How should a person react when their friend, who they've made out with a couple of times and who they have a huge crush on, literally changes from a wolf to a human right in front of their eyes?

Because I have no flipping idea what to do. I want to run as far and as fast as I can. I want to cry for hours on end. I want to scream at the man standing before me. And, those are all great options, but I decide to sit on the dirty ground of the alleyway and stare at Grayson in shock. Just moments ago, he was this enormous black wolf, and now he's the Grayson I've grown to care for. But is he really that Grayson? That Grayson was human. This Grayson is a monster.

I'm not crying anymore, but I'm shaking uncontrollably from a combination of the cold and shock. I visibly flinch and press my back as far as I can against the wall when another wolf, this one brown and half a head shorter than wolf-Grayson, trots into the alleyway and hands a piece of fabric to Grayson. Grayson takes the black fabric from the wolf's mouth and says something to it in a low voice as he puts on the shorts.

That's when I realize that Grayson has been naked ever since he changed back to his human form. I'm way too traumatized right now for his nakedness to freak me out. Grayson relays some information to the wolf in a low voice, glancing over to my shaking form every few seconds, as if making sure I'm still here. Like I have anywhere to run to- he's blocking the alleyway and my legs feel more like noodles at this point. I probably couldn't run if I tried.

The brown wolf makes a low grumbling sound from it's chest, which brings out a whimper from my throat. I back up even more, scraping my arms against the brick wall as I slide further back into the shadows. Grayson's head darts in my direction at my pathetic whine, his eyes as dark as a predator's. A single tear trails down my face. How is this happening?

"Go," Grayson says in a voice that is probably at a normal volume, but in my panicked state it sounds more like he's screaming. The wolf makes a sound equivalent to a human scoff and darts away from the alley and towards the forest a few blocks away.

Grayson slowly approaches me, using slow and careful movements so as not to scare me- at least, that's what I assume he's doing. However, I'm already scared of him and nothing is going to change that. He's a monster! A creature with sharp teeth, claws, and a powerful body that can kill me in an instant. What does he expect me to do? Run into his arms?

"Baby, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" His low voice does nothing to soothe me. In fact, his voice and his proximity causes my breathing to pick up, almost pushing me into a panic attack. He instantly sees my distress and reaches out for me, but stops before making contact with my skin. He retracts his hand slowly, almost like it's painful for him.

"Breathe, baby. Take a deep breath. You're okay. You're safe." He continues to whisper things of this nature, and I slowly calm down. When my breathing is at an acceptable rate, I raise my eyes to look at a concerned Grayson.

"W-w-what's h-happening. I-I don't... You're a... Oh my god!" My hands immediately cover my mouth as a gut-wrenching sob is released.

Grayson reaches out for my arm, but I back away from him again. Using a stern tone, I scream at him. "Stop! Don't you fucking come near me!"

I never curse, which probably explains the look of shock and sorrow on Grayson's face when I do. He brings up his hands in surrender and backs up to the other side of the alley, as far away from me as he can get.

"Thea, I'm so sorry you had to find out this way, and I promise I will explain everything to you in time. But, please let me look at your injuries. I need to know that you're okay first."

I'm already shaking my head back and forth, but the motion causes me to wince loudly as pain radiates from the back of my head. I lift my hand to touch where the pain stems from, and when I look at my hand I see red. My blood.

I don't even have time to process my injury before I turn to the side and vomit all over the ground. My hair is gently lifted away from my face, and it doesn't even register that it's Grayson helping me as I continue to empty the contents of my stomach. After gagging and coughing for another minute, I finally lean back against the wall.

I can feel Grayson's hands on me, one is touching the back of my head gently and the other is checking my wrists which have red marks from when the vampire pinned me to the wall. I whimper when he touches the back of my head where it made contact with the rough bricks. His eyes turn black, and I can tell he is breathing heavily. "It's bleeding too much," he mumbles more to himself than to me.

Grayson places an arm under my knees and another around my back as he easily lifts me up. He begins walking away with me, but I slowly start squirming in an attempt to escape. He's probably going to kidnap me and kill me! Or eat me!

"No..." I cry. "Stop. Put me down," I say, but my words are slurring together as my vision gets spotty. I attempt to push him away, but my attempts don't even phase him. I don't even think he notices.

"Baby, you're really hurt. You must have a really bad concussion. Relax, I'm gonna make it all better. I'm taking you to a doctor right now."

I have no more energy left to fight him. As much as I want to escape from him, the adrenaline has left my system and exhaustion has replaced it. All I can do is cry as I'm in the most pain I've ever been in.

"It hurts," I cry, pushing my head into the crook of his neck. I know I'm weak, but I need comfort right now. Even if it's from Grayson.

"I know, love. I know."

As I'm drifting off to a pain-induced sleep, I hear Grayson mutter, "I'm gonna kill that fucker for touching what's mine."

-----------------

I wake up to an unfamiliar voice. It's deep, so I can tell it's male, and there's a raspy quality to it that makes me think that he's older, in his early forties, perhaps.

"I don't know what to tell you, Alpha. She's human, so her injuries will take longer to heal. As far as my research shows, this is a normal bodily response for a human after a trauma like hers..."

"It's been twelve hours, John. Twelve fucking hours, and my mate is still basically comatose! You need to do something!" This voice, I know. It's Grayson, and by the volume of his voice and the amount of cursing, I would say he's mad about something. Oh, Grayson... always grumpy about something. I wonder what it is this time. I wish he would stop yelling though... I'm trying to sleep.

"With all due respect, Alpha, I am the doctor here. I'm telling you that besides a concussion and some light scrapes and bruises, your mate will be absolutely fine. She may have a headache and slight dizziness and should avoid major stress, but she'll be just fine. The vampire didn't feed from her or inject his venom..."

The unknown male's voice is cut off by a loud sound, and if I wasn't so tired, I would probably would have opened my eyes to see what the sound was.

"Hey," Cooper says gently. "Trust me, I'm just as frustrated. She's strong for a human. She'll be fine and eating like a pig before you know it."

I don't eat like a pig...

"She doesn't eat like a pig," Grayson defends me. "She's cute."

"We know," Axel says. "He didn't mean anything by it. You know how Cooper is..."

Wait... Why is everyone having a party in my bedroom while I'm trying to sleep? With all the strength I can muster up, I try to pry my eyes open, but it takes way more effort than it should. When my eyes finally flutter open, I quickly shut them again because of the intensity of the lights in this room. The room itself is white and the lights are so bright that I can't keep them open for long. I open them again a few moments later and squint my eyes. Something doesn't seem right to me...

I don't recognize this room. This isn't my room. Why am I not in my room?

I move my arm and feel a light tug on my hand. I look down and realize that there is an IV sticking out of it. It takes me a moment, and once I acknowledge the pain in the back of my head, the memories from the night before hit me at full force. My sudden intake of breath is all it takes for all the voices to cease. In an instant, Grayson is standing over me, his gray blue eyes a mixture of relief, sorrow, and guilt.

It doesn't matter how Grayson feels. He lied to me, and now I can't trust him. And, I'm scared of him. Right now, the only thing I can think of is getting as far away from him as I possibly can... Not the way my skin tingles as he holds my hand.

I sit up quickly and instantly regret it as my head spins. Grayson grabs my shoulders as my body unconsciously leans to the side. However, his touch only frightens me more. I don't want that monster to touch me!

An incoherent noise comes from my throat as I lean away from Grayson and leap off of the bed. Grayson didn't expect that, so I'm able to escape from his touch and off of the bed... and right onto the floor.

I would have fallen completely if strong arms hadn't caught me around my waist and lifted me up to stand. My legs didn't seem to want to work right now, and whoever is holding me seems to realize this as they keep holding me in what seems to be a hug.

"Easy there, Thee. Don't want you to injure yourself," a familiar voice teases me. Cooper! I look up at him and for the first time notice he isn't his usual joking self. No smile lies rests upon his face, and he has large bags underneath his eyes that have become almost purple from lack of sleep. All in all, he looks like a mess, but I'm so grateful he's here that I could almost cry.

Actually, I do cry. And the crying makes my head hurt more, so I end up crying more... Yeah, it's a vicious, never-ending cycle of me being a big baby, but I can't think right now- only feel.

"Cooper, I'm so glad you're here! Please help me!" I sob, my tears most likely drenching Cooper's red hoodie. Cooper wraps his arms around me protectively, and I feel safe in his arms... until I hear a loud growl sounding through the room. I shake uncontrollably and hide my head further into Cooper's hoodie when his voice sounds.

"Get your FUCKING hands off of my mate," Grayson orders. I only sob louder, certain at this point that Grayson is talking about me. Is he calling me a mate? What does that even mean?

"Grayson, I respect you as an Alpha. But right now, you need to back up. Can't you see that you're scaring her? She's never going to accept you if she's scared of you," Cooper says, hugging me tighter in the process. He is still supporting my weight as I'm unable to stand, and it's almost like it takes him no effort at all.

Another animalistic growl is all it takes for my crying to pick up at full speed. "Gray, he's right. Calm down and look at Thea. Look at how scared she is right now. Stop with the growling, possessive wolf shit and be human for a second," Axel says firmly. Suddenly the growling stops completely and I sigh out in relief.

A few moments pass before a voice breaks the silence. "Thea?" His voice is soft, yet demanding. Even though I know I shouldn't, I remove my face from the depths of Cooper's hoodie and ever so slowly turn my head to face Grayson. When my eyes meet his I am shocked to see his eyes have a few tears in them. Although he refuses to let them fall, I can still see the emotion in them.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, but... I was just worried that you were hurt. And you keep backing away from me as if I would hurt you, which I would never do. I care so much about you, Thea. So much more than you could ever know. And I know that you're confused right now, but would it be alright if I... If I held you?" He finished speaking, his desperation evident in the last question he asks.

It's crazy how badly my heart years for his touch. I so badly want to make his sorrow disappear, but my mind won't let me. My mind is screaming at me to run away from him. My mind still sees him as the large black wolf that was sinking his canines into the red-eyes vampire last night. And because my mind feels this way, I can only cower away from him when he reaches his arm out to touch me. It's instinct, really. I can see the disappointment and defeat in his eyes as he slowly lowers his outreached hand.

Grayson has been talking so openly about what happened last night that I almost forget that Cooper and Axel must be so confused why I'm hurt and scared of Grayson. However, as I look at their faces, they seem saddened by the fact that I won't touch Grayson...

My eyes widen in realization as I gasp and quickly stumble out of Cooper's hold. He looks surprised by my sudden move, but I don't care one bit. I got accepted into Ivy league colleges, and it took me this long to put the pieces together! How hard did I hit my head?

"You too?" I question Axel who looks to be restraining Grayson with the tight grip on his shoulder. He guiltily nods his head. I back up a bit, then turn to Cooper with new tears spilling down my cheeks. "A-and you?"

He nods his head, his own eyes filling with tears as well. "Thea, I can explain..."

"Don't come near me! Any of you!" I scream as I hold my hands up in front of my body as a shield. Truthfully, I know that if any of them wanted to hurt me they could have when I was passed out. However, my brain isn't dealing with things logically, only emotionally.

"You're all... werewolves?" I whisper.

They nod their heads. I begin blinking my eyes over and over again, trying to get my blurry vision and pounding head to dissipate. I wince as I move my head the wrong way and feel a large bump in the back of my head. "Ow," I whine.

Grayson looks like he's about to explode. I've never seen him look so upset before, especially when he looks at me. It's scary.

"The doctor said you have a concussion and that stress is bad for your health. If you won't let anyone help you, will you please sit on the bed. Please," he begs. I comply, but only because my head really hurts and he's probably right about the medical advice. Once I'm seated on the bed, I look around and realize that I'm not in a normal hospital. Although there's an IV stand and the standard hospital bed, a window outside reveals a forest that seems to spread on for miles and miles.

"Where am I?" I ask slowly.

"You're at the pack house," Grayson answers.

"What the heck is that?" I question. "You know what? Never mind. I would like to go home. Can I go home?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

Axel, Grayson, and Cooper all answer at once. Grayson is the one who says no. Axel and Cooper glare at Grayson before looking back at me. "Of course you can go home. I'll take you," Cooper offers.

"No." Grayson's booming voice takes over the room, challenging anyone to disobey him. I shake with fear once again. "She needs to stay while we talk this out and record her recovery. A fucking vampire attacked her last night. I want to know why. It can't be a coincidence the bloodsucker targeted her."

"What she needs is to go home and process what has happened. Not be forced to stay here against her will. How will she ever respect you if you take her choices away?" Cooper protectively responds.

"I would watch your tone when you speak to your Alpha," Grayson warns, stepping closer to Cooper.

"Alright, that's enough." Axel's soft yet firm voice cuts through the tension. "Cooper, you take Thea home." Grayson looks like he's going to protest, but Axel holds his hand up to stop him from interrupting. "We are leaving here to interrogate the vampire. Right now, that's the best way you can help her."

Grayson looks like he wants to argue further, but one look from Axel has him glancing over to my in the bed. I'm currently sitting on the bed with my face buried in my knees as I peer up at the intimidating males in the room.

With a sigh and a ruffle of his own hair, Grayson storms out of the room. Axel follows him quickly.

Now, I'm left in the room with Cooper... another friend who turned out to be a werewolf...