Note// I love that you guys make predictions, but let e just say this now! This is not a mate story or a rejection story. This chapter may make it seem that way, but that is not what it is XD "mating" in a sense has to do with the whole business between the black wolf and Lucy, but it's a whole different ballpark c; I was kind of uncertain about this chapter and might rewrite it. what do you guys think? How is it so far? I hope you enjoy! Vote, comment, and share: D

You guys are lovely. OH ! and before I forget, check to the right to see who is playing analise & cider!

seven: meet the dubois family

Mason had the black wolf pinned to the ground, snapping at the dark fu of the wolf's neck. Momentarily he looked over his shoulder at me, his eyes gleaming with worry as if telling me to run. I didn't want to leave him, but I knew that I didn't have the capability to fight. Scrambling to my feet, I managed to stumble away, running though the forest. But something tied me to the fight scene. Flashes of fur kept passing before my eyes, images of Mason. My head swam at the images: blurred shots of two wolves tumbling. My chest ached with the same pressure as a twenty pound weight resting on it. my arms stung with the sensation of sharp edges cutting into it, but looking down I could see no wounds. It all became too much to bear to the point I had to press against a tree for stability and support as I watched the scene play behind my lids.

The images were so vivid and clear as if I hadn't left that spot and stood watching everything unfold. I was afraid; no, I was terrified and strangely the fear I held wasn't for me but for the wolf: Mason. The black wolf was much bigger than Mason, with bulging muscles and large teeth that looked capable of penetrating titanium. Its fur wasn't as thick as Mason's and as I stared at it, I realized that it was less wolf and more beast and demon like. I couldn't get the image of Mason with the kind bright blue eyes and charming smile out of my mind. I couldn't imagine him being vicious or capable of causing anything or anyone harm. Seeing him tango with the black wolf was like watching the unfolding of a train wreck.

But in actuality, Mason fought a fair fight. I could tell the black wolf tried his hardest to get past Mason and at me, but Mason would block his oath every time. I'd wondered then what happened to the other wolves that I'd heard. Surely they should've been here already.

Eventually the fight between the two wolves became a wrestling match until Mason had the black wolf securely pinned down. I could smell the blood in the air, the smell of metal and warm pennies. All I could see now was Mason's eyes, dark with fury and his mouth open, teeth so close and ready to bite into the wolf.

It was then I realized, somehow I was inside of the black wolf, linked to him by spirit or mind and able to tune into his sense. What he saw, I saw. What he felt I felt.

Traitor!

The voice in my head was loud and rough, but I could recognize it as Mason's.

Why're you here?

To take what is rightfully mine! Lyus' voice had a jagged edge to it. it was raspy and low, like the sound of someone whispering. Something about it enticed me and I had to fight the urge to be down toward it.

The two wolves didn't know I could hear them, in fact I believed they had grown slightly unaware to my presence.

This territory belongs to us - you are no longer one of us Lyus, you are one of them.

The way Mason said them confused me. What was the difference between Lyus and the Dubois family, other than the fact Lyus was trying to kill me?

But she is.

I was. I was what?

I was dying.

Or at least that's the way it felt. I could feel myself slipping out of consciousness. Despite my struggle to hold on, eventually I blacked out again.

"Not again," I groaned as I came to, my hand reaching to press against my head which ached and throbbed with pain. This whole blackout thing was already becoming annoying if not a bit worrying. As the headache became less bothersome I begin to take in my surroundings. Though dark, I could make out certain aspects of the room. I was lying on a bed in a fairly empty room. it had basic furniture, a dresser, night stand, and the bed - but it didn't necessarily appear to be inhabited. Sitting up, I slowly made my way off the bed and toward the door, not trusting if I could walk a straight line. Wood floors were cold against my feet; my shoes were off and after looking around I noticed that my bag and jacket was gone. Finding the door, I opened it and started out.

The bright light in the hallways made my eyes burn at first glance, but I got used to it. I was upstairs and could hear voices from below carrying The house was fairly large, more cabin than home really which got me thinking that I was in the older part of Crescent Falls. I remembered learning about it in history. They built homes closer to the woods until a local child was kidnapped and killed by a wolf. The sudden link between that story and the things that happened now was startling and a bit off putting. Coming down the stairs I noticed that there weren't any moving boxes or any sign of someone, anyone, moving in.

The sound of the last stair creaked under my weight and instantly the talking stopped. There were hushed sounds and finally the sound of someone crossing the floor. The sight of Mason's face bought instant relief and body shattering shock as the images of the fight broke into my mind. He survived. He was alive and the facts that he was made me want to cry with joy. Before I could even think of crossing the space between Mason and me, I was already there with my arms locked tight around him.

"Thank you, thank you thank you thank you thank. What happened? I can't believe - and that wolf and I almost, you almost-"

"Please stop." Mason said through nervous chuckles as his hand awkwardly pressed against my back. Pulling away I took the time to look at him. There was a bruise forming beneath his jaw and a cut at his brow but other than that he looked fine. In the background someone cleared their throat and I came to realize we weren't alone.

Stepping away I stood rigid in the doorway to the living room where the others, Mason's family I presumed, were seated.

There was a blonde female sitting in a chair and standing beside her was a tall male, muscular, and very handsome with dark hair. I spotted Chandler and Alexandria sitting on a couch. All eyes lied on Mason and me. I didn't know what to say. I struggled with a proper way to introduce myself when this was such an improper way to meet them.

"I'll explain everything." Mason said.

"We will." The blonde spoke out and I was shocked at the authority she held in her voice. I followed behind Mason as he entered into the room. I was now standing in a room full of werewolves and that didn't frighten me or weird me out. Instead I felt close to them, as if I identified with them. Because I was one.

"I'm Analise," the blonde said as she extended her hands. Her nails were painted black with a slight purple shine to them - like the color of a fresh bruise and they were long.

"Cider." The male I hadn't met before extended his hand shortly afterwards. He motioned for me to take a seat on the couch beside Mason, which I did.

"We've never met, but we know quite about you; I'm Alexandria."

"And I'm Chandler." The two were cuddled up so close that I was finding it hard to believe that they were actually brother and sister.

"I'm-"

"Lucy," they all said simultaneously and for that moment the atmosphere was less tense than it was when I walked in. but I knew the worst wasn't over.

"You're werewolves." I knew that with anyone else, saying this would just seem crazy, irrational, and odd. Yet the word came out so fluidly and easily and I think it eased the situation to a more comfortable position. "Like me."

"Did Mason tell you?" Cider asked me.

"I figured it out, or well I assumed and you confirmed." I cracked a grin, my cheeks burning some with nerves.

"Well that makes this much easier," Alexandria huffed out as she laid her head on Chandler's shoulder, relaxing.

"In a way," Mason grumbled under his breath. I'd hoped that the mystery with him would never stop.

"Lucy," Analise said, tuning her green eyes to me. "Things in your life are going to become very difficult. You think knowing makes it easier, but it doesn't. That mark on your arm, it's been changing hasn't it?"

"Yes," I whispered as I looked down at my arm. In just that short amount of time from the attack to now, my scar had transfixed into a full dark purple colored moon.

"The life of a werewolf starts with a deformed chromosome in the body. This deformity is passed on from parent though offspring. Like us, we are all the offspring of a parent who had this gene. That's what makes us werewolves. But there's a different kind of werewolf. We call them rogues. These are werewolves who have lost all sense of their humanity. They are bigger than us, stronger, and they have lost any human instincts. They can shift into human form, but rarely do. The reason for this is because they've become too in tuned with the wolf inside in them." The more Analise talked, the worse I felt. My stomach began to tie into knots and I began to feel as if this was slowly pertaining to me.

"The wolf that attacked you, the one that bit you - his name was Lyus." Cider's voice sounded distant. I was somewhere else; I was in the library reading through the book about werewolves. Lyus - the son of Demetrius who was never found after the murder of his father. "Wolves are able to live for a long time. The more you shift the less you age. When we met Lyus we were just a scrambled set of teens that bonded together. Being a lone wolf was dangerous and we knew that we'd survive as a pack than alone. When Lyus found us, he gave us shelter and security and he helped us with the change. Lyus was the one who introduced us to the rogues. They kill humans, feed off of them and it was up to us to protect the humans against these rogues."

"Then Lyus was bitten," Mason added in.

"He was infected and while normally it takes at least a month for someone to transform into a rogue, Lyus instantly became a beast." Cider continued on, and softly added. "He killed a human and ran off. We followed him here, but it was too late."

"That was the day he bit me." The words didn't sound like my own, too soft and chimy - light and ethereal.

"Yes. We knew that the bite would eventually infect you. we presumed that the changes would occur around your sixteenth birthday since that's when a majority of us came into the werewolf lifestyle."

"So what does this mean?" I asked and unintentionally I found my eyes searching for Mason's.

"Your mark becomes a permanent fixture on your body. We were born with it and as we came to be comfortable with our shifting, rings formed around them. But yours is from a bite and will form quicker. By the third ring you will officially become a rogue werewolf. There is nothing you can change about it. the desire to hunt and to kill will overtake your body. From now until then you will experience changes: mood swings, hunger cravings, and you'll notice changes in your features. You might even shift." Everything that came out of Analise's mouth made my stomach churn. She was right, finding out the truth wasn't making my life any easier.

"I have to get out of here." Quickly standing I made my way out of the room. I couldn't be here. I couldn't hear the truth. The truth hurt me. The truth scared me. There was nothing that the Dubois family could do for me. I was a monster.

Getting out of the house, I was welcomed by cold. The wind stole my breath and whisked it away. I was stuck in the woods and didn't know where I was.

"Lucy!" Looking over my shoulder I found Mason standing in the doorway. The moon illuminated the bruise on his jaw. I didn't want a life of fighting. The cold didn't faze him as he walked out toward me.

"There has to be something I can do - a way I can fight it." I sputtered out. My breathing had become spotty, I felt suffocated and hot. This couldn't have been happening to me. Staring into Mason's eyes I hoped he would tell me yes, yes there was a way - but they looked just as uncertain as my own.

"There is," he finally said. He was unsure, I could read it in his expression, but the very words lifted my wounded spirit. "It hasn't been proven, but there are tales. There was a moon god-"

"Loupius Garou," I said quickly, wanting him to go on.

"Right . . . how did you know that?"

"I read about it. it's why I was out so late. What about it?" The desperation was clear.

"Right. Loupius. Lyus' father Demetrius was bitten by Loupius and so in turn Demetrius became the moon god - he carried the beats within him. But, he passed it along to Lyus when he died. Lyus carried this without knowing. Its why when he was bitten, he became a savage so quick."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"It's said that in order to be rid of the rogue inside of you, you have to kill the one who turned you while transformed."

"So I'd have to kill Lyus." I said as I caught on.

"Exactly, but can be hard. Lyus is strong and he has a full pack of rogues that follow his order. We can be there to help even the field, but there's no certainty that you can kill him."

"But it's the only chance I have."

"Yes."

"So I'll do it." There weren't any other options. If I couldn't live peacefully as a human, I wouldn't mind dying as a beast. I couldn't live with the knowledge I could possibly kill someone.

"Lucy are you hearing yourself? There's no way-"

"Then what am I supposed to do? Whether I live or not if Lyus isn't stopped he can inflict terror upon other people. He must be stopped. Now."

"It's not that easy!" Mason's voice rose enough to make me shrink back in fear.

"Why not?"

"Because you're bonded to him."