Chapter Two

The bell rang and I jumped out of my seat, rushing to my locker before the rush of school kids began. As I made my way towards the parking lot, I heard a shrill voice calling out my name. I ignored it and kept walking, but the voice was only getting louder as the owner of it got closer to me.

"Cain!" Jessica called out into my ear. She turned me around and made me face the bleached white hair on top of a makeup caked face that was smiling up at me. "I was calling out your name, didn't you hear me?"

"No, I must not have." Was my reply. She pouted and crossed her arms.

"Well I was wondering if you wanted to come over and work on the biology assignment?"

She batted her eyelashes and put on what she must have thought was a seductive face.

"No. Now if you excuse me, my sister is waiting for me."

Jessica unfolded her arms and looked at me dumbfounded.

"No? What do you mean, no?" She said to my back as I walked away. "Cain!"

I could hear her friends telling her what an asshole I was and how poor she was that I had treated her like that. I went back to ignoring their annoying voices and walked to my car where Abigail was waiting for me with a grin on her face.

"What's with the smile?" I asked as I unlocked the door and we got in.

"That's not how you treat your fans, Cain." She said as she giggled and shook her head, but her smile faded quickly and her eyes downcast .

"Shut up. Did she do anything to you today?" I asked as I put the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot, looking in the rear view mirror at the gathering of blonde cakes.

Abigail just shrugged.

"Abi? What happened?"

"Nothing, Cain." She sighed. "Nothing new at least. She just pushed my books out of my hands today and they all just walked over them, kicking them around the hall." She mumbled and sighed again, staring out of the window.

My jaw tightened in anger. Abigail had been bullied by Jessica ever since we started high school and I hated that I couldn't protect her from it. The radio crackled and I switched it off, the noise bothering me easily. My anger had been quick to rise and so we drove the rest of the way home in silence, staring at the road ahead.

Abigail hopped out of the car as soon as I stopped in front of our house and was already through the front door before I even got out of the car. I smiled to myself over her speed, she was the fastest in our family. I jogged inside and walked to the kitchen where mum was preparing dinner.

"Hey, mum." I said, kissing her on the cheek as I walked past and opened the fridge.

"How was school?" She asked, wiping her hands and turning to me.

"Good. Same thing as always." I shrugged as I pulled out a can of Dr Pepper and sat at the counter. Abigail came down the stairs and sat down beside me, her mood having noticeably elevated from earlier.

"And how was your day, Abi?" Mum asked her.

"Same thing as always." She replied as she read something on her phone before quickly putting it away and looking at us. Mum raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

"Well, how was your day then, mum?" I asked.

She began to chop vegetables again as she talked."I had lunch with Lucas today, to give my condolences. His daughter is moving in tonight and he invited us over for dinner tomorrow."

I couldn't remember him having a daughter. We'd had dinner at his house countless times over the years, and I worked part time at his hunting shop, but never had I seen any pictures of his family. I'd only found out about him ever having a partner when the news came of her passing, but a daughter too? I was suddenly very curious.

"I have a few assignments I need to catch up on," Abigail said, interrupting my thoughts. "So I might not make it. Bring home some leftovers?"

"I'm sure you can spare a couple of hours, Abigail. It'd make him happy to have some company over and I'm sure his daughter could do with a friend." Mum said, her word final.

Abi looked at her phone again, a weird look on her face. She stood up and went back upstairs without a word, as if in her own world, and I eased up off my own chair, wondering if she was okay, my anger from earlier building up again.

"I'm going to go for a run." I said as I made my way to the back door.

"Okay, Cain. Don't be out too late." Mum replied.

I stepped out onto the porch, the air feeling icy. It was going to be an early winter this year for sure. I stripped completely, tossing my clothes on to a chair and cracking my neck as I faced the forest beyond my house. My muscles tensed as I crouched before leaping into the air, the all too familiar sensation of my transformation making me feel so alive. I landed on all fours and shook myself from head to toe before taking off into the forest, running through the trees at blinding speeds. No other time did I feel so alive than when I was in my true wolf form. The sounds and smells of the world were even more heightened now and I trained my senses by hunting in the forest. I loved how powerful I felt as I tracked a deer I'd caught the sent of, my ears perking and turning at every little sound it made, swiftly manoeuvring through the trees and keeping as light a foot as possible. I caught it within a split second, breaking my record time yet again. The deer didn't even have a chance to escape when I came flying at it. I let it live though, releasing it from my powerful grip and watching it as it stumbled away in fear. I was a true predator.

As I roamed the woods it began to rain, so I started running again, pushing myself to breaking limits until my muscles grew sore. The air grew colder as the sun started to set on the horizon and I made my way back home, listening to the sounds of the nocturnal creatures coming to life. A few frogs still croaked in the pond near my house as I strode back on to my porch and changed back in to my human form. I grabbed my clothes and slipped into just my shorts, the heat of my body having risen from the workout. Abigail was sitting in the den, a bowl of soup in her lap and some old school black and white horror movie playing on the TV. I slumped down beside her and she pretended to gag.

"Put a shirt on! I'm trying to eat here!" she cried, shielding her eyes.

"Shh, I'm trying to watch the movie." I replied, but my stomach growled and I gave her an evil eye as I got back up and went to the kitchen.

Mum had scribbled a note on the little whiteboard on the fridge about having the night shift at the hospital, along with directions on how to heat up dinner. I rolled my eyes and turned the stove on, letting the pot of soup come to a simmer.

When I made my way back to the den, Abigail was on her phone again, a more worried look crossing her face. She quickly hid her phone when she realised I was coming in and I sat down next to her, giving her my own worried look.

"What?" She asked.

"Abi, is everything okay? You haven't been yourself since school."

"I'm fine, I swear." She got up and walked out of the den. "I have to do my homework."

When had we grown so far apart?

I yawned loudly and stretched out onto the couch, placing my now empty bowl on the floor beside me and watching the old horror still playing on the TV, my eyes feeling heavy.

[i]I was in my wolf form, chasing something ahead of me. It tripped, falling into the cold snow in the middle of a clearing. As I neared the clearing myself, another wolf leapt out of the trees on the other side, the familiar white fur and red eyes burning into the little girl he growled at. I hesitated at the edge of the clearing, watching as more wolves came out and began circling the girl who, when she turned around, was not little anymore, but a teenager. Her panic stricken face a familiar one.[/i]

I woke up suddenly feeling hot and sweaty, remembering the girl from my dreams. Her face was so familiar even though I didn't know her. My breath caught in my throat when I remembered the white wolf and his blood red eyes, my fear rising as I wondered what my brothers appearance in my dreams after so many years could mean.

The sun had already risen and I sat up, my head pounding making me wince. I groaned in protest as I stood up and my head felt like it had been hit by a bag of bricks. The house was quiet, as was the forest when I stepped outside in to the fresh morning air. It was eerie, something was definitely not right.

I sniffed the air, stepping on to the moist ground as I gazed up at the trees that seemed too afraid to even move a leaf. My mind felt clouded, the face of the white wolf and the girl flashing before my eyes. I started running, heading no where in particular, my legs just guiding me. The morning drizzle had become a storm, the rain coming down in great big drops. I didn't realise how far I'd ran until I came out on the main road, where I crouched, breathing heavily. I saw a bright light to my right and realised a car was coming straight at me, the driver struggling to stop. I leapt into the air just as they managed to come to a complete stand still and landed hard on their bonnet, staring straight at the driver. Fear gripped my throat again as her face matched the one from my dream, her wide eyes staring back into mine.

Shit. (Italics)

The rain was coming down hard enough that my face would have been a blur to her, and just as quickly as I had landed on her bonnet, I was off it, leaping into the trees on the other side of the road. I slouched against the wet trunk of an old oak and sighed, listening hard for the sound of her car driving away. I cursed myself for not having heard it earlier and thus avoiding such an incident, but it was too late for that now and I could only hope she didn't get a clear look at my face. I peered around the tree to see that she was now out of her car looking around frantically, a hand gripping her drenched, tangled hair as she saw the dents I had made in her bonnet. She rubbed her face, a sign she was perhaps imagining things due to lack of sleep, and eventually got back into her car, slowly driving away.

I stayed within the confines of the trees, the thick canopy sheltering me from the rain, not that it mattered since my clothes were so wet they were sticking to me.

As I trudged back home, my mind whirled over the events of the past few hours. Not only did I dream of my brother, but I also happened to damage the car of the girl from my dreams who I found out was all too real.

A good hour had passed before I finally made it home. Ignoring my mum's anger over leaving a muddy floor and my sisters concerned gaze, I went upstairs and fell onto my bed, my body feeling drained.

I felt a gentle shaking of my body which soon became rough. I opened my eyes and squinted in the dark at the figure leaning over me.

"Wake up you lazy shit!" Abi yelled at me and I groaned loudly in protest.

I sat up and put my head, which was pounding again, in my hands. I felt the mattress sink beside me as Abi sat down. "Are you okay?" She asked, putting an arm around me. "Mum was trying to wake you earlier but you wouldn't budge."

"I dunno." I managed to croak. I thankfully hadn't had any dreams like the one from last night, but I still couldn't forget that one. I felt a gentle squeeze on my shoulder and looked up at Abi.

"Mum will be home soon, I'd suggest not letting her know you slept all day and get ready for dinner at Lucas's house."

"All day?" I tried to shout, but my voice was raspy. I stood up and stretched, doubling over when Abi poked me in the stomach.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked again, looking up at me.

I pulled her into a suffocating hug. "I think so." I answered holding on tight as she struggled against me. I let her go and laughed, her hair having become a birds nest.

"I hate you, Cain." She huffed as she blew hair from her face.

"I love you, too." I called out as she stormed out of my room.

I got dressed and made it down the stairs just as mum walked into the house and rushed past me. Just as quickly, she was back and looking beautiful.

At least one of the females in our household could get ready quickly.

"Abigail!" Mum called. "We're going to be late if you don't hurry up!"

Abi came leaping down the stairs and landed in front of us. "I'm ready, sheesh."

"It took you that long, to look like that?" I teased and she punched me hard in the arm.

"Stop it you two." Mum growled walking to the front door, looking back to ensure we were behaving.

The sky was clearer than it had been in weeks and I gazed up at the stars that peeked through some of the dark clouds. I'd always loved star gazing and I hoped the sky would stay this clear later on tonight.

The drive to Lucas's house was surprisingly quiet. Mum must have been tired from work and Abigail was busy reading something on her phone again. I gazed out the window at the darkness beyond until Mum turned and drove up a bumpy dirt road and I saw the familiar warm glow of the low pressure sodium lights that surrounded Lucas's home. A car was parked near Lucas's 4WD and I assumed that it must have been his daughters. As we got out of the car and walked towards the house, my heart started to beat faster. I recognised the small white Volvo and the same tightness in my throat came back when I saw the dents in the bonnet. I hesitated on the steps, my head spinning and I was finding it hard to swallow. I tripped on one of the steps and Abi snickered, mum casting us both an evil look. She knocked on the front door and I contemplated whether I could escape now and not suffer harsh consequences for doing so. My curiosity got the better of me though and I looked over when I heard the front door click open, my eyes widening as the girl from my dreams, the girl who's car I had damaged, was standing in the doorway, smiling awkwardly at us.