“Pick up the phone damn it” I yelled at the receiver. The screams coming from my car got extremely loud, my ears were ringing. I could hear bones cracking and see Jimmy’s body twisting in the passenger seat.

“Hello?” a voice said in my ear. Thank god someone answered.

“Jess, Jess you have to come quick, your sister is changing” I began speaking at incredible speed.

“Siana slow down and tell me what’s going on” Jess said with authority.

“Jimhaya is shifting in my car” I screamed slowly. A crash was heard in front of me. “She just broke my steering wheel. Damn it”

“Siana listen to me” Jess voice rung in my ear “We’re coming to get you. Tell me exactly where you are and whatever you do, do not look into her eyes. We will be there in twenty minutes” I gave her our whereabouts and ended the call without a goodbye. Fur had started to grow on my friend’s body and her limbs had grown a few inches.

It was ten agonizing minutes before the girl in my car was replaced by a huge brown wolf. Her fur was deep chocolate brown with one white front paw. Her pointy ears were pressed against her head. The car was tilted by the weight threatening to break the wheels. Her two red eyes were staring at me showing zero humanity in them. A deep growl was heard from her mouth and her sharp teeth were exposed in a predatory manner.

“Hey there big not so bad wolf, uh, how’s it going?” I asked shakily. The wolf came over the driver’s seat and out of the door. Her eyes never eyes never left my body and her growl never stopped. “You remember me right? Your wanna be lover, the girl who just brought you on a date?” I was talking rubbish when the wolf took one step forward, then another.

 “Oh screw you woman. I was the player before you showed up. I managed to sleep with at least half of the girls in school and I was doing fine”. I was yelling at her but refusing to look into her eyes. Boy was I annoyed right now. “And you know what? I gave it all up for you. You heard me: I gave up my success with girls for Creepy Crawly and I have no idea why” Why was I attracted to her? That was a good question. Jimhaya was dysfunctional in every way, she barely talks, she never smiles and she certainly is not fun to play paintball with. But man oh man is she good in bed, I’ll give her that.

The wolf was so close to me now and her mussel was in my face. Screw Jessica and her rules: I raised my hand and slapped her snot “Don’t you dare growl at me bitch! I have been on team Jimhaya since day one and if you so much as drool on my feet I will blow you up so badly, not even dust of your remains will be visible.” I grabbed her mussel and kept my eyes locked with her red ones “I’m an angel for fucks sake, don’t make me use my powers on you”

The wolf’s head bowed down and her body started to shake. When she looked up at me, I could see Jimhaya behind the eyes. “Are you laughing at me?” I shrieked. Jimmy puffed her cheeks before literally dropping her huge body on me. My lungs were cut off as my back hit the road and a pile of muscles settled over me. Oh for fuck sake, why?

“That’s mature” I growled sarcastically. “Are you going to get off me now?” Her giant head lay beside mine as she puffed her cheeks as an answer. I rolled my eyes before closing them, waiting patiently for Jimmy to get off me. It was getting warm under all that fur and body heat.

We didn’t stay in this position for long because Jimmy’s head shot up and her ears perked. I froze and stopped my fingers that were unconsciously running threw her brown fur. The wolf stood on her paws and started to growl louder than before. Her head was low and her stance was stiff as she got ready to pounce on whoever was coming.

The car had not even stopped when a door opened and a giant black wolf emerged. In two jumps, the wolf landed behind me growling at Jimhaya. I tried to become as small as possible as both werewolves were snarling above me. The wolf, who I supposed was Jessica, attacked first. She swiftly landed on her sister making them tumble across the street.

I had seen two dogs fight before but never like this. They were snapping their teeth at each other trying to rip their jugular. It was a rough sight to watch as Jess slowly dragged her sister into the forests that were surrounding us. The growling grew fainter until we couldn’t hear anything but the bustling leaves. I hadn’t noticed Red crouched beside me until she put her hand on my shoulder. I jumped out of scare and turned my head in her direction

“Are you ok?” she asked me while she helped me up.

“Yeah” I said as we made our way to her car. I was silent as Red drove us back to her home. “Damn it” I burst out in anger. Red jumped a little as I hit the dash board in front of me. “Everything was fine. I had her exactly where I wanted her and everything was under control”

“It was bound to happen one day” Red said lightly.

“What do you mean?”

“Jimhaya’s wolf had not awakened yet. She was the last one of us to not have all three.” she explained “She’s in good hands Siana, Jess will take good care of her”

“How long is it going to take for them to come back home?” I asked.

“I don’t know” Red bit her lip nervously. I knew she was keeping something from me. I nudged her and asked her to go on. “Jimhaya has a very weak link with her wolf because her vampire side evolved too much, too fast. I assume she blocked her wolf from coming out because she already has enough trouble with everything else. Now that the wolf is out, the wolf won’t go back in without help from Jessica and Jamie is going to have trouble controlling her wolf. I’m afraid that she won’t be able to cope with another soul in her mind and will have a break down. If she breaks down, blood is going to spill”

I shuddered. “Is it because she is going to come out?” I asked.

“You know about her?” Red said a surprised look on her face.

“Not really, Jimmy just mentioned it a couple of times” I replied “Care to enlighten me?”

“She is Jimhaya’s alter ego that she created to protect herself. The problem is that the alter ego is extremely violent and aggressive. In one word, she is a psychopath.”

We were silent after that until we arrived at Red’s apartment. Too our surprised, someone was sitting on the front steps. Red gasped beside me as she recognised the ragged man. I took a closer look with a frown on my face. My eyes widened at the sight of Mr. Hundale; he looked awful. He had an untrimmed beard and his wild hair was longer. He had bags under his eyes and his face was filled with dirt.

Red hastily unbuckled her seatbelt and jogged to meet him. I followed close behind and saw how roughed up he actually looked. I almost blocked my nose by the horrible smell that came from the man. It was if he had not showered in a week. He looked like a homeless guy.

Red stopped a few meters from her father as he got to his feet.

“Dad” she said unsure of her voice.

“Jasmine” he whispered. He took an insecure step towards his daughter and touched her cheek slightly with his fingers. “Oh my princess” Red took a step back and M. Hundale dropped his hand.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Can we talk?”

Red looked at me before nodding. She grabbed my arm and led us into her apartment. Her apartment was two bedrooms big with a living room, a kitchen and one bathroom. It was not spacious but it was enough for the sisters to live in. The girls did not decorate their home, mainly because they knew it was temporary. Raymond took off his shoes and stepped into the apartment. This time though I had to block my nose. I peaked at Red and she was doing the same.

“Why don’t you take a shower, dad and then we can talk. I’ll wash your clothes while you’re in the bathroom alright?” he nodded and disappeared through the door. Red rubbed her temples and followed her father’s footsteps to pick up the clothes her dad left in the hallway. Once the washing machine was on, she came back and sat at the table. She put her head in her hands and sighed. I stood beside her and awkwardly patted her shoulder.

“I think I should go” I told her but before I took a step she grabbed my wrist and stare intensively at me.

“You’re not going anywhere” she said harshly. “You’re staying here until my sisters come back” she looked at the bathroom door and then back at me.

“Talk to him Jasmine” I said “He’s hurting tremendously. He needs you right now” I kissed her forehead and made my way to the kitchen. I took out steaks, rice and vegetables and set them on the table. This stressful night has let me with an empty stomach and by the looks of Raymond, he had not eaten in days. Half an hour later, M. Hundale came out in a black bathrobe. He did not look like the man I first met months ago. He was not the confident man but a battered person and his facial hair did not help his image. He stared at me for a few seconds before making his way towards his daughter. He sat down in front of her and gently put his hands on his thighs.

“How are you?” he asked.

“I’m fine” Red said “How did you know about my apartment?”

“Jessica told me. Please Jasmine, don’t be mad at her, I just want to know how you are”

And they talked. They talked for more than an hour about their missed days. He told her about his depression, him not going to work anymore and is probably fired and she told him everything that happened except Mrs. Hundale. Raymond looked proud of her when she told him about being on the flag team but he looked conflicted every time she mentioned Jimhaya. Raymond ate three plates of food that I provided for him and drank about a gallon of water. He already looked healthier than before.

“How is your mother?” Raymond said hopefully.

“She’s sad” Jasmine smiled sadly “She misses you, but daddy, what you did was unacceptable”

“I understand, but Jimhaya reminds me so much of Kelly’s attacker. It was not just her you know.” Tears were now falling down his cheeks “Vampires killed my parents, your grandparents, and my younger brother when I was your age. I had to live with the guilt of not being able to help them and I had burry them. I hate those dead bloodsuckers so much that I have turned a blind eye to what is good. I cannot control myself and as much as I hate myself for bypassing my own daughter I can’t look at her in the eye without remembering what they did to my family” Raymond looked at his daughter pleadingly “I tried, princess, I really tried to ignore what she represents to me. I even refused to tell her the truth so I could believe that my daughter would not become the thing I hate the most. Yes, it’s selfish and it may not have been the right way to solve my problems but it was the only way I could deal with everything. Please, my dear Jazzy, forgive me. I can’t live with the separation and the thought of you all hating me anymore. Please” he whispered the last word with dying hope. By then, both Hundales were crying and so was I. 

Red whipped her tears and took a shagged breath “I will only forgive you if you try to get along with Jamie” she stared at her father “It’s too late for you to bond with her but you can make her comfortable around you. Mom said she will only come home if you’re ready to give Jamie a chance” he nodded.

“I will try, tell her I will” he barked a laugh and shook his head in shame “It was my job to help her first shift. I did it with you and I did it with Jessica”

“But you were never there for her” Red stated.

“I know. I’m sure Jamie is in good hands” He got up from his chair and went around the table. He had dressed up again with clean clothes. “Now, if you would excuse me, I need to shave this beard” Red laughed as he bent down and kissed her forehead. He bowed to me before making his way out of the door.

Red got up from her chair and curled up beside me her head on my lap. I put my arm protectively around her body. She looked vulnerable right now and I didn’t like it on bit.

“Man your family is dramatic” I said sarcastically. “I don’t think a soap opera would be enough to cover everything” Red laughed gently beside. She had stopped crying but her eyes were really puffy.

“Sorry to put you in the middle of all this” she said to me. She looked up at me with her blue-grey eyes and smiled at me. I moved her fiery red hair out of her face. “But I’m glad you’re here”

“What can I say? I wouldn’t miss this for the world sweetheart”

I didn’t know how long we stayed in this position, but I fell in a peaceful sleep with my best friend by my side.