Hideout

O N E

C H A P T E R 

O N E 

A D E L A I D E 

The view from my window was perfectly aimed at the party below. It was less of a party, and more of a show and tell, like those things you do in elementary school? But instead of showing your newest toy, or your dog, or even a picture that you doodled, the young adult wolves of my pack were showing off their new mates. All the girls were in gorgeous dresses that fit them perfectly, and all the boys were in tidy, handsome suits, standing at their girl's' sides protectively. All the adults were there too. They had all gone through the same thing when they were eighteen or twenty-one, and this time it was their turn to watch their children or younger siblings go through it too. It was the tradition.

My parents were sitting at a table, watching and clapping politely as each new couple was announced and shared a kiss or some sort of affectionate action for the crowd. It was a big night - each couple trying to get more attention, more love, as if it solidified their bond or meant anything when it really didn't.

The children of the pack - those fourteen and younger had their own little play area sectioned off, whilst fifteen to seventeen-year-olds watched the exchanges on the stage with longing, hoping they would be up there when they were eighteen, and not locked away in their rooms like I was. Of course, none of them would be. Because they weren't like me.

Every once in awhile someone would look up towards my window, but they couldn't see me. My lights were off, most likely giving the illusion I had gone to bed. Which is what I'm supposed to be doing. Both the Alpha and my parents told me to be asleep by nine, and to stay away from the window, but here I was, watching with an empty pit in my stomach as everyone celebrated.

My gaze drifted back to the stage, where the most attractive male of the pack stood with his mate on his arm - of course, Stella Ferano, was the lucky girl. The next Luna in line. It was predicted by the whole pack they would become matched. But that didn't stop my hormones from getting on a crush on him - Harrison. It didn't make much sense. He never spoke to me, he never gave me any attention - positive or negative. The first time I had made solid eye contact with him was yesterday - when his father, the alpha, himself, and my parents informed me that I would not be attending the 'Celebration of Mates'.

"This has nothing to do with you, Ms. Felix. It is not personal," Alpha Hixon had told me, putting a cautious hand on my shoulder - the one with the massive birthmark etched into the skin. "It is purely..." At this point, I stopped listening, because of course, it was personal. I wasn't allowed into the Mating Ceremony, of course, I wouldn't be allowed into this ball. And it wasn't because I was ineligible because I was. It was because of my face, my shoulder, my left hand.

I was born healthy, at the average weight and length, fully developed. The only difference was the irregular pigmentation that ran from my ear to cover my left eye, in a shape that resembled a burn, tinting my skin there a fleshy pink, while my skin tone was a deep pale. There was a similar, but larger mark across my shoulder, covering my shoulder blade all the way to my collarbone. The third birthmark was over my whole left hand, leaving a rigid line around my wrist. None of these were physically damaging, except of course the one that went over my eye. One of which was a soft green, but the left was almost opaque-blue, and a little more silver and iridescent - it lacked pigment. As a baby, it was hardly noticeable, but eighteen years later, the colors were startlingly different and I was starting to lose my 20/20 vision in the lighter eye.

I was excluded from most pack activities because of this - ranging from Hunts and Runs to these gatherings or parties like tonight. Which was understandable, as this trait I had was weakening. In my wolf form, having one eye perfect and the other half working, was extremely disorienting. Every once in awhile the alpha would do a mini hunt that I would be allowed on, but it would be way too easy and not even remotely strenuous.