Silent Walk, Book 1 of the Vigilance Series

Chapter 1

        I ran around the house with Kinteera, holding his favorite toy as I dashed through it. I ran into Shaneesha's room and hid behind the clothes bin, silent as a mouse. I had a good view of the window from here, and the ground was covered in white, all over. Shaneesha taught us all many things about our "kind" and about our "education", but I didn't see a problem with people knowing our race. I didn't see why we had to be excluded from the "normal" people until we reached high school. I heard footsteps, but it wasn't Kinteera who looked over at me, it was Shaneesha. She sighed and took Kinteera's toy from me and returned it to him-who was stomping up in there like a bull, arms crossed. It wasn't my fault he acted like that. Shaneesha was tall, even i knew that, but when she got on her knees to speak to Kinteera, she was almost as short as I was. I slipped by her and went into the family room, where we all sat and talked at least once a day to improve our "social skills". I didn't even know what they meant by that anyway... I couldn't wait until next week-then I would be seven! Shaneesha guided all 5 of us into the large kitchen and mad eus sit down. She told us the order of things one more time. "Every one of you has a place in this pack. You must not give yourself away and you must learn to contain your anger. Even the Omega's have a place, and obviously they are not in this house, are they?" We all shook our heads. "I, am just a trainer, someone who has given themself up for the Monarch, who rules us all and keeps us safe. There is an Alpha, a Beta, and pack members within each pack. Who is the Alpha?" she quizzed. Most of them looked at their feet while I skipped around in my head "Who is it?" she inquired. They all grumbled "Enai..." Her gaze sharpened. "With more confidence." They responded with "Enai." with more certainty. She seemed satisfied, so she asked "Who is the Beta?" while pacing around one end of the table. They responded "Kinteera." and she smiled, but she continued to pace around. "What does an Alpha do to their pack? Siles answer that." A grim-faced brunette boy sighed and affirmed "Alphas rule their pack, and as long as they don't hurt their pack, they can do whatever they please. Only those of an Alpha's bloodline can be an Alpha. Alpha's choose everything about their pack, from what they eat to where the pack goes as long as it's within territory." Shaneesha nodded and asked Osirin, a blonde female, what a beta does. She responded coldly "A beta is the helper of an Alpha. The bloodline of a beta doesn't matter, the Alpha chooses them." Shaneesha put her hands on the table and looked at each of us "I think we all know what pack member does." We all nodded. I remembered last year at my sixth birthday when I chose Kinteera as my Beta. To this day that trust still stands.

        A week later, I turned 7, as did the pack around that date. Shaneesha taught us how to shift into our wolf forms, and she took us to the forest to run around in our newfound selves. I came across Kinteera cowering before a hoofed animal-deer I think-but instead of getting him away, I nuzzled him up and we both leapt at the deer. Even though we were small wolves, we took down the deer with a few ragged neck bited. Shaneesha led the pack to us, and they were amazed when they saw our deer. Shaneesha looked very proud, and I held my head high at the sight of my first kill. We all shifted to a human form and Shaneesha told us "Now, you will all kill one of these soon. In a pack. I am ashamed that you three didn't stay with your pack leaders. Because of that, you will all carry the carcass to your new home and when we get there, you are to eat last when Enai and Kinteera s done with the deer. Shift forms and follow me. I shifted imdediately, and dashed after her, with Kinteera at my heels. I saw Piun, Osirin, and Jacobin gripping the deer in their jaws and dragging it across the dirt. Shaneesha led us to this lone log cabin that had been slightly overgrown with wallflowers and she stopped at the front door. She told us "This is where your pack will live. I will teach you everything until you enter the 9th grade of high school, then you will need to attend and learn from their and I trust you will be able to hold your own against humans." Kinteera and I nodded. We all shifted and walked into the two-story log cabin. It had obivously been lived in before. Shaneesha looked around and spoke "The last pack in here has moved out into another territory-Greenfeld's Lake Cabin 5 miles off to the north. The forest up to the river is our territory. It's pretty clear. Oh, and drop the deer on the table." She motioned towards the overly long dining table to our left. It had blood stains on it. The three wolves dropped the deer, shifted, and sat one on one of the sofas, panting. Shaneesha told us all "When you're older, you will be strong and you will learn to live out here, hunting your own food. This is your space to run around, train for fighting, hunt, and learn all you can about your senses out here. I already had your stuff brought here, so I'll bring your beta and your leader outside to show them how to fight a little better, and techniques.