“Ah, so you have noticed? I have to say Lily you keep surprising me,” he told her. She suddenly felt a hot flash of anger and wanted to throw the phone across the room, stomp like a little child, and scream but instead she forced herself to calm down.
“How did you do it and how bad is it,” she asked, attempting to keep her voice calm.
“Impressive you are still able to control your anger to some degree. I believe I did make the right choice,” he stated avoiding her question.
“Just answer the damn question! Quit playing with me you jerk!” She belted at him angrily.
“Ah, there’s the typical lycanthrope temper. You know Lily; I have been researching a lot on werewolves and our condition. I’ve created a serum that causes the same effect of a werewolf bite, but it’s much easier on the host since they are only affected by the effects of the change and don’t have to go through the recovery of the bite. Just a little is needed to make a simple human into one of us. The serum is nearly undetectable; it is odorless and colorless with only a slight taste to it.”
Her mouth fell open as she remembered having coffee with the fake Greg and even left the room when she got a phone call. She felt as if she was going to get sick, that weird ass phone call was to get her out of the room so Greg could slip the serum into her coffee. She groaned, realizing how easy she had made it for him.
“Yes, it was quite easy from what my creation told me. As for how bad it is, you’re no worse off than any other werewolf, thanks to James getting in the way. But no matter once you have passed through the first shift I will complete the change. Don’t think that hiding in the Alpha’s house is going to protect you; I can get to you just as easily as I did the first time. It’s four days until the next full moon, until then my guinea pig,” he finished and hung up abruptly.
Lily set down the phone on the nightstand. She grabbed her pillow and screamed into it. She felt so powerless and so used but what was worse was she knew she was completely alone; no one had been able to stop this man before and they certainly could stop him now. She locked her bedroom door unable to bring herself to talk to anyone. She felt so embarrassed, so ashamed of herself and her pride.
The next day Andrew called her into his office. “You wanted to see me?” she asked with a flat tone, entering the office and closing the door behind her. He nodded then indicated her to sit. She’d wondered if someone else had disappeared or did they find the real Greg.
“What is wrong Lily? Since yesterday, you have been hiding in your room and you look as if someone told you your puppy just died,” he asked her with concern.
She smiled slightly at his description of her expression but wasn’t surprised that Andrew had been able to notice she was upset. “I have a problem,” she confessed. His face filled with even more worry but remained silent. “At first I thought I was just paranoid but yesterday I got a call from… him and he confirmed it. He told me that he created a serum that acts on humans like a werewolf’s bite… the fake Greg gave it to me,” she explained, feeling so violated. She looked at him wondering if he’d be disappointed with her.
“Maybe he’s just playing with you, Lily. Why would he possibly want to make you a werewolf?” He asked and she realized she’d forgotten to mention the psycho’s plan for her.
“He… uh… wants to make me like James,” she replied, feeling dirty. His eyes opened wide and he gave her an accusing stare. “I’m sorry it slipped my mind after what happened with Greg and James. I didn’t worry about it because I thought I’d be safe here, but I am not! He knows I’m here and says it won’t stop him from continuing,” she told him. Her panic rose and tears slipped down her cheeks. Andrew moved quickly to her side and swallowed her in a warm hug that made her feel safe.
“Don’t worry Lily, there is a chance this is just a bluff. We can’t trust this man, so we can’t be for sure until the full moon. If he’s made you like us, then we’ll deal with that. I think for your safety I’m going to have to set some rules, especially if you might be a future member of my pack of mutts,” he said with a slight smile and she burst out laughing.
“You are not to leave the house, not even the yard, alone. In fact, I’m afraid I don’t want you to leave the house for any reason that is not a hundred percent unavoidable which means no school or work.” He explained and she nearly laughed at the look of surprise on his face when she simply nodded in agreement.
“I’m sorry Andrew,” she told him letting her head sit on his chest as he hugged her tighter. “It’s all my fault, everything since the break in is my fault. The stupid phone calls, whatever happened to Greg, and now this! It’s all my fault if I could just stop saying the first thing that comes to my mind…”
“No, I have told you before Lily none of this is your fault. The blame is only on the one behind this. You have no reason to feel ashamed or embarrassed do you understand me,” he told her seriously and she smiled feeling a little better.
“We’ll have to tell the others. I’ll call a meeting for this evening,” he added getting up from her side. She got up as well and gave him a quick nod. She left his office and went directly to her bedroom again. Andrew said she didn’t have to feel ashamed or embarrassed, but she still felt it all the same.
That evening Lily felt uneasy and uncomfortable when Andrew called the Roberts family, Doctor Thompson, and James into the living room to explain what she had told him that. Lily feared how everyone would take the news, especially Liz and Chris. Would they understand or would they end up thinking that she was just like what the rest of the pack thought of her: a wannabe werewolf that wormed her way into the alpha’s family.
“First, until we know who the traitor is none of the information of which I’m about to discuss can go outside this room, is that understood?” Andrew started and everyone nodded silently, looking a little confused. “I’ll go straight to the point… it is quite possible that Lily will be one of us after the full moon,” he started and everyone gasped in surprise. They began shooting off questions immediately, but Andrew held up his hands to silence the room.
He explained for the most part what she had told him. He left out exactly what this mad man wanted to do with her, for which she was thankful. “She’s going to need our help, we’ve only got four days until the full moon and if the traitor is honest in his threats, we need to help prepare her as much as possible. As well I call on all of you to keep her safe because she may still be in danger from this mad man,” he explained.
Lacy squealed eagerly capturing Lily in an iron grip hug. “Oh my God, This is great! Now we can be even more like sisters,” she cheered excitedly and Lily couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm.
Chris gave her an arrogant smile and she knew he was going to say something stupid. “Jealousy, denial and now this, I knew you wanted me but geez Lily to go so far,” he teased proving her right and she rolled her eyes at him and threw a pillow at him.
“Please, I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole player,” she snapped back at him. He gave her a look that told her he didn’t believe a word and laughed. Sandy swallowed Lily into a hug and smothered her with kisses.
“Don’t worry about a thing Lily; we’ll do everything we can to keep you safe. You’re like my own child and there is nothing more protective or terrifying than a werewolf mother,” she whispered in Lily’s ear and then gave her a squeeze. Lily smiled at Sandy affectionately, appreciating the gesture. Liz’s expression was stoic, but Lily suspected she was worried more about what this would mean for Lily and Tony’s relationship more than if Lily was a type of werewolf groupie.
Andrew thanked them all for their words and explained the details of the new rules he was going to put into place until the threat the traitor presented was over. “Thank you all again for your attention and help in this matter. You can go now,” he told them and everyone started leaving only her father, Tony, the doctor, and James remained. Her mood darkened as she wondered why James was still there; he seemed to have become her shadow lately. No matter where she went he was close behind, it was starting to get irritating.
“We have to stop this! This man is playing with the natural balance of the world,” Andrew stated angrily once the others were gone. “He’s successfully changed how we shift and has now created a synthetic method of turning humans into werewolves. If he places this serum as he calls it, in the human’s water supply, he could not only upset the balance but destroy it completely! I do not want to think if the repercussions that will cause! We must find this man and put a stop to him and all his dark work destroyed,” he demanded heatedly and James winced.