I stared into the mirror. My short brown hair sat like a mop on top of my head. Red streaks clouded the mop. I wiped the few strands that covered my green eyes. I grasped the cement ledge and leaned on it. My fingers latched on to the pale pink comb and I raced it softly through my tangle hair. The shining tattoo danced on my wrist. It was a small black paw print, and it symbolized everything. I sighed and placed the comb down.

"Katrina!" An eerie screech echoed throughout the bathroom, "Get down here this instant!" I looked into the mirror again. Rust clouded the surface. The gray walls peeled around me. I quickly tied my hair up and it tickled the back of my neck. I applied some deodorant and unlocked the door. I grabbed my backpack that sat outside. Books weighed me down as I trudged down the wooden steps. My mother's back was turned to me. I stopped at the doorway, my backpack on one shoulder. Silence covered the room.

I cleared my throat and Alex turned, her deep black hair flashing about. She held a knife in her hand, stained with tomatoe juice. Her brown eyes blaze. In her other hand she held a bowl.

"What is this?" She yelled. I stared at her.

"A bowl."

She stared at me, her emotions held in. "Which I told you to clean when get home." Her voice trembled.

"I-I forgot?" I stammered, gulping down fright. Her eyes turned back to blazing.

"You forgot?! All you rotten kids do is forget and beg to survive! You depend on me and yet you don't do as I asked!" She threw the bowl at my head. I screamed and ducked as the glass shattered the wall behind me. I stood up, trembling. Alex looked at the clutter behind me. Her grasp tightened around the knife. She grabbed me by my left arm and dragged me towards her. She drew my sleeve up. The knife's cold tip touched my arm.

A sudden thump alerted me and I turned my head around. Justin stood in the doorway. His eyes showed shook that I had betrayed them. A sudden pain made me scream out.

Blood dripped down my hand. A deep slash covered from my elbow to my wrist, right in the middle of the tattoo. Alex smiled and dragged my sleeve back.

"Don't do it again. She turned and wiped my blood off the knife. I turned around and slammed into Justin. I shouldered him away.

I grabbed my sweatshirt and put it on. No time to put another shirt on. Pain throbbed throughout my arm. I blinked away the tears. I didn't need anything, I heeled fast and Alex and Justin knew that.

I stormed out the door and walked to school.

"Hey Kat! Wait up!"

I looked over my shoulder and saw my best friend, James, run up to me.

"Hey," I replied back, dragging my feet. I felt a sudden warmth throughout my body and the pain from my arm evaporated. I looked up. James walked beside me, his eyes on the road. His usual leather jacket sat on his back. A red rubber band wrapped around his left hand, covering the small black paw print tattoo.

We walked in silence, nearing the school. Our feet clicked the pebbles. The tall grass blew in the slight breeze.

As I turned the road that lead to the school, James grabbed my arm and pulled my towards his body.

"The others are waiting." He announced.

"No school?" I asked.

He laughed. "I thought you'd sound more excited." He dragged me into the tall grass. They scratched my eyes and I closed them. "Come on!" I was dragged along like a rag doll.

The foggy air soon cleared up as we entered the forest. I enhaled the sweet smelling air the forest produced. Great big oaks loomed over us, with moss climbing up them. Birds called to us and I whistled back.

James led the way. He always did. He still thought if me as a tiny cub, even though I was old enough to swim in my second skin. James picked up speed, his 17 year old legs trudging on. I had to quicken my pace for him not to escape my view. He walked with ease, stepping over fallen trees and rocks. I followed clumsily behind.

The smell of deer wafted into my nose, drawing my second skin closer to mind. Another scent caught me. More familiar. We entered a clearing, big enough for 6 wild cats to run around. Four other kids around our age littered the clearing.

There was Halley. He was 15, a year older than me. Soft brown hair played on his head, waving at me. But he wasn't important. Jory sat next to him, twiddling with a piece of grass and an ant. Next to him sat his twin sister, Ember. She raced up and hugged me, her small body wrapping I tightly around me. I smiled uneasly and pushed her gently away. She was only 12 years old, not young enough to transform. Our leader, Wright, smelled her distant scent and he knew it was time to train the twins.

Wright was tall and muscular, revealing his years as a sharfie. He clapped his hands and we immediately sat down. As Alpha, the rest of us had to follow his orders, even James, who was the same age as him.

"Sorry to keep you from school, but we have to transform, to remember how to do it." We all groaned, announcing our protest. Every week we met up to practice how to transform. It was simple for me. All I do is just think and I'm a sharfie.

He rolled his eyes and he changed. His hands and feet changed into paws and his nose became a snout. Fur replaced his skin and he became a 5 foot tall tiger. He roared and we followed. My body eased into my skin: a lioness. I shook out my fur and needed the ground with my paws. My heart filled with joy as grass tickled my pads. I loved being with my pack, it was the only way to escape my other life.

The panther next to me purred to the leopard across from us. Jory and Ember stared in awe. They always loved transformations. They too would transform at age 13, which was a month away. They were cubs and we all looked after them. Except Halley, he wasn't allowed near them. Halley was the runt of the pack. The smallest. The least important. I was even ahead of him in the rankings of sharfie's. There was the Alpha, Wright. The Second-In-Command, James. And then Leo and I. The cubs stood after me and Halley in the back.

Wright howled and the rest of us followed. He raced through the trees, his paws thumping heavily on the ground. Jory and Ember followed. Even though they lacked in skin, they still had their other powers. Strength and speed. A small mangy bobcat trailed us.