The Crimson Legacies

Before the Storm

Edwin

I have avoided conflict my whole life. My mother and father both thrive in action and adventure, while I'm more of a scholar. This alone explains why I decided to apply for an apprenticeship under Lucius Needlebee. I do not enjoy the hunting and killing instincts of our species. Therefore, I find I am not suited to work in the Guard. My frame is far too small, my appetite is not like that of my parents, and I have a fondness for books. What part of my personality screams big bad wolf?

To make matters worse, I renounced meat altogether in my youth. The sight of blood makes me squeamish, and the smell usually results in me hunkered over near a tree expelling copious amounts of bile. It was my choice, regardless of what my parents say, I will not come around to my animalistic instincts. Therefore, praytell, why would I want to be part of the Guard?

Then there is my father, straightfaced, quiet, always judging me in his terrifying silence. I'm second born, the accident as he tends to call me, he has no hopes for my future. I never thought he wanted me to join his beloved Guard. Before I was born, when our family still lived in the Night Kingdom, my father was the packs adored Alpha. He was celebrated and lived an honored existence. All of it came to an end when the Queen's mother was lost in the Night Woods.

He had recognized who she was; therefore, he took it upon himself to make sure she made it to safety. As a thank you, the Queen offered my father a job in her Royal Guard. My father is an honorable man, though a bit arrogant, he was excited about the opportunity. He pleaded with the pack to follow him, but they shunned him instead. In those days, our kind was nomadic, and the idea of being tied down to one location (let alone one being) was not ideal for many of the members. So, in the end, it was only my father and mother who arrived at the castle, but over time, they found rogue wolves outside the realm to join their division.

They guarded the King and Queen against any threat, accompanied the Fae hunters on their hunts, protected the fortress walls from any invasion, and provided counsel to any member of the royal family who may need it. In my opinion, they were more like pets than wild animals who could rip your throat out. I was not the only one who thought this either, not only were we banished from Night, we were laughed at by local tavern goers. I learned many of the realm's residents felt we were no more than parasites living on the bread of their perfect Eden.

My father put everything he had into preparing the Guard. Once a young man proves he is capable of a full functional transformation, he is then asked to join the ranks. My brother is already a member, and he's only a year older. I can honestly say I have yet to transform fully, and it most definitely wasn't functional.

We are taught in school how to control our transformations; this way we can avoid any embarrassing mishaps inside the realm. Traditionally, we are anomalies of the wolf realm where lunar cycles decide when and where you turn from human to wolf. Some believe it is a mutated gene, others believe it has to do with nature. In our own realm, we would have been found defective for our ability to transform at will. No matter the reason, I have been able to suppress any and all urges for transmutation. All I had to do was begin to change one time, and I instantly regained control. Don't let my frame fool you; underneath this six-foot exterior is the heart of a beast.

However, this also means my parents believe I am defective. My father often ridicules me for my lack of instinct, while my mother coddles me and tells me I'm a late bloomer. I admit I never told them about my mutated control, so I take the sarcasm and overprotectiveness as a way to find my true calling. They didn't need to know I had to lay in the woods for a few hours to let my broken bones heal. All that mattered to me was that I had defeated the urge to shift. I had done what no other wolf born in Eden could accomplish. I had officially become a loophole.