Chapter 2
The knock on the front door was hesitant, almost apologetic. My father’s voice followed, rough around the edges, as he ushered someone in. When he stepped inside, it was with a woman trailing behind him – the kind of woman plastered across magazine covers, impossibly polished and utterly untouchable.
“Hi brat, what’d you get for your birthday?” she asked, her tone dripping with condescension.
Before I could form a reply, she continued, “I bet you got loads of presents, Hun. Little BRAT.” She shrieked the last word, a cruel laugh bubbling from her lips.
Ryan moved swiftly, positioning himself between me and her. My father stood near the door, lighting a cigarette, his expression indifferent as he placed a small box on the table. It was clear he didn’t care.
“Don’t you dare talk to my sister like that,” Ryan challenged, his voice firm.
“What gives you the right, brat two?” she snapped at him.
Before the exchange could escalate, my mother intervened, shoving both my father and his girlfriend toward the door and locking it behind them. They rattled the knob for a few minutes, but soon gave up, the sound of their car pulling away echoing in the silence.
I clutched my new phone, a small, cold comfort. “Mum,” I asked, “can I go set it up? Just with a little privacy?”
She nodded, and with Ryan’s help, she began preparing a birthday dinner. I snatched the box from the table and fled upstairs, phone clutched in my hand, trying to blink back the tears. What had become of my father?
I didn’t want to open his gift, but I knew I had to. I plugged my phone into the charger, intending to set it up later. For now…
I tore at the frayed cardboard, revealing its contents. A small, handwritten note lay atop a dead bird, its tiny claws stained crimson. I unfolded the paper, my hands trembling.
“Hi Lyra, we got a dog and this is its first kill, be grateful, I bet Mum got you a phone with all the latest add on stuff, well I say stuff that. hate you.. Dad. PS: Your new step mum is amazing.”
My new step mother! The realization hit me like a punch to the gut.
Before I could process the horror, darkness descended.
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The wedding was a suffocating haze of forced smiles and whispered insults. My brother and I endured the endless service, each relative calling me ‘brat’ as they passed. Mum couldn't afford to come, but Dad threatened to sue her if we didn't attend. It was a financial risk we couldn't take.
Once it was over, Ryan and I escaped back to the sanctuary of Mum’s car and drove home. We both hated every minute. I was forced to sleep in Ryan’s room again, my body aching, my mind frayed. The dreams were returning, stronger now, and I spent every night huddled in his protective arms. I felt safe there.
After another nightmare, I felt a strange shift, an unsettling awareness. Something inside me warned me against seeking comfort in Ryan’s room. I ignored the instinct and found myself in the midst of a waking nightmare.
My bones twisted, bending into impossible angles. A scream tore from my throat as my spine stretched, threatening to burst through my skin. My eyes swelled, doubling in size, and my skull reformed, pushing outwards into a canine snout. I felt my mother rush to the door and tell me to stay calm.
My thighs expanded, hitting the ceiling. Then, fur erupted from my flesh. It dawned on me, a horrifying realization – I was a werewolf.
This was my wolf, and I looked at my mother in panic. I knew nothing about werewolves, about any of it. She transformed too, and she nuzzled into me.
“It’s okay,” she barked, her voice laced with a strange urgency.
After an hour I finally morphed back and felt even more weird. I felt the wolf physically talking to me from inside my body “Thanks for finally giving in and letting me loose, I promise it wont hurt as bad next time.” The wolf said.
There was going to be a next time! No no no no!
The wolf seemed to read my mind. “I’m also stuck with you forever now so just so you know, your in control of me.” I metaphorically tied it to a lamppost as it told me about wolves all the way through the night. I began thinking of a metaphorical nuzzle when it told me not to even dare.
I let it loose from the lamppost and it bounded around and let me get to sleep. the one thing i couldnt get out of my mind that it had told me about was mates…