I walked out of the double doors, my head down as I slowly moved my feet forward. My backpack felt heavier than usual on my shoulders and the sky seemed darker. All of it seemed a bit cliché, I know. But my boyfriend of two years left me out of the blue for a girl that doesn’t even compare to me. It was shallow but true. I was far prettier and more popular than she could ever dream to be. He was way out of her league, even one of the higher up jocks in our school, and he still went for her. Without any good explanations for me.

            I sighed heavily and finally looked up for the first time in hours. Pulling my keys out of my jeans pocket, I hit the unlock button a little while Dodge Civic beeped at me a few parking spaces away from where I stood. I wandered over to it, moving just as slow as before.

            “Hey.” I stopped right in front of the driver’s side and glanced over my shoulder. A boy who was a good head taller than me jogged over. He met my gaze head on and a look of concern overcame his soft features. “I heard about Mick. You okay?”

            I turned away and pulled the door open, openly choosing to ignore his question. I threw my backpack in the backseat and slid behind the wheel, slamming the door behind me. The blond boy walked to the passenger side and knocked on the window after trying to open the locked door. I let out a small sigh and clicked the unlock button as I started up the car. He quickly slid in as I put the vehicle in drive.

            “Marcy,” he said firmly, grabbing my upper arm tightly. “I get that you’re upset but I don’t want you to drive recklessly. So please, talk to me.”

            I glanced at him as my lower lip started to tremble. This boy knew me far too well. Granted, he was my younger brother, but still. Tears blurred my vision and when I blinked, a few ran down my cheeks, racing each other to my chin.

            “I just don’t understand, Jace,” I finally mumbled, my voice cracking softly as I spoke. “We were just fine a few days ago when we went out on that date. He was even fine and normal when he walked up to me today. But then that girl appeared in the crowd looking for him or something and he acted as if nothing had ever happened between us.”

            “That’s because he’s a douche.” I looked at him sharply and he sighed. “I’m sorry, Marcy, but it’s true. He was only really nice to you. Even with his friends he was a jerk. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming because I’d be lying.”

            I threw my head against the headrest and closed my eyes, a tear slipping down my cheek.

            “Then why was I so blind?” I whispered.

            My brother took a moment to respond. “You were in love. Love does strange things to people.” I bit my lip and held in the flood of tears that were threatening to escape. “We should get home. I’m sure Karen and Wes are waiting for us.”

            “Right.” I quickly wiped the tear off my cheek and took a deep breath. I glanced at Jace, who gave me an encouraging smile, then I proceeded to drive out of the parking lot. The drive down the quiet streets was silent. My throat was tight and throbbing; I was trying so hard not to cry. It seemed so pointless to anyone else – a breakup. But to me, it was everything. Jace and Mick were the only ones who truly understood me so having lost one of them hurt. A lot.

            I pulled my car up to the front of a small white house. It usually seemed to shine when in the sun but since today was overcast, it seemed to match the color of the sky. I turned the key in the ignition and listened to the engine purr to a stop.

            “Hey.” I looked over at my brother who had put his hand on my arm. “Everything will be okay. In fact, I was thinking. Maybe we should take Karen and Wes out tonight. Mom and Dad have been…off recently. I also thought it would help you get your mind off of Mick. If that’s okay with you.”

            I gave him a small smile. “I’d like that.”

            He smiled back and took his hand off. “They should be out of school by now. I’ll go get them.”

            I only nodded and he slipped out of the car. I sniveled and inhaled deeply, my breath shaking slightly. As soon I had recovered, I saw Jace walking out of the house with our two younger siblings who looked practically identical. He opened the back door for them and slid in.

            “Hey guys,” I greeted them, turning in my seat so they could see my smile. “How was school?”

            “Long,” Wes muttered, staring out the door as soon as Jace closed it.

            “What’s wrong?” Karen glanced at Jace and I as soon as Jace turned to look back at them. “Did something happen?”

            “Dad never came home,” Karen whispered, her expression far too serious for a girl her age. “Mom said he won’t be coming back until late tonight or tomorrow morning.”

            I glanced at Jace who glanced back at me before I smiled at my younger siblings once more. “Well, that just means we can have more time to have fun together.” Wes looked over at me expectantly. “I was thinking a movie or something like that. What do you guys think?”

            They both beamed at me and nodded profusely. Turning back to face the steering wheel, I started the car and drove out of our neighborhood.

…

            I collapsed on my bed late that same night, exhausted from all the excitement from the night with my siblings. I pulled my blankets up around me and sighed contentedly. I closed my eyes for just a few seconds before I heard the front door open and slam shut followed my mother shouting. My eyes shot open and I sat up, looking at my closed door as if I could see right through it.

            I jumped in my skin as the loud boom of my father’s voice practically shook the house. I leapt out of my bed and yanked my bedroom door open, flickering my gaze briefly to the door directly across the hall from me. Karen was poking her head out of her bedroom, her frightened blue eyes meeting mine before I took off down the hall. I put my hand against the cold wall as I slowed to the entrance to the living room.

            My mother stood in front of the kitchen, standing tall and proud. But written on her face was complete fear. I peeked my head around the corner and saw my father standing in the middle of the room, glaring daggers at his wife.

            “I told you earlier today that you weren’t welcome back,” my mother said as calmly as she could, her voice wavering.

            “This is my home, Tessa,” he responded, his voice sounding more like an animalistic growl. “You can’t keep me out of my own home.”

            “I’ll call the cops.” I pulled my lower lip in between my teeth and started gnawing on it; she’d hesitated.

            “Then I’ll just kill you.” My heart leapt in my chest as his quiet words. I knew my father was a drunk and he could get pretty violent. But he’d never threatened any of us with death before, hadn’t even tried to kill any of us.

            “Quinn, it’s a full moon. You’re not thinking straight. No one truly does on such a night.”

            “You and your ridiculous superstitions,” he responded in that eerily calm voice as he took a few slow steps closer to her. “The lunatics are out tonight. Isn’t that right, dear?”

            I noticed my mother swallow nervously, her body tensing. I knew she was trying to keep from backing away from him. She probably knew I was there, watching and listening. That was when I heard a loud crack. My eyes widened as I looked back to my father. I couldn’t help but gasp when I saw his shoulder resting at an awkward angle, his torso turned toward it as his face held a mask of pure anger. His top lip was pulled back to reveal his teeth, his canines longer, much longer, than they should’ve been. His eyes seemed to glow as he took another step and another crack echoed in the house.

            “I’ve been holding back for far too long…” Another crack sounded, this one louder and longer as a ripping noise joined it. I couldn’t look away from my father; it was like watching a train-wreck. In a matter of seconds, he’d turned from just a tired-looking old man to a huge black beast, his head nearly touching the nine-foot ceiling.

            “Mom…” I whispered, my eyes glued to the creature dribbling drool onto the carpet. “What is that?”

            A slam sounded directly behind the creature, causing it to spin around. A small group of people clad in black and white stepped into the room. Two men and two women. The men stood on either side of the creature while the blonde woman stood behind it, a small handgun aimed at its head.

            It let out a low growl that sent chills down my spine. The woman with the darker hair stood in the doorway of the open front door, her hands relaxed at her sides while her intelligent eyes took everything in. Her gaze landed on me for a moment before turning to the large creature standing in the living room.

            “Isn’t this the werewolf Vanessa nor Ben could find?” she inquired, her voice sounding older than she looked. My blood ran cold as I felt my heart drop into my chest. Werewolf. I wanted to say that they don’t exist. Creatures like that only exist in legends and movies. But I couldn’t deny it since it seemed to be the only explanation for what happened to my father.

            The creature – werewolf – hunched over, its long arms stretched out to its sides as its mouth hung open, drool dripping from its sharp fangs and onto the carpeted floor. Its glare was zeroed in on the dark haired woman while the two men slowly walked around it.

            “You’ve been hiding long enough,” the woman said before pulling a small handgun out of her belt and shooting the creature three times. It fell to the floor with a quaking thud. “Darren, Boyd, take him. Blaire, you know what to do.”

            As soon as the orders were sent out, the others went into action. The two men dragged the creature out of the house while the other woman, Blaire, marched right over to my mother. My heart jumped into my throat and I took a few steps forward. When I saw a syringe jammed into her arm, I stopped, my body shaking. Blaire turned back to the woman, holding the syringe up to reveal a light pink liquid inside.

            “Hm,” the woman hummed, her eyes flickering to the staircase where my two brothers were. “Check the older boy and the girl in the doorway.”

            My eyes practically popped out of my head when I realized that she meant Jace and I. I watched as Blaire walked over to Jace and shoved him up against the wall, shoving a clean, empty syringe into his arm. When she pulled it away and showed the woman, the liquid inside was a bright red.

            “Kill him.”

            My heart stopped when the woman ushered those words. In the next second, my mother was screaming, pleading for them to leave him alone. I tried to run to him when Blaire pulled out her own handgun and pointed it right at Jace’s forehead. But I was only able to take one step before two large arms wrapped around me and held me to a hard wall. I screamed until my throat became raw, my eyes blurring with tears when I heard the sound of the gun going off.

            “Jace!” I screamed, hunching forward and pulling my legs up, causing the person that was holding me to tighten their grip.

            I blinked rapidly right as Jace’s body hit the floor, a thick trail of blood running down the side of his forehead as his unseeing eyes met mine. My body went limp as I started at him, my mother’s sobs muffled in background. I looked away when Blaire stepped up to me, holding an empty syringe in her hand.

            I swallowed nervously as she moved the syringe toward my arm. I wanted to close my eyes but I couldn’t as I watched the vial fill up with liquid. I glanced over at the dark haired woman with fear and curiosity as she uttered one word, “Interesting.”