Chapter Three

A Pack Run

Breakfast went normally after the whole 'Jeremy-eats-first' thing. I realized quickly, however, that this pack of werewolves ate like they were starving. Or maybe that was werewolves in general. I had been trying to eat normally, but in the past week I had found that I was hungry. Always hungry. I could eat a Thanksgiving Feast to myself, and an hour later be hungry again.

So it was with great relish that I dug into the breakfast. That was, once I realized that I wasn't the only one with a huge appetite. There was enough food there to feed a small army, so I wasn't shy about eating my fill. After I was done, I looked around and saw the rest of them looking at me with a smile on their face. Well, all except Clay. He seemed to be studying me again, which set me on edge. I don't know how Elena could be in a relationship with him, because he just scared the living daylights out of me.

I blushed slightly, wondering why they were staring at me. Had I done something wrong? Well, that didn't make sense. Why would they be smiling if I had done something wrong. So what had I done to catch their attention? I didn't want to ask, but it was obvious I was going to have to.

"What?" Was all I said.

Elena laughed slightly before answering. "All werewolves have a large appetite. It's just nice to see a young one that's not trying to hide it." She explained.

Needless to say, I was surprised. I shrugged, suddenly nervous with the attention I was getting. Thankfully it didn't last long. Jeremy set his hands on the table, and got to his feet. Just like that, everyone's attention turned to him. This was obviously going to take some getting used to. Never before had every move of mine been a chance to screw up. And never before had someone been watching my every move. I wondered if rank breaches were met with violence, like they would have been in a real wolf pack.

Not that I wanted to find out.

Jeremy smiled down at us, a happy and content smile. I wondered how he could be so happy considering what we were. I couldn't control it, yet Jeremy and the others seemed so confident. I was terrified of the likelihood of having to change. I had never chosen to change, it had always just forced itself upon me.

"Let's get outside, and take a run. I'm sure we could all benefit from it." He said, his smile not wavering once.

I stayed in my seat, even though the others had gotten up and were heading outside. I didn't dare follow them. I just wanted to run back upstairs, to my room, and hide from all of this. I wanted to go home, back to mom and my brothers and sisters. But it felt like I couldn't move. I didn't even notice that Elena had come over and stood next to me. At least, I didn't notice until she set her hand gently on my shoulder.

"Tiffany, are you alright?" She asked calmly and quietly. Her voice was soft and gentle.

I shook my head. "I'm going to go back to my room. You guys go without me." I said softly, unable to talk louder without my voice breaking.

Jeremy shook his head, for the first time his smile slipping away. "You need to learn to control this, Tiffany. It seems intimidating, especially considering what has happened. But this doesn't have to be a curse." He said, his voice still calm, gentle and quiet.

I wondered how he could do it. How he could be so calm and quiet considering what they all were. I felt like there was a monster inside me. No, that wasn't quiet right. The wolf within me wasn't a separate entity. It was me, so I guess I felt like a monster. And no one had even taken the time to explain what was happening. I was a strong person, but this was just too much for me.

Jeremy came over, taking Elena's place at my side. With two fingers under my chin he urged me to look him in the eye. The moment I did, it was strange. A part of me felt like I was falling forward, hypnotized. I wanted to crawl into his blue eyes and stay there, where I could be safe from what I was. The other part of me wanted to kneel down in front of him, drop my eyes and hope I hadn't offended him. I didn't understand the second part of me, of my reaction, but it was there.

"I know this all seems scarey, Tiffany. As Elena and I explained to you, your father must have been one of us, a Mutt. Never before has a female child been born a wolf. You're the first, that we know of. I know the first change can be terrifying, but that's why you're here. To learn to control it." He said. I could do nothing more than nod, not even break eye contact with him.

But I also couldn't help the hysterical laugh that was sounding in my head. The first change, my first change, was more than scary. It had resulted in the death of my mother. The murder of my mother. And how was I going to be forgiven for that? Most people guilty of murder ended up in prison, and I had been thrown at a family of people hiding in New York state. A family of werewolves.

Jeremy nodded to me, and I could see Elena wearing a small and assuring smile. I didn't smile back, and my eyes were still locked with Jeremy's. I literally couldn't look away from him, and that was alarming to me. I was headstrong and determined, and I hated the feeling of helplessness I had at the moment. It alarmed me, and for a moment I thought I was going to panic.

Suddenly Jeremy's demands on my attention seemed less, and I took the opportunity to look away. He nodded to the rest of the people, and everyone but Elena left. Even Jeremy headed out with the other guys. I looked around the kitchen for a moment, not wanting to look at Elena and see the pitying expression there. The sound of cloth being tossed onto a table or chair caught my attention, though.

Elena was standing there, getting undressed, her back towards me. There must have been a mirror on the other side, because she seemed to know I was watching her. Her voice was calm and accepting when she spoke.

"You should start getting undressed. Shifting while clothed is difficult, and often painful." She smiled at me, I know because I could hear it in her voice when she spoke again. "Not to mention the hassle of constantly having to go clothes shopping."

That comment made me feel less horrible about it all. I could feel my usual brightness spark back up, and I couldn't help but smile. A small bark of a laugh escaped my lips before I even knew it was going to happen. And upon the first laugh, I couldn't stop myself from continuing. I burst out laughing, happy and feeling a bit ludicrous all at the same time. The absurdity of this entire situation had finally hit me.

Elena looked at me over her shoulder and smiled. The kind of smile an older sister gives a younger sister when she finally put the last piece of a puzzle together and is feeling the joy of a job well done. Without my laughter stopping, I started getting undressed. I was going to follow Elena's lead on this, since it would be only the second time I ever shifted.

I rather liked my wolf form. At least, I thought my wolf was beautiful. Seeing her for the first time in the mirror, I was amazed. Where my hair was an ugly dark shade of brown, her fur was a rich brown with streaks of red and gold in it. Well, I couldn't really tell if they were streaks, highlights or just the way the light danced off her fur. The very tip of her tail was white, and her front right leg from the elbow joint down was white. White as if she had stepped in white paint. Her eyes were gold, like a wolf, but sometimes I could see the human brown come forward.

Elena led the way out of the kitchen, me following slightly behind her. I was practically slinking behind her, afraid of what people would think. A part of me knew it was ridiculous, since I was among other wolves now. But I was so used to living on the outskirts of normalcy, of acceptance, that I guess it was a hard habit to break. Compared to me, Elena was confidence personified. Her wolf was more golden colored, with an arrow shaped saddle mark of almost bronze colored brown. Burnished bronze, someone had once told me that color was.

The guys were all in a circle, waiting for us. There was a pile of clothes off to the side. Jeremy, and I could tell it was Jeremy from his scent, was brown in color like me. Though his brown seemed to sit over shades of gray, like a typical wolf. Clay was also brown, but a much more reddish colored brown. And Nick, the only other pack member I knew, was golden brown in color. Almost like a dirty blonde color. They had told me that there was one more member of the pack, Logan, but he was off with his pregnant girlfriend.

Jeremy nodded to me, a sign of approval I guess, before he trotted off into the woods. The others started following him, and when Elena moved towards the woods I stuck close to her. For some reason, I felt more drawn to her. Probably because she was also a woman, and she wasn't a domineering as Clay or as scary as Jeremy could be. And my problem with Nick? I didn't have a problem with Nick, but I also didn't know him. And I avoided people I didn't know.

We hit the treeline at a trot, but within ten feet of being in the woods the entire pack was running. I was beginning to relax, my body loving the exertion of the run and the feeling of breathlessness it created. It was a freeing feeling. And the sensitive nose let me know where every member of the pack was almost at all times. My eyesight was a bit different, a wider view but things stuck out less. Like I was having problems with my depth perception.

The run made me feel free, a feeling I had never quite had before. I felt like if I kept running, I could outrun all my problems. It felt like nothing could hurt me, if I could only keep running. Eventually I became more bold, running faster and faster. I even outran Jeremy. And the rest of the pack just ran behind me, sometimes howling with joy.

I felt like I belonged...