The Werecats: Creatures of the Night (Book One) (Revised)

- Seven: Two New Friends -

- Seven: Two New Friends -

My eyes fluttered open as a migraine pumped it's way through my head. Thoughts rocketed through my head and I had to mentally reach out and catch them just to comprehend them. Kidnapped, attacked, blood, panther. Panther.

I remembered the night before, how the giant black panthers had watched me in the woods, and that the one with the red eyes matched Eran's. This is all true, I realized, sitting up.

I didn't recognize the place I sat in. It was all very modernized, with a clear hanging chair in front of a television set and a stainless steal kitchen nearby. I had been asleep on a red leather couch and a black polka dot blanket was spread in my lap.

"Hello?" I called.

"Be down in a minute!" Someone, Dominique I guessed, called from upstairs. There were clear steps with no support except for being attached to the wall leading to a small loft overlooking the living area. Not bad.

A moment later Dominique slid down the staircase and stumbled at the bottom. "Welcome back to the land of the living." He said.

"This is a lot to take in." I said immediately.

"Well good morning to you, too."

"Is this all real? The panthers I mean." I asked. My questions had gone unanswered long enough.

Dominique flopped down on the couch beside me, "I'm afraid so, yes."

"And what happened at school... That was the beginning, wasn't it?"

"Wait, what happened?" He asked, staring at me.

"This girl demanded that I leave my lunch table to let her and her friends sit and I said no." I said, Dominique nodding, "And I got angry all of a sudden and smashed pie into her hair."

Dominique burst out laughing and slapped his knee, leaning forward to laugh some more. The laughter was contagious and I began to giggle, too. Soon we were both in hysterical fits.

"That's- that's the greatest thing ever!" Dominique exclaimed.

I mockingly bowed as he applauded and I almost felt normal. Happy.

"Okay, play time's over. I promised Eran I'd get you up for combat training an hour ago. We gotta get going." Dominique said, getting up.

"Dominique?" I called as he made his way towards what I guessed to be the front door.

"Dom." He said without turning.

"What?"

"My friends call me Dom."

"Come on!" Dom shouted, "You can do better than this!"

This was his way of 'motivating' me to learn to fight. We had been at it for an hour, but to no avail. I was a miserable failure.

"Stop!" I said, ducking to avoid a blow. I sat on the ground and said, "I'm done."

"Would a real attacker really stop if you said 'I'm done'?" Dom said, probing my back with a stick to get me up.

"I don't really care, honestly." I growled.

"Fine, gimme that." Dom said as I handed him a wooden stick I had been attempting to fight with.

He gave me a hand up and he led the way back into the woods.

"Why me?" I asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Out of all people, why did you bring me here?" I asked.

"Uh..." Dom began, but was cut off by the snapping of a twig in the near distance.

"Smell that?" Dom asked.

"What?" Sticking my face in the air and sniffing awkwardly.

"Here, close your eyes and try again, but slower this time." Though Dom was in front of me, I could still hear a smile in his voice.

I tried what he said, though, and the results were amazing. I inhaled slowly, smelling everything around me. I could smell the trees, and the still wet leaves from the previous rain. I smelt deer, a few miles away still, but I could smell her and her fawn. Most of all, the small breeze that blew brought me a new scent. The scent of cats. Lots of cats.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Dom asked, breaking me away from whatever was scaring me about the scent of cats.

"Uh, yeah." I said, still dazed.

"After a little training you won't have to try so hard." Dom said.

We walked in silence for a little while. Well Dom walked, I just straggled behind him and tripped on every tree branch that got in my way.

Dom stopped then, putting his arm out to catch me again.

"Yes?" I asked after he didn't move his arm.

"Shhh..." He whispered.

I smelt the air again then. The breeze had died, and along with it so did my scents.

"No," Dom said, "listen."

"How?" I hissed, hating that I didn't know how to listen.

"Just shut up and use your ears." Dom said calmly.

"I can't." I growled, flicking my right ear, "Only one works."

I was quiet then. Another twig snap. This one closer. Too close for comfort. Were we about to be jumped?

Just then, two men toppled on top of Dom.

"Stop!" I screamed, grabbing a tree branch that lay at my feet.

"Get off of him!" I slammed the branch against one of the men's heads. I was surprised yet proud by my use of the branch. Not ten minutes ago had I failed at it.

"Damn, Riley!" I heard a voice say.

The men stood back and were laughing. Laughing?

Dom stumbled back, leaning against a tree.

"What kinda battle strategy was that?" One of the guys asked.

"Yeah really, if you're trying to help him why would you hit him in the stomach with a tree branch?"

"Hit him?" I squeaked.

"Yeah, hit him. Extremely hard at that." Dom said. He walked up to us, still holding his arm across his stomach.

I gulped, "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine." Dom said, "There was no need really."

"No need?" I asked, waving my arms in the air. "These guys were ambushing us!"

"Yes, we were." On of the men said, beginning to laugh with the other.

"Riley," Dom said, standing straight up again, "these are a few of my friends, David and Nick."

One of the guys, who Dom had named David, had curly auburn hair and wore thin glasses. Nick was more muscular than both David and Dom, and he had blonde hair. Both boys had stunning eyes. David's were an irony grey and Nick's were rose pink. In between all three boys I felt obscenely short.

"They're your friends?" I asked.

"Why do you think we 'ambushed' you?" The man, who Dom introduced as Nick, said.

"Come on," David said, "Eran actually sent us to get you, but we just decided to have some fun with it."

Instead of countering them with a smart comeback, Dom's expression changed. He went from having fun to being completely serious at the mention of Eran.

"What's so good about Eran? He seemed kind of a prick when I met him." I said.

"Riley!" Dom hissed, clapping his hand over my mouth. "You can't say stuff like that about Eran. He's the Head."

I shut up then, not wanting to get them into trouble. From the way they acted, I guessed that Eran had a short fuse.

Great.