I immediately sat up gasping for air when I woke. Somehow, I made it back into my cabin bedroom. Not only that, I was completely naked. There were a few leaves stuck to my hair and I saw several scattered around my pillow. I frantically picked them up and crumpled them in my fist before I jumped off the bed and shoved them into my pack.

  This was also the first time I cursed myself for my habit of packing light because it was biting me in the ass. I had no idea where my last pair of jeans and shirt disappeared to. They were probably in the woods somewhere. Maybe even torn up during the transformation. The memory made me shudder. Phantom pain spread across my cold body and I wrapped my arms around myself to try and calm the unsettling feeling from spreading. I did my best to convince myself it was just the air conditioned room, but I knew that wasn't true. I opted for my damp clothes from the other day.

  My eyes zeroed in on Bleddyn's wolf plush form on the floor while I pulled up my pants. Anger bubbled to the surface and I wanted to chuck the thing out the window. Grabbing at the toy, I stared angrily at its beady eyes. “What the fuck did you do to me?”

  It didn’t reply.

  “What’s wrong? Don’t feel like talking now? You piece of shit!”

  Again silence. Forget throwing it. I wanted to rip it to shreds. My hands grasped at its legs and I started to pull, yet the instant I did, I was hit with a surge of memories. Quiet nights cuddling with the plush. Telling it my wishes and dreams. And the faint idea that for some reason, Bleddyn had been with me for my entire life. I groaned and tossed it back on the bed. I slumped down and hid my face in my hands.

  This was not a blessing, no matter what Bleddyn claimed it was. It wasn't even a focus! Fuck this shit. This was a curse. Whatever plans I had for the future just went up in smoke. I wouldn't be showing up my grandmother or the other mages with my talents. Definitely not now. There was absolutely no way anyone would want to be associated with a werewolf. And a werewolf who could do magic? If that was what I even was. How the hell was this possible? Were hybrids even a thing? How did this happen? Why me? Oh hell, I could feel my eyes starting to burn up and my breathing started to become labored.

  Are you alright?

  Bleddyn's interruption startled me a moment but I recovered quickly and glared at the plush. “So now you talk?”

  I’m not in there anymore.

  “Then where the hell are you?”

  Inside you. Remember?

  I narrowed my eyes. "Get out!”

  No can do, buddy. We’re stuck together forever.

  “And why is it that I don’t get any say in this? One day I’m just an ordinary mage and now I’m a werewolf! Where’s the logic in that? It doesn’t make any sense!”

  I heard him shushing me in my mind. Keep it down! You don’t want your parents to hear you.

  Oh fuck, right. My parents! What would they think if they found out their son was a werewolf? Would they still love me? Would they want to disown me? Instantly, I remembered the words the other mages said at the banquet about werewolves. Would they take the stance the other mages did?

  Ok, I needed to calm down. I couldn't spiral this early in the morning. If anything, they’d want to know how it happened. If stories were to be believed it would mean I got bitten at some point recently. But that was impossible. I had not encountered any werecreature in my lifetime. In fact, I’d say that I’d been living a very sheltered life from the supernatural other than my use of magic.

  Until now, anyway.

  But then how did this happen? If I wasn’t bitten then the only other explanation would be that I was born this way. Which also didn’t make sense. Neither of my parents were werewolves. My dad was a normal human and my mom was a normal human mage. I was a normal human mage. And last I knew, werecreatures were completely incapable of using magic.

  Wait… did that mean I lost my ability to use magic after the transformation?

  I looked at my phone on the nightstand and pulled it toward me with a quick wave of my hand. Nope. That still worked, thank God. I was already having an existential crisis and that would have been something I didn’t want to add to my ever growing list.

  I felt my stomach drop as another realization hit me. What if the only reasonable answer was that they weren’t my real parents? I immediately tried to put the thought out of my mind. Nope. No no no. That was something I was not going to touch.

  “Why is this happening to me,” I whined, covering my face once more.

  It’s just who we are, Bleddyn said matter-of-factly. We were always going to be a wolf. Magic just happened to be an unexpected perk.

  “You keep saying ‘we’. Why do you do that?”

  Because we are two beings that share the same soul. Blessed by the moon goddess.

  “This doesn’t feel like a blessing from Hecate…”

  Well, Hecate isn’t the only moon goddess.

  That's true, I relented begrudgingly. I knew a quick google search would prove it, too. But for this moment I just didn’t care.

  “Ugh, what do I do? What do I do?”

  We can just live our lives like we have been?

  “How can I when everything has changed!” I snapped looking once more at the plush on the floor. “And are you always going to be in my head? Don’t I get some kind of privacy?”

  Let’s try this. Can you read MY thoughts?

  “No…”

  Then there you go. You’re free to have your own private thoughts. Easy.

  “So instead I just look like an idiot talking to myself. Great.”

  I got that feeling that I had annoyed him again. I’ve seen you talk to your friends using air pods. That looks very much like talking to yourself.

  “That’s not the same!”

  No, but if you want to hide what you’re doing it’s an option.

  I growled in frustration, because it was a good idea... “Whatever, this is beside the point! What am I going to do? I can’t tell anyone about this. I have no friends to talk to. I can't even confide in my parents! My life is ruined! This is all your damn fault!”

  What part of ‘we were always going to be a wolf’ did you miss? This isn’t my fault, Ky! This is just who we are!

  “Well it sure feels like your fault. I bet none of this would’ve happened if you never showed up.”

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  There was some hesitation before his voice returned. Is that what you want then? For me to shut up and not talk to you?

  “Sounds fine to me.”

  Fine! And when you need my help don’t come crying to me. Asshole.

  “You’re the asshole,” I shouted out but this time there was no reply. I tried calling out to him again but the voice never returned. Thank God. I was going to go crazy if I had to keep talking to ‘myself’ like that. And honestly, if I didn’t have to hear the wolf’s voice in my head ever again I’d be more than happy with it.

  * * *

  I was afraid. No. I was terrified. That was probably the best word for how I felt right now. Morning was a challenge in discipline. Mom was a mix of hungover and complaining about lesson planning for work, and Dad was doing his best to cheer both her and me up. I did my best to be attentive, like normal, but I just wanted to be left alone. I would love nothing more than to just get to my tree house, curl up in a blanket, and never be seen again.

  Returning home was also an awkward experience. We didn't even bother with making breakfast. As soon as we could, everything was packed up, shoved into the trunk of the car, and we sped out of there like a bat out of hell before anyone from the guild could stop us. We kept mostly silent while Dad drove. The entire ride, Mom filled the car with a chorus of pained groans and snoring that eventually I had to put on my headphones to drown the noise of it and my thoughts out.

  I was so sick of thinking about magic and focuses. For once, I wanted to just be a normal, human kid.

  True to his word, Bleddyn hadn't made a single peep since morning. Not even when I was laying alone in my room still moping around. To make a point that I was still angry, I shoved the plush deep into my closet where I wouldn’t be able to see it. Despite him saying he no longer was in there, I wanted him to FEEL my anger. Good riddance. At least that was one less worry for me.

  My mood didn't change much that night and neither did it the next morning. It was the first day of sophomore year and while I normally viewed a new school year with jaded eyes, I was dreading everything about today. At least I'd get to see Benji and Cayetana again. I'd have to think up some story about my weekend with family that would be believable. They'd both be happy to see my new guitar, though.

  “Are you ok, kiddo?” asked Dad during breakfast. The whole time I'd just been mixing my cereal around in milk, staring blankly at it. Honestly, I didn't know if I could stomach anything right now with how messed up everything felt.

  “I’m fine,” I said, giving him a weak smile. “It’s just been a rough weekend.”

  He gave me a worried glance before taking a hand to my head. “My God, Ky! You’re burning up!”

  “No I’m not,” I said quickly, swatting his hand away before feeling my own temperature. I did feel hotter than normal. “I feel fine anyway. I just want to get to school today. I want to spend time with my friends and not with some stuffy mages."

  I could tell Dad was doing his best to be understanding, but the worried expression never left his face. “Your Mom did say that if you had this... what was it... focus sickness? She said if you showed signs of it to tell you to stay home.”

  “Ugh, Dad! I’m fine! I’ll be ok.”

  "I don't know how magic works, Ky, but I want you to be safe."

  "You're right! You don't know how magic works! What right do you have to tell me how I should be feeling?"

  I shut my eyes tightly and took a deep breath. I knew I just crossed a line. A really delicate one. Perhaps I was hiding my eyes from Dad's face right now, which was probably showing a mix of shock and hurt by my words. I didn't need to see that. I couldn't. I should apologize. I really should…

  The doorbell rang and took away any time I had to make a decision. Grabbing my pack, I gave dad a muted goodbye and I rushed out of the kitchen. This morning sucked ass already. There was just too much to deal with.

  I opened the door quickly and gave Benji a relieved sigh. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you. C'mon. Let's get out of here fast." I sped past him and down the porch steps into the road before I noticed that Benji hadn't moved from my front door.

  “Ky?” he asked, almost as if he didn’t recognize me.

  I groaned. “Benji, c’mon. Dad’s being a hassle today and I don’t want to stay here any longer.”

  He nodded and slowly made his way to my side. We started walking toward school in silence. It was then that I noticed Benji smelled really strange. “What is that cologne you’re wearing? It smells weird.”

  His frown deepened before he said slowly, “I’m not wearing any cologne, Ky.”

  “Well, whatever. You smell weird today.”

  And we were quiet again. God, what was with today? Dad being on my case and now Benji was acting strange. I didn’t know what his problem was but he was not subtle with all the nervous looks he kept throwing my way. Finally, he took an audible gulp and asked, “Are you okay, Ky? You seem… different.”

  I stiffened a bit but was aware that there was no way he could know how my weekend went. And there was no way that I would be able to tell him anyway. “I’m fine,” I sighed. “It just wasn’t a good weekend.”

  "I see..." He hesitated. "Did you... have issues with family?"

  I didn't like how he emphasized family. It was too on the nose. "My grandmother kind of ruined everything for me. Usual shit. I've told you about my grandparents before. You know I don't have a good relationship with them.”

  Benji shuddered a sigh. “I’m sorry you had a bad time. You just seem really… moody.”

  I gave him an apologetic look. “Yeah, sorry. I’m being a hardass. I don’t mean to take it out on you.”

  “It’s alright,” he bit his lip. It seemed like he wanted to say more but Cayetana was waving at us ahead and ran up to us.

  “Happy belated birthday, Ky!” she screamed and gave me a tight hug. When she pulled away she frowned. “What happened? You look like you had sour milk or something.”

  “My face doesn’t look that bad,” I complained. “But yeah, my weekend was shit.”

  I didn’t talk much more the rest of the way to school. Cayetana filled in the time with gossip about upcoming assignments for our first week back as well as her usual update of "supernatural news" from a podcast she was a fan of. For a while, it reminded me of how things were before the cabins. How everything just felt...normal. Right.

  Perhaps being at school would be the distraction I needed from the hell I just came from. No mages. No wolves. Just me, my friends, and the kids I'd seen since ninth grade. Yes. Everything was normal.

  We made it to the front gate of the school which was now thronged with teenagers. Everyone was in the usual khaki and navy school uniform, chatting with each other. Of course, my eyes somehow focused in on the athletic red-head by the doors.

  Rory...

  His stupid handsome face was lit up in smiles while he and his other jock douchebag friends joked or whatever it was jocks do. It was hard not to miss the girls surrounding him and his two friends. How they clung to his every word as if it were gospel.

  I hated it.

  Ugh. Everything was mostly normal, I guessed.

  The bell rang and Cayetana wished us a good day before running ahead of us and weaving between students. She certainly had more energy than me. For that I was a bit envious. My eyes, however, drifted back to Rory and his friends and how they disappeared inside the doors.

  Before I took a step forward, Benji pulled me back hard that I nearly stumbled over. I cursed at him before I noticed that he was breathing hard. His face was distraught and his eyes were jumping all over the place, as if he'd seen a ghost. Or monster. He let out a weird whimper and reached out for me, pulling me back and away from school.

  “Benji, what the heck?”

  “Ky, please,” he begged. “Go home. Don’t come to school today.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Not you too. Dad was saying that all morning.”

  “It might be for the best. You’ll be safer there.”

  “What do you mean, Benji? It’s school. There's nothing dangerous here. And it's the first day! I can't just not go."

  He hesitated but continued to give me a pleading look. “Please Ky.”

  “Give me one good reason why I should just skip school?”

  Benji gulped and looked around once more. I didn’t know what he was looking for but I was getting annoyed with his nervous attitude. “If you go in there…”

  “What?”

  “...They’ll tear you apart.”