Prologue
Dozens of wolves trailed her heels, all as one unit. If anyone were to see they sight, they may mistake her for being chased, but they would know. She belonged there. She glanced back at them; they were focused on running, and only that. Looking forward again, she closed her eyes, using her sharp senses to guide her path. She heard animals down below in their burrows, and up high in the trees. She could hear the blunt sound of wolf paws, and her own man paws, hitting the ground. The beating of many hearts rung in her ears, some faster than others, but none faster than her own, as her body struggled for more air. She took in a deep breath, and could smell pine, and the scents of her own pack. There were so many smells, it excited her, making her run even faster with a sudden burst of adrenaline. The others struggled to keep up with her, she was so fast. But she couldn't stop now, she had only just begun. She smelled rotting bark, and jumped over a fallen tree without even opening her eyes. When she landed, she finally opened her eyes. She could see much farther ahead than humanly possible, miles and miles of trees were ahead of her. This felt so good, so natural. She could go on like this forever, and her Pack would go with her. She was so very young, not even in her teens yet, quite a ways from there. And yet she seemed to know so much, much more than the average human her age. She knew she wasn't exactly a wolf, but she wasn't exactly human either, and she had no desire to leave. She'd live here her whole life, she'd decided. There was no need to leave; she was perfectly content right where she was. Besides, she was the Alpha in her Pack, and they needed her. They had saved her; she owes her life to them. So she'll repay them by serving at their lead. Deep in thought, her head started pounding. All of a sudden her mind bore the impact equivalent to that of a moose kicking her. She stopped abruptly in her tracks, and fell to the ground, crumpled. She curled into a ball, convulsing. Memories flashed in her mind. A familiar face twisted, crying for help, that she recognized as her mother. Another face, this one of a male, was barely breathing, but still reaching out for help; her father. Then she saw herself, only a few years of age, crying and scared. She saw her parents, in pain, but she didn't know why. What was wrong? Suddenly her young self was picked up and quickly carried away. She was stuck in this memory, as the Pack surrounded her, worried. Some started to lick her, others looked up to the sky, and bayed. She struggled, throwing herself around, trying to shake the memories out of her head, pain pounding her entire body now. She moaned aloud, and then screamed in pain. The memory just wouldn't go away this time. She felt as if her head was going to explode…
She suddenly jolted upright in her seat, gasping, sweat beading on her forehead.
The teacher looked at her, "Are you alright?"
She looked up, "Yeah, I just uh…haven't been getting much sleep lately." Well. At the very least, it was the truth.
"Do you want to go to the nurse?"
"No, I'm… I'm fine. I'll be okay I'm sure."
"Okay…" The teacher was unsure, but she went back to her teaching.
She looked over, and noticed that that new kid was watching her intently, with narrowed eyes, like he knew something she didn't. The thought made her shiver. She pulled her eyes away from the strange boy's gaze, and looked out the window. It was such a nice day, she couldn't wait to get out there and just run… Wait. She hated running…she always got the worst headaches from it. Why would she want to do such a pointless, time consuming thing as running? She wouldn't! Something's different, weird different… But not necessarily bad… But what could it be? She was unsure whether she actually wanted to find out or not… The bell ended her thoughts, and everybody cheered. Oh right, it's Friday. Weekend here I come! I could do some… Running. No! Stop! Don't think about that! What was wrong with her…? She decided to block everything out. She gathered her things, and left to home.
