Rocky Mountain High

CHAPTER 1

 Prologue

Yes, Aurora Benedetti knew about shifters. She'd always known about shifters; men and women with the ability to change into an animal form were not so rare when your mother worked for a super secret branch of the Armed Services. The scary kind of branch, the kind you hear about in conspiracy theory YouTube videos and podcasts. You know, the kind of branch the general public knows nothing about. Her mother was a scientist, Dr. Elena Bornswick, first in her class; graduated with her master's degree at 18 years old, and a Ph.D. by the time she turned 21. Of course, she had more than one doctorate too, the overachiever, that was her mother in a nutshell. She tried the whole marriage and a house thing for its scientific value, like an experiment of sorts. Perhaps that was the reason her marriage hadn't lasted more than a year. Aurora was convinced the same idea was involved in having her. Kids too, seem to be a failed experiment for Elena. I should be clear though, her mother loved her and took care of her, but she was not the priority in her life, and it was blatantly obvious. She had Aurora when she was 22 years old, which interestingly enough was the same age she was now. Aurora was born on a September morning to a not-so-happy couple who was happy to welcome the baby into their crumbling marriage. She was named Aurora Lucchia Benedetti after the only fact she know about my mother's childhood, the woman loved Sleeping Beauty. Lucchia was her grandmother's name on her Italian father's side. Her dad was also a very bright, learned individual. He was a doctor in Microbiology and some other science-y title she could never remember. You may think with parents like that she would have been a genius, but well... not so much. She sometimes joked that they must have canceled each other out in her; not that she was a complete bumbling idiot, but she was not winning any noble prizes anytime soon either. Her mother used to tell her the story of how she was named. She said that when she looked down at the tiny baby with golden blond hair, sleeping so cute in her arms, the first thing that came to mind was Sleeping Beauty, so she called her Aurora. It was either that or Briar Rose but her dad insisted he should get a name too, so Aurora it was. Her dad had never been in her life much. When she was small, after the divorce he moved back to Italy. Aurora had only seen him twice in her life. The first time was when he came to the States for a conference. He stopped by her house with a stuffed animal for her. It was a pink goat that opened and closed its mouth like it was chewing when you pressed it. Aurora liked the goat, she thought it was funny. The nice man told her he was her father but she didn't really care. He was a strange man to her after all. After that, he used to call her sometimes to ask how she was and to tell her to study hard. She still got the same call on occasion. It was after her father's first visit that she began her campaign for a sibling. This came as a result of Kindergarten and seeing all her friends with brothers and sisters. Aurora wanted a brother or a sister really badly. Her mother told her that was not likely, but she kept insisting. That was the summer she got a lot of dolls, then a cat, called Moppy. But still, she persisted that she wanted a sibling, so her mother decided to do something that to this day she wasn't really sure if she had done to make her happy, or if that had been just an added benefit. She introduced Aurora to subject 337 in the Super Soldier Program. The thing was not called that, it was some classified junk she didn't know, but that's what she called it. She called it as she saw it ladies and gents. Super secret program of course meant a super secret location and a shit-ton of security all around the place, which incidentally was in the middle of the desert. Her mother had worked for the government since graduating from college after her first doctorate. She had told Aurora that she would have a kind-of brother of sorts. A boy who really wanted a friend and needed someone nice to play with that could help him not feel so angry all the time. That was also the time she began to be instructed by private tutors. One way of making sure she kept her little mouth shut about all the secret stuff. Her mom first told her about shifters that night before she was to meet subject 337. She told her a story about people who had the ability to shift forms at will. She called it a marvel of evolution. She told her about shifters living hidden among the population of the world. People who could take the form of big predators, and had incredible strength and could heal injuries much faster than humans could. But she also told her that they loved their friends and families. That night she asked her if she wanted to be a shifter's friend, a good friend like a sister. Aurora remembered being so happy; she was finally getting a brother!