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Chapter 1

I knew that today was going to suck ever since the first ring of my alarm clock. I slowly opened my eyes to the bright lights that each morning brought. Already, a headache had found its way to ingrain itself into my temple. I groaned, rolling out of the warm comfort of my bed and practically fell onto the cold hardwood floors in my room.

My head throbbed, and I faintly remembered being dragged by my best friend Alexa to a party last night, so no wonder it hurt. I didn't remember ever having that bad of a hangover. I pondered over what exactly had happened- or more, what embarrassing things that I must've done- last night as I dragged myself over to my closet and got dressed for school. Going out last night had definitely been a mistake, but since my parents were almost never out of town, I took the opportunity with more gusto then I should have.

I found my way downstairs and grabbed a granola bar and some Advil for my aching head as I slugged out the door to my car. Sliding into the seat, I began my journey to the rusty gated place known as Greenfield High School. My boyfriend was undoubtedly already there, in order to get some early football training for the upcoming season. He'd trained super hard all summer in order to get his team in shape. Even though he was only a junior, he was the starting quarterback for our team, the Cougars. So at least I had one good reason to go to school.

Pulling into my usual parking spot, I froze as I peered across the street into the surrounding woods. I thought I saw something rustle in the normally still, dark trees. The bushes rattled. I blinked and shook my head. I hoped that the medicine kicked in soon. I felt like my head was going to explode. I rubbed my jaw, which surprisingly hurt as well. Groaning, I snatched my backpack out of the seat next to me and walked over to were Alexa was perched on the stair railing, talking to a couple of guys from the football team.

She smiled when she saw me, then grimaced at my tired expression. I gave her a wry smile, exhaustion taking over. Alexa put her hands on her hips, glaring at me, "It's not even eight in the morning and you already look like you're about to pass out and die."

The football players dispersed, obviously put off by my grumpy attitude. I rolled my eyes at my friend but carried on anyways. "I took some Advil so I'll be fine, but can you remind me of exactly what happened last night?"

Alexa chuckled. "Well, we went to that party and it's safe to say that you had a few drinks. I think that Brett was pretty drunk, too. Me, however, I stayed true to my word. I got designated driver duty this time, so that means it's your turn next time."

I groaned as my head pounded once again. I swear that I could hear drums being banged in my head. I wondered where my boyfriend was. He was normally out of practice by now. The bell rang and I headed to my first class. Today was going to be a long day.

•••

I leaned forward in my seat with my head resting on my hand. People chattered around me in excitement for the end of the day. "Only five more minutes," Brett whispered in my ear, twining his fingers together with mine. "And then you get to go shopping with Alexa."

I opened my eyes and peered into his brown ones. I smiled, replying,"I might have to cancel. I feel like crap." A shiver of pain ran down my spine. I squeezed my eyes shut, barely containing a small gasp of hurt. Brett looked concerned. All day, my headache had remained constant, and my whole body seemed to be trying to kill itself. "I'm never going to drink again."

"Yeah really," Brett agreed. "Maybe you should go to the doctors or something. You haven't been yourself today. Way more than if you had a hangover."

"I'll be fine. I think I'm probably just getting a cold or something," I sighed. "Maybe I'll run by the minute clinic if I don't feel better by tomorrow."

Eighth period ended and I dragged Brett out the door to where I was meeting Alexa at my car. I held onto Brett's arm as I walked, my head spinning too fast for me to focus. Alexa appeared on my right. "Wow. Someone looks like a walking zombie."

I rolled my eyes and tossed her my keys. "You're driving. I'm too dead right now to function. But we have to hit the stores before the sales end so I'm sticking with you."

We drove in silence the rest of the way to the plaza. I slid off the seat and joined Alexa in the doorway. Walking in, the cashier woman jerked her head up and glared at me. I gave her a scowl in return. There was no reason for her to look at me like that.

Alexa and I moved over to the racks of clothes and I found the dress section in the back of the store. I thought about all the ways that Brett could ask me to homecoming. He didn't know what Alexa and I were shopping for, since I wanted my dress to be a surprise. Plus I didn't want him to think that he was forced to bring me to homecoming. Though he kind of did since he was my boyfriend. I glanced through red, pink, blue, and purple dresses before I got the feeling that I was being watched. I cautiously glanced behind me and jumped when I saw the cashier lady standing there.

Up close, I saw the wrinkles that showed the age of the woman. They seemed to soften her face and make her look kinder, which didn't show at all from the angry look that she gave me. "What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"What do you mean?" I questioned her. I tried to think if I'd ever done anything bad at this store, but the worse thing that I could remember my self doing is leaving my purse in the dressing room and frantically searching the store for it. It wasn't exactly a felony.

The woman- Sue according to her name tag- narrowed her eyes. "It's so close to your transition and you're in town. With a girl, none the less! Are you trying to get caught?"

I raised my eyebrows. "What in the world are you talking about?"

Seemingly surprised, she started muttering under her breath. "Hasn't shifted yet... Two packs are so close... Rival alphas..."

"I'm sorry, m'am. I don't know what you're talking about," I said slowly and turned back to the dresses.

I felt the woman grab my arm and drag me through the back door of the small store. "Hey!" I cried. "What do you think you're doing?"

Sue stopped and looked me square in the eye, "I want you to go out the back door and run as fast as you can through the woods. Don't look back. I'll tell your friend that you had to rush home since you felt ill."

I gulped at her intimidating demeanor and nodded. I walked quickly to the exit door and into the cool evening air. It was starting to get dark. I'd apparently been looking at dresses for longer then I'd thought. But I was too freaked out to really comprehend was was happening. I started to jog as I approached the woods that were located in the back of the store plaza.

The dark shadows that the trees casted calmed me, but the pain that had remained in my head all day seemed to intensify. The shivers down my spine came back and I crashed through the underbrush. My plan was to run through the woods to get to my house since I'm sure this was a back way. No one was home, still, but at least I'd feel less freaked out and I'd be able to process what was happening.

I frantically ran the way that I thought my house was. I'd grown up in this town ever since I was adopted as a baby and I've become pretty accustomed to where things were. Even in the middle of the woods, I felt like I would never get lost. My body seemed to be giving out tremors as I reached a clearing in the woods. My backyard.

I was so close to being home. I sprinted across the field and up the stairs to my back porch. Luckily, I'd forgotten to lock the door earlier. Turning the door nob, my heart seemed to beat faster and faster.

I didn't know what was happening, but I knew that today was going to change my whole life.

•••
Author's Note:
Well, this is the first chapter of my new book! I'd love to hear feedback from you on how it's going or if it's completely boring. I'm planning on sticking with this book all the way to the end, but updates aren't really on a schedule. Hope that you enjoyed it!