Truth Revealed

*Hezzlie*

My arm stings slightly as I slip my coat on and follow James down the hallway. It’s late, and I’m tired. The nap idea was a bust, especially since he came back into my bedroom an hour or so later to draw blood and wouldn’t tell me what it was for. The needle didn’t hurt, but there’s a little bruise there now.
Seems like everything around these parts is a little bruising.
“Where’s Dean?” I ask as we reach the bottom of the stairwell and are finally on the first floor. If I ever got to leave my room, I’d be in such good shape from climbing up and down those stairs.
Either that or I’d be dead from a heart attack.
“Dean will meet us out there,” he says. I can tell he’s annoyed, but that’s nothing new. Dr. Boltoon is annoyed most of the time now that we’re back in his own home. I can imagine it would be irritating having someone like Rowan as one’s boss. I wouldn’t like to have someone so angry all the time bossing me around either.
We don’t go out the front door this time. Instead, we walk around the back, going down a hallway I’ve never used before, and through the rear of the massive house. When James pushes the door open and holds it for me, I take a deep breath and immediately feel a sense of calmness wash over me. I’m not sure why, but I suspect it’s the fresh mountain air coupled with the scents of the forest that starts about a hundred feet from the back porch and stretches further than I can see in both directions and back.
“Okay, Hezzlie,” he begins, pausing a few steps away from the stairs that lead down to the lawn. He turns to look at me. “A couple of things to keep in mind. Firstly, there are no animals or other creatures in this forest that will even remotely try to hurt you. Please keep that in mind. It’s imperative to what will be a pretty intense therapy session for you. Secondly, the only way you’re going to get hurt tonight is if you take off running away from me. We are in the mountains. There are ravines, fallen timbers, rapidly moving brooks, and other natural features that could pose as hazards to you. No matter what happens, I need you to stay beside me, okay?”
This entire speech has me both confused and reluctant to step down off the porch. I nod along with him and say, “Sure,” but he doesn’t seem convinced.
Dr. Bolton moves to stand directly in front of me and leans down slightly. “Hezzlie, do you trust me?”
It’s a profound question, one I’m not sure I can rightly answer at the moment. I want to trust him. I used to trust him. Maybe I can still trust him, but I find myself shaking my head. “Not entirely.”
He curses under his breath as if he already knew that was the case. “I never wanted to lie to you about anything, Hezzlie. I had to do what needed to be done in order to get you here.”
“But you said I’d be happy here, and you knew I wouldn’t be, and now, you’re saying you’re doing this for my own good, but it’s not really for me, is it? I mean, ultimately, you answer to Rowan, so really, all of this is for him, right?”
His mouth moves, but no sound comes out. “Hezzlie, you are my patient. More than that, I have grown to value you as a person. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. Ever. Please tell me that you at least believe that.”
I think back over my experiences with James and weigh my response carefully before I nod, but I don’t open my mouth.
He lets out another sigh and turns to walk down the steps and I follow him. I see a footpath through the forest. We step onto it, and the trees close in around us. Dr. Bolton reaches behind and grabs me lightly by the wrist, probably so he can keep track of me.
It’s not so scary. I have ran into the woods near my house when I was asleep, and nothing happened to me then. I think I’m going to be fine.
We walk further into the trees, and images from my dreams invade my thoughts. How I was looking up at the moon, and everything was dreamy and gauzy, and then I shifted into a wolf, and the trees grew dark and craggily. I hurry a bit to stay closer to Dr. Bolton, trying to remember what he said about nothing here being able to hurt me.
In the distance, I hear the howl of a wolf, and then it’s answered by another one.
“Will there be wolves in this part of the forest?” I whisper.
“Remember, I said none of the animals will hurt you.” He doesn’t bother to whisper.
“How do you know that?” I whisper back.
“Because I know all of them,” he replies, and I’m not sure if he’s trying to make a joke or if he’s even more deranged than I am.
We step into a clearing, and I see a large form in front of me. I take a few steps backward, but James doesn’t let go.
“Hi, Hezzlie.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding. It’s Dean. “Hi,” I manage. I should’ve recognized his massive form.
We approach, and he turns on an electric lantern and moves it over a bit away from where he’s standing so it’s illuminating more of the clearing.
“Maybe next time turn the lantern on first,” I suggest.
He chuckles in the back of his throat but doesn’t say anything.
“All right, Hezzlie. It’s time for our session,” James begins, and I feel a shiver of fear shoot up my spine. “I have to tell you, I’ve never done anything like this before, and even though I’m a professional, I’m not quite sure how to introduce this concept to you.”
I’m shocked to hear him admit he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing. I look at Dean, but he only shrugs.
“The reason you’ve been dreaming about shifting into a wolf form has a lot to do with your ancestry. Your father’s line, like Dean’s, mine, Alpha King Rowan’s, and nearly everyone else who lives in the two kingdoms, is descended from the Moon Goddess, a powerful being that gave her people a unique gift.”
“A unique gift?” I echo, thinking he’s sounding crazier by the moment. “What gift is that?”
“Unlike people, we have two forms–our human form… and our wolf form.”
James lets the statement linger between us for a few beats as I process.
“Say what now?”
“You, too, will have a wolf form, once you turn eighteen. It’s unusual for someone who is only half wolf shifter to be able to turn into a wolf, but it does happen from time to time, and it seems, for whatever reason, you are one of the few who is able to do so. Like other young people of our kind, you’ve been experiencing the sort of dreams we would anticipate you would have right before your first shift. So… it stands to reason that, on the night of your eighteenth birthday, you’ll be able to shift into your wolf form.”
“Wh-what?” I ask, shaking my head. “Did you fall and hit your head, Doc? Are you sure you’re not the one who needs professional help? You’re telling me that I’m a fucking werewolf?”
“No, not werewolves,” he corrects. “A werewolf is a fictional creature that comes from a person being bitten by a wolf. That’s not what we are. We are born this way, the descendants of other wolf shifters. And we are very real.”
Yes, we are.
I hear that voice in my head and clamp my hands over my ears.
“Are you hearing a voice in your head?” Dean asks me.
I look up at him but don’t pull my hands away. “N-no,” I stammar.
“Hezzlie, you never mentioned that to me before,” Dr. Bolton says. “If you are, that’s perfectly natural. Our wolves often speak to us, especially when they are on the precipice of awakening and taking over for the first time.”
“I… didn’t hear anything.” I calmly force myself to lower my hands. “I’m sorry. It’s just… this is a little strange.” I remember that I have my cell phone now. Mom set it up before she left. When I get back to my room, I can call her. I can ask her to investigate these people. Maybe I’ve been taken to some sort of a cult. I’m not sure how it would work, but maybe the military can rescue me or something.
“I’m sorry, Hezzlie. I know this is a lot to take in. But we are pressed for time, and honestly, I think full disclosure is probably for the best at the moment. So… remember what I told you about you being perfectly safe?”
I nod. I need to play nice so I can get back to my room and call my mom.
“All right.” He gestures at Dean. “Go ahead.”
Dean shakes his head. “I’m not sure this is going to work the way you want it to, James.”
“I’m not sure it is either, but let’s just do it,” the man who is supposed to be the expert says.
Dean yanks his shirt off over his head, and I pull away from Dr. Bolton. What the fuck?
“Sorry, Hezzlie. I just really like this shirt and don’t want to shred it. The jeans, I’m okay with losing.” He kicks off his shoes. I take another step back. What is this? Some kind of weird orgy?
“Hezzlie, you’re fine.” Dr. Bolton steps over so that he’s standing next to me, but I don’t let him touch me.
Dean sucks in a deep breath, shakes his head, and says, “Sorry, Hez,” before he leaps into the air, and–
All I can do is scream.
A huge dark wolf stands in the clearing a few feet away from where Dean was a minute ago. Did it eat him? Did it knock him on the ground? Why is it looking at me with his same green eyes?
Unable to process anything, I turn and kick Dr. Bolton as hard as I can right in the crotch, leaving him doubled over in pain, and then take off running through the woods as fast as I can.
I know the wolf is right behind me. I see a thorny branch and grab the end of it, ignoring the pain in my fingers as I fling it back. It strikes him in the face, and he lets out some kind of wolfy wincing sound. It will only slow him down for a second, but I have to get out of here. I don’t know where I’m going. I can’t see anything. I remember what Dr. Bolton said about there being hazards out here, but I have to get away.
I run blindly, tearing through the trees. When I spin my head to look behind me, I feel the ground giveaway beneath my feet, and then suddenly, I am falling.
Beneath me, I see nothing but a deep ravine and know I’m going to die.