Chapter One.

In my life, I had never witnessed a sight so robbed of dignity or self-respect.  This, of course, was saying a lot, for I had seen some pretty pathetic things in my seventeen years.  But really, this practically topped the list.

"So, baby, you wanna go somewhere with me during Spring Break?"

That was Michael Halken, and he was not talking to me.  I've known him nearly all my life, though we're not exactly . . . friends.  I look out for him, he looks out for me.  That's the job of a packmate.

The girl to which he was speaking to giggled liltingly, a stomach-churning sound, and fluttered her mascara-smothered eyelashes, “Where to, Mikey?"

Though I've seen this girl around school, I had no idea of her name.  What I did know was that she was one considered 'popular' in our High School, and I think she might be a cheerleader.   Of course, being a popular girl entails a few things in Madronna:  You must have big boobs, look a tad anorexic, and always wear skimpy clothes and pounds of makeup. In other words, you must be relatively attractive to guys like Michael.

Michael leaned in, his hand resting on the wall above her shoulder, and his face claiming that his attention was completely on her. Very masculine.  "Wherever you want to, baby."

While this was happening, I wasn't exactly leaning over him, watching every move. In fact, I was about five yards down the noisy, smelly, disgusting high school hallway.  My kind has superb hearing, and one learns to tune in to familiar voices.  I was merely protecting my packmate from this potentially harmful human girl.  

"I'll go anywhere with you, Mikey."

They were making plans for Spring Break, this being the school day until it began.  This was probably Michael's third attempt to get a date for the week-long break.  Again, I wasn't following him around, I just knew.  I know Michael as I know my own brothers.  Every imperfection, every character flaw. Everything.  And I know that he cares nothing for any human, especially one with half a brain. What he does like, is attention.  And he gets a lot of attention from human girls.  Too much.

"And I'll go anywhere with you, Monica."

Of course, he was a great actor.  His looks were very much like a Dark Prince Charming type, so I guess they loved the mystery of him.  He had dark, almost black eyes, always shadowed be his tremendously long eyelashes. His hair was nearly as dark, but with a tint of brown that suggested East Indian or Arabic decent.  It also looked as if he had a perfect tan, but that came from genetics.  Yep, they must love the mystery.

I was not jealous of Michael's girlfriends.  Years ago I had grown out of that.  All I knew was that he led each girl on, and usually broke her heart.  However shallow these girls are, they still don't deserve that.  So, I decided to intervene.  I walked down the hallway, my eyes locked on Michael.  I was sure to let Monica see the hunger in my eyes.  His back was to me, and she was facing him, along with the rest of the hall. It was easier for her to see me.   .  But, he knew I was coming long before her.  Years of being around each other implant a sort of mental map in our kind's head.  He could sense me, hear my walk, my breath, and even smell me. But the only acknowledgment of that was a slight tense in his shoulders, and the automatic cease of their conversation.

Once I was behind him, I put my hand on the back of his neck.  As of late, Michael had been following the trend to grow his hair out. This came in handy now; he had the perfect length for me to weave my fingers through his hair while I rested my forearm on his shoulder.

"Hey Michael."

I was so good; my voice was husky and expectant.  I leaned in so close to his face that I could see the reflection of my emerald green eyes in his smoky gray. I smiled even silkier, seeing his face darken with near-fury.  I'm sure the girl didn't even catch it.  My kind are also experts on body language.

Before I continued talking, I cast a sideways glance at Monica as if to 'claim' him, and cast her to the side.  Or something stupid like that. She would interpret it as she pleased.

"What are you doing making plans?  You know we've had plans for weeks. . ."

Of course we had no plans. . . but she didn't know that.  With that I leaned in and kissed him slowly on the cheek, getting close enough to his ear to whisper shortly, "Leave her alone, Mikey."

Michael tensed even further - he was very, very angry - but he couldn't say anything in front of this girl.  Although he wouldn't hit me; not in the high school, I'm sure he felt like it.  But I was gone fast enough, and could hear the girls shrieks in my dust.  Michael would get back at me later, but I'm sure he'd forget about this Monica girl soon enough.

The life of a teen is stressful for any species.  No more so for a wolf . . . or a werewolf.  So, naturally, we were filled with enough tension and stress as the humans.  Acting wasn't even needed to fit in, other than holding in a howl, or resisting the urge to rip somebody's throat out here and there.  Luckily, when I get close to that point, I've had friends to restrain me.

"Vega, have you been bugging Michael again?"

I grinned sardonically as Gabriel and Loki walked up.  They had to cross the campus after school; both of them had gym class together sixth period.  I've always had a few minutes to mess around before we car-pooled home, and I usually put those few minutes to good use. The comment had come from my twin brother, Gabriel, who had either heard us talking or saw Michael leaving the school behind me, steaming.  Gabriel's dark, forest green eyes glittered with only a little mischief. A teenager should have ten times that amount, human or wolf.  But Gabriel was different.

"Of course, he has to learn from someone!"

Loki shook his head with a friendly smirk.

"I'm surprised he puts up with you. How many of his relationships have you trashed?"

I shook my head, quick to object.

"Only like . . . two. Not counting the current one. And, they aren't 'relationships', Loki, they're. . ."
I searched for the perfect word, but Gabriel came up with it first.

"Parasitic?"

I nodded, "Exactly. He uses these girls for sex, and probably for some female attention from a girl that's not practically his sister."

While this conversation was going on, we were all climbing into the little blue Honda Gabriel and I had bought.  I loved that car, and we worked hard to get it.  As usual, I was driving.  Loki still hadn't taken his driving test, and Gabriel hated driving.  Last year, when we were sixteen, it was so hard to get him to drive in the first place.  He seemed to think he wouldn't be able to do it, or he would crash and kill our little brother and I.  It had turned out he was a far better driver than I, but had a small fender bender one of the first weeks after he had started driving.  Now, he doesn't make me drive, but I know his confidence in driving is shattered, the magnitude of the accident meaningless.  I still try to encourage him to, though, but he seems to think he can't do anything right.  Yet. . . I know he'll get over that.

". . . Danning's English test?  I'm sure I failed that baby.  That guy hates me. It's probably your fault, Vega."

That was Loki's voice.  I, having spaced out, had no idea what he was talking about.

"What's my fault?"

I sort of muttered this, taking the rather stressful left turn out of the high school parking lot.  We pulled away from our crummy, one story, brick high school, and passed the tacky, plastic billboard proclaiming: "Madronna High School: Home of the Lions!" in rust-colored, capital letters.  On to Madronna Middle School, about two miles away. Gabriel and I had to pick up our little brother, Orion, before heading home. Loki sighed dramatically, but continued.

"I swear you never listen to anything I say.  What I was saying was, we had the Spring test in Danning's class today.  Me being that sexy dreamer in the back of the room, I was, appropriately, dreaming through his last lecture and was unable to conjure up the answers for the test today."

I rolled my eyes at him, watching him in the rear-view mirror.  Gabriel and I had Mr. Dannings last year for Sophomore English.  Very strange class -- and the man arranged tests seasonally. Loki was suffering through that now, him being one year younger than us.  Still, Loki was mature beyond his years, and a very theatrical storyteller.

"What's my fault about your failure to pay attention?"

Loki laughed slightly,

"'Failure to pay attention'? Don't put it so harshly, you sound like the man himself.  As I said, I was dreaming. Not failing to do anything."

I grinned; I was just messing with him. Sometimes he definitely exaggerated, and overreacted, but really, he had the right. Loki joined the Pack about six years ago, and the majority of our relatively small Pack had still not accepted him.  Especially the other teenage boys.  To add to his problem, it seemed his own family blamed Loki for the rejection.  His father, Jerold,  was a drunken asshole, who I've had a handful of disagreements with.  His mother, a human, seems drained and indifferent, and his sister is a snobby little brat who hates me.   Regardless of everyone else, Gabriel and I would stand up for him in any circumstance.  

As Loki had said, he was a dreamer. His looks fit the part, too.  He build was slight and feminine, far from the build of a fighter, with pale skin a few shades lighter than Gabriel and mine.  His eyes were clear blue, and the always seemed to be hiding something interesting or mischevious.  Honey blond and wavy, his hair framed his face and reached just below his shoulders.  Loki seemed to have the looks that attracted a lot of attention from younger girls, which was always strange, but he kept his distance.

"We haven't been in Danning's this year, and he only  teaches Sophomore English and gym, doesn't he?"

There was an abundance of academic teacher/gym teacher or coaches here.  This led to an overall low intelligence level in the school system.

"Yeah. But last year you guys sealed my fate. He knows I hang out with you, Veg."

My nickname 'Veg' was commonly misinterpreted by people other than my Pack.  Whenever my packmates and brothers call me that, some human kicks into the conversation with 'Why do they call you Vague? Are you stupid or somethin'?  Consequently, I allow no one the honor of calling me that, with the exception of Loki, my brothers, and a couple other pack members.  I replied as we neared the Middle School.

"Loki, you've totally lost me. What about you, Gabby?"

Gabby, of course, was another slightly embarrassing nickname.  Gabriel didn't care one bit, but if anyone ever made fun of him, I usually pounced on them. I had a slight temper when it came to anyone messing with Loki, or my brothers.  Especially when it was Gabriel.  It's not that I favored him over anyone; it was that he already thought so low of himself, for so many reasons.  But for now, I needed to focus on driving. Fortunately, even though Gabriel was nearly silent in most of our car-ride conversations, he did follow them.

"I think Loki's talking about that thing with Michael and I last year in gym class. Remember?"

And of course, just a little memory refresher, and I remembered quite clearly.  Michael and I are not romantically involved, nor to either of us wish to be with each other.  But, we do care about each other, and when you care about someone it always brings out the worst in a fight.  Especially when there's that tension of borderline friendship, that unsure feeling of security.  And, of course, there are always those damned hormones to elevate every argument into a near disaster.

As I said, I can lose control when anyone hurts Gabriel, and Michael has never been particularly fond of Gabriel.  I never really knew why, but I've always suspected that Gabriel intimidates Michael, although Gabriel strongly disagrees that he could intimidate anyone.  Very doubtful.  Gabriel is smarter than Michael.  Don't get me wrong, Michael is not stupid. Gabriel is just exceptionally intelligent.  I'm guessing Michael is also jealous of the female-attention that Gabriel unknowingly receives.  Michael is a good looking guy.  Great body, for werewolves can't be out of shape when we have to periodically participate in forest excursions.  

Gabriel, of course, is my fraternal twin. So obviously, he's gorgeous.  Not completely identical, though, sadly.  Gabriel is male, and I am female.  I've always believed that Gabriel and I have a different overall look from each other; a different aura.  Loki has commented on it too.

If I remember correctly, it was around five in the morning about two years ago, or something like that, on the weekend.  All four of us, that is Orion, Loki, Gabriel, and I had a late movie night.  Movie nights always took place at our house for a few reasons:  Our mother is never home, we have a bigger couch, and there are always problems with Loki's father and me.   So, naturally our house was the place.  

Wolves are animals that believe in physical closeness, so that night all of us were sprawled out on our couch.  Well, I think Orion moved to the lazy-boy chair after I stole his spot.  In the late night haze, Loki and I were the only ones more than half awake, and he began a rather confusing conversation about Gabriel and I not being completely identical. After studying each of us, Loki commented on Gabriel looking darker, or trapped.  I, on the other hand, looked slightly insane, was how Loki put it. Compared to the other mousy females that he's dealt with, I could see where he would draw that conclusion.

Both Gabriel and I had midnight black hair, wavy, though not in the same degree as Loki's.  For the last few years, I've worn mine comfortably at my mid-back.  This is a bit of a pain, but I'm sure that's why the women of the old days invented pony-tails.  Gabriel also wears his long, but at about the same length as Loki's.  Our hair contrasts strongly with the pale skin we inherited from our mother, so we both look a bit intense.  I've always use this as a complete advantage, having actually forced a few people to tears on some of my uncontrollable fits.

With that, I think both Loki and I fell promptly asleep.  I'm surprised I didn't forget the entire conversation, but I remember thinking the same thing about Gabriel long before that.  Of course I know, and now Loki knows, that Gabriel has his reasons.  But. . . I just wish he could put guilt behind him.  

Back to present day, I nodded as I remembered what Loki was hinting at.  As I said before, Michael and I are not really 'friends'.  A packmate is very different from a friend.  Unlike a friendship, you can't just break the relationship with a packmate if you're unhappy with it.  In a pack, you can never really get away from someone, and you have to deal with each member at least once a week.  So, Michael and I had come to a mature, mutual agreement as to not start anything with each other.  Just to keep the peace.

Last year, Gabriel, Michael, and I had gym together with Mr. Dannings.  Though it wasn't really considered feminine to participate in any sweaty gym glass other than aerobics, I really didn't care.  I needed a class to burn some energy in.  Anyway, it was before class sometime in the beginning of last year.  Michael and I had recently had a fight about something, so naturally, we were still ready to pounce on each other.  In other words, we were trying to tick each other off in any way possible.  Throughout the day, I had remained in control, only playfully shoving him in the halls a couple times.  But, he being the immature, sad little man, had to keep the fight roaring.

Like I do him, Michael knows practically everyone one of my pet-peeves; every little thing that can throw me off the edge.  But neither of us ever acted on this, and I had assumed we both held a non-spoken agreement on this.  This day in gym class was different.  We were playing some group sport, and were ordered to pair up. Naturally, Gabriel and I stuck together.  But then Michael interfered.  He strutted over, and glared at Gabriel, straight in the eye.

“It’s my turn with Vega, Gabby, you’ll just have to find another partner.”

By this time, I recall, my body temperature soared with pure infuriation.  So many things he just did pushed me over the edge. One, he attempted to stare down Gabriel.  Two, he emphasized ‘Gabby’ in a way to try and make him seem inferior. Three, the fact that he actually came over to talk to us.  Four, he was just using Gabriel to get to me.  And finally, that he even bordered messing with my brother. And no one messes with my brother.  He pushed me over the edge, and I admit, I was out of line.  But, I could not let this go on.  I dove for him.

Admittedly, it is strange for a girl to attack a boy.  In our sexist society, many boys follow the ‘I can’t hit you; you’re a girl!’ example.  Life is different for a werewolf, especially a popular one.  Now, Michael and I are nearly complete equals when it comes to fighting.  We sparred together often and we are nearly matched in strength.  But this is not usual for a high school girl and boy.  I attacked with nearly all my power, and Michael could not look like he was hitting back. If he did, a lot of girls would not trust him or respect him again.  So he just tried to restrain me; to block my attacks.  By the time Mr. Dannings made it over, Michael was on the ground and bleeding from a few scratches on his arm, and a punch would in the lip, and  Gabriel had hold of my right and strong arm, and was going for my left. The teacher reached down to pull me off him, and I flipped, thinking it was Michael.  So, what I was left with was four day suspension, punishment for almost unveiling my superior strength to the common people, and a teacher with a black eye. . . who now despised me.  I failed gym that year.

I chuckled and flushed slightly at both my failure to remember, and the memory of losing control in such a manner.

“Yeah, I remember. . . Sorry about that, Loki.”

Loki just laughed his adorable musical laugh as we pulled up in front of the middle school. Almost instantly,  our car was pounced on by a mop-headed child.  Fortunately, I was sure it was Orion, or I may have run him over.  After he had thrown his stuff into the trunk, he flew into the back seat, practically on top of Loki. Fortunately Loki was a relatively small guy, and was able to leave some wiggle room for thirteen year olds with sugar highs.

"Vega! You're late again!"

I shook my head and laughed, rumpling Orion's dirty blond hair as he put his seat belt on.

"Nah, you were early, Ri.  And anyway, if we were late, it was totally Loki's fault."

Gabriel chuckled and chimed in on the conversation,

"Yeah, Loki knew you were timing us today, so we walked especially slow."

This brought objections from both Orion and Loki, who  began talking at the exact same time.

"Yeah right! You're the one I have to practically force to walk faster, Gabby.  Vega would even get pissed if we walked your speed, and she's late to everything!"

That was Loki, at the same time Orion was muttering about how he doesn't ever actually time us, he just knows.  I chose to be mature, and ignore Loki's comment about my tardiness. Gabriel and I were just laughing the whole time, and Loki caught on soon enough.  Orion was left with a childish pout on his face, and his eyes sparking with plans of revenge.

After about thirty seconds of silence, Orion was talking again.  He was never one for grudges, and hated awkward silences.

“Guess what.”

The comment was laced with excitement, and Gabriel and I exchanged a look.  Orion was an outgoing little guy, and could never contain something he really wanted to share.  So, we decided to torture him with more silence.  I heard the back seat squeak as he wriggled with the sheer thrill of it.

“C’mon!”

Still, we kept silent and Loki, being the soft-hearted one, gave in.

“What?  Have you finally murdered that beast of a math teacher?”

All of us had problems with Orion’s current math teacher in the past, but that was beside the point.  Orion grinned wide.

“Emily asked me out today!”

Again we tortured him with silence, and caused him to blush with anticipation of our opinion.  Loki was the first to speak again.

“You’re such a ladies man, Ri! What is she, the sixth this year?”

Orion only rolled his pale blue eyes, with an annoyed glare toward Loki.

“The second.”

Dating humans was not approved of in werewolf society, unless, that is, you are like Michael.  Orion is the furthest thing from him, thankfully, and just liked people for who they were, regardless if they were human or not.  For a young boy, it could be difficult to deal with hormones and being attracted to females, for female werewolves were very rare.  Myself and our mother are two of the three of the only females in our mid-sized pack.  So really, Orion didn't have much to pick from in his own species, but he didn't seem to mind. Loki brilliantly smiled in apology and patted Orion's shoulder.

"I see.  And she's the one you like, if I'm not mistaken?"

Orion flushed again, his eyes glittering.  With a nod and a grin he spoke again.

"Yeah!"

Gabriel and I had always suspected that Orion was not our full blooded brother.  He really looked nothing like Gabriel or me;  his eyes were a sparkling blue, and his hair was light brown, almost blond.  Adorable freckles were scattered across his face, and constellations melded wherein.  His looks were gentle and welcoming; much different from the intensity of  my twin and I.  Still, though our father, Tarak,  could obviously tell, he loved Orion like his own. . .  until his last day on this Earth.

The ride back home wasn't too long, so we were pulling in their driveway soon enough.  I loved our house.  Granted, it wasn't very large, but it was cozy.  The yard was due for another mow, but the healthy green of the grass prompted me to feel a sliver of guilt every time it was cut.  Three acres forest surrounded the duplex from all sides but the driveway.  Perfect for midnight runs, though not too spacious.  Our house was a dirty brown color. . . not beautiful, but hey, a house is for living in, who cares how it looks?

I parked the car at the top of the driveway, and we all piled out.  Being the one with the keys, I led the way inside our bright blue front door.  Inside, the living room was directly to our left, the back of the couch facing us.  Straight ahead was the doorway to our kitchen, which also had a side-door that led into the living room.  To our right, the staircase that led upstairs to our rooms.  Below our balcony-like hallway was one solitary, plain door that lead to out mother's room.  She was not there.  It was not surprising, though.  Our mother generally spent the night at a different man's house every week.  I loved it that way.  Gabriel and Orion could tolerate our mother much easier than I.  Usually, more than five minutes with the bitch and we're screaming at each other.  She's irresponsible, a tramp, and she does not respect myself or my twin at all.  So, I was completely fine with the way of her absence, even if it did create more responsibility for my twin and I to care for Orion.  At least she wasn't there to mess up his raising.

I took the stairs two by two. The hallway, as I said,  was like a balcony: on my right was the wall of  rooms, and my left was a rail.  I could still hear the three boys carrying on a conversation, very clearly actually, but didn't feel the need to join in at the moment. While walking down the hall, I first passed Gabriel's room.  He always left his door open, and I glanced inside for a daily check.  Only slightly cluttered, his room was decorated sparsely  with sentimental possessions he'd received from Orion, Loki, me, or our father.  In the far corner of his room, his bed was halfway made, and about two dirty shirts were littered across the floor. Not bad compared to the chaos of my own room.  With the musky scent of my twin wafting out and comforting me,  I kept walking.  

After passing the closed door of our shared bathroom, I came to Orion's room.  Our little brother's door was closed, as he often kept it.  Orion didn't have anything to hide; he just preferred to keep it closed.  Of course, I knew exactly what to find behind that door.  Orion kept his room extraordinarily clean. He was the clean-freak of the family.  His only flaw was he didn't usually make his bed on school days. . . he has a horrible enough time just waking up in the morning.  On his pillow, our cat Kila was undoubtedly curled up in a peaceful sleep.  It was generally looked down upon for Werewolves to keep pets. . . we were sort of pets ourselves.  But Orion was different.  He was such a caring person, and when we found this adorable, brown tabby kitten, we really couldn't do anything else.  Orion now kept Kila close to his heart, and she mirrored his affection for her loyally.  

My room was last in the hall, the door facing me as walked towards it, closed to maintain my dignity.  I opened the door and grinned.  My room was a battleground. . .  It thrived on the war between cleanliness and myself.  Dirty clothes were scattered everywhere.  In the corner to my right was my bed, two comforters messily piled on the top.  Two windows in my room were on the wall to my right, blinds open wide.  The wall in front of me harbored my desk and dresser, and to my left was an adequately sized closet.  That closet was very unused.  Ah, my room!  Though it was a mess, I loved it. It was my territory.  When we were little, Gabriel and I used to share this room, so this room felt so comfortable and warm to me with our kid memories locked inside.  Gabriel's current room was our father's old office.  When our dad passed away, Gabriel wanted to move in to his office.  I never quite understood why, an Gabriel was very reluctant to speak on the topic. Though I knew I could milk the reason out of my brother, I would never force him to do something that he didn't feel at ease to speak of like that.

I threw my classic purple backpack on the floor next to my bed my bed, a week free of stupid homework! Well, I had an essay to finish up, but that was simple.  Ah, Spring break felt like it had really begun. I headed downstairs again for a snack.  Not to my surprise, I found the boys in the kitchen, rummaging for food themselves.  Werewolves generally had to eat more than regular humans.  While having to maintain the nutrients needed for our athletic bodies, we also needed to nourish two forms.  By listening the two to them chatter, I could tell Loki and Orion had already settled on splitting a pizza. Gabriel was leaning on the counter, gazing out window above the sink. . . perfect.  I wasn't in view yet, so I decided to sneak through the side-door of the kitchen.  Weaving my way silently through the living room, I crept towards the open doorway.  Loki and Orion were in front of the stove at the right of the kitchen,  arguing about how long to put the pizza in for.  The sink was on the left, closer to me, so I had a good chance.  One last, silent step and I dove.

Gabriel turned his head slowly while I was in mid jump, his forest eyes laughing and a sarcastic smile on his face.  I landed with my hands on his shoulders, yelling "BOO!" for good measure.  I just laughed at yet another of my failed attempts, and Gabriel chuckled lightly.  The only one who jumped was poor Loki, whose eyes were still wide with surprise.  I shoved him lightly on the shoulder, and leaned over to Gabriel.  

"So, what do you want to eat?"

Later on, we were all in the living room debating on which of the two movies we rented to watch.  Since it was the first day of Spring Break, we found it very appropriate to dub tonight Movie Night.  We could stay up all night, and be nearly fully recovered to leave for a camping trip the day after tomorrow.  The four of us had decided to actually do something this break, and we were all getting pretty excited. I had found a perfect, obscure camping ground surrounded by miles of forest.  This meant great runs and, since it wasn't yet in season, barely any people.  The plan was Loki would stay overnight here for the next two nights, and then for the five days we were staying at the camping ground.  His mother, Sharyn, had already approved of this.  And his father. . . Well, I really didn't give a shit what his father said.  Loki was coming, and that was that.  We'd swing by his house tomorrow so he could pack.

After some deliberation, Gabriel, Loki, Orion and I decided on a new werewolf flick.  The back read that it contained "Today's hottest young stars!" and it was an "Edge of your seat thriller!"