* Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Lycans/Vampires or their powers as depicted in Underworld. However, every character in this story (save two that will come up later) are of my own creation. Please do not steal them.*

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Rites of Passage

The birthday celebration was even better attended than the night Arienne was born. It seemed like every Lycan in Europe came to the Donovan household to celebrate. Rigel lifted his daughter into the air to parade her around several times that evening. For once, Arienne understood why their house was set so far away from humans – there was so much howling and noise of every kind that other people would have been fairly disturbed by it.

At one point, the party became so loud that Arienne had to pull herself away and slink outside to the back balcony for a break. She stood at the carved stone rail and stared out over the trees. The warm summer breeze blew through her straight black hair. She could just barely see some firelight through the foliage in the distance where a human town was settled. She thought to herself, 'One day, I'll visit the humans and see how they live. They must live poorly since they don't have the abilities we do.'

She glanced up to the waxing moon. How could the moon control someone? What power could this tiny silver sphere hold?

A barely noticeable breeze blew by and Arienne felt the hair on the back of her neck tingle and stand on end. She turned to the side of the house, thinking that someone – or something – was watching her. She stared into the shadows, hoping both to find something to prove her hunch, but also not find anything in case it was something dangerous. After glaring so intently on the one shadowy spot that she'd blocked out all sound, she relaxed a bit and turned to go back to her family and the safety of their numbers. As she reached the door, she felt that strange tingle again and heard a rustling behind her. She whipped around just in time to see a long shadow race across the lawn and disappear into the forest.

Spooked, but at the same time intrigued, she slowly returned to the cacophony of indoors.

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Later that week, as the moon filled, the Donovan clan became restless and anxious. All were atwitter over seeing Arienne's first transformation. The clan gathered on the lawn one afternoon before sunset, drinking wine and carousing, preparing for the event that night. Rigel stood before them on the deck and called them all to order.

"It seems like only yesterday that our little Arienne was born. And now we gather here this evening as she joins us in our transformation and she becomes a true Lycan!" Rigel raised his arms in triumph and the crowd cheered – almost becoming a roar. "So, as we do for each new member, I will explain the proceedings: as the sun sets, we must ask that all humans remain indoors so they are not harmed. For modesty's sake, men to one side, ladies to the other. I don't want my little girl seeing anything she shouldn't at her age." The crowd chuckled on cue and separated. "Lastly, to prevent clothing from ripping, please remember to loosen the fastenings on your clothing now and pull them off as you transform – we all remember what happened last month with Wiley Adlam," Rigel remarked as he held up some shredded cloth.

Wiley, a thin man, smiled. "You just think that was from changing! That was when my wife found me sleeping in the garden instead of doing my chores!" he chuckled. Some men nearby booed and hissed until he quieted.

Rigel looked to the sky and said, "Ah, I see the light fading. Quickly everyone, raise your glasses in a toast!" Everyone did so. "To Arienne Michelina Donovan – now a true Lycan!"

"Hurrah!" cried the group and drank from their glasses. Rigel came down, kissed Diarra and Arienne, and retreated to the men's side.

Diarra leaned down to her daughter and helped her with the ties on her gown. "Arienne, dear, are you still brave?"

"Yes, mother! I want to change soon!"

"Don't worry, child. Now, I want you to smell my hair," Diarra said pulling a chunk of hair to Arienne's nose. "Remember that scent, and if you get lost or separated from the pack, smell the air for my scent and follow it. If you can't smell it, follow the moon back to the house and wait here for the rest of us. Understand?"

Arienne nodded and took a big sniff.

"Good girl. Now, get ready… this is going to hurt."

Arienne watched Catherine and the other servants retreat to the house, shutting the large glass doors behind them. Catherine stared out and smiled at her, waving. In a matter of moments, the moon was rising in the sky and Arienne watched her family hunch and twist as their bones reformed and their skin stretched. She felt a tingle in her spine that made her look up at the glowing silver orb in the sky. Suddenly, she felt her spine contort this way and that. She fell to the ground on all fours, wincing in pain as she underwent the transformation: ribcage enlarging, face extending into a snout, and her hands curling under into clawed paws.

A loud snarl escaped her mouth instead of a grunt and her eyes snapped open to reveal the golden spheres had turned a silvery color with blue flecks. She was amazed to see – her sight had improved immensely. Immediately she could smell her mother by her side and she even recognized her father's scent from a long distance. She glanced around to see that the clan was fully transformed. A wolf-like creature Arienne recognized as her father – she didn't know how – reared its head and howled, running off toward the trees. The rest of the pack joined, and Arienne tried her best to keep up. She was much smaller than the rest of them, and though she was fast, she wasn't fast enough.

She ran as hard and fast as she could, but still she could not catch up. She stopped to catch her breath, and when she looked up, the pack had dispersed through the wood. She couldn't see anyone, but their scents remained potent. She quickly picked up her mother's smell and charged after it. She hurtled after it for what seemed like hours and still could not find them.

Finally, she stopped running and looked up to the moon. Remembering her mother's words, she trudged back in the direction of the moon returning to the house sooner than it had taken her to chase after the pack. She sat in the garden and stared up at the moon. She felt a tingle on her scalp that rippled sown the rest of her body, and then she felt the anger rise in her. "This is supposed to be my night! I'm supposed to become a true Lycan – a part of the clan! Doesn't that mean I should be with them? I'm meant to be a part of the pack and I can't even keep up with them!" she yelled at the moon. "If I'm intended to be a Lycan, I want to be a proper one!"

She waved her fists angrily and turned to the door of the house. Catherine stood just beyond the glass staring at Arienne, wide-eyed and mouth agape. She unlatched the door and ran out. "Miss Arienne! What happened? Didn't you transform? I thought I saw you change. You must be freezing!" she rambled.

Catherine wrapped her shawl around Arienne's shoulders. Arienne looked down for the first time since she'd run off and saw her own hands instead of claws. She was also stark naked, so Catherine's shawl was a blessing. "Oh… oh… I—I don't even remember changing back…"

"So you did transform? I thought I saw you. But Lycans stay in their wolf form until the moon sets. How did you change back?"

"I'm not sure. I just felt a tingle and started yelling. I guess it just happened."

Catherine stepped back. "Could you change again if you wanted to?"

"I suppose so…" She closed her eyes and thought the words, 'Make me a wolf. Make me a wolf. Make me a wolf,' but when she opened her eyes again, she was still in human form. "I don't think I know how."

Catherine wrapped her shawl tighter around Arienne and led her inside. "Come, miss, let's get you inside to wait for their return." Arienne clothed herself while Catherine made her a warm drink. Arienne sat in the room facing the forest, staring out the large windows as she sipped her drink.

It seemed to be forever before Arienne fell asleep on the sofa. At dawn, the pack returned and changed back in the garden together. Diarra picked up her gown and dressed herself quickly, rushing to Rigel with a horrorstruck face. "Rigel! Where is Arienne? I thought she was with us!"

"Didi, shhh. Did you tell her what to do if she got separated?" he asked, stroking her shoulders trying to comfort her.

"Yes, of course," she said, still trembling.

"Then she must have come back here if she's not with us. Come with me and we'll look for her." Rigel took her hand and they started circling through the pack. "Has anyone seen Arienne? Arienne?"

"Rigel, isn't she with us?" asked Wiley. Rigel conveyed his answer with a simple glance.

"Master Donovan! Master Donovan!" came the familiar cry of Catherine. "We've been waiting for you since sometime after midnight."

"We?" asked Rigel. Diarra turned quickly in anticipation of seeing her daughter beside her.

"Miss Arienne came back a few hours after you had left; she returned and… and…"

"What, Catherine? What?!" cried Diarra.

"She'd changed back," Catherine replied solemnly. The Donovans stared back dumbstruck. "She's in the parlor."

Rigel and Diarra, arm in arm, followed Catherine into the house in stunned silence. They entered the parlor and saw Arienne's tiny frame curled up on the sofa sound asleep. Diarra instantly fell to her knees by her daughter's side. "Oh, thank you. Thank you, dear Lord, for keeping her safe."

"She's been asleep now for a few hours," said Catherine. "She said she'd been angry about not being able to keep up with the pack when she returned and changed back."

"We should have known, Rigel. We should have known that her first time she wouldn't be fast enough. She has to get accustomed to her abilities before she runs with the pack."

"She's safe, Diarra. Besides, we forgot only it's been so long since anyone has had children in our clan. We've only trained Lycans that were turned from older humans. It's alright." He kneeled down and slid his arm around her shoulders. "Let's bring her to bed; she's had a rough night. We'll talk to her about what happened in the morning." He scooped her minute body up in his enormous arms and carried her off to bed.

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*Coming soon: "Evolution".*