• Chapter Two: The Warning in the Window

    Mom, dad, and I walk home, the full moon showering us with light. I look up at it, feeling a sudden urge to howl at it. But I have taught myself not to give myself away like that; no matter how big the urge. My lips twich. Mom looks at me.

    "If you have to howl, then howl." She says. I look at her in disbeleif.

    Fast fact about my no-howling rule: Mom made it after I howled 2 years agoa silver bullets whizzed pass her face and hit a tree a foot away from her. So I am no longer allowed to howl.

    "Are you sure?" I ask. Mom nods. I shrug. I stare at the moon and howl loudly. xd "My god, it feels so good to howl like that!" I exclaim. Dad laughs. He pats me on the back. The autumn breeze blows my dark brown hair back behind my shoulders. I smile. I love autumn. We arrive back home and I flop on the couch. Mom pours me a Diet Coke and hands it to me.

    "School starts back tomorrow." She says. I look up at her.

    "It does?" I ask,a straw stillin my mouth. Mom nods. "Well, you're gonna have to kick my butt a bazillion timest o get me back to that hell hole again." I answer. Mom sighs.

    "High school isn't that bad, is it?" Dad asks. I nod.

    "Worse than you think," I respond. I put my Diet Coke on the coffee table. "I'm surrounded by humans all day, and there's always the risk that one of them might piss me off so much or pose so much of a threat that I might transform into a wolf. And then, my cover's blown, and the we have to move out of the counrty. Again." Mom frowns.

    "I think you're just being paranoid." She says.

    "Oh, what's the saying again?" I say. "You're not paranoid if someone actuallyis after you?" Dad rolls his eyes. Austin, my little brother, storms downstairs.

    "Is Rochel back? Did she get shot today?" He asks. I poke my head over the sofa.

    "No," I say. I jump up onto the couch cushons. "The semi-immortal Rochel Wolff lives on!"Austin frowns.

    "Aww, I thought I was gonna be an only child," he says.

    "You wish," I say. "Don't worry. Someone or something'll kill me someday. Just not today." Austin sticks his tounge out at me like a 8-year-old. (Not that I expect a lot from Austin. He's only an 8-year-old.)

    "Daddy," Austin complains, "how come Rochel gets to be the special one?"We were silent. Then, I burst out laughing.

    "Oh, my god, Austin," I say. "You seriously think that being a werewolf means being special?"Austin nods seriously. I shut up. "Austin," I say. "Being a werewolf is not what you think it is. It aint that fun being a huge 2 ton wolf that's 10 feet tall, OK?"

    "But it's got to be so freaking cool to be a wolf!" Austin says.

    "Trust me, it'd be more fun if I was a werehawk or a wereshark." I say. Austin frowns. "And hey, maybe one day you'll sprout wings and fly away, just like you cat, Charlie!" Mom gave me a questioning look. "It's a long story" I mouth to her.

    "Well kids, time for yall to hit the hay." Dad says. He kisses the tops of me and Austin's heads. Austin scowls at me. Then, he smiles sweetly at mom and dad.

    "Good night mommy and daddy," he says.

    "Night." I say. I walk upstairs and jump onto my bed.I close my eyes and smell the rose petals in my pillow. Then I hear footsteps. Immeadiatly, my eyes snap open. I always keep my door locked. I tilt my head just over the covers to see no one. The door is still locked. I get out of my covers. I notice that my windows are closed. I always keep my windows open. I walk toward it with caution. I see a flap of paper inbetween one ofthe windows and it's window sill. I slip it out. I flick a light on and begin to read the note:

    I know who you are.

    I heard you howl.

    You cannot hide from me.

    I am coming for you.

    -E

    I read the strange note. eek Who was E? Does it stand for something, like an organization? Or is it just a typo? Those questions clungs onto my mind. I set the strange note on my dresser. I crawl back into my oversized bed. I close my eyes and feel myself morphing into a wolf. And the whole night, I felt as if someone- or something- was watching me.

    I don't like that feeling.