Unraveling
1249 Words
Ethan’s POV
What is going on?
I rushed outside, heart hammering in my chest, legs barely remembering how to move as my eyes locked on the familiar figure standing under the flickering porch light.
Katie.
She was here. In front of my house. Hair perfectly done like always, red lipstick smeared just a little, probably from biting her lip in anxiousness. But she didn’t look nervous. No. She looked like she belonged here.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, voice too loud, too raw.
She smiled, fake, plastic, tight around the corners. “I came to see Kai. I need to talk to him.”
My stomach churned. “It’s late.”
She tilted her head, eyes narrowing. “It’s not like I’m breaking the law.”
“It’s not about that. You shouldn’t be here.”
She stepped closer. The sharp click of her heels echoed against the sidewalk like little knives. “I need to see him. It’s not about school or anything. And I told him I changed my number. So, I hope you haven’t been messaging him. Have you, Ethan?”
Her voice was sharp, lined with suspicion, dripping with something bitter.
My lips parted, but I didn’t know what to say. She didn't give me a chance.
“What’s your deal anyway?” she pressed. “What do you really want from him?”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I love him,” she said, loud and clear, like a public announcement. “I love him. I’ve loved him since I was younger. He’s been mine before you ever came around. Our parents… they want us to get married. I’m not letting anyone—you—ruin that.”
She smiled again, this time with teeth.
“I just came to tell him it’s official. We’re getting married. So… thanks for whatever friendship you offered. I’ll be heading inside.”
She turned to leave.
No.
No, no, no.
Before I could think, I grabbed her wrist.
She yelped, startled. “Let go!”
I didn’t. Something inside me cracked.
A hot rush of rage surged through my veins. I didn’t recognize my own breathing—it was too heavy, too wild.
My hands, God, my hands, my fingers stretched, snapping unnaturally. The skin tore, reshaped. My bones popped like firecrackers, twisting, reforming. I couldn’t stop it.
Pain. Pure. White-hot.
My knees buckled as my spine arched. My skin itched, burned, then tore. I was screaming, I think. Or maybe that was her.
Katie stumbled back, eyes wide with horror. “What the—what the hell are you!?”
I couldn’t answer.
Because I wasn’t Ethan anymore.
Something primal had clawed its way out of me.
Everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again, I wasn’t outside anymore.
I was in my bed.
Back in my family home.
Sunlight peeked through the half-closed blinds, birds chirped softly. My sheets were warm, familiar. It should’ve been comforting.
But my hands were covered in blood.
I jolted upright. “What the f—?”
My door creaked open.
“Mom?”
She walked in slowly, a tray in her hands. Soup. She looked exhausted.
I stared at her like she was a stranger. “Mom, what happened to me? What the hell is going on?”
She didn’t meet my gaze right away. Just placed the tray on the bedside table.
“You should’ve been careful,” she said quietly. “You should’ve kept it in.”
“What? What should I have kept in?” My voice cracked. I looked down at my hands again. Blood. Dried. Brown. I wanted to scrub it off, to erase the memory.
“I remember… changing. My fingers. My bones. Then there was screaming. And then… nothing. Mom, there was blood. What did I do?”
She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. She looked older now. More tired than I’d ever seen her.
“My son…” she began, then stopped, eyes glassy. “I never wanted this life for you. I ran from it. Hid us. But it’s catching up.”
“What are you saying?”
“I should’ve told you sooner. But I was scared. I didn’t want you growing up the way I did.”
She looked at me fully then. And everything changed.
“You’re a werewolf, Ethan. So am I.”
I stared at her. “What?”
“I ran away from the pack when I found out I was pregnant. I wanted a normal life. For both of us.”
“This is insane,” I whispered, pushing the sheets off, stumbling to my feet. “Werewolves aren’t real.”
She stood too. “You felt it, didn’t you? The shift? The hunger? The strength? That wasn’t a dream, Ethan.”
“No,” I whispered, backing up. “No. This can’t be happening. This isn’t real.”
“I’m sorry.”
The silence was deafening. The ticking clock, the distant sound of a car horn, the flutter of wings outside the window, they were too real.
I was shaking. My legs barely held me up.
“And Katie?” I asked. “What happened to her?”
“I don’t know,” she said softly. “When I found you outside the house, bloody, unconscious, there was no one else around. Just you.”
My knees gave out.
I collapsed onto the floor, head in my hands. “I could’ve killed her.”
“You didn’t mean to,” she said, kneeling beside me. “It was your first shift. You didn’t know. It takes control. Time. Training.”
“But I could’ve—” My voice broke.
“Learn more about werewolves in this book,” Mom said, her voice quiet, almost hesitant, as she handed me the ancient, weathered tome.
I stared at it like it was cursed. My hands trembled as I took it from her. The pages were brittle, yellowed, filled with strange symbols and truths I wasn’t ready for. I sat on the floor for hours, the world outside slipping away as I flipped through the pages, each word carving itself into my bones. My vision blurred with tears I didn’t even realize were falling.
I thought I was just… me. A normal kid. Nothing special. Nothing mythical. But now, what? I’m a creation? Something made, not born?
I ran my fingers through my hair, gripping it tightly as if the pain could ground me. “What the hell…” I muttered, my voice shaking. Rage simmered under my skin like fire.
“We need to leave. Now.” My Mom's voice cracked. “If they find out, if the others know, I’m done. We’re done.”
“I’m not leaving,” I said, standing my ground, my voice desperate. “This is my home.”
But Mom didn’t even look back. “We’re leaving. That’s final,” she snapped, throwing my clothes into a bag and rushing toward the car.
I followed, hollow. Numb.
And then—
“Mum, stop the car!”
A figure was sprinting toward us. I knew that silhouette. My heart paused mid-beat.
It was Kai.
He reached the car, breathless, banging on the window. “Ethan! Come out, please!”
I stepped out. Confused. Heart racing.
Before I could speak, he grabbed my face, his hands shaking, and his lips crashed into mine. Warm. Desperate. Real.
I froze.
- Writer
