I walked through the front door and saw my mother standing in the middle of the living room with the back door wide open. She had a shocked look on her face and her hands were shaking. I ran to her trying to comfort her as she fell to the ground. By now her whole body was trembling over come by some illness. Or some animal. I reached down and held her hand attempting to bring some warmth into her cold figure. Before I could process what was happening she began to transform. I closed my eyes trying to prevent the inevitable. She transformed into something so far away and so different that it was hard to remember her as she was before. Her long wavy blonde hair. The way she looked at Dad, me, and even her little red coffee pot. And her brown eyes. Her eyes. The eyes that stayed the same through every shift. The eyes that identified what wolf would turn into what human in the spring.

When I opened my eyes what I saw before me was not my mother but a little gray wolf with brown eyes. I released her now paw and watched her run through the open back door that had caused her to change in the first place. I stood up from my place on the ground and went to the door to close it. The closure to the summer.

I climbed the stairs up to my room and shut my door. The last thing I needed was for Isabel or Cole to walk in. They had recently moved in to the little house that Dad and I had built last summer. They had just gotten married in a small wedding with only one photographer and few guests. This was to Isabel's dismay but needed to happen since Cole St. Clair's location was still unknown to the rest of the world. The newlywed's had moved in late last spring. They rarely came out of their house now for two reasons. One, Cole was trying to prevent turning into a wolf as he was working on "the single best immunization that can only be used to stop humans from turning into a werewolf in the cold weather ever" because our immune systems had started to become resistant to the virus. Two, Isabel had announced her pregnancy early summer which meant that she couldn't be seen out of the house in case "somebody she knew form school saw her in this dreaded condition". This was to her dismay as well. Although my parents' love for me was visible and Isabel was very much aware of there happiness she was still uneasy on the whole a-little-me-is-going-to-depend-on-me thing. Yet she knew that she couldn't give her baby up so started to endure the positives and negatives of pregnancy. And since Cole was Cole, as Isabel's hormones intensified, so did his. So even though an adult was the very thing I needed in my life, the only two people I could trust were at the bottom of my people-I-want list.

I made my way over to my hanging chair that looked out the window. Through the window you could see the starting point of the forest and though the wolves rarely ventured to the front of the woods, on rare occasions a wolf would be spotted. Now I could see my mom heading towards the trees that would be her home for the next few months. At the edge of the forest I could barely make out another wolf that seemed to be waiting for my mother deciding if she should leap to the woods or stay behind to protect me. After considering this for a few minutes she made her choice and sprang to the forest as if she was naked and the trees were her only protection. I didn't feel hurt though because this happened every year and every time she made the same decision. I wasn't afraid for her because I knew that when Dad and Mom had moved the wolves to the peninsula they made sure it was safe. Also, because as she turned to run into the depths of the forest the wolf following her stared up to my window letting me see its human eyes before catching up to her. And in that moment I saw a flash of yellow, a strange, unique color for eyes. My dad's eyes.

Screaming. I heard the distant sound of someone, or something, in pain. As I became more aware of my surroundings I realized that what I believed was screaming was actually a howl. I recognized it as Dad's howl, which was in the same octave as his human voice. One after another the other depressed howls of the wolves joined in forming a beautiful melody. I turned over on my bed to better face the window and clock revealing that it was 3:00 am. The moonlight shone through the night forming a white-silver streak across my bed. I rested my hands underneath my pillows and discovered that my face was sticky and wet with tears. It was times like these that I wished that the curse of the wolf never ran through our blood. It was also when I wanted Cole to find the cure and find a different medicine than the Meningitis, one that our bodies wouldn't reject. One that would last forever.

I must've fallen back asleep because the next sound that I woke up to was my alarm clock going haywire. I pressed the off button and headed to my closet. I found a dark purple tee and some jeans. I pulled out my gray converse from underneath the bed and headed towards the bathroom to finish getting dressed. When I headed downstairs my sharp senses picked up on a familiar scent, one that was sweet, fruity, and a little bitter. I rounded the corner and saw Isabel. She was cooking pancakes although, half of them could be compared to batter and the other half you could place in fire and it still wouldn't burn.

"Hello?" I asked daring her to reply.

"Hey sweetie," she said in a fake nice tone. " I heard about your mom. So, I decided to come over and make you some food. They smell delicious." She patted her belly nonchalantly absorbing the first meal that she probably had made in months.

To prove a point I opened the cupboard and grabbed a package of cereal. She stopped flipping the pancake that was on the spatula and turned off the burners.

"Thanks anyway Aunt Iz, I really appreciate it," I said truthfully kissing her on her cheek as I headed towards the table.

Isabel sighed and sat down across from me picking up the cereal box and examining the contents. She placed the box down, sighed again, looked around nervously, and said, " Clare I know both of your parents leaving you every year is probably hard and I know that you may not feel like going to school so it's O.K. to take a break if you want. I don't mind."

Actually the last thing I wanted to do was stay at home. I needed out. Now.

I stood up and took my bowl to the sink, " I'll consider it."

Isabel gave a short nod that signaled that the conversation was over and moved from the table to the couch. I ran up the stairs and brushed my teeth. Then, I came back down to grab my backpack, say goodbye and head out the front door.

To get to the bus from the cabin you had to meander through the path and open the gate that led everybody else to the small peninsula and wolves. Then you had to walk down the road for ½ mile and go to the end of the street. This was where the bus stop was and where my best friend Poppie spent her days. She hated her mom so came to the bus stop as early as possible and stayed there until the sky went black. There was a little bench so she would sit there and do things such as her homework or apply her makeup.

Today she sat on the bench in red jean capris and a low cut belly shirt. She was a part of the dress wearing, high heel walking, perfectly combed hair cheerleaders that roamed our school. Yet she was as far off from them as she could be. She hated pink, dresses, heels, and rocked blue hair. I arrived at the stop just as the bus pulled up and she boarded the ride without seeing me. I climbed on the bus along with the other kids and headed towards our regular seat six rows back from the entrance.

I almost walked straight into her before I realized that Poppie was standing in the aisle arms across her chest. I looked towards our row and saw an unfamiliar boy sitting comfortably there staring at Poppie. She was saying something about how he was stuck up, a jerk, and a few other profanities that I won't mention. I followed her lead and crossed my arms giving the poor boy the death glare. That's when I caught a sniff of something aromatic and addicting. But there was something underneath something that smelled a bit like trees, autumn, and wolf. I wanted him to explain himself.