I looked at the one person I knew and trusted, my brother was looking back at me, I searched his concerned expression and was sidetracked again by the headache that took over me, my hands that had blood all over them clutched my hair.
What was happening here just now? I didn't even remember why I was here.
"Don't screw with his head anymore!" my brother shouted.
"It is the path your parents chose for him!" Elizabeth shouted back.
There were a lot of people around me. I tried to pull myself together as I hit my head a couple of times, but the white wolf that yelped and jumped in its place stopped me.
"Just stay how you are for now." My sane brother talked to the unidentified animal insanely. And as if the animal understood, it sat back quietly and looked at me.
If this was not a nightmare, then I must be hallucinating.
"It's time he heard all of it, and he will hear all of it from me," my brother said to Elizabeth who was standing near my house, surrounded by her friends who had crimson eyes, I was about to run to her, when just like pressing rewind then fast forward, everything that happened since I came out of the house this morning came back to me.
It wasn't the only thing that I remembered.
I recalled how rude she was in the principal's office when she turned her back away and left my hand hanging in the air, I also remembered Mrs. White's intense look, and getting dizzy afterward.
How come I forgot about that?
There was one other memory that followed that one, I vividly remembered that today was not the first time she spoke to me inside my head, it was right after the game when I saw Wyatt whispering in her ears, she asked me if I was jealous much.
It was my turn to glare at her now.
"What the hell is happening here!" Anger was taking over me, but my brother had other plans.
"Let's go inside Theo, we need to talk in private." His expression was serious.
"No, I'm coming with you." Elizabeth declared.
All around us was chaos again. I could hear the animals growling and the monsters around Elizabeth hissed.
I looked around, half panicking, it was bright daylight and I wondered how none of the neighbors had already called the police; Liam was right, we needed to talk in private.
I turned around leaving everyone and running back to our house, I reached inside my pocket and took out the key, cursing when I dropped it to the ground, I picked it up and unlocked the door with a shaking hand leaving it open for Liam who had to be following me.
"Hurry up!" I shouted without looking behind me as I walked inside and headed to the kitchen, I leaned my back against the counter next to the fridge and fixed my eyes on the opened door, waiting. My head was too blank for what had just happened outside and I wondered if someone was doing something to repress my memory again.
Not someone, her.
I didn't have to wait long.
Elizabeth was the first to come in, and my brother followed her two seconds later. She had a very cold expression fixed on her beautiful face while my brother's face was sweaty and red.
"Talk," I demanded.
"Ask her to leave our house, Theo, she'll listen to you." He pleaded; his soft voice was painful to hear.
"Yeah, you wish." She rolled her eyes.
"Our priority is to make sure no one remembers what they just witnessed!" Liam shouted again.
"I have that covered already, and you don't get to order me." She said giving him the cold shoulder.
"I take it there won't be police involvement in this incident as well?" This was to let her know I was already on to her. She wasn't surprised, which ended up surprising me.
Making herself at home, she went further in and stood next to me. I looked from the girl to my brother, and I let my disappointment reach him through my eyes first.
"You of all people, since when…" I chocked. So I cleared my throat and waited for him.
"It's complicated," he shook his head. "Mom and dad, they couldn't hide things from me…" He trailed off.
"Mom and…how are they involved in this? What is this Liam!" I hit the fridge with the back of my hand that was fisted.
The fridge had a bent door now.
The girl beside me did not even flinch. My eyes zeroed in on her.
'What are you?'
"First listen to what your brother has to say, our conversation will take longer." She answered my unspoken question, again. Verbally this time...
"Fine," I snapped.
"Fine," she repeated abruptly.
I focused back on my brother, the imposter.
"Our family, it's different." he sighed. He did that when he wanted to delay something.
"Start already!" I was at my limit.
"... The world you live in. it was built by our parents for you and me..."
Elijah came through the door at that moment and interrupted my brother, but he did not make eye contact with me.
"Alpha, we cleaned the scene outside, we're escorting the others to make sure that the unclaimed ones are driven out of the mutual territory."
My brother pressed down on his eyeballs.
"Alpha…what are you in fraternities and sororities?" I was trying to understand what my classmates had to do with my brother and late parents.
"More like a pack." My brother answered. The image of two wolf-like dogs came back to me.
"A pack," I repeated numbly.
"Yes, a pack that dad was supposed to take over, right before he fell in love with mom and ran away with her."
The hell?
It was my cue to ask since he wasn't willing to declare voluntarily.
"A pack of what, Liam!"
"…Lycanthropy…werewolves... " He breathed out two answers that were one of the same, almost whispering. The way he flinched when he said the last word did not go unnoticed by me.
"Great, where are the hidden cameras? The prank is not even funny. Stop it so I can forgive you now."
"Theodor…" He said softly.
"Liam! Stop screwing around it's not funny!" I was roaring, my hands shook, and I felt my feet almost slipping. I steadied myself over the counter and breathed deeply.
"You already saw them outside so just accept it, there is still much for you to know, little bro." His eyes were teary, it was good to see the man I knew somewhere inside the man who was trying to show me how my life had been one big fat lie up until now.
"I saw them. That's right. The dogs were a nice touch to the prank." I wanted to deny it a bit longer still. He took three hesitant steps toward me, I hated it.
"Don't." I stopped him, my hand stretching out in a stop sign defensively. Now I needed to ask for the ultimate proof. "Show me what you are, if you want to convince me, that is."
That was it, there was no turning back.
He nodded once as if he had already seen the request coming. He started taking off his clothes. Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably. She looked at me and I looked back.
'I'll step outside for a minute then.'
She talked inside my brain like it was the most natural thing in the world to do.
Once she got out, his entire body ripped apart and grew, it was incredibly traumatizing to witness as my brother's skin shredded and changed, his bones expanded and got thicker, sprouting hair and fur of deep crimson color.
What I felt deeply sinking was nothing other than betrayal.
I marched until I was right in front of him I held him by his huge ears and bumped his forehead with mine as hard as I could. I looked deep into his blood-colored eyes showing him all my bottled-up anger, he returned my hostility showing me two large sharp fangs. It was funny how he still felt like my brother, even if he looked like a red demon from somebody else's nightmare.
Wolves did not scare me.
Our father told us many stories about them, they were the most popular ones around our campfires.
I cursed under my breath pushing aside the thought that my late father had fooled me.
"How dare you hide this from me! Who the hell are you!... Who the hell am I!" I let go of his head and squeezed my eyes shut. I felt like I was about to explode.
"Show me how I can change too. I want to look like you,"
I had always wanted to look just like my father and Liam.
The crimson wolf shook his great head twice. That was when Elizabeth stepped back in and passed by Elijah, who had a perfect poker face on.
"You can't change into a werewolf, Theo." She said. The crimson wolf growled at her, setting the blood in my veins on fire.
"You don't get to do that to her!" I shouted at the demon. He looked at me with an annoyed expression, and I wondered again how he changed so much yet remained the same.
"I will let you continue your explanation, think of me as your silent audience if you wish to do so." Elizabeth was very composed as she spoke to the demon. And my heart sank with the sinking realization.
Only an equally frightening monster would not be afraid of one such as the crimson demon that stood inside of my living room. I shook my head to shake away the idea. I needed to know who I was first before I got to know her.