White Wolf

Chapter 1

When I first moved to Salem, I hardly spoke a word of English. I still wasn't fluent, but I was doing pretty well for about four months living with my guardian-slash-aunt, Headless Headmistress Grace Bloodgood. Compared to Yetish, where one word said a whole sentence, English was probably the most complicated thing anyone could've ever said to me. They might as well have taught me Spanish and run from there, but they hadn't. It was October when all of this started. Early October. It was beautiful. It was still hot, which wasn't beautiful, but everything was its proper color still. Fall seemed like a long way away, and I wasn't sure whether freezing or burning was the better option.

The morning was dim and dewy. We had a three day weekend, so things were hectic. People were still on weekend mode, and I heard rumors all morning about Clawdeen's little sister coming back from some kind of anger management camp. I didn't put much base into those, though. Anything that came from Spectra might as well have been deemed lies unless she attached multiple pictures and video over five minutes long. It wasn't like I didn't like her, because I did, but she just wasn't...overly great friend material. She was more interested in reporting than secret-keeping and it made me more than a little wary of her true intentions when she talked to me.

Anyway, it didn't matter. My ice crystal was chilling my skin, making sure that I was kept alive and properly functioning. Even though I wrapped up, I was still cold. I was still tired too, but that was to a much lesser extent. Before going to the Vamplitheater, I stopped at a vending machine and grabbed something to drink- something with caffeine. It was too cold in the mountains to sleep if you weren't in a pile of fur, so down here, I understood the need for that. Homeroom had been sleep-inducing anyway. Mister Rotter liked to try to fit a lesson in before class. No matter how tired and lacking attention I was, I made my way into the theater and sat by my friends, "What all this pageantry?"

"Who cares. As long as we're missing class, I'm cool." Deuce Gorgon, ever the help.

"My sources tell me it's going to be epic," Spectra said, floating by and passing through Manny Taur in the process. I didn't like him much, but there was absolutely no greater chill than having her go through your body. It made me shiver to think about it. As Cleo sat down between Deuce and Ghoulia, she went through her usual period of morning narcissism, "Maybe they want to give me an award."

"For?"

"Being me."

Draculaura successfully changed the topic of discussion while I sipped my soda and glanced around. Had I ever been in this room before? Probably not, I wasn't much of a theater person. I liked stories, but I was used to being told stories or reading them, not watching them. I'm not much of a television person either. The microphone lifted and my eyes fell from tracing the steep ceiling to its peak to Miss Crabgrass, just as Grace and Nightmare took the stage. I smirked to myself; there was enough theatricality in living with Grace to last me a thousand plays. Nightmare huffed briefly in my direction, keeping my smile. I leaned a head on my hand and toasted the horse with my drink. As far as friends went, Nightmare was a pretty decent one, and pretty intuitive for an animal.

"Monster High has long stood for diversity, equality and harmony amongst all monster species. We are the only school of our kind and our success has not gone unnoticed. And that's why the school board has decided to expand Monster High!" Grace declared with growing enthusiasm, "Starting Monday, we'll be opening our doors to the vampires from Belfry Prep and the werewolves of Crescent Moon High!"

I glanced down at the Wolf siblings and Draculaura.

"The merging of our schools is the first step in a much larger goal: the merging of all monster schools! And eventually, normie society!"

If I had the audacity to slap myself in the face, I would've. I stared at them, assessing their reactions in order to supply my own. I wasn't overly shocked; Grace was an idealist. She did things like these, like taking me in. It may not have been the most thought out thing in the world, but we'd made it work pretty well. As much as I loved my father back home, it had been a long time since I knew what it was like to have a mother, and Grace was filling the role quite nicely... I was more surprised when she chose them to welcome the newcomers than I was by her announcement in general. It hadn't been a long assembly by any means, but after that, we sat in near-silence until she dismissed us. I rose, staring at Frankie in hopes she would feel my eyes and notice me, but she was too busy thinking up ideas to make the newcomers welcome. I didn't even know what to say, so I stayed quiet and let them slip out without me, in their little clique. My hands tightened on my bag; I was the relatively-new girl. I didn't have the biggest circle of friends, but Frankie and the popular girls had been for the most part welcoming. They just had a habit of forgetfulness. As I slid out, Heath tossed his bag over his shoulder and ran to catch up with me. I could see his papers and such jostling around from his open pockets, "Hey, hot stuff! Wait up!"

I rolled my eyes and continued walking away, but he caught up anyway. Walking backward, he broke into a grin, "So what's the word, not-baby-is-Abbey?"

I had to admit, that was witty. I held back a smile, raising a brow, "Word?"

"Nice word, word. It means more than just a word...word?"

I think he confused himself as much as he confused me because he laughed and rubbed his neck, stopping directly in front of me. "Sorry, that was bad."

"You are forgiven," I replied, going to step around him.

"So, uh, do you wanna do something after school?" He was making an effort. It was nice of him, but I knew the girls wouldn't appreciate if I brought him to help set up with them. I smiled slightly, "Helping friends with planning."

"Oh," he muttered, seeming to deflate. He perked up instantly, "How about I just give you my number and we can-?"

I shook my head, rolled my eyes and sidestepped him to go to class. I was maybe ten feet away when he called out, "Call me sometime, baby!"

...

Grace tended to stay late doing paperwork and teacher things, so I usually walked home. We lived at the edge of the main street where the shopping district turned into the suburban housing in a house that was probably older than my great-uncle. I came up off the adjacent street through the other block of houses, pausing at the corner to take notice of a moving van. The family had a truck and a horde of little kids playing on the lawn. There was a tire hanging from a piece of rope, a child fit in either side. The both tried to move at the same time, proceeding to spin in circles. I waited for the car in the road to rumble by before crossing over to the gate, glancing back. Their father came walking out, talking to a man I vaguely recognized as the patriarch of the Wolf clan. I hesitated by the fence, my hand on the gate, my foot slightly raised to touch the step. When I'd established that my new neighbors were hardly news to the other Wolf, I stepped inside and locked the gate behind me. I wandered up to the house, stepping onto the porch when I heard a call of, "Dad!"

I knew it wasn't my place, but I turned anyway as I reached for my key. My hand rested on it, but I'd stopped moving entirely to stare at the guy I saw coming down the sidewalk in a short-sleeved, black shirt and faded jeans. Very rarely did I pause to look at attractive men, but he looked college age at the very least. And he was gorgeous. He had slightly curly hair the color of chocolate, and even from a distance I could see that his forest green eyes were glittering with mischief. My heart did something strange in my chest that made me grab the key and duck inside before I could find some way to embarrass myself.

Shiver trumpeted. I started, glancing to her while locking up once again. Away from his presence, my heightened pulse began returning to normal. Shiver bounded over to me, fat little legs moving like a toy's as she bounded back and forth in front of me like dog. She trumpeted again, clomping across the floor wildly. I set down my bag and scooped her up, nestling her into my arms. She ceased some of the cold seeping into my chest. I kissed her fluffy head and carried her into the kitchen, "Let's see if we have leftover pancakes..."

Shiver and I settled in with our homework and some dinner at the dinner table. She was small enough to continue to be tucked between my body and the table for a while. The sun was beginning to dip down behind the trees when I cleaned everything up and carried her upstairs. Grace would be back soon enough, leaving plenty of leisure time. Something drew me back to the window. The children were still outside, the family still unpacking. This time, I caught sight of the boy nearly instantly. From my viewpoint, his features were thankfully obscured enough for me to notice that he was more intent on playing with his younger siblings than unpacking.

When Grace arrived, I lowered the drapery and changed into my pajamas, seating myself at the computer and waiting. I expected her to come up and ask me how my day was, maybe ask for input on the entire situation of the merging schools, but I didn't. The phone read that the line was in use, probably from the study. I was tempted to go down to the adjacent stables, but in case she was working privately, I contained myself to the room and the occupation of Shiver and the internet. I wasn't big on fantasies, but my mind came up with several that night. Firstly, the school merger could go horribly. We were bringing in foreign werewolves and vampires into the same environment together. They'd probably never interacted with their mortal enemies before and there would probably be bloodshed. Secondly, and perhaps the most importantly, I had no idea why I felt the urge to get involved with the fearleading team. Shiver trumpeted and nudged her ball across the floor to me. I smiled, nudging it back with my toes from the chair. That was why. It might've only been Tuesday night, but my Tuesday night was spent streaming a concert of a band Frankie had turned me to while playing rolling fetch with my mammoth. My friends consisted of Frankie, Lagoona, and if I really wanted a stretch, Heath.
Grace talked all the time about new opportunities. Maybe it was the negativity that came with always being cold, but I felt like this was mine. Werewolves were supposed to be pretty weather resistant beings, maybe one or two wouldn't mind that I froze like the arctic when I got within six inches of them. Shiver, as she rolled all over my foot and coated my skin in fluffy, curly warmth, certainly didn't mind at all. Now if only I could find her in a bigger form, I'd be set.