Nathan’s footsteps had barely faded down the hall when Gabriel dropped from the top bunk, landing in front of me with a soft thud. He didn’t look scared — not the way most people would. His expression was steady, almost too steady, like he’d been rehearsing this moment in his head since the first time he saw me do something impossible.
“Alright,” he said quietly. “Tell me.”
I leaned back in the chair, arms crossed. “Tell you what?”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t play dumb, Thane. I just saw claws. Not the fake kind. Not a trick. Real claws. And I’ve seen everything else — the reflexes, the way people clear out around you, how the wildlife bolts when you’re near. You can’t tell me that’s nothing.”
For a moment, I didn’t answer. My pulse was steady, but the wolf in me was pacing, alert. This was the line — the place where things changed.
“You sure you want to know?” I asked. “Once you do, you can’t unknow it.”
“I’m sure,” he said without hesitation. “I’ve felt something for as long as I can remember. Not like this, but… close. Like something’s there under my skin, waiting. If you know what that is — I need to hear it.”
The room felt smaller somehow, like the air was holding its breath.
“I’m a werewolf,” I said finally. No buildup, no dancing around it. Just the truth.
Gabriel’s face didn’t twist in disbelief or amusement. He just stared at me, blue eyes sharp and searching. “You mean like… full moon, howling, silver bullets?”
I shook my head. “Not like the movies. I can change when I want to. I’ve got control. And yeah, I’ve got the claws, the teeth, the strength. The healing. All of it. It’s not a curse. It’s… what I am.”
He was silent for a few seconds, like he was weighing my words against everything he’d seen. “And that thing I’ve felt all my life…”
I met his gaze. “It means you’ve got it too. You just haven’t woken it up yet.”
Something flickered in his eyes then — not fear, not even surprise. Recognition.
“So you’re saying I’m like you,” he said.
“I’m saying you can be,” I corrected. “If you want to be. And if you’re ready for it.”
He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at his hands like they might change if he stared hard enough. “You’re gonna have to show me.”
I nodded once. “Yeah. I figured that’s where this was going.”
And in that moment, I knew — whether he realized it or not — that my pack had just doubled in size.