I get woken up by the screaming of my alarm clock next to my head. I shut off the shrill, annoying sound, and sit up. I feel like I'm on fire. Just my luck, I guess I'm spending my thirteenth birthday sick in bed. I force myself to go downstairs to the kitchen where I'm met with my dad, my mom, and my four older brothers. The oldest two brothers are six foot three inches tall and built like tanks.
"Mom, I think I'm sick." My mom turns to me, her brow furrowed in concern. My mom is absolutely gorgeous. She stands at five feet, two inches tall, long chestnut brown hair and curves that would make even Miss America jealous.
"What's wrong, Thena?"
"I feel really hot and kind of itchy, like I want to rip my flesh off to stop the itching." My parents share a look.
"We should tell her what's going on." My dad answers my mom's silent question. My mom led me into the study and shut the door behind us.
"Ok, today is your thirteenth birthday, and it's also a full moon, which means you'll shift for the first time. That's why you feel so hot and itchy. After tonight, you will have monthly heat cycles, but until you imprint on your mate, they will be soft heats. A soft heat just means you feel hot and want to be in your nest, while a deep heat is for breeding after you imprint." I look at my mom like she just grew a second head.
"What do you mean 'imprint'?"
"When you meet your mate. You see, you and I are omegas, which is why we're so small, but our bodies are meant for having pups. Usually, Omegas mate with Alphas, like your dad and brothers."
"Ok, so what do I shift into?"
"Well, you would shift into a wolf, Athena." I'm not completely surprised.
"So that's where you guys go when there's a full moon."
"Yes, and tonight you will join us. Go rest up. It will be a long night." I nod and head back up to my bedroom.
Later that evening, I felt this intense urge and rushed outside to the backyard. It was almost instinctual. I feel my bones move and restructure themselves into my wolf form. I see my mom. Her fur is the same beautiful chestnut brown as her hair, but her eyes are this unnatural glowing blue. I look over to my dad and brothers. They all have the same fur color. My dad has some gray sprinkled throughout, but it doesn't look bad. Their eyes are all gold, which is gorgeous. My brothers all look at me, confusion on their faces. As we run through the forest, we stop at a lake. My reflection in the water shows me why they were confused. My fur is snow white. No one in the family has snow white fur, so where the hell did it come from?
I awkwardly stare back at my brothers as they glare at me momentarily before turning their glares and apprehension to my mom. Even in her wolf form, she looks sheepish, like some long hidden secret has just come to light. My dad growls to get all of us to look at him. He leads us all out into the woods where I smell a deer's trail. I follow my nose until my hip smacks into a tree. I look at the offending tree as if it just got in my way before going back to the trail. I can faintly hear my brothers and parents behind me. I finally track the deer down, and I pounce on it. I tear its throat open and share the meat with the rest of the family.
