Chapter 1

Nice… nice… nice and steady now…

CRACK!

I cursed as my bow snapped, splintering in my hands. The arrow I'd so carefully aimed was buried in the ground rather than soft flesh. The squirrel I'd been tracking for an hour was gone.

With one last wary glance around, I began picking up the pieces of my crude bow. If there had been any wolf within a mile or two of here, they would have heard my bow break. I'd have to either carve a new one or grab one of my spares later.

Satisfied I was alone in this particular part of the woods, I grabbed my game bag and began heading back. Rose would be hungry, and I had more than enough food for now. I'd had an unusually lucky run today.

It was a two hour long trek back to our camp, but it passed quickly, as I'd made this trip more times than I could count.

Half a mile from our makeshift home, I heard a twig snap and froze. I tilted my head to the side, listening carefully. I could just hear soft footfalls – someone attempting to be stealthy. My heart pounding, I pulled my pelts tighter to my body and slid silently behind the nearest tree. Judging I had enough time, I hid my bag under some leaves at the foot of the tree and began scrambling up like a squirrel, making next to no sound at all. What can I say? Practice makes perfect. Especially when your life depends on it.

I froze again, perched on a low-hanging branch. I slid my hunting knife from my belt, brandishing it nervously, and strained to listen.

Nothing.

Then, all of a sudden, a figure burst from behind another tree with a yell, wildly swinging a club. "Ha!"

The familiar figure stopped abruptly, turning in confused circles and letting the club fall to her side. She was almost directly under my tree.

With a sigh of relief, I slid the knife back into my waistband. Then, unable to resist, I grinned and dropped down like a cat from my perch, landing squarely on her shoulders and knocking her to the ground. She squealed, crying out in surprise as she dropped her club and was burdened with my weight.

She began struggling frantically - desperately - before I rolled off of her laughing and she realized she wasn't in any real danger. Almost immediately, she jumped to her feet and glared at me. "Curse the moon! Not funny, Dani! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

I laughed maniacally. "Shows you for trying to sneak up on me, clumsy. You were so loud, I was able to hide my bag and climb that tree before you even managed to get close enough to try and scare me!"

When she realized I was right, her scowl deepened, but I could tell she was trying not to laugh.

Getting to my feet, I punched her shoulder lightly as I walked past to retrieve the game I'd caught earlier today. "What can I say, Rosie? Practice makes perfect," I said, repeating my thoughts from earlier aloud.

"But I do practice," my little sister whined as she trotted to my side. "I'm just no good." We began making our way back towards camp, me glancing around cautiously the whole time.

We walked in silence for a while before I glanced back over my shoulder at her with a smirk. "So... is that really how you'd react if you'd actually been attacked?"

Rose didn't answer, but I could feel her glare and I laughed. We both knew she wasn't good at split-second decisions or reactions.

Suddenly, I turned to roll my eyes at her and stuck my tongue out teasingly. She narrowed her eyes with a sly grin, knowing what was coming, and I took off at a sprint. With a yell, Rose took off after me, determined to show me up on at least this. But even with my game bag swinging and thumping into my side, I was faster than her.

Even though she was almost two years younger, she was taller than me and had long legs. However, it didn't work to her advantage that she was clumsy, and I was lighter than her and quick on my feet, darting in and out of the trees with ease.

We raced often, because it provided us with some fun - after all, we were still kids - and a challenge, as well as exercise. We needed to stay fit in order to survive. I loved running. It provided a distraction, and just a feeling of freedom. It was like nothing could touch me; I was unstoppable, I was light as wind - free of responsibilities.

Rose was right on my heels when we reached our tiny camp – I was only slightly faster than her, her long legs making up for her clumsiness. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I tossed my battered bag at the base of the nearest tree. I walked over near the pond and sunk to the ground panting. "Nice try," I said with a smirk.

My little sister just grinned. She was used to me winning, but she still believed one day she'd pass me up. And she very well could.

"Next time," Rose panted. She strode over to the small pond that sat on the edge of our small home and splashed some water on her face.

"You hungry?" I asked.

"Yup. In the mood for some stew. Whad'ya got?"

"I managed about half a dozen squirrels, a couple rabbits, and - oh yeah! I actually got a fish, too!" I told her, standing up and walking over to splash some water on my own face. As an afterthought I added, "What were you doing out there? Searching for plants, or just trying to scare me?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "What'd you think I was doing? I was picking herbs." She pulled out a clump of squashed plants from her back pocket and waved them in my face.

I wrinkled my nose. "Not much, but it'll have to do."

"I know," sighed Rose. "It's getting colder, and edible plants are getting harder to find. I'm afraid I may have picked too much and this winter will wipe them out altogether."

I turned to her anxiously, but kept my face calm. "We'll be fine, Rose. If worse comes to worse, we'll just move camp."

Rose's chocolate brown eyes were worried as she gave me one last glance and went over to my game bag to start making the stew. I flopped onto the ground, landing on my back, and watched her from the corner of my eyes. She was trying to tame her wild brown hair back into a ponytail, which almost made me laugh.

I reached back a hand into the pond behind me, scooping up some water and letting it run through my fingers and onto my face. "Rosie, it'll really be alright," I sighed. It had to be.

She turned to me, fiddling nervously with something at her throat, a weird habit I'd caught her doing on multiple occasions. "I know, but… I really liked this place. The big trees, the pond… it just feels so safe, and home-like."

She pulled out a pot from the little tunnel we'd dug under a tree for storage and came over to get some water. "Now make yourself useful, Dani. I need you to start a fire soon."

My moment of relaxation was over. Well that only lasted about ten seconds. "Yeah, yeah, just gimme a sec." I reluctantly hauled myself up from the bank. I scrunched my nose, as I realized I'd had my head right in the mud, and strode over to a low hanging tree and began stripping its branches.

I thought about what Rose had said. This really did feel like home. I liked it here too. It provided a sense of security and relaxation. It was the perfect place to live in a time like this; a pond to hide in and wash away your scent, trees to hollow out and stuff with supplies, as well as to use for travel and hiding as to not leave tracks or trails.

I admit, it'd be hard leaving here. I'd grown attached to this place, even if I wouldn't tell Rose that. I had to set an example.

But we've moved dozens of times, so it's not like this was anything new. You had to do what you had to do, and you couldn't be too picky about where you settled down.

We worked in silence as we prepared our supper. By the time darkness had fallen, we were sitting comfortably around the fire I'd made and sipping from small bowls of squirrel stew, with half a fried fish each as a treat.

I was glad it was so warm for being October, or else we would've been freezing and clicking our teeth together. I suppose we still had a few weeks before that happened. I'd have to start stocking up some more on pelts.

I knew I'd better tell Rose, but was reluctant. She'd want to come with me, and I didn't want to risk that. She was getting older now, so I couldn't use the excuse that she was too young anymore.

Hesitantly, I put my spoon in my bowl and set it aside. "Rosie… like you said... it's starting to get colder out."

She jerked her head up, immediately getting at what I was saying. "I want to – "

"Rose, no. I'm going to do this alone."

She narrowed her eyes and jutted her jaw out stubbornly. "I'm coming." Before I could say anything else, she went on. "Spare me the excuses. You can't keep leaving me behind, Dani. I'm not a baby anymore. For heaven's sake, I'm going to be thirteen in a week or two now. It's time I started helping out some more and taking care of myself." I was going to interrupt again, but she refused to let me.

"I know you don't want me to get hurt, and you don't want to risk me. You're my big sister - it's your job - and I get that. But I think I'm old enough now to begin taking care of myself. And what about you? You risk yourself every winter, and I'm just supposed to sit here and hope you come back. But Dani, what if one day you don't?" she choked.

I hadn't been prepared for a speech like that, and was stunned. She'd never spoken to me like this. I glowered at her. "Mariana-Rose Macht. I said you're not going, so you're not going. I will come back. I will always come back to you. It's going to be okay."

Suddenly Rose was on her feet, her bowl and spoon crashing to the ground and spilling all of its contents. Her face was twisted angrily and there were tears making tracks down her filthy face. "You mean like Jeff? You're going to come back like Jeff did? He said he'd come back too, but guess what? He didn't."

I flinched back as if she'd slapped me. That was a low blow, and she knew it. But she didn't seem to care.

All of a sudden, I became angry. So unbelievably angry. At me, at her, at Jeff, at everything.

She was growing up, I realized. I wouldn't be able to keep protecting her like this, no matter how hard I tried. My little baby sister was growing up.

But, I didn't want her to. I didn't want her to get hurt. I wanted to keep her young and carefree for as long as I could, because in a world like this, you grew up fast. You had to. It had happened to Jeff, and then me, and I couldn't let that happen to Rose too. I started furiously, but she cut me off again.

"I need to know how to take care of myself, Dani. I need to know how to hunt and I need to learn how to get pelts. You've been taking care of me for so long, and I love you for it, but… if something happens to you," her voice broke, but she was determined to keep going, "if something happens to you, I need to be able to go on. I need to go on like you did when Jeff didn't come back. I know you'd want that, too. But I can't survive alone if you won't teach me how."

She didn't understand. The only reason I'd been able to go on when Jeff didn't come back was because I had a little sister to take care of. She wouldn't.

I would come back to her. I had to. "Rosie – "

"I'm going to sleep. You can think about it overnight. But we both know I'm right." Rose stormed off to her tree, swinging with ease up into its branches. I stared after her in the dark as she settled down onto a thick limb and turned her back to me.

I stayed like that for a long time before I finally forced myself to move. I picked up our bowls and spoons and began washing them in the moonlight. My mind was whirring.

I knew Rose was right. I'd been babying her for far too long, and if something ever happened to me, she could get killed for it. I couldn't hide her from the real world forever. I wished she remembered what it was like before all of this… before mom and dad, before Jeff, before the wolves. She had only been six when our world had gone to hell. If only she remembered before that though, then she'd understand. I just wanted her to be normal – as normal as you could be in these times.

This real world would break her, and she'd become like me. Hardly finding any humor in the world, left alone and weighed down with responsibility. Always hunting, always on the watch, never being able to relax for longer than five seconds. Because in this world, if you let your guard down, there was a good chance you'd be dead. Or worse, Turned.

I couldn't let that happen to her. My little Rose needed to stay a kid, for as long as possible - something I never got the chance to do.

I would come back. I'd always come back. I wouldn't let anything stop me. I couldn't let anything stop me.

I had been feeling slightly bad for snapping at her and being so harsh, but that all vanished now.

I got up and dumped the pot, bowls, and spoons into the storage tree. I snuffed the fire and then made sure all signs of life were gone. It would be useless to hide if signs of life were obvious. Satisfied our presence would go unknown to anything passing, I gave one last glance around climbed the nearest trunk. Trying to lay down, I could think only one thing: There was no way I was letting Rose come with me.

I was awoken by the sound of a snapping twig.

I'd always been a light sleeper, but after we'd been forced to go on the run and live in the woods in constant fear, I'd trained myself so that even the slightest sound woke me. And lucky it is at that.

However, not even the howling of a dozen wolves could wake Rose. At least she didn't snore anymore; that'd been a hard but necessary habit to break.

I froze in my tree and strained my ears. I couldn't hear anything.

Then, the direction of the wind changed and the stench hit me.

Fear arced through my spine as I expertly rolled from my tree and landed in a crouch, making next to no sound at all. Without wasting a second, I sprinted lightly across the ground to Rose's tree, careful not to crunch any leaves or twigs. In just a few seconds I was up her tree and shaking her harshly awake. I really didn't bother being gentle.

She didn't make a sound as her eyes snapped open and she turned to me. Good girl; she'd learned well not to make a sound when awoken. I didn't even have to say anything before she scrambled down the tree, our argument forgotten, making the least amount of noise possible. I dropped from the tree and followed her.

The pond seemed to glow in the moonlight as it reflected the silvery sphere. It was full. Shit. They were at their strongest now – strength, speed, and most importantly, hearing and smell.

Within seconds, I'd grabbed Rose and slipped into the pond, breaking the image. I ducked us under a ledge and into the little cove we'd dug out. There was only just enough room to keep your nose and mouth above water.

This was what I meant when I'd said the pond provided good hiding and masking of smell.

Our pelts weighed us down heavily, but it didn't bother me. The pond was shallow enough here to where I could at least stand on my toes; and it was better than being caught because we took the time to strip down and leave our pelts laying around for anyone, or thing, to see.

My heart was pounding, and I almost cursed myself. I began breathing deeply and slowly, steadying my heart rate. Rose, noticing, began to do the same. They would be able to hear the rapid thumping of our hearts; but a slow, steady, controlled heart rate was usually safe. We breathed slowly and soundlessly as we waited, both taut as a bow string. I slid my hand into my pocket to clutch my hunting knife for comfort, and in anticipation that we were discovered.

The water was absolutely freezing, and I would've shivered if I hadn't been so pumped with adrenaline.

We didn't have to wait long before we heard them.

I clutched Rose tighter to me as the sounds became nearer. The padding of paws, crunching the leaves underfoot; the harsh panting of at least three or four wolves; and the loud snuffling. They were smelling for us.

I could just see their reflections as they stood, directly above us, on the highest ledge overlooking the pond. There were three of them, all bristling in the cool night air.

The first one I noticed was female, with gold eyes glinting in the moonlight. It had earthy brown fur, brushed over at the tips with black. It was built huge and sturdy, and had an air of confidence and command about it. It must have been at least five and a half feet tall. It stood in the middle, and I assumed it was an Alpha of this particular pack.

The second was a solid pale blonde color. It was built small and light, for speed more than strength. It couldn't have been more than five feet tall. You would've thought it was female too if not for its silver eyes. Its silky wheat fur was marred only by a deep, jagged, ugly scar streaking down its side.

The third of the pack was white, peppered with underlying layers of black and dark grey. You could say its hair was colored in a way that reminded you of cookies and cream, or Oreos. This one was somewhere in between the other two in its height. Its silver eyes flashed as it turned and surveyed its surroundings. It had a lean, muscular build, like a runner. This one had a more youthful look to it than the others.

All three of them padded in and out of view, their noses twitching as they searched the place. I could only hope I had cleaned up well enough before I'd gone to sleep.

Rose started trembling, whimpering quietly and clutching anxiously at something at her throat, and the female's head whipped back towards the pool. I pulled Rose closer to me and put a hand over her mouth, whispering silently in her ear, and tried to control my own heartbeat. The female stalked over to the edge of the pond and peered around with slitted golden eyes.

I cringed. Hunters.

It had been a while since wolves had found our camp. I'd been a fool to have been lulled into a sense of security. We'd have to move for sure now – soon. Within the next twelve hours.

The huge Alpha stepped closer, its front paws on the very edge of the pond now. It narrowed its eyes and began to inhale…

The Alpha's head snapped around and I almost let out a breath of relief, but caught myself. The Alpha padded out of sight and went back to its pack. I assumed one of the beasts had called for it.

My eyes widened involuntarily and I stiffened. The stew. Rose had spilled her stew. I never cleaned that up.

They stayed for at least another 10 minutes, and then, with only a swoosh of the wind, they were gone.

Rose and I stood there in dead silence for over an hour before I judged it was safe enough to emerge.

We came out from our cove carefully and silently, barely moving any water. I put a hand back to stop Rose, indicating I'd go first. I slid out my hunting knife and poked my head out slightly, so only my eyes were at ground level. I inhaled some air, and, judging it to be okay, slipped out quickly, but knife ready as a precaution. I glanced around warily, scrutinizing the place.

The Hunters had only been here briefly, but the place reeked heavily of them. I trod over to the place where Rose had spilled her stew and almost yelled aloud my frustration and anger at myself.

How could I have been so stupid?

I called out to Rose, and she emerged cautiously from the pond. Like me, she was soaking wet, and shivering in the chilling night air.

I took a deep breath. "Take off those pelts. Get changed."

Without argument, she went to retrieve a few spare pelts. I watched her and bit my lip nervously as I thought. There was no doubt about it - we had to get out of here. But where would we go? Going into unfamiliar territory and then so soon going hunting for pelts would be dangerous, and the risk would be higher.

What would Jeff do...? I pondered.

Rose walked up to me and handed me a couple extra pelts. I nodded in appreciation and began to change, still thoughtful.

"We have to leave," I said quietly.

"I know." Rose's voice was trembling. We'd never had such a close encounter with wolves before. Or, well, she hadn't. "When?"

"We're packing up and now. I'll go pelt hunting on the way."

"What about me?"

I frowned. I didn't like the idea of leaving her all alone with wolves nearby, in such a new territory. But there was also no way I was taking her with me.

"Can... can I come with you? Pelt hunting, I mean?" Rose asked hesitantly. She was much less confident now after our close encounter.

I shook my head, sliding down against a tree. "Go catch some rest, Rose. I'll pack up the stuff. We leave in an hour. No arguing tonight."

Catching the note of finality in my voice, Rose bowed her head and trudged off back to her tree.

I took the hair tie off the end of my hair where it tied off my French braid and began unweaving it. I always had my hair in a French braid, straight down my back, because it was the best way to keep the hair out of my face and it prevented most twigs and other pieces of nature from getting tangled in the huge golden mass. In other words, it was the most practical under our current situation.

My hair tumbled down over my shoulders, wavy from the braid, nearly reaching my mid-back. I combed through it with my fingers, eyes closed. Grasping back into the far reaches of my memory, I tried to imagine that the fingers untangling my hair were not my own, but my mother's.

My gut twisted, but I ignored it.

It felt familiar and relaxing, unweaving and now weaving my long hair back into a tight French braid. I did it every morning; it was like part of my routine. I remembered when Mom had taught me how to French braid…

The familiar pang hit again, this time almost doubled me over. No, I wasn't ready to go there. Not yet. Too soon... I didn't like to dwell on the past, it was too painful. Just a simple memory like braiding hair with Mom would eventually end up leading to darker, more horrible things…

I tied off the end of my braid and stretched. I straightened up and went to go brush over the area where Rose had spilled her stew with my crudely made shoes. It was time to get back to reality.

Normally I was careful to not leave any foot prints behind, but this time I made sure I left prints.

Obviously, if the Hunters came back, they'd notice someone had been here. But that was the point. They had to think we were still living here, so we would have an easier time getting out. Plus, there'd be a less chance we'd run into them out in the rest of the forest if they were so focused here. And, if I decided to, we would have an easier time coming back and sneaking up on them to take both their lives and pelts.

I went around and began packing up the rest of our things. I wondered briefly what Dad or Mom, or even Jeff would think if they saw us now. Would they be proud? Disappointed? Disgusted? Emotions bubbled up and I shoved the thoughts down. I had been thinking about them a lot lately.

Maybe it was time to remember. I couldn't hide from it forever. I had to face the painful memories and get over it, get stronger. After all, it had been almost seven years since then… and only four since Jeff. Remembering was so painful… I'd crammed the memories down for so long, everything was just a dark blur now. I was afraid to remember it in full. It had been horrible, terrifying, traumatizing.

I still hadn't even told Rose about them. She was so young when it happened… she barely knew anything about our parents, or the world before this. I told her bedtime stories about the world before sometimes, but I'd never mentioned Mom or Dad. I was careful not to get too thoughtful or nostalgic around her.

A fat drop landed on the ground in front of me, and I glanced upwards. Was it raining? "Dammit," I muttered angrily, realizing I'd been crying. I dashed a hand furiously against my eyes. I never cried.

Finished packing, I stashed our gear and supplies back into the hollow tree and climbed up above Rose to keep watch. She was definitely not asleep. She lay there with there with her brown eyes wide open. I didn't blame her.

She saw me watching her and shut her eyes, though she was far from drifting off to sleep. I watched her as she lay there, looking so peaceful it made me want to pull her into my arms like a baby, like I used to do when we were little and we'd play house. In the moonlight now, she looked so young.

The light of the moon washed out her chocolate brown hair to a coppery hue. I wondered what she was dreaming about.

I smiled to myself, but then turned into more of a grimace. In a normal life, she'd be dead asleep, dreaming about boys, and animals, and magic maybe. But in this one, her "good" dreams were probably filled with facing down wolves, being reunited with Mom, Dad, and Jeff, and helping me out in our harsh day to day life. And just, you know, generally staying alive.

Rose's long wild hair spread out around her like a halo, and I could almost imagine her as she should have been. Safe, carefree, happy, joyful, running around and going to the mall with her friends without a care in the world. She should be worrying about tests and what outfit to wear tomorrow, not staying alive and finding enough food every day.

I sighed and frowned. I didn't understand the wolves' hatred of humans. What the hell did we do to them? What god would make such abominable and unnatural creatures, gifted with weapons of remarkably increased agility, speed, accuracy, strength, etc? Who would want such a monster that was so heartless, ruthless, and cold? Why?

I'd been so young when they hit, I didn't remember much. And on the run like this, I couldn't gather much information without getting killed. Besides, it's not like any wolf would want to talk to me. Even if they did, I really would not want to interact with one, even for information gathering purposes. Even so, I couldn't go in and pretend I was a wolf because a.) I didn't have silver or gold eyes, and b.) there was no way I would be able to casually hide my scent for that long and around so many wolves.

Most of what I'd learned about the wolves had come from Jeff. The rest I'd learnt through my own experiences and inferences. And I still knew probably next to nothing about the enemy.

There were so little of us left… Humans were almost an extinct species. At first, we'd run into hundreds of our own kind a year. But that was almost seven years ago. Our numbers had quickly been withered down, and now you were lucky to run into one other human every year or so.

I remained trapped in my whirl of thoughts for the rest of the night, and before I knew it, an hour had passed. I smiled down at Rose's resting face, so angelic and peaceful. As always, a hand lay curled into a protective fist near the hollow of her neck. It was a habit of hers that she'd had for years, but I'd never bothered to ask what it was about or what she was holding. I didn't want to be that person that always dogged her every move, thought, action, and secret. People needed their privacy, and I could tell this was something precious to her. She'd tell me if and when she wanted; and no matter how curious I was, I'd respect that.

I knew she was already awake – she had never gone to sleep. I wouldn't have either, after what had just happened – but she looked so peaceful. But we had to go. I slipped down to her branch and her eyes shot open.

"It's time?" she asked quietly.

I nodded.