First Shift

'Your wound needs to be treated.'

Julie watched Leon's face intently. She tugged Leon's hand deliberately to follow her. Julie turned the key to her cabin and opened the door. Her hand reached for the light switch until she could see the view inside her own cabin.

Julie always kept the medicines she had concocted herself. She put them in a dark brown wooden box that she took from the shelf right next to her bed. She took out a medium-sized clear jar with dark green cream inside, ready to treat Leon's wound.

Julie washed her hands in the sink next to the toilet door and dried them with a dry napkin. She pulled a chair over to the bed and invited Leon to sit on it. Slowly, Julie began to smear the wound at the corner of Leon's lip with her concoction.

'It feels cold...' said Leon.

'This is herbal medicine. Your wound will be dry by tomorrow.'

'Thank you.'

For a few minutes they were silent, looking at each other. Leon was the first to feel awkward and broke his eye contact with Julie. He got up from the chair and said, 'I guess I'd better get home.'

'Yes. Will we see each other again?' Julie asked with hope that she could meet Leon again.

'As long as you still come to the cafeteria, then we'll see each other again. I have Friday off.'

Julie smiled. For the first time in her life, she felt a strong desire for someone. She felt her blood rushing from head to toe, which made her whole body hot.

Julie tried to ignore it. She knew it was because her wolf genes were being activated by the proximity of the opposite sex. Julie swallowed her saliva and walked slowly beside Leon to escort him out of the cabin.

'Bye,' Leon said.

'Bye, Leon.'

As Leon took a few steps away, Julie saw him turn and wave to her. Julie waved back with her left hand. Her sense of smell was scanning the surroundings to make sure Leon could get out of the campsite safely.

'I didn't know that your new behaviour was peeping at teenagers...'

Julie was still staring straight ahead, watching until Leon's back was out of sight. She went inside the cabin and left the door open so that the person who peeped at her earlier could enter the cabin.

'Your mum asked me to keep an eye on you, Skyler.'

'Uncle Kai...aren't you ever young? I felt uncomfortable earlier.' Julie grumbled.

'Sorry, it's for your own good, dear.'

'Leave him alone!' Julie sighed slowly.

'Why are you so cynical? I won't taste his blood, just relax. You know I would never hurt you. You're attracted to him, I can see that.'

Julie climbed onto the bed, laying her tired self down. She pulled the blanket up to her belly and then pulled the pillow to lift her head.

'I'm tired. When you leave, please close the door.'

'I'm just checking on you, get some rest, I'll close the door.'

Kai ran a hand through Julie's blonde hair, then led her to the door. He switched off the light and closed the door behind him once he was outside.

Julie could have closed the door with a wave of her hand, but she was so tired. She wanted to get some sleep and wake up fit the next morning. She heard Kai's retreating steps, making no sound as vampires usually did to save time.

Until the next day, Julie woke up with a fresher body. She washed her body and planned to go to the cafeteria again. Hoping to see Leon, Julie wanted to look presentable. She had just stepped inside and heard a voice greeting her.

'Hi Julie. '

Julie heard someone greet her in a voice that sounded spoiled. She knew the owner of that voice must be Ada. Julie wanted to pretend that she didn't know her, but the girl brought her face closer to her ear.

'I often see you coming to the cafeteria on the north side of the camp. Listen...I like one of the guys who work there. He's Asian, I don't know...if you could give this to him. I'm too embarrassed to give it to him myself.' said Ada.

Julie noticed the small piece of paper in Ada's hand. She squinted her eyes, trying to make out the writing on it with her magical abilities. She mentally read the row of numbers and Ada's name.

'You talked to me just to tell me to do this. Do it yourself, I'm not your helper!' Julie snorted as she flipped the paper in her hand to Ada and walked out of the queue.

'Shitty girl!' Ada cursed.

Julie heard her. Ada accidentally collided with a teenage boy who was carrying a strawberry milkshake. Ada swore loudly at the boy and walked away angrily.

Julie grinned slightly. She never wanted to get into trouble with others, especially humans, but she would act if her pride was hurt.

Julie took a spot in the corner of the tent so that she could see the lake with the reflection of the bright blue sky. Looking at it, Julie would feel calm and peaceful. She thought that this summer camp was perfect for her.

'Didn't you read your mum's message?' Asked Kai who suddenly sat down next to Julie.

'Uncle Kai. Could you please not show up all of a sudden? This camp is the most humanised part of Cedarwood. I don't want to be considered weird by them. No, I shut my mobile off. By the Moon Goddess...' Julie gave Kai a sharp look.

'What? What's wrong?'

'Don't play tricks on me, uncle. Didn't you bring a blood supply?'

Julie's eyes fell on the neck of a stocky teenage girl. The girl was wearing a scarf to cover her neck. Julie exhaled her breath roughly and looked sarcastically at Kai.

'I forgot. I didn't drain her blood, she's still alive.'

'What I take issue with is how could you be so careless? I can't believe this! Why don't you just go back to Cedarwood and behave like a professor?' Julie raised her voice to Kai.

'You're on a period cycle, right? I'm an easy target for your overflowing anger. How did you grow up to be such a rude teenager? You used to be such a cute baby. Ah...time flies.' Kai said with a sigh.

'To be honest, you didn't help me at all.'

Julie grabbed a piece of chips and chewed it quickly. After all, she would never hate Kai. She had an unlimited stock of patience for that man.

'You look a lot like your mum, Skyler.'

'I heard that sentence a hundred times, until I got tired of hearing it. We are very similar, but our fates are different.'

'Don't be insecure like...'

Before Kai could finish speaking, they heard shouting from a crowd of people not far from the lakeside. Julie saw the crowd break up with people running in all directions. Her sense of smell scented the presence of other wolves in this campsite area.

'Werewolf. Uncle Kai, I need your help!'

They ran into the trees and shifted into wolf form. Julie and Kai ran to the edge of the lake where the ruckus was happening. Julie saw a black furry wolf standing over a teenage boy.

'First shift...shit! Uncle Kai, we have to lead her into the woods to get away from the humans,' Julie said as she sped her four legs towards the black wolf.

'I'll flank it from the left,' Kai replied by moving round through the bushes on the black wolf's left side.

'Okay.'

Kai dashed towards the black wolf's left side, while Julie ran towards the wolf's right side. Kai came up with a low growling sound that Julie understood as a signal to retreat. Julie did the same.

Kai jumped to the wolf's side. He managed to intimidate the wolf until it stepped down. The wolf growled back with drooling saliva. Kai jumped on top of the black wolf, knocking it back a few feet on the ground.

Julie walked slowly to Kai's side. Both of them formed a line and moved together to corner the black wolf. The interrupted snarling was just heard by Julie. The wolf deliberately stepped back to keep its distance from her.

The black wolf sensed the danger of having to fight the two wolves in front of her, but she also could not resist the changes within her. Every muscle in her body forced her to fight, she couldn't hold back anymore.

She pounced on Julie with her front paws, biting the white wolf's back until both rolled on the ground. Kai did not stand still. He pushed the black wolf's body with his muzzle, biting its hind legs as he pulled it away from Julie.

The black wolf struggled and managed to break free from Kai's bite. She got up and ran away to the woods. Julie and Kai followed behind, hoping that this was only temporary.

'She'll return to her original form in a while...' Kai said as he ran.

'She's a she-wolf, you do realise that, right?