silver & stardust

blackout

I woke up in a bed. But not my bed, I realized immediately.

The covers were soft though, cocooning me in warmth and a thick, wool blanket was layered over me. I was dressed in a soft blue t-shirt and leggings, my feet bare.

Flashes of last night came back to me: looking for Liv, the wolves, the pain. I lifted the hem of the sweater, and a white bandage covered the injury but I didn't feel any of the soreness from the aftermath.

I swung my feet over the side of the bed, landing in carpet on unsteady legs. I gathered myself, reaching for the door but it opened before I'd reached the handle.

"Liv?" I couldn't stop the gasp of relief from escaping me.

Her eyes widened before I was in her arms in a bone-shattering hug. "I was so worried about you-I thought you were dead when I found you, there was so much blood--" Her expression remained grave and a little green - it sent chills through me.

I was only ever used to seeing her smile or laugh or cry about stupid s**t in our lives.

"What the hell happened? My head feels like someone knocked me out with a bag of bricks." I rubbed at my aching temples, the pulsing subsiding very slowly.

She chewed on her lip nervously. "It's a long story. You might want to sit down for this."

We settled on the bed, Liv against the pillow and I faced her.

"There are things I haven't told you about myself," she began, twisting the blanket between her fingers. "Things I wanted to tell you but couldn't."

I reached for her hand, grasping it to say It's okay. I understand.

"I'm a werewolf," she said, abruptly as if to get it out of her system.

Every rational thought told me no werewolves aren't real but Livia wasn't a liar. In things that mattered, she never shied from the truth. It was one of the many things that kept us at each other's side our whole lives. I knew she was telling the truth just by looking at her.

"Were you the one with the green eyes?" was all I said softly after a long moment. That voice, that treacherous voice filled my mind and I knew I'd never be able to forget it.

She nodded, relief filling her eyes. "That wolf who attacked you was someone I thought was a friend. Her name's Reyna." Her expression flashed with a series of emotions, of rage and hurt, of grief. "She got me to follow her into the forest, to talk. But then you came--" Liv broke off, and I knew there was much more to the story than what had happened. But I didn't say anything.

"She decided it would hurt more to go after you instead." Her breath trembled. "We fought but she swiped me with her claws and there was some kind of paralytic in them that didn't let me go after her. I prayed that one of the pack members found you before she did. But we were too late - she'd gotten you by then, and there was so much blood. I thought you were dead." Her fists tightened enough that her knuckles went white.

A image of that wolf - Reyna - lunging for me with her jaws aimed for my throat replayed in my mind. I fought back a shudder.

My chest tightened at the devastation in her face. I wouldn't know what I would've done if we reversed roles.

"We managed to get you here once we realized you were still breathing and patched you up. This is my family's house on Blood Moon property. And don't worry I already texted your parents you're okay and that you were still sleeping this morning."

I nodded, grateful.

Liv bit her lip nervously, hesitation clear on her face. "There's one more thing."

I raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"When we found you, you were..."

She took a breath, trying to choose her words precisely. "You weren't exactly human."

"You're a werewolf, Shirin."

So it had been real. Last night hadn't been a dream - I'd actually turned into a wolf. A f*****g wolf. But I didn't want to believe it even if I knew Liv would never lie to me about something like this.

"You're lying. I'm just a stupid, ordinary human. I'm not - I can't be a...." I couldn't even finish the damned sentence.

I knew she wasn't. But I didn't want to accept it.

She looked at me with sympathy, her voice went gentle. "We believe your wolf was....dormant for this long because you'd never been in a situation to use that kind of power or never had to shift," she said gently but it didn't help. Not really. "Look under the bandage."

I lifted my shirt and peeled the cloth back, only to reveal smooth, unmarred skin. "How am I going to explain this to my family? I-"

"You can't. You'll only put them in danger."

"If I wolf out in front of them, I can't just blast out the door without an explanation."

"I'm going to help you learn to shift and learn the werewolf 101."

"What if I'm not....." It was hard to face this reality.

"Don't bother finishing that sentence." Her expression hardened, one I'd gotten to see over the years whenever someone was about to meet her fist. "You're Shirin f*****g Khan. You're going to pull through this. You're going to fight and help me kick this dickweed's ass six feet under and whoever else is behind this s**t. And also you're not allowed to die on me. We're in this s**t together."

Liv pinned me with the look. It was one she got when someone told her she couldn't do something or talked s**t about her family or anyone she cared about. It was terrifying.

It was hard not to cry. I didn't know what I'd done in my past lives to deserve someone like Livia Diaz.

She added, "You're not alone in this. Ever." There was no room for argument with that tone. "Now come on, I'm going to give you the grand tour."

I nodded, not finding the right words to say. The shock seemed to paralyze me. She looked at me like she realized this, like she knew it would be best for me not to dwell in my thoughts - that's just a black hole of overthinking that would do more bad than good.

I followed her out the door, still processing this all wasn't a dream.

. . .

REMINDER: I changed the ending of the last chapter and parts of this one. Shirin wasn't turned by the unnamed wolf - she was always one but it was dormant in her.