Bartholomew Collin stands up and strides toward his grandchildren; a girl and a boy. He circles them somewhat predatorily and then sits on the rug beside them. He lets out a deep and hollow sigh, looking at them soberly.

"Children, you have become the age in which I must tell you of a dire situation that has fallen upon our world." Collin says. "This planet has been overrun by these monsters called shape shifters. You may not have seen them quite yet, but they are savage beasts who only thirst for human flesh."

The grandchildren draw back from their grandfather in fear.

The boy speaks up shakily, "I know about shape shifters Grandpa. There are two types. Commons and Rares."

Collin's mouth curls into a dark grin. "Very good, my boy. Common shape shifters are all mammalian and predators. They often travel in packs. Rare shifters are not mammals, but they are twice as dangerous and exotic as Commons. They like to wander alone. Tell me more."

The girl frowns, appearing to be deep in thought. "One Common is a werewolf. They can be a alpha, beta, or omega. Another is a werebear. They are the largest Common. Werecoyotes and Werefoxes are similar because they have green eyes. Werelions, werepanthers, werejaguars, werecheetahs, and…"

Her brother sneers as she trails off, "Weretiger. The type that killed our parents."

Hatred fills their innocent eyes. The girl harshly continues on in a growing crescendo, "Rares come as weregriffin, wereowl, werewasp, weresnake, and the most elusive weredragon."

Collin claps approvingly. "Well done. You certainly know your facts. Your parents would have been so proud. You two will be talented Seekers."

"Seekers?" The two children look up.

Their grandfather feigns a surprised look. "Didn't you know? Our family has a history of being Seekers. Seekers are people who seek out shape shifters and kill them. They are heroes. They protect the innocent and those who cannot defend themselves by slaying beasts."

The girl's eyes widen and she begins to tremble. "K-kill shape shifters? T-that doesn't sound right. Grandpa, shape shifters are just everyday people bitten by monsters. Killing everyday people…that's not good. It's not right! I don't wanna become a Seeker!"

Suddenly, Collin lashes out at his granddaughter.

There are several loud cracking noises as he releases his fury upon her. It ends with a small crumpled up little girl on the floor, gasping staccato sobs and holding her bleeding nose and bruising cheek.

On the other side of the room, the boy is pale, in shock. Their grandfather slowly stands up and regains his composure. He takes a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and daintily wipes the blood of his granddaughter off his knuckles.

"Legend has it that the blood of a shape shifter will cure any illness and give you immortality. I NEED this blood. I need it to cure my tuberculosis and I want to live forever!" His greedy voice echoes throughout the household.

"Immortality?..." The girl wheezes, scarcely breathing.

Collin grins. "Yes. If you and your brother become Seekers, I will spare your life. I'll even share the blood with you. This is for the best. Achieve immortality. Never be sick again. Avenge your parents and kill a weretiger."

The boy steps forward. His eyes glassy with tears, regret, and fear. "Will you teach us how to become Seekers?"

"Of course," Collin laughs manically. "of course, my precious Seekers!"

()()()()()()

It is night. The crickets are chirping merrily and fireflies are bobbing near a gurgling creek. The moon is a ripe glowing fruit in the dark sky. All seems peaceful until the whistle of a bullet pierces the silence, tearing it and spreading fear among shape shifters.

"RUN! THE SEEKERS ARE HERE!" The terrified scream reverberates through the seemingly empty wooded area.

The trees burst alive in a bang and five shapes whizz through the greenery at a supernatural speed. These five shapes are seemingly half human and half animal; fur sprouted along their cheekbones and claws instead of fingernails.

One of the five does a jerk at the same time the second bullet is released. She faints onto the forest floor.

"Lydia!" The fleeing group immediately swerve back to aid their pack mate. The fallen one—Lydia—has skin that are striped with orange and black fur. Her eyes are a furious green and her facial muscles stretched into a feline-like formation. A weretiger.

One yells, "Scott can you carry her? We have to get out of here!"

Just as this is said, a shower of bullets can be heard in the near distance. The bullets hit trees, but miss the cowering group of shape shifters. The werewolf shifter hauls the weretiger's limp body over his shoulders and the group continues to fly past trees and shrubbery.

"Where the hell are we going?!" Somebody shouts.

"Scott's house!"

"Are you insane?!"

"I have a plan!"

The fleeing group hurdles out of the forest and into a large neighborhood. They sprint for a certain red brick house with morning glories on the front porch. The werewolf enters first, breaking open the door and the rest follow in suit. They all quiet down and listen for the Seekers that had been hunting them. Lydia lets out a loud moan, causing the pack to bristle. One member hushes her, while the rest stand guard at the windows.

Scott finally whispers, "I think they're gone."

Everyone heaves collective sigh.

"Scott." A single trembling voice causes everyone to freeze. Said boy turns around to face a short woman with light cocoa skin and wide brown eyes. Her messy dark curls are pulled into a ponytail. She's wears an oversized T-shirt and teddy bear print pajama pants.

"Mom!" Scott exclaims, scrambling over to her side. "Hey! Mom! What's up?"

Melissa McCall doesn't answer. Her eyes just dart between the broken door, the shape shifters' animalistic forms, and Lydia's seemingly dead body on her sofa.

"Scott…" One of the shifters whisper.

"It's okay! My mom knows that I'm a werewolf!" Scott tries to play cool. He runs over to a tall, handsome, brooding man/wolf. "Mom, this is Derek. Um, he usually looks a lot better, but he's in werewolf form at the moment."

Derek waves a clawed hand at her.

"And this is Lydia. She's a weretiger. I think she's alive. Er…hopefully." Scott smiles nervously.

He strides over to a blonde lion-like girl. "This is Erica, a werelion. And her boyfriend Boyd. He's a, um, werebear. We were…being chased by Seekers."

Scott's mother brings both hands to her forehead. "I…can't think at all right now. I'll deal with this mess in the morning. I expect the front door to be operational by dawn. G'night."

"Night Mom. Love you." Scott chirrups. He lets his inner wolf go after she leaves, the molten gold leaving his eyes and facial hair dissapting.

"Scott?" Melissa pops back into the room. She gestures at Lydia. "Please get the…tiger lady off my B & B Italia leather sofa. I'd appreciate it. My house does not have a supernatural ability to clean by itself!"

()()()()()()()()

To Be Continued…

I hope you reader thoroughly enjoyed this first chapter! Please review and follow/favorite. It really makes my day.

Here is a list of shape shifters:

Common:

Werewolf

Werebear

Werecoyote

Werefox

Werelion

Weretiger

Werepanther

Werejaguar

Werecheetah

Rare:

Weredragon

Weregriffin

Wereowl

Werewasp

Weresnake