Gray Rising

Chapter 2~ Blessings

I felt numb. Like I couldn't move, and if I tried, I would fail. I couldn't open my eyes I was so weak. Wherever I was it was warm and I felt like someone was here with me. I wonder who is here, my eyes beg to see because I can feel their presence. I use every bit of strength I have and my eyes flutter open a bit and I begin to hear voices. I blink fast at the bright lights and make out two figures. It's two men, and they appear to be having a conversation. I try and focus my thoughts and listen, but find myself struggling to even keep my eyes open. A little cough escapes my mouth and I see the two men turn their heads at me with wide eyes. They run over and I can see them talking but I can't hear anything. All of a sudden I feel something move throughout my body. I no longer felt numb, I felt pain and lots of it. My skin felt on fire and my bones felt like they were shifting, but I couldn't scream loud enough. "She's taking, I thought you said she was dead." One man says to the other and I look over at the other man and see he is a doctor. He looks shocked at me and I all of a sudden feel nothing again. There was no pain, no ache, nothing.

I felt fine like I just woke up from a good sleep.

I open my eyes and everything is clear, I can hear, I can move, nothing was holding me back. I sit up and look down at myself and look at them. "Where am I?" I ask and finally get a good look at the man to my right. "Your name is Grayson, right?" I ask and he nods with a small smile. "Glad you remember, you gave us all quite a shock." He says with a small chuckle and suddenly all of my previous memories come back to me. The wolf. The claws tearing my skin, and his teeth finishing the job. I look down at my hospital gown and rub my hand over my chest. There was nothing there. No bite, the claw marks, nothing, just my normal skin. I drop my hands in confusion and look at them questioning if I was dead. Was it all a dream, or have I been asleep that long? "How are her vitals?" Grayson asks the doctor and he looks down at me. "Perfect, her body healed itself when it transitioned." I furrow my eyes. "Transitioned? Wait, what am I doing here? What happened?" I ask and Grayson makes a motion for the doctor to leave.

 He pulls up a chair and takes my hand in his. I jump at the touch of our skin and feel something like electricity shock me. His eyes widen for a second and he looks at me and gives a small smile. "Now look, what I am about to tell you is going to sound crazy. But please, let me finish before you say anything. You need to keep an open mind." He says and I look at him in confusion and nod slightly. I for some unknown reason felt I could trust him, I had no reason to, but something in me told me I could. He had that type of smile that could brainwash you.

"Keeping that open mind is important Layla, cause what I'm about to tell you will sound like a joke. You are a Lycan now, and it's my fault. Last night, I came to your diner to make a treaty of sorts with a nearby wolf pack. And as you know from listening, they wanted to take over my position as Alpha and start by creating an army. We are at war with the Vampires right now and our numbers have been shrinking. I don't wish this life on anyone, but I couldn't just sit and watch you die." He pauses for a moment and I blink my eyes a couple of times and rub them, waiting for him to start laughing because this obviously was a joke. 

Silence falls over us and he looks up at me, waiting for me to say something and I run a hand through my hair. Wait, the wolf..., the discussion of packs, the recruitment. They weren't talking about motorcycle gang business, it was- I, what the hell is going on.

I look down at myself and stand up, covering my butt with my gown and start pacing. "What did you say I was?" I ask, sparing him only a glance and he scoots to the edge of his seat. " A Lycan, like me." He says and I stop and look at him and take a deep breath. "Okay, let's just say I am whatever that is, what does that mean for me? Am I some hairy f*****g wolf that's gonna go around biting people's neck as that one did to me? Wait, was Eric the wolf that bit me?" I ask and he stands up coming closer. "You're a Lycan, not a werewolf. Lycan's are wolves that walk on two legs like a man. You have to be bitten by a Lycan to become a Lycan." He explains and I grab my chest and shoulder and furrow my brows. "But the wolf that bit me walked on four, not two." I say and he turns away from me and runs a hand through his dark hair. I take this moment to look at him. He was very fit, with his broad shoulders and his exceptional build. He was quite tall too, towering over my 5'11 form. 

He turns back around and takes a few steps towards me and my breath leaves my body yet again. He takes my hand in his and I just melt away as I look up at him. "When I found you, he had just bitten you. You looked nearly dead but I could still hear your heartbeat faintly. I took a long shot and bit you again to see if I could quicken your transition. It was a dumb risk because no one survives more than one bite from an immortal, let alone two different species. I didn't expect you to wake up honestly, and if you did I didn't know what you'd be." I back away from him and sit on the bed in shock. He makes a motion to come closer but I hold my finger up in protest.  

"What do you mean, you didn't know what I would be?" 

I say and he sits down in the chair beside my bed. "The big deciding fact on what makes a werewolf and a Lycan is what bit them, it decides when they change. If you were bitten by a werewolf, you would only have to change on a full moon. But, a Lycan can change whenever they please, they are faster, stronger, and harder to kill. Where we both bit you, I honestly don't know... what you are. A hybrid perhaps. But there is little to no lore on that kind. We won't know anything until you transition for the first time and that could be anywhere from today, to the next full moon." 

I stand up and walk over to the sink across from my bed and look in the mirror. I didn't look any different. My body was still very plump and fat, I became very aware of how my body looks and I realize how much more attractive and out of my league Grayson was. I still was quite pale with raven black hair, still had my big lips and button nose. My eyes though did appear to be a brighter shade of hazel and I didn't recognize them. I lean closer and examine them. They were almost gold like Erics. I pull away and I notice Grayson in the mirror and he grabs my hand in his and makes me turn around. 

"What you have is a curse more than it is a blessing trust me. Each time you transition it gets easier, but the first few times you can die from the pain. Every bone in your body breaks and it is so easy to lose yourself in the wolf. But you're not going to go through this alone. You're going to have me and your new family." My eyes widen and it finally hits me when he says,  family. 

"Oh my god, my family must be worried sick over me, my boyfriend probably is looking for me. How long since it happened. I-" I begin to become frantic and pace. Grayson grabs my arm and turns me around and I run a hand through my hair. "Layla, you have to calm down okay? Look... you can't see your family again. We made sure you were labeled dead in that animal attack. You would put your family in danger if you stayed in this town. Same for your boyfriend. You have to cut off all connections to this place. You died 4 days ago, everyone has it set that you're dead." 

My knees grow weak and I grab onto Grayson for some support. I feel dizzy. I feel sick. I sit down on the floor quickly and hug my knees to my chest and break down. The curse of this all seemed to be isolation. I felt utter sorrow at thinking of all the people I had hurt with my disappearance. Grayson kneels beside me and gives me a warm hug, his unique scent invading my nose. It was one of the most calming feelings I had ever felt. I sniffle and stay there and I can't put words together. Was I even missed? "Would you want to go to your funeral tomorrow? We can watch from the wood line, I'm sure it will be quite many people. It made the front page of the paper. You can see from the distance everyone you love one last time. Not many people get that opportunity." I stay silent and nod my head in his chest and let the teardrops slide down my face. Someone enters the room and I turn around to the door and find a blonde-haired man with a sympathetic smile on his face. "Glad you are up and kicking Layla." He says and I wipe my eyes and stand up in confusion. "Do I know you?" I ask and he shakes his head. 

"No, but you will soon enough. Grayson, the transportation you asked for is ready whenever you are." He says with a curt nod and walks back out of the room. Grayson gives me a small smile and points to the door, "I'm going to slip out for a second, I bought you some clothes till we can get you new ones. I'll have the doctor bring them back in. I have some matter to attend to. Try and get some sleep. I'll be back in the morning." I nod and hug myself down. I didn't want to be alone right now but I wasn't going to protest. "Okay, have a good night. I'll um- see you in the morning." I say in a soft voice and look up at him. He stares down at me with a look I can't quite read and gives me a smile and my hand a quick squeeze. "That guy that came in here a second ago will be right outside the room if you need him. His name is James Wilson and he is a great soldier of mine. You'll be safe and sound tonight so that means get plenty of sleep." He says and gives my hand yet another squeeze before letting go. 

He walks out and I finally take a moment and look around me. I notice I was in a room like a hospital room, but the walls are wooden, as are the floors. The ceilings are high and open up to bright windows on stained glass. The room almost looked as though it was in someone's house. Paintings were littering the walls and they all were unique, yet all following the same story. A man and a wolf.

There is a knock at the door and I turn around to find the doctor from earlier walking in with a frown. "You should be resting ma'am. I brought your clothes and in the morning you can shower in that room. Everything you would need is in there. I'm going to take a vile of your blood before you go to sleep, is that okay?" He says in a long-drawn-out voice and I notice he is quite old. He slowly walks in and I sit down on the bed as he set my clothes down in a chair. He takes a needle out of his pocket and smiles down at me as he preps my arm. "You know, you gave everyone around here a great fright. Nobody, including myself, thought you would survive. We all thought Grayson had signed your death warrant. But, he claims something told him too." I nod and look over him and squint my eyes. "Are you a Werewolf or Lycan?" I ask and he chuckles. "I am but a simple Werewolf." He says and I nod and stay silent as he pricks me. 

"Go ahead and ask questions, you have to have tons of them." He says and holds my blood up to the light as he glances down at me. " What is this place?" I ask and he smiles and sets the vile in his pocket and takes out the needle. "This is my house. I tend to immortal emergencies here. Mostly wolf-related instances due to my race." He says and turns around to walk out the door and stands there for a second and turns around. "Would you like some books on your kind to look at tonight?" He asks with a raised brow and I sit up a bit at this and nod. "I would, but we don't know what I am yet," I say and he nods.

"This is true, but we all came from the same creator. I have tons of books I can get James to bring in here so you can become... familiar with your ancestors." I smile at this and play with my hands as I look down. "That would be really nice. Thank you, Doctor..." I fade off and he walks over with an open hand. "Doctor Charles Wilson, nice to meet you, Miss Starr." He offers a hand and I shake it with a curt nod. He walks out of the room and I lay there I close my eyes taking a deep breath. 

I was a new creature, I was starting a new life, everything I had known before was about to change and I didn't know what to expect. I was a beast. A creature of the night like the very thing that destroyed life as I knew it. Not even in my dreams could I believe something like this. But something... something about Grayson made it seem real. Perhaps I was just starstruck over his looks but there was something that made me almost completely forget I had a boyfriend. I didn't care if I was in a relationship with the love of my life for four years. I was never like this but maybe... this was a part of the change.