Forsaken, A Werewolf Story (Rewrite)

Chapter 23

My first thought was to go see Sebastian, get his and his pack's take on this whole ordeal. The image of that deformed spirit otter thing was still seared into my mind. It was a long walk to the other side of town and by the time I got there, I was fresh out of patience.

I went upstairs and just opened the door to Sebastian's room.

"Sebastian I need—"

I stopped what I realized I had walked right into the scene of Sebastian and Nico, one on top of the other, without their shirts, and lips locked.

"Oh shit..." I said, freezing.

"Jesus Juno, ever heard about knocking?"

I turned around and closed the door. What had I just witnessed?

"Juno!" The older woman I knew as Mama wolf called from downstairs. "Get that butt over here!"

Not wanting to think further about Nico and Sebastian, I did.

"Oh, uh, Theresa was it?"

"Call me T," She said, "I think we have some things we ought to talk about you and me," She nodded to a picnic table. "Sebastian told me about you. Can I see your bite?"

"Oh, eh sure." I raised my pants leg up and showed her the scar on my ankle. It still felt stiff.

"That's an ugly one, fought it off did you?"

"Well, I wasn't given much choice in the matter, explanation or forewarning."

T shook her head. "That ain't right. Guess I got to welcome you to the lupine world. How's the adjustment been?"

"Honestly? Rough... It's all so much to take at once, Sebastian told me things, the Lindells told me different things, I don't know who to believe,"

"I get it, it's all confusing and shocking. Usually, someone gets time to adjust, ponder the choices, and what's gonna happen. They didn't give you none of that."

"It's been over a week and I'm still processing werewolves are real, much less I am one now..."

"Welcome to this mess, kid. The Lindells want you part of their pack?"

"Made me swear to it, even had to drink milk..." The image of what I'd done came back and I wanted to hide my face.

T laughed loudly. "Oh man, that sure is something."

"I take it you don't do that to new recruits?"

"Ain't no milk in this old lady," T said, "I was born intersex, that didn't sit well with my birth pack."

"Oh... I'm sorry."

"Ain't your fault darling, Jim and I, we've been adopting strays like Sebastian for years now, get our own puppers a different way. But I ain't like the rest of my pack, I was born Gaian."

"Gaian?"

"That's our word for folks like them Lindells, although my pack was hardcore traditionalists, believed in the spirit's laws, in hunting down forsakens who threaded through their territory."

"Yesh... You left?"

"I did, got tired of following laws I ain't ever agreed to, of the way they treated me for being infertile. So I found a few more exiles, some others we turned. We made our own rules, our own pack, our own family."

"Like?"

"Ain't no hierarchy here,"

"I thought you were alpha with your partner?"

"It don't mean the same, they respect us because we have seniority, but we ain't kings. Here there's just one rule; we vote on shit. They might listen to our experience but me and Jim we got one vote, same as anyone."

I nodded. "What about Blights?"

"Them things? We kill when we see 'em, it isn't good to leave them be."

"The Lindells make you out to be some irresponsible dicks at best..."

"We just people Juno, some good some bad, we've just decided to make our own rules rather than follow what some old wolves claim were divinely mandated."

"Alright... Thank you for talking to me, I really needed that."

"You're welcome, pupper."

It was then that Nico came out of the motel room, his shirt buttoned incorrectly. "Juno!" He practically jumped down the stairs. "It's not—"

"Okay, I'm gonna be stopping you, what I accidentally walked into is none of my business."

Nico seemed like he wanted to say something but it failed to materialize.

"Why don't we go home?"

Nico nodded. "I'll get my stuff."

He went back up and I saw Sebastian standing at the top of the stairs, we'd kissed, then he'd kissed Nico. This was all getting very complicated.

I sighed.

"You and your brother are close?" T asked. 

"We were, now I feel so wrong having to lie to him about this whole wolf ordeal... He's always been my support..."

"What if we could turn him?" She asked.

"You would?"

"If he agrees to follow our rules, our people agree to accept him."

"How are you going to do this?"

"We certainly ain't gonna jump him at night and bite him without a word," T said with disdain.

I felt a bit bitter. The 'bad wolves' here were more concerned with consent than the girl I'd loved...

"I'm just scared..."

"Why?"

"What if doing that puts us on different teams?"

"Teams?"

"I'm part of the Lindell's pack, but they won't turn him. And as much as I want Nico to know, I'd be distraught if we somehow became enemies..."

"Don't let yourself be his enemy, you don't owe the Lindells nothing."

I nodded. I wanted to agree, but deep inside me, I could feel my wolf stirring. The Lindell was where it harkened to belong, no matter what the human side of me desired...

Nico joined me and we went home as if nothing happened. What would he think about this whole werewolf business? Would he want to become one? How would we explain another animal bite to our parents?

And what would the Lindells do to him if he was part of the Horsemen?