Promise of Perfection

Walking through the rain towards the small apartment. I couldn't help but smile cruelly as the water poured down over my head. Virtually undetectable from under my hood, I sauntered up the creaking steps and pounded on the front door. Bouncing back and forth in the cold of the pitch black night. Hearing the familiar steps through the house, I waited with anxiety at the front door as it was slipped open and before me stood the ten year old curly red haired girl that was just like me. Just like the life I should have had.

I was young, but I had been trained by the best fighters to ever walk the land. I had grown up faster then anyone I had ever known. Michelle was young and naïve, her mother had made the worst mistake by keeping her from this world, and some day… it would surely kill her one way or another. Growing up as a shape shifter that doesn't know the strength of her own powers is a shear sign of weakness.

"Hello, can I help you?" her voice was sweet and innocent. Like a new born baby. She had seen nothing to make her doubt the harmlessness of living through the day. "Michelle who's at the door?" I heard her mother yell from behind her. Suddenly… fresh steps were being taken as I stepped back when Joyce Lightwood joined her daughter at the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a honey sweet voice. Her eyes shown like gems in the light as her hair blew in the wind.

"Joyce Lightwood," her eyes widened at the sound of her old name and the smile slipped from her face. Pushing Michelle back into the house. She stepped out and closed the door behind them. "Be aware Joyce Lightwood, the time is coming when you won't be able to hide your secrets from your daughter anymore." and with that, I turned on my heel and walked down the steps again. But not before she could stop me with a hand on my shoulder. The contact burned and I couldn't help but shrink away from her.

She had her chance… I wanted nothing to do with her from here on.

"Who… who are you?" her eyes were desperate and her face contorted into that of a worried look.

"I am the forgotten. I am the strength that hides behind you. I am the daughter that convinced you to keep Michelle from our world. I was the first, last, and worst decision you ever made." and with that, I walked from her sight and into the night. Shivering at the coolness of the night, I approached the edge of the small forest by her house and took one last look.

Life was cruel and unloving. Training you until your bones would snap and pushing you harder when they wouldn't. It's a sad day when destiny throws you a curve ball and you find yourself falling from everything you ever knew. From the deepest depths of hell, and the darkest clouds in the sky. From the look of an angel, and the strength of a brute, unbreakable force, I was the nightmare in every child's dream. The boogieman in every toddler's closet, and the storm on every sea. I was Carter Mason, the pale face, redneck, broken hearted brute force that held strong when all else failed.

Chapter One:

Carter White

The ground flashed beneath me as my surroundings disappeared. The only clear sight was the path laid before me and the direction of travel. The earthy smell of wet grass and fresh soil filled my nostrils as I broke through the barricade of trees and bounded with brute force towards the outer territorial line of the forest. Smiling when I burst through the thicket wall of over growing bushes and trees.

With one last leap from the cold forest floor, I found myself flying through the air and landing with an audible and satisfying crack. The thunder rumbled over head and shook the forest with pure might and force. Smiling, I couldn't help but smirk when I stood from my crouched position and played along the line of boundary. As a retired White Desiree Predator, inflicting terror was the first form of business for any age. And here, now… was the perfect place to start.

Smiling cockily, I could smell the damp earth and freshly cut grass smell that lingered on the town before me. Everything was calmed and quite. The proceedings of a normal Thursday night anyone here would counter, but not for long. Grinning, I took a large deep breath and sauntered with unbelievable confidence towards the town. A confidence only myself or my comrades could own.

The tree line ended and as I approached the small town, I could practically feel the earth shift as I laughed at the shear giddiness of walked through the streets and being feared. Mercilessly, I headed straight for the Morrow, a new hangout place for young adults in town. Approaching the front door, I smiled bursting through the small portal. I smiled wickedly when it flew from it's hinges and in an instant I caught sight of the group.

I had grown up turning the other cheek. Taking everything as it came and absorbing the anger that had built within. Changing as sixteen was by no means easy, and when you turn alone, it feels like you're the only one in the world that goes through what you do. It's like a curse of redemption. I had no family to share the experience with, and no life to return back too.

That's when the Desiree found me. They were ruthless and beautiful. Strong and independent… showing me the darker and easier way of life if I subdued to the evil that lurked within. It left you alone and standing tall, there was never anyone to drag you down with them. You were never hurt and there was no one to hold you back.

My mother had sent me to a vacant lot where my father had once lived. There, I found myself lost within the betrayal I had felt. He had agreed to take me. He agreed to save me from the life I had lived with my mother and daydreaming sister. He was suppose to be there, and he never was. And that, that was the day I met up with rock bottom. That was the day Chantal found me and raised me as a little sister and friend, introducing me to the Desiree people. The terror of the night.

People shrunk back from the splintering wood. They didn't want a fight, and though it was convincing. Tonight I would give them the upper hand, the chance to escape while they still could. The chance to prepare for long nights sure to come throughout the rest of the summer. It was once in a lifetime we would give people the opportunity to run, the chance to ready themselves for what was to come.

Marching forward, I placed myself on the stool of the bar and called over the bartender who came all to quickly with a crooked grin on his face. He was young, mid twenties possibly. Smart enough to assume where this was going, but dumb enough to think it would turn out the way he thought. "A shot of fire whisky boy. And make it sharp." the hiss of venom pounded deep behind my words as he walked forwards and placed it before me, walked away to serve someone else.

Knocking back the drink, my throat burnt at the taste and my stomach wretched itself to take the drink. Like a punishment almost. Quick and brisk, never forgetting the way it would settle and the taste of the experience.

Watching without interest I looked out the nearby window as the rain started to fall once again and it pounded against the window panes. Leaving a twenty dollar bill on the counter, I rose from my seat and headed for the door. Soon enough someone would contact the police and within minutes they would pound through the front and back exits of this place. Probably charging me with damage of property and underage drinking, at least… that's what my fake I.D. stated.

The rain soaked through my hood and drenched me with cold liquid. The alley's were empty as were the streets and the idea of walking alone throughout the night continued to prove me idiotic, but lonely… which was good enough for me. A young couple ran past me laughing at the giddiness of running through the rain. Finding excitement in the small daring act of shear child play.

Walking back to the tree line, I found myself running as soon as I met the grass, breathing heavily at the adrenalin spike of the physical work. The pound of blood through my veins, the thud of my racing heart and the bang of lightening above my head only drove me faster as I ran through the trees zigzagging and weaving in and out. The lightening overhead lit my pure white coat and flashed the illusion of a silk and smooth body.

The clock was ticking, and I had twenty minutes to walk through my front door with or without a tail.

It wasn't always like this. I didn't always answer to Sue, or Chris, I didn't always run in a pack or walk around with anger clouding my every move. But Joyce Lightwood and Michelle Lightwood had taken everything I ever had. Even if it was nothing to begin with. The night I met with them was only a warning, I wanted to tie to this world completely. I wanted to be as free as the air and as wild as the wind. But after a hasty report and a fearsome catch. Sue and Chris were the only ones to claim me.

I thought I had gotten away from disappointment when Chantal had taken me from all the sorrow I had ever felt. But arriving here had proved to pull me right back down to where I was before I found the Desiree. But I had sworn an oath to my pack, and bound to it I was.

The ranch was in a small town in Washington called Forks. It was rainy and wet and it was neighbouring other shape shifters just like us but different. They were all boys, and us… all female with different restrictions. Their territory was marked, and as long as we stayed on our side but close enough to them their scent would mask our own, we were safe. The horses were well taken care of and school passed without complications. The only setback, no action, no adventure.

Bounding towards the small lit cabin, I took off and in an instant was but feet away from the front door. Phasing back quickly, I steered through the door and landed with a thud on the ground crouched. Smiling, I turned to the friends I had, but never wanted sprawled out across the couch. "What was my time?" I teased closing the front door and walking over to join them.

"Well you've got two minutes till curfew so I'd say it was good. But not your best." Clary sighed, eyes glued to the television and not even turning to look at me when she spoke.

There were six of us. Clary, the intelligent and sarcastic wise crack who roamed the land with a sense of self consciousness and ripe pride for who she was and what she stood for. Without a family or a history, coming here was her final decision and what she thought as her best one. Clary stood dear to every heart here and the more time we spent with her, the more we fell for her charming and quite personality. She was the sister we all wished we would have had growing up. The better person we prayed some day we would eventually be.

We all wished we could have been someone else, or done something different. But not once did Michaela fail to amaze us when she spoke her mind. She was quite and beautiful, like a butterfly or flower in the breeze. A little of everything. Like a quilt as Clary compared her too. She liked pink and blue, but some of her patches were worn. She had ripped herself apart but always found a way to sew herself back up again. She was dependant on company, but you were never guests, Michaela made you feel like family.

Family was something we earned for from day one, each of us. The thoughts of loneliness and pain would seem to blow around with the wind. But the most evident factor in Shelby's life wasn't being noticed or being smart, it was always having someone there. Knowing that she had someone to lean on was her biggest goal in life and perhaps the desperation to have someone love her made her fit in so well here. Made her one of us.

Christy and Sue were the parents. They were the ones who had taken us from everything we had even known to bring us here and save us from ourselves. They believed that our kind didn't deserve to walk the land alone. That everyone needed a companion to share our lives with. In a way, I despised what they did, but they had changed all these girls' lives and I knew everyday that they were always grateful for what they had. Never taking anything for granted.

Christy was tall dark and beautiful. Intelligent and always planning ahead. She was the day planner and commander of most mission. She tended for the horses and did the hard work when we had patrol. She was the fill in when we were sick, the extra hand when we needed her and the one person that could take you under and tell you the cold and hard truth of reality.

Sue was our den mother. She cooked and cleaned and was the sickly sweet and loving person we all needed in our lives. Short and sweet with honey blond hair and bright blue eyes. A wide smile and white teeth. Her personality was highlighted by her looks as her bubbly attitude brightened even our darkest days.

I was the slap of reality. The cold hard pale of ice water when you were in a haze. I was petite and held an arrogance in my look. I had been transformed from the natural beauty I once contained, to the beauty behind fear that being with the Desiree had turned me too. With pale skin and dark hair. Cold eyes and strength that hid behind everything it could but shown in every aspect of work I did. I was the older sister everyone turned to for a taste of what the world really held. I had seen it all, and that was the main reason Sue and Chris had taken me from everything I knew to come here.

I needed a dream I could live in and lay off, and they needed a slap of reality to wake them from the daze they stood in. The cloud of fog that masked what the world really held. All the pain and misery, the felony and scandal that happened in every day life for some people. For these girls had no idea what the world really was like, they had never lived outside of what they have been given here.

The hour passed quickly and quietly, subduing us to the television for most of the time. The rain was pouring and our bodies were tired, there was no denying it was a much needed rest.

Suddenly, the doors burst open and in bounded Chris with Sue hot on her feet. Their faces were filled with worry and anxiety. Praying for the opportunity to let it out. "Chris, Sue… what's going on?" jumping from my seat on the couch, their faces were confusing enough, but their panting breathes implied they had been running some time. Long enough to render them breathless.

"Their coming. We have to leave." Chris' voice was evident, we all knew who she meant and what she was talking about. The vampires had found us. And they were coming.

They were strong and fast. Powerful and manipulative and Chris, Sue, Clary, Michaela and Shelby weren't suppose to be here. They weren't even suppose to exist. Frozen to my spot, I watched as Chris and Sue ushered them towards the door before everything could snap into place. The situation, and the consequences. Leaping forward, I caught Sue's arm before she could abandon me here for god knows how long. "What's going on?"

"Lucky, their coming to get us. You're a Desiree, or… you were. They know who and what you are already. You have to stay here and watch the house. If trouble comes your way, I've sent out for the Quileute's to take you. Go to him Lucky, he'll be able to help you." her voice was clipped and strong, she reminded me much of myself, but my strength was obvious, her strength was only portrayed when the stakes were high. What the girls needed someone to look us too.

Watching for the last time, the last family I knew ran from the door leaving me alone and in control. The rain had stopped and the faint sound of the television in the background drowned out every other sound I could hope to hear. Everything that I thought I needed.

The sun was rising slowly, and as I watched with blank eyes, the reality dawned on me for the first time. I was completely and utterly alone. With no one and nothing to depend on but me, myself and I… just like old times. Being the shape shifter the girls and I were, we were much like the wolves from the local land here. Swift, and strong, fast with acceded senses. But we were also different. We weren't as limited as to our selection of changing, but we were easier to kill. We looked like any regular person, but with paler skin… and more unrealistic beauty. Like the girls off a magazine.

Sun rising, I stepped out my front door and walked aimlessly towards the barn. The horses needed a run, and I needed a release of pent up pressure. Grabbing a cowboy hat and a bit, choosing my special horse and leaping onto his back with intense grace. Panzer, an all black stallion with his head held high and a respectable arrogance that any animal can have the potential to walk with, but not own for themselves.

The wind was whipping my hair, and the pound of the horses hooves on the ground beneath me felt like it would shake the very ground I walked on. Power and strength took years and time to master, but if running brought as much joy to me, as it did to Panzer, I would never stop. I would run till the end of time, escape until I found the very thing that would tie me down and keep me grounded, relieve the pain and worry my past continued to bring me.

As I left the fenced in area and rode along the boundary between Quileute lands and our territory, I could smell the stench that followed their tracks, and as the time passed that I ran along the border, I could see the faint blur of their figures zigzag through the trees. Within the next hundred feet, I had pulled the horse to a stop and dismounted to the ground. Tying Panzer to the dead log lying across the both sides, and walking over so I was almost standing on top of the imaginary line.

The only sound was the breeze rustling through the leaves, and my pounding heart. These animals were huge, and no doubted just as strong as myself, if not more so. Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply and opened them slowly, letting them adjust to the new scene. Before me stood eight wolves, all towering over my small size and all watching intently as I stood before them alone. "Sam Uley." I looked to the biggest of the pack, a fair black furred animal with towering height and demanding eyes.

"I suppose this is it. The boss would have spoken to you by now." the regret in my voice was clear. An unspoken eeriness walked with me as I stood before them. With any luck, Sam would shake his head and I would be able to make a break to save my life. To save what I had left. I had direct orders to find Sam, and I did. Now what?

Motioning for me to follow, I watched as Sam turned his back on me and walked back into the thick bushes, choosing a clear path for me to bring Panzer if I wanted too. His presence calmed me, there was no denying wanted someone close with me when I left my home, my last breath of freedom.

Sighing, I slowly and dramatically set one foot before the other and stepped over the boundary line. For undoubtedly the first… and the last time.

Later Preview

"Have you ever killed someone?" he shook his head no.

"You?"

"Yes, an uncountable number. But when I kill those of who deserve to die, I'll tell you what it feel's like to shed their blood on your hands, to feel their life dissapear through your fingers. The feeling and anticipation is undeniable, and the thought after doing so, unforgettable." she spoke cruelly as her eyes shown with not only anger and rage, but a pent up pain laced with her years of experiance and unimaginable experiances.

What do you think? Let me know if you want it continued!