Chapter 1

Personally I wasn't thrilled about getting kicked out of the pack, nor did I terribly enjoy the dark-even if it proved an amazing cloak for hunting. but here I was. Standing under the fog laced trees, on this, a less than ceremonious night.

Mayas heavy arms tugged lightly on my neck. It was comfortable apart from the disturbing fact that she slept with her eyes wide open, like an owls. Glazed over, lifelessly reflecting a dim sliver of a almost non existent moon. Even as I narrowed my eyes and squinted, the mist shrouded the peaceful sleeping town from my view. I can only identify the perimeter where the valley dips down like I giant fish bowl, I just hope there are no rainbow scaled aquatic animas living there.

I chuckle breathlessly at my own secret joke, mainly so I down awaken the open eyed Maya who is hooked to my back. Life goes on I suppose, for me, for Maya. and for the two brothers that hang behind me like nervous chickens. I swirl in a tight circle, my boots imprinting in the mud and producing a soft murmur. I flash a deadly smile in Nex's direction, watching his blue eyes flutter away from me timidly. A light thud escalates in my chest, and I let out a small hiccup to cover it.

Content I stare down Theo, the slightly younger of the two, his face is easy to read, as he concentrates on hiding his laughter, his eyebrows quickly knit together, before turning the other way and trotting after his brown haired brother. I just can't help noticing his perfect sapphire blue eyes in the moonlight, a smile forces its way onto my lips, bringing along a regretful sigh after it.

I readjust Mayas position on my back and trudge lazily into the fishbowl of a town. The sharp bite and howling whistle of the wind doing nothing but help the shivering conquer my almost wolf-less body. Its hard to resist just collapsing and falling to the ground, but all of us three have experienced worse. Come one, I urge myself unwillingly, no-moons are harder than this? my mental self chuckles wildly, leading me to think I have some kind of instability and who do I owe this privilege too?

The Smith family, a pack of tames running from human dangers. some psychic force draws my out stretched fingers to the shaped handle of my knife. The one to blame. it swivels around in my skull, I grin obsessively my k-9 teeth clenching my bottom lip gently. This whole world of torture, this is all down to her...Maddy Smith.

We all awake at roughly the same time, even in a civilised place close to electricity, the sun manages to rip us ungratefully from our sleep. Although, this time it seems I am up first. All I can think of is that its due to the lack of sleep I am accustomed to. Now I am frozen to the spot, someone's hot breath trickling down my neck uncomfortably, mainly uncomfortable because I dare not move to see who it is. Mainly because of this week of traveling has been enough to draw the energy from everyone, now they all seem to pray for as much sleep as they can endure. Lately though, sleeps has proven to be and unknown word. I wrap one of my arms around Maya's dozing form. Using my thumb I gently brush a stray lock of night black hair from her face, revelling her unique eyes. They are locked tightly on something the other side of the arch- which is the place we 'decided' to shelter from the ferocious westerly winds. The yellow and red flecks in her eyes shimmer against there ash grey background. But still they stair, even in the deepest sleep.

I notice a sudden increase of heartbeat from behind me, and even through all the times I have attempted to trick myself into thinking something else, I am glad it is Nex, and from the blush I can see like sun burn on his cheeks, he didn't find it that revolting himself.

My ears shudder at a sound not too different from a nail scraping glass, or in this case, I turn slightly to see a shoe on the pavement. I hear about three delayed and lightly scraping steps before an un miss able metallic crash.

"Morning Theo," I chuckle, I roll smoothly onto my other side, after winding my arm off of Maya. I watch as Nex's blonde brother half berried in banana skins and semi-attached to a trash can like a failed mockery or R2-D2. The commotion startles Maya, who groans sleepily and pushes herself up into her favoured cross legged position, scowling at the older boy with her pissed of six year old face. She does this often, it consists of dramatic eyebrows, and positioning her lips so she resembles a duck. I can't not laugh when Theo starts making immature faces, glaring at Maya while the momentarily angry little girl tosses a discarded apple core at his face.

In a way this made me glad that we were 'removed' from Jana's pack. We might as well been trees, no one spared us a second thought until the Smiths came. Back then I knew this day would come. It was inevitable. Everyone knew the pack was swelling in numbers, the rumour had been spreading through fellow packs like fleas. It was the humans, everyday discovering, driving wolfbloods back into the wild like there previous life had been nothing like a bad dream. It wasn't good, we all understood that, but it was worse for us. we were the lowest ranked, set to do as many jobs as the day allowed us, fending for ourselves, I doubt we were even classed as omegas. Apparently The Smiths needed a place in that pack more than we did, they were Jana's priority, not us, we would never be important. All because I beat her in a fight as a child, six years Maya and I have been ruled out, its been a shorter time for the boys, but I was put to the bottom of the food chain for being stronger. The boys because of the family history, Maya because I raised her.

I haul myself to my feet, still a little unsteadily. I gaze softly at the village clock, remembering my mother once teaching me to read it, once along time ago. I looked deeply for a moment, deciphering how this human machine operated. About 7 o'clock, or somewhere round that. I clasp Mayas small hand in my larger and warmer one, leading her away from the arch. and the shop opposite that chocked my lungs with the sent of coffee teens, and cheap-after-shave. I shake of my sheep skin coat, swiftly handing it to a shivering Maya, her eyes glance as the cloth warmly, as one of her pale hands stretch out to clasp it within her fumbling fingers. I drop it softly around her shoulders and place her on my right, allowing her to absorb the rays of a rising sun.

Despite it being this early, the murmurs of teens from the sickly smelling shop drills into my ears. Three girls squeal about make up or something, because I really don't understand there mindless rambling, ha, I barely understand my own.

I let the sun work its way through my frost bitten body, attempting not to think too much about the pack. and what they would be doing now, and that Jana would be yelling at someone about nothing, and Ceri would be staring at us, for no reason, staring. watching as I awoke Maya, as I handed her some left over meat. always watching. Not that many knew much about her. other than the fact that her oldest son have become wild for a few months not that long ago. That didn't end to well, well nothing ever did.

I watch Theo, the ten year old struggling to catch up with his older brother. Me and Nex where 14, the oldest of the 'outcasts' I guess that's what we really are. The sign on the board in front of me read Stonybridge, and I am honestly glad that I did get a little bit of teaching from the pack elders, otherwise it would be a lot harder to determine if we are in the correct location, well apart from the unmissable stench of other wolfbloods. I clenched the little girls hand tighter, my too long brown hair snaking its way around my bandaged hands, my knife weighting heavily in my belt strap. why would a person like me ever belong in the human world, with there electricity, and Jana's tales of flushing toilets. What is there here that's any better than the wild. I have friends, I kind of have family, and I was happy. well to some point. But now, I'm in Stonybrige. I kick a can across the floor noisily, not caring about the houses that surround us.

"Do you think they'll even let us stay here?" I look to Nex, waiting for an answer, but as usual, he doesn't speak, instead Maya does.

"This is a lone wolfs land" she whispers, looking a bit concerned. "a lone wolf against all four of us, we can stay!" she jumps us thrusting her fist into the air, its true though. there are five wolfblood scents in this place. One I can identify as Jana's our brave selfless pack leader. as if. then three others are stronger than hers, and foreign to me. but there is one, a strong scent. and all I can do is agree with Maya, this is the territory of a lone wolf, and a young one at that.

I watch my surroundings, a few children walking on the streets, nothing to worry about. we fit in apart from our clothing. I guess we could fit in here, well not so much fit in as live. I hold Mayas hand and aid her as she jumps across a shark infested sea, which turns out to be a tiny puddle. but I giggle with her anyway, I guess this is what I could be like if my real sister had survived.

I gaze lifelessly into the distance, willingly avoiding painful memory's.

"so." I say. Picking up Maya and swinging her onto my back so she can yet again get a firm hold around my neck. "what do we do now?" the timidly grin back at me, but Theo's face morphs to confused. "what'd you think Alpha?!"

Maya stares down at me, taking in a deep breath through her nose. Her plump fingers tap infuriatingly against the back of my hand. it reminds me of an attention seeking dog, and although I have never owned one myself. its safe to say that the pack didn't agree to much with strays. Exept i wasn't a stray, they cast me out, but I am, was one of them, i was born in there pack, my parents dead because of Jana! and they disowned me, forgot me. Forgot what they did.

all of a sudden I find me feet extremely interesting.

"look, I don't know. maybe we could find a place to shelter or something. I'm not exactly an expert on the human world." Coughing I trudge forwards, Maya still tapping on my should, more urgently this time. I feel the lace of raindrops run down my nose, cooling against the frustration I can feel building up. I force myself into calm as I look up at Mayas impatient face.

"wolfblood" her hot breath puffs at my ear as she whispers it to me.

To be honest I don't want to think of it much now. I just flee from the thoughts, the ones screaming run, and the instincts telling me I have the strength to face this tame. a small grumble announces itself in my stomach, thanks to my advanced hearing I'm forced to do something about it now. I have learnt from experience that some super human senses just get on your nerves. from sometimes being able to detect radio frequency's, to even smelling a dead animal, miles away. And if I don't get food soon enough, I'm not going to die of hunger, no I'll probably just end up going crazy from nonstop grumbles.

I turn back to the boys, lifting my eyes from the point just in front of my boots. "But first, we hunt."

There nods of agreement seem to give me a sense of purpose. I'm probably the only wolfblood anyone will meet that hunts in human form, I don't rely on my claws or teeth, and I almost always catch the target. The one time I didn't wasn't exactly my fault, but I don't want to blame anyone without evidence. I feel excitement replacing any other feeling, the words hunt, just swivel through my thoughts, hunt, hunt, hunt.