Chapter 1

The door slammed loudly as she ran down the porch stairs. The wintry air chilled her face as she headed hurriedly toward the trail leading into the forest. She slowed to a walk once the trees hid her.

Karen Shephren was your average fifteen-year-old. Long, straight, ebony locks framed her naturally pale face. She was slightly tall with plain features. She really didn't have anything special about her, as far as looks and talent go.

She sighed as she wiped a sleeve across her face, drying the teardrops that fell from her emerald eyes. She walked through the bare trees, on and on until she felt she was far enough away from any form of civilization. In fact, she was now too far off to hear the cries of her parents, calling her to come back inside. A smile came to her face at the thought.

She sat down against a tree and looked upwards toward the unusually bright sky. It was just after dark, and the stars were becoming visible. The moon was very bright, almost a full moon. The sight of it made her forget her anger and depression. Excitement replaced them instead. She loved full moons, especially the one coming up, since it was only the day after Friday the thirteenth. Though she was not superstitious, she couldn't ignore the way she felt on those special Fridays. They were one of the very few times a year she had a good day. Not only that, but it also seemed that the full moon provided her with energy which she didn't normally have.

To tell the truth, she actually was different from others in one way. She wasn't wealthy, not the most popular or beautiful girl in school, not extremely smart or good at anything, but she always had this certain excitement, feelings not exactly like a human, but more of a wolf or wild dog. She felt that she could sort of understand some dogs, and they could understand her as well. As odd as it was, she was thankful for it, and she secretly dreamt of being able to change into a wolf. To run about in the woods wild and free instead of bound by her human life in which she felt she didn't belong.

She took a deep breath of the crisp air and leaned her head against the tree. It was so peaceful in the woods. There wasn't a place in the world she loved more. She loved nights like this also, chilly, but not cold, and bright enough she didn't need a flashlight or a lantern to see.

Soon, her tears had completely dried and she was exhausted. She peered into the darkness for a while, jumping in surprise at every sound that reached her ears. Soon she became more relaxed, however, and she wasn't as nervous. Before she knew it, her eyelids began to droop a bit and after a few minutes, she had fallen asleep.

She stretched, and realized something wasn't quite right. She was not moving like a human and a long, furry tail was wrapped around her feet. She looked at her hands, which were now paws as black as the shadows. What was going on? Then it hit her- She was a wolf. She looked at her paws curiously. "Is this really happening? Has my dream finally come true?" she thought with excitement.

Then, she heard something, and a moment later saw it. A white dog running very quickly toward her. It looked familiar to her, and she allowed it to sniff her when it was close enough. Then the dog froze, as she seemed to remember something. Kerrie leapt sideways in surprise when the dog tried to pounce on her playfully. Then she recognized the beautiful white dog that she had spent a good two and a half years with until she had disappeared about three months ago. She had loved her like her own sister. No, not like a sister, more than a sister, more than her real family. She yipped as overwhelming excitement surged through her body and licked her friend's kind face, which was scarred from many battles. The dog returned her affection, then darted off through the dark forest.

Not wanting to loose her best friend again, Kerrie chased after her, catching up rather quickly. The two ran together, farther into the trees. They were happy just to be in each other's company as they ran and played, as they did before they were separated. They went far into the woods, farther than Kerrie had ever been. She didn't recognize the place they were in, but she didn't care. She was happier than she had ever been in her whole life.

She leapt in the air, aiming to knock her friend off her feet. The dog quickly jumped aside to avoid being tackled, and Kerrie hit the ground with a thump. She opened her eyes and looked around, dazed. Suddenly the dog was no where in sight and she was no longer a wolf. A shiver came over her as well as a wave of sadness and disappointment, as she realized it was a dream and she had fallen over and was now lying on the ground beside the tree. She stood up and looked around with false hope.

"Charlie." she whispered. She rubbed her eyes and gave a sigh, looking in the direction she had come. She brushed the dirt and leaves from her clothing and arms.

"It was only a dream, but it seemed so real. Was it really a dream?" she asked her self. She continued to think about it as she started down the trail to her house. Then another thought struck her- Mom and Dad. They were probably worried sick, about to call the police to go searching for her. She wondered how long she had been asleep. She glanced at her watch and realized she'd slept for about an hour and a half.

She ran towards her house, a bit worried about the lecture she was sure to receive when she got there. She confidently jumped over a large tree that had fallen across the path, but she had leapt too early and the toe of her sneaker caught on the tree. She fell hard against the ground and a surprised squeal escaped her.

"Kerrie? Is that you?" she looked up as she heard the familiar voice, followed by footsteps coming toward her. A tall figure was walking towards her. He was 16 years old and he had dark brown hair and blue eyes. He was thin, but muscular from the various sports he had played.

"Alex?" she propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him.

"What're you doing out here?" he asked as he held out his hand to help her up.

"Oh, nothing much. Just laying around." She smiled as she got up, forcing the thought of her dream into the back of her mind. She brushed herself off again, then looked at Alex who gave her a half-amused grin. Then she gasped quietly as she remembered where she had been headed before she fell.

"Shit! I fell asleep. My parents must be freaking out by now! Can't chat, I've got to get home, NOW!" she explained to him. She turned and started down the path again, only to stop when she heard Alex burst out laughing instead of following. She turned and looked at him, eyes showing a bit surprise.

"What? It isn't funny, Alex!" she said with an 'I can't believe you!' laugh.

"My parents are going to kill me! I'm not counting on being able to leave my house all weekend, maybe even next weekend!" She said, thinking about how horrible her punishment would be. When he didn't apologize, and the grin didn't leave his face, she gave a sigh and relaxed a bit, giving him an accusing look. She knew he wasn't mean enough to just stand there, thinking how funny her being stressed out was, for nothing. She knew there was a reason behind it.

"Alright, you had your laughs. Ha-ha, wasn't that funny?" She asked sarcastically.

"What do you know that I don't?" She demanded.

"That I saved your sorry ass and you look like a complete idiot, freaking out over nothing." He replied. Kerrie looked at him as if he was insane.

"What? How?" She exclaimed, looking stunned. Alex smiled at her surprised expression, which seemed to agitate her even more.

"Relax, your parents think you're at my house. I knew you couldn't be far, so I decided to go looking for you before your parents did." Kerrie laughed slightly in relief at his words, as if they had broken her from some sort of trance that caused her to be moody and high-strung, worried about everything.

"Damn! I love you, Alex!" She smiled as he walked towards her. She raised an eyebrow at him as he put a hand on her back.

"I know, doesn't everyone? Now let's go, m' love!" he started down the path.

"Don't get too excited, I was joking." She said teasingly before following him.

"And don't EVER call me your 'love' again." She said hitting him playfully in the arm, "I'm sure you have plenty of girls who would love for you to call them that, but you'll never have me, Romeo."

"Yeah, yeah, you know you think I'm sexy." He grinned jokingly. The two went on talking as they walked. When they emerged from the woods, they decided to go to Alex's house for a while. However, as soon as they hit Kerrie's gravel driveway, all three of her dogs began barking, and she knew she'd have but a few seconds before someone came looking out the window to see her sneaking around.