Forever Young

Chapter 1, Bed of Branches

Forever Young

CHAPTER 1

I hate waking up. I hate it with a passion. Maybe it's because the life I'm forced to live, or my far from ideal circumstances. Looking at those around me makes me sick. They're all nasty, dirty dogs and annoying bitches. My exact opposites. The only thing we have that is relatively similar is that we're all shifters.

I look to my left at the clock on the bed side table. It's 4:30 am, my usual wake up time. I need to get ready for another day of my hellish life. Yay? It doesn't matter though, it will be getting so much worse. The current alpha is ok, I guess. But as soon as his son takes over, I might as well give up all hopes on happiness.

You see, the alpha's son is a jerk. He enjoys causing me pain and suffering. He torments me daily about all I have been deprived from. Though don't get me wrong, he isn't the only one.

The entire pack does it. The bitches laugh and push me around. The smelly dogs try and get me in to bed with them. Don't even get me started on how many times a month I end up with broken ribs from them deciding to beat me for "disobeying." It has become part of what makes me stronger; what makes me push through life for if I don't, all they say and have said will be true. I won't be weak, and I refuse to go down without a fight.

I get out of bed and drag my body to the closet. I look in a see a blue shirt and a white hat. I might as well be all hat fancy today. I then dig around until I find a pair of black pants. I carry all of these into the small bathroom connecting to my loft bedroom.

After shedding my clothes, I looked in the full mirror on the back of the door. My ribs have a purplish hue and there are deep bruises on my arms. I guess it's good that my black eye is finally gone. Now there's room for somebody to give me a new one. Yay!

I reach over and turn on the shower, knowing there will be hot water because no one else should be awake yet. I still have a few hours until people begin waking up.

Once I was finished showering, I grabbed a fluffy towel and wrapped myself an used another towel for my hair. I stepped out of the bathroom and let my towel drop to the floor. I quickly dressed in the outfit I had picked out and sat down at my desk. I looked over my school agenda one last time to be sure I finished all my work.

"Yay! All done." I said to myself. Since I'm finished with my homework, I have time to go on a run in cat form.

Standing up I, I let my cat take over, but only enough to shift. If not, she would probably run as far away from here as possible.

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Now in cat form, I was clumsily walking down the stairs. I know what your thinking. "Why would a cat be clumsy. Cats are graceful and coordinated," right? Well, most are. I, though, am what is known as Forever Young. I grow up in human form normally, but in cat form, I only grow up mentally and not physically.

I made it to the bottom of the stairs and trotted over to an open window and pounced up to the ledge. I looked around the dark outside world for danger and I was glad that there was none. Jumping down into the grass below the window, I landed on all fours. I straightened out and started running.

To me, it felt extremely fast, but in truth, I was not even coming close to the speed full grown shifters can run. All that matters is that my cat thinks it is fun. Just then, I heard the frunt door of the pack house open.

'Somebody's coming. Hide,' my cat told me. I quickly jumped on to the base of a tree and climbed to a bed of branches. I heard footsteps and talking and decided to listen in. It's about time I know something about this pack.

"Kayden, it's about the time you should be finding your mate. When you find her, you will become our alpha and then of corse, get married." Alpha Sylverstone told his son.

"I know father, I can't wait to find her. I plan on finding out if my mate is in this pack and if so, great. If not, I will travel to the other packs until I find her and bring her home." Kayden, the next alpha, told his father with a cocky look on his face.

Alpha Sylverstone looked at his son. I don't know what he was thinking but it was probably along the lines of sorrow. Sorrow that his asshole of a son had to become alpha.

"Kayden, what if your mate isn't a member of our allies and a part of one of our enemy's pack. What if she doesn't even belong to a pack at all." He stopped and sighed. "Don't begin to think that finding you mate is easy. Even if you find her quickly, you will still need to get her to exept you."

"Yeah Dad, I know. Besides, who wouldn't love me?" He asked sarcastically. You have no idea how much I wanted to scream "ME!!!!!," but I refrained and continued o eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Love and being excepted are two very different things. Your mate may love you with all of the passion in the world but if she feels that she isn't going to be able to be Luna, she may run from you." Alpha told his son factually. "No matter who she is, fate has decided that she is to be our Luna by choosing her as your mate."

"I got it dad, I'm glad that you're giving me advise on this. I t would kill me if I messed up anything with my mate." He looked down to the ground and smiled, most likely thinking of his mate. "Can we go on our run now? It is the only reason we woke up this early."

His father looked at him and nodded. They then walked into the trees to most likely strip and shift. You see, unlike werewolves who destroy their clothes wail shifting, I can shift and just end up untangling my cat limbs from a pile of clothes. This is because my cat body is far smaller than my human body. Wolves, though, are much bigger.

I sit in this bed of branches and realize, this will be a long morning. I won't be able to go back to the pack house until alpha Sylverstone and his son are back. I might as well go back to sleep.