Chapter 4:

After what seemed to be a three-miles walking, I finally made it to a curvy driveway. I sighed as I heaved my stuff onto my back and kept walking up the curvy drive to hopefully a house. "I could easily leave. Why am I staying here?" I exclaimed as I walked the treacherous road.

After anyone knows, I finally arrived at a three-story cabin. "Great… it looks like I am going to be living in the old days," I said as I heard twigs breaking and heavy breathing. I quickly went up to the cabin and I knocked on the door with the door knocker was a silver wolf head. The head glistened in the sunlight. I knocked three times, but there was no answer.

"Red Flag Number Two, creepy house, no answer, and in the middle of nowhere except forest. And no one is with me, there are animals out here," I mumbled to myself as I nervously laughed. "Remember these people are my family and I just have to deal with it because of Mom. I can do it for her."

Staring at the silver knocker, I whistled to myself as I waited and trying not to think about running away.

After standing there in deep thought, a tall, blonde, blue-eyed teenager crept up behind me from behind a bush. He looked at me as if I were the first girl he had ever seen.

"Red Flag Number Three: the first human I see is a teenage boy and he came out of a bush. I should just leave! Go Home! Major will take me back or maybe Wade will," I thought as I looked away.

Standing there swaying slightly, staring at each other, I finally made the act to talk to him. "Umm, is this where Marcus Leitwolf lives? I'm Eve Strickland. My mom, Ellen, just… died. I am supposed to come here and live? So, am I in the right place?"

He just looked at me with wide, concerning eyes and a quizzical brow. I felt extremely uncomfortable, so I turned my back to him and was about to leave.

Then from out of a bush, a huge, black-haired, black-eyed man came up behind me. "Red Flag Number 4: they keep coming out from bushes and they don't talk. I should leave. I need to leave. Can I outrun them?" I thought as I stared up at the massive man in front of me.

The scary man said in a very deep voice, "Yes, this is the house you are looking for, and I'm Marcus. I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to your mother." He held out his hand for me to shake it.

I cautiously shook his hand as I studied him. He may have his hand out to shake, but his body was tense, and it seems as if he was thinking about something else.

"John, go get everyone else and tell them we have a visitor." This man looked at me like I was a piece of meat or as if I were a challenge to him.

As the boy named John ran away, it left Marcus and I alone. I gulped as he gestured for me to enter the house. The entrance was littered with shoes and shovels. We took a right and had made it into the living room, which was decorated with a lot of hunting trophies, like deer heads and other woodlands creatures. I stood there in awe as I took in the room in all its sights and its smells. It smells like a male's locker room.

Slowly a bunch of men entered the room, they are all sweaty and smelly. I almost gaged but I was caught off guard by the fact that a man that looked like Marcus took a trouble take to me. Then with that man there was a boy that looked like me and was about my age.

I was about to ask something when, Marcus announced, "Good, everyone is here now. Everyone, this is Eve. She will be staying here with us for a while. Her mother, Ellen Strickland, thought it was time for her to meet us and get to know this side of the family."

The way he said it made me feel like I was unwanted and the fact that I am the only girl in this house makes me feel weird. The eyes on me made me shutter at the fact.

"You will be okay," the man that looked like Marcus said.

"Eve!" Marcus exclaimed as he gestured with his hands. "This is Donny Yukon and his sons, Evan and John."

"The boy I met before?" I asked.

The smallest man looked at his son and shock his head. The family looked sweet and nice. I felt like Donny could be almost like a father to me.

"This is George Steppes and his son Kenny," Marcus said.

"Hello," Kenny said with a weird eyebrow twitch.

I tried my best not to look uncomfortable, but it was no use. Kenny makes me think of a high school jock who could get anyone he wanted, and he is already driving me crazy.

"And finally, this is my brother, Brian and his son, Sly."

Brian was the one that tried to comfort me and then Sly on the other hand, I felt like he hated me and had a grudge.

"I can guess which ones I am related too," I remarked with a chuckle.

"Yes," Marcus said sternly. "Donny, go make food!"

"Yes, sir," Donny said with a bow of his head.

We sat in silence as Donny went to go make food. I felt all the eyes on me, and I stared at the floor. Occasionally, I would look up and see the boys looking at me. I insisted on looking at the ground and refusing to look up.

"Time to eat!" Donny yelled from the kitchen.

Everyone slowly got up and we all made our way through the long dark wooden hallway.

The feel of the house made it seem as if they had built it with their own hands. It however made it feel a little less creepy and a little more homely. As we walked down to the kitchen, I could not help but notice the way we walked in… Marcus was first, followed by Brian, Donny, and George with all the kids and me trailing behind. It was as if there was a hierarchy established within the family.

Once in the kitchen, all I saw was a big oak table, filled with mountains of meat and vegetables on it. Everyone sat down to begin eating, but I slowly made my way to the door. I could get away from these crazy people who did not even acknowledge me. I know I should not leave, but I got this weird feeling about these people. I felt safer if I were to leave and go away. I really doubt they would know that I had left.

When I turned around, I ran smack into what seemed to be a brick wall, but it was just Brian. We made eye contact, in which I quickly looked down to the floor, and he rested his hand on my shoulder and said to me, "Eve, you need to sit down and eat. Otherwise, you will dissolve away into nothing. And I don't want that."

I wanted to tell him, "No!" But I could not do it. His eyes held me in a trance, as if he were holding me in a tight hold. So, he led me to sit by Sly and him.

It kind of made me feel like we were a family, but in a weird way. I really do not like this. As I sat there in disbelief, everyone was fighting over the food and making a giant mess. They were growling at each other, and some were not even using silverware. It was as if they did not have standards or were taught how to be human. They acted like animals. I just sat, looking around and meeting the deathly stare of Kenny. I quickly looked down and did not touch my food. It was as if I was an injured little dog. I was brought out of this state by Sly nudging me and directing me to eat. I felt weird about this gesture as if he cared about me. But I picked up my fork and started to eat like a civilized human.

After all the food was gone and there was a giant mess on the table, I started to clean the table. When John and Evan surrounded me and started making me feel very uncomfortable, talking together at the same time, "So where are you from? Do you like it here? Do you have a boyfriend? How do you like this life?" They made me feel so weirded out and I wanted out. I looked around and all the adults were not paying attention. George was cleaning the table, Marcus, Brian, and Donny were looking at a newspaper. Then Kenny was still giving me a death stare, while Sly gave me a nasty look as if I had taken something from him. What did I get myself into?

Shutting myself away from the weird atmosphere, I was brought out by Brian instructed, "John and Evan, why don't you go and take Eve here out exploring and make her feel at home here."

"Oh, Brian, that's not at all necessary. I can go exploring on my own and I would prefer to do some of the chores around here, too," I told him, trying to wiggle my way out of the situation at hand, also thinking that this might be my way of getting out of here.

"No, Eve. I would rather have you go with someone else because you never know what is out there. Especially since you are new here, I do not want you to get lost. Now boys go take her out. Have some fun. The adults and I will be having a meeting about some adult things that need to be covered with our new arrival here," Marcus ordered, directing his gaze to the boys as he then nodded. I looked over to Brian who looked uncomfortable about Marcus' orders.

As we left the big house with all the kids, Kenny complained, "Man, why do we have to show her this anyway, it is not like things will be different if she did it on her own."

"Way to make me want to stay more, jerk," I thought to myself.

"Kenny, you know we have to do this since Marcus told us to and who knows what or who is out there. And besides, she needs to know everything about where to go and where not to go," Evan and John replied at the same time. They need to stop that right now; it is giving me the creeps. It is not like I need even more reasons to leave.

Kenny rolled his eyes and gave me a nasty look and a sly smirk.

We first went down the long curvy driveway that I had already walked once today. Evan explained, "Our driveway has security cameras along it, so we are prepared for unwelcome visitors."

"Oh, so why wasn't anyone at the door earlier," I commented.

They looked at each other. "Yeah, I would have been there earlier, but I had to... change," replied John slowly.

"Hey, Eve. When you are out here alone stay away from this road and the property line, because there are a lot of hunters out here, and traps set up around here as well. Marcus hates it when someone comes home with blood on them or hears us whine," Evan remarked.

We turned West toward Nevah Flow when Kenny got tired of being around me. He ran off toward the east to clear his mind and said he would be back by nightfall. Sly ended up going with him, since no one could be alone. So, the twins and I continued along the property line with me in the middle and the twins protecting me and showing me the traps. About a mile later, we turned North toward Canada. We came across a well-kept cottage shed looking building with the letter S on it.

"What's the S for on that shed… Storage?" I asked with a hint of attitude.

"No. It stands for Steppe. It is George and Kenny's cottage and storage area. I think," explained Evan.

"Yeah, each family has its own shed. Each family's shed can be used for whatever they want. They are in four different places. The Steppes' is in the west, and they use it for training, I think. Ours is in the east, and we use it for our hobbies like wood carving, painting, and as a greenhouse. Then the Leitwolf is in the north, and they use it for knowledge and strategies, I think. Then the last is in the northeast. It's the kids' house; where we go for fun and freedom," explained John with his eyes locked onto mine.

"What do you mean by training? What do you have to train for?" I asked.

John and Evan looked at each other and said, "They are into their strengths."

"You kept saying 'I think.' Don't you know for sure?" I asked suspiciously.

"No, we are not allowed to go into other people's sheds unless invited or four emergencies," remarked Evan, staring at his brother with evil eyes.

I started to wonder why no one could know and why they have them.

AROOO….

A loud howl came from the east and seemed to be moving to us. Then out from a bush came a huge gray and black wolf with bright hazel eyes came running for us. Its eyes locked onto me as if I was food.

"Run!! Everyone in the shed!! Now!!" screamed John, turning me around and running me into the shed while protecting behind me.

We ran into the shed and shut the door. John and Evan both grabbed one of my hands and pulled me into a closet like room in the back of the house with swords and axes in it. They both protected me. Hands shaking, heart racing, I buried my face into Evan's back, hoping that the monster was gone.

CREAK.

Turning around, I was face to face with the huge hazel-eyed monster. I screamed and hollered as I got pulled toward the monster.

"Eve!" hollered Evan and John, pulling me behind them.

Evan stood in front of us and looked as if he were talking to it, but I could not tell what he was saying. John pulled me into a different part of the shed.

In the distance from the east, I could hear my name. I think it was the adults, Kenny, and Sly coming from the house. They were coming to save us. Please make it in time. Kill this monster!

Once we reached a "safe" area, I was up against the wall with a mirror in front of me. John had one hand on me and one ready for the beast. Hearing the heavy paws coming, I started to cry, looking up, I saw it. It had no blood on its body… that was good, Evan was okay.

John started to go for him, but I held him back. I was so scared that he would die or get hurt from this monster. "Eve, it is okay. You just need to have hope it will calm down and believe," he said before he held his hand up at the beast and was about to say something to it. But with its mighty paw, the beast swatted John away as if he were a fly that was in his way.

"No!" I screamed with so much anger and terror my body shook.

Then my body began to change. Body shrinking, skin getting hairier, hands turning into paws, tail growing, nose growing. I let out a great howl that shook the shed.

AROOO…

The beast stopped in his tracks and looked at me like I was a surprise to him. With the pain that was going through my head, I too was surprised at what happened. I looked around to see what was going on and I ended up seeing another beast in the mirror.

Wait! Is that me? I was a massive white and silver wolf with enchanting black eyes with specks of white. I am so confused at what is going on.

"Eve!" Brian yelled as he and the rest of the men and Sly came running in.

I am so confused as to what is going on. I just stared at the mirror of the massive white wolf and the gray and black wolf sitting in awe. The door creaked open. I turned around to hopefully see guns at the ready, but Brian and the men came inside with smiles on their faces.

I am so confused… What is going on?

"Welcome home, Eve. This is where you were always meant to be this entire time. You are one of us," Brian said with a smile, as he came down to pet my head.

WH… WHA… WHAT?