Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me except Liberty, Jedidiah, Kyle, and their age-mates. They are property of Annette Curtis Klause. As I go along I may introduce characters of my own. I'LL LET YA KNOW. ;-)
Chapter 1: Liberty
There was always a certain edge the prospect of going to town brought. With each visit I knew that I was among people that would never accept what was different than them: and I was. It brought a thrill that I could never explain.
When Gabriel, my father and pack leader, announced that some of us would not only be going into the nearby town, but into a neighboring city, I struggled with the urge to howl in the middle of the inn, when guests were just upstairs.
Our pack had been living in a thickly forested part of the county for more than 18 years now. The move there had been absolutely necessary after a couple of rogue wolves took to the taste of human flesh- a law that would not be bent or broken. The wood provided a freedom that city life could not. We were not free to be in our fur there, because what people do not understand, they fear. Living as far away from humans as we could allow while keeping up the guise of a normal life was our best and only option. And for 17 years and 336 days, I've wanted to be free.
The inn our pack ran was prosperous thanks to the many people wanting to get away from the busyness of life, but with every new couple or family that stayed within our walls, my hunger to be among people grew.
"Absolutely not."
"MOM!"I shrieked, "It's not up to you!"
Vivian gave me a look designed to put noisy 4-year-olds in their place when at church. My hackles rose defensively.
"Vivian, she's right."
Everyone looked at Gabriel. Nineteen years of leadership hadn't worked against him in the slightest. Still capable of drawing every woman's eye in a room, his entire being demanded respect and oozed authority.
But, Gabriel letting me go to the city wasn't going to pass as one of his wiser judgment calls.
"You must be joking," Finn scoffed, "She's still too young."
"Too young? She's on fire. The guys will be attracted to her like a bitch in heat, that's the root of the problem," Willem, Finn's twin brother put in with a wink in my direction.
From the stories that still make it around the pack, Willem and Finn, and their friends Ulf and Gregory were all hell-raisers back in their early adulthood. They were known as 'The Five' back then. Their friend Rafe had turned against the pack along with Ulf's mother, Astrid, and was killed.
I implored my father with my best puppy eyes, "Please? I've always obeyed the 'look but don't touch' rule, haven't I?"
Elder pack members coughed into their palms to cover up their grins at my pathetic attempts to weaken a man no one had ever seen give an inch.
"I said you could go, didn't I?" Gabriel brushed off my pleading look, "My only condition is that Jed goes with you."
The level of coughing increased. My aunts, Gabriel's younger sisters, gave each other pointed, knowing looks. Being triplets, they often seemed to know what the other was thinking.
Jedidiah Matthews stepped forward with would have been arrogance, had he not stumbled.
While my female age-mates licked their lips in admiration of the male, the rest of the males could be heard giving low, throaty growls.
"Jed is perfectly capable of seeing you aren't hurt, Libby," Ulf, Jed's father pointed out.
I schooled my features to a polite smile before shooting a last pleading glance at my father.
"It's settled, Liberty. Jed stays with you while your there, or you don't go at all," my father said, using my full name and a piercing glare.
I visibly swallowed my pride and delivered a curt nod in Gabriel's direction. Everything was already decided, and my protests would have no impact.
