Origins

Bryce and Adam poured over the book for about an hour, not skipping any details. The book contained countless diagrams and explanations on werewolves and the mechanics of how they worked. Most of it wasn't new to Bryce, who already had a pretty solid understanding of werewolves thanks to his dad.

On the other hand, Adam was bewildered. He had never seen a werewolf up close, and he didn't hope to meet one anytime soon. The book depicted diagrams of werewolves in different activities and rituals. One of them showed a werewolf pack hunting, and the next page showed that the werewolves were hunting a man. This sent a chill down Adam's spine. Bryce took a quick glance and explained that this was an old werewolf tradition. When a human disobeyed or angered the alpha, the alpha would offer a punishment: he or she would let the victim run for their life in hopes of escaping and even give the victim a several minutes head start before sending the younger werewolves to hunt him down and, well... devour him.Adam gulped. "Well, so much for a bedtime story," he joked awkwardly. As he opened the next page, he saw that it only had one word on it."Origo," Bryce began, "It's Latin for—""Origin," Adam chimed in, smirking. "I'm starting to catch on too."Bryce smiled back as he opened the next page, and they both began to read: 'The curse of the ancient sorcerer Medb Leth Derg...'Adam laughed at the sight of the ridiculous name. "What kind of twisted dude names their daughter Med-b?" he mispronounced it."It's actually pronounced 'Maeve,'" Bryce corrected with a chuckle. "She was a powerful sorcerer in Celtic mythology. The name might sound weird, but her story is pretty intense."Adam leaned in; his curiosity piqued. "Alright, let's see what this Medb person did.""Well, I read a bit about this in one of my father's books in his study," Bryce explained casually. "She was supposed to be this powerful witch in ancient Ireland who could manipulate the weather. She also had the ability to shapeshift and transform other people into animals. She was ruthless and cunning—just straight-up evil. They called her the Celtic warrior queen." Bryce yawned. "Well, bruh, I'm gonna head to bed now if you don't mind. You should probably get some rest too. You have a long night tomorrow. We'll continue with the book some other time."Adam was reluctant, but after a quick thought, he decided it was best to learn about this origin story with a fresh mind. Besides, he was also exhausted at the moment.Lying in bed, Adam thought about how his entire world and beliefs were crumbling before him. As he tried to sleep, the thought of that werewolf punishment haunted him for some reason, making his head hurt. He pushed these thoughts aside and finally drifted off to sleep.***Bryce lay in bed, unable to sleep. He had just lied to Adam to get him off that book—reading it brought back memories he wasn't very fond of, especially today out of all days. A day that served as a constant reminder to Bryce of the happiness that he lost. After a quick thought, he got up and made sure that Adam was asleep before going to a small backpack in his cabinet and pulling out a smartphone. Phones and other electronics were illegal to have at school, and Bryce knew this more than anyone else, being the president and all.As he turned it on, he paused on the home screen as he saw a familiar face on the screensaver. It was a picture of his mother, kissing a six-year-old little Bryce while he tried frantically to escape her loving embrace, a look of pure joy on his face. For a moment, Bryce smiled as he reminisced all the good times he had with his mother back then, but the smile soon faded as reality struck. He sighed as he opened his phone app only to find a missed call from his dad from two days ago. Bryce sighed and called back. The phone rang for a while before someone on the other side picked up."Hey Dad," Bryce said in a tired tone."Hey son. I was just calling to check on you," a voice from the other side replied. It was raspy and slightly deep. "I was concerned; you hadn't called in over a week now."Bryce took a deep breath before he replied, "Well, I have school to deal with, that tends to make people busy. It doesn't matter anyway. Is there something important you need, or can I get to bed now?"The voice on the other side paused for a while before saying, "I sense that you're upset.""Well, no shit, Sherlock," Bryce retorted."May I know the reason why?" his father asked diplomatically.Bryce thought about it, feeling every word before it escaped his lips, "It's her birthday today. Not that I expected you to remember anyway."There was a long pause on the other side of the line. The tension between them was overwhelming. You could almost feel his father's pained expression on the other side. "How could I possibly forget?" he said in a low tone, almost a whisper. "That's why I'm doing this.""Bullshit!" Bryce said a little bit too loudly as he noticed Adam turning over in his bed. He quickly lowered his voice once more. "You're just using this as an excuse to do God knows what."His father let out a sigh, "The plan, Bryce. I need to know if everything is going according to plan?" he asked.Bryce thought about this question for a while, glancing at Adam, who was fast asleep on his bed. "I don't know what you're planning, but I don't want any part of it.""Just answer the question, son. It's a yes or no question." His father insisted."Yes," Bryce answered blandly."I see," his father's voice spoke on the other side. "You'll understand what I'm trying to do soon enough. When everything is said and done, we will—""Whatever you do, it won't bring Mom back." Bryce interrupted, "Good night," he added before hanging up the phone. He quickly turned it off and stuffed it back into his backpack, pausing only briefly to look at his mother once more before putting everything back in its place in his cabinet.He strolled depressingly back to his bed and threw himself on it before shutting his eyes, trying to push his feelings away. He took a deep breath and turned to his side, hoping for sleep to relieve him of this nightmare. As he finally fell asleep, he found himself only transitioning from one nightmare to another as a familiar world began to resurface in his mind—a haunting memory so vivid that he could never escape. Before he knew it, he was in a wooden cabin room.He looked at himself, feeling and sounding younger. Instinctively, he vividly remembered exactly what age he was: seven. He moved around in his room. It had a posh design with a mix of birch wood and oak wood that made the design eye-catching. There was a fireplace on the opposite side of his room where a warm fire was lit. Beside it was a couch where his dad would sit with him and read bedtime stories or play the guitar for him. The sight of the couch brought back pleasant memories that had been long lost in his life.He wandered through the room, feeling the textures of the wood and the warmth of the fire. The smell of the burning wood filled his nostrils, bringing back a flood of nostalgia. The flames danced and crackled, casting a comforting glow across the room. Bryce found himself drawn to the couch, remembering how safe and loved he felt when his dad would play the guitar or read stories to him.He turned to look outside the window. It had been snowing outside—a mix of white, green, and blue. It looked like a portrait you'd find in an art museum. Bryce stepped closer to admire it. The white snowy ground blended well with the green tall spruce trees in the blue skies and the mountain peaks behind it.Bryce almost smiled at himself before spotting something in the opening up ahead that made his gut wrench. Up ahead was a white wolf. But there was something wrong. This wolf in particular was over three times larger than a normal wolf. And for some godforsaken reason, it had red glowing eyes.Bryce watched in horror as the white wolf stepped closer and more eyes began glinting in the thicket of the forest, coming closer. This time the eyes glowed an amber yellow. Bryce only had one thought on his mind."MOM!" he gasped before running out of his room in panic.The cabin's wooden floors creaked under his feet as he dashed down the hallway. The warm glow of the fireplace in his room was replaced by the dim, flickering light of oil lamps hanging on the walls. His heart pounded in his chest as he reached the living room. There she was, his mother, standing by the window, her face pale with fear."Bryce, what's wrong?" she asked, her voice trembling as she saw the terror in his eyes."Mom, the wolves—they're coming!" Bryce cried, pointing towards the window.His mother's face tightened with worry. She quickly moved to the fireplace, grabbing the shotgun that was mounted above it. She quickly gestured for Bryce to get close to her, her hands shaking."Stay behind me, Bryce. We have to be strong," she said, her voice firm but her eyes betraying her fear.Bryce stayed close to his mother, his small hands shaking in fear. They stood together, facing the door as the howls grew louder, closer. The sound of claws scratching against the wooden walls echoed through the cabin.The door burst open, and the monstrous white wolf stood in the doorway, its red eyes glowing with a menacing light. Behind it, the amber eyes of the other wolves shone in the darkness, their growls filling the room.Bryce's mother stepped forward, raising the shotgun. "Stay back!" she shouted, her voice strong despite the fear that gripped her.The white wolf snarled, baring its teeth. It leaped forward, and Bryce's mother fired the shotgun. The deafening sound filled the room as the white wolf was hit, but it barely staggered. An ominous pause filled the room before the white wolf broke the silence with a menacing chuckle, "You should have shot silver bullets." The wolf spoke in a female raspy voice that would forever be engraved in Bryce's memories.Her wounds healed almost immediately as the other wolves surged forward. Bryce's mother fired again and again, but there were too many."Bryce, run!" she screamed, but Bryce was frozen in place, unable to move as the wolves closed in on them.The last thing he saw was his mother being overwhelmed by the wolves before everything went blurry as he was grabbed by something from behind. It was so quick he didn't even have time to ponder what was happening. He let out a blood curdling scream, fearing for his life, fearing for what was to come next.