Crimson Moon
Chapter 8

I awoke to the sound of a knock on my door. Jumping from the bed I quickly noticed what time it was. Four hours had already passed by. Could it really have been that long? I thought I just closed my eyes for a few minutes. Obviously, I was wrong, I must have been exhausted. I walked over to the door and opened it seeing my sister’s face.

“Hey. Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you. The guy who was here earlier wants to talk to you. I think he has some sort of book in his hands. Anyway, he’s sitting down in the living room waiting for you.”

I thanked her for the information and began to walk towards the living room to join who I could only guess was Tiberius.

Once I entered the room, he walked towards me and asked if I was ok.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I replied to him.

“Your face isn’t entirely healed yet. What exactly happened?” He asked me.

“Shh not here,” I said to him. “Come with me into my room, they won’t listen in there.”

“We could just speak to each other differently you know.” He said back to me.

“That would be weird for them if they thought we were just sitting here saying absolutely nothing don’t you think.” I challenged him.

“Hmm yeah, fair enough.” He commented to me beginning to stand up from the chair with a book in his hands.

“What is that?” I asked him. He just smiled at me and said that I would see soon enough. I then began walking to my room, Tiberius following directly behind me.

Once I reached my room Tiberius just lifted his eyebrows and gave me a puzzling look.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“Nothing just thought you would choose the bigger room, not the smallest one.”

“I’m not a fan of a ton of attention. Never have been. I prefer things small and simple.” I replied back to him.

“Very well,” he said nodding his head as I opened the door.

I went to sit on the bed. Tiberius just remained standing very awkwardly.

“You can join me on the bed if you want,” I told him.

“Are you sure? What if your family comes in? Will they get upset?” He asked me.

I simply laughed and said “Come join me, Tiberius, you don’t always have to be a gentleman. It's ok, I promise. I can deal with my own family.”

He then walked over to me and sat on the bed alongside me.

“So, what did he exactly do to you to cause you so much pain that you wouldn’t heal instantly?” He asked me as his thumb brushed along my cheek where Adolph hit me.

He had a sad look in his eyes as he asked. I blushed in embarrassment and gently pulled away. Not because he was touching my cheek, but because of why I got hit. I huffed and started telling him everything from the beginning.

“He called me and said he had to ask me something. First, he figured out that I lied to them about what you told me yesterday when I first met you. I didn’t want him replaceing anything out about it. Apparently, Rafiq told Adolph everything that I told him. I thought I could trust him.”

“I’m so sorry Calla,” Tiberius said. “

It’s ok, I just thought I could trust Rafiq. I never knew that he was so close to Adolph.” I used my hand to wave it off. “After this, he flat out asked me to marry him and I obviously declined it. I turned around from him and he grabbed my arm and spun me back around.” Remembering about this, I grabbed my arm to see if there were any marks left. Tiberius followed my gaze towards my arm as well. It looked like my arm healed very well, only a small bruise remained. The only thing indicating a real injury was the streaks of blood that engraved my skin. I dropped my arm and looked back up at him. I tear started to slide down my cheek before I could wipe it away, Tiberius thumb brushed ever so gently against it wiping the tear away.

“Sorry,” I said looking away from him.

“Don’t be Calla, you’ve been through a lot. Nobody expects you to be strong all the time.”

“Thank you,” I said to him in all sincerity.

He nodded his head to me.

“He told me to marry him again and I told him he was crazy and that he needed to leave me alone. This time I guess I deserved a slap across the face with his wolf nails out slashing my face. He then threatened my family and I took off running straight for them. That was when I contacted you for help. Thank you by the way. Without you, I could be killed, or worse, they could have been.”

“Calla, you do not have to thank me for my protection. I will always protect you. You are one of us and it is my duty to never let any harm come to you.” I smiled at him showing him my gratitude. “I can’t believe he would force you into marriage. I always knew he was a bad man, but I never thought he would do something as stupid as that.”

“Why would he want me anyway?” I asked Tiberius.

“As you know he has always craved power. By marrying you it will give him extraordinary power. By marrying a female wolf in which not all of us can do, during the ceremony we are granted a power.”

“How do we acquire such power? Are you meaning to tell me there is magic in this world?” I questioned him completely shocked. He laughed at me.

“I’m taking it you never knew that magic is actually quite real and not made up.”

“Uhh, no, I didn’t know that.” I simply said stunned by the news that I got.

“Of course, magic is real. There aren’t too many wizards out there though. Most are on our side. Anyway, during a wedding ceremony a couple receives a “Gift” he said in air quotes. “The gift being a certain power. Depending on whether or not you are in a pack determines one or the other said power.”

“What do you mean by that?” I questioned him.

“Hmm let’s say that you were to marry Adolph. You two don’t belong in the same pack together so your power would be to hear each other thoughts as we can already naturally do. Now say that you were to marry hmm let’s just say, Reed.” This caused me to laugh cutting him off making him smile. “If you and Reed were to get married your power would be to feel each other’s pain both physically and mentally. This makes it so they will always know whether you are in danger or not.”

“Wow, they actually just give you these abilities when you get married? What about those that marry humans?” I asked him.

“They don’t receive anything. In fact, it’s not really looked highly upon to marry someone human.”

“Is it because you’re not supposed to tell humans that there are werewolves?” I questioned him.

“Who told you that?” he asked me. “Oh wait, never mind, I am quite sure that I know who. Even though it can be dangerous, you are allowed to tell those who you believe you need to. That I mean by those such as family whose lives are affected by it. I must warn you, Calla, it can be very dangerous. With the knowledge, some may become scared of the world. Some may even want to be bitten to turn themselves into one. You may also face them telling others which could result in the hunt for yours and their death. If word gets out that werewolves exist, there are people who will come and replace you.” Tiberius told me with a warning tone in his voice, his golden eyes flashing. “But in this case, involving your own family, I recommend that you tell them. Otherwise, they may replace out the hard way. We will try our best in the castle to make sure that they don’t see our wolves but it would make it much easier on all of us if they knew.”

“Don’t worry, I plan on telling them. I always wanted to, but Adolph would always threaten me if I asked him. He said that I was a baby and needed to give up on my family. I was too weak for wanting them in my life.”

“You must always keep your family in your life Calla, they depend on you. I can also tell that they are the most important thing in your life, am I correct?” Tiberius asked me.

“Of course, I would risk my own life to save theirs.” And I really would, that I was certain of.

“I have no doubts from you.” Tiberius simply said.

Tiberius got off the bed and said, “speaking of which I’ll be right back.” He made his way into my bathroom. I remained on the bed curious about what he was going to do. He came back with a first-aid kit. “Since your family doesn’t know about you yet and your rapid healing it may be beneficial to apply a bandage.” Without saying anything he opened up a large square bandage and ever so gently applied it to my wound. His fingers grazed my pale skin as we looked into the eyes of each other. His golden eyes sparkled in the sunlight. A cold shiver radiated throughout my body. Once he finished applying the bandage, he cleared his throat making me shake my head to think clearly again.

“Thank you,” I said to him.

“No problem,” his voice responded as he began walking to the fireplace.

“Were you cold?” He asked me confused as to why I would have a fire built when it was in fact not cold outside, whatsoever.

“No, sorry. I just couldn’t help myself.” He turned around to face me.

“You don’t have to apologize Calla. This is your house you can do as you please.”

“Thank you,” I said bowing my head to him showing my gratitude. “So, what is the book about?” I questioned him still intrigued that he would bring it.

“Ahh this,” he said pointing to the book. “I thought that you would enjoy it. It tells you somethings about our world in which I thought you would want to know.”

“OOH!” I squealed as I jumped off the bed and snatched it from his hands.

He laughed at me and said, “I swear you never have patience.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. He deserved it. It just made him laugh harder saying,

“Are you sure you’re not like five?” He asked.

“Mentally or physically?” I asked before climbing back in bed this time laying under the blankets.

“Well, are you going to join me?” I asked him when he just stood there by the fire. “Come on I need someone to be my translator.” I patted the spot next to me in bed.

“Hmm very well,” he said climbing into the bed.

“Now was that so hard?” I asked him.

He just smiled at me and said “maybe.”

“Yeah right,” I said back to him.

Slowly I opened the book, my heart pounding so loud that my ears could pick it up.

“Nervous are we?” Tiberius asked.

He obviously heard it as well.

“Of course, there is so much I’ve been dying to know.”

As I opened the book I saw pictures of something that looked like a war.

“What’s this?” I asked him.

The war looked terrifying. Blood was all over the floor with dead werewolves littering the entire place.

“It was before we had royalty to settle every issue that arose. It was a long time ago, all the way back in the 1800s.”

“Wow,” I said amazed. “What was it all about and what happened.”

“Werewolves all over fought for power. Every alpha thought that they should be the ultimate ruler of all. This is every alpha challenging others for dominance, bringing their packs into bloodshed along with them. Long story short that is how we developed the royal courts of all the countries.”

“Wait,” I questioned. “There is more than one royal court?”

“Of course Calla. Each country has its own. My family is just the American pack. There are others for packs for places such as Russia, China, India, who have royalty. Just like they have their own forms of government in the human world. We of course have a president, while Britain has a royal family.”

I didn’t say a word just stared at the picture that brought chills to my entire body. Some were in human form others in werewolf. There was an image of a human with a dead werewolf in his bare hands. It brought chills to my body.

“How did they resolve the issue? How did they figure out to go with royalty?” I asked him.

“That is where the females come into play. They were heartbroken losing all their pack members. Back then they didn’t fight alongside them and they still hardly do today. Only the strongest of the females fight in today’s world. Anyway, back then a group of them got together and discussed the issue. Long story short they came up with the Royalty to fix it.

“How did they figure out who would be picked to become royal?” I questioned him more.

“Easy, they let the females decide. Each female out of the group picked one to be the leader of the country. Since it was a female who decided on this, the argument ceased. Even back then they were still cherished.”

“What if somebody doesn’t think a royal can fulfill their duty today? Is there nothing that can be done about it?” I asked him.

“Ahh and that is where the fighting comes back into play. If someone doesn’t believe that we are strong enough to be the leader of our country, they can challenge us to a duel. If we win we keep our position but if we lose, we don’t. It can be quite a dangerous match, which is why I have been taught how to fight ever since I was born. I’m sure you have seen my father’s scar on his face. That was from someone challenging him. He did take a hit but he won in the end.”

“Have you ever been challenged?” I asked Tiberius my face full of concern.

“Yes, and you have met him.”

“Adolph?” I asked him not wanting to believe what I was saying.

“Yes.” He simply replied.

“That is what you were referring to when you asked him if he remembered what happened last time isn’t it?”

I questioned him. He simply shook his head.

“I’m so sorry Tiberius. It must be hard to live a life where any minute of the day someone can challenge you to a match.”

He simply nodded his head and said, “Most respect us but there will always be a few.”

I looked straight at him. His eyes shown sadness and hurt. “Are you ok?” I asked him.

He tried to give me a small smile but it didn’t work. “I’m ok Calla.” He said to me.

“No, you’re not,” I said back to him.

We just kept looking into each other’s eyes not saying a word. Suddenly my door flew open and Katherine was there. I jumped up from my laying position, falling off my new bed and onto the hardwood flooring. My heart was pounding. I crawled off the floor and said, “Jesus Kat, knock first, will you? You just about gave me a heart attack.”

“Why were you doing something you aren’t supposed to do?” She questioned me.

“Like what?” I asked her.

“Oh, you know what.”

I looked over to Tiberius who simply got off the bed and said in a calm manner. “Hello, Katherine. Nice to finally get the opportunity to meet you.” He took out his hand from his pocket gave her a gentle shake.

“Thank you for saving us earlier. It means a lot to me. Without you, I could be dead. We have been telling Calla for ages that her little mafia is dangerous and she should avoid them.” She said as she looked around Tiberius and straight to me.

I put my head down in disappointment.

“That they are.” He simply said back to her.

“You’re really tall and muscular. Also, you’re quite hot.” Kat said to him. Winking her eyes towards me.

“Kat!” I yelled at her my face heating up in embarrassment.

Tiberius laughed at her and said, “Thank you.”

With that, she turned around and left the room.

“Sorry about that.” I quickly apologized. “My sister can be a little nosey at times.”

“It’s no big deal.” He replied back to me.

“I had a brother, I know how they get at times.”

“Had?” I asked him.

His eyes shown sadness once more and he said, “I’ll tell you some other time, ok Calla?”

“Of course,” I responded.

“No hurries. I won’t be offended if you can’t tell me. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

And with that, he nodded his head at me and said, “I better go make sure the pack is alright.”

With that, he turned around and left the room. I could read from his face that whatever happened to his brother still hurt him to this day. I felt so bad for him, it made my heartache in sympathy.

I followed Tiberius out to the front. He turned around and said, “Stay safe dear sweet Calla.”

He then opened the door and left. Before I knew it, my sister was beside me with a huge grin on her face.

“So, how long have you known him?” Kat prompted with a huge grin on her face.

“Who? Tiberius? Not very long why?” I asked her.

“No reason,” She said before she skipped away back into the kitchen.

Well, that was weird I thought to myself before following her in there.

“What you doing?” I asked her as I saw her opening the cupboard doors.

“About to make supper. There is so much food in here I don’t even know what to make.”

“Here let me see,” I said as I gently pushed her to the side.

She was right, there really was a whole bunch of food ranging from different brands of cereals in the cupboard to steak in the refrigerator.

“How about we just settle for some spaghetti?”

“Hmm,” She said thinking. “Sounds good to me. I’m sure mother will like it as well.”

“Speaking of mother, where is she?” I asked Katherine.

“I think she fell asleep in her room. We should go check on her after supper is ready.”

“Yeah, we really should.”

And with that, we began to make supper together. Katherine started to boil the water for the noodle as I started to get the sauce and meatballs prepared.

Once the supper was done being made, my sister and I both went to check up on our mother. We knocked on the door and we heard no response.

“Mother?” I spoke through the door as I opened it.

I looked around the room not spotting her. It was then that I realized that she was asleep on her bed. Katherine gently walked over to her and gave her a small shake. She slowly awoke.

“Mother, supper is ready.”

“Oh, thank you, Katherine.” She said to her.

“You are very welcome, Calla made it as well.”

“Thank you, Calla.” She said to me.

“You’re welcome,” I said in response giving her a small nod of the head. “Now come eat mother. Then you need to rest you aren’t looking very well today. Is something wrong?” I asked, worried about her.

Her face seemed paler than usual and her eyes seemed a little more sunken in. Maybe she was just having one of her off days. That would explain what happened earlier when we were running in the woods.

We all walked back to the dining room table. I grabbed some plates and silver wear, while Kat grabbed the cups. My mother sat at the table with a blank expression on her face. My sister and I both looked at each other in concern. We had no idea what was wrong with her. Possibly she was petrified from the incident that happened earlier. I set the items I was carrying down at the table in each of our spots. Katherine did the same with the glasses she held. Then we both walked, grabbed the spaghetti, and dished it on each of our plates. When I put it on my mother’s plate she muttered “thank you,” very quietly still staring at the table.

“You’re welcome, mother,” I replied back to her.

I sat down at the table and the same with my sister. We then began to eat.

“It’s really delicious Katherine. You really are an amazing cook.” I told her.

“You helped too, I didn’t do all the work.” Her eyes sparkled with the compliment I gave her.

“Please, all I did was put the sauce in a pan and stirred for you. You added all the herbs and everything. Without you, my spaghetti would taste very bland. For that I thank you.”

“Well, you are very welcome.” She answered back to me. Nobody talked for a few minutes until Katherine decided to break the silence.

“Hey, Calla?” She asked me.

“Yes, Kat?” I questioned back to her.

“Do you like Tiberius?”

This caused me to choke on my spaghetti.

“Katherine, I just met him! How do you expect me to like him?” I asked her.

“Hmm just seemed like you do.”

That was all she said as I gave her a puzzling look as to why she would believe such a thing.

Being around my family brought me happiness that only they could fulfill. I truly loved them and I couldn’t imagine life without them. Even if my mom is a little crazy, I still love her the way she is. Thinking of this made me think about what I learned today. How it wasn’t illegal to tell my family members about us. There were dangers involved with it though that could have some serious consequences. We all could be killed for the information that I tell them, but if I don’t, they could be killed for their innocence. Debating on the pros and cons I decided that now was time to tell them. They deserved to know. I just hope that my mom will be able to handle the news. I know that Kat will be afraid but she can handle it. Who knows, maybe she will even think it’s kind of cool.

“Hey, guys?” I asked them both.

“Yes?” They answered simultaneously.

“I need to show and tell you something after dinner. Is that ok?” I asked them.

“Of course.” My mom said while Kat asked, “Like what?”

I responded by “You will have to wait and see. It is something that I have been meaning to tell you for a few months now.”

“Very well,” she replied. “Could you help me with the dishes beforehand?” she asked me.

“Of course I will. There isn’t any way I would leave you with so many things to do. You aren’t our housemaid.” I smiled at her as I responded.

“You know in a place as fancy as this I’m surprised we don’t have one.”

“Shh! Don’t give them any ideas. They probably will give us one and we won’t have any free time to ourselves.” We looked at each other and just laughed.

After we finished washing the dishes, Katherine and my mom followed me into the living room. Their backs were towards the door while I was facing them. I took a pause, just staring at them not having any idea on what to say.

“It’s ok Calla, whatever you have to say we can handle it I promise.”

I gave out a small laugh. “If only it were that easy Katherine. The world is much different than what you think. A lot scarier than what you think in fact.” I exhaled closing my eyes. “Ok, this is how I’m going to do this. I want you guys to turn around and face the door. Give me about two minutes before you turn back around. I won’t say anything I just want you to know that when you turn around I will still be here. I might need Tiberius here to help with this I don’t really know.

“Why won’t you just tell me when you’re ready and why would you need him?” Katherine asked me.

“Just trust me ok?” She gave me a puzzled look. “Ok?” She said.

I then motioned for them to turn around and they did. I then began to slowly take my clothes off, my heart racing as I did so. As I was taking my clothes off, Kat peaked back and looked at me.

“Calla, why are you taking your clothes off?” She asked completely confused.

“Kat please just turn around and trust me.” She must have seen the look on my face for the fact that she did so.

I began to change as fast as I could not wanting them to turn around and see me in mid-change. Before I knew it, I was on my four legs and my white fur hung from my body. I decided to go into a sitting position and wrap my tail around my legs anxiously waiting for them to turn back around. What if they freak out and don’t want me anymore? What if they run? My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to have a heart attack. Before I knew it, they slowly turned around. Their eyes level to where I would have been originally before changing. Slowly Kat’s eyes fell to where I was located as I said absolutely nothing. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open. She took her hand to cover her mouth as her face looked petrified. My mother on the other hand didn’t react at all like I thought she would. It was very strange.

“Oh my god!” My sister yelled. “Is that you Calla? How can this be?”

Not being in my human form there wasn’t any way I could communicate with her directly, so all I was able to do was make a little noise indicating that it was indeed me. Her eyes just grew wider as I made the noise.

“What are you?” She asked me.

I realized that I really didn’t plan this through. I was going to need Tiberius after all as a translator.

“Tiberius?” I called out in my head hoping he wasn’t busy.

“Yes, dear sweat Calla?”

He asked me. “Are you busy?” I asked him.

“Hmm no, I will always be able to make time for you. What do you need?”

“I decided to tell my family about who I am but I didn’t really plan it too well. Long story short I’m in my wolf form and there is no way I can communicate with them. Is there any way you can be my translator?” I asked him.

He laughed and said, “yes give me a few minutes.”

In the meantime, while I was waiting for Tiberius to arrive, I slowly made my way to my family. I walked up to Katherine and my mom, but Katherine backed away slowly. She was petrified. I lowered my head in sadness as grief struck me. I didn’t want her to be afraid of me so I didn’t push her anymore as I backed away from her. A knock sounded from the door. My mom went to go answer it as Kat kept her eyes glued to every move I made.

“Hello Tiberius,” my mother said as she opened the door.

There he was standing in the doorway coming to my rescue once again.

“Good evening Mrs. Day,” Tiberius said.

“I heard that Calla needs my help in explaining our world.”

“Thank you,” I said to him in my head.

“Anytime.” He said back to me.

“Please do,” Katherine said to him. “This isn’t really Calla, right? This isn’t possible.” She said to Tiberius baffled.

Tiberius took a deep breath and said “Yes, this is Calla. This world really does exist, the world of werewolves. This place you see is home to many different werewolves. What happened in the woods earlier was a rogue pack trying to attack you. They want Calla and she refused them. Because of this, they decided that the best way to get back at her would be through you guys.”

Katherine began to shake her head in denial.

“This can’t be true, it just can’t be. How do I know you aren’t making this all up? How do I honestly know it is Calla.”

“Hmm good question, give me a few minutes so I can ask her something that only someone who is very close to you will know.”

“Hmm,” I thought to Tiberius.

“Tell her that her diary is stored under her mattress and she fantasizes about this guy named Brad who went to high school with her.”

Tiberius repeated what I said. I noticed that my sister’s face turned red and she turned towards me and said

“Calla, that’s private. What were you doing in my diary?”

I just pretended to submit to her by putting my head under my paws. This caused her to roll her eyes as she said

“Ok, I trust you. That is definitely Calla. Nobody else would interrupt my private life so much. Are you a werewolf as well?” She asked Tiberius.

“Yes, along with most of us who live here.”

“Really?” she asked him.

“Yes,” he simply responded.

“So werewolves really do exist in the world?” She questioned him further.

“Yes,” he simply explained once more.

“Do you all look like Calla?” She asked pointing to me. “Do they all have the white fur like her?”

“No, Calla’s fur coat is rare. They range from grey, to red, to black. Mine for example is black.”

“Is it wrong for me to ask if I could see?” Kat asked Tiberius.

“Hmm if you would really like to see I can show you.” He told Katherine.

“You don’t have to do that,” I told Tiberius in my head. “You’ve done a lot already.”

“Relax Calla, it is alright. If she wants I will show her. It won’t bother me at all.” “Thank you,” I responded back to him as he bowed his head to me in return.

Katherine squealed in delight.

“Ooh!! Could you please? I really want to see the black wolf coat. I’ve never actually met a wolf, well until now. I have always been fascinated with the black color. Can I please see it?”

“Sure,” Tiberius said in return. “Just turn around and I will change. Well unless you want to watch me change it doesn’t bother me on which you do.”

He then began to take his clothes off, my mother turned around but Katherine remained watching him. I padded over to her and used my body weight to turn her around. For some reason, I really didn’t want Katherine to watch him change. Reluctantly, she turned around once she got the hint of what I was doing. Before I knew it, Tiberius let out a small howl in order to get our attention. We all turned our gazes towards him. No matter how many times I see him in his wolf form I can’t get over how beautiful and remarkable his coat is. It reminds me of the midnight sky drawing in my wolf.

“You’re beautiful,” Katherine said in awestruck.

I’m not going to lie it stung and upset me that she didn’t say that to me. I felt a little betrayed that she could be repulsed by me only a few minutes ago and be drawn in by him. She walked right up to him and began petting him.

“I’m so sorry,” I said to Tiberius. “I really didn’t know she would come up and pet you like a dog,” I said to him giving him my best apology look as possibly.

He let out a small rumble of laughter and said, “It's ok Calla. You worry too much. At least I can now say I’ve actually been pet before.”

And with that, we both began to laugh.

After a few minutes, I tried to turn my mother and Katherine around. Eventually, they got the hint and they did just that. I changed back into my human form and put my clothing back on making sure Tiberius wasn’t watching me. He behaved like a gentleman and didn’t pay any attention to me knowing that I didn’t like others seeing me that way. After I changed, I turned away from Tiberius letting him do the same as me. Once we were both fully dressed I called back out to my sister telling her that it was safe for her to look once more.

“I can’t believe you never told us. How long have you been like this?” She said to me in utter disbelief.

“I’m so sorry I really wanted to tell you, I honestly did. Adolph always said I wasn’t allowed to until Tiberius told me I could. I’ve only been like this for a few months though.”

“Ok,” Kat said to me.

Then my mother spoke up. “How did you become like this? Both myself and Katherine aren’t like this.”

“Honestly I have no idea. I was never bitten so I didn’t pick it up. Well as far as I can remember I never was. Is there a possibility that dad was?” I asked my mother.

“No, he was normal just like me. There is no way he was. If that was the case I would have known.”

She answered me back. Her eyes were a little glassed over. I assumed that she was just not feeling too well. “Mom? Do you feel ok?” I asked her worried about her. “

Yes Calla,” She simply stated back to me.

“Well I better get going, I have something to do in a little bit,” Tiberius said to us.

I turned to face him.

“Thank you so much, Tiberius. It really means a lot to me that you can help me out when I need you.”

He bowed his head to me and said “You’re welcome dear sweet Calla. Call whenever you need me and I mean it.”

“Always,” I replied back to him and with that, he opened the door and left.

I faced Katherine and my mother once more. “Are you afraid of me?” I asked them.

“Heavens no you’re still my baby girl.” My mother said to me.

Instead of answering me my sister came straight up to me. For a minute I thought she was going to insult me and say that I was some sort of an abomination. I was prepared for the worst. Instead, she opened up her arms and gave me a big hug.

“There is nothing to be afraid of Calla. I would never be afraid of you. You are a good person, we all know that. You would never do anything to hurt us. Plus, I myself am a little jealous. Do you know how much I wished that werewolves were real and that I could be one? You have the life I always wished for.”

I laughed out loud at what my sister said, “That’s funny. I always wished I could be just like you. To be the child who could help her mother out whenever she needed her. To be the good child always doing everything perfectly.”

“Calla, you are that person. Whether you know it yourself or not.”

A few hours later I went to change into my pajamas and curl up in my bed exhausted from everything that happened the last few days. I really needed some time to relax. I was too worried about whether or not Adolph and the others were still after us. I knew that he probably was, but I had to be certain. I couldn’t believe that he would expect me to say yes to marry him. I am not some sort of doll that can be tossed around without her own free will. I never did like him especially like that. I know that my family is safe, but I can’t stop worrying about them. What if they somehow do manage to get through everyone who is here? What if they do manage to hurt one of them? It would be all my fault. They can’t defend themselves while being human. I wished they were educated on using weapons that way I would feel a little better about them being alone. If something were to happen to them my worst fears in life would come true.

“Relax Calla relax.” I thought to myself.

Nothing was going to happen to them. I had to trust the others. It would be a miracle if they were clever enough to get through everyone here. I knew that some of the wolves would give up their own lives to protect the rest of us. I was sure Tiberius was one of them. For reasons unknown thinking of Tiberius calmed me down and I was finally able to drift off to sleep.