Secret Lives

Chapter 1, The Hunting Life

Chapter 1

Year 2008 – Present

My name is Sonya Fairfields; I am one of the best at what I do.  When my master presents me with a job, I get it done; I do not cower at the sight of my own kind nor do I care for the way they look at me.

I was cursed with being born a wolf.  My master Chris always tells me that to repay my debt to society it is my job to help the humans in killing all the wolves in North America.

I can barely remember the last time I saw myself as a human.  As a wolf that walks among the humans, I am expected to remain in my animal form at all times.  The humans do not take lightly to us wolves shifting to mimic their form; they remind us time and time again it will only get us into trouble so it is safer this way.

We are expected to bow to our leaders.  Any wolf that falls out of line is shot. 

Being a great fighter, I hold my head up high.  I am gifted with warm food and the permission to live.

The humans see me as their ally; their thanks always evident in their eyes for those who cross my paths.

I know some other wolves are not so lucky; those who refuse to conform to the rules that taint this earth with their life.

I know that is not me; I am an asset and not a liability.

I was raised by Chris in a small town down on the North American border.  He was my parent and legally my father for as long as I can remember.

We would always hunt together before I could shift.  Chris would take the lead and teach me to track even though I could not change into a wolf yet.

We would hunt anything from rabbits to even deer; celebrating our victories with full bellies from what we caught.

Once I had turned sixteen, things seemed to change.

The night of my first shift Chris was supportive but he kept his distance, seeming almost afraid of what was happening.

My fits of screaming and crying would go unnoticed by the neighbourhood and the snapping of my bones was something I had not been warned about until it was too late.

Chris told me not all wolves survived their first change; he had told me there was a chance I would die.

I was strong though and it was only a day after that we were packed up and driven up to the top of the state where Chris had old ties.  I ever learnt how to shift back, Chris has warned me it would be painful and it was something best not done and ever since I have never tried.

It has now been three years since we moved up north to Tennessee.  After proving myself worthy I now rank high enough to be considered one of the elite.

In the years I have lived here, I have smelt so many hundreds of wolves it is hard to know how many actually live around me.

I do not interact with the other wolves; my encounters only being brief in battle when a group is sent in before me.

Waking up, I can hear Chris getting ready as we prepare for another day of tracking wolf packs until we find werewolves.

Slowly opening my eyes, I am used to the dull room we live in.  Most wolves are not meant to live with their masters but I do.

I remember falling asleep on Chris’s bed when he was talking to me last night but that is it.  I sometimes see the sadness in his eyes when he realises I cannot talk back as a wolf, the one way conversation frustrating him ever so slightly.