Chapter One: Hiking
I was so excited. This will be my first time hiking in a national forest. I've hiked up some mountains before and some national parks, but finally my mom was letting me hike in a national forest.
I love wolves. I've loved wolves since I was three. I knew everything about them.
"Hey, Nevaeh, can you join us for a sec?" asked Lindsey, a sherpa.
"Sure." My mom told me that my name was 'heaven' spelled backwards. I trotted over to Lindsey and Hayden. "What do you need?"
"Well, we need to adjust your backpack." She did so. She looked back at me. "You have to stay away from the group. Stick with us. You can't trust them. Any one of the guides, you can trust." This was not weird behavior for me. I was around a lot of freaks when I younger. I was used to every type of weird behavior.
I gave her a little smile. "Okay. Thanks. That's nice to know. So, who thinks that Cooper is a total hottie?" Lindsey and Hayden both nodded their heads.
"Rafe is mine." Lindsey said.
"Daniel is mine." Hayden said.
"You can keep them. I want Cooper." I looked over to him now. He was looking at me with icy blue eyes. His hair was a dark black, and I loved at how long it was. It was about shoulder length. If I saw a man with hair that long on the streets, I would be disgusted, but I loved how it looked on him, and all the male sherpas. They all wore their hair like that, except Daniel.
We headed out five minutes later.
Half of the sherpas were ahead of the group, and half were behind. I stayed in between Lindsey and Kayla. I actually only knew a few people in this group my mom put me in. There was Maya, my mom's friend, Maya's husband Jose, and their son TJ. I always knew that TJ had a crush on me. It was so obvious.
Somebody tapped on my shoulder. I looked back. It was TJ. I held up one finger to him. I looked back at Lindsey and she nodded her head. I slowed my pace until I was next to TJ. I looked into his pale brown eyes. I always found his eye color boring and disgusting. The main reason why I didn't usually like long hair on boys was because TJ had long hair. His hair was blond. He was also pretty weak. He was struggling up the incline. I don't mean to sound vain, but I was in great shape. I never struggled up a hill, and I could run for hours. A week ago, I had checked how fast I run, and it came up as 80 miles per hour. (A/N: I know that you think that is inhumanly possible, but it isn't. If anyone tried hard enough, they could get up to that speed.) And I was only sixteen. Actually, this week I was turning seventeen. This was my birthday present: Two weeks in the wilderness.
"Hey," I said to him.
"Hey yourself," he responded. See what I told you? It was completely obvious that he liked me. "So what? You need a guide to agree to talking with a friend?" I narrowed my eyes. I looked away.
"Something like that."
"Well, I know your birthday is coming up, so I got you this." He held out a charm bracelet with one charm on it. It was a golden wolf. "Oh, I almost forgot. Here's another charm." He held out a pink tulip charm with a green stem. The tulip hadn't bloomed. "It represents our relationship. I could bloom if you want." This was awkward.
"TJ, you know we're just friends. But thanks so much for the present. I love it." I gave him a one-armed hug. I put the charm bracelet on my right hand. I went back in between Lindsey and Kayla. I showed them the bracelet.
"Why is it a golden wolf, instead of a bronze or silver wolf?" Lindsey asked. I sighed.
"A few months back TJ commented on how my hair looked golden in the sun." Right on cue, the trees broke and the sun shined on my hair. I kept my eyes open. My normally dark brown eyes looked golden in the sun, just like my hair. My body soaks up the energy from the sun. My pace quickened. We were going downhill now and I slipped. A warm hand caught my elbow. I looked up at my savior. Cooper. He stared into my eyes. I caught a few emotions from his ice blue eyes: Admiration, amusement, and concern. The sun was still shining directly on me.
"Are you okay, Nevaeh?" He asked. Wait, were all the emotions I saw directed at me? Oh, yes they were.
I nodded my head. He helped me stand up. "Th-thanks Cooper." He smiled at me. Lindsey and Kayla caught up.
"Well, now I understand about the wolf. What about the tulip? It hasn't bloomed," Kayla said.
I snorted. "TJ says it represents our relationship and it can bloom if I want." Kayla and Lindsey snickered.
After they recovered, Kayla spoke. "Okay, did you see Cooper checking you out before you fell?" I shook my head. "Well he was. I wonder what he was thinking of you. Don't you?" Hmmmm.
Cooper POV (Before she fell)
Wow. Her hair and eyes were golden. So beautiful. Her hair looks so soft and silky. I wonder what she would look like in moonlight. No Cooper! She's not one of us. You can't think of a Static like that. But she is in great shape. She's not struggling one bit. How fast can she run? Faster than me? Lucas? Those are complicated questions. The only way to know is to ask her. Should I?
Nevaeh POV
He could've thought a bunch of things about me. Lindsey, Kayla, and I continued chatting until we laid down for the night. I was sharing a tent with all the girl sherpas. Once my head hit the pillow, I was out. I may have a close to unbeatable stamina, but I can get worn out.
It was the middle of the night when I heard people talking quietly outside the tent. I reached over to wake Lindsey, but all I came in contact with was her sleeping bag. I sat up. Everyone was gone. Light seeped into the tent. I squinted. The tent was open. I peered out.
All the sherpas sat on the ground next to the small fire they had going. I heard exactly what they were saying. I had very sensitive hearing.
I saw Lindsey sigh. "I have some assumptions." She took a deep breath but didn't continue.
"Lindsey, can you please tell us your assumptions?" Lucas said.
"First, they're about Nevaeh." What? Did she think I was a psycho? "I think she's one of us." Weren't they just sherpas? Were they more than that? I heard some gasps and sharp intakes of breaths.
"Lindsey, I don't mean to be mean, but isn't that impossible? I never heard about a Hunter family." Connor said.
"I know, but earlier we were talking, and she talked just about wolves for forty-five minutes. I think that somehow the wolf gene got in her. I mean, it's obvious that she's different. She can imitate any sound a wolf makes perfectly. She can also do a few other animal sounds. Like a tiger's purr." It was true. I could. "She even did some wolf sounds for us. She did the wolf's mating call."
"That's what that was? I thought that my mind was playing tricks on me," Rafe said.
"No that was her. I swear, she's a much different story. Her seventeenth birthday is this week and she's going to have her first shift soon."
"Everyone, quiet." Cooper said "She's been awake. She's been listening, too." Everyone sighed. I backed away from the entrance and sat criss-cross on my sleeping bag.
"Nevaeh, you can come out," Kayla said gently. I peeled back the tent opening and slowly came out. I sat down between Kayla and Lindsey. I stared at a tree a few yards away. I was wide awake and alert. My back was straight. "How much did you hear, Nevaeh?" Kayla asked. I looked at her then back at the others.
"I heard when Lindsey said she had an assumption, and ended when Cooper told everyone that I was listening."
"You've known?" Brittany asked.
"I've known that I have the wolf gene since fifth grade when I broke my arm. Nobody in my entire family has ever had the wolf gene, except my great-grandma Adrianne. We share the same gene and the same love for wolves. She's the only one who understands. Besides my best friend, Eilla. She has a twin sister named Allie, but they are exact opposites, just like their names. Grandma died two months ago. I feel her spirit with me. I only own one necklace, and I never take it off, except when I swim, shower, and workout. She gave it to me right before she died." I took my hand off it now. It was a silver cross with a crystal gem in the middle. It changed colors when moonlight or sunlight hit it at the right angle. The moonlight hit it now, and I placed it back on my skin. I felt a small current run through my body and I knew it was working. The breeze blew my hair around my shoulders. Everyone gasped. I saw my waist-long hair. It was blue. I saw my skin glowing with the same essence of the moon. My eyes would be the deep blue of my hair. I took my necklace in my hands. It stopped working. I gasped for air. I fell to my back, but sat back up. It would be even worse on my birthday. There was going to be a lunar eclipse and if my necklace was on during it, I would die. My grandma said that my spirit would pass through the moon, but then live in a wolf. I was looking forward to that. So I was going to die in four days.
"No!" Cooper shouted. He was suddenly looking into my eyes. Our noses were almost touching. His fingers skimmed my cheek. I know that he read my mind. In my eyes, it was obvious.
"Why not?" I asked him.
"Because, I don't want to lose you."
"How would you not? I am just a mere Static in your mind." I don't know where that came from. That was the name Grandma had for humans.
"No, you're not." His eyes searched mine. "You are one of us. You, Nevaeh Hunter, are a Shifter." He pressed his lips to mine. He shifted his position until the moon hit my necklace. The moon spirits surrounded us. He pulled back. Each moon spirit looked like a small blue star. They twirled around us.
"Wow," we said at the same time. I felt a tugging at my body. Suddenly, we were taken to a different, but same place. We were looking at our bodies. The moon spirits fell away. The area was the same, except the colors were more distinct, yet foggy, if that's even possible. I heard a familiar voice that I hadn't heard in a long time.
"Welcome. I knew you would find out how to properly use the necklace." I looked over to see Grandma. She looked happy. She was blue, and I mean she was the color blue.
"Grandma!" I jumped into her arms. I looked at her face. "What do you mean, Grandma?"
"Well, you can use the necklace to come here. This is the home of the moon spirits. If you use it in the sun, you will go to the home of the sun spirits. This time, you used the necklace, and your mate." I looked over at Cooper. He had the same blue essence as Grandma, except it was a lighter blue, as though he couldn't stay in this form forever. "But Nevaeh, you can use the necklace without having your mate kiss you. You simply think of the animal you truly are, let the sun or moon touch your necklace, and you will appear whichever. Listen to Cooper. Don't be wearing my necklace on your birthday. I don't want to see you here. But, I don't think I'd see you in either the sun or moon spirit home. You are both of them. I don't know where you'd end up. I know that Cooper has a strong aura. He is a moon spirit. We all have them. And you, Nevaeh, you have the strongest aura I have ever seen. I would know. My great grandmother was a Shifter, too. Her friend helped her through it. It passes down every two generations. But you actually have another Shifter. I think you will break that curse. You must leave now. You will be more exhausted than normal when this is through. Goodbye. It was wonderful to see you again, Nevaeh."
I waved goodbye and felt that pulling. I was sucked back into my body. I collapsed against Cooper, who was trying not to fall also.
"I feel so tired," I mumbled against Cooper's chest.
"I think we should all rest." Lucas's tone was not suggestive. Everyone went into their tents, except Cooper and me. I was still feeling exhausted, but I could deal with it.
I wrapped my arms around Cooper's neck and kissed his cheek. "I'll be okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Get some rest." He smiled weakly and nodded. I watched him go into his tent, and then I stumbled to my tent. But I didn't reach it. The world spun. I closed my eyes, trying to regain my balance. I reached my arms out, trying to find something to steady me. My fingers skimmed the fabric of the tent. I tripped over my own feet and wind rushed past my face. My head banged onto something hard and stars flew across my vision. I slid to the forest floor. Everything went black.
Hey. I was planning on ending the chapter here, but I'm going to add some more. You're welcome.
Cooper POV
I headed into my tent. I got changed into a white t-shirt and some sleep pants. I didn't bother checking on Nevaeh. She said she was going to be alright, so why should I? I crawled into my sleeping bag and settled down. A few seconds later, I was out.
It felt like I was asleep for an hour when I was being shaken awake roughly. I probably was, because when I peeled my eyes apart, the tent was open and the light outside was dim. It was dawn.
I looked around the tent. Lucas, Rafe, Connor, and Daniel were sitting up, rubbing their eyes. Lindsey was kneeling next to me, her hands still on my shoulders. Her eyes were frantic. She sat back on her heels and placed her hands next to her. She seemed relieved that I was awake.
"Lindsey, what's wrong?" I asked groggily. Her look became more frantic.
"Nevaeh's hurt." I flashed into a sitting position. Lindsey scurried out of the tent, closing it behind her. I got dressed in thirty seconds. I was out of the tent before anyone else. Lindsey had already put up the square tent we used in case if anyone got sick during the trip. It was large enough that I could stand up in it. It wasn't actually a tent. It was a cube base that could be folded up. We wrapped it in many sheets and blankets, enough to cover the whole thing. The bottom of it was made out of tent material. The opening was two medium sized sleeping bags placed next to each other.
I ran over to the tent and peeled back the opening. I went in. Lindsey had laid a large sleeping bag on the floor of the tent. Another sleeping bag was in the middle of the tent and Nevaeh was lying in it. Lindsey was next to her putting disinfectant on the cuts over her face. Nevaeh had some scratches on her neck and shoulders. Kayla was on her other side holding her hand. Brittany stood in the corner. Hayden was delicately washing Nevaeh's clothes in another corner. Nevaeh was changed into cotton shorts and a strapless pajama top.
"Kayla, could you try and pull Nevaeh into a sitting position? I don't want her necklace's chain to bother her scratches." Kayla nodded. She slipped her hand to the middle of Nevaeh's back and her other to the base of her neck. She pulled her up and Lindsey quickly unclasped Nevaeh's necklace. Kayla gently laid Nevaeh back down.
Lindsey dipped the necklace into a small container of disinfectant and then dried it with a small washcloth. She hung it on a small jewelry holder. She took out a small bottle of jewelry polish and dipped a tiny brush into the foul smelling liquid. She ran it over the necklace, including the chain. It sparkled when she was done.
"Why do you bring jewelry polish when we take out campers?" I asked.
She looked at me. "I have a small gold locket. It gets dirty out here. I use the jewelry polish to clean it." I nodded my head at her. I moved over to Nevaeh's side and sat down. My fingers combed through her long dark brown hair. Then, I skimmed my fingertips over every scratch and cut. I cupped her cheek. She leaned into it, mumbling how that feels good. I gently pulled my hand back. I looked at Lindsey.
"Have you tried waking her up?" She shook her head. I looked back down at Nevaeh. "Nevaeh, can you hear me?"
"Who's Nevaeh?" She mumbled. Her words sounded a little slurred.
"No, no, no, no, no! She can't get a concussion. She won't remember anything!" I ran my hands up into my hair. I tugged on it. I squeezed my eyes shut. I heard some rustling, and then felt a warm hand on my own.
I heard her sweet voice. "I was just kidding, Cooper. I didn't know you would react like this." When she said my name, my insides turned to jelly, as much as I hated to admit to that. I looked up at her and pulled my hands from my hair. I gently hugged her. She smiled when I pulled back. Nevaeh touched her hand to where her necklace was supposed to be. She gasped. "Where's my necklace?" She turned her back on me and looked around franticly.
I reached behind me and gently grabbed the necklace. I unhooked the chain. Then, I reached in front of Nevaeh's face and clipped the necklace around her neck. She touched it and sighed. "Thanks Cooper." She turned to face me. Everyone had left the tent. She gently touched her lips to mine. Nevaeh pressed her body against mine, and I deepened the kiss. Her tongue trailed across my bottom lip. I groaned. She opened her mouth and I plunged my tongue into her mouth. We explored each others. My hands slid down her sides and rested on her hips. I pulled her onto my lap, without breaking the kiss. She wrapped her legs around my waist.
There was some rustling. "Hey Nevaeh, I heard you were up. Are you oka—Oh." Lucas was trying to suppress his laughter as he took in our position. "Um, sorry. I'll leave you two alone." He chuckled as he left and muttered something about 'New love.'
I turned my attention back on Nevaeh. She was looking down and fiddling with her fingers. I pulled her chin up to meet my eyes. Her eyes were dark brown and they glistened in the low light.
"Nevaeh, what's wrong?" I asked.
"I just embarrassed you in front of the pack leader. You should be angry at me." I gave her a gentle smile and rested my hand on her shoulder.
"But I'm not." She looked away from me and sighed. I kissed her cheek. She looked up at me and smiled. I put my face close to hers and took her hand.
"This is perfect." She mumbled.
"You're perfect." I replied. She looked up at me and her eyes were so wide and deep. She looked so perfect. The corners of her lips hitched up. She gave me a gentle kiss.
"Thanks," she said.
HEY PEEPS. What's going on? Yeah, so I added my own little twist. I want at least five people to review. If I only get three or four, YOU WON'T GET ANOTHER CHAPTER. So if you want to read more, REVIEW THE DANG STORY. Thanks.