Ch. 4 Stranger than Fiction, Speaking in Tongues
(CLARE)
"How was your date last night?" Adam asks as soon as he sees me Wednesday morning. Seems he was waiting on the steps for me.
"Interesting," I reply looking around the school yard. Things seem different today, sharper somehow. I'm certain I can see better, and I'm pretty sure I'm hearing a conversation taking place on the football field as though I were only a few feet from them. I think I can smell more too. I smell Adam's shampoo, bodywash and deodorant, but also that he had eggs for breakfast. I can swear that I smell Drew's scents on Adam as well. I am sure I smell coffee, though no one close seems to be drinking any.
"Interesting how?" Adam questions giving me a funny look. Although, given the way I'm looking around I don't blame him. I force myself to stop thinking about it and look at Adam.
"He took me to this glade, we had a picnic of snack foods, it was already set out for us. I think some of the others in his gated community did it all. It was romantic and sweet. I asked him some questions and he answered, although some of them were vague. He asked me a few questions too, it was nice getting to know each other better. When my mom texted telling me to be home for dinner, I asked him to take me back to my car, and he did. We exchanged numbers before I got out of the car, and then he said something odd."
"What did he say?"
"He said I'd start feeling changes, he wouldn't say exactly what, just that I'd start feeling different. He told me my senses would likely sharpen first but he couldn't be sure. The odd thing is I do feel like my sense are sharper today, but it's probably just the idea he planted in my head."
"Yeah," Adam says slowly, "probably. It does sound like a pretty odd date."
"Not all of it, the picnic in the glade was nice, it was on his property," I reply but Adam doesn't seem to be listening, and I can see the wheels in his mind turning. "What's on your mind Adam?"
"You're going to think I'm crazy," Adam responds.
"What isn't crazy lately?"
"It's just, you meet this mystery guy and then you get attacked by a wolf that bites you three times and licks your wounds. Wounds that heal way faster than they should, faster than a normal human would be able to. Then mystery guy and three of his friends, transfer to your school. Friends that all travel with him in a pack. Fitz tells you he transferred to keep an eye on what's his. Then he tells you that you're going to change, that your senses will get sharper. I know it sounds crazy but what if Fitz is a werewolf?"
I feel my eyes go wide with realization. What Adam just said should absolutely sound crazy. Only, it doesn't it all makes perfect sense. I grab Adam's hand pulling him into the school with me. He doesn't argue or even ask where we're going. I think I can smell Fitz; I follow it and find him at his locker with Owen, Dallas and Bianca. He smiles when he sees me, but I'm not in the mood to smile I simply march over.
"Come with me," I demand gripping his sleeve. Still holding Adam's hand, I begin to drag the two boys out back. I notice Bianca, Owen and Dallas following us and look over my shoulder narrowing my eyes at them. "Not you three."
"I'll be fine, I'll see you in class," Fitz says to them. They stop walking but watch us go down the hall. I pull the boys to the home ec room and lock the door. I was going to go outside, but decided I wanted more privacy for this conversation.
"Are you a werewolf?" I ask him flatly, kind of demand actually. I completely expect him to burst out laughing or at least look at me as though I'm crazy. Instead, he kind of sighs and looks down with guilt but also relief on his face. I release his sleeve and grip Adam's hand tighter, leaning on a table as I can't seem to stand just now.
"I couldn't just tell you, if I had said I'm a werewolf you would have run, not from fear, from thinking I'm a nut job."
"So, you're actually a werewolf? The wolf that bit me in the woods that was you? You bit me to turn me, didn't you? That's why they healed so quickly?" I'm not really asking, just saying it out loud but it all makes perfect sense. Perfect sense for something that's not supposed to be real.
"Yes, that was me. I bit you and cleaned the blood, so you'd turn, fast healing is one of the first changes."
"When you said you marked me, when you said I was yours, what does that mean for a werewolf? Are Bianca and the others werewolves too? Am I going to change and start attacking people on the next full moon?" I fire questions at him as they flood my mind.
"There's a lot to explain, I don't have time to explain it all now. Come to my house after school, I'll answer all of your questions. Adam can come with you if it will make you feel better," Fitz offers.
"Fine, but Adam is coming with me," I nod still squeezing Adam's hand. He squeezes back silently letting me know he wasn't going to leave me.
"You're not going to kill me after you tell us, are you? I feel like you being a werewolf is something I shouldn't know," Adam remarks.
"Drew will be one of us soon too, you should know. I assure you both that neither of you will be harmed. Follow us to my house after school," Fitz says, and leaves the classroom.
"What did he mean Drew will soon be one of them?" Adam asks as soon as Fitz is gone. Although, I'm fairly certain he can still hear us.
"Bianca, she told me she was going to mark Drew the way Fitz did me. She said eventually she would mark him; she didn't say when or what it meant. She did tell me her interest in Drew was more than friendly."
"Let's get to class, this is too much for me to think about right now," Adam says after a moment.
We leave the room walking straight to our first period history classroom and sitting at our desks. Becoming a werewolf has heightened all my sense, yet learning werewolves exist has put me in a fog all day and my senses are dulled. Adam and I both sort of walk around in a fog all day, reeling from our discovery this morning. Not only are werewolves not a thing of fiction but I am turning into one, and Drew will be too at some point or at least get marked. I'm not entirely sure what the difference is. We eat lunch with our friends, but everyone can tell we're distracted. They ask us what's wrong, we tell them nothing. What can we tell them? After a minute they continue to eat and talk amongst themselves. Last period is the hardest because everyone, but Dallas has the class with us. Finally, the school day finishes, Adam gets into my car, and we follow Owen's SUV to their gated community.
"Nice neighborhood," Adam remarks letting out a low whistle as we follow the SUV through the front gate.
"Yeah, very nice, and Fitz has the nicest house at the end of the cul-de-sac."
Owen drops Fitz at his house and when his SUV pulls away Fitz motions for me to park in his driveway. Adam and I get out of the car with our backpacks and follow Fitz into his house.
"Nice house," Adam comments.
"Thanks, have a seat I'll grab us some drinks," Fitz replies. Adam and I sit on the sofa while Fitz goes into the kitchen, he returns a moment later with some bottles of sparkling juice and water. "Everyone in this community is a werewolf. Most were born that way, some were made. The full moon has nothing to do with it. We can change at will, completely or partially," Fitz begins to explain after Adam, and I take a bottle of juice.
"Then turn," I demand.
"Now?" Fitz asks a little surprised.
"If you can turn into a wolf at will then I want to see," I reply. I know I'm being demanding and bossy, but my whole world has been left spinning off kilter and I need to know some things for certain.
"I have to be naked to turn completely or I'll rip through my clothes."
"Then go into the kitchen and come out as a wolf," I shrug.
Fitz sets down his water bottle and gets up going into the kitchen. We watch him take off his shirt, I have to resist the urge to go into the kitchen and watch him get completely naked. I see almost a shimmer around him, then he disappears behind the counter and a second later a black wolf pads out, the same one that bit me. I almost want to pet the wolf, but I don't.
"Change partially now," I request.
"Think it Clare, if you think of me and think it, I can hear your thoughts," Fitz says in my head. Hearing his voice so clearly in my head makes me gasp and jump which startles Adam.
"What is it?" Adam asks.
"I can hear him in my head," I explain.
"I guess that makes sense, the wolves would have to communicate somehow when in wolf form," Adam comments. Fitz nods to say he is right.
"Please change partially in front of us so we can see it." I think in my head while looking at Fitz and concentrating on him.
"I'll get dressed again and return to change partially," Fitz replies in my mind and returns to the kitchen. Adam doesn't even ask, where he's going. We see part of the change as Fitz resumes human form, once he's standing and taller than the counter, he becomes visible. He pulls on his jeans and shirt but leaves off his combat boots and socks.
He returns to the living room, standing before us and changes his face and feet to a wolf. His eyes get larger, his pupils change, yet there's still something human about them. His ears get longer and larger, pointed and hair grows on them. His nose and mouth elongate and form a partial muzzle. His feet get larger with fur and claws, but his arms and hands and the rest of him stays human. The change happens in a blink of an eye, the air seems to shimmer a moment and when it stops the change is done. Fitz stays that way a moment to let us look. I get up and stroke the fur on his face. When I sit down again, he's already changed back to fully human form. He sits back in the armchair across from us and picks up his water bottle.
"Can you always hear my thoughts?" I inquire.
"No, the telepathic link is how we communicate in wolf form, full or partial. Wolf muzzles are not easy to speak with. Though the pack link can be utilized in human form. We can't just invade someone's thoughts, even in the pack. It's a way of speaking, just without speech. You'll get used to it," Fitz assures me.
"Why did you attack me in the woods? Why'd you mark me the first time we made love? Do all wolves do that? Is Bianca going to do that to Drew?" I fire off more rapid questions, but it's a lot to get my head around.
"I'm sorry Clare, I probably should have given you some time. The way Bianca is with Drew, she will mark him eventually. Whether or not she changes him is up to her and Drew. When she feels she can trust him she'll tell him, show him the way I just did for you. She'll explain everything, he is her life mate whether he is changed to a wolf or not. If he decides not to change there's a possibility their children may not be wolves, but they'd still be a part of this community."
"You didn't give me a choice, not about marking me or being a wolf!" I exclaim angrily. I don't understand why Drew gets a choice and mine was taken.
"I'm sorry Clare, things are different for me. Bianca has the luxury of time, I don't. I'm the Alpha," Fitz explains.
"You seem pretty young to be Alpha, unless wolves don't live all that long," Adam remarks.
"Actually, I inherited the alpha position two years ago when my grandfather died at 103, he barely looked 70. Alpha would have gone to my father, but he was killed. To properly explain everything, I need to go back to the beginning, to my father. He met my mother when she was visiting town, she was nineteen, he was twenty and she was human. He didn't want to scare her, and he wasn't going to take over alpha for a long time. They dated, he travelled out of town to see her, she moved to town when things became more serious. He never marked her, it must have been very hard for him. You have to understand it's instinct the first time we make love to our life mates. Things were intense though; she didn't understand what was happening or things about the community. At one point she left, but my father won her back. They got married and went on a honeymoon and he didn't tell her about being wolfborn until they returned. She was scared, she refused to be turned, and she was already pregnant with me. From what I know my mom withdrew, she had me and did her best to keep me isolated. When I was one, she fled with me, she had probably been planning it since she learned my father was a werewolf. Eventually we ended up in Florida, and my mom moved in with a man, Rudy, and his son Steve. They were both abusive, and my mother was afraid of me, but I had no idea why."
"Obviously, you were found," Adam comments.
"My father never gave up looking for me, he chased leads all over Canada, the US, even Europe. It was while looking for me that he was killed in a traffic accident. My grandparents kept up the search, and they found me when I was eleven. They brought me home and they raised me, my grandmother died when I was fourteen. It's very hard for wolves to lose their life mates, my grandfather died a year later. So, I became Alpha, before I was really ready, but the pack has been very helpful. The elders of the pack guiding me the way my grandparents had. My father too, I never really knew him, but he left me notebooks filled with the things he wanted me to know, to teach me."
"So, you moved so fast with Clare and didn't give her a choice to be turned because you're the pack leader and because of your mother. Clare's human, knowing that and what your mother did the pack would have been apprehensive about bringing Clare into the pack," Adam concludes and Fitz nods.
"I guess I can understand that," I respond slowly. I still wish he had given me a choice, but I can see the difficult position he was in.
"Are you sure she's your life mate though?" Adam asks. It's a question I probably should have thought of. I am very grateful Adam is here with me.
"I'm sure, the same way Bianca is sure, it's hard to explain to humans. Scent is the first thing that draws us, we smell the scent and it's like everything is suddenly brighter. When we first see the person it's incredible, to me Clare is the most beautiful woman ever. Everything is better, I don't ever want to be with anyone else but Clare. She's the only one I ever want to kiss or intimately touch ever again. I've seen glimpses of our future together Clare. I'm as certain that you're my life mate as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow."
"So, when is Drew going to be told all this?" Adam inquires.
"That's up to Bianca," Fitz replies. Adam nods in understanding and they both look at me. I don't really know what to think. I'm still really just trying to get my mind around all of it.
"I think I should go home; I know you're sure about being my life mate, but I'm not. I don't feel the way you do Fitz. I don't have that same certainty and I'm still letting the fact that I'm going to change into a werewolf sink in. I think I already have begun changing, my senses are sharper."
"I know it's a lot to take in. Not just learning that werewolves are real but with your senses being sharper you'll be overwhelmed sometimes. I can help you hone your senses, learn to block the extra stimuli or focus in on one scent or sight or even taste. The physical transformation to wolf is driven by emotion, be careful of your emotions until you have control of the change. Remember if you're feeling changes or you're unsure about things or have questions call me. Or call Bianca, Owen, or Dallas. Before you go, I ask that you not tell anyone else anything we've discussed or that you've seen here, including your families."
"They wouldn't believe me if I tried," I reply.
"Yeah, they'd think it was one of Clare's stories or we're doing a play or something," Adam agrees.
"Thanks for telling us Fitz, and showing us, guess I'll see you at school tomorrow," I tell him as I stand from the sofa.
"If you have other questions or you need help please reach out, to me or one of the others. We can all help Clare," Fitz pleads.
I can do little but nod in response. Adam and I leave Fitz's house and get back in my car. We drive to my house in silence. My mom won't be home for a while and Adam already told his mom he was coming to my house to do homework.
"Are you okay?" Adam asks when we're sitting in my bedroom.
"I don't know honestly. There's a lot to think about, a lot that has yet to sink in. My practical, pragmatic side does understand the position Fitz is in and why he didn't give me a choice in being marked or being a wolf."
"You mean your practical side isn't telling you that werewolves don't exist?" Adam queries.
"We're past that, we saw Fitz change into a wolf, he was able to communicate with me telepathically. We saw him change partially, part wolf, part boy. Clearly werewolves are real, which makes me think other things are real too. I mean werewolves can't be the only things that are supposed to be myth but are real."
"Yeah, probably not, guess that's something you can ask Fitz about. So, what is your impractical side saying?" Adam questions.
"That I'm going to turn into a werewolf while fighting with my mom and tear her throat out. That I shouldn't go to school tomorrow in case I change."
"I don't think it's going to be that sudden. Fitz did say he'd help teach you control."
"Yeah, I know, and when I start feeling it, more than just my sense, I'll take him up on that. Would you hate me for saying that part of me wishes that Drew had been changed? So, that I had someone else to be going through all of this with me?"
"No, I couldn't hate you, and I think that's reasonable, but I am glad Drew hasn't been changed yet."
"He may never be changed, he gets a choice," I lament. I understand Fitz's position, but I still don't like that the choice was taken from me.
We're silent for a few minutes and then we both get out our homework. Adam stays for dinner and Drew picks him up after dinner. Adam tells me to call him if I need him and I tell him I will. I have a terrible time sleeping, and after a nightmare about changing into a wolf and killing my friends I don't sleep the rest of the night.
(FITZ)
"I'll see you guys in class; I'm going to go find Clare," I tell the others when we arrive at school Thursday morning.
"I'm going to find Drew," Bianca smiles.
I already know that Clare is here and with Adam, I follow their scents to their lockers. Clare smiles a little when she sees me, but also stiffens up a bit. I wish she wasn't so afraid of me.
"Hey," I grin.
"Hi Fitz," Adam nods to me.
"Hi," Clare says softly.
"We should go on another date," I say to Clare.
"I suppose if I'm going to be your life mate we should start by dating," she replies after a moment.
"Great, tomorrow night, I can pick you up in the morning and we'll leave after school."
"I can't even change after school?"
"If you want to, but you'll look amazing in anything," I reply with a smirk.
I turn around and walk to class before Clare can argue. I think about what to do tomorrow, I want the date to be special, but after yesterday I don't think she wants a date near my house. Trouble is I don't really know what to do, I didn't exactly date in the community. Any girl that didn't find her mate by the time I was really old enough to date I already knew wasn't my life mate. Not to say I haven't kissed any other girl; wolf hormones still rage even before we've found our mates. Making out with Bianca and other girls in the woods is not dating.
"Hey Drew," I smile when I see him in class already. Bianca isn't here, she must be at her locker or the girl's washroom, those are the only reasons she wouldn't already be in class with him.
"Hey Fitz," he nods back.
"You know Clare pretty well, right? What types of things does she like? I have a date with her tomorrow, and I want to make it special," I comment. Drew arches his eyebrow at me like I'm insane, but I feel someone else's eyes on me as well. I turn my head to see Eli glaring at me. "What's with him?" I ask Drew.
"He and Clare dated, a long time, broke up in January. He was her first love and her first…you know," Drew says in a low voice.
Eli must be the boyfriend she lost her virginity to, gave her body to before me. My wolf is howling and growling, Clare is ours and someone else was all over her lovely porcelain skin before I was.
"Calm down Fitz, you can't go all Alpha wolf in the classroom and kill Eli," Owen's link breaks through my territorial thoughts. I knew he and Dallas had come in the classroom, but I hadn't acknowledged them yet because I'd been talking to Drew.
"You okay? I swear your eyes just changed?" Drew remarks.
"Yeah, just don't like the idea of someone else with Clare," I reply.
"Yeah well, I know she hates that. The possessive, protective type, she hates it. How is it that you've slept with her and transferred schools to be with her, but you don't know anything about her?" Drew questions.
"I know she likes writing and all things academic, and dancing. I don't dance, and I don't know how her interest in academics helps me put together the perfect date."
"On the weekend you can take her to Above the Dot, there's dancing but you don't need to know how to dance, just how to hold the girl. Look, this is what, your second real date with her?" Drew asks and I nod. "Keep it simple, dinner at a nice romantic restaurant, and a walk to dessert or get dessert to go and take a drive to a scenic overlook."
"That's perfect," I grin.
"What have you done on dates in the past?" Drew questions.
"Well," I reply rubbing the back of my neck uncomfortably, "I haven't dated anyone else."
Drew raises an eyebrow and gives me a look that says he doesn't believe me. Bianca saunters into class just as the bell rings and then Mr. Perino begins teaching, so Drew doesn't have time to dwell on it. Though he might ask some questions at lunch, if he and Bianca are eating with us. During my second period spare I look for Clare, but she's hiding in the student council office again. She's making a habit of that. At lunch Drew joins the four of us for lunch on the picnic tables outside.
"How have you never dated anyone before? I don't buy for a second that you haven't ever been with other girls. Clare told us you had sex the night you met," Drew comments. Then looks guiltily at Bianca, Owen, and Dallas, wondering if he should have spilled that secret.
"It's okay, they know what happened that night. I haven't dated, but I've hooked up with girls before. Clare is the first one I've wanted a relationship with," I tell Drew. I can't exactly explain that she's the only one I'll ever want to be with, not yet anyway.
"Uh-huh," Drew says slowly. He's eyeing me sharper now, actually he's looking at all of us with a bit more suspicion now.
I don't think Bianca will be able to keep the truth from him for too long. He's gotten pretty close to the four of us, Bianca especially, and he was already friends with Clare. He was at the cabin with her, saw her in the hospital, and her best friend is Drew's younger brother. I doubt Drew will just guess that we're all werewolves, but he's already suspicious. Bianca is going to his game tomorrow night, and they have a date Saturday. I wonder how much beyond Saturday she'll be able to keep the truth from him.
After lunch we walk into the school and science together as we all have it for third period. Jake has it too and he smiles at me, I'm sure he knows Clare and I have been seeing each other. Eli's also in the class and he glowers at me a little. If he was hoping to get back together with Clare that's just too bad, she is mine and I'll kill to protect her.
As always, the sight of Clare makes me happy, and I remain happy for all of last period. Owen drives us all home after school, and I stay at his house to do homework and have dinner. I do call one of the nicer restaurants in town and reserve a private table for our date tomorrow night. I make the reservation for 4:30 a little on the early side but it gives us plenty of time at dinner, and I was sure even with a last-minute reservation it would be open.
"You look incredible," I smile when Clare gets in my car Friday morning. Owen and the others are of course right behind me in his SUV.
"Thanks, I didn't know what to wear," she replies as she buckles.
"You could wear a flower sack and still be the hottest most beautiful girl to ever cross my vision," I tell her, and she smiles.
I walk Clare to her locker, and then to class, with Owen and Dallas trailing behind us a little. At, least Clare doesn't seem to be aware of their presence. People seem excited for the game tonight, Bianca especially. Owen and Dallas are also staying to watch the game.
"I made fairly early dinner reservations, but we do have a little time. The restaurant is near Queen Street if you'd like to walk a bit before dinner," I tell Clare as we leave last period.
"Sure, that sounds nice," she nods.
I smile and escort her out to my car, opening the passenger door for her. I drive us down to Queen Street parking closer to the restaurant and then we stroll and window shop for a bit. Dinner is nice and romantic with candles and soft lighting; good food and our table is pretty private.
"Feeling anymore changes?" I ask Clare.
"Honestly, I'm not really sure. I know my senses are continually getting sharper, but I don't know if I feel anything else. Sometimes, the sharper senses are overwhelming, how do you deal with this on a daily basis?"
"I was born with it, never knew any different, thought it was that way for everyone. Of course, my mom never told me about my father's side of the family," I remark keeping it cryptic in case anyone is listening. "If you want to come over tomorrow, I can help you learn to use and control your sharper senses, and we can see if you're starting any other changes."
"Okay," Clare nods. "Adam says Drew and Bianca have a date tomorrow night," Clare comments after the food is brought.
"Yeah, she's going to have to tell him pretty soon I think."
"That should be an interesting conversation," Clare remarks before taking a sip of her drink.
We talk mostly about Drew and Bianca or school as we eat. I pay the check and we leave the restaurant to go back to my car, I put my arm around Clare, we're walking slowly. When we get to the parking lot some guy bumps into Clare and then tries to take her purse.
"My purse," Clare shrieks when he manages to rip it off her arm and starts running.
"Stay here," I growl, not at her but I'm partially changed.
"FITZ," she yells after me but I'm already running for the guy.
I easily catch up to him, grabbing him by the arm and swinging him into a building.
"You took my girlfriend's purse," I growl. I'm holding him by the throat and begin to squeeze as my wolf teeth descend. The guy's eyes are bulging but whether that's because he's struggling to breathe or because of what he sees in my face I'm not sure. Nor do I care, my wolf wants his blood and so do I.