Kenzie watched the horrific spectacle before her as her boyfriend wrestled with what appeared to be another werewolf. Which made absolutely no sense considering they were of the same breed. And as Kenzie got a closer look, she realized that her attacker appeared younger than she was.
The fur continued to fly until Hayden had the boy on his back, his hand raised with claws fully elongated. He’d transformed into a werewolf despite the moon not being full, simply due to pure adrenaline and rage.
And then Hayden struck his foe until he lay unconscious on the ground.
“Is…is he…?” Kenzie stammered.
“No. That’s up to Ellis, as the alpha.”
Hayden whipped out his phone and literally barked at his older brother, stating the events that had just taken place.
Meanwhile, Kenzie stared at her arm, visible through the torn fabric of her coat. Her heart began to pound in her ears. Of course, she and Hayden had discussed her becoming a werewolf in the past. But she’d always assumed that Hayden himself would be the one to turn her into one. Not some random stranger that appeared out of nowhere and bit her for no reason.
“Who is he?” she managed to inquire when Hayden hung up the phone and reverted back to his human form, probably as a means to calm Kenzie down since she’d just been attacked by one.
“I have no idea. If he’s a member of Ellis’s pack, he’ll take care of his ass. But he better hurry up before I do the job for him.”
Then he rushed to Kenzie and held her tightly. “Are you all right?”
Kenzie couldn’t stifle a shudder. “I don’t know,” she confessed with a shiver that had nothing to do with the temperature.
Ellis arrived not long after to assess the situation. Being the alpha of the pack, it was his duty to ensure that one of his underlings wasn’t responsible for this attack.
“I haven’t seen this kid before,” he declared upon inspecting the still-unconscious teen. “But I have heard reports of things like this happening.”
“Like what?” Hayden quipped.
“Something about teenagers being turned into werewolves and other powerful supernatural creatures but lacking the mental capacity to handle such a big change to their body. There’s a reason someone has to be at least eighteen before being turned legally.”
“Are you telling me there have been teenagers running around, transformed into supernatural creatures, and you didn’t think to tell me that before I brought my girlfriend into town to live with me?!”
Ellis rolled his eyes. “Maybe if you were ever around for pack meetings, you would have known this. It’s not my fault. Besides, how was I supposed to know you asked your girlfriend to move in with you? It’s not like you told me, and it’s not like I knew this was going to happen, either. You’re lucky I don’t put you on a leash.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Stop it, both of you,” Kenzie snapped. Sibling rivalry was the last thing she needed right now, and didn’t hesitate to inform the squabbling brothers of this.
Ellis did apologize that this happened to her before dragging the teen, who was beginning to stir, away to deal with him. He would undoubtedly be taken to the authorities and reprimanded there, and an investigation would begin to try to figure out how all the teens were being turned into supernatural creatures at all.
But for once, Kenzie didn’t care what happened to a criminal. She was more concerned for herself.
“There has to be something we can do,” Hayden said in his pleading, no-nonsense voice. The gears spinning in his head trying to concoct a plan were almost visible even to human eyes.
“I don’t know what we can do,” Kenzie cut in sadly. “There’s no cure, and…”
“No. There has to be something, anything. I won’t let this happen to you. I don’t give a shit that you’ve said you want to be like me. And how much better it would be for your career. I don’t care. I’m not going to let you be turned into a monster because some rogue teenage werewolf couldn’t keep his own hormones in check.”
Hayden grabbed Kenzie’s arms as he stared at her in the most serious face she’d ever seen him invoke.
“Is that what you think happened?” she managed to squeak. “He just couldn’t handle it?”
“Most people, at a certain age, lack the mental capacity to handle being a supernatural creature, and if your body is still growing, it’s harder to adapt. It’s just easier to give into being the creature you’ve become instead of any part of what you were. Unless you were born as that creature, of course. Then your body is programmed to adapt itself.”
Kenzie looked down, unsure of what to do. Hayden cupped his hands around her face and looked into her eyes with intense determination.
“Listen to me,” he asserted, “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. If nothing else, I won’t let you go through this alone. I’ll be here for you.”
The only response Kenzie could muster was to burst into tears. And when she realized that the next full moon, the night she would transform for the first time, was only three nights away, she cried even harder.
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It was hard to get to sleep that night. Hayden comforted Kenzie as best he could, and every time she dozed off, he’d get online or call their friends to see if there was anything that could be done.
But his efforts seemed to be futile. He couldn’t find any way to reverse a werewolf bite or curse, and even Paige and her witch coven didn’t know of anything that could help. Isaiah said that he couldn’t use his blood to cure or heal her, either, because she wasn’t dying.
“Well,” Kenzie said in a half-hearted attempt to lighten the mood, “I guess it’s a good thing I cut my hair. It won’t be so shaggy, right?”
“Do you think that’s funny?” Hayden growled, sounding angry. “I made a promise, I swore, to protect you and keep you safe, and this shit happens! The worst thing that could possibly happen to you has happened!”
“Do you think I’m not scared?!” Kenzie retorted. “Of course I’m scared! But you’re taking it harder than I am! What I need from you is support and help, not this attitude that I’m doomed!”
Hayden scurried over to the couch and wrapped Kenzie in his arms. “Of course. I’m so sorry.”
“Please, just help me through this, Hayden. I don’t know what to expect, what to do…just help me through it.”
“Isaiah did the same for Jillian when she became a vampire. Of course I’ll help you. I swear.”
*********************************************************************************
Hayden was still asleep, and though it was early in the morning, Kenzie was wide awake. Her three days were up. That night was the full moon.
Unable to fall back into dreamland, Kenzie stealthily slid out of bed and threw on her robe, slippers, and glasses in the hopes of not waking up her boyfriend. Then, she traipsed downstairs to the living room, staring dejectedly at the boxes she hadn’t yet unpacked. She grabbed her cell phone and called Jillian. She knew her friend would be awake, even though vampires also had to sleep.
“What are you doing up at this hour?” Jillian inquired.
“You have to ask? Didn’t Isaiah tell you?”
“Well, yeah. I’ve been wanting to call you, but I just don’t know what to say. Except I wish there was something I could do.”
“Thanks, but there’s really nothing. Well, I mean, unless you don’t mind me asking you some things.”
“Okay…sure, if that’s what you want.”
Kenzie took a deep breath and plunged forward.
“Well, you transformed into a supernatural creature. You weren’t born like that. And Isaiah was the same way. I guess my question is, what was it like? Hayden was born as a werewolf so he can’t really tell me that.”
“Uh…well, I don’t know if all experiences are the same, so I can’t really speak for Isaiah. But for me, I don’t want to sugar-coat it, Ken. It was horrible. You were there with me in that hotel room. My throat was burning and these sharp pains just shot through me. My eyes were burning, too, because they became super sensitive to the light. It wasn’t pleasant, and I don’t think I’d ever want to go through it again.”
“Oh, Jill, I am so…”
“Don’t start. I’m glad it happened so that I can be with Isaiah. And it’s not your fault. Now listen, I have no idea what it’s like to turn into a werewolf, and I’m sure Isaiah doesn’t, either. The only person you could ask is Hayden, even if he was born that way. He’s still usually in his human form except during the full moon, right? So I’m sure your experience will be similar.”
Kenzie nodded, though of course no one could see her do so. Hundreds of thoughts were flying through her head, some questions and others concerns. For instance, how would her parents react, knowing that their only daughter had just stated she was going to move in with her werewolf boyfriend, only to be turned into a werewolf herself? Would they blame Hayden? Not to mention Sage, who was part wolf herself. Would she take to her “new” master?
And how would she handle life as a werewolf? Surely it was easier than being a vampire, especially after a lifetime of being in the sun as often as possible, as was the case with Jillian. But still, would it hurt to transform? Kenzie’s pain tolerance was lower than her tolerance for change. She was frightened, both of the unknown and of what would become of her and the life she’d always known.
*********************************************************************************
“It’s not the last time,” Hayden assured her in their post-coital bliss. “I promise.”
“It’s the last time I’ll be human.”
Hayden’s only response was to embrace her. They’d made love once more, mostly so that Kenzie would remember what it was like to be with her soul mate while she was “normal.” Though she’d seriously considered turning into a werewolf before, if for no other reason than the sake of her career and job security due to having more keen senses and a better ability to track criminals, she was becoming more and more fearful of what was to come. Hayden had been a comfort to her, but she was still frightened. He’d answered all her questions, so at least she had somewhat of an idea of what would happen in only a matter of hours now. But that didn’t make the situation any less dreadful.
And when darkness descended at last, her case of the jitters became more prominent.
“I’m right here,” Hayden reassured her. “And I know you’re scared. I’m sorry I wasn’t much comfort these past few days.”
“You’ve been fine. I just…I don’t know what to expect. You told me, but I think it’s something I have to experience for myself.”
“I understand.”
Kenzie leaned her head against her mate’s shoulder, trying to stifle the tears that threatened to burst forth from behind her eyes. At this point, there was nothing more that could be done. All she could do was sit there on that bed with Hayden and wait for the inevitable.
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