Chapter 3: What Happened Last Night Exactly?

Sasha waited outside to ambush one of those shifty Wolfgangs, and she just so happened to find Tommy running down the sidewalk. She got in his way, and he only looked at her weird running around her. She glared at him expecting him to at least not pretend that she was invisible, but she finally blurted out. “What were you doing last night!?"

Tommy ran faster, which she balled her fist up shouting, “I know you heard me!" she shouted as he turned the corner.

She pursed her lips and puffed her cheeks up. “Seriously?"

“Seriously what?" Phoebe said abruptly. Sasha nearly jumped out of her own skin not hearing her sneak up on behind her back.

“Oh my gosh! Don't do that!" She muttered under her breath as she clutched her chest. She stared at Phoebe's perplexed expression. “Uh, what was Toby doing last night?"

Phoebe looked at her slightly annoyed. “Why?" she muttered like she was asked a stupid question then she crossed her arms over her chest with a scowl. “Do I look like his keeper?" she responded.

Sasha could not tell whether she was mad at her or at Toby, so she pulled back on her interrogation. “What's wrong? Did something happen?" she spoke much more softly.

Phoebe had to take a deep breath through her nose and hold it to calm herself before she went off on a rant. “I had to wait two hours to use the bathroom today. I'm getting sick and tired of Tommy locking himself up in the bathroom panicking over a few hairs. He's an idiot! He doesn't have to worry about that stuff! Does he realize how much pressure is put on us girls to shave our legs and armpits just to fit in? I mean seriously! If someone dare see a bit of peach fuzz they go crazy calling me an ape or a bearded lady. He needs to get over that his body is changing and accept it!"

“I know right?…speaking of hair, do you hear any howling last night?"

“Yea?" Phoebe muttered having a pretty good idea where this was going.

“Does that normally happen around here, or just during a full moon?"

“Happens a lot more than you'd think, I mean I usually turn my music on and try to ignore it"

Sasha then paused forgetting her tactile line of questioning. “Aren't you scared?"

“Sasha, I don't know if you haven't realized this but…my big brother is a monstrosity. I'd be more afraid of him than some other weird stuff that goes on around here" she said seeming very proud of her brother.

“Hey!" Someone with a deep feminine voice shouted behind Sasha causing her to again jump, but when she turned, she only saw abdominal muscles of a towering seven foot teenage girl.

Zoe had grown into a very attractive young woman. Her hair was shoulder length with a single tuft of hair highlighted in teal parted to the left. She wore a short shorts and a short shirt exposing her midriff. She had beautiful mocha skin and had a godly superheroine appearance.

Terry her even bigger brother stood next to her being even more impressive in stature than Toby.

“Holy Crap! Are all the kids here giants!?" Sasha remarked.

The girl laughed at her, and her brother looked down at Phoebe. “How's your brother doing?"

“He's been in bed all day. Mom, couldn't get him to move or do anything. I think he's having another growth spurt" She explained.

The girl and her brother looked at each other worried before she sighed heavily. “At least he's still breathing"

“What do you mean still?" Phoebe interjected seeming to become suspicious with them.

“Are these two the bullies?" Sasha whispered.

“No, these two are Toby's friends, Zoe and Terry. All the bullies are afraid of them obviously"

Sasha stared back at the two feeling beside herself as she allowed Phoebe to dictate the interaction. Zoe eyed Sasha amused with her, but she also sized her up farther making Sasha feel vulnerable and like a piece of meat. “So, you're the new girl huh?"

Sasha got nervous knowing she had already been judged by this much stronger and formidable female. She nodded slowly before Zoe grinned evilly. “You're that ghost hunter girl from online aren't you? You're a lot cuter in person" she commented.

Sasha immediately got excited. “Oh, yea! You mean you actually watch my videos?"

Zoe shrugged her shoulders. “I might have seen a couple of your videos here or there" she said before she looked towards her brother. “You think she might like to see some of the spooky things around here?" she asked.

“Like werewolves?" Sasha blurted out.

Zoe instantly snapped her head towards her and gave her a peculiar look. Her brother laughed at her. “Well that came out quick…" he muttered.

“What do you know about werewolves?" Zoe asked as she crossed her arms over chest.

“Nothing! Only that I saw one on the tracks last night" she answered back.

“Oh yea? You sure?" Terry asked skeptically.

“I know what I saw! My viewers even captured it on my stream! It was huge!" Sasha shouted out.

“Is that right? You think the internet are a bunch of experts? How do you know it wasn't a bear?" Terry asked.

Sasha huffed. “It howled last night. Phoebe said she hears it happening all the time. Don't you notice strange things happening around here?" she asked.

They pretended to be surprised. “Like what?" they asked.

“You know? Haven't you noticed that Toby gets really aggressive around food and demonstrations other wolf like behavior?…well there's that and the fact that Toby jumped my car…"

“Tch, idiot…" Phoebe muttered.

Zoe and Terry both laughed at Sasha then at Phoebe. “What you think he might be a werewolf or something?"

“Is he? I mean why else were you asking if he was doing" Sasha asked.

“Because I use him for a punching bag, Nuff said!" Zoe boasted.

“He was with us and our dad last night doing an errand, ended up hurting himself when a ton of weight fell on top of him" Terry explained.

“Oh no!" Sasha gasped.

“Hey, wanna come over? We got plenty of weird stuff over there!" Zoe asked pointing down the street.

Sasha bit her cheek nervously. “Uh, sure…"

After letting her parents know where she was going, she walked down the streets with Zoe and her brother talking about the supernatural. They were heading towards a part of the neighborhood where an island of tall fir trees swallowed up by suburbia. They approached larger houses in a cul-de-sac, which they walked up a driveway that had a Washington County sheriff car parked in front of the house among a couple other cars.

When Zoe opened the door, it was chaos. The house was filled with 7 kids ranging from middle schoolers to a toddler. Sasha became disoriented with how hyperactive the kids were. They ran around tackling each other, horsed around, and rough housed throwing each other to the ground and more. They made their way outside where Bernie was on the deck drinking a cold one entertaining some guests. There were a couple more kids in the back practicing martial arts moves on each other, and none of the parents seemed worried about them getting hurt.

“Oh wow…are these your siblings?" Sasha asked.

“Psh, those there are my nieces and nephews. My sister is over there on the deck next to my mom and dad" Zoe said casually.

Sasha looked over and looked around looking for an older couple. “Which one's your mom and dad?" she asked.

“Ha! The big guy hiding a keg under his shirt!" She said nudging her as she pointed out Bernie to her.

Sasha stared at him blankly. “He…I mean your parents look really young to be grandparents. Your sister looks young too" she commented before she noticed Tommy. They both stared each other down before Zoe's sister approached them.

“Who is she? Why is she doing here!?" She whispered harshly to Zoe. She may be a foot shorter, but she commanded complete authority over her as the older sister. Zoe glanced over at Sasha who was still distracted with Tommy.

“I-I only brought her over to keep her from bothering Toby. I don't think we can get her to doubt herself if she saw how fast he heals…you know?" Zoe explained.

“So you brought her here instead?" Her sister asked very annoyed with her sister. She looked towards her younger brother and jabbed her finger into his chest. “You were okay with this!?"

“Look, Haley…she's going to figure things out…you think pushing her away is going to keep her from being less nosy? If we distract her enough, she'll be none the wiser" Terry said.

“Terry…she's going to ask questions? Then what?"

“Come on, Haley…she's gotta crush on Toby. All we gotta do is show her that he's more than likely to tear up the bed sheets than her flesh, nuff said" Zoe said which Haley gave her an extremely irritated look. “Eer, okay…I mean if he does it slow and uses lube maybe"

“Do not encourage her to have coitus with him! I mean it!" Haley growled at her.

“Relax! She'd be too afraid to do it anyway. He's a very big boy after all" Zoe assured her.

Haley continued to glare at her. “It's not funny! I heard what you did with that one cheerleader already" she mentioned.

•••Later in the day•••

Toby awoke to soreness all over his body like he was hit by a truck. He gritted his teeth lifting up his shirt showing the yellowish green splotches left from a tremendous bruise on his side and back. His phone was flashing indicating new text messages. He winced forcing himself to reach over and read his messages.

“Hey, I need you to meet us at the spot. Don't tell anyone. You're the only one who I can trust"

—Bernie 23:45

“Toby, I think I fucked up this time. I'm scared, and I don't know what to do!"

—Olivia 6:35

Toby raised an eyebrow before he reread it. He was suddenly overwhelmed with dread and concern. “What do you mean? Where are you?"

“I'm in my room. I'll meet you outside your house, tonight"

—Olivia 15:47

“What happened?"

“I don't know. It's hard to explain"

—Olivia 15:48

Toby waited until night fell, which she finally texted him again just to let him know she was outside. He quickly hurried himself outside despite every fiber of his being screaming at him to rest. He saw the thin blonde girl hiding in the corner watching for him closely. She came out rather frantic and shook uncontrollably. She was relieved at the sight of him, and she charged him before huddling up near him. “Oh thank god!" she shouted before she broke down into tears grabbing onto him causing him to wince.

Toby gritted his teeth trying to bare it, but there was something that caught his nose. He was immediately horrified with the stench of blood. “What did you do!?" he growled.

“Toby! I…I…turned into a monster!" She whimpered.

“How the hell did this happen!?" He raised his voice at her. She clenched her fists and looked away.

“I-I-I…I did what you did. I figured out how you became so strong and powerful!"

“What? What do you mean?"

“You smell like one of them, Toby. You don't need to hide it from me"

He glared at her feeling a surge of rage flowing through him. “I hid this from you, so you would pull this shit. Now, who the fuck turned you!?" He growled into her ear ferociously.

She froze in fear and panic. “I-I-I don't know! Some guy at a party gave me this drug. He said it would give me the edge, and I'd keep my spot as the Captain!" she rambled quickly. “Toby, it's all I have! I wasn't going to let some rich bitch take it away from me!"

“So you killed her?"

She squealed and put her hands to her face shaking her head. “I didn't kill anyone"

“Don't lie to me! Who's blood is that on you?"

“I swear! I didn't kill anyone! I-I only meant to scare her! I…I…I couldn't control it. I didn't mean to hurt her! This thing inside me…I just does what it wants!" She shouted in a panic. “You gotta know how it feels? You're a monster too…like me…right?" she asked.

He gave her a thousand yard stare and remained quiet. Olivia stared into his eyes and began to tear up as he turned back to the house. “Toby!? Please! I need your help" she shouted.

“I'm not a monster like you. Until you can accept your fate…I cannot help you" he told.

Olivia became overrun with a primal rage, and she jumped at him digging her claws into his flesh. “You're going to help me!" she growled as she slowly began transforming under the moonlight. He stared her down as she underwent a very painful, slow, and violent turning. “Why is this happening? Egh, the full moon was yesterday!" she muttered as she clutched her sides. She fell to her knees and looked up at him in confusion. “Why? Why aren't you turning?"

“I told you didn't you? I'm not like you" He muttered as he walked back towards the house.

“Please…help me" she pleaded. Her clothes ripped, and her feet burst from her shoes. He looked back at her with pity, and he crossed his arms over his chest contemplating on what his next move should be. He faced a snarling shewolf with cream colored fur that stood foot shorter than him in his current state. She rubbed herself up against him growling seductively before she clawed at his chest and wondered her paw lowered down to his inner thigh petting him.

Later that night he found himself somewhere in the middle of the woods on the banks of a pond. He stared up at the stars lost in his introspection. His wolf took over him much to his annoyance; however, the outcome this time resulted in pacifying a newly turned thrall, who he assumed that he was going to be responsible for.

“Are you in control?" He asked in his beastly voice.

“Hmm?" She muttered. She pushed herself up off his chest and looked him over. “Why haven't you turned? This doesn't make sense…none of this" she mumbled. She trail a claw down his chest as he stared her down.

“I was born like this. I didn't get turned just to gain an advantage or stand out. Well now you're definitely going to stand out…and you'll be called a freak…" He told her before Zoe arrived.

Olivia sat up and panicked covering her chest and turning away. “Hey Toby! You found her…" she said before she sniffed the air a couple of times. “Heh, did you boink her?" she asked. Toby glared at her, while Olivia looked away embarrassed. “Ha! You did boink her!" she teased them.

“That's really not important right now!" Toby snarled.

Zoe grinned at her evilly having a lot of ammunition for humiliating her later. “Right, anyway…so about Ashley… Just how much of her face were you trying to hack off?" she asked.

“I wasn't—trying to!" Olivia raised her voice.

“You must have been really pissed when she told all the girls that you're trailer trash"

“You don't know nothing about me!" Olivia yelled

“That was a double negative…"

“I don't fucking care!"

Terry and Haley both converged and Bernie not too soon after. Olivia's heart began to race knowing who he was. “Officer Cooper? You're…one of them!?" she shrieked.

“You've caused us a great deal of trouble Olivia Jones! Now tell us who turned you!" Terry shouted.

“I don't know who he is!" Olivia sniveled.

Toby sat up and took a deep breath. “She said that some guy was passing out syringes at a party. Told them that it would bring them power and stuff like that" he said.

“It's just like before…in Vanport" Bernie muttered. They all looked towards him confused as he gathered his thoughts. “90 years ago, Amarok did something similar where she gave out syringes filled with her saliva"

He looked up at the moon and growled to himself lowly. “We're going to have a lot of problems. She's not going to be the only one. I can guarantee that" he said.

“So what are we going to do with her?" Zoe asked.

He glanced at the former human cheer captain, and he huffed. “You two are going to have to keep close tabs on her. I expect her to cooperate with you, for if she doesn't, I can have her locked away in the dog pound" he told them; although, his tone turned harsh looking towards Olivia.

Olivia gulped not sure whether to be grateful for their help, or dread that if she were to screw up, she would be locked away in some dungeon somewhere. “But what if they don't cooperate with me?" she asked.

“Then you should hope they are better people than your friends are" Terry added.

Bernie glanced at Zoe and Toby. “I expect you two to know better" he spoke severely. His mood turned to concern as he watched Toby put his clothes back on. “I can't believe your walking after last night" he commented.

Toby moved gingerly and winced. “I would have stayed in bed had she not acted like she was going to kill herself" he muttered.

Haley, Zoe, and Terry shifted their anger onto Olivia, which she felt their scorn and irritation. “I didn't say I was going to kill myself!" she shouted. She looked towards Bernie, but even he was not going to hear her excuses.

“Toby, go back home. We got this handled" Bernie spoke at him harshly. He caught himself and shelved his aggression for someone who truly deserved it. “Thank you, for everything" he told him sincerely. Toby stared at him confused, but Bernie's hint of softness waned while he quickly pointed the way back to Toby's house. “Go! You can hardly walk let alone move!" he ordered

“Heh, maybe I was too much for him afterall" Olivia muttered to herself with pride.

Zoe glared at her. “Shut the fuck up!" she yelled backhanding her down to the ground.

“Zoe! Go! Now!" Bernie shouted at her.

Zoe recoiled and took a couple step back but never removing her ever so disdainful stare. “I hope you felt that! I didn't have transform to do that! Remember that!" she growled. Olivia remained on the ground submissive expecting Zoe to pummel her into the ground, but she followed Toby back instead.

Zoe growled to herself fuming with Olivia's narcissism. “Toby? Please don't get wrapped up in her drama…don't let her use you like that"

“What was I supposed to do? Weren't you using me in teaching her a lesson anyway?"

Zoe shoved her hands into her pockets. “I didn't think it would go this far, okay? They already chewed my ass out for this anyway!" she said looking off to the side. “I think that other girl would be much better for you anyway"

He stared at her in confusion. “What girl?"

“You know that extra thicc chubby girl next door with the big boobs?"

He blushed and gulped. “Oh…her? What makes you think that she would be much better for me?"

“Well for one, she actually cared about you when I told her that you got hurt last night, and before you ask, no, she wasn't acting, Dude she's legit"

“I don't know…" He muttered until she slugged him in the arm. He let out a yelp, and he grabbed at it wincing. “…what the hell Zoe!"

“Just give her a chance, nuff said"

•••Next Day•••

Sasha spent her night sleeping on a beanbag chair in the closet after hearing more howling from the night prior. Her mother came into the room looking for her, which she flinched bonking her elbow into the door. She gave out a strange squeak whenever she was startled that gave her mother a pretty good idea where she was hiding.

Her mother slid the closet door open giving her a puzzled but concerned look. “What are you doing in there?" she asked. Nakita got up from Sasha's feet and walked out.

Sasha looked up at her with fear. “Werewolves mom! They're huge!" she shouted.

“Werewolves huh? I remember when you were afraid of ghosts" She mumbled before she opened the Venetian blinds cracking the window open. “You don't have anything to be afraid of. I haven't heard about anything going on in the neighborhood. I picked this place because of how safe it is" she said calmly.

She pulled out her phone and started to retrieve the local police reports in an attempt to ease her daughter's hyper vigilance and paranoia. She stared at the screen blankly before she stuffed it into her pocket. “Let's go downstairs, I made waffles"

“Wait? What happened?"

“Nothing hun" Her mother said before she walked down the stairs quietly.

She got off her bean bag then dragged it out of the closet. Her dog looked up at her whimpering nervously. She patted her on the head telling her, “I know you believe me"

She grabbed her phone off from the dresser and checked her phone messages. Her alerts from the local news announced, “Missing lobbyists found dead in Timber", “Teenage girl mauled in Tonquin". She searched online where Tonquin Oregon, and she felt physically ill after realizing that it was less than a mile from her house. There were pictures of an old abandoned railroad substation, and she could already imagine it being where the girl was attacked.

She walked down the stairs quietly, which her brother watched her with a sly grin. “Watch out! The werewolves are going to get you!" he teased her.

She glared at him as she made her way to the table. “It's not funny! A girl was attacked last night Todd! What if it was me?"

“Tch, Dad would have put a bullet between their eyes no problem" Todd remarked.

“Dad doesn't have silver bullets Todd"

“So? Dad can turn them into Swiss Cheese"

She shook her head at him knowing that deep down that what they were dealing with was something more dangerous and cunning than that of an animal. She let it be; although, her mother was busy baking something, which was her way of coping with stress. “Mom? I'm going to the Wolfgangs for a little bit"

“Okay…sweetie. Just don't be going into Toby's bedroom" She teased. Sasha blushed and saw her mother amused smirk like there was even a point in hiding it.

After she ate breakfast, she walked down to the end of the driveway to knock on the door to Toby's house. It took a while for someone to answer before Toby opened the door. She gawked at how much muscle mass gained and taller he grew the past two days. He looked down at her intensely, which she felt very small and scared. She held her breath not sure what kind of a mood he was in until he finally muttered something. “Hmmm?"

She was somewhat relieved that he was not angry. “Jez…Did you grow six inches?" she asked. She reached over to pat his pectorals and smirked. “You packing even bigger muscles too" she remarked.

He rested his arm up against the top of the door frame. He seemed uncomfortable with her touching him, but then she remembered that he was injured and might be tender. “Um, Did you hear about the girl that was attacked last night?" she asked. He stared at her straight-faced, and she gulped getting to the point. “Aren't you worried about it?"

He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “You're worried you'd get attacked?"

She gulped and looked down giving a little nod. He frowned looking at her intensely. “I wouldn't let something like that happen" He spoke firmly. Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked up at him wide eyed.

Oddly enough, this gesture comforted her, but she was skeptical that he could do much. “Aren't you hurt?" she added.

He made a face, and his eye twitched slightly while giving a low growl. “I'm not that hurt…who told you that anyway?" he retorted.

“Zoe told me" she said before she looked around. “Um…do you normally go out with them so late in the evening?"

“Why?" He said defensively.

She gathered that this was a touchy subject for him. “Nothing, I was just asking" She muttered trying to switch up her tactics. “You think you could take on a werewolf?"

He leaned up against the post and rubbed at his back. “Do you think I could?"

“Toby no offense but…even though you have superhuman abilities, I really don't think you could" She spoke honestly.

Toby's eye twitched again. “I'm taking it to offense" he muttered.

“Seriously?" She muttered not sure whether he was arrogant or actually could. He did not respond and averted her slightly annoyed glances. “You aren't going to do anything boneheaded are you? Even if you could you're hurt" she asked.

“What if I am!? You can't stop me…" he asked almost being defiant.

“Toby!" His mother called out.

He stiffened up hearing her stomp her way over then she smacked him in the back of the head. “I told you to be nice! Stop being rude!" she scolded him. She stood forced her way around him and got in between him and her. She welcomed her inside, but Toby sat on a large chair built for a giant. He was stared at her as she studied every new enlarged feature of his body.

“You know…I think you're bigger than Zoe now…does she know that you had a growth spurt" she remarked.

Toby was too embarrassed to discuss it, but his mother rolled her eyes at him. “I think she's going to be shocked with how much he's grown…" she told her with a great pride.

“Um, so…uh…just putting this out there but. Is it normal for people to randomly jump over cars?" Sasha asked them.

Tommy and Phoebe poked their heads out watching Toby squirm. Their mother gave him a look before she forced a smile. “No…no it isn't. It's why he shouldn't have done it in the first place"

“So you all know that he isn't normal?"

“Psh, none of us are normal" Phoebe scoffed.

Their mother glanced up at her at the top of the stairs before she closed her eyes rubbing her temple vigorously. “Yes…all of my children are gifted…not just with their height and stature. Toby often times will take riskier decisions like texting while walking or jumping off the balcony. He sticks out like a sore thumb don't he?"

Sasha nodded slowly before she rubbed her shoulder. “So, do you know anything about there being werewolves around here?"

Lilian stared at her before she glared at Toby. “What is it exactly you want to know about them?" she asked.

“Zoe said he got hurt a couple nights ago, and I saw that same night. Did Toby get into a fight with one?"

“Yea Toby…did you fight one?" Phoebe pushed.

Toby got up out of the chair and retreated into the kitchen as his mother continued to cast a glare with increasing severity with each of Sasha's questions. “Toby what did you do!?"

“Mom…It's all over the news! It's even on the Seattle and Eugene stations. Might go national" Phoebe told her.

Lilian pulled out her phone and opened one of the Portland news sites as did Sasha. The main headline was, “ODOT Captures Vista Ridge Pile-up"

They began to play the video as Toby overheard the news in the other room. “This just in on KATU, We've just received more information about the horrifying experience at the Vista Ridge Tunnels that left a trail of destruction and mayhem on the Sunset Highway. OSP has confirmed that there was one death in the fifty car pileup last Wednesday. ODOT reports that they will close off one eastbound lane for inspection of the concrete retaining wall" a news anchor said.

They began to run footage from a traffic cam with the anchor providing voice over. “Just look at this recorded traffic cam footage from an ODOT cam. It is absolutely unbelievable! What you're looking at is something that appears to be two rather large creatures jumping into the westbound lanes of the Vista Ridge Tunnels fighting each other. It lasted for under a minute, but the carnage lead to a fifty car pileup in both directions. ODOT now says the concrete retaining wall has been compromised and to expect all eastbound lanes to be closed until repair work is completed. There's no statement on how long that will take, but travelers are advised to take I-5 to get into downtown" He said.

The video was pointed at the tunnel portals feed by a very busy highway. There were many cars on the road speeding along until two werewolves entered the screen. The cars immediately swerved and collided with each other causing a chain reaction in both directions. The two werewolves rolled around ripping and biting at each other. The larger one appeared to launch the smaller one off into an oncoming lane using only one hind leg.

The large werewolf ran towards the smaller werewolf grabbing them by the throat and slamming him into the trailer of a jack-knife semi-truck. The smaller werewolf kicked the larger one back before they rolled under the trailer. The larger one jumped onto the roof of the trailer, and the smaller one tried to ambush him only to be swatted back then grabbed by the leg and whipped him over the shoulder back into the roof deforming it like an aluminum can. He then threw the smaller werewolf into the adjacent retraining wall.

“Jesus!" Sasha muttered.

The smaller werewolf recovered from hitting the wall and tackled the larger one off the roof getting a couple punches to the face. The larger werewolf managed to wiggle out enough to punch the smaller one off from him. A third werewolf appeared and hurled a wooden palate at the larger werewolf like a Frisbee making contact and exploding into splinters.

The fight continued with two on one, and the people stuck in their cars began to abandoning them as the merchandise from the wrecked trucks were sent flying around like projectiles. They fled for their lives as the cars were either thrown or smashed in the fight. The fight moved off screen before the image turned up to the sky and went to static as the camera was knocked down and damaged.

After the video the news anchor added more information about the video. “Now we don't know the true identities of these creatures, but Multnomah County Sheriffs has issued a curfew placed between 11 PM and 4 AM for residence in the West Hills, and there is a mandatory closure for Forest Park, Washington Park and the Oregon Zoo until the investigation has concluded. We'll update you farther as more details are released" the news anchor finished.

Sasha looked up as Lilian walked into the kitchen not sure if she was having a dream or not. “Do you know anything about this?" Toby leaned up against the counter looking down at the floor doing his best to stonewall her interrogation. She growled at him and began to call Bernie. Toby snuck out of the kitchen only to get stared at by Sasha and his siblings.

His mother began to give him an earful. “Okay what the hell happened Wednesday night? I saw the news!" She gave an audible gasp and shouted. “What do you mean that was Ian!? Didn't you and Steele kill him?"

Sasha looked towards Toby confused. “Who's Ian?"

“He's bad news…" he said simply.

Lilian came out and was absolutely livid. “Alright, I want all of you out! Now!" she shouted. Toby got up before she snarled. “Not you Toby!" she spoke harshly.

“Uh-oh" Tommy muttered as he and his sister hurried down the stairs and out the door. Sasha followed them out.

His mother's eyes were glowing yellow, and she transformed slightly. She slapped him across the face and shouted, "You could have died taking him on by yourself! What would your father think about you throwing your life away like that!? Why would you dishonor his sacrifice?"

“Dad was the only one who Bernie trusted…there was no other way" Toby muttered.

“What do you mean? He's the alpha! He has other wolves who have a lot more experience and are able!" She argued.

“Mom…a lot of the wolves really don't like humans right now…probably a lot more than their dislike of Ian"

“And what about Jean and the Elders?"

Toby hesitated and looked away. “I don't know…they really don't like what the humans have been doing to our lands"

“Our lands?" His mother raised her voice. She crossed her arms over her chest. “You speak like you are one of them" she scolded him before she clenched her fist. “Don't prove your grandmother right. Your father wasn't one of them…I'd be damned to fail raising to become like one of them!"

“Mom, don't you know what happened?"

“I know what happened! That was over 200 years ago! This is today!" She shouted before she shook her head at him. “Tch, if you hated humans so much then why would you go join Bernie to hunt down Ian?"

Toby gulped. “I didn't say I hated them. I just said it was our lands…" he said before his mother sighed understanding what the stakes were. Deep down she was afraid of losing her son, and she felt bad for hitting him in her moment of that realization.

The landline phone started to ring. The ring was set up to be so low that it was like lower than a whisper. She glanced at him apprehensively as he got up seeming to know who it was. “Sit!" she shouted at him before she walked into the kitchen with a great distained expression. She picked up the phone and lifted it up to her ear. “Hello?" She answered.

He stared into the floor stressing out, and his stomach churned. “Toby! Peter wants to have a word with you" she called. He sighed and walked into the kitchen slowly still sore, his mother covered the receiver. “Listen, whatever he says, just remember, it's his fault. Don't let him put any blame onto you" she said before she gave him the phone.

He gulped trying to gather as much strength as he could. “Ian is back…" he muttered after he put the phone to his ear.

There was a long pause before a low growl could be heard on the other end of the line. “I know! Why didn't you tell us!? Don't you think that bit of information is important!?" Pete yelled.

Toby sighed. “Would you have done anything?" He retorted.

Pete growled at him. “Your father wouldn't have made this mistake…some prodigy you turned out to be. It's because of you trying to be your father that the humans are on to us now! You spoiled whelp!" Pete said. " I'll see to it that you are banished just like Ian was!! " his voice boomed.

Toby's eye twitched. “Listen here! Stop pretending like you care that Ian was just a stone's throw away from downtown. I bet you were pleased he killed off all those lobbyists. You aren't going to pin this on me!! Half of the metro area is now aware of our existence all because of your playing to both sides, Omega!!! " He shouted back before pushing the button so hard that his thumb went through it like butter.

His mother stared at him in shock as a knot formed in her throat not believing those words coming out of his mouth. His nose curled, while he shook and growled with intense rage. He was breathing became labored as he had muscle spasms and they bulked up, while his veins bulged. His fangs and claws reappeared along with his ears becoming pointed like an elf's ears. His mother put her hand on Toby's furry arm. “Hey, calm down…you did good" She muttered.

His veins appeared green shown through his skin as if it were translucent. He clenched his fist hard enough to draw blood. “150 years of silence, and Ian just had to fuck it up for all of us. I wasn't going to let him turn all of those people, and suddenly it's my fault!… It's not right!!!" He shouted. Toby felt a twinge of pain in his chest as his heart started beating rapidly losing his ability to repress his transformation.

He fell to his knees clutching his heart, and his mother quickly removed his shirt noticing the fur had progressed to his lower back. “Just breathe! It's not worth working yourself up over" she said sternly.

He continued to growl and think about tearing Pete into pieces. “He let Ian in! I just fucking know it!" He yelled. His vertebrae became more prominent on his back. His body trembled, and his nose became blackened and disfigured. Toby's fur was all over his body now. His eyes changed to yellow, and his ears grew fur and pointed.

His mother watched in dismay. “Toby! You need to calm down…" she shouted.

Zoe walked in the house. She saw the aftermath and stared at them. She wore a purple t-shirt that exposed her midriff, but it shown the black form fitting spandex shirt, which the sleeves ended just below her elbow. She wore green cargo pants, tan skateboard shoes, and green skateboard gloves. She held her longboard up against her thigh as she approached them. “Um…Is this a bad time?" she asked.

His mother looked up at her and shook her head before she sat down on the couch. “I don't know what to do with him when he gets like this" she said.

Zoe sat her longboard down and reached over to slap him on the shoulder a couple times. “Hey dude, I didn't know you could fight like that!" she said before she hung her arm over his back. “You've been holding out on me, you little turdball!" she said before she playfully nudged him. “If you're worried about that Tunnel bullshit, don't worry 'bout it. My dad and Jean have got your back!" she told him.

“What are you doing here?" Toby asked.

Phoebe and Tommy both were looking inside, and Lilian immediately slammed the door shut before Sasha could look inside. Zoe helped him up and slung her arm around the vicious teen's shoulder. “Come on, go change upstairs, and I'll help you feel better. Just don't hold back…the wolf in you needs out" she told him.

She walked with him upstairs before his mother shouted. “Zoe! I don't think that would be a good idea!"

Zoe looked back at her and smirked. “Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. He'll be better in no time" she told her with confidence. His mother sighed heavily pretending to not know what Zoe was going to do, but she knew that this method worked.