The Jaguar

Chapter 1

The girl in the mirror is not me. I know exactly who me is, and it isn't the porcelain-pale, updo-ed princess in the mirror. Me is a powerful tracker, me is afraid of breaking tradition, me has the blood of the jaguar in my veins.

But either way, the memory of my mother teaching me how to put my hair up in the ceremonial way flooded my mind. I looked myself over in the mirror once more before climbing out my window.

I carefully made my way through the forest to a small clearing, where most of the pack had gathered. I brought myself to a kneel before the great elder. She began the ceremony by pledging me into the pack. I officialy belong to them. Next she stated my position, tracker, and who stood above and below me. The trackers are pretty high up in the pack and most people were below me. Then she began the choosing of my mate.

I nervously glanced to my left at all the un-mated boys in the pack. I once again bowed my head as she began the choosing process. As most ceremonies in the jaguar culture go, it is in the ancient language.

"Chi van kin regin quinost," this girl has been alone, "shyn jow aqui reon ersta reg," and now she will not be. "Niur theon yun," her mate is. There was a pause as she called on the past spirits, but I never heard what she said at the end. Because just before she did I felt it.

The tingle on the tips of my ears, my sister is trying to run, and it's my duty to follow her. I sprung up from my knees and rushed into the forest. I followed her presence, which is how I track everyone. I continued to run at my inhuman rate after her. I felt parts of my dress rip on trees as I ran. Then I felt a drop, and another drop. A growl escaped my lips as rain began to pour.

"She can't run for long," I snarled before ripping the bottom of my skirt off. I could move much easier in the dress that now only went halfway down my thighs. "And she's lucky that this is a ripoff."

I continued to follow her until the half-moon was high in the sky, but that was when I reached the coast. I looked out to see a large ship powering away. I snarled as I saw a way to get on it. I ran out on the small piece of land, I didn't slow as I saw the ship. Without second thought I leaped, just barely making it to the ship. I pulled myself the rest of the way on.

It was then I realized my sister wasn't on this boat, but the one just next to it.

I spent the weeks of the trip staring at the boat my sister was on. I hid myself behind a crate so no one would find me. I've spotted my sister, several times. She was hiding in her jaguar form so people would run scared if they found her, even though they didn't.

When I could finally see the land again I got nervous. The boats were slowly going apart from each other. By the time we were pulling into the docks the boat my sister was on had totally disappeared.

The boat was still moving when I got off. We were pulling past a chunk of land and I hopped onto it. I ran from there. When I was fully hidden by trees I knelt to the ground and used an old shifter trick to see my sister.

Shifters are half people half animal. Even if the animal they shift into doesn't normally have a pack, shifters do. We are always called whatever animal we shift into, then blood. I'm a jaguar blood. Most shifter types don't know that other kinds exist, but jaguar bloods have been around the longest and in the most places.

Within seconds of activating the trick, I saw her. She was miles away, running somewhere, not away, but to. I snarled at her image. I stood and began what is going to be a long, long walk.

"Oh Clarissa. The things I do for you."