‘Rose, you said so yourself. You couldn’t control yourself. If I hadn’t allowed Xander to poison you, Martha could have been seriously hurt or even killed,’ she says.
‘What if the wolfsbane killed me?’ I ask her.
‘Xander assured me it wouldn’t do that,’ she replies.
‘Wolfsbane won’t kill you, but the more you have, the worse the side effects,’ Xander says.
I sit up with the bed sheets framing my face. ‘If you don’t mind, Xander. This is a conversation between Janie and me, so butt out,’ I tell him.
‘And this, Janie, is one of many reasons why I don’t like werewolves. They’re always aggressive and temperamental and only think of one thing, themselves,’ he retorts.
I subconsciously emit a guttural growl. My fingers slightly change into claws as I have the urge to rip Xander’s throat out, but they return to my usual fingers.
‘Sorry, puppy-dog,’ Xander smirks, ‘While the wolfsbane is in your system, you won’t be able to shift. Speaking of shifting. You only partially shifted in the restroom. Why didn’t’ you fully shift into your wolf?’ he asks.
‘That’s none of your business,’ I snap.
Xander’s eyes narrow, and he tilts his head, gazing at Janie for an answer.
Janie jolts as she stares between us.
‘Don’t you dare tell him, Janie,’ I tell her.
‘If there’s something I should know, then you should tell me, Janie,’ he says sincerely.
‘Don’t fall for his sweetness, Janie. For all we know, he could be an enemy. He could be charming you with magic for all we know,’ I tell her.
‘I don’t think Xander is our enemy at all, and I think what we feel for each other is real and not forced by magic,’ Janie replies. ‘Maybe if we tell him, he might be able to help?’ she says.
‘Are you kidding me, Janie? Xander just confessed he hates werewolves. He’s more likely to help kill me if anything,’ I reply.
‘Janie said you were born here and have never been to Felderia?’ Xander says to me.
‘Nope,’ I reply.
‘You have to be lying?’ he says.
‘If I’m lying, then that means Janie lied to you too, and I think we both know Janie is far from a liar,’ I say to him.
‘That’s a good point. I just can’t get my head around how you came to be here. You’re not supposed to be here. I’ll have to inform the mystic council in Felderia that there’s been a breach,’ he says.
‘What are you talking about, Xander? This is my home. This is where I’ve lived my entire life, so yes. I am supposed to be here,’ I say to him.
Xander taps his fingers in thought on the arms of my chair, ‘This means your parents are werewolves? Your mother must be wearing an amulet or had a spell cast over her to hide her supernatural aura,’ he says.
‘Are you for real, Xander? My parents are not werewolves. Neither of them is a werewolf,’ I tell him.
‘Well, it’s the only explanation there is. Why your parents would keep that a secret from their only child stuns me, the mystic council will retrieve them along with you and punish your parents. You were born here without knowing, so I’m sure you won’t be punished,’ he says.
‘What!’ Janie and I shout.
‘Xander. Rose is telling you the truth. Her parents are human,’ Janie tells him.
‘Then how is Rose a werewolf if neither of her parents is one?’ he asks.
Janie and I exchange hesitant glances. My shoulders slump, and I sigh as I remove my beanie and pull my tucked-in tail out.
‘You know, in Felderia, it’s not a trend to remain partly shifted,’ then he stiffens with surprise. ‘Wait, how did you shift into your ears and tail when you have wolfsbane in your system?’ he asks suspiciously.
I gaze at Janie and nod in defeat.
‘You see, Rose never used to be a werewolf. Rose was a human up until last month. I found out I was a witch the night Grammy died. Rose didn’t believe I could wield magic, even though I could regularly predict things in her life. I spent the week making different potions in my room, and when Rose came over, she wanted to prove me wrong, so she may have taken the lycanthrope potion, which I may of stuffed up an ingredient of, and drunk it but instead of fully shifting, it caused werewolf ears and tail to appear permanently, and we’ve had to hide them ever since.’
Xander jumps out of the chair, paces the room, and mutters worriedly.
‘What’s wrong?’ Janie asks carefully.
‘This is not good. I have to think of something. I’m obligated to inform the Mystic council of this, but doing so will end up with you also being punished, Janie, and I won’t allow that,’ he says.
‘Punish me for what?’ Janie asks.
‘In Felderia, witches are prohibited from making potions or amulets that enhance or give power. You need permission from the mystic council and have to have a very good reason for it, but the council has never, to this day, permitted a witch or warlock to grant another supernatural any more power than they already hold. The mystic council believe balance is the key to keeping Felderia fair for all of us and disrupting the balance will create vast wars. The Mystic Council are the last of the ancient enchantists who master all magic. The punishment could be as severe as death, but because you didn’t know any better, they might force you to spend a certain amount of years in a dungeon or have you chained and lashed,’ Xander explains.
‘But, I’m not from Felderia, nor do I live there, so their rules don’t apply to me,’ Janie says firmly.
‘True, but the rules will apply to you if they were to find out you are here. They know every witch and warlock living in this world, but they don’t know about you and Rose. Not being human means you’re both meant to be in Felderia unless you have the Mystic Council’s permission which you don’t. Vampires and werewolves are just some of the supernatural’s that are not permitted in this world.’