What am I?

Esha's POV

"That went well" Bran beamed at me, "Congratulations!"

"Thanks" I said. So he is able to really drop by and support me on this one.

"Esha" I heard Cain's voice and turned to look at him.

His face looks a bit weird and I can feel Bran become tense even without looking. My sensitivity these days is really creeping me out.

The look on Bran's face also registered something, like a surprise or annoyance.

"Oh hey" I called out, I walk and pulled him towards us, "So Bran, this is the guy friend you asked of me" I said, "This is Cain and Cain, this is my childhood friend and still a friend, Bran."

They just look at each other.

"Uhm, do you know each other?" I asked because in a moment, Mr. Corous would call me for some other things to do before we go home.

"Oh, nice to meet you" Bran finally said.

"You can call him Koren, by the way, that's what a lot calls him" I added.

"Then why are you not calling him by that name?"

"Dunno" I responded, "Anyway, are you not gonna go home after this? Or you're going back to school, you mentioned on the call you need to get back there after this."

"Yes, right, I'll go back to school, have to meet up with my team for an on going project we have" Bran said.

He hugged me tight then released me.

"So congrats again, Esha, hope to see more like this this year and the next" he said, "Nice meeting you again, Koren."

The way he said Cain's name is stressed like he wanted to say something but cannot.

"You, too" Cain responded.

Bran went on his way and I had to go and see Mr. Corous to thank him and also to inform him, I'll be going home with Cain. He said we can celebrate tomorrow for the win.

On the drive, I look at Cain to ask about a while back.

"Esha, you mentioned that friend of yours is a childhood friend?"

"Yes, why?"

"Did you tell him anything about me?"

"I just introduced you a while back and he told me he saw someone with me when I came home that night we were attacked again" I answered, "Do you mean, you being a werewolf?"

That just came out of me.

"No, I did not mention that" I continued.

He is quite for a while and did not respond.

"Cain, are you alright?" I have to ask, "Is there something wrong?"

"He is one of us, Esha, you did not know that?"

"One of you?" What is he talking about? "Bran? You mean him? He is not."

"Esha, when you're a werewolf, you can sense and smell another of your kind and I just did with him" Cain said, his eyes a bit intense.

"You're kidding me, that's impossible" I denied his statement.

"I --- "

The car swerved and immediately, Cain had to step on the brake to stop it.

On the road are about four huge black wolves with shining red eyes. Deja vú? Is this happening again? Why can't I have a peaceful week without these weres? Were, shortcut for werewolf or werewolves.

Cain dialed on his phone.

"They're here" he said and hanged up, "Esha, no matter what happens, don't come out of the car, others of my pack will be here soon."

"Cain, no" I tried to stop him from going out but I was not able to. I am locked in here while he is to face those four weres.

It is like I'm watching a werewolf movie, except that it's real. A reality movie it is, then. The four wolves started to attack Cain, who is still in human form. He was able to dodge the attack and put a distance from the four wolves from him but still a safe distance from the car, he won't move too far from where I am, that I am sure.

I feel like I'm burdening him, like restricting his movements with my presence here. I can feel now how it feels to be protected but having to watch someone protect me with restricted movements. He is at a disadvantage.

The first were jumped at him but he was also fast to evade it. I can see Cain writhing on the ground as he turn into a wolf himself. He struck at the other wolf. The three other weres came down at him. Cain pushed the second one and bit on the third. The fourth one jumped on him and was able to free the third were away from Cain. Cain had to kick the fourth wolf with his two lower feet. He immediately gets up and pinned it on the ground and let his right foot with claws out, slash at it. He flung it on the other side of the road as it struck the tree.

Just then, the second were is on its feet and is attacking Cain. The third one that Cain bit is walking towards me and sprinted in front of the car. It stood on its four paws close to the car's front windshield.

I saw Cain pushing the second one and ran towards the car. But before he can reach the car, two other black wolves are on him, and pinning him to the ground. He is about to be slash with claws and all.

I did not know what else to do but I won't let these wolves kill him. Then I found myself out of the car. Everything became a blur.

Cain's POV

"Don't you dare!" I heard Esha's voice as she gets out of the car.

Something is not right.

The wolf on the car started to welp in pain. Esha is looking at it intensely, as if she is not aware of anything around her. The wolf fell down on the ground from the car and started to retreat away from Esha.

She lets go of it and walked towards the wolf I was tackling a while back. She suddenly pulled it towards her, lifted the wolf like a light plastic and threw him sideway on the same spot I threw the fourth wolf who attacked me. I can feel the two wolves pinning me, loosening their grip and hold of me. Like something is pulling them away from me.

When Esha turned her gaze on us. I can see her eyes blazing, shining like a light is on her eyes. It's green, her eye color changed. The two wolves on me let me go and they stopped on their track, unmoving and are looking at Esha.

Howlings everywhere. I can sense other wolves nearby. I immediately stood on my four feet and wanted to go near Esha but I can't move either. Something is holding me back. Her gaze is like in a dream. She seemed dazed.

'Esha' I speak to her in my thoughts.

I can only hear humming, coming from her then suddenly creakings and a high pitch voice, like someone is screaming. Being in my wolf form is a disadvantage on this one. I can hear too strong and all of us in our wolf form started to howl in pain.

After like minute of torture, it stopped.

'Esha, can you hear me?' I tried still.

She is still looking at us with that dazed eyes.

'Esha, speak to me!'

It's even painful this way.

***************

The woods started to have silhouettes of wolves. The afternoon rushed in to evening and Stephen's pack are on the area, the six other wolves had encountered the guest Stephen wanted to invite but turned out be a wrong move.

The Thales' son is with her.

Cain is hopelessly trying to communicate with Esha but to no avail. She is in a daze and everything around her are blur. She feels like floating in the air.

He can sense the moon's presence. In his eyes, it appears to be red, like someone had poured blood on the moon. To human eyes, it's like the extraordinary full moon but appears yellowish and gold up in the sky. The tides are too high now. The ones at sea are having trouble with it.

His pack came and surrounded the others as well. Rica, in her wolf form is already beside him and also caught in whatever force is holding all of them there.

Bran was forced to shift when he arrived at school. Everyone is too caught up with it. He sensed a presence, a very strong one, much stronger than the feeling he had when an alpha calls out to them.

In her daze, Esha is surrounded by most of the werewolves in town, like moths drawn to a flame. They stood at some distance from her. The force pulling them towards her is irresistible.

Held captive by Esha's presence, every wolf sniffed the air with scents of lavender and mist. How does a human call out to them? She is not even in a wolf form.

Stephen had waited for this moment for a long time. Now he is witnessing it. The rising of the first werewolf's direct descendant. Well, the only direct bloodline. But he never thought, she could be this powerful and intense despite her human form. Her awakening is not complete. Her eyes are dazed.

Esha's POV

I can feel myself floating in the air. Everything is white and I can smell lavender. The gray wolf with its green eyes is standing a meter away from me.

'Welcome to your new life' it said.

"What do you mean?" I asked using my voice since I can here it in my mind. How is that even possible.

The see-through self I have, like a spirit, is also beside the wolf. Am I in the dream again?

"You've finally come around, thought you will stay dead" she said.

They are walking towards me now.

"Will you be able to remember in time before you kill him?"

"What are you saying?"

Then suddenly, the white surrounding turn to the roadway where Cain and I are in.

I can see too many wolves around.

What is happening? I took a step back, shocked to look at myself standing in the center of this. My eyes are blazing green and intensely looking at Cain's.

I can hear the mocking voice of my see-through self but I can't decipher what she is saying. The wolf is beside me now. It places its paw on my feet and looks up. Its green eyes burned on me that I had to close my mine.

Is this the end for me?

When I opened my eyes. It feels like I'm wearing a headgear or some form of that in a 3D movie watch.

I wanted to talk but all I can hear is a growl. I look around but the wolves are not growling, I look at Cain's wolf form and tried to speak, still growlings.

I had to step back because it is coming from me. I had to look down. Instead of human feet, I had wolf feet, paws and all that.

'Esha?'

'Cain, what is happening?'

I can feel the pain, the worry and frustration coming from him. There are too many emotions coming from the wolves around me, too. This is so overwhelming.

I wanted to ran and so I did.

'Esha!' Cain's voice called out to me.

I can hear howlings and running. I can feel them following me. I don't know where to go.

If I have four feet, I have paws and definitely, I can feel furs around me, does it mean I shifted to a wolf?

Am I one of them?

How in the world did this happen?

I wish I can cry but no tears came. I wanted to shout but it came out as a howl. I had to stop running because a vision of some old ruin came into my mind.

"I will not marry you!" a man in royal clothing, more like those ones worn by Egyptians or Mesopotamians, I am not sure.

"Why not? My king, please!" a beautiful woman in red tube and red long skirts pleaded, she is on her knees.

"I will have you killed if you ever come back here" the man who is definitely a king, said.

"It went wrong, please forgive me" the woman pleaded.

"Turning someone into a wolf, more so your lover is unforgivable" the king said, "I will curse you for the rest of your life and have you suffer like what you did to your previous lover" he continued, "I won't be deceived by you again, I am your king and you shall obey me."

The vision disappeared.

What was that?

I turned to look behind me, only to see the wolves standing so attentively and looking at me, like they are expecting me to do something. What would that possibly be?

'Cain' I search for him among them.

As he comes out, his golden eyes are so beautiful as always.

'Esha, are you alright?'

'I am not at the least alright' my irritation rising, 'What is happening to me?'

'Esha, I'm sorry' What is he sorry about?, 'You are a werewolf, I did not know you can shift into one tonight, I really don't know, I haven't sense any wolf feeling from you before.'

So I am human but how can I be a werewolf? Is there like a notification for this? Does my mom know? Have I been bitten? Like in the movies?

'Why are there so many werewolves here?'

Going back to it, I wonder how or what reason they are following me.

'Is this your pack?'

'No' As he responded, I look around trying to feel Samantha and there she is, elegant still even in her wolf form. She has a white spot in-between her eyes, like the one you see on Indian women, on their marriage. Maybe that's a sign of her being a luna, as I recall her mentioning that she is.

'Then who are these?'

'Most of the werewolves in town, in Dale Ven' he answered.

'There are a lot of them' I responded.

I can here hummings until it dawn on me that I can smell each one of them in different scent but Cain being the most pleasant one. I won't exchange any scent for him.

I gazed around and it fell on a gray wolf with silver coloured eyes.

I cannot believe this. This feeling, this presence... it's Bran!

Cain is right, he is one of them. But I am one of them, too!

This is too much, I want to jump on this cliff we are right now. Without thinking, I did. The height might have been too high, I can feel the air on my furry skin. This is calming. I can hear Cain's and Bran's voices in my mind but I shut it out.

Should I die? What of my mom? What would these werewolves say to my mom? Do I know some of them apart from Cain, Bran, Samantha and Rica? The ones I recognized among them.

I want these werewolves that surrounded me to leave me be.

I felt the ground on my skin. On my skin! I'm not dead! I had to look at my hands, my human hands and feet! My vision is clear as crystal and the moon with its bloody rays is challenging me to scream with frustration.

But my voice is stuck in my throat. I can feel the tears on my face. The night made me shiver and my skin is bare. I am bare all over. I felt no shame at all but only anguish and frustrations from everything.

I just hope Cain is here with me.

'Esha' I looked up to see Cain's wolf form a meter away from me.

The pain inside my heart grows stronger. I stood up and ran towards him, not minding that I am stark naked. His soft fur is a comfort, his presence, too. I feel like I can just close my eyes and sleep peacefully and tomorrow, I will find that these are all part of a dream.