Chapter 1 - The entire story

I walked along the quiet forest floor, I loved to be out here all alone, enjoy the serenity of it all. The wind blew my naturally silver hair into my eyes. Imagine, being fifteen with that color hair, everyone thought i was crazy, and no one believed that it was my natural hair color. Since my mothers hair was black and my fathers was brown, so that ruled out the genes for my color, there wasn't a way, only there really was. I lifted my nose to the wind, the strong scent of deer filed my senses and my brain filled with pictures of the hunt. I bent down on all fours and a quick rush of heat and pain overwhelmed me, I closed my eyes trying to shut it all out. When I opened them again, everything was different. A silvery wolf stood in my spot. Id never wished for this, in fact, i really hated being a wolf and especially a female wolf (which were apparently very rare, there are only two in my entire pack). I always dreamed of being fully human while humans dreamed of being the very side of me that I despised, but as they say "The grass is always greener on the other side," the motto we pretty much lived by. Well that is all of us except for The Fang. They were a small gang of teenage boys (mind the italics on boys because they are, they aren't even mature enough to be guys) that were constantly causing ruckus in the nearby town. Why me? I asked myself over and over again. The painful transformations, the uncontrollable emotions, I hated it all. I ran through the forest my paws making a soft thud thud as they pounded against the hard earth. Silent tears stained the fur below my ice blue eyes and drifted slowly off my muzzle. A rabbit scurried out of my path, I could easily hear its frantic heart, its course breathing, I despised it. Not because it was a rabbit but for the mere fact that the thing it was scared of was me! I stopped and let out a long lonely howl, the pact would hear it, no one would pay attention. They knew of my sadness, my pain, they just didn't care. Not even my own mother cared anymore! I ran until I came to a small grove of trees where my campsite stood, hidden away up in a large tree. I let out a small shaky hiss as the pain shot through me again, leaving me in the appearance of human. I lay there for a moment, completely naked, mud caked my feet and arms and leaves intertwined my tangled hair. I stood up, leaning against a tree, letting my legs get used to standing again, and sighed.
"Home sweet Home" I muttered sourly. This place wasn't really my home, more like a secret hideout where i sat alone. I also had stacks of clothing for times like this. I took a step forward into the sunlight and my body froze automatically. Someone was in there, no, a few someones. I strained my ears to hear what they were saying.
"i don't think this is such a good idea." Said a male voice i didn't recognize.
"You have to man, this is part of the initiation, you do want to be in, don't you?" This voice I did recognize, I cursed under my breath, Roy. He was my cousin, and the leader of The Fangs. I should have know it would be him, but who was this other guy? His voice wasn't as rough as as the other guys, softer....human! Oh God, what was Roy doing with a human boy, in my hideout!?
"You only have to take one, shes not even here." Roy said
"i don't even know this girl." The boy said.
" Shes a nobody, it doesn't matter, just hurry." I heard the gruff sound of Macs voice, now i was mad.
"hey Roy! I know your there come out now!" I yelled at him, then added " leave him inside!" He would know who I meant.
"Well if it ain't the devil herself" I heard Roy say "Uno momento" he finished before stepping out and jumping to the ground. He wasn't wearing a shirt, as usual, but then again that was more than usual. He walked over to where i was, it didn't matter that I was naked, in the pack everyone was almost always walking around naked, it never bothered anyone.
"What do you think your doing?" I snarled at him, he shrugged
"Welcoming a new member" he said looking bored.
"hes human" I hissed "hes not going to become a member, hes your play thing!" I spat at him, he grimed deviously.
"Do you really believe that?" he asked, I narrowed my eyes.
"Yes I do, and you know its true," I hissed, Roy sighed
"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, do you ever have any fun? You do know what that is, don't you? Fun?" He asked sceptically, I growled at him.
"Testy, testy, I'm just messin' with ya, get a grip. There's such a thing as a sense of humor, ya know." He said, I stared emotionless.
"Ok, I'll humor you for a second if you like, I'm guessing that your little initiation is stealing one of my bras." I said dryly.
"Correct-o-mundo" Roy snickered
"Your so childish" I sighed
"Your just jealous that your not in The Fang." He snickered again
"Oh yes, that's what i want to do, you caught me, I'm jealous. I would love to be in your petty little gang that messes with human and causes the entire pack trouble." I said, my voice dripping in sarcasm. Before Roy had a chance to respond, the boy stepped out of my hideout. My breath caught in my throat. He looked around sixteen, he was tall and thin with jet black hair that fell into his eyes. The eyes, I could see them from where I was, they were a deep brown-violet, and the most gorgeous things i had ever seen. Of course he wasn't wearing a shirt either, he probably thought it was a gang thing, when it was really a wolf thing. I stood there for a moment enchanted by the look of him, the reflection of the bare skin on his chest, when I heard a hiss in my ear.
"your still naked" Roy muttered snickering, it clicked then, a human couldn't see me like this, I stepped behind a tree, pushing into Sam. He held a large black T-shirt and he smiled apologetically. Ah, Sam, he was fourteen and already forced into the gang, but he was still nice, but if Roy had anything to do with it, that would change. I slipped it over my head, it was big enough to cover all of me, I gave Sam a quick hug, he blushed of course. I stepped out from behind the tree, arms crossed, my brow furrowed as I saw what the boy had dangling in his hands. One of my bras, he was smiling like an idiot. Then he saw me, and his smile faded. I stepped into the light, my hair glistening. I glared at him.
"Drop it" I commanded. He looked as though he was considering this. Then he looked at Roy
"This the chick?" he asked, Roy nodded with a grin on his maw. He turned to me. "Sorry but I seem to need this right now" He said sweetly, Roy, Mac and the rest of the gang burst into laughter.
"I was gonna ask you why you wanted to be in a gang of idiotic, childish, stoners but I see now that its because you're just like them." I spat , there was a cores of ooohhhs from the other gang members. He looked unfazed except for the quick flash of hurt in his eyes, he tried to cover it by laughing.
"Shes a feisty beauty ain't she?" he directed at Roy, he laughed
"Feisty? yes. A beauty? Well...." Roy cut off as I turned to him and punched him square under the jaw, he flew backwards a few yards and hit a tree. The laughter all around stopped immediately, when I turned to the boy I saw confusion fill his eyes. I was scrawny and thin, Roy was built like a football player and just out right huge. Mac ran over to Roy and tried to help him up, but he pushed him away.
"You messed with the wrong girl" I growled at them all. I walked forward in the direction of the boy. "You! Boy! Drop it!" I snapped starring at him.
"My names Devin" He said not letting go of my bra but climbing down to the ground. he looked at Roy, who's nose was bleeding steadily "Dammit you're strong, you got like what? Super strength?" He asked jokingly only he didn't know how close to the truth he was, I laughed.
"yeah maybe, you wanna test it? You could come over here and I could knock your lights out" I challenged, he held up his hands in surrender.
"Whoa whoa, I don't hit girls" he said
"Why? Is it your pride? or is it just that you know they could beat your skinny white @$$?" I asked placing my hands on my hips and glowering at him.
"I don't doubt that they could" he said "hitting girls is just against my inner code" He said proudly. Well that was a change, a guy with an actual conscience. He wasn't so bad for a human, then I remembered that he still had my bra.
"You don't have to worry about that with me" Roy growled from behind me, I ducked just in time to miss his fist, which flew right over my head. One thing I didn't account for was that for once Roy was one step ahead of me and as soon as I spun around his fist flew strait into my gut. Great thanks for ruining my dominating moment Roy, I thought bitterly, of course that came after, ouch! Dammit! You bastard! Of course with my luck things just had to get worse, so I flew backwards and plowed strait into Devin. Since I'm a lot more built than I look, I knocked him flat on his back. So we both just layed there for a minute gasping for breath like fish. This sent Roy and the gang into a whole new round of rolling laughter. i scrambled to my feet, hating Roy more than ever, (If it was even possible to hate him more than I did before) he needed to pay, now. I got into a feral crouch looking menacing, my lips curled into an evil grin. I lept forward, aiming for the soft flesh of his neck, he jumped out of my way. I stood up and glared at him.
"This...ends...now" i said through clenched teeth.
"Fine by me tootse, I'll give you a choice, your life can end here and now, or you could give it to me at last" he said with a devilish grin while the gang burst into more laughter. Roy had always had a thing for me, we weren't blood cousins, it was just a pack thing. When he was younger he had been pretty sweet, we used to hang out. Then he joined The Fangs and became the Roy I hate to this day.
"You disgust me" I spat at him, he just grinned.
"You know you want me"
"In your dreams and my nightmares"
"Ah what a shame, you could have been the first dog in the gang" he said with another grin (he hit the dot with that one, I technically was a dog, look it up)
"Ah too bad. I would have also been the first dog beaten and thrown away by Joseph!" I yelled, he even took a step back. Everyone knows how Joseph (hes the packs alpha, the leader) had beaten most of the gang after their first raid on the town. Joseph was also Roy's older brother who as I said had thrown him away pretty much. Joseph didn't want Roy as a brother at anymore. I knew I had hit a nerve by saying that. He growled
"You'll pay for that line!" he yelled lunging forward, I weaved to the left. Roy may have been bigger but I was faster.
"Go on! Just keep disappointing him! Just keep killing him on the inside!" I yelled, he was fuming. None of the gang dared interfere, Roy was in charge, if I was his prey, I was his prey dammit!
"At least my family knows I exist!" Roy yelled, I froze. Ok now that hurt, now I was pissed, no, I was more than pissed. My fists clenched, smoke could have literally been coming out of my ears. i jumped at him, eyes blazing. A song popped into my head at that exact moment, it totally fit with the situation at hand. "Anthem for the underdog" by 12 Stones (you can go look that up too)I ran up in front of him "I'm..." I punched him "Tired..." Punch "Of backing down!" I threw a hard punch under his jaw, I heard the bones crack under my fist, and it sent him sprawled out of the forest floor. "Now you'll see how it feels to be knocked down" i sat at him, crossing my arms. He struggled to prop himself up on his elbow, he wiped blood from his lip and winced, his jaw at a crooked angle.
"dog..." He spluttered, I grinned
"Thank you" I said then I turned on my heels and stalked into the forest. I heard a lot of commotion coming from behind me and then slight footsteps. I turned around to see Devin dash behind a tree, I sighed. "I know you're there, come out" I called, I saw him hesitate before stepping out into the open, he had a bundle under one arm. He looked at the bundle and tossed it at me, I caught it, clothes? I looked up at him, confused, he shuffled his feet..nervously?
"I thought you might need them" He said looking over the baggy T-shirt that covered most of me. The head hole was too large and had begun to slide down my shoulder, revealing a little. I saw his eyes linger there and I pulled it up as high as I could, embarrassed. I steped behind a tree and threw the clothes on, most of us were amazingly good at quick changing, even the ones who hardly bothered to get dressed. The jeans fit well but the shirt dipped low and showed a lot of cleavage, I wondered if he had planned it that way or if it was just his luck. When I stepped back he was still in the same place, starring into space. I cleared my throat, startled he looked over, noticing my shirt he looked away embarrassed. I laughed.
"Blame yourself, you brought them" I said, his face turned a bright shade of red. "So who put you up to this?" I asked, suddenly he looked up, startled again.
"No one put me up to it" He said confidently, his eyes wide, I snorted.
"Yeah, right" I said rolling my eyes. Suddenly he was much closer than I thought he was.
"I did it because I felt like it" he hissed through clenched teeth leaning in close to me.
"Why?" I asked him "Just part of your 'inner code' or something else?" I asked using air quotes. "Pity? That would be weird since a I was the one who just kicked Roy's @$$" I stated with a small smirk.
"You know he's really pissed about that right?" Devin said with a small smile, I waved my hand dramatically.
"He'll get over it, he won't admit it but I've been kicking his @$$ since Pre-K" I laughed
"Well it seems like he gets over it pretty quick" he noted, "Since he obviously wants you" he said, I snorted.
"Hes wanted me forever but hes just a pig" I said, then it occurred to me, how freely I could have a conversation with something I envied so much. I was never good at small talk, my social skills weren't anything to talk about. That could be the fault of never interacting with any other kids when I was younger. It was strange to me, this whole situation. I didn't really have anyone who i could talk to like this, no good friends, and my mother was just useless. Of course I wasn't going to go out and tell him everything right now, all my life problems, plus that would involve exposing the pack secret and that was against the law. Then again I had broken laws before. The sound of his laugh brought me out of my thoughts.
"Do you always zone out like that during a conversation?" he asked with a laugh. I felt my face flush and I tried to turn away. My breath caught in my throat as his hand caught my chin and turned my eyes to meet his. "You don't have to be embarrassed" he said gently with a kind smile.
"I...I should go" I stuttered my breath still lost from the way his violet-brown eyes stared into mine. he dropped his hand but when I turned his hand grabbed my wrist.
"I couldn't call myself a gentleman if I let a pretty girl walk alone in the woods" he said with a dazzling smile.
"I don't think a gentleman would steal a ladies bra either" I muttered, he laughed.
"You gotta do what ya can when you have to" he said simply with a shrug. I sighed and he laughed again. It clicked then, he was going to take me home no matter what I said, but I couldn't do that. My house was in the middle of the forest with wolves running around and tons of naked people, no one was allowed to show anyone else where it was. "So are you going to let me walk you home or not?" he asked, I bit my lip.
"I..I can't go home" I said, looking down. He was silent, obviously thinking back over the things Roy had said
"I see" he said, "Well then where were you planning to go?" he asked, I was planning on going wolf and just running as soon as he was out of sight, but I couldn't tell him that so I just shrugged. He smiled "Well then how about we get something to eat?" he asked, my jaw fell open. D..did he just ask me to go eat? With him? L..like a date? An actual date? Everything ran through my head at the same time, he reached over and pushed my jaw up like in the movies I thought. "So? Is it a yes?" He asked again, I nodded dumbly, he grinned. "Great, I know the perfect place" he said with a smile, he grabbed my hand (which made my heart pound against my chest) and ran forward, practically dragging me after him. We stopped in front of the old town diner, he waved his hand "Ta da!" he said, I laughed "I got connections here, free food" he said with a grin, dragging me into the restaurant. The lady at the counter smiled at him.
"Hey Devin who you got here?" she asked, Devin beamed
"Betsy, this is Sarah, Sarah this is Betsy" He said
"Nice to meet ya sugar" She said with a wink
"Nice to meet you too" I said with a smile, Devin pulled me into a booth and Betsy handed us menus, we both ordered just regular cheeseburgers. While we ate we talked, about everything and anything. By the end of it I felt like I had known him all my life and he felt the same, I know because he told me himself. When we were done we thanked Betsy and walked out into the moonlight, he looked over at me and I smiled glad that I wasn't one of those werewolves that changed with the moon. While we were standing there he leaned over and kissed me, I was shocked at first, not really knowing how to react. The kiss was gentle was there was a roughness about it that I hadn't thought would be there. We walked hand in hand through the forest afterward not really sure where else to go from there. I bit my lip again, it was eating me up inside to keep such a big secret from him. Everyone said not to tell because it drove people to insanity, but mainly fear. I didn't think that Devin would be scared of me if I told him but then again what did I know? Further into the forest he let go of my hand as I climb up a bouldered path, I seemed to have an easier time than he did. Suddenly as we were climbing I lost my footing out from under me and I fell backwards. I was able to catch by putting my hands out to break the fall, I just didn't account for the very sharp rocks. When My hand went down on one I was moving fast enough the it pierced my skin almost going completely through my hands. I let out a loud gasp of pain that made Devin turn towards me, blood covered the rocks around me.
"Sarah!?" He yelled but I didn't hear him, at that instant i let out a loud howl of pain that made Devin freeze in his place. "S..Sarah?" He asked as a tremor moved over my body, I felt the heat then and I knew I was transforming, the pain had forced my body on its own. I lay whimpering on the ground, my paw was bleeding a large amount and I bit my tongue to keep from crying out again, I could taste the blood in my mouth. After lying there for longer than it must have seemed like my paw begun to steadily heal itself, faster than any doctor could operate. I hissed as the tendons reattached themselves and the bone structure mended. I stood up wobbly, limping I turned towards Devin, he was tremblingly.
"D..Devin?" I asked, he blinked and rubbed his eyes as if to make sure what he was seeing was real. He took a reflexive step backwards, making a few rocks tumble towards me. "Devin?" I asked again, stepping towards him, he stumbled backwards again. "Devin be careful!" I called out and he neared the edge of the cliff we had been climbing. He shook his head over and over. He was only a few steps away from certain death.
"S...stay away from me" He stuttered moving back again, I stopped short. He was terrified of me, he was no better than the stupid rabbit before! This made me angry, I knew I shouldn't be angry at him but I was.
"Stay away from you?!" I growled "How could you be like this? I thought you were better than everyone else!" I called "I thought you were...the one" I whispered, he blinked "Now I know you're obviously not!" I snapped, he recoiled "I'm sorry I ever liked You" I whispered again, he took another step back only inches from the edge.
"I'm sorry too" He whispered, my ears perked up and I took a step forward hopefully, he recoiled again and stepped back one more time...and then he fell.
"Devin!" I yelled running over to the edge ignoring the pain that shot through my leg. It was too late of course, I saw his body, crumpled and broken at the bottom of the cliff, a sob escaped my lips before I ran down the rocky path and over to where he lay. I leaned over him, tears pooling in my eyes, his eye lids fluttered "Devin..?" I whispered
"Sarah..." he whispered back then his head lolled to the side and his body layed still.
"Devin? Devin! Devin please!" I cried, letting the tears stain my fur. I sat down on my haunches and let out the longest, saddest howl I could muster before chocking on my own tears and curling up into a small ball. I had already turned back human when I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder, I looked up, startled to see Roy standing over me, grief and sympathy in his eyes. I jumped up and through my arms around him, my head leaning in is chest. I could hear the other gang members around but I paid them no mind. Roy wrapped his arms around my waist and let me bawl into his shirt. When I was finally out of tears to shed Roy picked me up in his arms and with the flick of his head instructed some of the gang to take care of Devin, I couldn't look back. I had spent my whole life living to the motto of how green the grass is on the other side, I sat on my side pulling the grass out between my fingers feeling sorry for myself. Then I finally had the chance to reach over, to be part of the side I had always wanted. Only when I reached over I realized that the grass is greener on the other side....because it's fake.

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