Jannie's Pov
Jannie woke up, feeling a little disoriented at first, then she sat up and looked around. Chains were loosened around her on the ground. What the hell? She glanced down at her legs, and the fabric was torn around her calves. Then it hit her in waves. Zeke had confirmed his actions with a nod of betrayal. Her legs had broken, but then it all went black. She closed her eyes and tried to recall what had happened. Chains? A weight around her neck.
Jannie began pacing the room, trying to sort through the events of the past days, all while handling the emotions that swirled inside, each louder than the other.
Jannie looked around the room again. The stone walls. The barricaded door.The chains. Her fingers brushed over the mark on her neck, and her stomach twisted.
A memory flashed. Zeke's face. The guilt in his eyes. The nod. Yes. He had done it.
The person she trusted most had changed her forever. Zeke had ruined her life.
She glanced at her hand, and a long hair on her finger caught her attention.
"No, no, no, no," Jannie mumbled and instantly pulled it out. She was not accepting this. Her attention was immediately drawn to her other hand, her arms, her feet, her face. Nothing. "Okay. Maybe I got lucky with that one strand," she mumbled, but then she froze. A haunting thought started to form inside, or what if it starts to grow later? Jannie inhaled sharply and began pacing again, trying to rationalize the situation she was in.
She was not going to panic; she knew better. She was a medical student. Everything has a biological explanation. Although waking up in a medieval cell after being bitten by her werewolf boyfriend and forced to become his werewolf girlfriend, that chapter was missing from the textbook.
She paused, then glanced at the door. It was solid, barricaded. She approached it and took hold of the handle. She pulled it down, like normal, but to her surprise, it broke, and she held the handle up before her.
"Well, that's new," Jannie studied the handle in her hand.
The metal was bent. But not damaged. She slowly looked back at the door.
Then at her hand.
"Okay…" She swallowed nervously.
"This is slightly more concerning than the hair." She leaned to the side and placed the handle on the ground by the door, and then slowly backed away.
"Okay, I did not mean to do that," she said, and backed away. This is getting a little freaky.
Jannie stood still in the middle of the room, not knowing what to expect next.
More suspicious strand of hair? Would she suddenly get night vision? Or maybe a super nose? A silent chuckle escaped her lips when she envisioned herself on all four tracking scents like a canine. No, this was getting absurd. She needs to get out of this creepy little cell, and she deserves answers. A commotion from outside the hall caught her attention. She heard footsteps. Someone stops before the door.
"Zeke?" Whispered when something familiar filled the air. The door opened, and Zeke peeked inside. "Hey... Are you okay?"
She paused and studied him a moment before she replied. He was nervous, she sensed it; his heart was racing, and the realization surprised her. She swallowed and let out a soft sigh, "I don't know, Zeke. I'm scared. I woke up here, alone. And it feels like I'm trapped in a bad horror movie. Where were you?" She whispered. Zeke hesitated before stepping into the room.
"I've been here," he said quietly. "Outside your door. I... I didn't want to come in if you were still out of control." Jannie lowered her eyes to the floor.
"Out of control?" She repeated the words softly.
"You transformed again after you woke up yesterday," he explained. "Only for a few minutes, but you attacked me. You don't remember?" She slowly shook her head.
"No." The lie slipped from her lips easier than she expected.
"I don't remember much after..." She let her fingers brush the mark on her neck. "...after you bit me." Zeke's shoulders sagged. "I'm so sorry, Jannie." She looked up at him with teary eyes. "What exactly am I now?" Zeke ran a hand through his hair, "Well, I'm not entirely sure, Jannie..."
"You're not entirely sure, baby?" Jannie chimed in, and Zeke seemed a little thrown off guard.
"I mean, you're definitely showing signs of a half wolf..."
"A half wolf?" Jannie appeared confused. "So I'm not good enough to be a whole?"
Zeke frowned. "I don't know how to..." He looked at her, confused, "You don't know how to what? Don't you know how to tell me what I am? Or you do know, but you're too afraid to tell me? I mean, you had no trouble stalking me and wearing me down, sleeping with me, and then you bite me, and release your poison inside of me, forcing me into this life. But this is where you fumble?" Jannie tilted her head.
Zeke's Pov.
Zeke stared at her, frowning. Something about her tone felt wrong. Not because she was angry. He expected anger. He deserved anger. But this was different. She was calm. Too calm.
"Jannie..." he whispered. "What?" she replied softly, tilting her head the other way. "This isn't you." A small smile tugged at her lips. "Wow. Look at you. Stating the obvious."
His heart sank. There she was. The woman he knew. The sarcasm.
But there was something else now. Something sharper.
"I know you're angry," Zeke said. "Angry?" Jannie laughed. "That's an understatement of this disaster." She stepped closer. "I'm not angry, Zeke." She looked around the room.
"I'm trying to understand what this is? Firstly, I woke up in this creepy cell, naked, scared, and alone, learning that you violated my body by turning me into a half-wolf without having any recollection of it. Secondly, you leave me alone again, when I'm in pain, chained to a wall? Do you hear how sick this sounds?" She looked directly into his eyes, "And now, I've realized that my entire future was decided for me while I was unconscious, by a man who claimed to love me, but then leaves me alone, locked up in a cell like a monster." Zeke opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Because she was right. Her words cut deeper than a claw.
"I never wanted you to go through this," he finally whispered. Jannie's eyes narrowed.
"But you let it happen." His chest tightened. "I lost control."
"Exactly." The tone was sharp.
Jannie stepped closer. "You lost control, Zeke. Not me."
Her fingers brushed over the mark on her neck. "I didn't choose this. I didn't wake up one morning and decide I wanted to become something I spent my entire life believing was a myth." Her eyes flashed. "You did."