I wake with a start.
I throw myself onto my feet, only to fall down again. My legs feel numb. My head hurts the worst. It feels like it was wrapped in tinfoil and heated in a microwave on high.
I check out my surroundings, realizing I’m in my living room. How I got here, I have no idea. I wrack my brains for the best explanation, but there isn’t one.
Last night, everything that happened… it’s impossible, isn’t it? Isaac… he turned into that thing…
I was bitten by one!
I roll up my sleeve to find the disturbing bite, fresh blood still seeping from the wound. I force myself to stand, wobbling a bit, but I manage. I stumble to the kitchen, searching for any signs of life. My stomach grumbles and I decide to hold off looking for anyone to find something to eat.
I settle for some macaroni and cheese, placing a pot of water on the stove, waiting for it to begin boiling. I know it’ll take a few minutes, so I start looking again.
The numbness in my legs has started to fade, so I attempt going upstairs. It took a couple minutes, but I make it. I immediately head for my parents room, finding Isaac sitting at their desk on their computer, completely oblivious.
“Hey,” I say in a raspy voice. “What happened last night?”
“Oh, uh, crap.” He answers awkwardly. “Well, I should probably start with… I’m a werewolf.”
“No crap, Sherlock.” I answer, smiling. I guess it’s kind of cool to be best friends with a werewolf.
“Good to know you still have a sense of humor,” He laughs. His smile disappears almost as fast as it came. “What do you remember from last night.”
“Well, the last thing I remember is getting this nasty little surprise.” I roll up my sleeve again to show him the bite. He cringes and his expression turns to guilt. “What?” I ask, noticing his pained look.
“Uh, I have some bad news about that.” He answers, referring to the wound.
“Oh, man, I’m not going to turn into a wolf, too, am I?” I laugh, hoping he isn’t serious. His expression never doesn’t change. He’s serious. “No! No, no, no! I’m not- I can’t be… NO!”
He suddenly looks confused. He asks, “Is something burning?”
I feel my eyes widen. “My macaroni!” I run out the door, knowing Isaac is following me. Things take a wrong turn when I reach the stairs, though. The very first step and my leg gives out under me. I tumble down the stairs, stopping and unmoving when I reach the bottom.
“Ouch.”
I can see Isaac trying not to laugh but failing. “Hey, man, are you okay?”
“No thanks to you.”
He ascends the stairs and jumps over me. He moves to the kitchen ignoring me. I push myself off the floor and follow.
When I reach him, he’s standing over my pot, stirring the noodles. “Thanks,” I say.
“No problem.”
“So, you’re telling me, I’m a werewolf?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“Everyone in my family is a werewolf, too.”
“Wow. Keep talking.”
“You were bitten by an alpha from the shadow clan, so that makes you a beta. If you choose not to join them, you’ll become an omega. Kind of like a lone wolf, you know?”
“Uh…”
“Oh, and the full moon stereotype is completely true. Unless you’re a pure blood like me, which you aren’t, so you’re going to have some problems tomorrow night.”
“Is tomorrow the full moon?”
“Yeah.”
“Great… My life rocks…” I say with my shoulders slouched.
“Hey, chicks dig a werewolf. Plus side: you’re stronger, faster, your senses are ten times better. Seriously, being a werewolf is much better than you think.”
I exhale, noticing I’ve been keeping in a breath. What are my parents going to think when they find out about this?
“What are you thinking about?” Isaac asks, noticing my stricken expression.
“My parents.”
“They do not find out about this, okay? They can’t know.”
I nod, feeling kind of glad he said that. They won’t want to hear that their last son is a werewolf.
“Well, your macaroni is done,” Isaac says. I didn’t realize how much time has gone by.
He hands me the pot. Now I notice that he didn’t really finish the macaroni. He didn’t add the cheese, milk, or butter.
Only a minute later, the macaroni is completely done and I take a spoon and eat. Within five minutes, it’s gone. None left. Wow, I was hungrier than I thought.
“It’s a wolf thing,” Isaac says, leaning against the doorframe as if he was silently reading my mind. “Eating so much like that, I mean.”
“Is it always going to be like this?” I ask, feeling a little embarrassed that he probably just watched me scarf down the whole pot.
“Pretty much.” He smiles.
“Just yesterday, none of this existed. What else is out there? Vampires, fairy godmothers, mermaids?”
“Pfft, don’t be stupid, of course none of those exist.” He says playfully.
“Dude, I was just bitten by a werewolf. You can’t expect me to drop it so fast.”
Throwing his hands up in defeat, he turns toward the front door, saying, “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the rest of my pack.”
