Prologue

She could smell her own fear radiating off her body as she ran, and that worried her immensely. She was sweating, and breathing heavily, and whimpering in pain—and if all those weren’t good enough reasons for the werewolves to find her, she was sure that the pure smell of her inner werecat would be enough.
Dumb idiot! She reprimanded herself as she held in another sob, you just had to go out and party! You freakin idiot! You just had to drink the whole freakin bottle of wine!
She might not be human, but alcohol does the same thing to her and her kind as it would any other person. She felt dizzy, confused, overwhelmed. Her vision was the slightest blurred, and she couldn’t think a complete train of thought without being distracted. All of her senses were dulled to almost nothing, and despite how impulsive the alcohol has made her she knew that she was in trouble. Under the influence and deep in the woods away from her pack, there was no way her family and friends, even her mate, would be able to save her before it was too late.
…but she had to try. She had to die with at least some honor, some dignity…but how could I die with honor? She asked herself, as she leapt over tree stumps and foliage, I was dumb enough to actually walk into werewolf territory! What werecat does that, intoxicated or not?
Just then, while feeling sorry for herself, she tripped over a twig…A freakin twig! I should have spotted that from half a mile away!
She crashed onto her side, mud and rocks scratching at her body, pulling her into the earth and finding its way into her unexpecting and open mouth. Her usually soft creamy skin, was now being torn up by the small pebbles. A stinging ache spread from her legs, to her arms, and all over her body. Her legs were wobbly and weak. Her harsh pants made the back of her throat sore. A loud ring echoed in her right ear…she was too weak, too alone.
She didn’t stand a chance.
So she flipped onto her back and focused on her surroundings. She listened to the faint whistle of the wind. She felt the cool breeze brush against her weak body, making the beads of sweat on the back of her neck grow cold causing a shiver to travel down her spine. She could smell damp undergrowth and rain. A storm was coming. She had always loved the smell of the quite earth right before a good thunder storm, and just as she closed her eyes to enjoy all the amazing memories she’s had with her family and friends…and her fiancé—the one she would never be able to love, or marry, or raise a family with—big arms encased her, and she screamed one last plea for help.
…nobody came…

Chapter One

I walked silently through the underground catacombs, the only light being a candelabrum on the walls every few hundred feet. The lights, to a human, wouldn’t be much of a help in the eerie darkness. They only lit up a diameter of a few inches, and casted more shadows then it did actually ‘light the way’. Too me and my family, they weren’t even really necessary. I could see my way through the tunnels as well as I could in bright daylight, maybe even more so.
I could smell the exotic and revolting aroma of what I was guessing was mold, wet and grimy. The cracked stone floor under my bear feet felt extremely cold, numbing the tips of my toes and tearing at the pads of my feet. I could hear the faintest sound of water dripping from a leak onto the hard smooth ground, never allowing the forever dark and sinister catacombs silent.
I followed the sound of the dripping till I came to an intersection of underground tunnels. I sniffed the air, and the sudden scent of alcohol and wet fur invaded my nostrils. My nose wrinkled innately in disgust, but I couldn’t judge someone I didn’t know based on dead ancestor’s opinions and a horrid smell.
I concentrated, and tilted my head to the side to listen down one hall…then another, till I heard the faint sound of sobbing coming from the hall to my right.
I turned and walked down the hall, till I came to the only occupied cell. In it sat a young woman, with long wavy blonde hair, which I’m sure would look way prettier if she hadn’t been locked up in here the past few days. Her hair was hanging in her face, reminding me of ‘Cousin It’ from ‘The Adams Family’. Her hair was dry at the tips, and greasy and stringy at the roots. Her hair looked no better then a piece of straw. Yet despite her hair and all the dirt and cuts and bruises all over her face and body, she looked pretty. She had bright blue eyes that were outlined with long and full lashes. She had skinny, perfectly shaped eyebrows, and full lips. She had the perfect heart shaped face complete with a pointed chin and turned up nose. She had all the beautiful traits of the typical Caucasian…but I knew better. I could smell her inner cat. I could see it’s anger and vulnerability through her eyes. It was always like that. Our eyes always seemed to express or resemble the thoughts and feelings of our inner being; mine being a wolf, hers being a wild cat—I wouldn’t be sure what type of cat till and if I ever saw her in her animal form.
“Hey,” I whispered, trying my best to hold back my inner ergs and attack the poor girl. The pure smell of her made my wolf’s stomach turn and twist, as if wanting me to vomit.
The blonde looked up from underneath her stingy locks of hair, and quickly shuffled away from the cell bars separating me and her, “No! No! I’m not going to hurt you!” I said, even though I’m sure she wouldn’t believe me, considering what my father and his men did to her.
The blonde didn’t admit she didn’t believe me, though. In fact, she didn’t say anything. Her guard seemed to slip a bit, but whether that was because she believed me or because she felt safe behind the thick iron bars of her cell I’d never be sure.
“I brought you some food.” I said tossing her a left over leg of cooked rabbit wrapped in a cloth, through the bars.
She hesitated a moment, but her inner wants and needs of ‘the hunt’ took over as well as her need for food. My father, as much as I loved him, could be a cruel man. Being Alpha of our pack, really seemed to get to his head sometimes. After capturing this poor feline, he had ordered his men to lock her in our underground cells with no food or water.
She easily tore into the leg with her pearly white and sharp canines, groaning in delight when the warm slick flesh touched her tongue.
“I’m guessing you like it,” I said, offering a smile.
The blonde looked at me, and offered an obviously forced half smile, then continued to eat. Her enthusiasm and excitement died down substantially.
I looked down the hall to my left…then to my right. No one.
I lifted the tips to my dress and knelt down on both knees.
The blonde continued to eat, but never once took her eyes off me. She studied me, looking for the smallest thing that might suggest I’m trying to harm her…too bad for her, I’m not going to be the one to put her out of her misery, in this hell whole…
I sat down on my knees, next to the bars. I slid my hand into the pocket in my apron and grabbed yet another object wrapped in yet another small cloth.
“Here, it’s a gift,” I whispered and slid my skinny arm in between the bars to set the object wrapped in cloth on the floor a few feet away from me. The blonde looked at me, the slightest bit skeptic. We stared at each other for a moment, and then she crouched her way over toward the bars. She unwrapped the cloth revealing a small silver cylinder. When she opened that up, it revealed a grayish gel, “What is it?”
“I know this one woman named, Nina. She’s a friend of the family’s. Anyway, she’s a very talented witch. I told her about you, about how my father and his men hurt you. She said that it would heal you…and get rid of the odor,” I admitted making the blonde laugh.
She must have been in pain, because she didn’t hesitate. She just stuck her hand into the cylinder and began rubbing the grey gel over her wounds and bruises, “Thank you. And tell your friend too.”
“Will do…”
We fell into silence, as I watched the gel slowly dissolve into her cuts and disappearing like lotion when rubbed into the skin. It stung at first, I could tell by the sound of crackling and sizzling flesh, but then the noise stopped and the only thing I could hear—other than the dripping water—were faint moans of relief coming from the blonde.
The blonde propped her weak body up against the bars, showing me that she finally trusted me…at least enough to have a civil conversation without thinking of slitting my throat, and vice versa, “Why are you being so nice to me?”
I shrugged, “I just don’t get this…the fights between my kind and yours…yes, you smell horrible—“
“And you smell like wet dog.”
“—but you don’t deserve to be treated like vermin. You don’t deserve to be in here, just because you accidentally wondered onto our property—uh! What were you doing anyway…shouldn’t you have been able to—“
“Smell you?”
“Yeah.”
The blonde sighed, a smile playing on the tips of her lips, “Well, uh…I was out celebrating and was really intoxicated. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“What were you celebrating?”
“I am…well was supposed to be getting married…today, actually!”
I couldn’t help but smile. I was excited, and felt happy for the girl, “Oh! You found your mate?”
The blonde rolled her eyes, “Oh god no!”
“Well then why were you—“
“Cameron is the alpha of my pack. My father, he was really ill, and only the blood of Cameron would cure him. Me and my brother, we were devastated. He didn’t have long, but my mother wouldn’t take no for an answer…she promised my hand in marriage in exchange for a vile of Cameron’s blood.”
“He made your mother promise your hand in marriage, for some blood?”
“Well no…neither one of us had had a clue. It was an arrangement secretly made between our parents. I was celebrating my last few days of freedom before I’d be stuck with him.”
I frowned, my excitement suddenly gone, “Is he really that bad?”
“That’s the thing…I don’t know, I’ve never met him before.”
“Oh…I’m Jessica, by the way.” I quickly changed the subject noticing in her eyes that both her and her cat weren’t exactly happy with the arrangement let alone talking about it. I held out my hand to her, and she took it with a faint smile, “Rose.”
“Jess! What are you doing down here!”
The mention of my nickname made me jump to my feet in surprise. Rose quickly backed away from the bars, and scurried to hide in the nearest shadow.
I looked into the deep emerald eyes, and began to stutter, “Paris I—“
“Your father would kill you if he saw you down here. Especially if he knew you were talking to her.” My best friend growled, and then spat at the bars to show Rose how much he despised her.
My anger flared, “Paris! Stop! Don’t do that—“
“Don’t do what?” Paris asked, pretending to be oblivious while spitting more saliva onto the floor.
I jumped when I heard footsteps down the hall and around the corner, “God dammit Paris! We’ll talk about this later! Right now, we have to go, or we’ll both be in deep with my father.”
Paris sighed, and reluctantly followed me back out of the underground catacombs, making sure to avoid the tunnels my father’s men had been using.

Chapter Two

“Please, can we not fight,” Paris complained as he ran a hand through his long blond hair, and plopped onto my king sized bed.
I scoffed, “Are you kidding? Paris! You’re the one that started it!”
“Well, now I want to end it!”
I rolled my eyes and sighed, not angry but slightly annoyed.
Paris stood and wrapped his arms around me from behind to pull me into a warm and relaxing embrace, my back to his chest, “I’m sorry, okay? I was just…surprised! This is your day, don’t let little ole me ruin it for you.”
I laughed, “Why thank you Paris! I can die happy now!”
“Miss. Amulet! Your bath is ready!” Yvetta, my maid, said in her soft and quite voice, interrupting me and Paris.
“Ah, you need help washing up?” Paris whispered into my ear and I giggled, “You’re such a horn dog! Go down stairs and find your mate or don’t. Just go find some other random chick!”
Paris, he’s my best friend. Has been since the day I was born. We grew up in the same house, and have seen and dealt with each other at our best and worst. He knows me better then my own father…but he’ll never be more than just that, my friend. If we were mates, we would have known it—we would have felt that well known shock that supposedly happens the first time you and your mate touch. We just like to joke and tease each other a lot.
Paris exhaled noisily, putting on his best puppy dog face, “Fine.”
“I’ll see you tonight!” I mumbled as I gently slapped his cheek, and then followed Yvetta to my bath.
While I soaked in my warm bath water, till my fingers and toes were pruney, Yvetta looked through my walking closet for my mother’s gown—the one she had worn on her sixteenth birthday, and the one I shall wear on mine, today!
“Miss. Amulet? I’ve found the gown! Where would you like me to—“
“For the last time Yvetta, stop calling me Miss. Amulet! My name is Jessica!” I called to her from the other side of the bathroom door as I stepped out of the tub, wrapping a towel around my wet and naked body.
I wrung out my hair, combed through it, scrunched it, and then walked out of my bathroom and into my bed chambers.
Yvetta dressed in her grey commoner dress and apron stood next to my bed, the biggest smile on her face, “Would you like help getting into your dress?”
I giggled, “I’m pretty sure I can dress myself.”
“I don’t doubt that Miss.—“I glared “—Jessica! What I meant was do you want help tying your corset. If you wait for your mother, she’ll tie it so tight that you’ll shrink three sizes and won’t be able to breathe.”
My eyes went wide with realization, because as funny as it was, it was also true. My mother brought a complete new meaning to the famous phrase ‘Beauty is Pain’.
I gulped and nodded, letting Yvetta’s smile grow wider.
I untied my towel, letting it flow to the ground. Yvetta held out my undergarments, and then helped me into corset. It was a beautiful yet painful looking thing; black, with black lacing, ties, and buckles.
Gulping down some more nervous saliva, I slid into the silky top. I held the front to my chest, and stood as still as I possibly could as Yvetta tied the back, making it stay in place. Every now and then the force of her tight knots would jerk me from side to side, but nothing like it would have been with my mother. I could breath easily, bend, and lift my arms. It might have looked a bit scary, but it was actually very comfortable.
…made my boobs look good, too. Yvetta giggled in agreement when I pointed that out…
Next, Yvetta helped me slip into the actual gown.
It was a gorgeous pea green dress, which reminded me of the 21st century version of a Victorian dress. It was strapless, but came with a black laced shawl to cover my bare and pale shoulders. It was tight at the top, like my corset, but flowed out at the skirt like the typical princess gown. A black silhouette of thins vines and flowers devoured the skirt giving the plain dress some Oomph!
“It looks amazing on you. Just as beautiful as my mother…maybe even more, but don’t tell her I said that.”
I giggled and looked at myself in the full length mirror in complete awe. Never in my life had I felt like I was even worthy of being cute. It amazed me how one dress could change my complete perspective. I felt confident; like a beautiful young woman.
Yvetta spent the next hour finding a way to get my auburn hair to stay in a high and elegant bun on the top of my head. It only took her a few moments, though, to do my makeup. She gave me a smoky eye of brown eye shadows, making my bright blue eyes appear way more lively and fierce then they were on their own. My lips were covered in pink gloss that tasted a lot like pink lemonade.
“A red lip would be to overwhelming with the smoky eye,” Yvetta has said, as she blotted my lips with a napkin.
She had wanted to paint my fingernails green, but I was tired of the green so I offered black, and Yvetta reluctantly agreed.
By the time Yvetta was done, conjuring up the sixteen year old me, all of the guests—meaning all the werewolves in my father’s pack, and some Alpha’s and Beta’s from nearby ones—and I was officially fashionably late.
Yvetta, with my arm wrapped in hers, escorted me from my bedroom to the top of the stairs case that led to the huge living room of the house, which was now being used as the party room.
We both waited at the top of the stairs, till the small chit chat and laughter under us stopped. All eyes were literally on me, and my heart was beating so fast and loud I’m sure anyone within a good distance would be able to hear it.
“You’ll be fine. Just be yourself…Jessica.” Yvetta whispered to me, making my racing heart calm the slightest bit.
“Okay…just don’t let me trip,” I mumbled, and Yvetta held in a laugh, “Well that would be an entrance no one would forget.”
Slowly, one step at a time, we walked down the stairs, trying my best not to wobble in the heels Yvetta had literally forced me into wearing.
I took the last step from the stairs onto the wooden floor and exhaled in relief, “Well, um…hey everybody.” I mumbled not sure of what to say.
All the guests laughed, and I smiled, pretending as is if I had meant to get that reaction from them.
The music started back up, the chatting and laughing continued, only this time a swarm of men came rushing toward me.
I don’t know how the werecat culture is, but when a female werewolf turns sixteen she is arranged a party, to celebrate her coming of age to finally transform into her wolf and in chances to find a mater…there was more than enough men to chose from…

I sat on the bottom of the stairs, watching as the few fifty-some guests that hadn’t left yet conversed about…whatever it was they wanted to talk about…
I had talked to over four hundred men today—some for a few minutes, some for hours. It’s two in the morning, and I haven’t found one person I’d like to get to know better, let alone marry, date, or have a family with. At the beginning of this thing, I had thought for sure I’d come across him, my eternal soul mate, but now I’m convinced he doesn’t exist.

Chapter Three

“Hey…why the long face. This is your night! Have fun!” Paris mumbled as he took a seat next to the pouting me on the stair case.
I laughed, at the realization of the faintest slur, and quickly snatched the glass of champagne from his hands, “Sound like you’ve had two much to drink.”
“Are you kidding? I haven’t had too much! I’ve just had too little enough.”
“What?” I asked as I laughed. I twirled the glass in my hands, watching as the bubbly gold liquid sloshed. Then, bored out of my mind with nothing better to do, I licked my finger, and ever so lightly traced the rim of the glass. A faint whistle began to echo from the glass to my ears. Paris’s eyes went wide, “Whoa! How did you do that?”
I shrugged, “Nina showed it to me. You can do it with any glass, as long as it’s made out of crystal.”
“Coooooooooooooooo-uh-ooooooooool,” Paris hiccupped in the middle of his dumbfounded statement, and then leant his head on my shoulder. His sweaty forehead, made my bare shoulders itch, “You know, you look wuh-really really gorgeous tonight. I just want to eat you up.”
“Okay, I think it’s time you go to bed.”
“Yes, mudder.” Paris mumbled, before crawling up the stairs on all fours to his bed chambers.

“Can’t sleep?” Rose asked when I sat next to the bars of her cell. I shrugged, “Nah. I feel too jumpy.”
“Maybe it’s your inner wolf…today’s your sixteenth birthday, right?”
I nodded.
“Then what are you doing down here? Go out; stretch your baby girl’s legs.”
My inner wolf growled in agreement and anticipation, but I held back, “I want to but—“
“But what? Go live a little! Your wolf—like my cat—is a part of you. She needs exercise. She wants respect. You have to listen to her! Granted not all the time, sometimes what she wants isn’t the best thing for either of you, but you can’t ignore her completely! Because if you do, she’ll grow angry and take over. You’ll no longer be the one in control.”
I nodded in, taking in every word Rose said.
“Okay,” I yelped after a moment of debating, my inner wolf making my body tremor with excitement.
“Wait!”
Rose yelled as she grasped the bars. I had to dig my heels into the ground, to keep from running off.
“What?”
“Just…Be careful Jessica.”
I squinted at her feeling curious, but more alarmed and skeptic than anything, “Why…?”
Rose sighed, “I…I don’t know when or how, but Cameron will come for me. Not because I’m his future wife, but because I’m a member of his pack. So just…I like you…you’re nice…so just be careful. I might not have met Cameron face to face, but I know plenty of people who have. I’ve heard many stories, too. He’s merciless, especially toward enemies.”
I nodded, feeling alarmed, but only for a second. My wolf didn’t seem to think a stupid feline could be more than a nuisance, and so my—and her—excitement easily overwhelmed my worry.
Without another word I ran outside, and stood motionless on the porch for the longest moment.
I let free of my insecurities, cares, and worries.
I listened, to the faint whistle of the wind, the click of the nearby crickets, and the never ending song of the birds. I tilted my head toward the sky, to bask in the feel of the soft caress of the late summer breeze. I inhaled the smell of the forest; alive, fresh, and wild.
Slowly I undid the pins and clips from my hair, letting my long auburn locks cascade around my face. I flipped my hair, allowing the wind to push the tendrils away from my eyes as I looked at the sky.
I never took my eyes away from the mesmerizing swirls, blends, and shades of purple, indigo, and pink, as I slid out of my pea green dress, with the black lace. I slid out from my undergarments, and did my best to untie my corset before slipping out of it. I grabbed my clothes, hid them in a big pot on the porch and then slowly and quietly walked onto the lawn. The wind brushed my completely uncovered body, making me shiver, but in a good way. My wolf loved the feel of the wind, and I could feel her against my flesh, asking, begging.
I closed my eyes, and let her take control as I knelt down on both knees in the middle of my front yard. Minutes later after faint shocks and cracks of pain, I was standing on all fours looking back and forth to make sure no one had seen me change…when the cost was clear, I allowed my wolf complete control, and simply watched from her point of view as she stretched her hind legs, then the front. Her paws curled into the soft and delicate soil and grass under her weight. A faint growl erupted from the back of her throat, reminding me of a laugh, and then off she ran, deep into the forest.

The feel of the earth under her paws, made her feel confident and free. A feeling that even though wasn’t mine, made me feel warm and happy.
It was weird at first, looking through my wolf’s perspective, but not being able to control a thing…well, I could, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to. I had had my fun at the party tonight, it was her turn.
I watched, through her eyes, as she jumped over tree stumps, logs, and bushes. I could feel her breaths as they escaped her chest, slow and light. She was running so fast, I could barely see her surroundings. It was all a blur of brush and foliage and greenery, yet she wasn’t even panting.
A sudden sound of a crackling branch, made my wolf come to an abrupt stop.
She looked around, her heart leaping in surprise, not fright.
She pressed her front paws into the ground, thrusting her hind into the air. She clenched her jaw, and glared from side to side, ready for anyone or anything that threatened her. A soft breeze blew across her whiskers, tickling her face. A nasty and familiar smell filled her nose…sweaty and musky.
I tried to hold back, but my wolf wouldn’t listen. She reacted immediately to the scent, and turned to growl at the big and healthy looking panther behind us. Her lips curled, revealing her teeth and she growled. Her body curved to dig her paws even further into the ground, pawing at it.
The panther mimicked her movements. The black cat curved its back, poking its rear into the air, and digging its paws into the growth under it. Its claws, small but curved and sharp, slowly reached out from its paws to claw at the ground, as well, and I began to panic. There was nothing I could do…other then pray and hope that my wolf would be stronger, faster, and smarter.
My wolf took in a deep breath and waited.
“Go get him.” I told her mentally…that was all the encouragement she needed.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 30.03.2012

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Based off: 'Romeo & Juliet" Dedication: to Shakespeare