam's hand pulling him inside and just to make sure Fitz won't find me I begin running around corners with Adam. We run around one corner and straight into Drew.
"Whoa, you running from the cops or something?" Drew asks.
"The guy she randomly slept with the night of the dance and three of his friends seem to go here now, she's running from them, well from him," Adam explains.
"That's weird," Drew comments.
"Everything since my mom announced she was getting married has been weird."
"Yeah, her wounds have healed, there are hardly even scars," Adam informs his brother.
"I'm not a doctor, but that can't be possible. You had pretty deep bites and it was less than a week ago," Drew shakes his head.
"Show him," Adam comments. I pull down my neckline to show him the area where I was bit on the shoulder. When Drew sees that the wound is gone and the only thing left is a faint scar his eyes go wide.
"Okay, that's more than weird. So, who are the kids this guy came with? What's his name?" Drew questions.
"Fitz, he said his name was Fitz or at least that's what everyone calls him. I don't know who the other three are, I've never seen them before. Fitz said he went to a small private school."
"They were driving a pretty expensive SUV," Adam remarks.
"Hey guys, how was your break?" Eli asks. We were so engrossed in our conversation none of us saw him approaching.
"Eventful," Drew, Adam and I say at the same time.
"Yeah, I heard a rumor you were in the hospital. What happened Edwards?" Eli questions.
"Got attacked by wolves," I tell him. Other people know, so there's no reason to hide it.
"What? Are you okay?"
"Fine, it wasn't that bad, but like we said eventful," I shrug.
"Yeah, guess so," Eli replies.
"Uh, we should get to class Adam," I say, deciding that Fitz might find me in the hallway.
Our homeroom is history which we have with Jenna, K.C. and Wesley. They all heard about the wolf attack and they all ask how I'm doing. I tell them I'm fine and it wasn't even that bad, the bites were all superficial, but the hospital and my mom were being overly cautious. I tell them about my mom's engagement before Perino begins class. I'm trying to pay attention in class but all I can think about is how Fitz is now at my school, and that it can't be coincidence. When first period is over I tell Adam I'll see him at lunch. I have a spare this period, I go to my locker and then run to the back of school, hoping whatever class Fitz has now is at the opposite end. I hope I have no classes with him and won't see him again today.
"Trying to hide?" Fitz's voice startles me. It's all I can do to keep from jumping out of my skin.
"From you actually, we have sex after knowing each other less than an hour and then as soon as school is back in session you're a DeGrassi student. Are you going to tell me that's a coincidence? You said you went to a small private school and now you and three of your friends are suddenly at my school. What are you even doing here?"
"I'm here for you," he says, stepping closer to me. I step back until I'm backed up to a bank of lockers.
"What the hell do you mean you're here for me?"
"I'm staying close to what's mine."
"Yours? I am not yours! We had sex together once," I bite back angrily. This boy is unbelievable, I sleep with him one time and he thinks he has some sort of claim on me.
"Yes, and I marked you," he says brushing my leg near the bite mark he left when we were making love. I had forgotten about that actually, but when his hand brushes over the spot it's as though I'm feeling the bite all over again.
"Marked me? What the hell do you mean you marked me? We had sex once, and as great as it was that doesn't mean you can come to my school and just claim me. I do not like the possessive chauvinistic type. Why would you even bite me there? Do you know how hard it's going to be to explain that to the next guy that sees it?"
Fitz's eyes suddenly narrow and his jaw gets hard, he gets very close to me, trapping me between his arms. "If another guy ever sees it I will kill them," he tells me in a low growling voice. It's a deep growl emanating from his chest and I see his eyes change.
"Your eyes just…" my sentence drifts off as I wonder if I really did see his eyes change. If they did change they're back to normal now. I do however believe that he would kill any other guy that saw the spot where he bit me.
"I'm not being chauvinistic Clare, I'm telling you that I marked you and you're mine, and if any other guy gets that close or touches you at all, I will protect what's mine," he says brushing his finger over my lips. His voice is softer and more caring but still determined. I'm not sure how to feel about what he's saying, even though I believe he means it. When Fitz begins to close the gap between us and tries to kiss me I get angry again and push him away.
"We had sex together once, you can't just lay claim to me. That is not how it works here. Did you grow up in a cult?"
"Have you heard of many cults that live in large houses and gated communities?" Fitz laughs.
"No, I guess not, well maybe one large house for everyone, but not a whole gated community of them. Not one so nice and opulent anyway, more like compounds," I prattle on nervously as this whole thing is making me kind of nervous. " So, why are you here? Why did four of you transfer to DeGrassi? You said you went to a small private school."
"We did, inside the community, we transferred. I had to keep an eye on what's mine, they came with me. We're a very close community," Fitz replies in a matter-of-fact voice. The fact that he's so nonchalant about it all only makes me angrier.
"Listen Mister Possessive I am not yours, we had sex once and that was when I was highly emotional. Just because you bit me doesn't suddenly mean I'm yours. Welcome to Degrassi but stay away from me," I tell him, keeping my voice angry and firm. While I was talking I was pushing at him and hitting him to get him away from me. He's backed off a little and when I have an opening I run straight to the student council office where I'm fairly certain I'll be safe. I do surprise Sav when I burst in though, he must have a spare this period too.
"Sorry, Sav I didn't know you were in here. Mind if I hide…er hang out for a while?"
"Fine by me, I'm just working on some student council stuff. What are you hiding from?"
"One of the new kids."
"Yeah, I saw them this morning, it's kind of weird that four of them transferred all together. Especially, so late in the year and they don't seem to be related. Do you want to talk to Principal Simpson about why you feel the need to hide from them?"
I bite my lip and consider for a moment before shaking my head. "No, it's okay, he was ardent, but I don't think it's worth going to Principal Simpson over."
I really don't want to bother Principal Simpson with this. It's more than that though, something in Fitz's voice, in his eyes when he spoke to me, when he looked at me. Something that gives me the feeling in the deepest part of my core that I am his. A feeling I can't explain, but somehow feels right, and yet frightens me to my core.
Hope you enjoyed the first couple chapters of this story, more are on the way soon. Next to be posted is the new Clew story "Mixed Signals They're Killing Me, I Don't Know What You Want".