Being Shown Something World Changing (Part 2)

"W-what the fuck is that?!" I shouted, looking between the massive wolf in front of me and Billy to the side of me who seemed unperturbed by it's presence.

For a second, I thought I was seeing things but the very presence of the wolf was...too real.

Like a mountain weighing down on my body, trying to get me to bow my head. Despite the fear I was feeling from it's presence, something inside of me sparked at the thought of bowing my head to this wolf. Purely because it was a wolf. As if a wolf wasn't anything.

That very thought confused me - how could I think this wolf isn't anything when it's bigger than a horse and just as thick as a Grizzly?

The black wolf took a step toward me, the ground underneath it's paw caving in under it's weight and cracking sounds slowly spread out as the stray sticks underneath snapped without much hassle.

I wanted to back away but my body refused to move; to give up any ground seemed unacceptable.

Fueled by something deep within my core, I slowly found my way to my feet, standing wobbly as I stared into the wolf's golden eyes. I didn't know when but it had sat down and was just looking at me. So I looked back.

At some point in this staring, the image of the wolf began to overlap with another in my head. The image of Sam. The two images began to merge in my mind, so that whenever I looked at the massive black wolf, I knew it was Sam and whenever I thought of Sam, I knew it was also the massive black wolf.

They were one and the same. I don't know why I ever doubted that but I definitely didn't doubt it any longer.

Seeing my somewhat calmed down state, Billy came to the side of me, "He is a Warrior of the Quileute Tribe. He was born with a gene that allows him to do this," Billy started and I turned to look at him as if to ask 'What has this got to do with me?' to which he continued and said something I really didn't want to hear, "Just like you have that same gene, William. You're like Sam and the others of the Pack - you're a Shapeshifter."

What he said hit me like a sledgehammer.

Apart from being good at sports, I'd accepted my mediocrity with everything else. I was okay with being a simple guy who went on to get a deadend job, get married and have a few kids.

So...why has this happened? I didn't ask for it. I'm certainly not prepared for it or in the right mental state for it. So why...?

"N-no, I think you're wrong--I mean...It can't be, right--I come from a normal family!" I began to hyperventilate, my vision going fuzzy around the edges. I felt dizzy. I felt out of breath. My body felt like it was being squashed. Whenever I tried to breath, it felt like all the air in the surroundings ran away from me.

I took a few steps back, unsteadily, and as a result I fell backward again.

But this time, I was stopped. Sam, I don't know when, had turned back into his human form and grabbed my collar, stopping me from falling back. He steadied me before walking off to the side to pick up some new shorts.

I just stood there, looking off into the distance, at the trees. I didn't know what to think. To have this thrown on me...well, it was beyond shocking. To be told that you're MORE than a human. That you have fantastical abilities. That you're different.

I was a mess emotionally right now. I didn't even know what I was feeling.

But I could easily tell you that I was overwhelmed.

"Will," I heard Billy's voice but I continued looking into the distance, "William!" he gave a shout and my head shot in his direction, only to see his black eyes giving me a calming gaze, as if to say it was all going to be okay, "I know it's a lot to take in, Will, but the Pack is here for you. To help you through it. No matter if you're have the Quileute gene or some other gene, you're a Shapeshifter. Maybe it was a recessive gene that chose to wake up in you because you're the only member of your pack and so many of the Cullens are nearby," he said before looking away as if thinking about something.

I just stood there before getting my bearings, both mentally and physically, and speaking up, "W-what do the Cullens have to do with this...this change?" I asked, my mind flashing to Edythe for a second.

Had she done something to me? Is that what these feelings are--No.

The thought disappeared from my head as soon as it appeared. She hadn't done anything to me. The change began when I met Carlisle that one time. Whatever weird feelings I have for Edythe are of my own doing.

Billy looked to me with a complicated expression before sighing, "The Cullens are...dangerous, Will. Their presence activated the Shifter gene and begins Phasing because the body knows they're dangerous."

Hearing him this, I heard him say a lot of words but he wasn't really saying anything other than 'The Cullens are dangerous', "Dangerous? Dangerous how?" I asked, feeling a bit of impatience.

Not to mention, someone calling Edythe dangerous in a somewhat derogatory way was...aggravating to say the least. I felt like a direct insult to her was a direct insult against me. Billy didn't answer me, it was Sam who answered.

"Because in the same way that we're not Human, Will, the Cullens aren't human either," he said, making me shoot a look in his direction.

"Are...are they Shapeshifters like us?" I asked, hoping for this to be the case for some reason.

Sam scoffed, looking like I'd said something incredibly heinous, "They could never be something as natural as us. They're monsters, Will. They're Vampires. Or as my Ancestors called them, Cold-Ones," he said and continued speaking but all the words feel on deaf ears.

Edythe...is a Vampire?

Disbelief, even more than when I heard Billy call me a Shapeshifter, wracked through me. I didn't want to believe it at least. But I had no such evidence to disprove them. If the magical Shapeshifting wolf man calls someone a Vampire, they're a Vampire, right? Not like I know enough about this seemingly supernatural world to say otherwise anyway.

A slap on the shoulder from Sam brought me back into the real world and out of my own head, "Come on, let's go back inside. I'll tell you some of what you need to know about Phasing and how to deal with your anger," he said this and I just dumbly nodded and followed.

I didn't know why but I felt that I should keep whatever I was feeling for Edythe completely secret from these two. I felt like it'd cause some major trouble or that's what my instincts said at least.

Knowing these instincts were real, and weren't just me going insane, meant I was going to follow them from now on. As much as I could, anyway.

. . .

Sitting down at the table Charlie and Bella were at, I instantly began devouring the burger in front of me. On the way back home, Charlie messaged me, telling me that him and Bella were going to the diner.

So, to help digest the information I just gained, I thought it might be nice to go and get something to eat. To distract me, maybe.

"You okay, Will? You seem a little pale," Charlie mentioned offhandedly and I looked to him, faking a confused face.

"Uh, no?" I swallowed a big bite before speaking so my voice came out a little harsh and rough, "I just got a little cold on the way over here, I guess," I lied, knowing that it was near impossible for me to get cold ever again, but Charlie just gave me a look before nodding his head and getting back to cutting his steak.

Bella was nibbling at her own burger and chips, obviously not too hungry. She looked somewhat down.

"What's up, Bella?" I asked, feeling like distracting myself from my own problems with other people's problems.

Bella just looked at me for a few seconds before coming out of some kind of daze she was in before hurriedly replying, "N-nothing much. Just thinking about something weird that happened earlier today," she said with an unsure tone of voice to which I raised an eyebrow. Charlie just stuck to eating his steak, thinking this was a conversation for highschoolers.

"Weird? Weird how?" I asked, now actually curious about what she was on about.

Sam and Billy had opened my eyes to this town's supernatural side and whenever the words 'weird' or 'odd' or 'unnatural' were said, I couldn't help but feel like the supernatural was a part of what made it weird, odd or unnatural.

But hearing my question, Bella backtracked and just shook her head before putting on an uneasy smile, "It...it doesn't matter, honestly. Just some stupid kid in my biology class," she said before keeping her head down and beginning to eat.

Biology class and problems with another student, huh...? Is it just our luck with people as a family or something? Because I had the exact same problem.

. . .

And so an entire week went by.

Edythe didn't turn up to any of the classes we shared with one another. I tried to speak to the small Cullen--Alice, I think her name was. But nothing came from it.

I went and did something against exactly what Billy and Sam warned me not to do - I spoke to a Vampire. But it was weird. Either they don't care much about us Shapeshifters or they couldn't smell my scent.

Which brings me to another thing - I don't think I'm a Wolf Shapeshifter.

Something deep down tells me that I'm not one to be a part of a pack. Nor do I want to be a part of a pack. I feel...solitary. Not in the 'edgy loner who doesn't play well with others' way but in the 'I'm fine on my own and doing my own thing' kind of way.

But nonetheless, the information they gave me has helped me quite a lot.

Controlling my anger has been much easier. Same goes with my instincts and my aversion to the Cullens. Whatever is happening to me concerning Edythe, I know that I need to be somewhat different in my approach to her family than other Shapeshifters are. I can't hate her family and still expect to be close to her, can I?

The biggest change during this week though...

"Damn, dude, are you taking growth hormones or something? You've grown like two inches!" Mike gave an exasperated shout for the fifth time this morning and if it were me a week ago, I would've told him to shut up.

But right now, I could see where he was coming from.

Sam described what I was going through as something called Phasing. It's when a Shapeshifter first awakens their shapeshifting gene when there are Vampires or general danger nearby. Phasing starts off with the body growing in size, muscle mass and bone density so it can withstand the transformation into your animal form.

The Quileute Tribe describes this as having the power of the wolf imbued into you. I don't have that specific power but whatever animal my shapeshifting powers are based off of - that's being imbued into my human body.

What does this all mean? In the past week, I've shot up to around 6'5" and I've put on about 20 pounds of pure muscle and bone.

So, honestly, I can't blame Mike for thinking I'm taking drugs or something.

He doesn't know what's happening to me is purely supernatural in nature and requires no drugs. Just requires me to eat more protein and more food in general to keep up with the changes taking place.

"Come on, man, like I've been saying for the past week - It's just a growth spurt," I gave a laugh as I lied, having gotten used to doing so when people asked about my height and muscle growth.

"Yeah, whatever you say, man," Mike rolled his eyes before him, Bella and Eric split off to a different class while I went to Biology.

A part of me was hoping that today was when Edythe would return.

And that part was rewarded when I stepped through the class door and saw a bronze-haired girl sitting right next to where I usually sat.