I could smell the girl approaching, a boy was with her. When she walked in the door I nearly gasped. Larken, a
girl I had gone to school with for years. She had beautiful blue eyes, and dark brown hair. She was about 5'5"
and 115 pounds. I recognized the boy from school too. We would all be starting our freshman year next week.
Xavier planned on training Larken and I together. I looked at her once more, then decided to go back to
listening to my music, so I put my headphones back in. Xavier walked in, he pulled out my headphones when he
walked by me.
"Is that necessary?" I asked hesitantly. He nodded and looked at Larken very seriously. "You and Tyler will
be training together starting tomorrow. I suppose Shane can join us" She nodded, but refused to look him in
the eye. Curiosity was eating at me like a virus.
"Why me?" She asked faintly. Xavier turned, his eyes looked curious, and full of guilt. She looked unforgiving.
Xavier walked towards her hastily, reaching out to grab her shoulder. When his hand touched her skin she
flinched, but stayed there. "I never wanted this." She mumbled.
"Oh darling, when I open the pack bond you will have to love it, all the packs emotions will flow into you.
You will feel complete love, and dedication to this pack. I know you will love the way it feels to run."
"I know. I just don't want to be another one of the pack. I want to be something more." She looked terrified,
like a lost child, and for the first time ever, I felt her weakness. Yes felt it, the bond, everything.
"Now do you feel a little better?" Xavier asked, hope filled his eyes, but his face stayed stone hard.
Larken nodded, almost too quickly to be sure. For the first time she acknowledged me, reaching over to mess
with my hair. "So, when do we start?" I asked hesitantly.
"Well, I planned on starting tomorrow, but with these circumstances, we will be starting immediately.
The sooner the better." Xavier sounded relieved, and I was too.
"Fine, we start now. Doesn't mean I'll like it." Her voice showed faint signs of playfulness, but some truth.
We followed Xavier out the door, Larken was listening to me think. I made sure to not think about her too
much,that might cause some controversy.
"First we will run. Try to keep up." Xavier sprinted away, shedding his human skin. I followed quickly, as did
Shane. Larken stood watching for a moment, then shed her skin and followed. When in wolf form we could
communicate through senses, and thoughts. The only problem was keeping secrets, nothing was personal.
If I knew something, then it was pretty likely that everyone else did too. I looked at Larken, she was as
beautiful in wolf form as human, her fur was black. Those eyes seemed even more piercing now then when she
stood in the house, a bright blue, icy and pure. She nudged at my mind asking permission to enter.
I opened my mind to her fully, and she laughed, a wolfy grumble. She could tell I was thinking about her.
"Tyler, do you think my eyes are beautiful?" She mocked. I laughed, then focused on trying to keep up with
Xavier and Shane. I ran, listening to the wind, feeling the warm air, the bright sun on my fur. The running
was no problem for me, I had always ran cross-country, and Larken was a natural athlete.
Shane had been a wolf for two years now, and Xavier had been pack leader for 297 years. The change just
happens to some people, and others aren't so lucky. Shane had been attacked.
"Tyler, stop daydreaming back there, we are going to turn around now." Xavier said with a flick of his tail,
when he turned he purposely hit me in the face with his big fluffy white tail. I snorted, then went back to
daydreaming. My mind was still my own, no matter what bond I had with the pack. I would follow the rules,
train, and obey, but at the end of the day, I still have control over myself.
