Rejection Denied

Aviry

I stirred in my bed, rolling from left to right. The blanket engulfed and warmed my entire body. I stuck out my right leg and relaxed into newfound coolness. Come on, you know the feeling. And you know what comes next.

I stretched both my legs out, followed by both my arms. My body was breaking out into a shaking fit. “Ahhhhh!” I enjoyed morning stretches. It was a start to a decent—”

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Nevermind.

“Good Morning, Aviry.” Mia stretched in my mind.

“Morning,” I grumbled. I pulled the covers over my head.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

UGGH!!! I jumped out of bed and stomped over to the door. I swung it open, ready to cast my awakener into the fiery pits of hell. Until I saw a young child standing there. Too young for my wrath.

Lucky, little brat. I stared at the child with furrowed eyebrows. “What do you want, kid?” I asked firmly.

“I…um…mommy wants you.” The little girl smiled, grabbing me by the hand.

I was about to snatch my hand back when an older woman with dark brown hair picked up the small child. The girl released my hand and clung to the woman’s neck.

“I’m very sorry. Annie was supposed to knock—”

“And let me guess, run away.” I sighed. “It’s fine. I guess you’re her mom. I’m up now, so what do you want.” I leaned against the doorway, crossing my legs.

“No, not at all…I mean, I am her mom. I meant the part about running away. No, wait, her knocking.” The woman was stammering. “Let me start over. Hi, I’m Jamie, and this is my daughter Annie.” The woman adjusts Annie on her hip.

“Ok. Is that all?” I asked, whirling my hand around, growing irritated.

“Aviry, fix your resting bitch face. You’re making her nervous.” Mia said.

“This is just my face. I can’t and won’t fix it.”

“Umm, no. Uh... I was assigned to be your attendant by Alpha Nix. I came to show you your new room.”

“Well, can it wait until after breakfast? I’ll find you later.” I raised from the door frame, reaching for the door to close it.

“Well, actually. Ow, Annie, don’t pull my hair.” The woman sat the child on the ground. “Actually, it’s twelve in the afternoon. I didn’t want to wake you, but now Beta Tanner is asking for you.” The child began to pull on her mom’s hand.

“Mommy, juice. Mommy cookies.” The kid whined. I watched annoyed, with her temper.

“Annie, wait. Mommy is busy right now.” The kid continued to yank on her mother.

“NO, MOMMY! NOW, I WANT IT NOW!” The child screamed, and my eye twitched at the sudden tantrum. She began pulling her mom down the hall.

“I’m so sorry. Beta Tanner is waiting for you in the library. I’ll pass Annie on to her dad and find you after dinner.” Jamie left me and gave in to the girl’s request.

“That’s going to be you one-day Aviry.” Mia laughed

“Hell no. Not going to happen. I already have to control my temper. That’s a challenge all in itself. How am I supposed to handle a child’s tantrum when my temper rages along with theirs?” I shook my head. “Simple. No kids, no tantrums, no mommy tempers.” I closed my bedroom door.

“So, what questions do you have for Tanner?” Mia asked

“Well, I understand how the competition works. I want to understand a few of the words used in the handbook.” I made my way to the bathroom. “I also want to research our shift.”

“I’m sure we’ll learn a lot at the library. Besides, shifting is a requirement. That’s our first goal.” Mia added, and I agreed.

After I freshened up, I went to search for the library. This allowed me to look around. I walked the halls of the fourth floor, finding locked doors, a supply closet, and some seemingly unoccupied bedrooms. I walked down to the third floor, roaming the halls snooping and looking for the library. I reached for the handle of a door on my left, and it turned before I touched it.

The door swung open, and a tall body walked straight into me. Two hands braced onto my shoulders to keep me in place, then they quickly retracted.

“Aviry, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.” Cay, this beautiful man, that I strangled unconscious. He looked at me, a small smile on his lips.

“Were you coming to see me? There’s no need for an apology; I’m fine.”

“No. No apology, I’m just looking for the library.” I turned and walked away.

“Oh, ok…Well, I can take you there. Tanner has been asking about you for hours.” Cay caught up with me, walking beside me. “Listen, if I somehow pissed you off, I’m sorry. What happened yesterday was a fair reaction to your situation.” I continued listening, mesmerized by his voice.

“I would appreciate a chance to redeem myself. Oh, this way down the stairs.” We walked down him in front, me behind. “My name is Cay, by the way. I’m the peacekeeper of the house and also Nix’s guard.”

“A guard, and a peacekeeper. How does that work?” I asked, stepping onto the second floor.

“Well, when I say guard, I mean more of a temper guard.” He replied, walking toward the splitting staircase.

“Oh, so you’re like his mom.” I snickered. I can imagine Nix having a tantrum in his room and Cay walking in scolding him to behave.

“Ha, no more like an older brother keeping his sibling in check.” He chuckled. “But I try to keep him calm when his wolf takes control. Nix tends to shift out of anger as you saw the other day. I was out on patrol, so I couldn’t help him rein it in.”

Wait, that’s some useful info.

“So, your saying, when Nix’s wolf is angered enough, his wolf can force him to change? Can his wolf take over while Nix is still a human?” I asked curiously. I stopped in the foyer; Cay turned around to face me at the bottom of the stairs.

“Yes, but Nix is a little different from the other wolves here. But that’s his story to tell.” Cay sat on a stair, and I sat beside him. Listening and gazing into his grey eyes.

“See, when we normally meet out our wolves, we form a connection. We develop a relationship that allows us to work as partners, the human side always having the dominating hand. So, when we get angry, our wolf can sometimes take control of our bodies. That’s why you’ll see our eyes grow darker. But our mind is still intact so we can control our shift easily.” Cay took in a heavy sigh.

“Now, if we can’t control our wolves. We use a serum called ‘Bane’ that temporarily disables our wolf. Basically, putting our wolves in a weaker state so they can calm down.” Cay gently squeezed my shoulder. “If we use it on a human, it’s more like a heavy sedative. I’m sure Tanner already apologized.”

“Wait, are you saying Tanner used that shit on me.”

“Yes, he did. Once to bring you here, and again yesterday.” Cay removed his hand. He stood up, and I did the same.

“The first time was a big mistake on Tanner; his wolf Lance took control. The second time they claimed your heart was racing, so they wanted to calm you down. But that’s still not right.” He began walking again, and I followed.

“Ok, here we are, the library. Tanner is inside waiting for you. It was nice talking to you, Aviry.” Cay gave me a small smile and began to turn away.

“Ask him when werewolves are supposed to shift. Ask him how the whole process works?” Mia was barking out questions

“Damn, Mia, impatient much.” Honestly, the library is right here. But I guess he’s a closer source.

“Wait, Cay, can I ask you a few questions before you go?”

He turned back to me, still smiling. “Sure, I’m free to answer any—” He stopped talking.

Cay’s face went totally blank. It looked like his brain jumped out of his skull and took a walk. His grey eyes glazed over with no emotion.

“Uh…Cay, you ok in there?” I clapped my hands. Nothing. I waved my hands in his face—still nothing.

“What the hell happened?” Mia asked. “Is he broken? Did we break him somehow? I mean, it’s rare for you to converse with another for this long.”

“Mia, I’m a little offended. Are you saying talking to me may cause severe brain damage?” I inquired

“If the zombie hottie in front of us is any proof. Then yes, that is what I’m saying.” Mia answered.

Well, if I did break Cay, I can’t leave him like this. I raised my hand to him give a good slap, donated from the kindness of my ash heart.

SLAP!!

Cay’s head twisted to his right side, his body falling on the ground.

“HOW HARD DID YOU HIT HIM!?” Mia shouted. “Holy shit, he’s dead, isn’t he? You killed a man by talking past your daily word limit Aviry. Call out for help, shout for Tanner.” Mia was pacing in my head, whimpering.

“Calm the fuck down.” But I was concerned. If he died, there’s no way that this was on me. It was just a freak accident. I bent down to check his pulse—

“AVIRY!” He shouted, shooting into a sitting position.

“AHHHHH! What the in the actual fuck, Cay!!” I jumped back, falling on my ass. “I thought you were dead, dude.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to go. A couple of the teen warriors are fighting.” Cay quickly stood up and ran to the front doors. “I’ll see you later!” he shouted, opening the doors and passing through.

“Well, that’s a relief.” Mia sighed.

“Mia, I’m still upset with your previous comment.” I huffed and stood up.

I opened the doors to the library. The smell of books invaded my nose. My energy drained at the thought of reading. There were no computers in this room, which meant learning the old-fashioned way.

“Aviry, is that you?”

"No."

“Aviry, get your ass in there. We can ask Tanner the questions since Cay spaced out on us.”

“Yes, it is I the Great Aviry Mills. I heard you requested my presence Sir, Tanner.” I walked into the torture room. Tanner was seated at a table with TWO book towers.

“Yes, I did. I can see you’re in a good mood. You slept in and missed breakfast. But I grabbed you a snack.” He pushed a brown paper bag my way.

“Not a good mood, Tanner. Neutral.” I sat at the table and opened the bag: an apple, a bag of chips, and a coke. “I have some questions, Tanner.” I took a bite of the apple.

“Of course, you do. I’m sure you read the handbook and understand now that this is a full werewolf competition. Since the competition isn’t until next month, that gives us time to prepare.” He leaned forward, crossing his arms over the table.

“Until then, I will be training you to fight against one of us. I also want you to learn the basics about werewolves starting today.”

Taking another bite of the apple. CRUNCH. I pointed to the stacks of books. “I can tell you right now that I’m not reading those. Don’t tell me wolves don’t have access to google.”

Tanner laughed, “We do, and I already thought of that for you.” Tanner pushed a folder toward me, “Everything you need to know about us, all in one folder. I can answer any questions you have later.”

“I have a few tasks to get done.” He stood from the table, pushing in his chair. “I’ll be back to check on you as soon as I’m done.”

I nodded and placed the apple on the table as Tanner left the room.

I finished eating my snacks and cleared the table. Ok, let’s get started. I opened the folder. “Oh, thank fuck." I sighed. "Thank you, Tanner.” I was pleased to see the large font and a summary of each section.

“Did you just thank someone?” Mia asked.

“It doesn’t really count. He’s not here.” I responded, flipping through the few pages.

“I don’t know Aviry. You’re conversing with others, without cursing them out, might I add. And now thanking them. Are you turning over a new leaf?”

“Mia, I’ll burn every leaf that falls in front of me before I pick one up and turn it. Now, can I read?” I snapped.

“I don’t know, can you?” Mia laughed. “I doubt Tanner can provide a picture book for you. So I guess you’ll have to try your hardest.”

“Ah-ha, ha.” I laughed dryly. I focused on the first section, ignoring Mia’s jabs. Now was the time to get serious. We’re about to learn about what we are. And if there is any luck left in this world, maybe we’ll learn how to shift.

I began reading, the first summary already catching my interest,

Werewolf Transformation