Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Allie

“Hit the showers, guys! That’s all for today” Roland brought the session to a close and everyone started to disperse, heading for the locker rooms. I grabbed my towel and draped it around my neck, taking a long drink from my water bottle.

“Good job today, Allie” Roland said, playfully smacking me on the back. Having known me since I was 13, we were close. “Thanks”, I said, smiling easily.

“Listen, I have a favour to ask of you,” he continued.

“Sure,” I reply, wiping my face with my towel.

“I have to go out of town this Friday and wondered if you could fill in for me and take the class. I think you can handle these guys.”

OMG! Is he serious? Am I ready? Can I do this? A dozen questions scrawled through my brain and excitement bubbled in my stomach.

“Allie?” questioned Roland, waving his hand in front of my face, “Allie?”

Oops! I realise I’m standing here zoned out with a goofy grin plastered all over my face. “Sorry! Yes of course I can take the class for you.” I said, feeling my cheeks burn.

“Ah, great, thanks. I know it’s short notice, but there really isn’t anyone else I trust and who knows the class as well as you do. It doesn’t need to be anything heavy, just the usual warm up, a couple of practice moves and then some sparring. Keep it basic. That sound ok?”

“Sounds great!” I said, slightly more dreamily than I intended. The blush spreading on my cheeks sets up camp again.

Roland chuckled, “Great, thanks Allie. You’ll have a blast. They all love you”

“Thanks,” I manage shyly. We said goodbye and I grabbed my bag and sneakers.

I’ve been coming to Red’s Gym for nearly 5 years now and it really does feel like a second home. When I walk through the door, I instantly feel safe and settled. It’s weird. It’s kind of my happy place. I have always enjoyed sports, so when I saw a flyer at school advertising a self-defence class for teenagers. I went along and was instantly hooked. Now I volunteer in the same class on Wednesday and Friday afternoons, helping to guide young teens through the basics. Red's was located in the westernmost part of the territory, along with the high school, and the area was mostly human occupied. The self defence class was attended mostly by girls, but occasionally a boy attended, although the boys mostly attended the martial arts classes.

Since I graduated early last month, I spend most of my free time here which isn’t hard seeing as I work part time in the café. I slipped my feet into my sneakers and headed for the showers. Standing under the spray of the shower, I allowed Roland’s request to sink in. And I couldn’t get the smile off my face! I dried myself quickly, dressing in a pair of old worn black jeans, a green t-shirt covered in tiny stars and my black sneakers. I blow dried my waist length hair and twisted it in into a bun at the top of my head. Stuffing the rest of my stuff into my bag, I made my way to the café to grab a juice.

As I walked in, I spotted Kayla standing at the counter talking to the server. We met at the gym a few years ago and have been best friends ever since. We went to the same high school, but our paths never crossed. I bounced over to her and before she gets a chance to speak, I said, “Guess what?”

She opened her mouth to answer but I couldn’t contain my excitement any longer and blurted out “Roland wants me to take the class for him on Friday!”

“Wow, that’s fantastic!” she squealed, wrapping me in a bear hug. She squeezed me tight and then released me, still holding my arms in front of her, “Let’s plan your lesson”, the excitement showing on her face. She was practically vibrating! She dug around in her satchel and scooped out a large notepad.

We both giggled and sat down at a vacant table. Kayla and I are almost the same age, she will turn 18 next month, and I turn 18 on Saturday. And, like me, she graduated early last month too. We are study partners and work well together, so it was easy for us to get there together.

Turning 18 is a big deal in the werewolf community. It’s when you get your wolf, which means you will be able to shift into your wolf form. It also means your speed and strength are heightened too. And you gain accelerated healing abilities too. I was excited about getting my wolf and tapping into her strength. But it’s not all rainbows and lollipops. Turning 18 also means that you can now find your mate that the Moon Goddess bestows upon you. This part I wasn’t so excited about. Finding your mate is like finding the other half of your soul. Finding your mate completes you and, together, you are one, spending your whole lives together from that point. From what I’ve heard about it, the mate bond is strong and practically impossible to resist. I wasn’t sure I wanted a lifelong partner at all, let alone one over which I had no choice. I had my life already planned out with an exciting future ahead, and I didn’t want to have to give that up to serve as the pup making machine of a stranger. There was always the possibility of rejecting your mate, but it’s dangerous. Severing the bond between two mates is extremely painful and if you are not strong enough, you and your wolf could die.

We ordered milkshakes and spent a half hour planning the lesson before heading home. Kayla offered me a ride home. I tossed my bag onto the back seat and climbed in the passenger seat up front. As we pulled away, Kayla asked, “So, any plans for your birthday? It’s just around the corner.”

“No, nothing big. I was going to see if you were free to go to the movies on Saturday?”

“Sure, I’d love to. Is Melissa planning anything?” Kayla asked.

“I don’t think so,” I said shrugging, “but she wants to take me into the woods for my first shift.”

“Cool,” she said, “are you nervous?”

“A little,” I said.

Kayla smiled. “You’ll be fine.”

Melissa is my Godmother and has taken care of me since my parents died when I was a baby. She was my mother’s best friend; they grew up together as neighbours and then at school. Although she is human, the bond between my mother, Suzanne, and Melissa was strong and they considered themselves as close as sisters. Melissa has known about werewolves for some time as a result. And now she is the closest thing I have to family.

When I was younger, I used to ask her a lot about them, greedy to learn everything about them. What did they smell like? What was their favourite food? What was their favourite movie? She would always simply say that they were wonderful people. And as I got older, I would notice her pale face and bleak eyes, and realised the pain she felt. And I felt a little guilty for asking her. So, I stopped. Melissa had cared for me well, providing me with every possible physical and emotional need. I felt I owed it to her to save her having to take a trip down memory lane and plunge her into her grief. If it weren't for her, I'd have been raised in the pack orphanage.

It devastated her when they died in a car accident when I was 6 months old. Melissa had been babysitting me whilst my parents had gone out on a date. I don’t remember anything about them, and sometimes I’m glad I don’t. I think the pain of losing them would be unbearable if I remembered their faces, their voices, their scents. I miss having parents so much, but seeing the pain Melissa suffers at their loss hurts me more and is one of the main reasons I don’t ask her about them anymore.

Recently I’ve noticed her acting strangely though. She is normally chatty and bubbly, and we are close, frequently going out for dinner or the movies. But lately she has been quiet and withdrawn, something just seems off with her. Last week I came home to find her gazing at a framed photo of my parents sadly, silent tears running down her face. She quickly wiped away the tears, hoping I wouldn't see, and bustled to the kitchen to prepare dinner. And the few occasions I have mentioned my birthday, she seems like she doesn’t want to talk about it. On previous birthdays she has always celebrated happily with me, with a tinge of sadness across her delicate face. But this year it feels much worse. I had no idea what could be making her so miserable right now. She’s always a little sad after another year without my parents but this seems different. All I could think was that I’m turning 18 and will officially be an adult, maybe she thinks she will lose me if I find my mate.

At my graduation ceremony last week, Melissa sat proudly in the crowd as I accepted my diploma. She radiated love, and although I wished my parents were there to see me up on the stage, I felt lucky to have her in my life. If she had not taken guardianship of me, I would have had to go and live at the pack orphanage. She hugged me tightly as I walked off stage, clutching my diploma. Her beautiful face was glowing with pride as she congratulated me.

We drove for a few minutes and Kayla pulled into the small driveway adjacent to the cottage and came to a stop. We both have the morning shift at the café tomorrow, so Kayla arranged to pick me up. Although I have already passed my driver’s test, I don’t have a car yet, so Kayla helps me out sometimes with a ride. I grabbed my bag from the back seat and thanked her for the ride.

The cottage is situated on the edge of thick woodland on the very outskirts of our pack’s northern territory. The Gold Creek pack is one of the largest in North America and is well established in both business and structure making it both prosperous and successful. Alpha Spencer was a strong and fair leader and had secured the fellowship of our two closest packs in a peace treaty that has spanned decades. The pack house that houses the Alpha, Beta and Gammas and their families, along with some supporting staff and warriors, is all the way over on the other side of the grounds and, although I’ve never been inside, Kayla and I have driven past it a few times on our travels. Right after she passed her driver’s test and got her car, we would go out on long drives together to explore the territory.

Hugging the tree line of dense forest, the cottage is a good size with a slanting red tile roof. Sunshine yellow wooden shutters adorn every window and there’s a large garden that sprawls out the front with flowerbeds overflowing with bright and colourful flowers. As it was springtime the garden was bursting with new life, but in all honesty, the garden looked good all year round. It was Melissa’s passion, and she dedicates a lot of her spare time growing rare and impressive plants, herbs and flowers, most of them I've never hward of. I walked through the matching sunshine yellow front door and dumped my bag on the sofa. Melissa wasn’t home. She works at a large architectural company closer to the centre of town and was still at work.

I walked into the kitchen and my stomach growled obnoxiously. It was almost if it knew I was near food! I whipped up a turkey sandwich and sat at the breakfast bar to eat. I love food more than anything. As I finished my sandwich and cleared away my plate I began to think about my birthday. I hadn’t really taken the time to sit down and think about it properly. Previous birthdays have been very…well, normal! A cake, gifts and a day out bowling or the movies. And of course, all my favourite foods! But this one was a pretty big milestone birthday and there was a lot of pressure. Turning 18 officially means you are an adult within the pack. And then there’s the first shift which will be painful. I’ll be glad to have Melissa with me, but I was starting to get nervous about it.

I tidied away my mess and then slipped off my sneakers and got comfortable on the sofa to put the finishing touches to the lesson plan for Friday. I wanted it to be perfect. The excitement was bubbling up inside of me just thinking about it! It felt like one step closer to reaching my goal of opening my own gym, specialising in self-defence combat sports. As soon as I finished my very first self-defence class, I knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life. It was kind of a light bulb moment, and I finally realised my purpose. Because joining the class had been a pivotal moment for me. When I saw a poster on the school noticeboard advertising the class, I felt drawn to it. At 13 I was quiet and shy. I pretty much kept to myself at school, but had no special talents or any hobbies. All the other kids knew I was an orphan (nothing escapes the werewolf community!) and while no one was ever mean, they mostly just left me alone. I was grateful not to be bullied but it left me with virtually no friends, not helped by my social awkwardness. Joining the class at the gym boosted my confidence so much and helped me make some new friends. It had felt like second nature to be learning to fight. I felt accepted and content every time I was there, and I met Kayla. We instantly clicked and have been friends ever since. She is mostly the complete opposite to me. She is tall, slender and has the most beautiful blonde hair that is naturally wavy. When we first met, I thought she curled it every day and I would never believe her when she told me she didn’t. It wasn’t until I had my first sleepover at her house that I realised she was telling the truth. She washed her hair in the evening and when she woke up in the morning it was perfect. I mean, like, catwalk ready! Beautifully formed, soft waves of gold silk!

I, on the other hand, was short, barely reaching 5 foot. And not slender at all. I wouldn’t say I’m chubby or overweight, more like toned and muscular because I work out a lot. My hair was waist length, dead straight and a chocolate brown colour. But our personalities, although quite different, seem to complement each other in a way that just felt right. Like I’ve known her all my life and always will.

And joining the class was just the beginning. Once I had mastered self-defence I moved on to martial arts classes, all and every kind. And then combat sports until I had participated and learned everything the gym had to offer. The self-defence class has always been my favourite and when I was 16, I started to volunteer helping to run the class. Roland has always said that I have a way of engaging the younger members of the class, and I have always enjoyed helping them learn the ropes because I see myself in a lot of them. Watching them gain the confidence to blossom into young adults fills me with joy.

Leading the class on Friday is a big deal, because I know that if it goes well and I do a good job, it could lead to opportunities within the gym that would give me more experience as a teacher. It could even lead to a job in the gym. That would be amazing!

My phone pinged with a message from Melissa saying she is working late tonight. That’s every day this week so far. I haven’t seen her since the weekend now, which is a bit unusual. We text back and forth for a bit, and I tell her about the class on Friday, since I probably won’t see her tonight now. I just hope she’s not avoiding me.