I laugh loudly sitting on the giant king sized bed. Ruby is laying on the ground clutching her stomach and laughing. I fall forward on the bed burying my face into muffling my laughter. My stomach aches from laughing so much. I sit up suddenly and keep laughing, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much and I can hardly breathe.

"What are we even laughing about?" I say lifting my hand to my mouth still laughing.

"I forgot!" Ruby laughs gasping for breath. Then she snorts loudly and I burst out laughing getting a second wind. I gasp loudly continuing to be interrupted by laughter. Ruby snorts loudly cracking us up again. We are in Ruby's room and we were setting up our "fort" but we started laughing and just kept on laughing. Now we are unable to stop or really breathe. 

"Okay okay! L-Let's calm down," I say forcing my stomach to relax but laughter makes it tense again. Ruby's laughter dies down and she sighs loudly when she's done. I take deep breaths and smile at her, "Well that was fun," I tell her.

"Yeah, hey I'm glad you're being my friend. I don't really have any..." Ruby says sitting up looking shameful.

"You're awesome though, who wouldn't want to be your friend?" I ask laying down on the bed, high above the ground. 

She shrugs, "I don't know, but part of it is because I'm homeschooled."

"Right..." I say looking down. I fold my arms under my head and kick my legs up getting into a comfortable position. 

"So what do you want to do?" she asks me while rolling onto her back staring up at the ceiling.

"I'm not sure, maybe continue making the fort?" I ask noting how childish that sounds.

"Maybe," she says continuing to the stare at the ceiling, "or we could get some movies and watch something."

"Speaking of which, where is the TV?" I ask curiously, "I didn't see one in either living room."

She looks over at me with a smug look, "It's hidden."

"Really?" I ask sitting up, slightly cocking my head.

"Really, there's a remote for it too. It can slide down into the bookshelf in the second living room. It's the boys' fault, they kept breaking it. Well, the older generation boys," she says simply and shrugs.

"Wow, this house is awesome," I say very impressed.

"I know, eh?" Ruby says smiling.

I nod and inhale deeply while closing my eyes, "So do we wait until the meeting is done?"

"Yeah," she replies. I start thinking about tomorrow and wonder what we're going to do. Then I remember tomorrow is school, today was only Thursday. I know I should be sick but it feels wrong to play hooky. Am I going tomorrow? Then I remember that the twins had suddenly dropped out to be homeschooled. Am I doing that too? But what do I tell Haven? She'll want to do the same or beg me to come back. 

I start feeling stressed out and trying to come up with some kind of plan. Something to keep me human and friends with Haven. But now I want to be a werewolf with Ruby and Kai and everyone else. What to choose? I can't possibly do both! It's not possible! Suddenly my body changes and I grow larger and larger. I yelp and fall off the bed with a loud thud. Ruby jumps out of the way looking surprised but no fear.

I lay awkwardly between the wall and bed with my leg stuck up in the air. I groan seeing my black furry body and remember transformations are controlled by emotion or will. I twist my body trying to squeeze myself out of this but I don't move. 

"Sorry," I tell Ruby wincing. She shrugs and kneels down in front of me, "So this is your first shift," she says flipping her fiery hair over her shoulder.

I nod sadly also remembering she can't understand me right now. I sigh loudly feeling giant and fat. Which in all realty I'm not but since I was human five seconds ago I'm fat now. I strain to get out from between the bed and wall and push against the wall behind me. I grit my teeth and try my best to move forward. I feel my clothes hanging off my body torn to shreds. Thankfully I had taken off my nice black jacket beforehand but everything else is trashed.

"Change back," Ruby suggests grabbing a blanket off her bed. She drapes it over my giant body and I give her a confused look. I don't know how to do that yet. 

"Just imagine your body changing back. Your body responds the same way it does when you want to move your body. Will it to move and feel it move," she instructs me. I think about it wondering if it will become as easy as moving my body. I close my eyes and imagine myself changing, remembering the strange feeling vividly. I focus and imagine my beautiful human body wanting it, and then something clicks.

My body grows smaller and the fur disappears into my skin like magic. I continue to focus because I'm changing slowly but changing nonetheless. I feel my muscles going back to their former state and my hair on my head grows longer. My mouth feels strange and my muzzle disappears into my face. 

"Good job!" Ruby exclaims and applauded for me. I smile letting out a relieved sigh, "Thanks."

"Now to get you some clothes," she says and stands up. I glance down and tense, I quickly wrap the blanket around me completely. Ruby digs through her dresser and throws me a roll of clothes that's tied with a neon pink rubber band. I catch it and study it, "What's this?"

"Your clothes, it's our system," she explains and studies the fireplace with crossed arms, "it's how we can get dressed so quickly after changing."

"Really?" I ask opening up the roll. I find new underwear, a bra, jeans, and a slightly over-sized t-shirt. I check the size and to my surprise the jeans are a size six, my size.

"Yeah, they're hidden all over the place. They are marked with the rubber band, neon pink is for us. They're all in my size and I'm guessing you are my size, right?"

"Yeah," I say starting to get dressed still shielded by the blanket.

"Just remember, neon green is adult guy, neon blue is the boys, neon pink is us, and neon yellow is the adult girls," she explains. I nod slowly as I put on the pants with my bra on. Then I throw on the t-shirt and stand up. 

"Okay... so you guys go through a ton of clothes?" I ask grabbing my black jacket and wrapping it around my waist.

"Well duh," she says turning around, "but normally if you want to change you go in the coat closet, strip, and then change inside before coming out. Just to save clothes. But we forget," she says tossing her hair over her shoulder again. 

"Right."

Then I hear shouting from downstairs. I strain my ears trying to listen in but I can't catch what they're saying. Ruby listens too and we stand in silence for a couple seconds. Then I hear a frantic voice, "HE'S HURT!"

Ruby tenses and glances over at me quickly. I read her mind and nod shortly. Then we bolt out of the door at full speed and down the hall.

**Milo's View**

I gulp for breath as I race through the forest at the fastest speed I can go. It's nothing compared to Kai or Ezra but I don't care about that right now. My brother is hurt. He never shows pain, not even when he's badly hurt. To see the fear in his eyes... I shake it off and run faster, dodging trees and bushes being extra careful not to hit any. It would be horribly ironic if I did hit one.

I squint in the darkness, the forest completely shadowed with night. I hear a rogue owl hoot hauntingly, ringing clear in the dead of night. I move like a ghost, silently kicking up leaves and weaving through the thick forest. I'm smaller than the others making me more maneuverable than Kai or Ezra. Since they're double dominant they are bigger. Bigger comes with its downfalls too.

I focus on making it to the house. My heart pounds in my chest and blood rushes through my ears. I am starting to lose momentum because I was sprinting before to catch up with the others. I hope he's alright and didn't fracture his upper arm like Ezra said. Ollie managed to joke about the humorous-wait no he was serious about that. I love my brother, but sometimes he's not very smart.

Guess that's why they all love him. Then you have me, his quiet twin who reads all the time. I find myself jealous of my brother's charm wishing I had some of it. I could talk to Grace without stuttering and making a fool of myself. Whatever. I'm not going to think about Grace or how beautiful she looked during the Winter Dance last year or how her dress twirled when she spun... Shut up Milo.

I see a glowing yellow light in the distance and I urge myself to run faster knowing that's the house. Then the light gets dimmer as I come closer. My heart leaps into my throat and suddenly dig my paws into the ground tearing it up. I put on all my brakes desperately trying to stop. I run into a bush that prickles my skin. I back up quickly feeling the mud cake my paws.

I crouch low making myself smaller to fit the description of a bear. Through the trees I can see a smell grey tent with a fire pit. I see two men sitting around the fire pit laughing their heads off. I crinkle my nose at the strong smell of alcohol, it makes my stomach churn. I see two other tents as well and then I see a guy my age come out from one of them.

"Dad," he says touching one guy's shoulder.

"Ask your uncle!" the dad laughs crazily. The boy rolls his eyes, "Great you're both drunk," he mumbles shaking his head. I realize I have been going the wrong way. Remorse comes over me and I suppress an annoyed groan. I have to get to the house, Ollie is hurt. I have to get home! The fire crackles loudly spending sparks everywhere and the uncle falls back on the floor still laughing. The guy stands there watching the men laugh crazily.

I take a step back and step on a twig that snaps. I cringe and glance back at the campfire. The guy is staring directly at me with giant eyes. He stumbles back and I panic. I almost run away but then I remember what Alpha told us to do when we're spotted. I hunch my shoulders making my figure more bear-like and growl lowly.

My throat rumbles making it tickle and vibrate. The guy my age is pale as a ghost and points at me with a shaky hand, "B-Bear," he whispers. The two men are laughing so hard they don't notice. I growl louder wanting this to go faster, I have to get to the house!

"D-Dad there's a b-b-bear," the guy stammers backing up quickly. 

"No son!" the dad bellows and the boy gives him a panicked look.

"SHH it'll hear you!" he whispers quickly, literally trembling. 

"You gotta punch it!" the uncle shouts happily.

The boy looks on the verge of having a nervous breakdown and stares at me. I snort loudly and back up into the forest, very slowly. "W-We have to get out of h-here," the boy stammers backing into the tent. Yes, yes you do. You probably don't have a permit to camp here anyways, this is private property. If you tell the park rangers, Max Tyler-our dear friend-will fine you for being on private property. Funny how we are everywhere and can influence what we want.

Then I turn around swiftly and bolt back into the forest making sure to take sharp turns to throw my scent off, just in case. I back the way I came to retrace my steps to get back to the house. I realize where I went wrong and correct my mistake and turn right instead of left. I run faster panting loudly, freshly reminded that my twin brother is withering in pain in the dark forest with no way to get back.

Ollie and I are extremely close. He's my best friend. Sometimes I wonder if we're connected by a stronger bond than just friendship and brotherhood. But because we're twins. Sometimes I'll feel sad out of the blue then find out that Ollie was sad too. I'll get sudden bursts out confidence at random as well. Ollie says the same thing happens to him, when I get excited about a book or feel my crush for Grace he claims he feels it.

I couldn't live without him. It'd be like I'm missing my half. Biologically, we are two halves of the same egg. Then I see yellow lights coming up fast and I break through the treeline to see the large mansion of a log cabin. My heart aches from running and my paws tingle from it. I pant loudly allowing my tongue to stick out because it helps me cool down. 

My legs feel numb as I stumble towards the house. I see the adults through the large glass window discussing something. I manage one more sprint and I race across the yard. I skid to a stop at the window and smack my head on it trying to get their attention. My dad, the Beta, looks up and worry fills his eyes. I give them a pleading look and Dad leaps to his feet running to the door. I run around the house to the front door to find it open.

Dad tosses me a roll of clothes, "What happened?!" he shouts.

I open my mouth but remember I can't talk. I look around quickly and rush behind a tree. I quickly change and throw on underwear and pants before jumping out. The rocks and twigs stopped hurting my feet a while ago. My chest heaves and I feel extremely dizzy. My breaths come out ragged and high pitched. I run up the long driveway and suddenly my legs collapse when my vision blurs. 

Dad is at my side already asking me a ton of questions. I try to put words in my mouth but they don't come. My heart starts skipping beats and I feel my throat closing in. I struggle to breath trying to say the simple words, desperate for them to go help Ollie. My chest aches and I gasp for breath becoming desperate for air.

"-HALER! GET IT! NOW!" Dad roars. Mom runs out and throws it to Dad. Dad catches it with one hand and shoves it into my hands. I start seeing black spots and my head feels light. I cough loudly and wheeze trying to breathe. I shake my inhaler and yank off the top then shove it in my mouth. I breathe in slowly as my chest tightens painfully. I take the inhale out of my mouth and hold my breath. Slowly, my throat begins to release and I let out my breath.

I breathe normally but with a couple hitches.

"MILO! What's wrong!?" Mom asks frantically now next to me. I cough loudly, "Ollie," I gasp, "he's hurt."

"WHAT?!"

"Bring him inside!" I hear Alpha call. Dad picks me up like a child and rushes into the house. I start becoming delirious, the aftermath of lack of oxygen and panic. The adults are on their feet shouting questions. I am set down on the floor and I scramble to my shaking feet, "HE'S HURT!" I shout over their voices.

"WHO!?"

"WHAT HAPPENED!?"

"WHERE!?"

"OLLIE!" I shout trying to tell them, "HE'S HURT!" I scream desperately. My chest suddenly tightens and I cough loudly. I wheeze loudly and my vision blurs again. I drop to my knees bowing my head forward with my hands gripping my knees, "HE'S HURT!" I shout again, but it comes out weak and ragged. 

"ENOUGH!" Alpha shouts, his voice loud and powerful. Everyone shuts up immediately with panicked eyes. Alpha kneels in front of me with worried eyes, "What happened?" he asks in a calm voice.

"O-Out in the woods. We-" I cough loudly, "we were running and he hit a tree. We all heard it crack, Ezra said he may have fractured his arm or really dislocated it. H-He couldn't walk, when he tried it snapped again. H-He looked in pain, he wasn't joking around like normal. I-I volunteered to run back," I stammer taking shaky breaths in between.

"Shoot," Alpha says sharply and stands up, "Sam, Hunter, Rylie, you're with me. Hazel call Leo tell him to come as quick as he can. Rest of you, clear a space and open the back door. Get the first aid kit, we'll be back as soon as we can," he commands standing up quickly. Everyone nods knowing what they are doing. I notice that he's taking the top warriors, the strongest ones. 

"Wait!" I wheeze, "Don't follow my trail! I went the wrong way! Follow the original trail of us leaving, it'll lead you right to them! And there's humans!"

Everyone freezes and looks at me with wide eyes.

"What?" Alpha asks concernedly. I gulp loudly for breath because I can't seem to keep it, "They were camping, two guys were drunk anyways."

"Did they see you?" Dad asks in a stern voice. I bite my lip, "No not them."

"Who saw you?" Hunter growls. I wince, "A guy my age. But he thought I was a bear!" I add quickly.

"You were seen," Mom hisses giving me a sharp look.

"They-" I go into a coughing fit, "T-They were drunk and didn't even care that he saw me. They were in our territory though."

"I'll call Max in the morning, he just left. We'll deal with it in the morning. But I'm glad Milo used our cover to make him look like a bear, correct?" Alpha asks me. 

I nod quickly knowing the gravity of this. 

"No one leaves until I come back," he says sternly then runs across the room and out the door. Then I hear his powerful howl ring out in the night, knowing he's calling for the others. I sigh looking down at the floor ashamed with myself. I almost got everyone exposed. Everyone rushes to their jobs ignoring me, except Mom.

She is kneeling down next to me holding my inhaler, "Milo..." she begins in her stern voice. She may be a human but I am more scared of her than Dad.

"He thought I was a bear," I argue quietly.

"But you were seen-"

"I went the wrong way! I'm sorry! I was panicking!" I shout at her getting upset, more stressed out than anything.

"Don't you yell at me!" Mom says sharply shooting daggers at me with her grey green eyes.

"You don't listen!" I say and burst into a violent coughing fit. 

"Stop disobeying!"

"How?" I manage to choke out, "I was worried about my brother!" My body starts trembling violently and my stomach starts to twist.

"You know you shouldn't run like that! You almost were seen by humans! You could have been shot!"

"I-I was scared!" I admit shamefully giving her a pleading look, "Oliver could never play sports again! What if this affects his changing! I would rather be shot than to have Ollie's life ruined like that!" 

Suddenly, my body changes and I grow giant. I hear my clothes ripping loudly. I stumble back from Mom trying not to crush her. Mom's eyes are wide and she looks scared for a couple seconds. I remember she isn't used to seeing us change in front of her. I snort lowering my head. I stand in the middle of the living room as a giant wolf. 

"Erica," Hazel comes in holding the phone, "give him a break. He wasn't technically seen, it's okay. He's just worried about his brother."

Mom sighs brushing her brown hair back behind her hair, "I know, I'm worried too."

Hazel nods and goes into the kitchen and starts talking on the phone. I sit down like a dog looking around for another bundle of clothes. Then I catch Ruby and Brook on the stairs, crouched down and watching. Ruby stands up slowly and walks down the stairs with Brook following close behind. So Ruby made a friend.

"What's wrong?" she asks walking into the living room. Mom looks back at her, "Oliver hit a tree while running. He hurt his shoulder, the guys are getting them."

"Is it bad?" Ruby asks with worried eyes. Brook glances at me and a slow blush creeps to her cheeks. She bites her lip and looks down at the ground. If I were human I would be so red. I remember her snuggling with me and "claiming" me. I've never felt so uncomfortable in my entire life. No girl has ever come that close to me, or ever did that. Girls do that to Ollie, or at least try. 

I start thinking about Oliver hoping he's okay and the patrol reached them already. I hope he can get out of this with a sling and no surgery. I hope he didn't shatter his bone or do anything permanently. I know how he loves to play hockey, he would be devastated. I wonder how he's doing out there. I'm more worried of Ezra's reaction to it, he normally tells everyone to suck it up. He looked actually worried. That's never a good sign.

Ruby and Brook walk over to me. Ruby digs in one of the drawers of the bookcase. Then she tosses me another bundle of clothes. It drops in front of me and I sigh loudly feeling like it's my fault. Maybe he was worried about me not being able to catch up or having an attack and got distracted. 

"Milo?" Brook asks sitting down on the couch, "Are you okay?"

I manage to shrug then turn my attention to Hazel who paces in the kitchen. Summer comes from the pantry holding the large first aid kit. Then she grabs one of the chesterfields and pulls it back with ease making room. I get up and pick up the clothes carefully with my mouth. I walk across the room weaving around a night table. I almost knock over the lamp but manage to go through.

"They're back!" I hear Mom shout. I look back quickly and see the patrol along with Kai and Ezra as wolves running towards the house. Then I see Alpha and Rylie carrying Oliver as a wolf. So he really can't walk. I feel panic seize my heart again and I rush into the bathroom. The doorways have been built for a wolf to pass through. I nudge the bathroom door shut with my giant furry head and close it.

I quickly change back and yank on my clothes as fast as possible. I glance up at my reflection seeing a scared little boy staring back at me. I sigh giving my reflection a pained look seeing black circles under my eyes from lack of sleep for the past couple of nights. The nightmares have been getting worse. My dirty blonde hair is a mess and I run a hand through it to make it a little better. Then I whip the door open and run out into the hallway.

I stop short and stare at my twin laying on the floor. He grimaces and whimpers loudly. He looks around and then meets my gaze. His dark green eyes are my own, but instead of his natural confidence I am reminded of my reflection. He's scared. No, much more, he's terrified. And I can say that I feel the exact same way.