Bear Valley, New York, Summer of 2020

By that Sunday afternoon, it seemed like the Meet was flying by. Uncle Nick and my Dad were giving fighting pointers to Logan, playfully sparring together on the lawn. I was sprawled on the grass a few meters away, my knee-length summer tunic dress protecting my short legs in front, as my arms bent and supported my upper body. Yes, I said short legs. While Logan was gaining on my parents' height, I was remaining the same size I had last year. Height-wise, anyway. In other ways, I was maturing faster than I wanted.

I watched as Logan calmly matched my Uncle's body, move for move. It was like some sort of macabre dance, beautiful and ancient. I was so entranced by the scene that I hardly noticed my father walking away from them to mimic my position on the grass beside me.

"Hey, kid." God, I loved that sound, I thought, it means safety. Home.

"Hey." O.K, so it wasn't so much a 'hey', but a hh-grunt kind of thing. But he got the meaning.

"Why don't you go join Logan and Nick? Give them a lesson?" His eyes gleamed on the last, and I knew that look so well.

"Nah, don't want to embarrass-" His eyebrows raised at that, waiting for me to unleash some sort of female damsel comment. "-Uncle Nick."

His head flew back as he laughed, full throated and oh-so like Logan.

Uncle Nick's voiced his outrage at that comment, and Logan was able to get in a solid punch to his stomach.

"Yeah, sure you could, kid." That drawl was very out of place in Bear Valley. I never asked who his real parents were- it didn't matter anyway. Only the pack mattered to him, and to me, " You are getting good, though, damn good."

I beamed at that, probably the desired effect. "Well, somebody in this family has to be able to fight." I smiled a challenge at him.

"That so?" He jumped to his feet half a second before I could manage.

I was thankful I had thrown on some black leggings underneath the dress, although it wouldn't have really mattered if anyone here saw my underwear. Nudity amongst the pack wasn't a big deal, except for me. Uncle Nick, Antonio, Jer, mom, dad, Logan, they had all seen me stumble recently naked from bed, heading to the bathroom or to get a drink of water. They saw me in diapers when I was a baby; there was never the potential for sexual thought on their pup.

The other members, that was another matter. I would never let Karl, Lee, or Joey see me naked now. At least, not as much as possible.

What I mentioned before? About maturing? Yeah, puberty has kicked in big time this year. Let's say that other than my height-which I fear will just be a gene from someone on my Dad's side- I look much older than my age. It's nothing that would draw your eye, make you think, ' That's not right! That girl looks much too old to be 13! There is something wolfy there!' Still, Jer says it's either more genes from my Dad's side, or my wolf genetics. Being a full blooded werewolf must mean that am bred to breed, so to speak. In a world where a lot of males die before they ever reach forty, I guess it's important to be able to having more pups as early as possible. The whole continuation of the species thing, I guess.

"Kate?" My Dad looked a question at me, wondering if I still wanted to start our own 'lesson'. I snapped out of my thoughts before he could get his bearings, and surprised him with a light smack on the back before prancing over to where Logan was.

"Oh, Logan, this is gonna be good." Nick led my twin off to the side, and I could feel him behind me. Always watching my back. "I'm glad you kids came along, finally someone can give your Dad a run for his money. Hey, Kate!" He yelled playfully at me, " make sure to get in a good hit on him for me, I owe him from last night!"

And with that, the lesson began.