After the last bell, I don’t stop to talk to anyone, not even Sarah. Instead, I fast-walk out the building and towards the gates that lead to the school’s parking lot. The whole time, I’m staring down at my converse sneakers, avoiding any chance of eye contact. Slipping past the other kids, I catch a whiff of their teenage B.O. I squint and scrunch up my nose. It’s mostly the boys who stink, but a few girls could use some deodorant lessons too. Then a sweeter scent hits me, lavender perfume.

“Hi Katrina. Everything alright?”

I glance up from my shoes and spot Miss Channey my art teacher standing in my path, a flowery dress hanging off her boney shoulders. Seriously, this lady is so skinny she must be a marathon runner or something.

“I’m fine. Just wanna get home.”

The art teacher brushes her hair aside, giving me a better view of her high cheek bones and long beaky nose. Somehow, the bird look works for her. No one would call her a super model or anything, but Miss Channey is kinda pretty in a fragile way. She narrows her eyes at me. “You know, if there was something wrong, you could talk to me about it. Or there’s a number of a teen hotline I can give you.”

My face gets all warm and I’m sure my cheeks have gone red. “There’s no hotline in the world for my kind problem.”

Holy crap. Did I actually say that out loud?

Luckily, I mumble a ton, so I don’t think Miss Chaney heard me. She opens her mouth, about to say something, but I’m out of there before she can utter a word. I shout a quick “See you in class” then jog out the gates and across the lot. I don’t even bother throwing a glance her way.

Behind me, all the students stroll away from Silver Rush Middle School without a care in the world. They’re all blah-blah-blahing—laughing and chatting. I grip my backpack tight and keep walking. I barely notice the kids. Got too much on my mind.

What am I going to do? I can’t be a werewolf. I have a math test next week.

At lunch, I nearly ripped a hamburger out of Sarah’s hands. The meat smelled sooooo good. I wanted to gobble the thing down in one bite. The tempting scent followed me even when I left the cafeteria. Then in homeroom, I scared Ms. Chamber’s guinea pigs halfway to death. Ms. C. has their cage set up in the front of the room. She calls the fluffy guys our “class pets” and we take turns feeding them. Normally, the guinea pigs are happy and playful. But today, they huddled in their cages, shivering and letting out these little squeaky whines. They knew what I was.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I walk faster, trying to forget those frightened squeaks. A cool breeze whips through the street. The scent of pine trees hangs in the air. But that’s not all. Incredibly, I can also smell a prowling alley cat three blocks away. And almost a mile away, I can smell a plate of meatloaf and mash potatoes sitting on the counter in Sam’s Diner.

No. This isn’t possible.

Then I sniff out something else. Something musky, like a wet dog. But it’s no dog. I turn around in a full circle, trying to track the scent. That’s when I hear his voice behind me.

“You must be freaking out right now.” The older boy with the long black hair steps out of a nearby alley. It’s the mystery teen who stood in the forest in the middle of the night. The spooky dude I saw hanging around outside my hospital.

I back away from him. One step. Then another. “Who… who are you?”

The teen doesn’t answer me. He sweeps his long hair away from his face. He wears dark jeans and a black T-shirt. I notice he’s not wearing shoes. His feet are filthy.

“I remember how it felt,” he says. He circles around me but doesn’t look me in the eyes. “It’s so confusing, isn’t it? All the new smells. All the new sensations.”

My heart races as I realize I’ve accidently backed up into the alley. No one can see me here! I try to sound tough but my voice cracks. “What do you want?”

The teenager stops circling. Finally, he looks at me. His eyes are dark grey like wet cement. “You’re like us now, Kat. You’re one of us.”

“I don’t even know you.”

He smiles but doesn’t look happy. It’s a tight, mean smile. “Liar, liar,” he says. “Pants on fire. You know who I am. You know what I am. I’m the one that bit you.”

“You’re… you’re a werewolf?”

The teenager does a little bow. “At your service. I used to have one of those boring human names. Truth be told, I don’t even remember it anymore. Now everyone calls me Killer Paw. Cool huh?”

“Get away from me or I’ll scream.” I say, backing away a few more feet.

“Why scream?” Killer Paw asks. “When you can howl!”

He throws his head back and howls at the sky. It’s like nothing I’ve ever heard out of a human. Killer Paw doesn’t sound like a guy pretending to be a wolf. He sounds exactly like a wolf.

Because he is a wolf!

As the howl echoes off the alley walls, I run for my life. I sprint down the alley and leap over a tall fence.

Whoa! Never jumped so high before.

My feet plop down on blacktop. I find myself in the rear parking lot of the Silver Peak Market, where all the big trucks usually make their deliveries. But right now, there are no trucks in sight. The place is empty, so there’s no one to help me.

My whole body tingles. Somehow, I can feel hot blood flowing through my veins. And HOLY CRAP I’m running fast! In the blink of an eye, I’m halfway across the parking lot.

There’s no way he can catch me. No way.

But then I hear the sound of Killer Paw’s bare feet slapping against the black top. I’m afraid to look back. The sound gets louder and louder as he closes in.

He’s right behind me!