of flu it was.
Brandon pulled himself over to a tree and leaned his back against it. I tried to follow, but he shooed me away. I wanted to respect his privacy, but I was really starting to worry. I cared for Brandon so deeply and was torn apart seeing him in distress. Since he wasn't going to leave the hilltop, I'd have to get someone to come to him.
"I'm calling the police. You need a doctor," I said.
Brandon didn't say a word.
The tree blocked my view of Brandon. It was dark except for the strong moonlight.
"Brandon," I said, "what's happening?"
"Please, Celeste. You have to leave." Brandon's voice was tormented and serious.
"No, I don't want to leave you."
"Please... go. Now!"
The more Brandon pushed me away, the more I wanted to stay.
"I'm calling nine-one-one," I said as a threat.
"Please leave, Celeste," he repeated. His voice was so deep, almost animal-like.
I kept hoping that at any moment Brandon would jump out and say "Gotcha!" like the millions of times Nash pranked me and our friends.
But he didn't and I was truly frightened.
"What are you doing?" I called. "You're scaring me! I'm going back to the game."
"Yes - that's... a great... idea." His voice was now shallow and breathless.
I retreated. I was torn. If this was a cruel joke, I didn't want to be its target. His brilliant blue eyes had changed to gray. It couldn't be possible. But if it was, then something was dreadfully wrong with Brandon and leaving him up there alone on the hilltop wasn't the responsible thing to do. He hadn't run away when I needed help. As scared as I was, I wasn't about to desert him in his time of crisis.
"I'm getting help," I called to him again.
He didn't answer.
Then he stepped out from behind the tree. Brandon's short, wavy brown hair was now savagely wild and shoulder-length. His normally clean-shaven face sported a goatee. His once-smooth chest was now lined with a thin layer of hair. His stomach was as ripped as an Olympic swimmer's, and his biceps were cut like a triathlete's. His eyes were a gorgeous gray. He was breathing heavy, as if he'd run a marathon. Brandon had fangs like a wolf.
I stopped dialing. I could barely breathe. It couldn't be...
Brandon continued to stare at me intensely, as if he wasn't sure what had just happened himself.
"Brandon! You look like a werewolf!"
His expression was sullen. He examined his arms and felt his stubble and goatee.
Brandon glared at me with the frailty of a human and the intensity of an animal.
I inched away. I was frightened and freaked out. Why was he acting this way? A moment ago, I'd been on the other end of his irresistible lips. And now he was acting like a creature I'd never seen before.
I was afraid of him - of the situation - of being alone in the woods. The same person who'd saved me from a pack of wolves was now staring at me with their steady gray eyes.
Unsure of what he'd do next, I didn't break his mesmerizing gaze. I gently and quietly took a giant step backward. Unfortunately, my boot landed on a branch instead of solid ground. It cracked underneath my pressure, causing my foot to slip and I fell down.
When I looked up, Brandon was standing over me.
"No - " I cried, putting my hand out.
I was frightened and began to shake. He looked like he could rip me to shreds. But Brandon appeared confused by my fear. His intense expression softened as if he was as surprised as I was at his strange condition.
Suddenly he retreated into the shadows and disappeared.
In the distance, I heard a fierce howl, like that of a lone wolf.
Chapter Fourteen Sweet Dreams
I didn't believe what I had just seen. Brandon turning into a werewolf? In the back of my mind, I kept thinking about the kiss. But how could that turn him into a werewolf? When he heroically saved me from the pack of wolves and was bitten, it was a full moon. But it couldn't be.... There had to be some rational explanation. Every magician had a secret, and Brandon must have had one, too.
Or perhaps I was dreaming.
I wasn't about to remain alone in the woods, in a dream or not, on the lonely hilltop by his house.
I grabbed Brandon's shirt and darted out of the woods. I ran as fast as I could to my car. I