voice but I couldn’t see her. I could only stare at the ceiling as I wondered what the hell was going on. How it was that one second I’d been freezing outside, staring up at the dark sky, but now I was inside and I didn’t remember ever being moved? And who was it that was dying? As far as I could tell, that person was me.
“Then go tend to him,” Alex barked at her as he appeared in my line of sight. As he glanced from her back to me, his scowl faded and a sweet smile took its place. He blotted my forehead with a wet paper towel as he gazed down at me with concern in his eyes.
I could hear the sound of Koko as she walked across the house and then opened the back door before closing it behind her. Even though the windows and both doors were closed, I could still hear her footsteps as she went down the stairs and then I heard the sound of muffled cries as she went to tend to whoever it was that needed help.
Achak…
I tried to open my mouth to ask Alex what was going on, but nothing came out. In fact, I couldn’t even move my lips. It was as if my entire body was quarreling with my brain and had gone on strike. My intentions were there, but there wasn’t any follow-through.
Alex shook his head as soon as he realized I was trying to converse with him. “You need to conserve your strength,” he started. He glanced away as he took a deep breath, his gaze settling on the floor. When he looked at me again, there was a weightiness in his eyes and an expression that suddenly alarmed me.
I’m dying, I thought to myself as fear began to wind its way through me.
“Not quite,” Alex interrupted as I remembered he was able to read my thoughts… an ability which, before now, hadn’t really proven itself to be that useful. Now, however, I could say otherwise.
What’s wrong with me? I thought as I searched his face for an answer. I can’t move and now I can’t even talk. And I feel like I’m burning up.
“You’re changing,” he said softly. “You aren’t dying, but you’re changing.”
Changing? I repeated as I thought to shake my head, but my neck didn’t comply. What does that even mean?
“You were bitten by the wolf, by Achak,” he answered as if his explanation should have been enough.
What does that mean? I repeated as panic now surged through my body, taking full grasp of my gut until I felt like I might be sick.
“You are in the very beginning stage of the metamorphosis,” he responded calmly as fireworks ignited inside me. I could guess where this conversation was headed. “Yes, you are on your way to becoming like me, to being able to take the shape of the wolf.”
Oh my God, I thought as the realization of what he was saying hit me. I was on my way to being able to take the shape of the wolf? That meant I was turning into a werewolf, into a shape-shifter.
“Yes, but Elodie, there is still a choice to be made in all of this,” Alex continued as his eyes bored into mine. “If you don’t want this, you don’t have to choose it.”
I don’t want it! I responded immediately. I definitely don’t want it! I want to be the same way I always was—just human!
There was hurt in Alex’s eyes and I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t understand how he could think I would willingly choose this path.
“You didn’t allow me to finish,” he started as he lost his nerve and glanced away from me, chewing his lower lip as his gaze again rested on the floor. It took him a few more seconds before he could face me again. “If you don’t choose this path,” he started before swallowing hard, his eyes now never leaving mine, “it will mean your death.”
What? I demanded. That’s not a choice!
“Yes, it is,” he insisted. “The virus of the wolf is now invading your system. That’s why you can’t move and that’s why your body temperature is going haywire.”
The virus? I repeated as I fought to wake myself up. I just couldn’t understand how this was really happening, how any of this was real. How was it possible that I was turning into a werewolf? Me? The chief of police of Podunk! This sort of stuff just