Valiant (Hiatus TBD)

Chapter 1

Beep beep beep

I groan, hitting the snooze button. Slowly I pull my self out of the comfort of my bed. I make my way to the bathroom and get ready for school.

'This is it' I think to myself. This is the last week of school before graduation. And one week after that I'm off to the start of my future. I check myself over in the mirror. My brown hair lays across my back neatly. My face is clean with minimal makeup. I head into my closet and dress in a simple t-shirt and jeans before I make my way to the kitchen of the pack house.

"Morning Mama" I say grabbing the plate of eggs and bacon my mom has prepared.

"Hi, sweetie" Mom is one of the talented pack chefs. Thats her job in the pack and even though it isnt all that important she loves it. Dad on the other hand is the pack trainer. He's in charge of training the pack members; everything from fighting and defending to tracking and hunting.

"Morning Alpha, Luna" I lower my head slightly sitting at the table next to them. Alpha Ben and his Luna Sarah were good people. They were kind and just leaders of our pack. Everyone respected them as they deserved. We are fortunate enough to have such great people as our leaders.

My Mom and Dad had been good friends with Alpha Ben before he took over from his father, the old alpha. So Ben was like a fun uncle to me.

"Hey kiddo." Ben replies. "You're up earlier than usual."

"Yeah, I wanted to head to the library before school to return the last of the books I checked out. I don't want to forget before I leave."

"I bet you are just itching to leave this place aren't you Valena?" Sarah smiles

"As much as I love my home here, yes!" I chuckle. "I am so excited!"

"As you should be. What and honor for you Val."

We continue chatting until I see I need to leave. I stand up to clear my plate and suddenly it feels as though the air has been knocked out of me. I feel a swelling chest much like what you would feel after watching a sad moving but you are trying not to cry.

"Valena! Val honey?" I glance over at the voice. Ben. "What's wrong Val? You okay?"

Quickly sitting back down, I take deep breathes and the feeling mellows out. "I have no idea what just happened. I'm fine." Ben, Sarah and my Mom all look skeptical. "Really, I'm sure I just stood to fast."

Mom touches my shoulder "Aright then. You better get going if you want to hit the library first."

I nod, clear my plate, and leave with a wave to the others.

To say my day was weird would be an understatement.

After I returned my library books and entered the school I was struck once again with the feeling of sadness. 'What is going on?' Was this my body's way of saying I should be sad to be leaving everything so soon? I thought it has to be the reason for all this emotion. The feeling was so strong I had to sit on the nearby bench.

"Hey are you okay?" I look up to see Fay, a nice girl from my pack. "You look a little pale."

I breathe deeply trying to calm down. "I'll be okay. Just a litle tired today. Thanks." she nods and continues to class. Soon I am back to normal and headed to first hour.

The morning goes by quickly but I can't help but be preoccupied. In all my studies I can't think of anything medical to describe the onslought of saddness. Yes I'm sad to leave but I'm far more excited. So why am I sad?

By the time school is over I'm so engulfed in the feeling of deep sadness I can't hold in my tears. Forgetting about anything else, I run, making my way through the school yard to the edge of the trees that engulf our town and shift into my wolf the moment I'm out of any human sight. The saddness I feel pushes me to run faster until I can feel my body relaxing. Soon I make it to the pack house.