NightLock

Chapter One

Pain shot through my body as I slowly rose to my knees, glaring at the youngest of my older brothers. This had been my life for over twelve years now, constant training, speed, stamina, strength, agility, elements. Every day, for at least seven hours straight, that was my life constant training.

"Star! Stop day-dreaming!" Cody yelled as once again he pinned me forcefully against the brick wall of the training room built onto our three story home.

I growled and kneed him hard in the stomach causing him to loosen his grip just enough for me to slither out of his grasp and throw him over my shoulder to the padded floor. He smiled and then connected a solid punch to my stomach which shot every last bit of air I had whooshing from my lungs, even as I jumped in the air to send Cody flying back to the far wall with a round kick.

"Good, Star, don't hold back!" Cody said as he slowly stood again.

"Didn't plan too, Cody." I said as I flipped into the air, narrowly escaping his fist aimed at my face.

I knew it was my destiny to save the Shifters from the Slayers but I was just so sick of constant training. When Mama and Daddy were still alive all I had to do in training was practice throwing punches and kicks, but since they died Devan and Cody tried to teach me every possible move known; kicks, punches, knives, guns, swords, staffs, hell they even trained me with an axe! I was fighting Cody without even thinking now, dodging punches and kicks, but my mind wasn't there, not anymore anyway. My mind was in the woods, the hidden paths and secret lakes. I was there running, finally releasing all the tension my training builds up. Oh, how I wished I could really be there! Running all throughout my woods, all by myself with my thoughts, my dreams, and my wishes.

Four more hours of training pursued before Cody finally said I could rest, but by then it was dark and I knew Cody wouldn't let me go for a run now so I silently walked up to my room and fell back to the fluffy, plushness of my bed and stared out the window at the full moon. One day, the Slayers will all be gone and we'll all be free. One day, my pack won't be afraid. With those final thoughts I drifted off to sleep.

~Dream~

I'm running, flying through the woods with my barefeet pounding the ground as the scent of sweet pine filled the air. This was my home, my life, my freedom. These woods were my everything. I was one with every creature and we were all at peace, at least, until the black wolf appeared. He appeared silently, one second I was running, the next I'm standing face to face with a large black wolf. Anger and fear surrounded him draining all the peace and serenity from my woods. His eyes were saphires, piercing into my soul like daggers. I know this wolf somehow. He is not in my pack or any of the surrounding packs. His thoughts flowed through my mind just as the other animals did but only one stood out. ' Mine, You can't leave you're mine, forever!' Then as he appeared, he was gone. No matter where I looked I couldn't find the mysterious wolf, but his anger, his hate, his dispair lingered in my woods, staining the peace and calm with it's blackness. Who was that wolf? And what could his appearance mean for my fate?

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Cody cut me loose on training today, and thank God he did. I need to think. What could that dream have possibly meant, and who was that mysterious black wolf? I ran through the woods, my paws pounding the dirt as I followed the paths human eyes could not see. My woods, my home, my pack, I had to protect them. Would this wolf be the downfall of us all, or is he something else? Thoughts pounded through my mind just as my paws pounded the snow covered ground. Something was different today; the woods they were to still. No birds fluttered across the sky, no squirrels scurried across the ground with acorns they've dug out of the snow. Then, they attacked.

Arrows flew at me from every direction, snapping me out of my thoughts as the Slayers stepped out. There were five of them, young ones, only about fifteen, but they had been trained all their lives to kill my kind, the wolves, the lions, the vampires, all the shifters, and now they were after me. A tall blond one lunged at me with a sharp, blessed silver blade causing me to jump into the air phasing back in the process. I must admit they are trained well, they know what weakens us. Silver will kill a normal wolf shifter, but the whites only blessed silver can damage us and that's what they had, all their weapons, blessed silver. Oh, shit. They all lunged at me then five blades, one target, my heart. My claws grew then, man, I hated to have to kill the kids, but it's them or me, and it sure as hell ain't going to be me. The youngest of them, a male, shaggy brown hair grabbed hold of my hair so he was gone first, my claws tearing open his stomach. The blonde one that attack me first was next, one kick and his spine broken against a tree. The others fell one after the other then, but one escaped. Silver poisoning was spreading faster from knicks from their blades everything was blurring. Then, I fainted.