The Mouse and The Wolf - Chapter 77: Chapter 77

Why was it so hard to wake up? Why was my body so heavy...? What were all those smells...?
I somehow managed to open my eyes and saw a wooden ceiling above my head. It was dark around me, and the only light in the room kept flickering so much it hurt my head. I groaned, closed my eyes, and tried to stretch a bit, but then, suddenly, the memories of me getting torn apart invaded my mind.
I jumped out of the bed with a manly scream, my heart racing in my chest. I turned around a few times in fear, but the wolves were gone. I was alone. In a room I didn't recognize. But the fear wasn't letting go of me. Then I heard footsteps coming my way in a hurry, and I turned to stare at the door, ready for anything.
Somehow, I knew who it was before the door flung open. I could smell her long before she'd reached the door.
"Rayleigh!" Thisalee rushed into the room but came to a halt when she saw me. "You're awake," she breathed out in surprise.
"Am I not supposed to be?" I asked. The fear finally faded, but confusion took its place. "Where am I? How did I...?" I turned to look at my shoulder. My bare shoulder. My very much intact shoulder. "What the hell is going on?"
"I can explain," she said in a tone that immediately told me she was bearing a lot of regrets. "Please, sit down. You're not fully healed yet."
"Healed?" I muttered. I still stared at my shoulder. "What the hell is going on, Thise?"
"I can explain everything," she repeated, her voice filled with... fear? She looked awful when I glanced at her. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was a tangled mess, and her entire posture was timid.
"Are you all right?" I asked, stepping right in front of her.
She looked at me for a short moment, then shook her head and started crying. I wrapped my arms around her. I could feel her pain in my soul.
"I'm so sorry..." she muttered against my chest. "I'm so sorry... This was never supposed to happen..."
I wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but my first instinct was to calm her down. She was shaken, and even though I was confused as hell, comforting her was more important than explanations at that moment.
"Everything is fine now," I muttered in her ear, but she shook her head. "Baby... Everything is all right."
"No, it's not! He tried to kill you!"
"Who?" I asked stupidly.
"Graham!"
It honestly took me a good moment to remember Pretty Boy had an actual name. Graham.
"What...?" I breathed out, pushing her arms-length away from me. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't you remember?" she asked, looking up at me with teary eyes.
"Remember what...?"
The wolves emerged in my head, and I could almost feel the pain they'd caused... I was suddenly drenched in cold sweat, and I had to sit back down on the edge of the bed. "I was... attacked by wolves... And he..."
No, no, no... he couldn't have been there, right? Or... did he send the wolves after me? He had a van, yes... but... something was wrong. My mind refused to reveal the rest of the memories to me. I peered at Thisalee when she sat next to me. She didn't look at me. She was staring at her hands.
"I should've told you something a long time ago," she practically whispered. "Now it's too late..."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"I'm a..." she tried to speak, but it sounded like she'd lost her voice mid-sentence. "I'm..."
"What?" I asked, fearing the worst – whatever that could be.
"Graham is a werewolf," she said, clearly forcing the words out of her mouth.
"A... what?" I asked in disbelief. I didn't hear her right. Right?
"A werewolf. And he attacked you," she said, standing up again in distress. "He almost killed you!"
"You're not making any sense," I said and stood up as well.
"He bit you!"
I stopped to stare at her. She was... dead serious. "A werewolf bit me?" I repeated.
"Yes!" she cried out.
"Werewolves aren't real, my love," I said soothingly, but then again... What I'd seen just before I passed out...
"We are real," she said, her voice heavy.
"We...?"
"Yes. I'm a werewolf too," she said, losing confidence halfway through. "I know I should've told you that much sooner, but I was... I hoped... I..."
I could only stare at her, but I didn't actually see her. What I could see was Graham standing in front of me, turning into a wolf just before he attacked me in that patch of woods.
"No..." I breathed out.
"Please... I never meant this to happen," she spoke, trying to touch me, but I moved away.
"You're saying that... I was attacked by a... a... some kind of a... monster?" I spoke, trying to keep it together.
This was not happening...
I saw pain in her eyes when she replied, "We're not monsters... I didn't know Graham could do that... He was obsessed with me, but I didn't think he'd try to kill you..."
"This is crazy," I muttered, shaking my head as I stepped away from her. "You're crazy."
She closed her eyes for a moment, and I immediately knew my words had hurt her, but I wasn't thinking straight. I was nearly having a full-blown panic attack. I mean, Werewolves?? How was I supposed to accept her words?
"We are real," she whispered. "And now you're one of us."
"What? No! No, no, no, no, no. You keep your crazy away from me!" I said, backing toward the door.
"You don't have to believe me. You will find out soon enough," she said without looking at me. "But you can't leave."
"Oh, I'm getting the hell out of here," I said, trying to open the door, but someone did it before me.
I took a step back when Ryder stepped in, giving me a tired look.
"I'm sorry, but you really can't leave," he said and turned to look at Thisalee. "We couldn't find him."
I didn't know who to look at. I stared at him, then at her, then at him again. "What the fuck is going on?!" I said, my panic turning into anger.
"Calm down," Ryder said without actually paying attention to me. He was still looking at Thisalee.
"You couldn't find him? But he's dangerous!" Thisalee exclaimed, peering at me carefully.
"He's going to try again," Ryder muttered and sighed, rubbing his temples before finally turning his eyes at me. "As I said, you're not going anywhere."
"What. The fuck. Is going on?" I spoke through my gritted teeth.
Ryder shook his head. "You should sit down."
"Sit down?" And have you... you... monsters tear me apart? Are you one of them? You are one of them! Bunch of psych ward patients!"
"You deal with him," Thisalee suddenly said, leaving the room in a hurry.
When the door was slammed shut, Ryder turned to look at me again. His expression was blank, but I could tell he was steaming with anger.
"Is that how you treat your girl?" he asked in a dangerous voice.
"She's crazy! This whole situation is crazy!" I yelled at his face.
"She's not crazy! She has done nothing wrong! She loves you and was scared to death because of you!" he yelled even louder.
"She's talking about werewolves!"
"And?"
"They don't exist!"
And right then, right in front of my eyes, he turned. Into a wolf. When that big, brown beast looked up at me, my legs gave up under me. I sat down in shock, staring at it. At him.
"No.... no, no, no, no... This isn't real..." I mumbled. "You're not real. This isn't real!"
The wolf took a step closer, sending me right into the full-blown panic that had tried to take over me for a while now. I stumbled as far as I could in that small room, finding it difficult to breathe. The wolf just stared at me for a moment, and then he turned back into his human form.
"I'm sorry. I know you're scared, but you don't have to be afraid of me. Or Thisalee, for that matter. We are not monsters," he spoke quietly.
I couldn't find the words to speak. I was hyperventilating too hard. He kneeled down with a heavy sigh before he spoke, "Calm down. There really is no need to panic," he spoke quietly, but how the hell was I supposed to calm down?! I just saw one of my best friends turn into a fucking wolf!
"Get away from me!" I spat at him.
He stared at me, then sighed, stood up, and walked to the door.
"You must understand... You can't leave. You are now one of us, and–"
"Leave!" I yelled.
"Fine..." he muttered, then walked out the door and closed it behind him, leaving me alone with my panicky thoughts.