The next morning Marie is awake earlier than normal. She takes heed of Mrs. Leane's advice to jog more. When she reaches her usual stopping point she pushes herself to go longer. Surprising to Marie she isn't exhausted afterwards. Like most mornings she awoke feeling jittery and restless, which has eased since the jog. It isn't enough, however. She heads to the workout room at the orphanage and lifts weights, exercises, and stretches for an hour and a half. Her limbs feel less stiff and heavy but now she is starving. She goes to the mess hall for breakfast after taking a shower. She piles her plate high with food and heads to a table where her friends are seated.

"Good Morning all!" Marie sits down and begins to inhale her food. She attacks the bacon and sausage first. She could smell it cooking all morning. It had her salivating while she lifted weights. It is a good thing the room was empty. It saved her the embarrassment of being caught wiping drool from her mouth.

"Good morning Marie" Cleo looks at the girl in disbelief, holding back a laugh. "It's good to see you looking better."

"I feel much better Cleo." Marie pauses from eating and looks up. "Lying in bed sick for days, was torture."

'I am glad to hear. We were all worried about you.' Millie signs. 'Does that mean you will be coming back to school today? I know a certain someone who was more worried than all of us.' Millie smirks and the girls all laugh leaving a confused Marie.

"I'm not sure I have to ask Mrs. Leane and Dr. Phram." Marie goes back to eating. She finishes her breakfast quickly and then stands to put her tray away. "I am going to talk with her right now. I will keep you guys updated." The girls wave to her as she walks away. Marie drops her tray off and heads to Mrs. Leane's office. She knocks and walks in when she hears a 'come in'. Marie sits down and greets Mrs. Leane.

"Good morning Mrs. Leane."

"Good morning Marie how are you feeling."

"I feel amazing. I went for a long jog and exercised in the workout room." Marie is visibly ecstatic. The huge grin on her face and the small happy shuffle in her chair is a dead giveaway to her improvement. You wouldn't believe she was stuck in bed days ago. "My body doesn't feel heavy anymore."

"That's good Marie. You have to keep up the exercise. It will stop the heavy feeling and your body will be ready to shift." Marie nods her head. "Now, I want to explain more to you about how the next three weeks leading up to your birthday will go." Mrs. Leane says.

"Okay, I am ready," Marie replies.

"Because we have to amplify your training you will be out of school until you shift." Marie looks disappointed after hearing that. She just started and now she will miss so much. "I know it's inconvenient but it's necessary. I talked with Principal Layton and he informed me that your teachers will send your schoolwork for the week to your email. You can work on it when you have time and submit it before you return to school."

"Does Principal Layton know about me?" Marie asks hinting about her werewolf status.

"Yes. He is also a werewolf that belongs to the Delta Blue Pack." Mrs. Leane placed three books on her desk in front of Marie. "You will start your werewolf learning with these three books. They will teach you about the origins of werewolves and how your first shift will go." Marie takes the books and reads over their titles. 'The History of the Moon Goddess' Creations: Werewolves', the first book reads. Marie will probably start with this one. "I will give you more when you are finished. I also spoke with Alpha Tyrell and he will be here on Friday to see you."

Marie lets out a breath of relief. She has a couple of days to prepare herself for that meeting. "Okay is there anything else I need to know?"

"No that should be all for now." Before Marie can stand up Mrs. Leane speaks. "Oh, one more thing. Let me give you my personal number. It will be easier for you to text me any questions you have."

Marie pulls out her flip phone and goes to her contact list. "You have a flip phone?" Mrs. Leane asks looking surprised at the device.

"Yes, I got it from Little Peaks Orphanage when I turned 14."

"I should have asked you this when you got here. Coming from a small town I should have known better to check." Mrs. Leane shakes her head. "I'm sorry Marie. Saturday I will take you to get an updated phone. I would do it sooner but I don't have the time."

"That's okay. Saturday is fine with me." Marie says she is just excited to be getting an upgrade.

"Okay, let me still give you my phone number so you can get to studying." Marie types in Mrs. Leane's number and heads to her room to look over the books she got. On her way, she spots the girls heading off to school.

"Hey Marie, did Mrs. Leane say if you can go back to school?" Keandre asks Marie when she walks up to them. Marie tucks the books in her arms to hide the cover.

"Unfortunately I won't be. I will be out of school for the next 3 weeks." Marie replies with a sad tone.

"3 weeks! Why so long?" Cassandra asks incredulously.

"Well, I have to rest and do physical therapy to get better. I'm not entirely sure about what I came down with. But I was told that rest and physical therapy will help me get better and stay better." She hates to lie to the girls but it isn't like she will be the one to spill a long-kept secret. The girls are scared for Marie's health after hearing that and their faces show it. "Don't worry guys. I am okay and this is just to make sure I stay okay. A precaution to ensure I will live a long happy life." Marie tries to lighten the sullen mood.

"Are you sure? You can tell us if you are sick. We can handle it." Cleo says though her face says otherwise. She looks as if she would break out in tears if she heard any bad news right now. Cleo didn't handle seeing Marie sick in bed well. The girls had to often comfort her when they weren't checking on Marie.

"I promise you guys I am okay. Now go off to school." The girls hug Marie before heading off. She watched them take a few steps before a thought popped into her mind. "Wait! Can you guys let Kaden know I am okay?" Their comment earlier made her worried he might have been concerned about her absence.

The girls laugh but agree to tell him at school later. Marie feels flushed and embarrassed. She doesn't regret asking but the look they gave her makes her heart speed up. The girls head to the van and Marie goes to her room. She grabs an unused notebook and gets started on the first book.

~

Kaden is standing by the front doors of the school. He is on edge and has been for the last few days. He sees the familiar van pull up and his anxiety builds. He watches closely as they pile out of the vehicle. He can't help but blurt out when they get within earshot "Is she okay?"

"Down boy," Darius says patting him on the shoulder with a chuckle. Kaden rolls his eyes at him and then turns back to the girls.

"She is okay Kaden. She wanted us to tell you that she is doing much better and not to worry." Cleo tells him.

"Thank goddess." Kaden sighs in relief. He was scared she wasn't doing well. The last day he saw her he could see how tired she looked during gym. When she didn't show up in school after he started thinking the worst. He could barely concentrate on anything but her state. "So when is she coming back?" He hoped soon, he missed her comforting aura.

The girls give each other a look. Keandre is the one to speak up. "She told us before we left for school that she would be out for three weeks."

"Three weeks! But I thought she was feeling better." Kaden looks at them in disbelief. Darius pats his shoulder again to reel him in.

"She is feeling better. But she needs to rest and do physical therapy to make sure she stays better." Emphasizing the last two words, copying Marie. "I don't understand it myself but she looked ten times better today than she was a couple of days ago," Cassandra says to reassure him. Kaden feels his short-lived hope deflate. Seeing is believing but all he can do is wish she gets better sooner.

"I guess I understand. Could you do me a favor, Millie?" He asks facing her.

'Sure Kaden, how can I help you?' Millie signs.

"Can you give her my number?" Kaden rips a piece of paper out of his notebook, scribbles his number down, and hands it to her.

'I can do that for you.' She takes the paper and puts it in her bag. She looks at the girls and they all giggle. Kaden and Marie are the cutest.

Everyone heads into the building and to their respective classrooms. The school day passes by and they can all feel the absence of Marie. They will have to get used to it for the time being.