Supernatural Beings

Chapter 1

The sun was shining bright this early spring afternoon. The golden rays were warming Cieri's back. The trees around her swayed as the breeze whispered through the forest. Scents of pine and wood swirled around her. But also the scent of prey.

An unfortunate rabbit hopped out of it's burrow. It sniffed around for a minute, unaware of the wolf waiting in the undergrowth. The rabbit began eating on the leaves of a nearby bush.

Cieri smiled inwardly to herself. She stalked forward, careful not to make a sound. She moved forward with practiced ease as the rabbit remained unaware of the predator stalking it. Cieri crouched lower to the ground, her belly fur nearly touching the ground beneath her. 

In one quick, fluid motion, Cieri darted forward and pinned the rabbit down with her front paws. All it took was a bite to the neck to kill it. Cieri licked her lips and shook out her fur, satisfaction and pride coursing through her. 

She picked up the dead rabbit and started running in the direction of The Den. She set a fast pace, sprinting through the trees, feeling the wind run through her ash grey fur, leaping over rocks and fallen trees. It was times like these, when she got to run free in the safety of the forest she had known her whole life, that made her glad she was a werewolf. 

As she neared the treeline of the forest, she slowed to a stop. She set the rabbit down beside a tree and sniffed around the base of the tree. She soon found a basket, woven with sticks and fern leaves, filled with various clothing. Using her teeth, she pulled out a shirt and some pants before replacing the basket to where she had found it. 

Cieri closed her eyes and imagined a young, teenage girl with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She imagined the girl with pale skin, and a kind smile. Soon, Cieri felt her bones shift and her fur replace itself with skin. Cieri opened her eyes and quickly dressed her naked body with the clothes she had pulled out before she shifted.

Once she was finished, she picked up the rabbit from beside the tree and made her way into the clearing. The Den was a large cave at the base of a mountain. The mountain stretched high into the sky, and more mountains surrounded it, which created the valley Cieri called home. She had learned to call these mountains home, but according to her father, the alpha, everyone else in the world knew them as Wolf Tear Mountains. 

Cieri walked into the mouth of The Den and immediately saw a giant bomb-fire in the middle of the cavern. A pot sat above the fire, hovering over it with the use of sticks. A tall man in his mid twenties with short brown hair and brown eyes stood over the pot, stirring it and watching as it began to boil. 

"Hey Stan! I got your main ingredient!" Cieri shouted to the man, holding up her rabbit as she did so. Stan looked up and smiled from ear to ear before running over to Cieri and greeting her with a warm hug.

"It's about time, Ri, I was getting worried we would have to have veggie stew like last year!" He teased as Cieri laughed at the nickname he had given her. It was spring, which meant that it was breeding season. The pack had a tradition that for every new pup that arrived in spring, a stew would be made to represent all of the people in the pack who would love and support the new pup. It was one of the most valued ceremonies the pack had.

Cieri went to the corner of the cave used for cooking preparation. She skinned and cut up the rabbit as she had done many times before. Once she had sliced the meat into strips, she put them on spits and left them for Stan to cook. Stan was easily the best cook of the pack. He made almost every meal the pack ate and it was always beyond delicious.

He was also Cieri's best friend. They all but grew up together, aside from the fact that he was six years older than her at twenty-two years old. The age difference never seemed to bother them.