Night of the New Moon

Chapter One

Chapter One

"June 4, 1985

It's almost midnight. I'm terrified, but so excited. After so many years of suffering, tonight I will be able to be one of them. One of my family. I am fifteen, the night I am supposed to be superior. I cannot wait. Father is calling for me, so I must go. I will write again in the morning, so I can get down every detail.

Sincerely,

Lainey

June 5, 1985

I didn't do it. I couldn't shift. Father was horrified, and I can't stop crying. Mother thinks I should be disowned, and sent to live in the forest. The thought scares me. If I can't shift, how am I to survive the cold winters. It isn't possible. Father won't let me die, will he? I hope not......"

The sound of an approaching howl interrupted my reading, and I scowled at the entrance of my small home, annoyed. The journal I was in the process of reading was my mother's, and I had only recently discovered it. My "home" was a small cave, warm and dry. I had been born and raised here, until my mother had died of sickness. She had been a Nulla, a shifter that couldn't actually Shift. I, however, had been born, and had shifted almost minutes after coming into the world. Mother had said it was because of the night I had been born, with a new moon present.

Sighing, I shut the book and stood up. Growing up in the forest, I didn't really have access to clothes, but Mother had made sure to at least get me one outfit, a pair of something called jeans, and a shirt made from silk. I didn't have any shoes, but I didn't care. I prefered bare feet, especially when dealing with wolves. Yes, wolves.

Because of how I was born, a pack of wolves had shown up an hour after birth, surprised and wary. But, the Alphas', two wolves I named Smoke and Bryn, seemed to take a liking to me, and they all became my friends, my new pack. The howl that had sounded was that of Shelly, a young she-wolf that was always following me. She had been born last spring, so she was still small.

She didn't come in; she knew better than to enter my home. I had instilled that sense in every wolf except Bryn, who still felt she had a right to enter even when I wasn't there. I didn't argue much with her; after all, she ruled the Pack. I climbed out of the entrance, shoving all my hair out of the way. I didn't like my hair. It was too long for me. I liked short hair. I peered down to where Shelly was crouched, waiting impatiently. I had gotten used to understanding what they wanted to tell me; Shelly was warning me. The Pack was on its way.

I sucked in a breath, already starting to shift. My mother had told me I was not like anyone else. I shouldn't be able to Shift at will. Even if I was already nineteen years old, Shifting without a Full Moon should not have been possible. I blamed it on her; all the power she possessed had been transferred to me. I tore the clothes I had off quickly, but still taking care not to rip them as the change rippled over. It was fast and painless- another thing my mother said it shouldn't be like.

My Wolf was also not normal. I was a rare Shifter, somehow being a dominant Timber Wolf, the only one in the family. According to her, only males were dominant, and none were Timber Wolves. When the shift was over, I stayed crouched to gain my breath back. I always felt too tall and lanky in my wolf form, but I had been told I was huge and beautiful. I didn't know which side to believe. My fur was a light sable color, almost blonde, due to my blonde hair. My eyes were green, and not just any green. They were emerald green, bright and sharp.

The sound of approaching paws reached my ears, nails scraping on rock. A low growl rumbled from my chest, and I quickly stopped it. I was not the Alpha in this area; I couldn't challenge. They broke through the trees, Bryn and Smoke leading, and came to stop a few feet away. Bryn was growling, hackles raised. She looked pissed. I slowly and cautiously lowered myself to the ground. This wasn't good. Smoke stalked towards me, and snarled, teeth flashing dangerously close to my throat. Alarm roared through my body. This wasn't good.