“I don’t see how marrying me off to somebody is going to stop me craving human flesh.”

  (‘Scent’ Excerpt Chapter 5)

Just then I jumped from the sound of footsteps behind!  I turned my head sharply, to see Grant easily leap up the steep rocks.  He casually came and sat beside, to also look out at the view.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”  He greeted.   Nervously I looked away, back over the forest, as I felt shy for the first time in his company.  Grant said seriously, “I thought we should talk.”

“I don’t want to talk.” I said petulantly.

“Yes you do.” He said evenly. “I’m sure you have lots of questions.”

“Only one; how much do my parents hate me to be doing this?” my eyes welled with tears.

“Thanks a lot!” Grant burst out laughing. “I’ll try not to take offence.”  I didn’t say anything else, so he spoke again. “I was a bit surprised when the pack and the Elders first spoke to me about the idea.  But I can see their logic.”

“There’s logic?” I asked bitterly.

“You’re the first female Lokoti Werewolf.  Because you’re also a Circulator, you’re faster than any member of the pack. You need to be trained and if you took a mate, it will help settle your bloodlust as you would be driven to hunt with your mate.  He would guide you towards other quarry than the forbidden fruit.”

“I don’t see how marrying me off to somebody is going to stop me craving human flesh.” My head dropped to stare on the fungus-stained surface of the rock.

“It will help.”

“But you’re not married so how would you know?”

“If I was married, then we wouldn’t be engaged.” He tried to joke, but I didn’t laugh.  “I know this is so because of the experience of the pack and from a millennia of knowledge down our bloodline.”

“But I’m the first female Lokoti Werewolf in history, so a millennia of knowledge doesn’t seem helpful.” I looked out at the view once more.

“You have the same bloodlust that a male Lokoti Werewolf has, so we know it to be true.” He answered patiently. 

We sat quietly for a couple of minutes, the both of us looking out at the forest underneath.

Grant spoke again, “Look B, I can understand how you’re nervous about this…it’s taken you by surprise, that’s all. When Lokoti Werewolves mate, it goes beyond simple marriage that you’ve read about in your books or seen in your movies.  We would bond together in a way that we would become attuned to each other’s thoughts and feelings.  When we take a mate, it’s a rewarding experience which is why it’s held with reverence and it’s taken very seriously among our people.”

“But I’m not the one.” I ducked my head.

“What was that?”

“I’m not the one.”

He paused for a moment, before his eyes widened in recognition.  “You remember that conversation?”

“It’s a bit hard to forget!  That night you babysat me was the only time that we ever talked.”

“We’ve talked plenty of times.”

“No we haven’t.  We’ve said ‘hallo’ plenty of times, but the night you babysat me five years ago was the only time that we talked.” I said as I stared at my shoes.

“I remember that night…I taught you a couple of card games which you picked it up pretty quickly and won a few hands too.” He gave a playful nudge.

“You brought over soda and let me stay up until midnight.” A smile escaped.

“So how did I go for my first babysitting job?” He asked in good humor.

“Not bad.” I shrugged. “Ten out of ten.”

“Cool.” He sat back as he leant on his hands. “After I looked after you, my older sisters and brother all roped me into looking after their kids now and then too. I think the fact that you managed to live through the experience spoke well of my child care skills.  Mind you, they’re not so impressed that all their kids are card sharks now and can even fleece half the adults in the tribe.” 

That made me laugh and I almost relaxed in his company, which I guessed it was what Grant was trying to do.   

“What made you think of our conversation on why I wasn’t married?” He asked as I shrugged back.   “Because our marriage will be arranged?” he guessed before I nodded.  Grant moved closer, which made me feel awkward.  “Did you know that in our tribe’s history there have been other arranged marriages?

I shook my head to show that no, I didn’t know that.  I briefly looked back his way to show that I was listening, before my eyes skipped away once again. 

“There has never been a case where an arranged marriage in our tribe has turned out badly.” He started to rub my back, which the gesture surprised me. “And I doubt that we would be the first.”

“But I’m our tribe’s first female Werewolf.” I said in a small voice as I fidgeted with my shoes.

“That just adds to exoticness of our situation.  And B?”  Next, he used his forefinger to turn my face towards him.  “You’re not being married to me as a punishment.  I see myself as lucky to be marrying you.  I know that we’ll be happy together and in a way, I feel like I’ve won a prize in a competition I didn’t even know I had entered.”

Oh no! Now I felt really rotten, as I tearfully turned away. I should tell him that I was in no way like that, instead I was like a booby prize!

“B?”  He looked on, puzzled.

“Grant…” I began.

“Yes?”

“Grant I’m – I’m – I’m…”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not a prize!” my face burned. “I’m not a virgin!”

“OK.” He raised his eyebrows but he didn’t remove his hand from my back.  “Er, would it be helpful for you to know that neither am I?”

I looked his way in surprise, “I thought we weren’t supposed to have sex unless it’s with the one who is meant to become our mate?”

“That’s what our Elders would prefer, sure.”  He shrugged.  “But I guess you’ve come to realize yourself that certain things happen by their own accord.”

“How did you manage to have sex without mating yourself to somebody?” I asked bluntly.

Grant cracked up laughing again.  “You’ve still got a curious mind.”  I quickly looked away, embarrassed.  “No, it’s cool.” He cleared his throat. “Um well, male Werewolves can hold themselves back.”

“Oh.” I thought on this in befuddlement. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what was it like for you?” He queried.

“What?!” I looked on him in alarm as I had no idea how to answer that!  He leaned in to sniff me.  I leaned away shyly. “What are you doing?”

“Phew! You don’t smell like you’ve mated with anybody.” He said in relief.

“Huh?” I wondered what the hell he was going on about?

“If you were mated to somebody, I would have smelled him on you.” Grant said plainly.  “If I had smelled him on you, it would have been a little embarrassing to return to our families and say that you already had a mate.”

“Oh...!”  My eyes widened in horror at the idea of everybody finding out about Declan.

“Since I can’t smell him on you, it means that the last time you were with this person was a while ago.  If you had mated with this person, his smell on you would be strong because you would see him frequently.  If you were mated to this person, you wouldn’t be able to go for long periods of being separated from him.”

“OK…” My eyebrows rose as my brain digested this piece of information. 

This would explain how Gran and Grandfather, Nana and Grandpa and even Mum and Dad behaved as if they were joined at the hip.  I had always thought that Werewolf couples were the soppiest in the tribe, which was in direct contrast to the Werewolf’s dangerous bloodlust.  Does this mean that this could one day be me too? 

“Smell me.” He suddenly offered.

“Excuse me?”

“Smell me.” Grant said simply.

“Why?”

“Just smell me!” He laughed at my hesitation.  I leaned over closer and inhaled.  He looked expectant, “well?”

“Well what?”

“What do you smell?”

“Um, I don’t know…”

“Did you smell perfume or human female scent or anything like that?”

“No.”

“Then you know I haven’t got a mate either.” He stated. “Or you would be able to smell her on me.”

“Oh, OK.” I raised my eyebrows, impressed at learning something new about myself. “Can humans do this?”

“Some can, but it’s generally just Werewolves because of our keen sense of smell.”

“Cool.” I smiled.

“See?” Grant grinned.  “It’s not so bad being a Werewolf, is it?”

“Um no, I guess not.”

“There are many benefits in being who you are,” he rested his hand on the back of my neck, “and when you take a mate?  You’ll find out many more things that make you special and what you have with your mate is unique.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My very own Mum and Dad were letting the pack and the Elders try to marry me off?

  (‘Scent’ Excerpt Chapter 5)

When I returned home from my walk, I saw Dad’s truck parked in its usual spot, by the side of the house.  Then I slowed my steps when I saw several more trucks and one familiar black jeep, parked out the front.  I recognized that the vehicles belonged to Grandpa, Grandfather and one of the other Tribal Elders, but I wasn’t sure about the jeep.  I had seen it around the community center before, but I couldn’t remember who drove it.

Why were the Tribal Elders at my house? They only convened at the meeting hall or on the Holy Grounds for ceremonies. What business did they have here?  As I came closer to the house I heard a heated discussion, so heated it sounded like arguing.  I picked up Mum’s voice first and she didn’t sound happy about something.

“She’s not even 18 years old!” She said angrily.

“But she’ll be 18 in a month.” Aunt Beth, one of the Tribal Elders spoke calmly.

“She’s talking about going to University!” She exclaimed.

“Jess, you know that B can never leave our lands now.  She’s tied to her hunting grounds, the place of her ancestors. It’s in her blood.” Grandpa stated.

“Bianca’s future changed the moment she did.” Aunt Beth declared.

“But she’s a Circulator too!  She’s going to live longer than 200 years like the other Lokoti Werewolves. She can’t stay here for the next 1,000 years or until she evolves, it’s unfair to expect that.” Mum debated.

“Right now, it’s too dangerous for her to leave our land.  The first night she changed, she went hunting for human.  With her speed as a Circulator coupled with her Werewolf bloodlust, we nearly couldn’t catch her before she reached town.  She needs to be trained, to curb her bloodlust towards animal and not human.” Dad said matter-of-factly.

“It took Declan, who is stronger and faster than us, to catch her when she escaped.” Grandfather noted unhappily.

“By B taking a mate and an older Werewolf at that?  One who has experience and training, he would help her contain her bloodlust.” Grandpa explained. “By B bonding to an older Werewolf, it would help her learn control and give her peace.”

What the…?  Did they just say that they wanted me to take a MATE?!  I froze, as I was dumbfounded by the very idea! 

“How is an early marriage supposed to bring her peace?!” Mum retorted. “And an ARRANGED marriage at that?!”

There was an awkward moment of silence, before Dad tried to explain it to her.  “Jess, when a Lokoti Werewolf takes a mate, it brings out more of their protector instincts which in turn lessens their predator inclinations.  Since the mating process is very much a biological and empathic bonding ritual, if B took another Werewolf as a mate?  They would become attuned to each other.  B’s mate would help her crave animal flesh because that’s what he would crave.  Then the older Werewolf would be able to sense when B is about to change and be there for her to take her hunting.”

“Hunter you’re talking about marrying off our 17 year old daughter!” Mum cried out in frustration.

“Jess, do you really think that I would be in support of this if this was a bad idea?  Do you think that I would allow the Elders or even the pack tell me what to do with my daughter, if what they were recommending would hurt B?  You know I only want the best for my daughter, my little one…and what the pack and the Elders are advising is the right thing.” Dad sounded frustrated too.

Mum moaned as I heard the floor boards creak, indicating that she was doing her customary pacing up and down which she always did, when she was unhappy about something.

My mouth turned dry as my stomach churned in a sickening way.  My parents, as in my very own Mum and Dad; were letting the pack and the Elders try to marry me off?  Just who am I expected to marry…?

“Jess, think back to the day that Hunter saved you from those strangers.” Grandfather spoke.  “Do you remember when he was gravely injured and I told you that you had to make your decision?  Do you remember when I told you that I knew Hunter would make a good mate?  I wasn’t wrong, was I?  You and he have been very happy together.  Now we are telling you the same thing about your daughter.  I know that this is the right decision for B.”

“So you’re saying that you’re 100% certain that this person here is going to make my little girl happy?” Mum asked in disbelief.  “But what about Derik?”

I heard Dad sigh in resignation.  “Derik would have made a good mate for B…if she had remained human.  But he can’t help her with controlling the bloodlust or take her hunting.”

Then who are they talking about MATING me to?  Oh no, they’re not talking about Declan, are they? 

“But – but – but can we at least give her a bit more say of who she would like to marry in the pack?” Mum started to argue again. “Since the pack is her only option in the choice of husband material?”

“There are only two males in the pack who are unmarried and they are both older than Bianca.  But we have decided on this particular Werewolf because we think it would be risky if she were mated to the other.” Grandpa said.

“So basically she only has the one alternative?  That’s not much in the range of choice!” Mum scoffed.

“She can’t consider Declan as a mate for two very obvious reasons.”  Grandpa spoke as the tribe’s Medicine Man.  “One, it would cause a rift in his family between he and his brother. Two, is because he isn’t a Lokoti Werewolf, he’s a European Werewolf.  Declan is still battling to keep his bloodlust under control and we aren’t sure of the mating habits of his breed.  As far as we know, his species isn’t designed for long-term mating.  His breed of Werewolf doesn’t live in packs and his species has never been sighted with a long-term mate.  His Werewolf gene may or may not be passed genetically from him to his children?  But more importantly, he could harm the woman who is not of his breed when he mates with her.”

My eyes fell as my hands clenched into fists.  Hang on a sec…I don’t feel disappointed that they’re not talking about mating me with Declan, am I?  I should be happy about this!  Even if I don’t want to take a mate, at least it wouldn’t be him.  Then who the hell were they talking about fixing me up with?!

“Fine, I can see that Declan would be a bad choice because of Derik…but still. Isn’t there some way of giving my daughter a bit more of a choice?  Or what about you, wouldn’t you prefer to choose who you would like to be your mate?” Mum asked somebody.

“Who me?” a familiar male voice asked back. “It’s OK, Jess. I’m unmarried because I don’t have anyone in mind.”

“Then wouldn’t you prefer to remain single a bit longer?” Mum asked this person.  “Until you make up your mind yourself on whom you would like to spend the rest of your life with?”

“Um, I don’t mind really.” I heard this person say bashfully.  “I respect the advice of the pack and the Elders although I’ve never seen B that way before, I guess because she’s much younger than me.  But she’s friendly, polite and pretty.  I know what the mating process entails, so I don’t imagine myself being unhappy or B either.” 

Is this person inside the house, now?  The voice was so familiar, I could almost picture whoever it was that’s speaking.  Right, that’s it!  My curiosity got the better of me, I have to find out who this person is!

“Bianca’s home.” Grandfather spoke, hearing my approach. 

This silenced everybody as I reached the veranda steps.  I threw open the front door and as I walked in, I immediately spotted Mum who was pacing up and down.  Dad was sitting down next to Grandfather on one couch and on our second couch, sat Grandpa and Aunt Beth who were on the council of Tribal Elders… and Grant Elm stood by himself in front of our fireplace.

My eyes widened as I looked on Grant...of course!  It was his voice that I heard talking and it’s his black jeep parked on our drive way.  He’s the younger brother of Uncle Ian, Dad’s best friend so he’s like a cousin or something.  He’s the one I’m expected to MATE with?!

“B…” Dad began.

“Grant is 10 years older than me!” I said indignantly. “He babysat me once when I was 13 years old when you, Mum, Gran and Grandfather went to Australia for a night!”

“B…” Grandfather began.

“What’s his hourly rate going to be as my husband, the same when he was babysitting me?!”  I exhorted, hurt.  “But it seems like he’s still going to be babysitting me, isn’t he?  And that’s why you picked him!”

“B…” Grandpa began.

“No way!” I cried out. “I’m going to Cambridge to get a Bachelor of Arts in History! I’m NOT getting MARRIED!”

“B…” Mum began.

But I didn’t hang around to hear what they had to say, instead I turned around and took off through the front door!  I leapt from the veranda, down onto the drive way and I high-tailed it back into the forest.   Everyone else in the room looked to each other uncomfortably, as Grant frowned thoughtfully.

“At least she’s a good runner.” Grandfather tried to look on the bright side.

“She must make a good hunter, being able to outrun her prey.” Aunt Beth agreed.

“Is she wearing a new perfume?” Grant mused.

“No, those were the pheromones you could smell.” Grandpa smirked.

“Oh.” He pondered this.  “She smells good.”

“All of the young available men of the tribe would agree with you.” Dad sighed wearily as he rubbed his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I haven’t noticed that much attention to Werewolf pheromones since I married your father.”

(‘Scent’ Excerpt Chapter 4)

After we pulled up into a free car space by the store, I hopped out before Mum.  With my new strength and energy, I started to notice she moved slower than I did.  She closed the door behind herself, locked it and dropped her keys into her handbag as she pulled out her shopping list. 

Whilst Mum spent a few seconds doing all of this, my head turned towards the garage beside the store.

I could hear music playing loudly, as ‘The Cult’ belted out of the speakers of the portable stereo that I had once seen on a shelf inside the garage.  I could see a pick up truck was parked halfway inside of the garage, with its front half out in the open air.  I guessed it was parked as such so the mechanics could use the sunlight to see into the motor’s dark crevices.  I saw that a mechanic who looked to be Ben, was lying underneath the truck and somebody was leaning over the top of it, with the bonnet propped up. 

My heart picked up speed, as I recognized the familiar male body wearing scuffed black boots, dirty jeans and a tight grey t-shirt, also covered in dirt and grease.  My breath almost caught in my throat, when I recognized the large muscles straining underneath the fabric.  I think I stopped breathing as if by sensing me, Declan’s head rose and he turned my way.  As quickly as his eyes widened by the sight of me, they next narrowed into a glare.

“OK, let’s get this over and done with.” Mum sung, with the shopping list now in her hand. “This shouldn’t take long and besides, your father is probably timing us on his watch!”

Quickly, I ducked my head as I followed her into the Store, with Declan’s eyes following us.

I picked up a carry basket from beside the door and held it for her as she walked ahead.  She was almost speed shopping as she didn’t stop, she just simply grabbed as she passed.  The basket quickly began to fill up.  I started to appreciate my extra Werewolf muscle, as the basket began to strain under the load. 

“Bread…milk…butter…eggs…cheese…juice…toothpaste.” Mum read out the list under her breath, as she breezed down the small aisles.

As I walked behind her, I noticed how we attracted a lot of looks from passersby.  But then I realized that people weren’t looking at her, they were looking at me.   They were all watching with curiosity in their eyes. 

Frickin’ hell, word travels fast in this tribe!  Does everybody know that I’m a Werewolf? It looked like it, as I ducked my head to walk quickly after.

As we passed a group of teenaged boys who were hanging around the sweets shelf, their eyes widened as they took me in.  I think I even overheard one of them inhale deeply as I walked past.  I stopped and turned to give the youth a peculiar look, whose eyes bulged because I looked in his direction.

“Oh, hi B!” the 14 year old raised his hand to give a small wave.

“How’s it goin’?” his 13 year old friend asked next.

“That’s a nice er, top that you’re wearing.” The other 14 year old boy standing with them, fumbled out.

I looked on the kids as if they were nuts!  I was wearing a two year old, faded and stretched, red woolen jumper that Grandpa had made as a Christmas present.  Not to degrade Grandpa’s workmanship, but there was no way that this jumper looked ‘nice’ anymore, especially with all of the holes I accidentally put in it.

“Come on B.” Mum grabbed hold of my arm to pull me after her.

Just as I was yanked away, I overheard one of the youths critique the one who remarked on my top; “you don’t say nice top you dumb-ass! You’re supposed to compliment women on their shoes!”

When I turned my head back around to give the three a funny look, they instantly stood to attention and waved back.  I continued on, shaking my head to myself as I followed Mum to the counter. 

I placed the basket on top and began to pile everything onto the surface.  This way, the elderly Mr. Barley who owned the general store could mark it off in his book what we were ‘purchasing’.  He would put it on our family account for us to make up in a future barter or trade.   Since the War, no-one in the tribe used money anymore, as the majority of our money went to trading with outsiders.

“How are you, B?” He asked politely.

“Good thanks Mr. Barley.”

“I suppose with your change, carrying this load isn’t a problem anymore.” He joked, meaning the large amount that Mum was shopping for today.

“Um, no.” I answered awkwardly.

“B’s been stronger than me since she passed her sixteenth birthday. After she turned sixteen, I was getting her to take lids off jars whenever her father wasn’t around.” Mum laughed jovially.

Mr. Barley laughed along with her, before he looked on me closely.  “I swear you look taller, as it usually happens to a Lokoti who goes through the change.”

“I think you might be right.” Mum agreed.  “I swear she used to be my height, now she’s ten centimeters taller.”

Mr. Barley nodded in acknowledgement as he finished up writing a tally of what we were ‘purchasing’ today.  “Here.” He threw in a bonus chocolate bar as he gave a wink.  “A new Werewolf needs to keep up their strength.”

“Oh, isn’t that nice!” Mum smiled on his gesture. “Thanks Mr. Barley!”

“A Circulator for a mother and a Lokoti Werewolf for a father; now we have our tribe’s first female Lokoti Werewolf who’s a Circulator.” Mr. Barley said proudly.

Just then I noticed that the other people in the store smiled and nodded in agreement, as they were watching this transaction take place.  The three teenaged boys by the sweets shelf waved at me again.

I could feel my cheeks start to burn as I ducked my head in embarrassment at being the centre of such attention.  I was relieved to pick up the shopping in the cotton carry bags Mum brought, as I walked out of the store first.  But because my head was lowered, I didn’t see where I was going and I walked into somebody who was coming in as I was going out.

“B!” Roger’s eyes widened and I caught him suck in his breath and hold it as he looked me over.  He stood almost stuck to the spot whilst he stared, as we were standing outside of the store.  

Mum passed by and she took one look at Roger’s face and I caught her snicker, before she walked over to Dad’s truck.

“Um, how are you?” He asked, reaching out his hand to place on my arm.  “I heard what happened, are you alright?”

I passed him a look that questioned his sanity, as I moved away from his touch.

“I’m fine thanks Roger, how are you?” I forced out to be polite.

“Me? Oh, I’m fine.” He gulped nervously.  “But I’ve been thinking about you a lot, especially now that I’ve heard what’s happened.”

“I’m a Werewolf Roger, I’m not dying from rabies.” I said uncomfortably.

“Oh yeah, I know that.  But um, is there anything I can do to help? I mean, can I get you anything? I guess what I’m trying to say is, is there anything you need?” He prattled off.

“No thank you Roger, I’m fine.”  I stood there holding four carry bags of groceries.  I thought he was being a bit rude, making me stand here and talk to him when he saw my hands were full.

“Oh, can I get those for you?” He started to reach out for my bags of food but I quickly pulled back.

“No thank you Roger, they’re not heavy but my Mum’s waiting for me -”

“Oh, that’s right.” He nodded quickly. “Lokoti Werewolves are a lot stronger than humans and I guess so are you, now that you’re one and all.”  I opened my mouth about to excuse myself, when he interrupted again.  “I know that when a Werewolf goes through their first change and all, they’re supposed to be in training or whatever and you can’t socialize much.  But um, I could come over if you like? I could bring a couple of movies over to your house and -”

However he was interrupted from a low, dangerous growl coming from the garage.  Our heads quickly turned, to see Declan standing beside the truck he was meant to be fixing.  His head was lowered but a fierce look was directed right at Roger.  His teeth were bared and I swear they were looking sharper and I guess so thought Roger.

“See you later B.” He almost flew through the glass door of the Store as he quickly darted inside.

A laugh escaped as I watched him take off and then I turned back around to look on Declan in amusement.

“Did you forget that you already have a boyfriend, B?” He asked sulkily.  Then he turned back around to continue his work on the engine of the truck.

I knew he was inferring his little brother but it pissed me off by him saying this.  He just acted like Roger’s behavior was my fault!   I shook my head in disbelief at his primitive behavior as I marched over to Dad’s truck where Mum was waiting inside.

After I placed the shopping bags in the back, I walked over to the passenger’s side door to climb in.  Mum turned the key, started the ignition and she reversed out onto the road.  However as she pulled out, I caught Declan watch us leave. I quickly turned my head away to glare out the windscreen, as Mum drove back around the sports field and headed towards the hill we lived on.

She abruptly laughed, “I haven’t noticed that much attention to Werewolf pheromones since I married your father.”

“Shut up Mum.” I said darkly as I felt myself blush, which made her laugh again.

As I stared out at the trees whizzing past, I couldn’t get Declan out of my mind.  He was the one who put his hand over mine that morning he drove me home.   He was the one who kissed me on the borders of Lokoti land when he stopped me from running into town.  And HE has the hide to remind me of MY loyalty to Derik…?

Mum was still laughing about what happened when we arrived home.  As I put away the groceries in the kitchen, I had to relive the experience as she told Dad all about it.  Whereas she could laugh about it, I noticed he didn’t.  In fact, this just made him look more unhappy.

“B, I don’t think you should go out again where people will be, not for a while at least.” He frowned.

“Hunter.” She looked on unimpressed. “What’s that going to prove? B didn’t try to EAT anybody while she was away.”

Dad frowned even deeper, “THAT’S not what I’m worried about.”

“Hunter - ” She began to object, but I interrupted.

“It’s fine with me!” I huffed as I turned away.

Speedily, I left the kitchen to run upstairs to my room to hide underneath the cover of another history book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I slept all day as I writhed in agony thanks to the bloodlust, all night.

  (‘Scent’ Excerpt Chapter 3)

12^th September 2084

I survived…somehow I managed to pull through the transition into a new Werewolf.  

The first night I changed, I broke my bedroom window and I tried to eat a townsperson but I was stopped by Declan.  The second night I changed, I was locked inside my bathroom, unable to phase thanks to the DYSTAR with Dad sitting with me.  On the third night I changed, again I was locked inside my bathroom, unable to phase with Grandfather sitting with me.

I slept all day as I writhed in agony thanks to the bloodlust, all night.  During the day I had Mum, Gran, Great Grandma and even Aunt Danika to tend to me. The women fussed about as they took away my torn clothes to be mended and they tried to feed me the meals they had prepared.  But I wasn’t hungry and all I wanted to do was sleep.

Then during the night I had Dad, Grandfather, Grandpa and Uncle Julian to tend to me in their roles as jailors.   They kept me locked inside the bathroom so I couldn’t escape and try to make a run for Alma again.  As either Dad or Grandfather sat with me, I heard the whispering of Grandpa and Uncle Julian on the other side of the door.

This was the worst experience of my entire life.  It was even worse then the first day I got my period when I was 14 years old.  It happened during a game of soccer with Derik and the other boys when Rachel and Mandy waved me off the field so they could whisper that a red patch was beginning to form on the back of my shorts.  That day I thought I would die of embarrassment, as Mandy calmly tied her jumper around my waist then she and Rachel walked me home.  However that day now paled in comparison, when I rued the facts of life for being a female human?  These days I rued being the first female Lokoti Werewolf. 

Yet somehow I survived, although I thought I would die from the pain the murderous bloodlust brought upon for not indulging its dangerous craving.  But I didn’t die, instead I carried on.  Albeit, a broken bathroom mirror, a broken bedroom window and three sets of torn clothes later; I survived the change into my new existence.

Last night, I went over to my repaired window after I had showered and changed in my PJ’s for bed.  I examined the handiwork of my father and Uncle Ian as I admired their skill.  The new glass was perfectly cut and installed.  I sighed wistfully as I looked on the shiny new glass… if only my life could be repaired so easily. 

I didn’t want this because I was scared of who I now was.  The pack along with my Werewolf relations were right there and willing to train me.  The pack felt proud, even if they were apprehensive that I was the new Lokoti Werewolf. 

I was the first female Lokoti Werewolf just as I was the Last Circulator.  Boy, what a contradiction! I’m both the first and last…oh no, that’s not complicating my life at all, is it?

Just as I took a step back from the window to pull the curtains closed, I saw something.  Or, I think I saw something… Hang on a minute, what is that? 

My eyes squinted and I think my Werewolf-vision must have kicked in, when I could suddenly see clearer into the dark woods.  I spotted a pair of glowing green eyes, watching me from the forest.   Uncle Quinn, one of the Lokoti Werewolves had glowing emerald green eyes but these glowing green eyes were a different kind of green. They looked brighter and burned more fiercely, hungrily even.  They were Declan’s European Werewolf eyes, I knew it. 

He was watching me from the woods, via my bedroom window but why was he spying on me?  Was Declan guarding me somehow, to make sure I didn’t make another run for the townspeople in Alma?  Why was he here?  But as my heart began to pound, I started to think differently… 

I remembered his kiss three nights ago, when he stopped me on the border.  I felt warm and a little giddy, as I recalled the heat which was generated between us…that was until his huge jaws clamped down on a nerve in my neck.  Declan knocked me out cold, to carry me back home.  Bastard! I bet he probably enjoyed rendering me unconscious even more than the kissing part! 

As my way of saying ‘get lost!’, I whipped the curtains closed before I climbed into bed and switched off my lamp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Before we all tie the Calculator to a stake and burn him for either Witchcraft or Heresy

  (‘Scent’ Excerpt Chapter 3)

Within a minute of our arrival, Vincent who must have foreseen this next walked through the automatic doors of the Lab to greet us.

“Arabella and Jess? I need to talk to you…” he began but he pulled up the moment he saw my disheveled appearance, “…good god B, what happened to you?”

The male Werewolves glared dangerously upon our blonde haired, blue eyed English cousin.

“What’s the wrong Vincent, can’t you ‘see’ what happened to B?” Dad growled out.

“Funny you should say that, Hunter.” Vincent growled back. “But no I can’t. That’s what I need to talk to Arabella and Jess about.”

“Well what a stroke of luck, coz we came here to talk to you about B.” Mum sung sarcastically.

Vincent became aware that all seven unhappy faces were aimed his way.

“What did I do?” He asked, taken aback.

“What didn’t you do more like!” Dad fired up. “You call yourself these girls Calculator? Why didn’t you see this happening to B?!”

“And if you did see it, why didn’t you tell us?” Gran asked in a low voice.

“Hold up a minute people.” He held up his hands. “Before we all tie the Calculator to a stake and burn him for either Witchcraft or Heresy, how about I hear the charges first?”

“B’s a Werewolf!” Mum cried out.

Silence… Vincent blinked and then he blinked again as he looked on in disbelief.

“You’re a Werewolf?” He looked my way.

“She’s the first female Lokoti Werewolf in the history of the Lokoti tribe.” Grandfather advised.

“You’re a Lokoti Werewolf?” Vincent wanted to clarify as he stared in my direction. “So you weren’t bitten and changed that way?”

“One of the pack died and B’s Lokoti Werewolf genes were activated last night, the first night of the full moon.” Uncle Julian put his hands on his hips.

“I thought you understood from the SSIT notes on Lokoti Werewolves that our bite or blood can’t turn a human into one of us.” Grandpa’s eyes narrowed.

“I do remember that fact thank you, Fern.” Vincent said in annoyance. “But I also remember that females can’t change into one of you and that only the males in the tribe can.”

“Well don’t just stand there, examine her!” Dad demanded.

“Then if you lot get out of the way, maybe I will!” He snapped back.

The male Lokoti Werewolves all stepped aside from standing protectively around.  This enabled Vincent to lead me over to the bench underneath the main scanner to begin his examination.  I sat up on the bench and just before I laid down, he handed me a papery smock to wear.  Then he helped me to lie in position underneath the scanner.

Vincent gave a curious look before he observed, “B you’re taller, plus you’re more bulky. I think your height and your weight have changed.”

“Has it?” I raised my head in surprise.

My Calculator pushed my head back down then he walked over to the control panel and activated the machine.  It hummed to life as a green light ran over my body from head to toe, as the technology collected its readings of my physical changes.

“B, when you changed into a Werewolf last night, did anything else strange happen?” He inquired.

“She ran away in the speed of light.” Grandpa told him.

“That explains her higher bio-electromagnetic frequency.” Vincent thought out loud. “It appears when your Werewolf genes were activated, it also triggered your Circulator’s ability to phase.”

Gran and Grandfather stood together, holding hands as they looked on; Mum and Dad stood together holding hands as they looked on; Uncle Julian and Grandpa stood side by side with their arms crossed, listening in to the results.

“Aha!” Vincent remarked. “I was right!  You’re now 10 cm’s taller. You’ve gone from 160 cm’s to 170 cm’s tall and your weight has changed from 60kg’s to 70kg’s with your new Werewolf muscle.”

“Am I fat?” Anxiously I raised my head.

“No, but you are bulkier.” He replied. “Even your shoulders look broader.”

“What, do I look masculine?” Now I sat upright in alarm.

“I wouldn’t say ‘masculine’ but definitely more athletic.” Vincent mused.

I looked worriedly to my parents, “but I don’t want to look athletic!”

“You’ve always been a bit of a tomboy growing up.” Dad gave a rueful grin. “You always played soccer with Derik and the other boys of the tribe instead of dolls with the other girls.”

“Do I look ‘butch’?” I looked Mum’s way in concern.

“Nah, of course not!” She was quick to reassure as she and Dad came to stand beside, as I was sitting up on the bench. “You’ve always given the boys a run for their money, so now you can always beat them at sport being a Werewolf.”

“Derik’s never minded that you were always as strong or as fast as him.” He tried to use as his consolation. “I’m sure he won’t look on you any less now that you’re stronger or faster.”

“Don’t worry B, it just means that a guy has to work extra hard to impress you.” Uncle Julian gave a wink.

Vincent next came back to where I was sitting as did the rest of my family.

“Well.” He took a deep breath. “From the read outs, I can see a change in her dental structure, her muscle tissue, the calcium deposits around her nails and even with her irises and her ocular sensory input, which confirm her change into a Lokoti Werewolf.”

“My irises?” I echoed confused. “My ocular sensory input?”

“It means that now you can see better in the dark.” Vincent put it simply.

“Oh yeah, I could see through the dark woods last night as if it were daylight.” I confirmed.  Then something occurred to me which made me look at the other Lokoti Werewolves, “did my eyes change colour like yours do?”

“They did.” Grandpa confirmed.

“What color did they turn?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Turquoise, like your great, great grandfather Flint Riverclaw’s eyes.” Grandfather announced.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You would have attacked the town folk if Declan hadn’t of caught up to you.”

  (‘Scent’ Excerpt Chapter 3)

As I started to come to, I felt myself lying on a cold, hard surface.  I opened my eyes and for some reason the first thing I saw was the side of my bath tub.  I raised my head as I looked about myself in confusion.

I’m lying on the bathroom floor?  What am I doing, sleeping on the bathroom floor like this?  I sat up and when I looked down, I found myself still in my jeans and bra and I was covered in dirt.  My feet and my hands were the dirtiest and my hair was mangy with leaves in it.  I examined my dirty nails, which thankfully looked normal again and I saw that my body was its human size once more.

Slowly I stood up, flinching from my sore neck which felt like I had pulled a muscle, to look on my reflection in the bathroom mirror.  My normal face looked back… Did last night really happen?  My dirty appearance and my missing clothing like my top, confirmed it did. 

I shivered as I hugged myself, as I recalled how the Lokoti Werewolves surrounded me in the woods.  A cold chill shot down my spine as I knew why they had acted that way last night - to stop me from running into town and eating a townsperson.  My stomach pains along with the craving for human flesh must have been the infamous bloodlust I’d heard of.

Then I remembered something else about last night; I had kissed Declan – if you would call that kissing – while we were in Werewolf form.

I KISSED Declan?!  Eugh!  B, are you nuts? You frickin’ hate the guy!  And rightly so, as he was a jerk most days and a complete asshole in between!  Then after he made out with me, by probably leaving more slobber on my face than inside his own mouth, he bloody well bit me.

He bit me!  He knocked me out cold!  But how the hell did I get here, in my bathroom, passed out on my bathroom floor?

I wanted to see my parents and ask them what happened.  However when I walked over to my closed bathroom door and I tried to open it; to my surprise, it wouldn’t open.  It was locked from the outside, which meant somebody had locked me in here. 

I’ve been locked inside the bathroom?  Surely this must be some kind of mistake… 

“Hey!” I cried out worriedly as I shook the doorknob.  “Mum!  Dad!  I can’t get out!”

Just then I heard two voices outside the bathroom door, of Dad and Grandpa talking.

“It sounds like she’s changed back.” Dad said.

“Let’s hope so.” Grandpa said unhappily.

After a moment I heard the door unlock and my father slowly opened it as he looked on warily.

“Dad!” my eyes widened when I saw the fearful expression on his face.

“B,” he said seriously before he and Grandpa stepped aside to let me pass.

I walked towards my bedroom to get ready to have a shower to wash all this dirt off.  But I stopped in my bedroom doorway when I saw Grandfather and Uncle Julian standing in my room, examining my broken window.  Oh shit, I had forgotten about that.

Grandfather and Uncle Julian glanced my way, not looking too happy either.   When I turned around, I found Dad and Grandpa right behind as if they were guarding me.  I looked from them, back  to my relations, confused.

“How are you feeling, B?” Grandfather asked.

“Fine.”

“Do you remember what happened last night?” Dad asked.

I tried to joke, “either I went to one hell of a party,” I inferred my missing clothes and dirty skin.  “Or I turned into a Werewolf last night.”

“Can you remember what happened to the window?” Grandfather asked next.

I vividly recalled Mum’s look of horror on me, her daughter, changing into a monster, yes.  I remember that I felt so sickened at frightening my mother that way that I had to run away from her.  Since she was in the bedroom doorway, the window seemed the only other option.   My eyes watered as I felt everybody’s unhappy expressions which seemed to look on with disappointment.  

Do they always look like this when a new Werewolf is created? Or is it just me that’s earned this? Are they really angry with the way I behaved last night?

“Mum looked at me like I was a monster… the same way you’re all looking at me now.  I couldn’t bear her disgust, so I jumped out the window.” My voice wavered.

“You’re not a monster B.” Dad said sadly as he put his hand on my shoulder.  “But you are the very first female Lokoti Werewolf in the history of the tribe.”

“And you’re a Circulator.” Grandfather frowned. “Last night you ran away from us in the speed of light.”

I did?

“It’s going to make it harder for us to help you control the bloodlust because we can’t contain you.” Grandpa said gravely. 

I looked back in surprise at them before  I echoed, “I ran at the speed of light?”

“You did.” Grandfather verified. “I’ve only seen your mother and your grandmother, other Circulators, move that fast.”

This was news to me!  So last night I didn’t just change into a Lokoti Werewolf, but finally my abilities as a Circulator were also kick-started!  No wonder I was able to outrun them last night. 

“It’s why we had to lock you in the bathroom.” Dad said seriously. “If we can’t catch you, we can’t stop you.”

“Stop me?” I gave him a funny look. “Stop me from what?”

“Bianca, you were running right for Alma.” He said gravely. “You were hunting human.  You would have attacked the town folk, if Declan hadn’t of caught up to you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~