"Wait, wait, this can't be right. You can't actually think Marie is a werewolf?" Mrs. Leane asks as she stares in disbelief at Dr. Phram. He is sitting across from her and she is sitting in her office chair. He suggested they sit to have this talk and Mrs. Leane now knows why. "But there was nothing in her records and Lillith would have told me."

"I know it sounds crazy but based on what I've seen, her symptoms match when werewolves don't train before their first shift." He adjusts his glasses. They have no prescription in them but it makes his patients feel at ease with him. "Listen I can do the test to confirm but I am fairly certain of this." He sits back in his chair and watches Mrs. Leane slowly accept his words.

"Well, it would explain how she knew my scent." Mrs. Leane sighs and stands up from her desk. "Come on let's go back to her room so you can confirm." Dr. Phram and Mrs. Leane make their way to Marie's room. Dr. Phram draws blood from Marie and promises to have results by tomorrow morning. Mrs. Leane tends to Marie and makes her as comfortable as possible. Towards the end of the night, she is sitting in her office thinking. There is a lot to be done if Marie actually is a werewolf and if she isn't they still don't know what is wrong with her.

~

The next morning Dr. Phram phones Mrs. Leane. He gives her the news that his speculations are correct. He also prescribed some medicine to help Marie feel better. With this confirmation, Mrs. Leane gets started on the necessary preparations. She also picks up the medicine from Dr. Phrams clinic before Marie wakes up. When Marie awakes she feeds her soup and gives her the medicine.

Later that afternoon when she has a free moment Mrs. Leane goes to check on Marie. Marie is doing much better after taking the medicine Dr. Phram prescribed. Marie looks less pale and is sitting upright in bed. Since her condition has greatly improved it is time to drop the bombshell of news. Mrs. Leane pulls a chair up to the bed as Marie finishes the soup and sandwich she had for lunch. This is the most she has been able to eat since falling ill and she isn't nauseous after.

"Marie I am glad to see you are doing better." Mrs. Leane says.

"Me too. The medicine Dr. Phram prescribed really worked. I feel less dizzy and my fever has dropped." Marie looks and feels better than she did the day before.

"Other than prescribing medicine, Dr. Phram explained why you fell ill." Marie looks at Mrs. Leane waiting for her to continue. Mrs. Leane takes a deep breath before saying "There is something I have to tell you and you will probably not believe it but trust me it is true."

"I am starting to feel nervous Mrs. Leane. Is everything okay?" Marie's hands start to shake slightly. "... Am I going to die?"

"No, no, Marie you aren't going to die." She takes another pause before speaking. "I am just going to come right out and say it. You are a werewolf Marie and you are feeling this way because you are about to shift for the first time."

Marie looks at Mrs. Leane as if she grew two additional heads and one of them is winking at her flirtatiously. "Wha-what are you talking about Mrs. Leane?" Marie is starting to think Mrs. Leane is going crazy. Or maybe she is in a fever-induced dream state.

"Let me explain first and then you can ask me any questions you like. Is that okay?" Marie nods her head slowly. "The symptoms you had align with ones young wolves get when they haven't started training to shift yet and their coming of age is soon. Dr. Phram realized that when he examined you. To be certain he ran tests with the blood he drew yesterday." She pauses to see if Marie is following before continuing. The young girl looks bewildered but is actively listening. "You are turning 16 soon and that is the age when werewolves first shift. It is likely since your parents both passed away in the fire, it wasn't in any classified files. Someone in the foster care system  would have that information but that wasn't the case for you."

"So what does being a 'werewolf' have to do with me being sick? I don't understand." Marie says putting the word werewolf in air quotes.

"Well, typically when a pup is 15 they begin training for their first shift. They train physically, mentally, and spiritually. This helps them to shift easier." Mrs. Leane tries to explain. "You can still shift without training but it is exhausting and incredibly painful. Your body is ill because it cannot handle the pre-shift hormones and changes that are happening inside you."

"I see. I guess I am starting to understand but werewolves don't exist so this is all crazy." Marie shakes her head not wanting to think about this. You couldn't pay her enough money to believe she would get sick one day and then also be told she is turning into a werewolf.

"To humans, werewolves don't exist and that is for a reason. The less they know about the supernatural world the better. We do exist Marie and not just in fantasy stories." Mrs. Leane sits back and raises her hand. Her nails start to grow and sharpen into claws. Bits of fur grow on the back of her hand. They retract back down and her hand is normal again. "And you are one of them."

Marie is shell-shocked and it takes her a minute to process what she witnessed. "Okay... so werewolves are real but what makes you think I am one? What test could possibly show that?" She is trying to find any way for this to not be happening to her.

"Well, Dr. Phram is a human and werewolf doctor. He can tell these things from his years of experience. As far as the test, werewolves have made great advances in the medical knowledge of our kind. That test is a standard genetic test that shows the DNA of a supernatural being. It is very accurate Marie." Marie can no longer find a reason to refute this. She is not only an orphan but also a werewolf. Her life couldn't get any more complicated.

"So I am a werewolf and I am going to shift soon." Marie wants nothing more than to hide under her covers until Mrs. Leane goes away. "This is all too much to handle."

"I know it's a lot to take in but I am here to help and guide you. I am going to give you some space to process. I will be back in a couple of hours. Get some rest." Mrs. Leane gets up from her seat and walks out closing the door behind her. Marie is left to spiral on her own.

~
It is night and Marie has just finished her dinner. She is feeling stronger and desperately needs to go for a walk. The four walls of her bedroom are making her stir crazy. She heads to her favorite place, the forest. She walks up to a large tree and sits in front of it.

She chuckles to herself as a thought passes her mind. 'I guess that explains why I love the forest so much.' She lets out a deep sigh. 'A werewolf. I am a werewolf. I don't want to believe it but I don't have an excuse not to. I should just trust Mrs. Leane. If I don't I can't imagine how much worse I will get. ...A werewolf.' Marie shakes her head and then gets up from the ground. She has decided to follow this path her life has branched off too. She heads to Mrs. Leane's office and knocks on her door. It is now or never and waiting won't make things better.