Her usually glowing, olive-toned skin looks sickly and grey. A layer of cold sweat covers her dying body. The big, brown eyes that once shone with light and happiness are now dim. Her breath escapes in short gasps and hitches unexpectedly in her throat. Hands that used to create magic and inspire wonder now shake feebly in the hands of another, He looks at her with tearful, blue eyes as he brushes her long, brown hair away from her face. "Come back to me." he whispers. A single tear leaks out of the corner of her eye. She gathers one last breath. "Always." she tells him. She releases her final breath and her eyes flutter closed as she dies. He relinquishes her hand and stands up, dreading what's to come. Not wanting to start over again.

His love glows with a soft light as she morphs into a fox, then disappears altogether. Leaving only emptiness behind.

99 years later...
"I find the defendant guilty of all charges." The sound of wood meeting wood rings around the courtroom as 7 teenagers exhale a breath they didn't know they were holding. A girl with olive-toned skin, brown eyes, and long, brown hair breaks away from the group. Her name is Elena and she was the driving force that led to this moment.

If this story were to have a beginning, it would be in February of this year- 2014. That was when the cheerleading coach left to go have her baby and the squad met Mr. F. He took an instant disliking to them and vice versa. They all thought he was absolutely incompetent and couldn't coach their team to save his life. They weren't exactly discreet about their opinion of him either. Elena and her class loved to humiliate him- as teenagers will do- but they were sly about it and were very careful not to, technically, break any rules. One day Mr. F got tired of the routine humiliation day in and day out so he decided to lash out. The closest person to him happened to be Elena. He swung out with his fist and punched her in the stomach. She doubled over, wheezing. Much to his surprise, however, she straitened out and did what any self-respecting girl would do. She backhanded him across the face. His head snapped to the side and as he turned back to face his attacker, he was much more angry than before. He was on her in a second but the rest of the cheerleaders were almost as fast. They were in the fight a moment later and pulled Mr. F off, kicking and screaming. They through him on the ground and gave him a taste of his own medicine, plus a little extra. After the whole ordeal was over, the teenagers pooled their money, got a good lawyer, and took him to court for aggravated assault on a minor. The last hearing was today and Mr. F is being carted off to jail, his teaching career, and ultimately his life, ruined.

After Elena goes back to school, she is ecstatic. Everyone had either heard about Mr. F's complete stupidity in his grade 12 history classroom and on the cheerleading field, or had witnessed the expanses of his ineptitude personally, so they treated the cheerleading squad like royalty. Another good thing that came out of the whole ordeal was that they cheerleaders got much closer. One of them was never seen in school without another person that was also a part of the incident (to put it delicately). It was as if they were all eachother's bodyguards. But wasn't like they needed protection. Right?

That was true for three weeks. They were wonderful for Elena, who was treated with the upmost reverence, but agonizing for me, who not the most patient of beings. You see, the cheerleading squad was very unique in terms of the history of the team in the school. Elena Gilbert, Bonnie Bennett, Caroline Forbes, Vikki Donovan, Liv parker, Anna Johnson, and Hayley Marshall are all in grade 9 and are the only members of the cheerleading squad. Their school never had a team made of so few and young members before. The only reason it ended up that way was because no one else tried out. Almost everyone, both on and off the team, were perplexed by this strange occurrence, but what they didn't know was that it was the way of the grand design. Fate if you will.

But back to the story.

One cheerleading practice in May brought about the end of the girls' high. Two representatives from the US Marshall Service and one from the CIA came out onto the field where Elena and the rest of the squad was practicing. The talked quietly to the teacher who was watching the cheerleaders and sent her back inside. The girls stopped what they were doing to watch their teacher walk slowly into the school and the agents turn around. They walked toward the girls with faces that were supposed to convey sympathy and understanding but projected only fake and exaggerated emotion. With a big and slightly comical sigh, the man in the middle started to talk. "Girls, I regret to inform you that your previous coach, Andrij Filipowich, has escaped prison and it is assumed that he has taken refuge with a dangerous terrorist cell based somewhere in the northern United States. he has already killed during the break out and initiation into the cell and it is very likely that he will come after you next." If the man wanted to say anything else, it would have been drowned out by the shouts and swearing that erupted after this crucial statement.

These seven girls don't know it yet, but they are integral to the survival of everything good and sacred in this, and every, world. Most humans are infuriatingly narrow-minded, including our heroines (for now). They take all things beautiful, and pure for granted and will refuse to see things even if they are right in front of their faces. There are entire realms full of the supernatural and the divine out there but the humans just refuse to listen to reason, and the possibility that magic exists somewhere is lost on them. Sometimes I wish I was willing to change their fate after I see how 90% of them will remain non-believers. But my job is only to uphold destiny and the grand design, not to change it.

As I was saying, I can see the fate of people around the world, and the seven cheerleaders have something very special in store for them. If you have time, take a journey with me, and I will lead you into the realm of improbability, but not impossibility. I will tell you a tale about witches and vampires and demons. And love. Come with me on a trip through the lives and adventures of the last descendants of the animal line. Come with me as I tell you the story of the wolf coven.