The Wolf Girl

Chapter One

Molly's POV
  I open my eyes and warm sunlight greets me, shining through the small window in my room. I stretch my arms and yawn. I hear my bedroom door being opened and I put my arms down. Cole's face appears as he looks around the door. "Don't forget Alex and his sister are coming over today," he says. "It's Callie's thirteenth birthday."
  "I know," I sigh. "To be fair, you've only reminded me fifty thousand times this week."
  He steps into the room and holds up his hands defensively. "Hey, I thought you'd forget." He grins, the same lopsided smile that my father had. "I mean, you forget a lot of things."
  I sprint forward and punch him in the arm. He grunts and stumbles backwards, and I giggle in spite of myself. I must look like no threat in my pajamas, but Cole may as well have just challenged me.

  He looks at me with a playful fire in his eyes. "You want a war? I'll give you a war," he mutters, and he charges forward. I squeal as he bends down and grabs my ankles. I feel myself being lifted from the ground and gravity takes over. The front of my body swings forward and I shriek, shutting my eyes and throwing my arms out in front of me. My hands land on the floor a moment later. I open my eyes and glare up at my brother. "Cole!" I exclaim. He smiles sheepishly and carefully puts me back on my feet. I sigh. "Let me get dressed."

  He leaves and I put on my typical clothes- an off-shoulder blouse and shorts. I open my door and walk out of the room. I make my way downstairs and see Alex, sitting at our kitchen table with a mug in his hands. I smirk and take a few silent steps toward him. Biting back laughter that could give me away, I cross my arms over my chest. I open my mouth to speak, but before I can, Alex puts his drink down and turns in his chair to face me, a devious grin on his face. An irritated sigh replaces the words that should have come out of my mouth.
  "You're pretty bad at sneaking up on people," he chuckles.
  "Hey, you have really good hearing," I point out. He rolls his eyes, still smiling. I walk closer to the table and put my arms down. "I thought you were coming later," I say.
  "Well, Callie's talking my ear off about being a teenager now, so I kinda got tired of her and came over here," he says with a small smirk.
  "Hey, you were talking my ear off about being a teen," I laugh. "I was quiet about it for the most part."
  "You've got me there," he sighs. I start to laugh, but it's drowned out by a loud crash coming from my mother's office. I look at Alex for a moment before running to the small room.

  Ever since Dad went missing ten years ago, Mom has been acting strange. She isn't as happy, which you would expect, but she has been extremely jumpy and nervous. She is constantly in her room or her office, and if she eats, it must be when I'm not around. On occasion, she goes out to get food, giving me a break. I'm the one who hunts for us. She goes shopping sometimes to make my job easier, but when we run out of food, I have to hunt.
  It's as if my mother is hiding from me. I just want her back.

  Without knocking, I rush into the office and find my mother, standing over several scattered papers. Her hair is in a messy braid down her back.
  "Mom?" I whisper. She turns straight to me, her green eyes staring into my brown ones. While my smile is one that resembles my mother's, I got my dad's dark brown eyes and quick reflexes.
  "Molly," she says in her quiet, tired voice. "Why are you in here?"
  "There was a crash, and-"
  "Molly, leave now, please. We'll talk later," she interrupts with a new firmness in her voice. My eyes begin to fill with tears. Is she mad at me for being near her office? I stand where I am. "Molly," she says through clenched teeth. "Now. Please."
  "Why do you hate me?" I shout, surprised at my words. And they keep coming. "When Dad first died, you were okay. You were a little off, but you were better than this. Now, you tell me to go away because I came to help clean up a mess?" Tears start rolling down my cheeks. "I don't understand that, Mom. You'd expect a mother and her children to grow closer if someone dies. But you've separated from us. I feel like Cole takes better care of me than you do." I turn on my heel and come face-to-face with Alex. I sigh a little and make my way around him, wiping the tears off of my cheeks.

  A moment later, I'm out of the house and running, closing my eyes, letting my feet take me wherever they want. I ignore the world and just cry as I run. I can only hope that no one is following me as I feel my feet touch soft grass. I want to be alone for as long as it takes for my heart to heal.

  I don't think I meant anything I said to Mom.

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A/N: Hey guys! Mabel here! Wow. About 900 words for the first chapter? Well, that took some time and patience... Haha! Thanks for reading this really tedious chapter... I feel like it kinda dragged on. Sorry if it did. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!
~Mabel