The next morning, I woke up realizing 2 things. Today was my birthday, and I would finally be getting the answers that I have been asking for. The second and most devastating thing was that my parents weren’t here to celebrate it with me.

I showered quickly and headed downstairs. In the kitchen, my aunt was cooking breakfast. I was starting to wonder if she had fired her cook. Seeing me, she smiled and waved. “Good morning, dear. I hope you sleep well,” she said as she returned her attention to what she was cooking on the stove.

“I slept,” was all I could say. I had awoken a few times last night from tossing and turning. I had dreamt that I was on the plane with my parents. I kept trying to tell them that they needed to get off it, but they never listened. I guess my aunt could tell that something was troubling me because I noticed that she was hugging me as I came out of my thought.

“I know that things are still hard. I wish I could just make the pain go away, but I promise that in time, things will start to get better,” aunt Brenda said as she stroked my hair. Even as she said those words to me, I could see the pain in her eyes. I guessed she was saying that just as much to herself as she was to me. I wasn’t the only one who lost my mom. She also lost her sister.

After breakfast, aunt Brenda left. She had to go to a  quick meeting but promised to be back within an hour. I wished her luck and watched as she drove away. The twins were nowhere to be found either. I guess that they had left earlier this morning. None of them even wished me a happy birthday.

It was an hour and a half before I saw my aunt pulling up the driveway. She waved at me when she saw me standing at the door.

“Sorry it took so long, but one of our faculty members decided to give a winded speech, but I have nothing else to do today. And happy birthday, my sweet Michala,” she said, smiling.

“Thank you, aunt Brenda. And you don’t have to apologize; you had something you needed to take care of, I understand entirely. “

“Well, thank you, but I am still sorry.”

“It is fine,” I said as she ushered me back inside. Once we were in the family room, she sat on the nearest couch, patting the cushion next to her. I sat down next to her. There was something about her facial expressions that worried me.

“Michala, tonight is going to be a difficult night for you. I still can’t tell you anything right now, but after tonight, you will have all the answers you have been searching for,” she said as she looked at the floor. I tried to be understanding, but this waiting around was really getting to me.

I thought for a moment about what I was going to say. I had no intention of hurting my aunt, but my frustrations were getting to me. “Ever since I got here, you have told me about all these secrets. I have tried to be understanding, but it isn’t fair. What is so terrible that no one wants to tell me the truth?” I said as anger started to boil up inside me.

She sat there for a moment. Neither of us said anything. I was waiting to see what she was going to say. The clock ticking in the background was the only sound that could be heard for some time. Finally, she looked at me. “Michala, I love you with all my heart but stop acting like a spoiled brat. I was made to promise not to tell you anything until after tonight. There are reasons for these secrets. It was to protect you. Everything we have done was to protect you. Everything your parents did was to protect you, even if it meant hurting me. If your mom could see how you are acting now, what would she say?” aunt Brenda said with tears in her eyes. Her words cut through me like a hot knife. I sat there, my eyes threatening to explode.

“Now. This is not how I want us to celebrate your birthday, so let's go get cleaned up. The girls should be back with your cake soon,” she said as she offered me her hand. Slowly I took it as she pulled me off the couch.  Without saying anything, I went to my bathroom and cleaned my face. I couldn’t believe the things she said to me. Had I really been that bad? And what would my mom say?

Once I was cleaned up, I headed back downstairs. The twins had come back at some point. They were both smiling. “Happy Birthday Michi,” they both said.

“Now that everyone is here, let's get some cake,” aunt Brenda said, smiling. Hesitantly I walked into the dining room. My aunt's demeanor had changed, now she was all smiling. She acted as if the conversation earlier never happened.

After the cake and ice cream, we all sat down and watched a movie. The twins wanted to watch Interview with a Vampire, but aunt Brenda said it was up to me. I decided that I wanted to watch Silent Hill. I know most people wouldn’t see this as a birthday movie, but I wasn’t normal. I grew up on horror movies. You can blame my dad for that.

After watching two movies, it was about time for dinner. The twins and I set the table. This confirmed what I was thinking. She no longer had any cooks. This was odd because I remembered there always being cooks around. That wasn’t the only strange thing. There were no housemaids or anything.

When aunt Brenda finally brought dinner in, it was an odd dish. It was mostly meats. I didn’t question it, but I wasn’t complaining either. I loved steak and chicken.

“How is dinner Michala?” aunt Brenda asked between bites. Smiling, I nodded as I continued to chow down. There wasn’t much to be happy about at this moment, but this meal was one of them. For some reason, my appetite had increased as well. I felt like I could eat everything on the table.

“Michala, you may want to hurry and eat, dear. The moon will be out soon,” my aunt said. I had almost forgotten about the moon. Aunt Brenda made such a big deal about it. There had to be something so important about it for her to make such a big deal. I did my best to finish my dinner as fast as I could.

After cleaning the dishes and going grabbing some blankets, we headed outside. Laying out the blankets, we all laid down so that we could watch the sky. The twins were busy talking amongst themselves will I did my best to get comfortable.

“Are you ready for this?” My aunt asked with some enthusiasm in her voice. She seemed really excited. It made me wonder even more about what was so special about this moon.

“I am as ready as I will ever be,” I said, trying to match her enthusiasm. It was difficult with the noticeable absence of my parents. I would have given anything for them to be here right now. I was just about to go back inside when I saw it, the very first sight of the blood moon. It was deep red as it rose.

As we watched it, I felt something different about myself. It was like my insides were on fire—every fiber of my being started to scream with agony. Then I felt my aunt’s hand on my shoulder. Everything is going to be alright. Just breathe and try to stay calm,” she said as she ran her fingers through my hair. Why did I need to relax? And why was she acting as if everything was normal?

As the moon rose higher, so did the agony and pain of my insides. And then I heard a snap. Then another. It felt as if every bone in my body was breaking. The problem was becoming unbearable. Then all of a sudden, I saw something I never expected to see. There were wolves all around us. I tried to warn everyone but found myself unable to talk. Then everything went black.

As I awoke, the pain that I felt from before was gone. In its place was a strange feeling. My body felt different. Trying to move was difficult. It was as if I was a stranger in my own body.

(Don’t try to rush things). A voice said, but it did not sound like someone was talking. The voice came from my own head. It didn’t make sense. I tried again to move and heard the voice once more. Please be patient. (Give your body time to adjust.)It was extraordinary hearing the voice in my head. Opening my eyes, I noticed something different.

It was like I could see every blade of grass in front of me. Everything around me seemed so vivid. I had never seen anything like this in my life. As I looked around, I noticed something else. There were legs in front of me, but they weren’t human legs. They were canine in shape, but there was no hair. They looked strange.

As I continued to look around, I noticed that neither my aunt nor my cousins were around. Instead, the wolves that I saw from before were around me. Were they here about eating me?

(Don’t be silly, Michala, no one here is here to eat you. Now I want you to slowly try to stand.) Again the voice said in my head. I did my best to comply. It was difficult, and I noticed something different when I tried to push up with my hands. Looking down again, I noticed something very wrong. The legs that I was looking at earlier were moving as I tried to stand up. Were they my legs? I started to panic. What was wrong with me? What had I become?

(Oh, my lovely girl, you are a daughter of Helsing. This is part of what we were keeping from you. You had to find out for yourself. It was what your mother wanted.)

At this moment, I realized the voice that was talking in my head, it was my aunts. She was talking to me inside my head, but I didn’t know precisely how. Continuing to try and stand, I decided to try to talk back. (Aunt Brenda, I don’t understand. What am I, and where are you? Why are all these wolves here?) I waited a moment for a response; I could feel her thinking. This was another strange feeling.

(You, my sweet girl, are a daughter of Helsing, a human with the ability to become a wolf. Unlike the brute lycans, we become real wolves. I will explain more later, but for now, you need to run.) And with those words, the other wolves started running. After some wobbling, I began to walk with a sigh, and then I began to run.