Change of Plans - C.L. Blackwell Page 0,19

to tell you.”

What would they need to tell me? Brody didn't look like he wanted to share any more information about the subject, so I sat down and munched on bacon. Five minutes later, Caleb walked through the front door. He didn't say anything, just strolled in and took a seat next to me. He wouldn't make eye contact with me, and when Caleb shied away, something was definitely up. Brody joined us with more plates of food. It was an uncomfortable silence while the three of us ate our food. The boys went through three plates each until eventually, Caleb cleared his throat and gave a pointed look toward Brody. His dark hair was covering his eyes, but I could tell that he was glaring at Brody.

Brody looked like he wanted to be anywhere else right now. “I don’t really know where to start with this, so I’ll just jump right into it. We aren't human, or at least not fully,” he said with a straight face.

I laughed at his joke, but Caleb glare at him, “Really, that’s how you’re going to tell her?”

“Tell me what exactly?” I asked, but I was overlooked.

“Well,” Brody shot back. “It isn’t everyday you tell your little sister that she’s not human.”

I butted in, “First, I’m not little. Second, if I’m not human what am I?”

For all the talking they did, they were suddenly silent. Brody looked at Caleb, “Go on, Caleb. After all, she is your pair.” Pair? Caleb shot daggers at Brody.

“In the last week, you have been different,” Caleb started. “You probably think people are always too loud, or the light in a room is always too bright. You probably even feel more emotions towards me than you usually do.” Why would I ever feel emotions toward Caleb? Yeah, he’s been nice lately, but I only almost-kissed him once, and I wasn’t planning on that happening again. His comment earned a glare from Brody, but Caleb just continued. “Your birthday is in less than two weeks, which means you’ll be changing soon.”

“Changing into what?” I asked, nervous for the answer.

Caleb and Brody shared a look, but it was Brody who spoke up. “A Wolf, as in a werewolf. I changed on my seventeenth birthday, and so will you.” A werewolf... really? There’s no such thing as werewolves. They were fairy tales, like vampires and witches. Bedtime stories to scare little kids and things to be made into movies where people sparkle and people find their soul mate by looking at them.

Before I could say anything, Brody cut in, “That’s why this past year has been so rough. I didn’t know either until Caleb told me. Dad decided to keep some things from us. I thought that if I kept you away from the pack, it would change what was going to happen, but it wouldn’t. Nothing can change it.” That’s why Brody left me? To protect me from. . . werewolves? Because… werewolves existed. All those times he said that staying away from me was best, he wasn’t trying to be rude, he was actually doing what he thought was best.

Every instinct told me not to believe what they were saying, but the things that said were true. The smells, noises, and lights all leading up to awful headaches like the one yesterday at lunch. Somewhere down deep, I knew it was true, but it wasn’t possible… people can’t shift into animals, could they…?

I couldn’t handle this, not today, probably not ever. I couldn’t be a half Wolf thingymajig, I could barely handle being Allie. I wasn’t entirely convinced I was a werewolf, I wasn’t even convinced they existed in the first place. It wasn’t possible for someone to be human one second and then a wolf another. Even if it were true, that would change everything. I had plans, and they didn’t involve Wolf Creek, Virginia.

“I-I just need a moment to… uh... think, yeah to think,” I said as I pushed back from the table and hurried up the stairs. I crashed through my door and landed onto my bed. I stared blankly at the ceiling, trying to comprehend what I was just told. If my dad was a werewolf, why didn’t he tell us? Was he so caught up on Mom that he somehow forgot what his kids might be going through? And was he the reason the cat ran away?

Chapter Fourteen

Werewolf 101

Caleb

She took it better than I expected. She probably knew, deep down, that it was true,