Youâre forced, struggling, to your knees. Jr is wrestled out of the net. He bolts for the door, but is grabbed instantly. The guards slam him to the ground and you scream. Two collars are brought out and you shiver. Although you know you arenât a werewolf, the collar is still scary. You look over at Jr. Heâs struggling to get back, away from the collar, but two guards hold him still. The man snaps the collar on you. The cold metal sits heavy on your neck, giving you chills. You watch the man, waiting for something, anything. Finally, he smiles, âSee? That wasnât so bad. Youâre good to go.â He takes the collar off and your focus instantly goes to Jr. A guard is wrestling a collar on him. As soon as it snaps closed he wails and thrashes. You scream and fight towards him. He writhes, struggling to wrench it off, but itâs hard when his skin is rippling and twisting. You cover your mouth as he arches his back, blood flecking his mouth. You gasp, âYouâre killing him! Stop!â Jr gives a last wail and rips violently into a wolf, shuddering and shaking. You freeze, staring. Heâs beautiful. Big and almost golden. His fur is long and thick, rippling with every move he makes. His eyes are still the same though, blue and very, very human. He stares at you, crouched on the floor, shivering, and whimpers. You can only stare. Itâs hard to decide whether to be terrified, like youâve been taught to be all your life, or mesmerized. Because he is very VERY definitely in control. But that doesnât make sense. Werewolves are monsters. They CANâT be in control. They become violent, hungry animals when they turn⊠The guards step forward and Jr snarls, his appearance instantly changing. His fur bristles along his back, making him look much bigger, and his lips jerk back, revealing his teeth and gums, mouth hanging open threateningly. Itâs a truly terrifying sight, and you just stare as they struggle to get close to him. He snarls and snaps, not hurting anyone, but scaring them enough to back off. Once itâs decided that itâs too dangerous to come close, they retreat, grabbing guns. You instantly fight, âWait! Donât kill him! DONâT KILL HIM!â They raise their weapons and you scream desperately, fighting with everything you have against the guards holding you, but they fire anyway. A dozen darts strike him and he jerks back, snarling and barking wildly. You donât know whether to scream some more, because theyâre HURTING HIM, or be relieved that those werenât real bullets. Jr stumbles and falls, eyes rolling back. You shiver, whimpering. A man looks at you, âWhat is she still doing here?â The guards blink, surprised, and he snaps, âGet her out! Sheâs been traumatized enough!â The guards scramble and grab you. You struggle a little, âJrâŠ.â âThatâs not your friend maâam⊠Thatâs a monsterâŠâ Tears spill down your cheeks. Heâs not a monster. Heâs a person⊠You two werenât really close, but you were JUST starting to become friends⊠You donât want to leave him⊠But youâre not strong. Youâre not fast. You have no special power. Nothing you can pull out of thin air to solve the problem. Youâre dragged out of the tower, down to a car. They put you in the back and you curl up, âHeâs not a monster! Heâs my friend! He wouldnât-â Your voice breaks. Would he? Honestly⊠You donât know. Maybe not while human. But even as a wolf he seemed soâŠ. HumanâŠ. But that could just be your judgement too⊠You donât know what to think anymore⊠You rest your forehead on your knees. You need time to think. You need to tell his brother, warn him⊠âBut if heâs a wolf⊠Doesnât he need to be seperated? Heâs dangerousâŠ.â You hug your legs tighter. Why does life have to be so complicated?
