Aidan went in search of Hailey, having a rough idea of the area she was planning to explore. Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, he found her pickup truck parked by the side of the road. At a touch of his palm, heat still emanated from the bonnet. She hadn't been here long. The surrounding ground was soft enough for Hailey to leave footprints leading from the truck into the nearby woods.

'Oh boy. She's already headed in.' Unlike his brother, Aidan wasn't much of an outdoorsy type. The bugs alone were a turnoff.

He continued staring at the ground, his eyes retracing the shallow footprints from the pickup all the way into the woods, where they disappeared behind the trees. A sense of resignation washed over him as he steeled himself to follow her. "The things I do for friendship," he muttered dramatically, placing his friend's backpack into the back of her truck before moving from the edge of the road into the forest.

Immediately upon entry, what little available sunlight was halved by the shadows of the trees. He followed the light thread of Hailey's hiking shoes as best he could, grumbling at the fact that his friend was never one to walk in a straight line, even while on a clear path. Instead, her trajectory was all over the place as she seemed to veer off at random points to study the different flora and fauna in the area.

As expected, Aidan tripped on a tree root hidden beneath some dead leaves, nearly falling flat on his face. Straightening up, he was about to release a handful of curses out loud when suddenly, he heard the rustle of dry leaves and the snapping of underbrush as something swiftly headed towards him. He barely had time to process what was happening when Hailey burst into his path, smashing headfirst into his chest and prompting a collective "Ow!" from the both of them.

"Hailey—" Aidan began but was cut off by the urgency in her unnaturally high-pitched voice. "Aidan, you were right! There's a big animal thing in the woods, no time to explain, but we gotta go!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him back the way he came, running as fast as possible without getting them entangled in the surrounding low-lying branches and thorny bushes.

Aidan already knew what predatory creature stalked them, with the tiny, logical part of his otherwise freaking out mind telling him they had no chance in hell of outrunning a supernatural creature. It clashed with the desperate part of him, the part heavily in denial that screamed, 'The truck is nearby, we're almost there, we can make it!' They hadn't made it twenty steps before the werewolf jumped out in front of a screaming Hailey, having cleverly circled around to get ahead of them. In a flash of bravery, Aidan moved in front of Hailey, trying to shield her as best he could from the golden-furred creature.

"Please, don't hurt her," he frantically tried pleading. A very unrealistic thought overtook his rationale but he was desperate enough to entertain it. Maybe it would let her go if he offered himself up instead? This made him say, "Do whatever you want to me, but she's innocent and doesn't know anything, so please let her go."

"I don't think reasoning with a wild animal is going to work," Hailey hissed while clutching his arm so tightly he could feel the blood circulation cut off at the pads of his fingertips.

But to Aidan and Hailey's astonishment, the creature suddenly lay down and rolled onto its back, staring upside down at them with its tongue lolling about and its fluffy tail swiping back and forth like a windshield wiper set on high. From where he stood, Aidan could make out a belted pouch running around the werewolf's belly. The werewolf almost looked like an overjoyed golden retriever if it weren't for the two rows of deadly-looking teeth.

'A friendly werewolf, now how oxymoronic is that?' Aidan's sarcastic sense of humour was running at warp speed even in the face of danger, with his fear as the driving force.

Carefully, the creature sat back up on its haunches and looked at Aidan as if to say it was awaiting his next move.

Inhaling deeply to steady his nerves, he decided to make a slow approach. "Is this what you want me to do?" The golden werewolf waited ever so patiently as he moved closer while Hailey hissed warnings from behind. When he was finally within arm's reach of the huge creature, an odd pang hit him as he stared into its deep, ocean blue eyes that were so much like his own. The werewolf reached out a paw to touch Aidan's face gently before the furry pads began to morph their shape, elongating into fingers stroking his face with familiarity. When the transformation was complete, Aidan stared open-mouthed at the blond, blue-eyed man he'd been so desperate to see for the past five years.

"Ga-Gavin?!" His brother looked the same as the last time Aidan had seen him all those years ago, save for the longer hairstyle he was currently sporting. Gavin was taller and more athletic than Aidan, but there was no mistaking the fact that they were brothers; the resemblance was undeniable. Without a shadow of hesitation, Gavin pulled Aidan into a rough bear hug, one which he laughingly reciprocated, happy tears flowing from the corners of his eyes and down his cheeks.

The warmth in his arms felt too good to be true and Aidan squeezed his watery eyes shut, overwhelmed to the point he was unwilling to open them again for fear Gavin would cease to exist when he did. His hands helplessly held onto Gavin, living, breathing, corporeal and holding onto him with equal intensity. With the tiniest bit of courage, Aidan cracked open one eye and laughed in unending relief when his fears were unfounded and Gavin didn't evaporate into nothingness.

"I knew it! I knew you weren't dead!" Aidan joyfully cried out once the two had ended the hug and faced each other. Aidan still held on tightly to his brother's shoulders as if letting go would cause him to disappear into thin air. His words sobered up Gavin a little, and his smile lost a little strength.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get to you sooner, Aidan. I know how tough things were for you, but it was just so complicated on my side," Gavin profusely apologised to his brother, "there were all these stupid rules and regulations that the wolves forced me to obey. I'm just glad I finally get to see you again."

Still riding an emotional high and too distracted to process what his brother meant, Aidan was about to ask him to repeat everything when a soft cough sounded behind him. In his sudden joy, he had utterly forgotten Hailey's presence behind him. Both brothers turned to face her for a moment before Gavin dove for the belted pouch now lying on the ground by his feet. He yanked out a pair of sweatpants and gracelessly pulled them on as fast as he could, hopping from one foot to the other, very much aware of the still staring Hailey. His face was beet red by the time he'd finished pulling on a plain white tee and faced her again.

For someone who'd just witnessed a werewolf shifting into a human, Hailey seemed pretty relaxed. She pointed from Aidan to Gavin before saying, "I'm trying to remember if I somehow ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms or inhaled some sort of whack psychedelic spores while hiking because it seems like my good friend's missing brother just morphed from an animal thingy into a human right before my eyes."

'Martini, shaken and stirred! Explaining this is gonna be fun.' Aidan tilted his head as he looked at Hailey, trying to figure out where to begin. After a long pause, he finally gave up and said, "About that, it's a long story that we probably shouldn't discuss while standing in the middle of the woods." He nodded towards the general direction of their vehicles. "Let's discuss this in the truck."

Beside him, his brother had turned pale. "Oh crap," Gavin placed both hands over his face as he muttered, "Looks like I'm going to be in trouble again." Aidan frowned in worry, "Gavin?" His brother sighed, "It's just that we're not supposed to reveal ourselves to humans." He added in a somewhat sulky tone, " I am so grounded," sounding like a kid awaiting punishment.

When they reached the road, Gavin whooped for joy at the sight of his bike, "You kept my baby!" He ran over excitedly for a closer inspection, running his fingers over the handles adoringly before both brothers loaded and secured it to the back of Hailey's truck. While doing so, Aidan gave a shortened rendition of the night's events to a shocked Hailey, whose anger progressively increased the more she listened. She seemed more bothered by her boss's actions rather than the fact that humans weren't the only sentient beings on Earth.

"I can't believe Robert fooled us all!" She was seething by the time they were seated in her truck and heading far away from the facility. "Thanks for grabbing my stuff, by the way."

Aidan smiled. "No worries." He was seated in-between Hailey, who was driving, and Gavin, who leaned his elbow against the passenger window sill while resting his head in the palm of that hand. As he flexed his still aching fist, Aidan studied his brother intensely. His brother, the only family he had left, was alive when Robert Wallace had almost convinced him otherwise just hours ago. It felt surreal having Gavin seated by his side after five long years. Aidan was thrilled, and yet an underlying current of worry was building up inside him the longer he studied the other blond.

On the outside, Gavin seemed fine, alert eyes scanning the passing scenery for signs of danger, his form relaxed. Yet on a deeper level, something seemed different about the man beside him. He seemed fragile somehow. Aidan couldn't put a finger on it, but something had happened, leaving a shadow in the haunting depths of those blue eyes and making Aidan want to comfort his brother, although he knew the older man would just brush off his attempts with a collection of lame jokes. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but Aidan just didn't know how to start.

Aidan's continuous flexing of his fingers caught Gavin's eye. "What's wrong?" He wore a worried frown while reaching out to hold Aidan's injured hand. Aidan recognised that look. It was the same look Gavin had whenever he went into Overprotective Big Brother mode. Aidan smiled gently. At least some things never changed.

"I punched someone," he meekly explained, resulting in Gavin fussing over his hand until he was confident that Aidan hadn't done any serious damage to it. When Gavin was done, Aidan picked up the courage to question Gavin. He figured it was best to start with the most mind boggling one first.

"Are you ready to tell me what happened? How did they turn you into one of them?" He asked softly, earning a small sigh from Gavin.

"I was hoping we could talk about it some other time, but I guess there's no point in delaying it," was his reply. His brother returned to staring out the window, eyes unfocused.

Five years ago, Gavin had had just about enough with his dead-end job at a large advertising company. His boss was a pain in the ass who never appreciated the overtime; his colleagues walked about like zombies, barely alive after giving most of their waking hours to meet unrealistic deadlines that the higher-ups insisted were achievable. "If you only put in a little extra effort", they insisted. Gavin paid them no heed. He had no intention of giving up his sanity, especially not for the pitiable amount banked into his account on payday.

Deep down, he dreamt of travelling the world, taking his time to explore new places, learn about new cultures and meet different people, all on his terms. The hectic lifestyle he was forced to live now was a massive clash with his true laidback nature, and he knew it. One particularly bad day involving a heated argument with the project manager was what tipped him over the edge. He'd tendered in his immediate resignation and then spent the following two months doing nothing but eating junk food and sleeping the hours away. He felt deflated, defeated and utterly burnt out.

It wasn't until Andy called him one morning, suggesting an impromptu road trip, that Gavin began to feel alive again. Andy, Charlie and Brandon were his best mates from college. Although he'd rarely kept in touch after getting a job, he still felt close to them, as if their bond of friendship was strong enough to withstand anything. They planned everything out quickly, and by the end of the week, Gavin was off, road-tripping with his best buddies.

Andy was as charismatic as ever, keeping everyone in good spirits and rallying them on to the next stop in their journey. Brandon, being the responsible one, was left in charge of logistics. He planned the routes and made sure they weren't stranded anywhere without food. Charlie was his usual playful self, pranking everyone and getting it all on camera.

At first, everything seemed fine, but halfway through their journey, Gavin began to pick up on the subtle looks the three men kept exchanging from time to time. Sometimes, he would catch them huddled together, talking amongst themselves with serious looks etched on their faces. There were also times in the middle of the night when he had awoken to find the three of them missing from the campsite, only returning hours later without realising that Gavin was only pretending to be asleep.

"Alright guys, spill it," Gavin had had enough of their unexpected behaviour one evening. They were seated in an open field in the middle of nowhere, a cosy wood fire being their sole source of light besides the stars that shone like tiny little diamonds embedded in the jet-black sky.

The three men shared another look before Andy spoke up, "Gavin, there's something we've wanted to tell you for years, but we weren't sure how you'd react." Oddly enough, Charlie and Brandon looked afraid.

Gavin frowned. "Are the three of you in a relationship?" The three men sat stunned. Before they could reply, he said, "Just so you know, I'm cool with it, and you don't need to worry about our friendship."

Andy burst out laughing at the same time that Charlie smacked his forehead with an open palm while exclaiming, "Bruh!" Brandon just gave him a wry smile.

"No, Gavin, we aren't in a relationship," Charlie clarified. "Come on, you've known us for years. How could you jump to such a conclusion! We've been friends, in like, forever!"

Gavin wasn't convinced, "And friends have never fallen in love?"

Charlie could only wave his hands between the three of them while adamantly saying, "Do we look like we're romantically in love with each other?!"

Gavin rolled his eyes before demanding, "Then what is it? You guys are driving me nuts with your secretive glances at each other and whatnot. Just tell me already!"

Ironically, the three men shared a round of secretive looks before glancing back at Gavin. Andy was the first to suggest, "Maybe we should just show him?"

Charlie snickered, "Yeah, just shock him all at once and get it out of his system."

Brandon was quiet for a few seconds before agreeing, "Fine. Who wants to do it?" Brandon looked from one to the other. "You do it," Charlie and Andy said in unison.

Brandon glared at them before reluctantly standing up to remove his clothes. Charlie and Andy got up and readjusted themselves on either side of Gavin, sandwiching him in the middle, with Charlie snickering the whole time. "Uh, guys, this is getting awkward," Gavin said, his eyes going wide as Brandon continued stripping.

"You'll have to see it to believe us," Andy answered cryptically, not at all easing Gavin's confusion. "Ready?" Brandon asked when he was finally done. Gavin nervously swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded silently, not sure of what to expect. Then, Brandon morphed into a werewolf. And Gavin screamed.

"Seriously? Is that how they introduced you to the existence of werewolves?!" Hailey interrupted Gavin's retelling of that eventful night.

Gavin replied glumly. "Yeah. But that wasn't the worst part of it all. They kept a very important secret from me until...well, until the day of my transformation."

Aidan impatiently motioned for his brother to continue.

"After getting over the initial shock, I was surprisingly fine with them being werewolves. It didn't change who they were to me. But I think, in my haste to accept them, I placed all my trust in their hands, and they destroyed it big time," Gavin inhaled deeply, "which is why we're no longer friends." The muscles in his face and neck were straining as his expression contorted into one of anger.

Aidan's eyebrows shot up high in surprise. His brother was a laid-back, forgiving kind of guy. To upset him, one had to do something epically unforgivable. Oblivious to his brother's reaction, Gavin continued, "We went climbing, and we made it to the top of the cliff. We were standing at the top, and I was so exhilarated from the climb." Gavin closed his eyes as if savouring the good memory, "The view was so beautiful, and I felt so at peace." When he opened his eyes, he turned his haunted gaze to meet Aidan's, "And then, they told me that Mom was a werewolf."

Pin drop silence filled the truck interior. Hailey bit her lip to keep herself from making a sound. Aidan could do nothing but gape at his brother for a good minute before trying to coherently form a sentence, "No, that's... She never..."

"She never told us because she'd broken one of the most fundamental rules amongst werewolf clans. Never mate with a human. To be with Dad, she had to break off all contact with the supernatural world and hide amongst humans."

Aidan struggled to come to terms with it. Susan Summers, who loved the beach, the colour pink, and baking apple pie on weekends, was a werewolf?! From a faraway place in Aidan's mind, a memory arose of a beaming Susan kissing their dad David on the cheek, her laughter infectious as she asked, "How was your day, sweetie?" to which he always cheesily answered, "It's perfect, now that you're here."

Their time together may have been short, but they truly loved each other. No one should have had a right to keep them apart. Upset, Aidan demanded to know, "Why?! Why wasn't she allowed to be with Dad?!"

Gavin understood his brother's feelings. He'd reacted the same way when he learnt it too. To clarify, he began explaining bits of werewolf history he'd learnt over the past few years, "For centuries, the wolf leaders have opposed any human-wolf mating even though werewolves are the only supernatural beings capable of having children with humans.

"The reasoning behind it was the assumption that the bloodlines would become diluted and impure, so weakened hybrid werewolf progeny would lead to the population's demise as a whole since the werewolves' greatest ability lies in their superior strength. It's what keeps the vampires in check, or else we'd be dealing with waves of vamp invasions on our lands.

"Turns out, the leaders were wrong. Andy, Charlie and Brandon found out about a freak incident where a half-human hybrid was fatally injured in a hit and run. She never knew her birth parents and had no clue about her ancestry. But as she lay dying, her latent werewolf genes were awoken, and her body underwent a full transformation. She pretty much became a full-fledged werewolf, and the best part was that she wasn't weaker than the average wolf. What happened was the total opposite. She was stronger."

Gavin pursed his lips, pausing for a moment as if trying to collect his thoughts before continuing with his story. "Andy was the first to learn about Mom being a werewolf because, by some crazy, twisted coincidence, his mother had been Mom's best friend before Mom deserted their clan. Mrs Silvestri grew suspicious of who I was the moment she laid eyes on me at our college graduation ceremony. She did her sleuthing and found out the truth. From then on, the three of them kept tabs on me, and I never had a clue."

Aidan chewed on this new information. He and Gavin shared an uncanny resemblance to their mom, albeit with more masculine features. The honey-blond hair and deep ocean-blue eyes were all hers, unlike their father's emerald-green eyes with dirty blond hair. Dad would always tell them how glad he was that they resembled her since it made keeping her memory alive so much easier for him. "You boys are her legacy," he would say.

There was the slightest trace of a tremor in Gavin's voice as he spoke, "The three of them spoke to their Clan Head and got his permission to activate my transformation. And so, after telling me about Mom, they proceeded, without asking for my opinion or consent, to push me off the cliff. I'm pretty sure I died when I hit the water."

The pickup truck gave a little jerk as Hailey's foot slipped off the pedal. Aidan couldn't hide the look of horror on his face at the realisation his brother had been on the cusp of death's grip. These were his best friends! Just what the hell were they thinking?!

'How could they have done something so unthinkable?!' He now understood the look of pain and suffering in his brother's eyes, a reflection of the betrayal of everything that their friendship had stood for.

"When I finally came to, Andy had already dragged me over to the river embankment. I was in such unbearable pain. My body was at war with itself, changing from within each cell, and I had absolutely no control whatsoever over any of it. The transformation was brutal.

"One moment, my temperature would spike as if I was running a fever and then the next, I'd be hypothermic." Gavin made a sound that was a blend of a huff and a snort before detailing his suffering, "It was hell. Horrific muscle spasms. Hot flushes. Cold sweats. Hunger pangs followed by bouts of nausea. Endless vertigo. I couldn't get out of bed for days on end.

"It took me at least three months to get used to my new body, but even then, I had no control over my sudden transformations. Every time I got too emotional, which was a lot, by the way, I'd lose it completely and turn into a wolf. You can't imagine how many shirts fell victim to my transformations."

"And I'm betting underwear too, unless you've figured out what brand The Hulk uses," Hailey muttered almost absentmindedly beside Aidan.

Gavin hadn't heard her and continued recounting his experience. A tinge of irritation now bled into his tone, "It also didn't help that all of a sudden, I was stronger than the average wolf, which meant a whole lot of stupid things occurring, like me yanking doors off their hinges or shattering my mug of hot cocoa just by touching it. There was even this one time I deformed the car door beyond repair when I slammed it shut!"

With a sigh, he concluded, "The Clan Head refused to let me contact you or leave clan lands until I had total control of my body. It's why I couldn't come looking for you, even though I knew you'd be worried sick about me. It took me a good two years with lots of training before I could finally go look for you."

Aidan jolted in his seat, "Two years? But it's already been five, Gavin. Why the wait?"

Gavin gave him a pained look. "You'd moved on. You did well in school, and you were living a stable, peaceful life. I didn't want to drag you into this weird world I was now a part of. I wasn't given a choice. I was afraid yours would be taken away from you too if I re-entered your life again. All I could do was keep an eye on you, once in a while, from a distance. I'm sorry, Aidan. Really, truly sorry."

Aidan was quick to soothe, "Don't be sorry, Gavin. There's absolutely nothing that you did wrong. I understand why you did it." His brother always did what he thought was best for him, and this time was no different. Aidan was sure if their roles were reversed he would have done the same.

Gavin squeezed his shoulder before turning to stare back out the window, his voice soft, "I'm still angry with them for doing this to me. I don't know if I'll ever reach the stage of forgiveness. Or if I'll ever begin to trust again."