1. The Pup

I was five or six and fresh out of my first Phase when they came for my pack. I don't remember how long ago that was or how old I am now. I'm guessing somewhere between thirteen and twenty.

The day they showed up, I was curled up on the grass by the fire, staring at the leader in pure admiration. His name was unknown; everyone just called him Alpha. He was surprisingly gentle with me, despite the fact that he ordered everyone else around.

"Pup," he whispered, sitting down beside me, "how was your week?"

I was tired. All I wanted to do was sleep. "Tired," I muttered, being so tired I couldn't form a full sentence.

He ruffled my hair. "Sleep then, pup. You need your strength so you can grow and be an equal."

I don't remember having a name at that point; Alpha and the others called me pup. I was a social experiment. The first pup anyone had considered Infecting. It was impossible to know why the Alpha chose me but I liked being chosen.

Alpha barked an order at one of the females. "Get the pup a skin. She needs to rest."

The woman draped a skin over me and quickly shuffled away. Alpha patted my head. "Sleep, pup," he ordered.

--

I woke up to the sound of arguing in a language I didn't understand. Half the pack was missing; we were down to only eight. Alpha was exchanging harsh words with a tall pale white-haired man that smelled odd. They were both pointing at me, the blonde angrier then Alpha.

Several other pale odd balls were staring down the remaining members of the pack and they all looked frightened, like me. I moved over to the female closest to me and curled up next to her. She seemed to understand what was happening to us and she pulled me closer to her in fear.

She was Alpha's mate. The Alpha female. The potential for her to become a motherly figure was strong. She was crying silently and then spoke, holding on to me tightly.

Alpha barked an order in the other language and she cowered, holding me to her chest for protection. She covered my head with both her hands, not letting me see what was going on. She put her chin on the top of my head, whimpering, "No. No. Not her. Not my baby."

Alpha yelled at her in our language. "Hush, Edrica! The pup does not belong with us! She was not ours to Infect!"

I wrapped my arms around her waist, crying too. The pale ones were going to take me from my pack. "I want to stay in the pack."

Alpha came over to us and forcibly took me from Edrica. "The pale ones will take care of you now. You will join their pack."

I tried to get down from Alpha's grasp. "Please let me stay," I whispered to the main pale one.

He didn't seem to understand what I was saying, because he snapped his fingers at one of his pack members. A bigger pale male took me from Alpha and I wailed, repeatedly kicking my captor. "Let me go! Let me go!"

My kicks didn't seem phase him, because all he did was laugh at me, holding me at arm's length. Alpha gently patted my head. "Do as they say, pup and you won't need to worry."

I nodded and let the big pale one carry me away.

--

I woke up in a cell, not even sure when I had fallen asleep. It was cold, damp and smelled like the dirt was fresh. This pale pack obviously didn't keep prisoners that often.

The pale one that brought me here was sitting outside my cell. He smiled at me when I sat up. "Who are you?" I asked softly.

He laughed, reminding me that I did not understand his tongue. Then he said, flea or something like it; then drew something in the dirt.

I didn't know what the five little pictures meant. "Huh?"

He pointed at the first two, "FE."

"FE," I repeated.

"FE." He pointed to the three next to FE. "Licks."

"Fe licks who?"

He laughed and pointed at his chest. "Fe licks."

"They call you Fe licks?"

He nodded and pointed at me, probably asking what I was called.

"Pup."

He raised his eyebrows and called over his shoulders. A dark headed pale one I hadn't seen with my pack came down, and asked Fe licks a question. They touched hands briefly.

He opened my cell and stepped in. "Hello, young friend. I am Aro."

Finally someone in this weird pack spoke my language. "Hi, Aro."

"I am sorry my brother Caius did not explain the situation in your tongue, young friend. He and I are the only ones that can speak it. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Pup," I replied, proudly. "Alpha named me."

"Oh, no young friend. That will not do at all. You will not be young for long." Aro took my hand and pulled me to my feet. "Let me look at you."

He circled around me keeping a hand on me, like he was studying an animal. "How long have you been in your pack?"

"One Phase." I didn't understand why he was asking questions. "Why?"

He didn't answer my question. "And how old were you when the pack found you?"

"I just started school in the city."

"Which city?"

"I don't remember." I shook my head. "What did you do to my pack? Alpha, Edrica, what did you do to them?"

"So many unnecessary worries you have, young one. Your alpha told you not worry, remember?"

"Yes, sir." I still was worried. These pale ones were not like my pack and Aro's icy cold touch proved it.

"You are right, young one; we are not like you or your pack. We brought you here to study you. Our kind regrettably does not understand yours. Of course, not everyone in my pack agrees with me."

"Why not?"

"Many of your kind are dangerous, young one. We simply do not trust them to keep the secret of the supernatural world. They are sloppy feeders."

"Why does it have to be a secret?"

"Aw, the sweet naivety of childhood. You will come to understand why you are here, my little Luna."