Chapter 1: The first meeting

I walked through the woods, my paws barely making a sound on the dry leafy bed that covered the forest floor. It was mid-August and I could feel the chill in the air when a breeze blew through my fur. I had just recently left my pack to stake out on my own, to hopefully make my own mark in this life with a pack of my own with me as the Alpha this time. My mother and father were hesitant at first with letting me leave but with enough persuasion I was able to convince them to let me leave and find my own way in life. When I reached a ledge in the woods with a bubbling creek down below, I sat down and just listened to the woods around me, what leaves were left in the trees rattled in the breeze, branches lightly slapped one another in the breeze and the wind howled through the trees. I closed my eyes and listened to the creek babble on, the water gently rolling over the pebbles and stones in the creek, I enjoyed it when the wind would play with my fur and bring to me the scents of the forest. I could hear faint howls of other wolves in the distance but I knew the neighboring packs around here have way too many wolves to allow me in to their pack, plus none of their males are single and looking for a mate or they just don't want to leave their pack.

After a good while sitting there listening to the surroundings around me I decided it was time for me to head out and find my new home, plus I was getting awfully hungry as well. As I walked through the forest, I heard some voices not too far from my right side, so curiosity getting the better of me I headed to where the voices were and spotted a group of campers surrounding a fire; one camper in particular caught my attention. He had dirty blonde hair with green eyes and faint freckles across his cheeks. He was not on the big side but was more the scrawny side; he had a good weight to him but not coming up short to where you would consider him a weakling. He was also on the farthest side of the camp away from the other campers as he could get which seemed odd to me, humans have always looked like they couldn't be far from their own companions like us wolves yet this boy seemed to be like an outsider. I stood there and watched the boy for a little while longer until the smell of what they were cooking hit my nostrils, at first I hadn't noticed it due to my fixation on the boy but now that I did my mouth began to water like a water fall and my stomach rumbled like an angry bear. I eyed the hotdogs hungrily, I knew taking food from humans was a bad idea but right then and there I could have cared less, plus it smelt so good and looked way easier to get then hunting deer or rodents to satisfy my hunger. I waited a few more minutes before I spotted my opportunity to snag me something to eat, one of the kids was close enough to a huge bush big enough to cover up my white fur and hide my big body but close enough to manage to steal some food from them when they weren't looking. Slinking over to the bush, I hid behind it and watched for the perfect times to snatch me something to eat, campers were good at not paying attention to their food, mother has managed to even sneak some before from a hunter’s camp without being caught with her thievery from either hunter or my father.

After a few minutes, I managed to find my open window of opportunity when one of the kids set their plate of three hot dogs next to where I was, quickly dashing my head out I managed to snatch up all three hot dogs in one go thanks to my much bigger muzzle where as a normal wolf would have to take multiple turns to accomplish something I could do in seconds and in one go. I quickly gulped down the three hot dogs, buns and all and licked my chops while silently laughing as the kid looked around for his missing dogs. I waited for more food and was instantly granted when another kid dropped one of his plates of food which consisted of beans, hot dogs, and a cob of corn and something green that smelt very odd but tasted very good. Eventually with all the food the kids kept dropping I was able to fill up my empty belly quite easily, no wonder coyotes like to hang out around human habitats, they provide you so much food! With a nice, pleasantly plump belly, I lay where I was and slept for a bit. When I next woke up, the stars were out and the moon was full, the perfect night to complete a beautiful day. I noticed no one was out and about in the camp area so I figured they all had gone to bed, yet another perfect time for me to get me a midnight snack before continuing on with my journey. Slinking in to the camp, making sure I was careful where I set my paws so as to not make too much noise to wake the occupants of the camp, I slunk to where they were keeping the cooler, mother had once told me what these weird boxes where and that humans use them to keep their food and meats cold during any kind of heat to preserve their food, she also showed me how to open one with my muzzle and get to the delicious contents inside. When I finally had the lid open, I nosed my muzzle inside and grabbed the nearest thing I could reach, lifting it out I managed to snatch up one of their meats that they had kept inside, easily ripping open the package I dug in.

"Hey! What are you doing here wolf!" I heard a voice behind me and looked to see that boy I had seen sitting alone, he was glaring at me but I felt no fear from him, a kid his size was no match for a werewolf like me so I just turned around and turned my attention back to the meat.

"What's going on out here?" I heard a deep male voice, this one did strike fear in me for it was the camp leader. Locking eyes with him with a piece of the meat still dangling from my jaws the man waved his arms and screamed at me but for some reason, I lost my fear for reasons I knew not why.

"Get out of here Wolf! Go on!" The man shouted throwing sticks and pebbles my way which still didn't faze me.

"What's all the racket out here?" By now I had the entire camp up and looking at me raiding their food and now I was beginning to feel some fear appear inside me, so many people and I bet they had weapons in case wild animals came into their camp, it was a camp leader's responsibility to prevent any harm to come to their campers and I happen to be the nearest 'wild animal' in the camp at the moment with a bunch of kids around me and only one adult to protect them. I slowly slunk back to the bush while keeping my eyes on the group, I knew if I did no fast motion that they might not harm me so I inched my way back until one of the girls said.

"Don't chase it off! This is our chance to observe wildlife! This is the opportunity to get our wildlife badges!" I stopped in my tracks at the girl’s voice. Wildlife badges? What's that? Mother never mentioned anything like that before I thought. I watched the camp adult as he silently thought it over, the boy I had noticed was staring at me with curious eyes. Could he tell I'm not like other wolves? Does he sense I am different? I too eyed the boy in return.

"All right fine, she can stay but don't feed her!" The adult said to the kids and they all cheered but I was not having any of it, taking my chances I quickly whirled around and dashed away, I was not going back to that camp and being part of some of their 'badge' receiving whatever that was.

When I felt like I was a good distance away, I allowed myself to relax, that was a bit too close yet I felt drawn back to the group, mainly due to that boy. What is it about you that I find interesting? Why do you hold such a feeling on me? I was not used to being drawn to a human before, it was almost unheard of in the werewolf world, in fact if you were seen coercing with a human you were either exiled, killed, or shunned from the entire community and disgraced as a wolf in general. It was also deemed a betrayal to the moon mother, the lady who had given this gift to us in the first place and made us special for some reason and mingling with humans was tainting that gift. I knew if my father had learned of what my mother had done behind his back, he would surly shun her despite her being his mate, he was too in to the book to allow such disgrace to come to his name as an Alpha of the pack. I learned from my mother that it was not bad to rely on humans for some things but that it was in her mind viewed as bravery, as a chance taker to try something new, something forbidden. Like eating the forbidden prey from another packs territory, its wrong but that only makes it taste so much better. My mother was a rebel like me, and I had inherited her stubborn side and inability to be controlled by anyone. I laid down on the rock that I had stopped on, once more thinking of that human boy; I had no idea why I felt a pull to him, like I was meant to be around him or something. It was both thrilling and disturbing to me at the same time, like a moose drunk on apples which is both funny but disturbing to watch. I looked up at the twinkling stars, I knew I had to forget about that boy, I was a werewolf and I had to stick to my own kind, but I still couldn't resist the urge to go back and look at him once more, the way his green eyes locked on with my blue ones; the way he looked at me as if he was studying me and trying to figure out what it was about me, I sensed he could feel the pull that I did, it felt like how I would feel with a male werewolf who was supposed to be my mate. Could a human really be my mate? Am I not meant to mate with another werewolf but a human? Is this another test on my part from mother moon? Why would she choose me of all wolves to go for a human? I was utterly confused about everything that had happened, no matter how much I thought of it, I could not wrap my mind around what mother moon could be planning for me and why she chose me and not some other wolf to fulfill this weird plan of hers. Could it be another one of her displays to show that not all things should be followed by the book? I soon went back to sleep, too tired to finish thinking any more on this event.

Chapter 2: Entering the Camp

I could see light on the other side of my eye lids, I knew it must be near to noon with as bright as the sun was but I could really care less, my paws were tired from my run and I really just didn't want to get up from where I was until my stomach betrayed me and screamed at me to feed it. I knew this time I should do some actual hunting on my own but I found my paws leading me back to the camp site almost against my will, it was like they had a mind of their own. When I finally did reach the camp site, I didn't see the usual group of kids and their leader, instead I found a different group all together, these people were dressed funny, their clothes didn't really seem like the woodsy type and they had all sorts of guns and I noticed some traps in one of the crates they had. Oh no! What are hunters doing here? I mustn’t be seen! I quietly backed away the best I could, trying to not be seen or heard from these men, this was bad with them being here, I can't get caught! I just can't! Not looking where I was going I unfortunately ended up stepping on a twig making it snap and soon drawing the eyes of every single hunter in the camp on me, this was probably one of the times where I really hated being the only white wolf around here. I whirled around and high tailed it in the other direction, I couldn't lead them to my family but I couldn't fight them alone...or could I? Am I strong enough to fight of all of these men without being killed first? I wondered if I did possess enough strength to fight off these men and live to tell the tale about it. I soon heard the sound of wheels behind me. Oh shit! I can't fight them if they have cars! I picked up the speed even more and hoped to mother moon that she would protect me and keep me safe long enough for me to come up with a plan and get these hunters off of my trail.

I heard rustling in the bushes ahead of me and soon spotted the campers but I also felt a bullet whizz by my head missing my by only a cat's whisker apart, yelping in fight the group turned my way but I didn't stop, bunching up my muscles I made one swift jump and cleared the entire group in one stride, soon landing on the other side of them and disappearing. I knew it was probably risky using them as a barrier, but I figured they could handle themselves better plus it would give me the distance I needed to slip away from the hunters and not be seen doing so.

     Soon slipping behind a tree I changed into my human form, I wasn't very tall being 5'4" but I had the looks of a model, all of my kind did when we changed human, it was how many of them made their money in life to provide themselves a good place to live if they didn't want to go wolf half of the time, my family on the other hand preferred to stay in wolf form, our true form, instead of being considered one with the humans. I knew my father would be disgusted in me with changing into my human form but this situation called for it, these hunters were looking for a white wolf, not some blonde human girl in a white dress. I looked down at my feet, they were bare against the earth and I knew that it looked odd but I could really care less, the hunters were off my trail and I was going to continue on as a human until I was out of this territory and into a different one where it will hopefully be hunter free.

"Hey you there!" I halted in my tracks; it was the voice of one of the hunters. I tried to wipe the fear off of my face before turning around and managed to somewhat compose myself so it looked like I wasn't hiding anything.

"Yes?" I asked turning their way; I also spotted the group with them as well. Traitors I and my wolf thought at the same time. But I knew it was stupid to think of them as friends, humans were too easy to manipulate by other humans so it shouldn't have surprised me that the group would tell the hunters about me as well.

"Have you seen a white wolf run this way?" One of the hunters asked, this was my chance to drive them in a totally opposite direction.

"Why yes I did," I said quickly thinking up a lie.

"Well? Which way did it go?" I pointed to the east side of me, the land that was swarming with bears who would kill anything they encounter.

"She went that way," I said soon realizing my mistake and getting one of the hunters looking closer at me.

"How do you know it’s a female?" He asked peering into my eyes, trying to find a lie somewhere on my face.

"It's common knowledge, all white wolves are females," I said, at least in the werewolf world they were, but it was rare; very rare that a white wolf would be born into the werewolf community. I played with my fingers behind my back, hoping they wouldn't catch my bluff and would carry on in the direction I had pointed them, hopefully the bears would be too much for them and they would be eliminated. I was pleased when the hunter finally took his eyes of me and their leader nodded and left. Letting out the breath I didn't know I had been holding in, I was relieved that they were no longer staring at me as if I was some freak. We are my wolf said to me. I know, but at least we aren’t being hunted, shouldn't that be good enough for us? I whispered in my head back to her and she fell silent. I looked at the group and said.

"Well, with that being all settled, I should be heading home soon, sorry to intrude on your hike," I waved goodbye but was stopped by the adult’s hand grabbing my arm. I froze and my wolf let out a little warning growl which was too low for the human ears to hear, I hushed her, trying to keep her quiet. Don't give us away, chill for a bit ok? He means us no harm.

But he's human! Humans should not be grabbing us!

Would you rather him grab us by the arm and think we were a shy human or pry deeper into our lives and find out the truth? I knew I had won this argument because she went back into her sleep and left me to deal with the situation. I turned to face the man and asked in the most polite tone I could muster up.

"Yes? Is there something I could help you people with?"

"Who are you?" The adult asked, his campers were eyeing me with the same questioning look.

"I am no one of concern. I was just walking through the woods for a stroll and encountered you guys," I lied.

"With no shoes on?" He asked skeptically.

"I know these woods well enough to know what plants to avoid and where to put my feet so I won't get hurt. I have no need for shoes, besides, I own none." That was partially true, I don't own shoes; the only way I was able to have a white dress on was because all werewolves have some sort of clothing on them when we change, it prevents us from going around naked in front of humans or other wolves which might sound strange to you but it comes in handy in situations such as this.

"What is your name and where do you live?" The man asked me. I didn't know what to tell him so I decided to tell him my real name.

"My name is Forest. I live not far from here, now if you would please let me go I should really be heading back home, mother will wonder where I am if I do not show up in time for lunch." The man let his hold on my arm go and nodded, I walked back into the direction of my 'home.'

When I was sure I was far enough where they couldn't see me I changed back into my wolf, it felt good being back on four instead of two. Looking up at the sky I sighed, this life just keeps getting more and more challenging by the minute doesn't it? I thought. Who knew leaving the pack would be this dangerous? If I had known this was going to happen I would have said fuck it to finding a new home and mate and stuck with the pack, at least there I had no worries and still would have been an Alpha when my mother and father passed on, it was my birth right. Even though I had those thoughts in my mind I knew it was time for me to have found my own path in this life, every wolf needed to leave the pack at some point in their life and this time just happened to be my turn, like my aunt before me I have now become a lone wolf in search of her perfect mate to start her own pack and raise her own pups just like my mother and aunt did when they left their parents pack behind them. Getting up I headed back in the direction I was going, hoping I would end up leaving this territory behind soon and be on no man’s land where it should be somewhat safer and I might have a chance at finding my mate on the run. But if that's the case, why do I still feel like going back to that boy? Why is it I had to be drawn to him? He's a human! I shook my head at thinking of what mother moon could possibly want from me, a werewolf should not mingle let alone find a mate in a human yet here I was feeling all gooey eyed to a mere human boy! I looked behind me in the direction that I had left the group and a compulsion like no other made me turn my paws around and once more head back in the direction the group was, I could smell they had not gotten far and I followed their trail until I soon came up on them, letting out a small yip to get their attention, they all turned around and I wagged my tail. Oh great! Here I am now acting like a pathetic dog! What the hell if going on with me?! Yet despite my mind trying to pull me back on the path I had planned, I went to the boy and sat down in front of him, wagging my tail on the ground and dangling my tongue out of my mouth like a dog would begging for a treat or welcoming their master home from a long day's work.

"Amazing, look at that!" I heard the man exclaim in shock but I ignored him locking my eyes with the boys who just gave me a confused look.

"James, do you know what this means?" The man asked and he broke eye contact with me to acknowledge his leader.

"No, what does it mean?" I inwardly sighed at the sound of his voice, it sounded as smooth as huny.

"It means you must have some sort of special connection with nature. It's not natural for a wild wolf to walk up to just anyone! Yet here is one acting like you tamed it!" I turned my head and scowled at him. Trust me buddy, this isn't what I had wanted to do either but nature has a different path planned for me. The man laughed seeing my look.

"Looks like she didn't like that one bit, oh well."

"Sir, we can't bring her back to camp with us, you know the rules," one of the girls said in a snide tone and looked at me, my wolf slightly growled at her; I had a feeling she and I would not be getting along anytime soon or ever in the future.

"Don't growl at me mutt," the girl spat through her teeth.

"Now Elise, that is no way to speak to a noble animal such as the wolf," the camp leader said and I felt a liking towards him almost immediately.

"But she is right; we can't bring her back with us. The rules specifically say no animals on camp grounds," the boy said and I hated the feeling of hurt that washed over me at his turn down of me tagging along with them.

"Oh, the hell with rules. I think we should bring her with us, this is a rare opportunity to understand the mind of a wolf, and I repeat; it's not every day a wolf will walk up to anyone. Wolves are shy creatures and avoided humans as much as they can, so a wolf now being with us right now and showing no fear is something we must take advantage of while we have the opportunity to do so," the camp leader said. I once more looked up at the boy who was now looking down on me with a smile and once more another feeling I hated arose, the love sick feeling.

"Come on now guys, best to get back to camp before it gets dark out. Follow us if you wish wolf," the camp leader said once more leading his group back to their actual camp. I waited for the boy to move before I followed beside him, matching my stride with his and just enjoying his closeness to me; too bad I can't reveal my true identity to him, at least I don't think I can. He's our mate, you should be able to. My wolf said to me.

He may be our mate, but humans don't believe in werewolves anymore. In their minds we are just a figment of the imagination, something only to be found in fiction stories and myths. You heard what father said about how humans thought of us; they think we are blood thirsty monsters who will slaughter anyone and anything that is in our path! I thought back to her, sometimes she could be way too optimistic about some things.

So, maybe he will be different. We can explain to him the truth about us and finally reveal that he is our mate! I know I don't like humans very much, but you can feel the pull to him just as much as I can. Come on sis, let's have some fun! My wolf said with a little playful yip to me, I grumbled and finally gave in.

Fine, but if he turns us down or gets the hunters on us, I don't want you to bitch about it because I'm only going to say I told you so.

Fine with me. We followed in silence from then on.

Chapter 3: The Truth and an unsuspecting encounter

I was tired by the time we finally arrived to the camp grounds, we had walked almost an hour or more and even though wolves are built for long distance traveling, I was so unaccustomed to it. My pack had a home to go to on our territory so during the winter months we didn't need to rely on our fur to keep us warm and it was always stocked with plenty of food to keep us going during the long winter months until spring came back to us and we returned to our cave during the spring and summer months. We never had to once travel long distances so we had pretty much became lazy and extremely unconsumed to long walk such as this. I was glad when I noticed the big log cabin that sat in the middle of the field, other groups of kids were running around and playing, some sharp pointed sticks at targets while other played on some sort of wooden structure with bars on it and a weird thing that they rode on with their butts. Humans are truly strange creatures aren’t they? My wolf asked.

No kidding, what is that stuff anyway?

I honestly don't know. Do you think it might be dangerous?

I hope not, if it is we are practically screwed if they turn on us with these weird contraptions. We looked around at everything the camp had to offer until I realized all heads were turned on me with wide eyes and open mouths.

If they keep gawking at us like that they're going to catch flies my wolf said making me giggle a bit on the inside. She was right; they had their mouths wide enough where a handful of flies could easily land in their mouth and still have room for more. I turned to look at the boy who was just watching me as I took in everything and smiled when I looked at him.

"Welcome to the camp girl. Over there is the jungle gym, we play on that after lunch or on our free time." He pointed to the weird structure I had seen the kids climbing and sliding on.

"Over on the other side is the archery area, that's where we learn to shoot bows and arrows." I followed his finger to the place where I had seen the kids shooting the pointed sticks. I followed him as he led me to another place, this one had a ground that was hard and stank of sweaty feet. There were two long metal things with a white backboard of some sort and a ring with a net on it.

"This is the basketball court. We like to play against each other during our gym time." I could defiantly tell kids spent a lot of time here with the way it smelt, that and the heat from the sun made it unbearable to my nose. He then led me to a deep hole that was shaped out of some sort of rock and had the clearest water I had ever seen. Sniffing it to see if it was drinkable I smelled some sort of weird smell to it and knew that drinking that water would probably give me the biggest belly ache there was.

"This is the pool, we like to swim here on hot days or do water sports and exercises," the boy explained. I followed him as he lead me into the log building, it was huge inside, a crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling, flow to ceiling windows displayed the great outdoors and allowed it to be as bright as if you had no ceiling at all. A huge loft area contained many doors as far as I could see so I figured that's where the campers stayed when they were here. The living room had leather couches and chairs with a plush white carpet and a polished oak table with a glass top and a vase with fake daffodils in it, various pictures featured camper after camper for many generations and don't get me started on their TV; that thing was fucking huge! An 8 armed lamp sat by one of the chairs so I guessed that was their form of light at night when they didn't light the chandelier up.

"Follow me and I'll show you the kitchen," the boy said and my stomach rumbled at the sound of possible food. I followed him eagerly to a set of huge metal doors, watching him I figured they easily swung in and out to allow access and exit through both ways before swinging shut.

Running in beside him so as to not get caught in the door I stared at the glorious kitchen before me, the counters were red oak with black tiled countertops, a stainless steel rack hung over the stove holding various pots and pans and strainers, their fridge was an amazing sight as well.

"This is where the food is made and over there is where we eat," the boy pointed to a table not far out of the kitchen into a whole other room that was not blocked off by any doors, I could easily see a circle rug with all kinds of designs in it and a black table with a beautiful red table cloth covering it and matching seats, once more a crystal chandelier hung over the table only this one was slightly smaller than the one in the entrance way so I guessed the ceiling wasn't as high as it was before in that room. A cabinet on the other side of the table displayed all sorts of fine china and knickknacks that looked too easy to break, even by looking at them! I looked up at the boy with a confused look as to why humans would want to keep such things that would be easy to break. As if reading my mind, he led me over to the case and opened up the glass doors.

"This is where our leader keeps his wife's things when she passed on; he couldn't bear to part with them so he moved them here for all to enjoy and so he could keep her close to him wherever he went." I felt bad for the man who so kindly allowed me to come to this camp; I could only imagine what it must be like to lose a mate. The boy closed the doors and I followed him with my head low out of the room, feeling a hand ruffle the fur on my head I tried to not flinch away at the unfamiliar touch.

"Don't worry girl, it’s all right. He's fine now and made peace with his wife at her funeral, no need to feel sorry for him." I once more looked up at the boy who smiled down on me with a kind look in his eyes, he looked so much more different than when I first seen him at the camp fire with his gloomy look and slouched figure.

"Aren’t you going to give that mutt a bath already?" The girl from earlier before said and I once more felt a growl rise up my throat but I pushed it down.

"She's not a mutt; she's a wolf so I would do best to respect that. A wolf is so much more majestic than a mutt Elise," the boy spat in her direction and I felt a sense of contempment at his jumping to my honor.

"Whatever, she stinks either way. Mr. Jones wants to see you after you are done giving the wolf a bath," the girl said with a sneer to her face before leaving the room to go who knows where.

"Come on, don't mind her. She is just a bitch at times when she is away from her million dollar mansion," the boy said and I had to suppress a chuckle. Million dollars? She was poorer than I thought; my family could easily purchase the entire world and then some! A million dollars was chump change to my family.

When we made it to the bathroom area, I looked up at the boy; this was going to be one awkward bath so I figured I would save him the trouble.

"There is no need to give me one," I said hoping he would be able to understand me, being mates your mate should be able to no matter what form you're in. I laughed with victory when the boy looked down on me with scared eyes.

"D-Did you just talk?" I rolled my eyes, humans can be so over dramatic at times.

"Yes, I did. Problem?" I asked. He backed away a bit shaking with fear.

"H-How is that possible?!" I could smell he was going to have a freak out so I grabbed the bottom of his shirt in my teeth and yanked him into the bathroom before throwing him near the tub with me by the door.

"D-Don't eat me!" The boy said cowering and holding his arms up over his face, I couldn't help it; I pitied the poor sap.

"I won't hurt you," I said in the best, most calming voice I could muster up and was rewarded with a slight peek over his arm at me.

"You do not need to be afraid of me, I won't eat you," I said in a mocking tone at him.

"H-How can you speak? And how the hell am I able to understand you?!" I bared my fangs at him to silence him, the boy was getting over to dramatic and his voice was rising.

"Silence! Do you want people to come and see you being crazy?" I hissed through my teeth and the boy shut his mouth.

"Good," I said and continued. "I have always been able to talk because I'm sure as you are probably guessing right now I'm not fully wolf. There is a part of me that you can understand only because you are my mate," I said and felt totally awkward announcing it out to a human. The boy looked at me confused and I sighed.

"Do you not know what a mate is?" I asked him cocking my head and he shook his.

"A mate is like a lifelong partner, something you humans do is I right? Do you not get married and stay with your partner when that happens? Do you not love that partner? Well, a mate is practically the same thing as a marriage only there are no rings." I was thankful for my mother for explaining weddings and what not to me when I was little.

"H-How am I your mate?" He asked, his voice wasn't quivering so much now but he still had the scent of fear on him mixed in with curiosity.

"I honestly don't know. Mother moon does weird things to all of us at times and apparently she denounced us as mates, why? I do not know but she must have something planned for it to happen. Werewolves don't normally have human mates." I said. He sure is a scardy cat isn't he? My wolf said with a snicker.

Tell me about it, I could have sworn he was going to wet his pants! I said back to her trying to contain my own laughter.

"I don't understand though, who is mother moon? And how are you a werewolf?"

"Mother Moon is the moon you see in the night sky. We call her mother moon because she was the one who blessed us with the gift to change our forms at will and make it painless, she also blesses us with a beautiful night every night and lights our path when times are rough. In all sense, Mother Moon is like a human mother, caring for us as if we were her blood." I could see he was still confused so I explained more.

"Long ago, before man walked the earth, there were ancient wolves that walked in the time of the great Mammoth. No not the Dire wolves thank God though there is a bit of their blood in our DNA which gives us the booster height and long strides when running; I'm talking about their smaller cousin, the grey wolf. Mother Moon did not like how their older cousins bullied the younger ones so she had rounded them up in one area and told them 'I am going to give you a gift. The gift to change forms, use this gift wisely.' She took a beam of her light and cast it on the grey wolves giving each the power to switch forms from human to wolf whenever they so choose. As years went on and man finally walked the Earth, we wolves were still there only your kind feared us and hunted us down. Fearing for our own safety we had no choice but to go in hiding, some changed human and stayed that way while others stayed in the form of a wolf and could never change back from that point on. Years went by and we still refused to show ourselves so your kind wrote us off as just fantasy and fiction, that of only nightmares. From then on, a law was made that no wolf was to have a mate in the form of a human; to have a human mate would be exile or instant death. Pups from a young age had that drilled in their heads and were forced to watch the execution of the wolves that violated that law to better implant in their brains what would happen. We wolves were trained by our older generation to fear and hate humans for what they had done to us in the past history as I'm sure you humans were trained to fear and hate us due to your stupid movies and stories."

"If it's against the law to have a human mate, than how am I yours?"

"That is the same question I have been asking myself over and over but it seems Mother Moon has a new change to her plans, I have a theory that she wants us to show to my kind that love can come in any form or shape and that it was not wrong to love humans and humans to love wolves. Though I am not sure if my theory is correct or not, I am only assuming this is so." I noticed the boy wasn't shaking anymore and his eyes seemed too lit up.

"What does your human form look like?" He asked slightly leaning forward.

"You've already seen me as a human," I said casting a slight smirk on my face.

"I have?" He asked thinking back.

"Yes, when those hunters were chasing this form, I was forced to change to get them off of my tail and you guys seen me in my human form, your camp leader grabbed my arm." Recognition lit up in the boy’s face.

"That was you?!" I smiled and nodded.

"Now, if you don't mind, I would like to take a bath without you being in here," I said stepping away from the door to allow him leave.

"Can I tell anyone?" He asked getting up and putting his hand on the door handle, I shook my head.

"If anyone knew about me and told the hunters I would be forced to show you a side that does match with your movies and books about blood thirsty monsters. I do not wish to do that, once a werewolf has human blood in its mouth it’s hard to refrain from getting more." I watched as he left, making sure the door was locked behind him I shifted only this time I shifted so I did not have any clothes on, luckily this bathroom provided enough products for me to use. Quickly getting the grasp of how the bath handles worked I poured myself a nice hot bath with grape bubble bath soap; climbing in I sighed at the relaxing feeling of the water as it wrapped around my bare skin, warming my bones and chasing out the cold that my fur barely kept at bay from the outside, I could feel my muscles finally relax as the heat seeped into the skin and relaxed them, embracing them in warm arms, I imagined this must be why humans loved baths so much and would buy many scented soaps to go along with it.

I cupped my hands together and picked up some of the bubble bath in them, blowing a few bubbles I giggled as they danced in the air before popping on the tips of my fingers. After a few hours in the bath and me being scrubbed both human and wolf form, I hopped out and let the water drain, by now the water had turned cold but I did not care, I was well relaxed and rejuvenated. Taking out a spare brush I found I combed through my wet hair so that it hung straight, lightly draping over my shoulders and molding to their outline. I admired my blue eyes in the mirror and how much I had fully changed since my time leaving my parent's pack. I wonder what they are doing now. I thought, thinking back to my mother's sad face as we said our goodbyes. Finally deciding it would be best to change back I transformed into my wolf and opened the door with my paws, I may be a wolf but my paws still kept the ability to open doors like a human hand, it’s how we can easily grip on many surfaces that normal wolf paws could not. Peeping around the corner, I headed out to the dining room where the boy was waiting for me, upon seeing me enter he smiled.

"So you still are going to remain as a wolf?" He asked.

"For now at least, until I see no reason for me not to. By the way, what's your name?" I asked him.

"My name is James.”

"Well nice to meet you James, so what is there to do around here?" I asked.

"Well, my teacher is waiting for us so let’s go see him first then I can show you the rest of the camp."

"Ok, that sounds nice," And we left.

Chapter 4: Catch Up

I stuck close to James’s side all the while checking out the camp the best I could, I could smell somewhere they were roasting marshmallows which set my mouth watering, I haven’t had Marshmallows since the packs annual get together where we would meet with other pack members and get the scoop on things or find potential mates long before we were ready for them.

"Well, we're here. I wonder what he wants us for." I heard James asked as he opened the door and allowed me to enter the building first, the entire place was made out of logs and a nice, cozy looking fireplace sat on the far right side where a plush rug laid in front of it with two leather chairs on either side and a small table and lamp. The wall above the fire place hosted a variety of animal heads which made me a bit worried that this man might not be one of the good guys as I had imagined him to be, plus the head of a wolf on the wall didn't make matters any better for me either. Noticing where my eyes went me head James say.

"Don't worry, he won't kill you, the wolf on that wall was rabid and attacked out camp so he had to kill it." I knew he was trying to calm me but I still could not get the shaky feeling that someone in this camp isn't a good soul.

"Ah, welcome you two!" I heard the man's voice and turned his way, he was now wearing tan shorts with a tie dye colored shirt, and his hair was messy so I figured he must have been doing something outside.

"Hello sir," James said and I just looked at him.

"Is there something you wanted from us?" James asked the camp leader who smiled.

"Yes, I wanted you to formally welcome our new friend and to let everyone in the camp know that she is an honorary guest and should not for any reason be harmed. Maybe introduce her to Luna while you’re at it, I hear she really loves wolves." James nodded and I just cocked my head. Luna? Why does that name sound so familiar? I couldn't put my paw on it but I swear I heard that name at some point in my life and it bugged me that I could not recall where.

"Yes sir, is she allowed to eat with us?" James asked.

"Why of course! What would people say if we did not offer her something to eat? She looks almost as thin as a rail!" I scoffed at his comment, my fur may be sleek against my body but I was far from being too skinny, all werewolves looked thin, we just have a high metabolism that prevents us from ever putting on too much fat.

I followed James out the door and looked at him.

"You know, I'm not that skinny," I said.

"You're not? You look it to me," James replied.

"All werewolves look like this, any were creature will look skinny. Our metabolism is too high to let us keep too much fat on our bones."

"What do you do during winter?"

"We either rely on our fur or we have our own houses that we stay in until spring and summer come back. We have been doing this for eons and not once have we had problems with it."

"So, who is this Luna girl?" I asked him, hoping that what he would have to tell me would strike a chord in my mind and recall where I had heard the name.

"How do you know it’s a female?" James asked me looking down at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Come on James, I'm not stupid. Luna is a girl’s name, at least in our world it is."

"I've meet a guy named Luna once," James said in defense.

"Ya, well you humans don't really do perfect names for your genders. In our world, your name is a symbolism of your gender."

"Well, if you must know. It is a girl so you were right about that, and as for Luna; well you can say she is quite an odd ball. Not many people like her around here, there is a rumor going around that she can change into a bear." My ears perked at the mentioning of bear, so I was right; I had heard of the name before! Luna was one of the daughters of the neighboring bear clan near my territory! She and I were friends when we were only cubs! I felt delighted that I would be seeing an old time friend and I wondered if she would recognize me or if our friendship had lasted. We hadn't seen each other in almost three whole years when our families split apart and forbid us to be friends anymore due to the war between the wolves and the bears.

"Is something the matter?" James asked. I came out of my daydream and replied.

"Nothing at all, just going back to old memories. I think I do know Luna; I had a friend named Luna when I was just a pup. Our families used to be best friends but ever since the battle that took place between the bears and the wolves, our families split us up and forbid either of us to remain friends or see each other again. I wonder if this Luna is the Luna I knew from back then?" James was silent until we arrived at a lonesome looking little cottage. Walking up the stairs, James knocked on the door and we waited for a few minutes, each minute my anticipation grew and grew to the point where I was anxious to see if this Luna was in fact the Luna from my childhood. When the door finally opened and a somewhat tall girl with mossy brown hair stepped out I knew for a fact that this was indeed Luna from the bear clan.

"LUNA!" I exclaimed happy to see her. Her eyes widened like saucers before she screamed.

"FOREST!" I jumped at her and she wrapped me up in her arms as we hugged each other, my tail was going a mile a minute.

"Well, I guess you two know each other then?" James asked. Luna put me down and motioned for us to come in, once inside I changed into my human form which rewarded me with a shocked gasp from James. Luna motioned for us to take a seat on the couch and I plopped down putting my feet up over the edge.

"Yes, we have known each other since we were kids," Luna said and I smiled, James looked so lost it was almost funny.

"Luna and I were inseparable from birth," I said. "We were like two peas in a pod until our families had to get involved in the war."

"Yes, we would still have been together till this very day if they hadn't." Luna then turned to me and asked.

"So what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing Luna. I would never have thought you would mingle with humans."

"I had no choice. Hunters whipped out my entire territory, my family is scattered all over the place and some are already buried. What about you?"

"I left my pack as I am sure you already know. I felt it was time for me to take a stand on my own. I recently encountered some problems with hunters as well until I ran into James's camping group in the woods. Thank God the hunters didn't think twice when they saw me with them. As for why I am here, I felt drawn to this boy here and have found out Mother Moon has destined us to be mates." Luna looked at James and me and beamed.

"That's wonderful! I always knew Mother Moon worked in mysterious ways but now I see she has more up her sleeve than I would have thought! What do you think of this James?" Luna asked. James was silent for a bit before answering.

"Honestly, I was shocked at first and had totally thought she was joking with me, but when I first met her in the woods I couldn't deny that what she said was true. I felt a connection with her that I had felt with no one else. When she finally revealed to me that we were supposed to be mates I felt over joyed but at the same time worried about what would happen in life between us. I'm a human and she is a werewolf so if anyone did find out we both would be in big trouble. If the kids in camp knew about her they would surely kill her or get hunters to do it, if her family found out about me I'm sure they would not hesitate to kill me."

"You're right about that one," I said and frowned. "My people have made a set of rules for us to follow. Rule one was that no humans were to be mates and to be found with one would mean instant death to both human and wolf." James lowered his head and I could tell that information bothered him but he needed to know, it was not right to keep something like that from him.

"Don't worry James. If I know Forest it's that she would never let anything happen to those who she cares about." Luna said and I had to smile at her, she always knew the right things to say.

"That is so true Luna. Remember when we got into trouble once with a trap? I swear I thought we were going to truly die that day," I said shacking my head thinking back to how stupid we were when we were no more than just teenagers.

"Oh tell me about it! I thought I was going to wet my fur!" Luna said and we broke out laughing.

"What happened?" James asked now looking at us with curiosity.

"Well, Luna and I decided to run away once when we were only teenagers. We did not know that the path we had taken was rigged with hunter traps," I said.

"We were not thinking at the time to pay attention to our surroundings and look for traps as we wanted to get far away as we possibly could," Luna added.

"Our parents had sent out a search party for us to bring us back so we were to busy running to really bother with suck a boring task but when we walked right into one, we regretted not paying attention more. I was caught in a snare trap and Luna was caught in a spiked trap, we were both in sever trouble as the traps would only tighten the more we struggled and each one had a bell on it to let the people who placed the traps down know that they caught something." I continued. "Luna and I were petrified, her leg where the spiked trap had closed around it was bleeding like a waterfall and I could not get enough oxygen in my lungs and everything became dizzy, when the hunters finally came I had nearly passed out due to the lack of air in my lungs but I knew I had to keep on fighting."

"If Forest hadn't managed to snap out of it despite being half dead and attacked the hunters and freed me, we would both have been slaughtered right then and there. After the hunters were gone she passed out and we found ourselves in the packs infirmary," Luna added. James stared at us in fright.

"Oh don't worry, we don't have too much damage on us though it is still hard at times to breath every once in a while," I said.

"Ya, and walking is still a pain, despite our fast healing rate the traps were encased in silver so it dealt us permanent damage to our bodies despite what the elders did to heal us," Luna added.

"I'm so sorry," James said and I noticed tears well up in his eyes.

"Don't cry James. It was really our fault. If we hadn’t been so careless it would never have happened to us, we blame it entirely on ourselves and our stupidity and have learned from our mistake," I said laying a hand on his shoulder and looking him in the eyes.

"Yes, we have grown much wiser since that incident and have not been caught in another trap since," Luna said laying her hand on his other shoulder. I felt bad for the kid, here he was kind enough to give us a place to stay and we lay our burdens on him.

After about an hour of spending time with Luna, James said goodbye to us, it was decided that I would stay in Luna's cottage for the remainder of my stay here, plus we really needed to get caught up with each other for being away for so long. When James was gone I looked at Luna and sighed.

"I feel bad for him. He's a bit like us you know?" I said. Luna nodded and took a seat next to me.

“That he is Forest. But I fear nothing will go smoothly between you guys. What will you do if he decides to protect you?" Luna asked.

"I don't know. I know if the hunters found out about me and came, he would not survive it. And if I had to fight, I could not protect us both at the same time, I know I'm putting him in danger just being around him but I don't want to leave him. I know that may sound selfish of me but I'm happy with him Luna, I finally found my mate after years of looking. Granted it was a human but at least I found him." Luna laid her head on mine so our foreheads were touching.

"I know what you mean Forest. Love is a funny thing that tends to take over ones heart and controls their mind. I have not found my mate yet but I have seen it before. I just wish you guys luck and I hope that all will go well for the both of you. I do not wish to see harm come to you my friend," Luna said and I felt tears roll down my cheek.

"Nor I you, we have been apart for three whole years but I'm glad through them all you have still remained my friend," I said hugging her close to me.

We stayed wrapped up in each other's arms for most of the night, not once did we bother to go to sleep so we talked and talked and talked, each enjoying the other's company.

Chapter 5: The Gift

When morning came, I found myself still unable to leave Luna, though my wolf is torn between going to our mate, she also wishes to stay with our friend. Looking over to the bed beside me, I watched my friend sleeping with a very peaceful look on her face. How could I think of leaving her now to find James? After so long of being away from her it shouldn't matter where my mate is. I will not leave her no matter what, no matter how much my wolf begs, besides James could use a day without me; it’s not like something bad will happen to him with all these humans around. I smiled at my decision, no matter what happens I was determined to stay with my friend, plus I really didn't feel like going wolf today so basically I was stuck inside. Who knows what these people will think if they see me leaving this building in human form. They all think I'm just a simple wolf who is staying here, they would surely freak if they see me in human form leaving where they knew my wolf form was staying. Sighing I climbed out of bed and went to sit in the little living room, this cottage had been made into a house due to the fact that the other kids simply did not wish to share the same space with Luna due to their fear of the rumors that spread like wildfire. Luna had told me the kids feared her thinking she was some monster who would surely kill them if they got too close and that she was a monstrous being who could take on the form of a bear when she so chooses and should not be trusted. I felt bad for my friend, the humans are accusing her without even getting to know her, Luna would never harm a soul unless she was provoked to do so, and she had always been such a gentle girl, even in her bear form. I remembered how her own clan would turn their back on her all because she was too kind to the wolves during and after the war, they even went as far as to cast her out of their clan and never allowed her to return. Would the humans think the same about me if they found out the truth? Would they accept me like James has? Only James knows the truth about who I really am and even he was shocked by the fact at first. What would happen if the other kids found out? Would they finally drive not only Luna but me away as well? Humans are a pathetic being. My wolf said to me with a hint of a snarl in her tone. They judge us and do not bother to get to know us. Humans are not worthy of our care on what they think. We are more superior to them in many ways, Mother Moon did not give them the ability to shape shift, they only have one form and that form is so weak that it doesn't even deserve to even be called a form. Do you think those things about our mate? I asked her, I knew she hated humans, she even hated it when I would turn human just to blend in when need be but she has not once complained until now. Our mate has yet to prove himself worthy of not being considered a worthless being. He has yet to prove his strength so I cannot say for sure if he will ever truly be known as a true mate. We need a strong partner by our side if we are to survive. We can't stick our necks out every time our mate is in trouble, we need him to take action as well.

But what if he tries his best and still fails? Would you still see him as unfit? Yes and no. Yes due to his lack of being able to change forms but no because he has stepped up to the plate of what a true male should. I was getting totally confused by our conversation by now and had no idea where she was going with the topic but I figured that in the long run, things would be made clear. I had faith that our mate wasn't as weak as she thinks, I knew deep down inside him he possessed a power far greater than he knows himself. Plus Luna is here to help us out as well, she along with me won't let anything happen no matter what. But could I say the same if my life was in jeopardy? Would I truly choose the life of my friends over my own? I knew the answer to that thought, I would defiantly choose their lives over my own.

"Morning," I heard Luna behind me and turned to face her.

"Morning Luna, how did you sleep?" I asked smiling, it was like old times being with her.

"Like a baby. Where did you guys go when we had to split?" Luna asked taking a seat beside me.

"We moved further north of your clan’s territory. My pack has a new clan of bears not far from its boarders and there have been plenty of fights over the years for me to even keep count. I wish that war never even started, we should be working together against the hunters instead of fighting amongst ourselves. We would surely make quite a team if we only teamed up," I said with a sigh.

"I agree with you, they didn't need to start the fight and I have no idea why they even did. It's stupid when you think about it," Luna piped in and we both sat there in silence for a while before she spoke.

"Ready to go see the kids? I hear there is supposed to be something interesting going on tonight and I would like to see it," Luna asked.

"Ok, where is it?" I asked.

"It’s near the hidden lake."

"The hidden lake?" I was confused, James didn't mention anything about a hidden lake.

"Ya, there are supposed to be a lake on the camps land that is supposed to possess magical powers and if you swam in it you would experience a feeling like no other. I heard the night of the full moon is supposed to be more magical, especially for our kind." I was interested now, what kind of magical powers could a lake possess for our kind? Was it something we could handle let alone even possess on our own?

"So you in or not?" Luna asked with pleading eyes and I couldn't say no.

"Sure, I'm in. When will we go?"

"Now, if we get there we can have a picnic there and swim in it during the full moon. Of course we will have to be in our true forms for it to even work."

"What is supposed to happen exactly?" I asked.

"I heard that it's supposed to give you powers like you would never believe but only those with a pure heart can wield them effectively. I also heard it's supposed to make us able to withstand the powers of blood lust if we ever consume human blood."

"Really? That does sound interesting indeed. All right let's get a move on then!" I said eagerly.

 After we packed a lunch, Luna made sure she locked the back door, lucky for us she chose a place that was closest to the lake yet hidden by trees so no one would see me walking out of the house in my human form. As we walked through the woods I felt excitement well up inside me more powerfully than a child on Christmas day. If I could manage to not be possessed by the consumption of human blood than it wouldn't matter if hunters came and I had to kill them, I wouldn't have to worry about losing myself to the taste of blood like so many of my kind have fallen in the past for. I would be able to be much more closer to James than ever before and truly be able to show the camp what I really am like.

"Hey Luna, how far is this lake supposed to be?" I asked behind her, it was my duty to make  sure no one was following us as we did not want them to see us change.

"I don't think it should be very far, I heard it was well hidden behind a waterfall and only those who know of its existence can find it. I don't know anything else besides that, I never even been there but I thought it would be worth seeing since we are together." I was silent from that point on thinking of what powers I could possibly possess if I swim in the lake, would they be good or bad? Would I even know how to use them properly? What would happen if they consumed my soul and took over my body as their own? I had both worry and happiness coursing through my system that it felt like World War III was raging on in my body. I prayed to Mother Moon that whatever would happen tonight was not something we could not handle and that everything will be ok and no one will get hurt.

After what seemed like hours we finally arrived at the waterfall, I stared up at the raging water with awe, this was my first time ever seeing a waterfall up close and personal.

"It's beautiful," I whispered and Luna nodded, she too had the same expression that was on my face.

"Shall we go in?" Luna asked after snapping out of her amazement at the towering water.

"Sure," I said and we headed behind the waterfall to a cave. Walking a few more feet inside us seen a bright light up ahead.

"Come on!" Luna said running to the light, I followed close behind her. When we burst through the opening where the light was coming from our breaths caught in our throat, the scene before us was just too beautiful for words. A huge lake sat in the middle of a field of lush green grass, its surface as smooth as glass with what looked like diamonds glittering in the sun. Occasionally a few gusts of wind would disturb the surface and send small ripples in the water making the light reflecting in it wave with the ripple. Huge trees toward around the field, their branches reaching high in the sky as if they were trying to touch the clouds that drifted in it. Birds chirped in the canopy and bees and butterflies lazily hopped from flower to flower, it was like something out of a dream.

"Wow, this places it just so beautiful!" Luna and I both said at the same time causing us to giggle.

"Well, shall we get out picnic set up? It's already noon so we shouldn't have long to wait," Luna said. I nodded and helped her unpack the picnic basket. Setting a red and white checkered cloth on the ground I took out plates and bowls of food for us along with some napkins and water bottles with cool-aid in them. When our picnic was all set up I smiled.

 

"This is almost like the time when we had a family picnic together. Remember that time?" I asked Luna.

"Ya, it was like we were living in a fantasy. Everyone seemed happy and there was more food than we could have ever eaten. It was like a dream come true," Luna said smiling. I took a bite of my sandwich and watched a butterfly dance around a patch of bright orange flowers, I think they were called Tiger Lilies but I wasn't sure.

"I don't think I would ever want to leave this place," I said to Luna. I felt so at peace here that it was almost hard to imagine that this place was real.

"I know the feeling," Luna said. We sat in more silence, each finishing up our lunch. Yawning I said.

"I'm going to take a quick nap, maybe when we wake up the moon will be out."

"Ya, I don't see a little nap doing us any harm," Luna said joining me as I laid down, in a matter of minutes we were asleep.

Three hours passed when we woke up, the stars were out and crickets chirped in the grass, the moon was just beginning to rise over the tree tops when I woke Luna up.

"Hmm?" Luna said in a sleepy tone.

"Wake up Luna, the moon is rising; it's almost time," I said shaking her a bit more until she sat up. We both looked at the moon and waited for it to be in the middle of the sky before changing. Stepping up to the edge of the water we looked at each other one more time before walking into the lake. I relished the cool water as it engulfed my body, it was so smooth that it was like I was swimming through glass, the only indication of movement was the ripple caused by mine and Luna's movements in the water, of course with her in bear form the ripples were much bigger than mine but even they didn't truly destroy the glassy look of the water.

"This place is simply too wonderful for words. This water feels like heaven as well," I said to Luna.

"I know right? It's been a while since I had a good swim like this." We played a bit in the water before stopping and looking up at the moon which cast a warm light over our two forms making our wet fur glisten like the water, soon the lake lit up in a bright light that seemed like the moon itself was in the water with us.

"What's happening?" I asked Luna as the water bubbled around us.

"I don't know," Luna said moving closer to me. The bubbles in the water grew bigger and bigger until it looked like it was a Jacuzzi on high. Soon we started lifting out of the water with a beam of light from the moon wrapping around us.

"What's happening Luna? Why is this happening?" I didn't feel frightened, I felt...safe, as if my mother was holding me close to her.

"I don't know but do you feel that?" Luna asked.

"Ya, it’s like a mother's embrace," I said closing my eyes and allowing Mother Moon to wrap her warm arms around me. Soon I felt a weird sensation course through my body and when I opened my eyes my fur was glowing! I looked over at Luna and she too had glowing fur but her eyes illuminated a golden light, looking down at the water I seen my own eyes glowing a fluorescent blue, it was scary but also mesmerizing. I looked back up at Mother Moon and for the first time in my life I finally was able to see her face. She had smooth skin that looked like it belonged to a young girl, her eyes were a pure white but sparkled with warmth, her cheeks were slightly rosy along with her lips, and her long white hair flowed around her as if she was under water.

"Hello my children," Mother Moon said; her voice sounded like honey and I smiled.

"Hello Mother Moon," Luna and I said.

"It’s wonderful of you to come visit me," Mother Moon said kissing both of us on the noses.

"You're welcome Mother Moon. But please tell me, what is this place?" I asked.

"This place is the source of my power. Only those destined to walk the paths I choose for them may enter this land. This is the same place where I first blessed your ancestors with the power to change shape, it is also the place where I gave man the beauty of the night that you see before you but man has been away from me for so long that they no longer see the beauty in their surroundings."

"I'm sorry Mother Moon. We, your children still cherish the gift you have given us, most of us use it for good but those who choose to use it for evil won't stand a chance against us. We will not let those who do not deserve such a gift get away with abusing such a power as the ability to shift into a different form," I said looking her dead in the eyes.

"I know little one. I shall now give you guys another gift, use this one with great caution for if you used it for evil it will destroy your soul and cause you to go mad. This gift is very powerful and I would not give it to anybody if I did not think they couldn't handle it." Luna and I bowed our heads before replying.

"Thank you Mother Moon. We will not squander the gifts you have given us."

A bright light engulfed us, a light that was brighter than the moon when it was close to Earth and a feeling of warmth evaporated the chill in the air. Luna and I closed our eyes and relished in the embrace of the light as we could feel a new kind of power surging through us. When it was all over we found ourselves back on dry land in human form. Looking up at the moon I smiled, this truly was a magical night that I would never forget in a million years; Luna and I had finally seen Mother Moon for the first time in our lives which symbolized us a full-fledged adults in our world, too bad mother and father were not there to witness such a feat as this, they would have been so proud of me.

"I think it’s time to go back, the kids may not pay attention to me but they do notice if you are missing," Luna said. I sighed, I didn't want to leave a place like this, and I didn't want to go anywhere or be anywhere but here.

"All right. Besides, the banquet is tonight isn't it?" I asked Luna.

"Ya, how did you know about it?" Luna asked as we headed back with our picnic stuff.

"I noticed the preparations when I first came in, plus the kids all seemed excited about something so I picked up that something was going to happen."

"But how did you know it was a banquet? I never told you."

"Like I said, I don't know; I just simply do." I too was still confused on how I knew such a thing was going to happen tonight when I had just only arrived at this camp yesterday. I wonder if it has to do with the new powers we had gotten from Mother Moon. Could I have gotten the power to know what will happen? I shook my head, that couldn't be it; I'm sure I must have just heard it from someone passing by the window at night in a dream and had kept it in my memory all night and day.

"What are you thinking about?" Luna asked.

"I was just thinking about the new powers we got from Mother Moon. What do you think we had received? Do you think it's as powerful as the legends say of those who have gotten their own?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I would assume so since Mother Moon was the one who blessed us with them so I'm guessing they will be as powerful as the legends and stories say as for what powers we got I do not know that. Maybe we can find out sometime when we are alone?" Luna asked, I could tell she too was now debating on what we had been blessed with and how we would best handle them in situations where they will be needed. I know for sure that if I had the power to withstand the taste of human blood in my mouth I would use that to my advantage to protect those around me without totally losing my mind.

When we finally arrived back at the camp I was exhausted but I quickly changed into my wolf form in the bushes so no one would see me while Luna remained human, someone had to look like they were 'taking care' of me and Luna hadn't been able to change into her bear form much since she came here and we left the lake, quite frankly I didn't even feel the need to be a wolf half of the time anymore but it still felt awkward walking on two instead of four.

"Remember Forest, these kids won't expect you to be eating at the table so I hope you don't mind eating out of a bowl on the floor," Luna said.

"Luna, you're acting like I never ate fresh kill off of the ground. It’s basically the same thing only without the dirt and leaves mixing in with the meat and blood." I knew what it was like eating out of a bowl, I've watched countless of dogs doing it and have even tried it before once during one of the long winters we had; it proved to be quite a challenge but luckily I practiced it over and over until it wasn't so awkward anymore, still I would prefer a full carcass instead of just chopped up morsels in a bowl.

"I know, I just worry that with you being a Alpha's daughter and all that it won't be right for you."

"Luna, Ever since I left my parents pack I am a wolf with no rank. As far as I am concern, I am a lone wolf. I am not an Alpha unless I have my own pack so as far as I see it, this is ok with me." Sometimes the girl worried about the silliest things ever.

When we arrived at the dining hall, Luna held the door open for me, walking in I noticed James waving to us and motioning to a seat beside him with a dog bowl on the floor to his right, looks like I get to be at the head of the table for tonight. I also noticed that the bowl wasn't filled with pathetic dog food or that cheap food they call canned meat, instead I had three large grade a steaks in my bowl dripping with blood and as raw as if I had just killed the cow myself, mummy. Walking over to the bowl I sat down beside it trying not to drool all over the floor as the camp leader gave the daily announcements and officially welcoming me to the camp and how I will now be sharing courters with Luna for the remainder of my stay here. I heard a lot of kids snicker at the mentioning of Luna's name which made me want to growl at them but I held it in as Luna just sat up straight and didn't show any inclination that they had gotten to her. That's the Luna I know so well, don't let these pathetic humans treat you like trash. We are much better than them in many ways.

Hush, don't be mean to them. They were kind enough to give us shelter here, the least we can do is not bad talk them. Sometimes my wolf was just too mean for her own good, especially words humans. I think the packs law had gotten to her too much and she was inclined to follow it despite the fact that our mate is a human himself. Hopefully being away from the pack and its influences will help her grow out of it and get used to being around the humans while we were here. When the counselor was done, we all began to eat. I dug into the bloody steaks barely being able to hold myself back from ripping into them and making a mess but luckily I had enough self-restraint to only make a slight mess of the blood next to my paws, the steaks were good; granted they left the best part out, the fat, at least they didn't add that cheap seasoning that I smelt in the other meals on the table. When my steaks were finished James placed a bowl of water down beside me and I lapped it up greedily, nothing went well with the steaks than a nice helping of water. Cleaning the blood off of the floor and my fur I lay down and waited for everyone else to finish their meals as well before we were dismissed to our bunkers for the night.

Chapter 6: A month Later

It's been a month since I came to stay at the camp, my visits to the outside world have become few and far between as the kids soon took their rumors and directed them to me. Luna and I could no longer look out the window without getting hateful glares from any kids that passed by, the camp counselor has even begun to grow suspicious of us.

"Luna, what's going on? Why is everyone acting like we are a threat?"

"I don't know Forest but they did this to me as well a month after I came to join the camp. None of them trusted me and all it took was one rumor saying I was not human and all hell went loose."

"A rumor? You mean the one where they think you are a bear?" I asked, in truth she may be able to turn into a bear but Luna has remained human far too long to now truly been considered a full-fledged bear shifter. A shifter if they do not turn or remain in their animal form for a long time soon lose the ability all together as Mother Moon takes away that power as a punishment for shunning the gift she has given them. I for one loved being a wolf more than a human so the only worry I had was me losing the ability to turn human anymore.

"Yes. You remember that blonde girl who you first met coming here?" Luna asked, I nodded; how could I? And to make matters worse, she had feelings for my mate! "She's the one who started it and managed to get everyone to believe it," Luna continued. I was shocked, how could people just easily assume something without truly understanding the facts? How could they judge anyone like Luna? She was probably the most loyal, true hearted girl I have ever met; she was even very gentle to everyone and everything!

"Wow. What gave her the fuel to do that?" I asked.

"I only allowed my nails to grow out a little bit to get a stupid can that would not pop open even with the can opener and she so happened to be walking by when I was doing so. She claims she seen a bear claw instead of a human finger nail and made all sorts of lies that got people to believe her and soon the whole camp turned on me."

"But why me? I never once showed any sign of me being more than just a wolf." I tried to think back to the days I had spent here, every time I would go into Luna's cottage I would change into a human and remain that way for the duration of my stay in the hut, but when I went out I made sure I snuck into a dark room to shift back so no one could see me shift back into my wolf, not once did I let anyone but James see me change back and forth before so why were they turning on me?

"Because you don't act it Forest. You have too much manners that a wolf does not have, you hate grooming yourself with your tongue like a normal wolf would and you showed tameness more than a wild personality. Everyone has interpreted those as you being something other than a true wolf." I was caught off guard with that, was I really showing another side of myself that was not supposed to be how a wolf acted? I had been around here for a month, could the human’s habits have worn off on me that quickly?

"But, anyone would normally think that I had just been around humans for far too long and that I acted more like a trained house pet than a wild animal."

"It doesn't matter, its unnatural to them and humans fear what they do not know. You are going through the same thing I did, I'm sorry." I knew Luna felt bad for me, she had been through this as well and knew exactly what would come of it, I would be like her; trapped in this house unable to venture outside without being spat upon or insulted, a kid even went as far as to throw a rock at me and shouted at me to leave but what irked me the most was James, not once had he stuck up for me or been there when I needed him. His visits had become less frequent these days and he would avoid me when people were looking, he wouldn't even pet me anymore like he used to.

We don't need him. I told you humans were no good, and our 'mate' is proving my point to the T.

But, a mate is supposed to love you no matter what! They aren’t supposed to avoid you!

You should have listened to me. You have been with these humans longer than what we should have been with. Luna isn't even considered a full shifter these days due to her being around humans for a long time. She's been here for three years!

But she's our friend. It wasn't her fault we weren't around when she needed us the most, I didn't even know where she was until we came here.

You still should have listened to me. My wolf said and then she went quiet on me, even my wolf was starting to turn against me thinking I had become too soft.

"Forest, does it bother you that much to be away from your mate?" Luna's voice caught me off guard, turning towards her I shook my head.

"Not really, I kind of should have expected it. I guess even though he's supposed to be my mate men will believe anything a pretty girl says. Honestly, I think he would prefer her over me." It pained me to say it but I knew it had to be true, he was hanging out with her more than even flirting with her! It irked me to no end but I knew that I could not force someone to love me if they did not wish to. Laying her hand on my shoulder Luna pulled me in for a big hug and we stayed like that for a long time, I hadn't realized that I was crying until my cheeks were soaked with tears and Luna caressing my head and muttering that everything will be ok; even my wolf seemed to have loosened up a bit and tried to comfort me.

"Was it all a lie? Are we destined to have nothing but hate thrown at us?" I said now being able to get my tears under control though my voice cracked a bit.

"I don't know. Sometimes fate likes to throw cruel things our way to see us suffer but I believe if we are strong enough than we can overcome it. Besides, I'm sure you will find someone new, there has to be someone out there who was really meant for you."

 "But Mother Moon connected us! She made it so he was my mate! How could there be another? How could I possibly follow a different path when Mother Moon obviously threw me onto this one?" I didn't mean to yell but the hurt and anger just boiled up inside and busted out.

A long moment of silence surrounded us before a knock on the door startled us out of our silent stupor.

"Who is it?" Luna called.

"It's me, James." I froze and Luna tightened her grip on me.

"Do you want me to let him in?" She whispered in my ear, I didn't know what to do; I wanted to see him and demand an explanation but at the same time I didn't want to see his face for fear that he would tell me he could not be with me and I would lose it.

"Please let me in?" James called through the door again. Luna looked at me and I just nodded stepping away from her as she opened up the door. Standing in the middle of the doorway James looked at me, I couldn't help but turn away from him, I knew it was cowardly of me to look away and had he been a wolf he would have thought it a sign of submission but I didn't care, the boy standing in front of me hurt me more than what a male Alpha would have done had I turned away from him.

"I'm sorry Forest, I'm sorry for avoiding you and believing those accusations but..." I couldn't bear to hear what he would say next.

"SO THEN WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO WITH HER THEN! LEAVE ME ALONE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! GO BELIEVE WHAT YOU WANT I DON'T NEED YOU!" I shouted and ran out the door leaving both Luna and James standing there. Quickly climbing out the window I shifted into my wolf form and high tailed it to the woods, I needed to get away from everyone and be on my own for a while, I needed to once more live as a wolf and forget about everything. A mile away from the camp I finally paused and allowed myself to catch my breath, an ache in my paw forced me to look to see what was bothering it and what I saw made me sick to my stomach. A Lone thorn stuck out of my pad but what really made me worried was the smell coming off of it, I had stepped on a poisoned thorn!

"Heh, who knew they were this smart?" I said half to myself now starting to feel the effects of the poison, I could no longer use my front paws to brace me so I lay down on my side and tried to steady my breathing. I knew it wasn't the hunters from before, this was of a new kind of hunter, I knew of a boy who loved to kill or torment animals and the poisoned thorn was his way of killing off any kind of animal and I stupidly fell into the trap.

"Great, alone and poisoned; just what I need." I could barely keep my eyes opened any longer and was forced to close them, lucky for me being a werewolf had its advantages, even though the poison kills quickly, at least I did not feel any pain, it was like slipping away into a deep sleep; warm and peaceful and the sense of quiet was bliss.

I thought for sure we would end up dying by the hunters hands. My wolf said in my head and I smirked at her.

I know right? Looks like we were wrong. Isn't it ironic though? Here we are being hunted down by hunters with more advanced weapons and yet a little boy can nail us with just a simple thorn. How ironic is that?

Extremely, but at least our mate will be happy. He can now finally be with that girl without us being in the way.

Ya, and the hunters will finally be off of our trail. I couldn't believe I had finally accepted defeat. I heard a low snap around me and figured it was the boy coming to watch his work in progress but I did not care, I could no longer move my legs let alone open my eyes. My muscles were failing me and my breathing was becoming labored to the point where it hurt a little bit to breath, my mouth could no longer remain shut so my tongue lolled out on the ground and I figured to an onlooker's point I looked as dead as ever, the only betrayal was the faint rising and falling off my chest as I forced air in my lungs. I had expected the boy to deliver the finishing blow on me but instead I felt a different kind of hands and heard a faint yell of my name but even my hearing was zoning out, managing to get enough energy to open one eye I managed to make out a faint outline of Luna and behind her...James. I smiled a bit before once more slipping into the warm embrace of the arms that had held onto me before.

Chapter 7: Death would have been better than this

"Will she be all right?" I heard a voice ask. Wait, I can hear now? I thought I had died! I could not understand how I had survived and who was the voice talking? My mind was fuzzy and I could not recal if I recognized it or not.

"I do not know, she is very weak. I'm amazed she was still holding on when you brought her in here, that poison is powerful stuff, to have fought long enough to get here must mean she has a strong will to survive." What are they talking about? I had welcomed the warm arms of death! I had wanted to die! Why did they have to save me? Didn't they know with me out of the way they all could be happy and move on?

"Dr. are you sure this medicine will work?" I heard a female voice this time. Was that Luna? What is she doing here? I thought she was still at the camp?

It looks like they had come to our rescue, My wolf said, she too couldn't believe we had survived such a thing.

"I do hope so. That wasn't a little thorn in her paw and the amount of poison on it was enough to kill an elephant." So I wasn't imagining it then? I was really dying? Who found me? And how? Did Luna carry me or was it that person with that deep voice?

"James, look. She's moving her ear to our voices." I had not noticed me moving my ear but what she said was true, I could feel it slightly shift to the sound of the voices in the room to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. OH MY GOD! James was with her?!

"Forest? Can you hear me?" James was now leaning over me, I could feel the air from his breath tickly my ear slightly which made me want to itch the hell out of it.

"Careful James, she may be in a coma but she still might attack." It was the voice of the Dr. again, was he some kind of vet? And how could I attack James? I could barely move! I did however notice that my sense of smell had strengthened and I could finally pick up the scents of the people around me, the Dr. didn't smell human so was he another one of my kind? If so what kind was he? I don't smell wolf on him or even bear like I could smell on Luna, I could also smell the fumes of the cleaning products that they used on the table I was laying on which made me want to cring my nose at the tuff smell, you humans think it smells bad? Well try having the nose of a wolf and see how well you would like to smell chemicals up close.

"James, don't push her. She won't be able to talk yet," Luna said moving him slightly away from me.

"Forest, I'm so sorry. If it hadn't been for me you would not be in this situation, please forgive me?" I wanted to answer him, to tell him that it was not his fault but my own stupidity at falling into the trap but I still could not move my mouth, if I was going to be in a coma than why the hell didn't they just let me die? Death would have definatly have been better than this, how long was I going to be in this coma? Hopefully if I am lucky not very long but if what the Dr. said was true about the amount of poison, no werewolf system could combat that in a day or two, it would at least take months maybe years for my immune system to get it out.

And this is why humans should just not interfere anymore I thought, but as mad as I was at them, I was actually kind of happy that they had even bothered to do anything for me, they could have easily allowed me to slip away but instead they chose to try to save me. I knew if it had been Luna on this table and me in her situation I would have chosen to save her but why James? He liked another girl, with me out of the way he would be allowed to be with her without the mate pull pulling us together and making it difficult for him. Would he even be here now like this if we weren't mates? What if we were not chosen to be mates but had met, would he still have come to my side like this? Would he have even cared without the pull dragging him to me? Deep inside of me, a selfish part wanted it to be true but the other part of me, the logical part; said it would probably not be likely that he would be here but with someone else, maybe he would check in on me to see how I was doing but that would be it.

"Forest? It's Luna. I want you to do something for me, for every yes you give us move you ear ok? And for every no you give us don't move it, got it?" I moved my ear the best I could.

"She moved! She can hear us?" James said and I moved my ear again.

"She will be able to hear and slightly move but that will be the extant of what she can do. Maybe further down the road she will be able to do more but right now, I'm amazed she can even move her ear or even hear you." I hated the Dr. he acted like he knew everything about me and my body but I knew he didn't. I knew he wasn't even a Dr. at all, his scent gave him off to be a vampire so he was probably only here for the free blood bags he could get, he could care less if a wolf, one of his mortal enemies, survived or not.

"Forest, did you know where you were going when you ran out of the house?" Luna asked and I didn't move my ear, I was ashamed to admit it but I had done the same stupid mistake Luna and I had done when we ran away from our families during our teen years. Ha! And I call myself a top predator.

"Forest, are you still mad at me?" James asked and I was torn between moving my ear and not but thinking back to it all and how he acted, I ended up moving my ear.

"You just got burned," Luna said which made me laugh inside, I could only imagine what his face must have been like.

"Oh shut up," James said but I heard him leave the room.

"Did you really mean that Forest?" Luna asked me, I once more moved my ear but only slightly and she chuckled.

"Serves him right though. He should not have done that to you. I wish you had waited for me, we would have both been like this together and not just you going through it alone." I could hear the sadness in Luna's tone and felt bad, I had only thought of my feelings when I ran out of the house and hadn't even considered what it would do to Luna who had been my friend since cubhood.

"Get better soon ok Forest? We really need ya around girly," I felt Luna pat me and scratch behind my ear before she too left the room followed by the 'Dr.'.

Hey, you do realize if anything happens we are like totally incapable of fighting right?

I know that! But its not my fault I can't move! You're the wolf here, use your healing!

I'm not strong enough. Besides, I have no idea how to even use it properly without doing more damage, didn't Mother Moon give you anything new to help?

No, at least nothing to do with healing that is...then again, Luna and I have yet to fully discover what powers we did get from Mother Moon.

You're an idiot, that should have been the first thing on your mind!

I was too buisy thinking about other things! Geeze, if you think you could do better than you take over!

I would but that would be too much fun, besides you would never be able to go to human form again if I did. Do you really want to remain as a wolf forever? No ability to become human whenever you want?

I don't see anything wrong with it.

Once more you're an idiot. What about when the hunters come? They will surely go for a wolf but not a human! Think before you speak from now on! You're like a pup, blindly going where your paws take you without even thinking about it first.

How would you know? We don't even have puppies!

I just do ok? don't judge a wolf's intuition about things. You have lived with me for years so you should have very well known that.

I don't pay attention to the pups in our pack, why should I? They were always too young for me to play with anyway, or the lower ranking members wouldn't let me get near them because I still held my friendship with Luna.

That's your fault then, but I'm glad you did keep her friendship. We would have been worse off if you hadn't.

I know right? Imagine what mother would think if she had found out?

It's not mother I'm worried about, its father. I had totally forgotten about my dad, if he had known what was going on he would surely send someoen to get me and never let me leave his sight again. I would be confined to the den and unable to go anywhere without them or some kind of guard, I would have no privacy what so ever! I sighed, sometimes my life really was shitty at times.

It could have been worse, we could have been skinned alive by that boy my wolf said.

True, but to be poisoned and slowly dying? I'm sure there would have been a much quicker way to go than that.

I doubt it...unless you like fell of a cliff or something. Or got a hunter to shoot you.

You do think dmeonic at times you know that?

I know My wolf said with a hint of a smile in her tone, sometimes she totally confused me.

Chapter 8: Kidnapped

I heard some faint rustling around in the room, I was still unable to move and it had already been a week. Luna visited me more often but James didn't come again, he must still hate me for saying yes to still being mad at him. But who cares? He should not have done what he did! I thought, quite frankly, he deserved that answer, he should not have so easily believed such ridiculous rumors.

But it's not a rumor is it, we really are different from them and they have just finally realized it. You had to admit it was only a matter of time before they did find out.

Ya but they didn't have to turn everyone against us! We didn't do anything to them!

Humans always turn on things that they don't understand or are afraid of, they don't think before reacting and do stupid shit because of that. I had to agree with her there but what worried me the most was the noise in my room. No one was there, all the staff had gone away for the night which made me wish for the bed at Luna’s than this cold, hard table they kept me on, I didn't even get a pillow! Honing in on my senses I pinpointed the scent of humans. What are they doing here? I don't recognize their scent!

Oh shit! Forest we are trapped! My wolf said which made me panic. We still couldn't move and there are strange humans in here with no one around to stop them!

What do you think they want with us?

I don't know but we need help and fast!

How? How are we supposed to contact anyone? I've been away from Luna for so long that we lost our childhood connection!

Your mate. He may be mad but even he will feel the pull of fear and needing of help! Use the pull! I was hesitant to use it, James and I were still at odds with one another and the odds of him even bothering to answer the call was slim but I did as she told before I felt a loop around my muzzle and neck and me being lifted up and shoved into some sort of crate.

Shit! We are too late!

Calm down Forest. We can still get out of this, if we have to we will lower all of our vital organs to look like we are dead and when they get rid of us we can come back to life again.

Uh, you're forgetting one thing. Humans destroy the bodies that are dead! My wolf was silent then, I guess I had won the battle between her with this one! Now my main worry was how the fuck I would be able to get out of here when I can't move.

"Hurry up, I want this specimen back at my lab pronto!" It was the voice of the Dr. before. What is he doing here? Why is he doing this? I should have suspected that he was up to no good. A vampire would not help a werewolf out of the kindness of their heart; they hated us with their every being and us them so to do something as help thy enemy was not practiced with them. This is just great, how the hell are we supposed to get out of this now with a vampire around? He won't fall for the death trick!

I don't know, hopefully James heard our call and is getting help as we speak otherwise we should have just died from the poison.

You think? Dying by the hands of a vampire is the worst way to go, I would prefer the poison again before this. I had to admit it, for the first time in my life I felt uterly helpless.

Forest, I think I might know what he has planned for us my wolf said.

Well, don't leave me hanging. What is it?

You might not like it if I told you.

Just tell me, how bad could it really be?

All right, but I warned you. I think he might be selling us to fur traders. I remember mother saying something about how vampires would sell werewolves that they have captured into the fur trade where they will be skinned alive and left do die slowly and painfully. I think he might be one of those vampires hired by the fur traders to capture us! She was right, I didn't like the sound of that one bit.

Do you think its possible that he is one of them?

Think about it, he waited for Luna to leave us and for everyone to officially be gone from this place before bringing in these humans. Not once did he stop them when they were going at us and he knew we were incapable of moving let alone doing something to prevent our capture. How could he not be one of them? She had a point, this Dr. really was a tricky fellow and if he was indeed in the fur trade business I was as good as dead when they get their filthy hands on me.

 

Chapter 9: A Reascue!

A few hours on the road, I was hoisted into the air once more, I could hear a lot of voices going on around me and none of them I recognized. This isn't good. Where are we? I thought to myself, I was able to now officially open my eyes thanks to whatever they had given me but I was still immobile in the leg region. Bastards, they must have known I was going to try to make a run for it! I found it highly unfair that they would do this to me when I had done nothing to them but what was I to suspect with being a werewolf? This life comes with high prices and many of us never live to tell the tale to our young.

Hey, do you smell that? My wolf asked me.

No I said back to her.

Then start! It is important that we recognize these scents! Besides, this doesn't smell like a fur trade building.

How do you know what they smell like?

I just do, I could smell it on that girl's jacket. She buys fur from one of the businesses and they smell like death, this place smells different. Now that I had time to think about it, she was right; this place did smell highly different but where were we?

How far do you think we are from the others?

I don't know but from what it felt like, it's a good twelve hours or more. Great, just great. These people better have a good explination for this and I wasn't going to take no bullshit either. They may have made it so I can't move my legs but I think they forgot that I have teeth and can very well move my mouth enough to get a few good bites in.

Just wait until they try to reach in here for me. I'm going to show them that it's not smart to mess with a werewolf.

That's the spirit, we must fight if we are to survive this and get back to Luna and James.

That is if James will even bother coming after us. We're not actually on talking terms you know.

It doesn't matter, no matter how mad a mate is at their other mate they will still come when called. It's in our genes to run to our mates aid.

How the fuck do you know all of this?

Let's just say I have a better consience than you she said with a hint of a laugh in her tone.

"Easy people! Don't damage her!" I heard a different males voice this time. Looking through the bars I managed to glimps a whole new person, this man had an air of power about him so I figured he must be their leader; I didn't see the vampire anywhere around so he must either be out of sight or high tailed it after giving us over to these people.

Smart move, you would have been the first one I killed had you remained I thought to myself. I was actually starting to think that being capture by hunters was a better way to go instead of being here, at least with them I wasn't num in my legs! I glared at the man when he came in to look at me and let out a low warning growl for him to keep his distance.

"Aw, now is that something to say to your new owner?" He said with a fake hurt tone in his voice, his crooked teeth gave him a disgusting appearence not to mention his white beard was stained brown from the tobaccoo he chewed. His brown eyes looked totally out of place against his wrinkled face and white hair.

"You will never be my owner," I said. I didn't care if we weren't supposed to talk to humans, this man had pissed me off enough that I could care less about consequences if I was found out. I smirked when my sudden comment caught the man off guard. That's right, wolfy can speak after all.

"Quickly! Move her into the lab now!" The man shouted and I was once more lifted up and dragged away into some weird looking building. Where the fuck is James when you need him?! I thought getting a bit more annoyed that he was not there.

Maybe when they arn't looking I can go wolf?

I wouldn't do that, it would be strange for them to see a human where their wolf used to be. My wolf said, sometimes I hated when she was right about things, I really did but if I was in their position I too would get suspiciouse on seeing a human girl where a wolf used to be.

So for now make them think I'm just a talking wolf?

Yup, its the least we can do for now. When the time is right we will strike.

How if we can't get out?

We will get out, have faith in our mate. He may be a stupid human at times but even he won't leave us hanging for too long.

I hope you're right, otherwise we will be stuck here for the rest of our life and I don't know about you but I have no desire to be stuck here with a man like him.

I do not want to be stuck with him either, he stinks of alcohol. 

"Well now girly. Let's see what else you can do shall we?" The man said once more putting his ugly face next to the bars so he was looking at me, I snarled and bared my fangs. If he kept doing that he won't have a nose anymore pretty soon.

"Now dearie, that's no way to act to me. After all, it was me who bought you from the fur trade so you should be more greatefull." So I WAS going to the fur trade? That asshole of a vampire, wait until I get my fangs in his neck! He's dead!

"What? No words this time?" He asked cocking his head but I remained silent, I was not going to give him the satisfaction of getting me to speak again.

"Maybe you can only speak after a certian time? This will be interesting to find out now won't it? Now be a good science experiment and do not bite anyone while you are here, I would hate to have to soil that pretty fur of yours with your own blood. Quite a shame that would be won't it?" I glared as he took some sort of board off the wall and wrote down something on it, this man was really going to get on my nerves.

Patience, we must play by his rules for now. A patient wolf gets the prey, remember what mother always told us?

I know but I don't know if I can be patient with him around.

Easy, we can do it. We must be strong if we are to get out of this with our skin still intact. I hated to admit it but she was right, we needed to keep our cool in this kind of situation if we are to have any luck in breaking out of here in one piece.

"Now, shall we see what beneath that skin of yours?" The man said signaling for one of his friends to put a muzzle on me before dragging me to some sort of machine where they strapped me on the table. What is this? It's more uncomfertable than the vet table! I felt the bed slide into the hole in the machine and heard some groaning sounds as it came to life, the machine began to hum slightly with a little bit of vibration from the engine inside it running.

After a few more minutes of being in the machine, I was once more shoved into the cage despite my protest, I had now been able to get full movement in my legs and I was doing everything in my power to break free. These men were always rough with me and I would wake up with a new set of bruises on my body that were never there before. Thank God I had a healing rate that would make any animal or human enviouse of it. How much longer for this? I'm seriously about to give up hope that someone will come for us.

Patience dear, someone will come to our aid soon enough, we just have to have patience.

Patience is not something I am good at in case you didn't know that I said back to my wolf with a bit of venom in my voice. Don't get sassy at me missy, without me you would have a horrible life as a human. Be glad you are a werewolf and not one of those humans. Like I said, patience will get us out of here so suck it up! Sometimes I hated her.

Three more hours went by and I had to embrace further tests, luckily I was at the stage where my DNA will only show wolf and not human mixed in it. When the man came back and told me of the results he had gotten back I had to hold back from laughing at his frustrated mood, it was quite comical when he would do tests and they would come back as only a pure wolf. At least there is something good here to look at I said mainly to myself, if they kept getting the blood work and tests of a normal wolf they just might let me out of here since there really is no need to be keeping me here for no reason. When the man left the room I took the time to rest and prepare myself for the next set of tests, I finally understood why many animals caught in cages look so depressed and down on themselves.

"Hey you can't go in there!" I heard a mufled voice say from the other side of the door. Who can't come in here? I wondered. Is it finally my savior?

"I can do what I want! I'm part of the health services and I am doing a routine check up of the rooms." My breath caught in my throat, it was James! James came for me!

"Then who is that with you?" The voice asked.

"She's my assistant, got a problem with that? I'm training her since its her first time on the job." Oh my God! Luna is here too? I couldn't believe that they had come for me! A long silence passed before I heard the man say.

"Very well, but don't touch anything. We keep things sanatized around here and we don't need your hands dirtying the workplace up. Lock up before you leave as well or our recent arrival will get out."

"New arrival?" I heard James ask in a peering voice.

"Top secret, boss says to not tell anybody about it." That bastard, he knows I'm not an it!

Easy Forest, we'll get our payback soon enough, patience is the virtue here.

I know but he knows better then that! Why must humans be so stupid at times?

Now you see why I don't like them? My wolf had a point there, I too was starting to not like humans so much myself, they were idiotic and self-centered.

I heard the hallway go silent before the lock on the door clicked and the door slightly opened, of course the room I was in had to be pitch black so that the light that filtered in through the hallway blinded me. When I got some focus back in my eyes I saw two figures standing in the doorway looking around.

"I'm right here," I said to them which made them turn their heads on me. Luna was the first one to approach my cage.

"Oh my God Forest, what have they done to you?" I could hear the shocked tone in her voice.

"What? What do you mean?" I asked trying to look at my body to see what she was looking at and there it was, on my right back leg was a shaved part of skin with something implanted in it, my rump also had the same shaved spot with another thing sticking in it as well.

"I...I don't know. They must have done that when I was out."

"I'm so sorry Forest, we should have gotten here sooner but finding you turned out to be real difficult until Luna had to change into a bear." I looked back at James and he too gave me that sad look Luna had given me when she glimpsed me in the cage.

"Don't worry about it, you're here now and that's all that matters. But now, why not get me out of here before creepy dude comes back?" I asked.

"Creepy dude?" Luna asked cocking her head.

"Ya, the main scientist here. He's the one who put me in this cage in the first place for 'studying' purposes. Granted I had the man looking like he was going crazy," I said laughing slightly when the man would try to get me to talk and his co-workers would look at him as if he had just left the loony bin.

"Oh I bet that was priceless to see," Luna said laughing as James worked at the latch that locked the door to the cage. When he finally broke it off I leaped out of the cage and stretched my legs.

"First things first, time to get these weird things out of me." I took the tip of the one on my kind leg between my teeth and yanked it out, it hurt for about a second but then the wound healed up, I then did the same to the one on my rump and checked myself over for more, luckily it was only those two so I was good to go.

"Ready?" James asked holding the door open for Luna and I.

"As ready as I ever will be, there is one good thing that came out of coming here, all that damn poison has been washed out of my system," I said happy and relieved that I didn't have that kind of poison in me any longer. I may have been tough but even I was loosing to that kind of poison, that boy really upted his game more and I wondered where he had gotten his hands on such a thing and gotten away with it.

"Well that's good. Come on, let's head home," Luna said following behind me as I led her and James to what I had hoped was the exit out of here.

"Hey! Stop right there!" I heard the voice of the head scientist yell making me whip my head around and bare my fangs at the man. Luna took up her position beside me forcing James behind us, a human would have been no match for the group that was coming at us right now and I for one was not going to leave this place leaving these people walking to follow after me, who knows what they had implanted in me that I don't know about when I was out cold. When the group finally caught up to us the man looked me in the eyes and said.

"Get back to your cage wolf." I growled and took a threatening stance.

"I mean it!" The man said begining to raise his hand at me.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her!" Luna and James yelled at the exact same time making the man finally take a good look at them.

"And who the hell are you?" He asked. "Trying to steal my science experiment are we?" He continued.

"No, we are here to set her free. You have no right to keep her locked up in here," James said standing beside me and glaring at the man, I had to admit it, he had guts facing off with the head honcho himself, expecially when I knew he had a gun hidden under his cloke on his right leg.

"Careful James, he's armed," I said making the scientists gasp in shock and look at me while the man beamed.

"See? I told you she can talk!" He took a step twords me but Luna blocked his path.

"Back off human," she growled and I could see the faint glimer of the bear trying to take over.

"I am the owner of this place and I don't have to listen to tresspassers such as yourself!" The man shouted and backhanded Luna across the hall and I lost it.

Leaping straight at the man before he could grab his gun I sunk my teeth in his arm drawing blood instently, my intent was to kill and I didn't care what appendage I ripped off in the process. The other scientists ran away as the man who I had locked in my jaws screamed for help and bashed at me to get me to let go but I only dug my fangs deeper into his arm until I heard bone snap.

"Forest! Stop!" I faintly heard James scream but I couldn't fully comprehend him, blood coursed through my veins as my adrenaline spiked to an all time high at the sound of the mans scream drawing the predator out in me at the thought of an easy meal and I only kept on attacking him until I felt a clawed hand drag me off.

"Calm down Forest, embrace the human side once more, remember what Mother Moon told us to do!" I could hear Luna whisper in my ear and I immediatly withdrew the predator back inside, once I was back to normal I realized that I had ripped the man to shreds, there was nothing left that would identify him any longer.

"But, but she said we wouldn't lose control," I said backing up from the bloody scene before me.

"You didn't. You managed to stop yourself when I asked you too, if her gift didn't work you wouldn't have stoped so easily," Luna said stroking me behind my ear, James knelt down beside me and I shrunk away from him; I felt guilty he had to see me do such a horrible thing in front of him and I was affraid that he wouldn't approve of me anymore. I was shocked though when he pulled me into his arms and hugged me so tightly that I thought I was going to break myself.

"Thank God you're back Forest. I was so affraid I had lost you, don't ever do that to me again," he whispered in my ear, his hands grabbed a huge clump of my fur as he gripped tightly onto me.

"I'm sorry James," I said laying my chin on his shoulder, I truly meant it too.

"Let's get out of here before the others come back," Luna said and I nodded and followed them out the door, once outside I took in a deep breath of the fresh air, I could smell winter was on its way by the freshness in the air and the cool chill that the whind brought with it making the semi-bare tree limbs creek against the whind, groaning at their nakedness. James once more knelt in front of me with a wet napkin.

"What's that for?" I asked looking at him curiously.

"You've got blood all over you, we can't have you going back to the camp with blood on you," he said whipping away the remenents of my crime from my fur until the white glistened once more, untained by the crimson color.

"Thanks," I said grinning and wagging my tail, something most wolves would NOT do. A loud yawn broke the silence between us as we looked at Luna.

"What's wrong Luna?" James asked.

"I'm sleepy that's all, nothing to worry about."

"Why?" He asked.

"Becuase bears hibernate during the winter which is rapidly approaching. Soon Luna willl be out of comission for the next few months until Spring," I answered him nosing Luna awake a bit. She groaned but straightened up more and rubbed her eyes.

"What happens when she does go into hibernation?" James asked.

"Nothing, she just will be in a deep sleep. She won't wake up to go to the bathroom or eat or drink. If we had remained in the wild she would have already been stocked up and fatten by her harvest during the Spring and Summar months and holed up in some cave warmer than you humans could ever be in your heated houses."

"But she can't do that at the camp, people would notice," James said.

"No they won't," Luna replied this time.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because I've done it before and no one has noticed my absence, they just thought that I had gone home for the winter and not once bothered to look for me."

"Oh," James said and I could tell by the tinge of red on his cheeks that he felt embarrased for jumping to conclusions.

"Don't fret James. Nothing will happen to her so long as I am around, Wolves don't hibernate, our matabolisms won't allow that during winter. We burn up too much fat to keep ourselves warm so we need to constently eat, unlike bears who can slow their heartbeat so that it looks like its not even beating at all." Luna grined at the stuned look James gave her.

"Now lets head back, I'm starving and I sure would like a nice comfey place to lay down," I said and we headed back to camp.

Chapter 10: Luna goes to sleep

Over the past few days, Luna had been plowing food down like crazy which I couldn't blame her. Having been through so much recently she hadn't had the time to stock up on the fat preserves that she needed to survive the winter like she normally would have, I for one didn't feel like eating a thing.

"Is something wrong Forest?" Luna asked one night when I wasn't eating my steak.

"Nothing really, its just that things will be boring around here until Spring." I hated to admit it but without my pack, being alone did not appeal to me, even the company of James did not satisfy the ache I felt in my heart.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could stay awake but already I have been sleeping longer and more often. I can't fight it as much as I want to, but I promise come Spring time we will have so much damn fun that you will be begging me to go back to sleep again," Luna joked which made me laugh.

"Ya, if I don't knock you out myself first," I replied making us giggled.

"Come on Forest, you need to eat if you are going to build up that winter coat yourself. You're going to need your energy come this winter, I hear its going to be a harsh one this year."

"Is that so? How come?" I asked.

"I don't know but I can feel it," I could too but not so much as she would.

"So does this mean you might be sleeping longer?" I asked.

"I hope not, my fat will only keep me alive for so long, if I use it all up and winter hasn't left yet I'm gonna starve since there won't be any food in the house."

"True, I plan on once more going back into the woods this winter, there's much more to do out there while you're sleeping the cold days away," I said before shoveling a chunk of meat into my mouth.

"Oh shut up," she said laughing and I giggled myself. When our plates were empty and the house was already diminishing in the food catagor with a greater portion of it going to Luna I freted the time when she would not wake up, Luna had always been there for me and everytime she went to sleep something bad would always end up happening to me and she wouldn't be there to help me get out of it, when we were kids she would always be the extra muscle I needed to get out of certian things, and my slim build helped her out as well, we worked perfectly together and went so well; we were like Yin and Yang or two peas in a pod. James occasionally came over more often than before which made me happy, I enjoyed my time with him and Luna when she was awake and I wanted to take every moment I can before I too go on my own winter outing without James.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" James asked me when Luna was once more taking her nap.

"I have to James, wolves can't stay in one place during winter, there's not enough food here to sustain me plus the winter camp time is only a day time with only enogh food provided for that day. You have only the right amount humans would be able to live off on, I need a much greater supply of food which you guys do not have."

"But there are hunters out there, and who's gonna watch over Luna?" He asked.

"That's where you come in. Luna should be fine on her own, she always had been before but with you looking after her she will be golden. I won't be far for too long, I'll come when needed but like I said, I need a much greater hunting area which on some days will take me farther away from the camp. There will be times when I won't hear you calling for me and winter will be a tough time on our bond."

"What do you mean?" He asked and I had forgotten that he still didn't know much about mate bonds.

"You see, because you are not a werewolf you wouldn't survive out in the wild for too long, and when mates are apart from each other for too long the pull is tuged on to the point where its unbarable. Lucky for us, we hadn't fully completed the bond yet so it won't be too strong."

"What do you mean by not having completed the bond yet?" He asked and I looked away embarassed.

"What?" He pushed.

"It means we havn't mated yet," I said and left it at that, I knew from the silence on his end he had caught on to what it meant and I dared a look in his direction. I was shocked to see he was grinning from ear to ear with a mischivouse look in his eye.

"Don't even think about it James, nothing is going to happen any time." Jame's face fell in dissapointment and I laughed.

"Don't look so gloom, it will happen eventually but not now. When the time is right perhaps we can have a go at it," I said.

"When is that?" He asked a little too hopeful.

"You'll know when that is, trust me. You'll feel it through the bond."

"What did I miss?" A sleepy voice spoke. We turned to see Luna coming out of her bedroom, her mossy brown hair was messy and she was rubbing the sleepies out of her eyes.

"Nothing much, just talking. Luna, James will be watching over you this winter ok?"

"Ah, sure I guess. Why? Where will you be?" She asked then she slapped her hand to her forehead.

"Oh right, you're going to do your annual winter hunting session huh." I nodded and she clapped her hands together.

"All right then, James, looks like you get to be my baby sitter while Forest is away."

"But she said you would be ok," James said.

"I will but you see? Forest doesn't want to take any chances. Now that the scientists know Forest is not human they will surly be out to find her, and what do you think will happen when they see a bear sleeping in a human girls bed?" I could tell James didn't bother with coming up with anything and I smiled.

"See? Not only will my departure be good for me to hunt but it will also keep you guys safe, especially Luna. She may be a werebear but even she has no fight in her come winter. A sleeping bear is an easy target for someone to take advantage of."

"Fine, I'll do it. But you will come when I call if anything happens right?" James asked turning to me.

"I'll come only if I am in hearing distance of you, if not your on your own so I would suggest learning how to use a gun."

"You don't think I will have to shoot anyone do you?" He asked.

"Who knows? But if anyone shows any sign of going to hurt Luna, it would be wise to know how to use a weapon as effective as a gun, unless your skilled in archery." James' head bowed.

"Saddly I am not good at a bow and arrow."

"See? Another thing to add to your to-do list of things to learn. I would suggest starting out with archery first, not only is it quieter but you don't have to take forever with loading up bullets, just draw an arrow and shoot. Much more quicker and efficient in certian cases." I said, I for one am top notch in the archery program. My pack made it an annual thing to have archery contests and I always participated in them and always won. I was so good that I had the roll of teaching the new recruits on how to properly and efficinetly shoot an arrow and make a direct bullseye.

"Is it hard?" James asked and I could hear the hesitation in his voice.

"Not if you know what you are doing. Just don't shake and don't shoot yourself in the foot, that will hurt more than words can ever describe." Luna said once more plowing through a box of chocolate chip cookies with a plate of cooked chicken wings next to her and a cup of milk.

"Damn, I keep forgetting how much you eat a day," I said. She was already packing on the pounds and was already filling out to a healthy size for a bear.

"Ya, but I'm not at the right amount yet, in two more days I should be."

"Still have Salmon in your freezer?" I asked.

"No, I ran out yeasterday. I was going to go get some more but I just felt too tired to bother with it."

"Then I'll go for you, you just focus on packing on the pounds." I said shifting into my wolf, I was better insulated in my wolf form then I was in human form, plus hunting fish was much more easier for me this way too.

"You coming James?" I asked, I would need the extra hands if I was to cary back more fish than what my muzzle could carry.

"Ya, I guess. This would be the perfect time to perfect my fishing skills," he said putting on his coat and gloves.

"See you guys when you get back. Bring lots of fish and we will have them for dinner tonight. Feel free to stay over for dinner if you want James." Luna said and it felt like she was the mother of the household which if you though about it, she kind of is.

"I'll think about it," James said and we left for the river.

When James and I reached the river, I broke a spot through the ice covered edges so I could get to the fish swiming under the surface better, the nights were getting cold enough that any water that wasn't moving was already covering over with ice, the air was no better, already birds had headed to the south and the ones that didn't were hunkering down for the winter months ahead. Squirrles spent more time in their nests while chipmunks tried to gather enough nuts and berries they could get for their winter burrows. Rabbits spent less and less time above ground these days since the days grew shorter and the nights longer.

"Winter sure is quiet isn't it," James said looking around, his breath billowing out in the air as a fog.

"Ya," I said. "Winter is a time of renewal, when mother nature slows the clocks down and allows new life to take hold by getting rid of the old."

"What do you mean by that one? Are you saying that winter is killing off things?"

"Yes. Sometimes you need death for new life to grow. Those that do not survive this winter will pave a new path for those that do, the younger, fitter generation will take over where the older generation had fallen and pave a path of their own in the circle of life. It's how mother nature controls the order of the world, winter is just another stopper in the overproduction of things and allows nature to once more get back on course."

"Wow, I had never thought of it that way before. What are wolves doing at this time of the year?" He asked.

"Well, some will be hunting while others will be breeding. Winter is the time for wolves to mate...that is if you were a normal wolf. Werewolves are much more different, we don't have a specific time to breed, we can whenever we want to. Sometimes though during the winter time we choose not to since its hard enough as is for us to survive."

"Ah, so basically all you do is hunt?" He asked.

"Not just hunt, we travel. Spring time is the only time when wolves settle down in one place, and that's only because the females are welping. A pack can't risk traveling with young pups in their midsts, the journey will be too much on them."

"What's welping?"

"It's when a female wolf or a female dog gives birth to puppies." I then hushed him when I spotted Salmon not too far away, quickly diving my muzzle in, I managed to catch a really big one in my jaws and dragged the flailing fish up on the shore quickly dispatching it with a bite to the head.

"You know, its still slightly disturbing watching you kill," James said.

"Then don't watch, its life James. With death comes life, this meat will provide the energy and the last bits of fat Luna needs to survive the winter. If this winter lasts longer than three months you will need to fish often to proivde her with food. Careful with waking her up though, so long as you keep providing her food during the winter months she will make it just fine. That's another thing why you have to watch over her, if you weren't there to make sure she had enough to eat she will starve to death."

"How do you wake a sleeping bear without being killed?" James asked.

"Leave the meat in front of her nose, the smell will wake her up long enough for her to eat then she will go back to sleep. Don't get too close to her though, during winter she lets the bear take over so if you are near with the food the bear will think of you as a threat and will fight you."

"Has it ever mistaken you for a threat before?" James asked.

"Once, but I was able to calm her down enough for her to recognize me," I said scooping out another fish.

The rest of the day passed in silence with me catching as much Salmon as I could until Jame's arms were full with fish and my mouth ached with the weight of the Salmon. We had enough here to start a feast fit for a kind but I knew a good portion of this would be gone within minutes of it hitting the table if it ever got to reach that far in the first place. When we walked in through the door Luna was there greeting us with drool coming out of her mouth and her eyes widening in hunger.

"Easy there Luna," I said after placing the Salmon on the counter.

"Oh wow, you caught a lot there, we should have enough for a while."

"I intended for that to happen. James here will be providing it to your during the winter if it goes any longer."

"Really? You warned him about what happens during the winter months right?" She asked and I nodded. I didn't bother chopping up mine or Luna's fish since eating it whole was no big deal to us but James needed his chopped up so his human throat could swallow it better.

"You know, I've always wondered how you guys don't ever choke on meat," James said as we were eating.

"Its simple, our throats are designed to swallow meat whole since when we are changed we don't have cheeks to hold the food in while we chew so our bodies had to develop and evolve to allow us to eat without choking," I said ripping off a chunk of Salmon and swallowing it.

"Ya, where you guys have small throats we have large. It also makes swallowing bone much easier as well since it won't get lodged in our throats as easily as it would yours," Luna said already on her 100th Salmon.

"You guys eat bone? Isn't that hard to digest?" James asked.

"We don't eat the bone itself, only the bone marrow inside, that's the nutritiouse part and is what gives our bones the vital nutriants they need to remain strong. The circle of life has a very funny way of keeping thinks in tact," I said now fully satisfied.

"Man, I don't think I will ever be this full again," I said leaning back with a happy sigh and rubbing my full stomach.

"Then why not stay?" James asked looking at me with pleading eyes, "I could provide for you," he continued and it broke my heart.

"Oh James, your offer is sweet and all but I just simply cant. A wolf, especially a werewolf is not designed to stay in a house for the rest of their lives, we are meant to be in the outdoors wild and free. The only time we stay in houses in on occasions such as what I am doing, other then that we are living like your every day normal wolf. I would love to stay with you but I just simply cant." I hated to burst his hopes but he needed to understand that I cannot stay cooped up in a house all winter long, I needed to be in the great outdoors no matter how cold or hot it was, it was in my blood; in my nature to be outside, going against that is just not possible.

"Oh, ok," he said lowering his eyes and it tore me bit by bit from the inside.

"I promise when spring time comes around I will be sure to spend almost every waking moment with you when I can but even then don't get your hopes up. Spring time is also a very active time for all creatures, summer is the better time when things start to settle down," I said hopping to cheer him up at least somewhat.

"Ya, I guess," he said seeming a little more himself.

"Well I for one am tired, I have finally stored up the supply I need to survive this winter so I'm going to retire, see all of you in the spring time," Luna said giving us both a hug and heading to her room.

"Well, I guess this means I too should be off. The snow will be falling shortly and I want to find a warm den before it settles completely on the ground, then there will be less of a trail for people to follow me." I said starting to stand up and changing into my wolf.

"Will I ever see you at least once during the winter?" James asked holding the door open for me, I looked at him and wagged my tail.

"I will do my best to stop by at least once in a while just to see you but don't sit around waiting for me," I said giving him a lick on the hand before running off into the woods.

Chapter 11: Winter

Four weeks had passed since I left James to watch over Luna and every day I had found it more difficult to come by food, most days when I did I would be unwilling to eat and would store my catch in the back of my den for later to hopefully see me through for a few more days. I had stopped by to see James but never did I approach the house, though I promised him I would see him I knew it would be best if I did not, my presence every day at the house will only put them in more danger if I kept on visiting them and I could not do that, Luna would be of no help and James would not stand a chance, hunters and scientists were out to get me and would use any chance they had to use them against me. I did however let James see me and only said my hellos with a nod of my head and a wag of my tail before once more running off into the woods. My fur had grown out even more making me look more fluffier and bigger, it slowed me down some, especially when it got wet during fishing but at least it kept me warm, my den was just big enough to fit me and whatever food I caught, the only heat inside was when my body temperature would warm it up. I had started to grow acustomed to my new life out in the wild and found the winter night sky to be the most beutiful sight I had ever seen, every night I would sit outside and just stare up at the stars, once or twice I would howl out to them, singing my winter song and letting all who listen know that there was a wolf patroling this land and to stay away, it was also my call to let James know I was ok.

Mother Moon kept me company most nights when she was out, she would talk to me when I needed a friend and would encourage me to keep going on or show me to the best food source there was, she was always looking out for me and giving me updates on the events back at Luna's and I was grateful for it, to pay her back, I would sing to her almost every night she was out and she would sing along with me. Occasionally I would hear gunshots in the distance and would fall silent, winter was the time for hunting for most humans and the last thing I needed was to be looking down the barel of a shot gun aimed right at me, I didn't need to end up getting shot out here even though I would heal from it eventually it would still hurt and would only slow me down even more and make survivng during the winter even more difficult then it already was. It was times like this when I knew why most wolves never survived the winter, those who were not strong enough and who could not cope with the harsh conditions and lack of food perished while those who could lived on to hunt another day, plus, the plants I would have normally used during the spring and summer months were withered and burried, completely useless now if I should fall ill.

One day as I was out hunting, I came across a young fox caught in a snare trap, the poor thing was screaching and making a huge rucus over being caught, I knew I could not let it remain there as it would surly become a hunter's next victim. Walking up to it I tried to calm the poor creature down but it would not be silenced, as I neared it, the fox snapped and hissed at me, baring its fangs with hackles raised.

"I'm only trying to help you!" I said to the fox trying to make it understand that I meant it no harm but it would not listen to me, it kept lashing out at anything that got too close to it and I could tell he had already mangled up his right paw, blood was staining the white snow crimson and it pained me to see him like this so to prevent him from bringing any more harm to himself I did the unthinkable. Quickly grabbing the nape of his nack and forcing him down in the snow I used my body weight to hold the writhing creature down using my front paws to keep the snapping jaws away from me as I worked at the snare with my teeth, once the trap was off I lept off of the fox and felt the breeze of its jaws as they closed on the spot where my paw used to be.

"There, you're free now, I would suggest not remaining around here or you are just as good as dead," I said eying the fox in the eyes. The poor fox growled and tried to walk but could not so much as lift himself up off of the ground. Sighing I approached him once more and picked him up by the nape of his neck, he didn't like it and fought me every step of the way but I did not care, I could not leave him to suffer with a mangled paw out in the wild left to fend for himself when he could barely even walk, he would be dead over night if not in a few seconds from bloos loss. Great, no herbs, little food, and I'm bringing home a stray I thought to myself but I knew I was doing some sort of good by helping the fox out even if it would deplete what little store of food I had in the cave. Once at my den I plopped the fox down and prevented him from trying to escape, dropping the leg of a deer in front of him I watched as he wolfed it down, stripping the leg to the bone without so much as even savoring the meat.

"Well, at least someone enjoyed it," I said standing a few feet away from the fox, I knew not to approach another predator when they were eating though I was much bigger and stronger than the fox would ever be, plus with him being hurt it would be an unfair advantage, I didn't want or need him to freak out and injure the both of us in a conflict where he would lash out, I didn't even have a clue on how I could heal him without licking the wound which I knew he would not even let me get remotly close.

"What do you want with me?" I was surprised when he had spoken and I stared at him like an idiot. Shaking my head to rid myself of the shock I composed myself once more and replied.

"Nothing, you were caught and I helped you, the least you could do is thank me. If it wasn't for me you would probably have been skinned by some hunter at this very moment."

"Why should I thank a wolf? Wolves are nothing but bad luck," he spat and I growled.

"Watch your tone, remember who's den you are lying in right now weak and helpless," I said baring my own fangs in return.

"Who says I'm helpless?" The fox asked trying to make himself look bigger and meaner.

"You're the one with the mangled paw here not me. If I had wanted to I could have easily killed you and there would have been nothing you could have done about it but no, instead I brought you here to keep you safe and fed you, the least you can do is show some gratitude!"

Eat him, go on eat him. An ungrateful fox like him should not be allowed to talk to us like that! My wolf said snarling and for a while there I was debating on rather or not I should give in to her demands.

Silence passed between us as I waited for another smart reply from the fox but none came which made me feel better, leaving him to lay where he was I sat outside and looked up at Mother Moon.

What am I doing? I barly have enough food to feed myself let alone a fox! I thought to myself.

Well, at least he has a small tomach compared to us so he might not eat so much my wolf said and I knew she was trying to cheer me up but it just wasn't doing it.

Ya, but it still means even more hunting on our part and there's barely enough around here as is, we might have to move to somewhere more prey plentiful.

But for now we should be good, there should be enough prey here to keep us satisfied for a while, if not we could always eat him my wolf said jokingly but I snarled at her.

That's not funny, I took him in to help him not eat him. I'll just have to figure something out and fast otherwise both of us will starve.

Well, you better hurry up then, with the hunters patroling the woods the deer are scattering to higher climates where the hunters can't get to my wolf said and I sighed.

Geeze, thanks for the update girl geniouse. You don't think I don't already know that? I could always carry him if I have to but that would put us even further from James then what I had promised him.

So what? He's a human! We need to do what we have to to survive and now that we have an extra mouth to feed we need to step up on our game even more. This is why many wolves don't survive their first winter, they are too worried about how much food there is than to worry about how to conserve it long enough until food comes around once more. I knew she was right and as much as I hated to admit it, we did need the food if we were going to survive this winter. Sighing once more I headed back into the small den which seemed even smaller now with the new occupant and found him passed out.

Looks like we will have to wait till the morning to talk to him I said but my wolf didn't answer me so I figured she went back into sleep mode. Heading over to my sleeping area, I curled up into a tight ball and went to sleep relishing in the warmness of the den now with two bodies in it instead of one, even if one of the bodies was smaller than mine.

When morning came, I woke up to the fox staring at me.

"What do you want?" I asked, I had forgotten he was there and the recent events that took place yeasterday resurfaced.

"What is there to eat?" He asked.

"Food is in the back but don't eat too much, we need to make it last for a while longer till we can move," I said.

"Move? Move where?" He asked cocking his head.

"Well look at who is the curiouse one all of a sudden. What? Forgot your extreme hatred for me?" I asked jokingly.

"I never hated you, I just didn't fully trust you that's all but seeing as how you havn't eaten me yet I guess there isn't anything for me to worry about."

"Don't be so sure of yourself fox, werewolves are unpredicatble creatures," I said hoping to scare him somewhat.

"I know that," he said which took me off guard.

"How do you know what I am?" I asked.

"Because I can smell it on you. You're not the first werewolf to travel through this territory and I'm sure you won't be the last either. You guys have a very destinctive scent, forest mixed with human, very odd and really makes you stand out."

"I see," I said and my wolf growled slightly. The thought of there being werewolves so close to the camp sight and our mate made her very uncomfertable even though she didn't like humans, our mate was a whole different matter, plus Luna was there as well.

"How many have you scented before?" I asked.

"Well, a few months ago I smelt a pack of at least 20 or so come by, didn't smell like they were in the best of shape either so I wouldn't worry too much about them." Shit, that means the pack from the North has been here. What do they want? I thought to myself.

"That's not good, if they're here it only means trouble is not far behind."

"Why who are they?" The fox asked.

"They're the Northern pack, they give other werewolves a bad rap and are well known human killers. Granted they will kill anything that crosses their path, even other werewolves but they mainly go for humans. If they are here so close to my mates camp then its not a very good sign."

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 03.11.2014

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I finish this book whenever I can and do not have spell check on my computer so bear with the grammar and punctuation mistakes until I can get on a computer at College to fix them.