-Kristen’s House-
The scratching of a pen over paper echoed around the small office room. Kristen was poised, standing tall like a soldier, arm behind her back respectfully and eyes trained on the man in front of her. She was decked down in all-black gear, it appeared like some kind of military-like garb. Three other people stood by her, poised just as she was. They were all male, the two further to the back of the room were between the ages of 30-45, and relatively built. One was notably shorter than the other and had a deep scar running down his face, from his left eye down to his lips. A handgun was strapped to the left side of his waist. The other male was taller than the rest of them and has a machete-like weapon strapped to his waist. The male standing next to Kristen looked very much like her, facial features-wise. He was also closer to her age, mid to early 20s. Same dark brown eyes and caramel-colored skin tone. His hair was pulled into long, coiled dreadlocks that were pulled back into a large ponytail. This man was very tall standing at least 6’2’. Everyone in the room was watching and waiting on the man sitting behind the desk who had yet to acknowledge them. He was dark-skinned with a multitude of small scaring all over from where his skin was visible. One particularly nasty scar from down his right eye over the bridge of his nose. That eye was glassy and most definitely blind.
“….I’ve received a report from the Shaw Pack.” The man behind the desk finally spoke, his voice grave and husk. He was still viciously writing away. “The creature they recovered from the woods, is definitely a werewolf in transition. I’ve allowed a week for them to get the creature under control before we take it out. Until it shows any sign of violence, we are to keep a close watch on it, you are dismissed” He stated as he waved them away.
Everyone except Kristen nodded in agreement and turn to leave. Kristen was glaring holes into the man, her fists clenching behind her back.
“…Isn’t a week too short?” Kristen’s voice rang out over the silence.
The other men froze and turned to her and the sound of the pen scraping stopped briefly before continuing.
“A week is mercy. Any longer than that is ignorance.” The man responded simply, still not looking up from the documents before him.
Anger began to boil in Kristen’s chest as she clenched her teeth.
“…I don’t agree.”
The room fell deathly silent at her statement. The sound of the pen stopped and then it was dropped to the desk. The man finally turned up, his eyes both looking directly into Kristen’s, a deep frown on his face.
“What did you say?” He asked, anger softly wrapping in his tone.
Everyone looked between the two of them a bit nervously, sensing a very heated argument brewing.
“That creature? As you delicately put it, has a name. Her name is Katherine and she is my friend.” Kristine responded hotly, a slight sneer on her face.
The man just looked at her before letting out a low chuckle, the smirk on his face mocking.
“Ah, I see, my mistake then.” He said with an unpleasant smile on his face. “You are dismissed.”
“I SAID I don’t agree!” Kristine practically yells.
“…Is that so?” His eyes turned deathly cold on Kristine, a state fit for a trained killer.
The tension in the room was so thick and stifling, the two men at the back of the room were getting a bit twitchy, hands resting on their respective weapons. The man next to Karen was giving her a rather dirty look.
“..yes” She said a slight tremor in her voice as she slightly averted her gaze.
“Well, you know how we deal with disagreements, Karen”
“Da-”
He raised his hand quickly, cutting her off before looking at the two men at the back of the office.
“You two are dismissed. Keep an eye on the wolf, any sign of violence and I mean any, you take it out. Understood?”
The two men nodded stiffly obviously still geared up from the tension.
“I said you are dismissed!” The man bellowed.
The two scrambled to leave the office. The man then leaned back in his chair with a deep sigh, running a hand over his face.
“Kristen, what’s wrong?” He asked giving her a look of concern.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong is that you are pretending that you don’t know Katherine! You know my best friend?” She yelled, her eyes narrowed and a frown on her face.
“Kris-
“Don’t Kris me! And you want to know the really sick part is that you trying to make me do the same. A-plus parenting skill Dad.” Kristine said
“Kristine, that’s enough!” The man beside her yelled.
“No John! I don’t care what you and Dad think. If you think I’m going to sit back and watch you kill my friend. Then you both are out of your mind.”
Kristen’s father, Garret Coleman, stood slowly from his chair.
“Fine, if you protest so much then you know how to get the result you want.” He said turning and grabbing two blades from the table behind him and placing them on his desk.
“You fight for it.”
Kristen reached over and grabbed one of the blades. However, John grabbed the other instead of Garret. Kristen looked over at her brother however she was not the least bit surprised.
“You always side with him…” She said looking at her bother with a sad look in her eyes.
“Because he’s always right!” He responded venomously.
Kristen effortlessly twirled the blade around, tucking it away as she walked towards the door. However, she stopped short before exiting the office and let a chuckle.
“Mom would be so proud of her ‘boys’.” She said hissed out with a disgusted look on her face, before leaving the room.
Kristen navigated through her house, venturing down into what would normally have been a basement but turned out to be something very different. The area she stepped down into looked more like the headquarters of a secret organization than a basement. There were a few people working, each throwing her a curious glance as they watched her walkthrough. Computers and bookcases, maps, and large bulletin boards were filtered throughout the space. There were multiple rooms as well, judging by the large number of doors. And in the back was a large area of some sort. She quickly grabbed the training gear used for the ring and put it on, making sure to take off her boots. Kristen stepped up onto the raised platform, testing her grip on the blade by twisting and turning it around. It took only five more minutes for her brother to enter the arena as well after changing, their father not too far behind. The few people that were there crowded around, whispering among themselves. Garrett also stepped up into the arena.
“You two know how this works the first to pin their opponent down, wins the bout. This is nonlethal combat, so don’t try anything stupid.” Garrett explained dryly, looking between his two children.
While Garrett explained, the two siblings circled each other, never breaking eye contact.
“Begin!” Garrett yelled as he exited the ring.
For a few seconds, they just continued to circle and watched each other. John was the first to spring into action. He dash towards Kristen, knife raised and then made a lightning downward slash. Kristen managed to bring up her own blade to defend herself however it wasn’t clean as the full force of his slash brought her to her knees. She quickly brought her other leg around in a sweeping motion. She did manage to trip him however his body quickly rebounded, skillfully flipping backward.
“Still playing defensively I see, Kris.” John said as he turned his knife upright and dropped down into a stance.
“A good defense is the best offense, Mom taught us that both, John.” She replied a little
breathly.
“Yeah but the problem with defending all the time, you don’t learn how to attack!” He said as he charged her.
He then let out a flurry of blows, Kristen parried each and every one of them, though it got harder with each swing. At one point however Kristen didn’t only parry, she also deflected the blade away knocking her brother off guard. She took that chance to bring her foot up and deliver a sound kick to his right cheek. As he went down, she went to deliver a punch, assured of her victory. However, as quick as a blink of an eye, John grabbed onto one of her feet and pulled. Kristen went down hard, her back slamming against the platform. And before she could recover, a blade was pressed to her neck and her brother’s face hovered over her.
“Better luck next time, sis.” He said with a huff before rising.
“Match Set! It’s John’s win!”
John reached out a hand to help Kristen up but she pointedly ignored him, standing up on her own, brushing herself off.
“I don’t care what you or Dad think, I’m not abandoning Kat..” She huffed out, glaring at her brother.
John just shook his head and sheathed the blade. Garrett then stepped back onto the platform, his eyes trained on Kristen. Kristen averted her gaze, her hand clenched on the blade.
“Three weeks..” Garrett said.
Both of his children looked back at him with equally confused/shocked expressions.
“What!?” John and Kristen yelled.
“That’s all I’m giving, no extensions. Kristen, she is your responsibility. As soon as she becomes a problem, the task of taking her out will fall to you.” Garrett declared.
Kristen’s mouth opened to protest but choose not to given the look on her father’s face. This was the most merciful he’s been in years, so it was either this or nothing.
“..Understood..” She responded timidly.
“Good, then as I stated before, you are both dismissed. I will be out of town for a few days so your brother will be in charge, you are to follow his order’s understood?”
Kristen threw a glance at her brother before nodding. Garrett nodded back before walking off.
“….I honestly hope that you know what you’re doing Krissy.” John said with a chuckle as he steps off the platform.
She looks to the ground, a dark expression brewing on her face and the blade hanging limply in her hand.
“….I hope so too...” She mumbled to herself.
-
Cascade Hills High
-
Katherine and Alex enter the school grounds, chatting animated over some tv show. For the first time since last week, Katherine felt rested, 100% maybe even a bit more. She honestly thought with everything that had happened in these past few days she would be more… well on edge. But she felt more at peace than she had been in a while. However, as the pair approached the school building they noticed something out of place. Kristen who usually was never present this early in the morning was posted up again at the main entrance, scanning the crowd.
“Is that Kristen? Hey! Kris over here!” Alex called to her.
Kristen finally looked over at them, her eyes immediately snapping to Katherine, a deeply troubled look quickly passing over. Katherine looked back at her confused as Kristen walked up to them.
“You’re here early, Kris.” Alex said.
“Uh yeah..” She replied, throwing glances at Katherine.
Both Alex and Katherine looked at her with an equally confused look.
“Um is there something on my face?” Katherine asked with a pout and tilt of her head.
“..How are you feeling Katherine?” Kristen suddenly asked, looking Katherine directly in the eyes.
A faint shiver ran down Katherine’s spine which confused her greatly. Kristen’s gaze was different, predator almost, like she was waiting for Katherine to turn into a …monster… Katherine then stiffened, did Kristen know?
“Um I-I’m fine! Great even, never better!” Katherine responded awkwardly, a tense smile on her face.
Kristen’s eyes burned holes through her, it was like she could see into Katherine’s soul. Meanwhile, Alex was looking between his two friends, extremely confused about what was happening.
“Uhh, you two okay? Did I miss something?”
“No, nothing.” Katherine and Kristen both responded at the exact same time.
Alex nodded slowly, rolled his eyes, and mumbled something under his breath.
“Let’s go then” He said, walking off towards the entrance.
The two girls follow silently and soon the trio enters into the school building. The hall was filled as they usually were during the morning however there was a small crowd forming just down the hall and very loud voices.
“What the hell?” Alex mumbled as they approached.
The crowd has formed a semicircle around a few lockers. Inside of the circle was Sam, dressing his football attire with two other boy in similar garb. He had a rather nasty smirk on his face as he stared down another boy who was pressed up against his locked, looking fearfully around.
“Damnit, not again. Why does he keep picked on Kyle!” Katherine said with a frown.
“Because he constantly feels the need to shove his superiority complex down everyone’s throat. And Kyle a good guy, who wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Alex grumbles, starting to push himself to the front.
However before he even got an inch close, he saw Kristen move up right behind Sam and his minions.
“Wait how did she-?”
Kristen tapped on Sam shoulder causing him to turn. He gave a grunt upon seeing her.
“Oh, great wonder woman is here. Come to save the princess?” Sam sneered.
“Back off Sam, I’m really really not in a forgiving mood. So unless you want to end up on the ground with your friends here, I highly suggest leaving.” Kristen said, her eyes moving from Sam to his two friends then back to him.
“Ahh I see, well in that case I’ll just leave, that is the response you’re looking for right?” He said, stepping over to Kristen, he towered over her however she didn’t appear even the least bit intimidated.
His two friends also step over and surround Kristen on all sides. Kristen just looked at them before turning back to Sam.
“Trust me on this Sammy you really, really don’t want to do this.”
“Hmm yeah, I kind of do.”
He then went to grab her which she easily dodged and kicked his feet out from underneath him. The other two both tried to punch her at the same time but she dodged back causing them to hit each other. Sam who had recovered by that time, charged at her to which she quickly turned his momentum against him. She twirled him around and slammed him up against the lockers, getting a death grip on one of his arms as she pulled up against his back. She applied just enough pull to get a yelp out of him.
“Now, I’m being merciful. Now take you two girlfriends and leave before you further embarrass yourself okay?” She hissed.
He didn’t respond at first, still struggling to get out however as she pulled further, he rapidly nodded. She then slowly released him, pushing him slightly down the hall.
“This isn’t over, Coleman!” He said venomously, staggering away with his two goons.
“Yeah, yeah whatever you say princess.” Kristen said, waving him off.
The crowd around her was whispering loudly about what happened as she walked over to Kyle. Kyle was a relatively average guy. Short black hair, olive-colored skin, average build, and a bit of the tall side. The most unique thing about him was his eyes, just freckles of green and blue. As she approached, she saw that the contents of his bag had spilled and crouched down to help.
“You okay Kyle?” Kristen said with a small smile after they finished picking up all his books.
Kyle just looked at her for a few seconds before averting his eyes.
“Yeah thanks” He said briskly before fast walking away.
“Wai-”
He had already turned the corner by the time Kristen called out. Alex and Katherine had joined her side quickly after that.
“I thought you guys said he likes me?” Kristen said with a pout.
“Kristen, he does trust me on that one. It’s just… he’s a guy and a man has his pride. I highly doubt he likes having you, the girl he likes, fighting his battles for him.” Alex explained.
Katherine nodded in agreement. Suddenly the sound of the bell rang that they were going to be late. So off they ran to their first class. The day went along rather slowly, the awkwardness between Katherine and Kristen completely forgotten. It was just a normal school day… that was until lunchtime. The trio was seated as normal, talking amongst themselves and then Nathan walked over. At first, he was walking over with a gentle smile, his eyes on Katherine but that faltered as he looked over to Kristen. The look that Kristen gave him could freeze the sun, so much rage.
“Um Kris-”
“Be right back.” She said still looking directly at Nathan.
As she passed by him, she motioned with her head to the cafe door. Nathan nodded and gave a wave to Katherine and Alex before he and Kristen exited the cafeteria. They walked for a bit before turning down a rather empty hallway before Kristen’s hand suddenly shot up, gripping Nathan’s neck and slamming him into the locker. His head banged back against the locker, her nails digging a bit deep into his skin.
“Hello Nathan.,” Kristen said, a very unpleased look on her face.
“K-Kristen.” Nathan responds gruffly.
Nathan tried to move a bit but the bite of Kristen’s nail’s made him stop. His amber-colored eyes glowed dimly for a few seconds.
“Did you know wolf’s bane could be made into nail polish?” Kristen informed with a tilt of her head.
“R-right of course it’s wolfsbane..” He grumbled with a cough.
“Here’s what going to happen in the next three weeks. You and your pack will do everything and I mean everything to ensure that Katherine’s…condition is under control. If you don’t, I will personally make your life a living hell. Do you understand me?”
“Trust me Kristen, I will gladly behead myself for you if it comes to that.” Nathan said, looking straight in the eyes without any hesitation.
“Great!”
Kristen finally releases her death grip on Nathan however there are speckles of blood on her nails. Nathan coughs a bit rubbing his neck, giving her a look.
“Oh stop whining, you’ll heal.”
This was true since as soon as he took his hand off his neck, the wounds were already gone.
“Well then now that we are such good friends, can you please tell Katherine that I will be picking her up, later on, to work on the project some more?” Nathan said, throwing her an unimpressed look.
Kristen nodded before turning on her heels and walking off. The rest of the day was uneventful and soon Katherine found herself once again in Nathan’s home.
“So is this when I get my super secret werewolf training?” Katherine asked, a bit of excitement in her voice
Nathan gave her an amused look as he pulled out his laptop.
“Not yet, first we work.”
“Seriously? I’m a ticking timebomb and you want to work on a history project?” Katherine said.
“Wow, Katherine Norman doesn’t want to do homework? What is this world coming to?” Nathan teased with a smile.
“Not funny, Nathan.”
“I know, sorry. We’re waiting for Eric to get here.”
“Ugh, why?”
“It has to do with his abilities as an Alpha. An Alpha can force a shift, otherwise, it could be days before you shifted again.”
“Ohhh, wait but doesn’t it happen when I sleep?”
“It’s not always a full shift in the beginning, and since you have the pack bond, your wolf has calmed down a lot. It’s only temporary so that we could easily train you.”
“I see, so when I get my wolf side under control, I’ll be able to shift normally?”
“Yes, and you won’t lose time as you have been.”
“One question that kind of been bugging me to ask. Since I’m a turned werewolf, how exactly does the whole shifting thing go?”
Nathan didn’t answer for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.
“I’m not gonna lie to you Katherine, shifting in the beginning, especially for turned werewolves is… can be extremely painful. You are rearranging your entire body to become large and reinforced.”
“Awesome.” She replies dryly. “And just for hahas, tell me Nathan is there a strong or any possibility that I could die during the process?”
“Kather-”
“Is there a chance Nathan?!”
“…yes however that what the pack bond is for. It makes it so that we can help ease you through the pain.”
“And when were you going to tell me this?!”
“I didn’t want to scare you Kat!”
Katherine just let out a sigh.
“Let’s.. just go back to work.” She said dismissively.
They quickly returned back to work in complete silence. After about an hour, the front doorbell rang to which Karen answered. Eric stepped into the house then the living room, giving a nod to Nathan and Katherine.
“So correct me if I’m wrong but judging by the stench of heavy hints of guilt and anger mixed into the air. I guess Nathan informed you some of the unpleasantries of being a werewolf.” Eric said looking over at Katherine.
“Wait, you sense chemosignals”
“With extensive practice, yes, a werewolf can smell every little emotion. Angry, guilt, each emotion has a particular scent to it.” Karen explained.
“He told me I could die from the shift!” Katherine yelled out, throwing an accusing look at Eric and Karen.
“Oh yeah, and it would be a very unpleasant death, trust me.” Eric responds bluntly.
“Eric!” Karen and Nathan yelled.
“Lying or sugarcoating it to her isn’t going to make this go any faster so it’s better to get this over and done with. We have three weeks to get her to be able to control herself, so we need to get started.”
“Woah woah, slow down there Hoss. Where did you get three weeks from? And when the hell did we have a countdown?!”
Eric throws her a quick glare.
“Hunters. You know, the kill-all-supernatural-creatures kind?”
“Hunters are real?!”
Eric just stared at her for a few moments in awe.
“We literally spent all day Saturday talking about a creature that can transform from a dire wolf into a man. And you’re surprised that Hunter exist?” He said slowly.
“Um sorry if I don’t think hunting a creature that could easily rip me to shreds is a logical career choice!”
“Um guys, can we just stay on topic?” Nathan pipes in.
Eric and Kristen just glared at each other for a few seconds before Eric nodded to the backyard and walk off. They all relocated to the very large backyard after a few minutes. It was heavily guarded by trees and led out towards the forest surrounding the town. Eric stopped and turned to Katherine.
“Alright here’s what’s going to happen, I’m going to force your shift. While we are out here we can catch up to you easily so don’t worry about anything else.”
“What happens after I shift? You know if I don’t die first.”
“We’ll find you and try to wake your consciousness.”
“And if that doesn’t work?”
“I’ll force you to shift back.”
“Hmm yeah, just love the sound of that.”
“I mean if you’d rather be beheaded, I can go..” Eric said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“…You must be great at parties..”
Eric just growled at her.
“Fine fine, do your little magic trick, Houdini.” Katherine just huffed out.
Eric then stepped up to her to which Katherine stepped back a bit.
“Uh, this trick isn’t gonna hurt too much right? I mean, I’m already gearing up for a lot of emotional tram-”
Eric just smiled softly before he once again brought his hand to the back of her neck, cutting off her sentence. His nail dug into the back of her neck.
“I suggest clenching your teeth, this will hurt.”
That was all the warning she got before suddenly his eyes darkened and changed to a crimson red. There was a sudden shift inside her, faint but noticeable but then he suddenly let go. For a few seconds, she waited around but nothing seemed to happen.
“Um Eric, I think it didn’t work?”
“Oh it worked alright” He said nodding to her hands.
She looked down and gasped as she saw her nails, once relatively short and tame now looking very similar to Eric’s. As if it were a trigger, she then heard a loud snap and then white-hot pain unlike any she’d ever felt before. She let an ear-shattering scream and fell to the ground, grasping at her leg where the pain was resonating from. The sound of her bones cracking and rearranging began a symphony in her ears. Tears clouded her eyes and her screams became whimpers as she cried. The pain was indescribable and there seemed to be no end to it. It was only by a miracle that she finally lost consciousness, diving headfirst into blissful blackness.