Breathing in the authentic smell of wood, dew, grass and moss as I stepped out of the car, I took in the vagely familiar scenery.

It has been a while since I've been here. A little over 7 years to be more precise. The scents made the memories I had tried so long to suppress, rush back like a tsunami. I fought against the barrier of memories, but lost the battle. Memories of how I felt that led to leaving this place behind after my father had died, flooded my thoughts and senses. My mother had found it too painful to stay here, so we packed up everything and left.

"So how does it feel to be back?" I looked up towards the voice that pulled me from my thoughts and smiled at my uncle.
"Good, and weird, feels like nothing has changed."
"Yes, that's life in a small community, life moves a lot slower than in those big cities."
I nodded, I could definitely see that.
"Plus, we have a lot more time so we can afford to go slow and enjoy every moment so much more."
My jaw quite literally dropped to the ground, my uncle was such a wise man, I wondered if my Dad was like him. I mean, I could still remember bits and pieces here and there, but not his wit. I could remember the looks on the Alpha's face when he told my Mom what happened, even though she had sent me upstairs the minute she had seen the Alpha emerge from the trees around our house, and I could remember how my Uncle used to play with me and make me fly like an airplane and the occasional ride on his wolf back, but I would kill for some werewolf wisdom.

All of a sudden, two sets of footsteps burst through the front door.
"Cassieeee!! You're here!" Both my cousins shouted, running towards us.
"Luke, Will! I missed you!
Soon I was wrapped into two pairs of buff arms. I smiled and rested my head against Luke's chest, feeling content and at home.
"Come on Cass, we'll show you to your room."
They each took one of my hands and pulled me with them.
"Guys, my stuff, wait..." I trailed of, looking back at my uncle who was grinning from ear to ear.

Well, they were definitely excited to have me.

"Oh! Right! I'll get them, don't worry Cassie, no one's going to steal them here, but I've got your back!" Will said, letting go of my hand to grab my luggage, which he balanced easily with one hand. Perks of having your werewolf genes activated already I guess. Will was only a few months older than me but looked like a grown ass man now. I had stayed in contact with him via Facebook, so I had seen his transformation happen. It was less visible for girls than for boys, but I was still curious what it would do to my body once it happened.

That was the reason why I was here. I had turned 17 this month and in a few days, it would be the full moon for this mooncycle, which meant I would shift for the first time and meet my wolf. I was beyond excited, but it wasn't safe to let this happen in the city, because it was hard to control a wolfspirit that had been in hibernation for 17 years. So my Mom had agreed to let me come back home for my first shift, although she had stayed in our apartment because it was too hard for her to face the memories. So here I am!

Luke started pulling me with him again, so this time I smiled and followed him happily. Luke was six years older than his brother, making him 23, he would succeed his father as the Beta of the pack once his father decided to step down. Which, if you asked me, was about time. I couldn't bear the thought of him getting hurt and he was getting older too, so slower than those young restless rogues he needed to face while in battle. I simply couldn't stand losing him, like my father's life had been lost. But I didn't dare to tell him this. No one liked to be told what to do and I feared it would make him reckless trying to prove he was still the right man for the position.

As we entered the house, with Will close behind, Will began talking about some party tonight, but I wasn't really listening, I was looking at the pictures on the wall with my Dad in them.
"So, do you want to go?"
Will's question barely registered in my mind, but I had no idea what he was on about.
"Hu?"
"There's a party at the pack house tonight, it would be a great opportunity to see everyone again, AND, it's fun."

I giggled at his bubbly personality, both brothers had so much energy, it was infectious.
"Sure, why not." I agreed.
Will erupted in a full-on cheer at which I giggled some more.
"So Luke, Will, have you found your mates yet?"
I wiggled my eyebrows and plopped myself down on the bed as we had arrived at the bedroom by now. Will immediately turned bright red after my questiion, while Luke's mood turned a little sour.
"No." He spoke softly at the same time Will squeaked an excited 'Yes'.
I smiled at the affermative answer and turned to Luke, although I felt slightly bad for not dropping the obviously sour subject.
"You have to tell me all about her."
"Well, she's lovely, a hard shell to crack, but a beautiful treasure inside."
"Aww, sounds like you're whipped!"
His grin grew bigger as his eyes grew a little distant, obviously thinking about his lovely mate.
"You can meet her tonight, she lives at the pack house."
I nodded, but frowned as I wondered why she would live at the pack house and not with her parents or family, but I decided it was probably none of my business.
"Sure, I'd love to."
Then I remembered about Will and turned my attention to him, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.
"I'm sure your mate will be worth the wait. And you know what, you'll only treasure her more because you had to wait so long for her. Or him." I added, as an afterthought, you never knew what kind of connection our Moon Goddess had created.
He nodded, but still looked like he wanted to leave, so I gave him an opportunity.
"Okay guys, I think I'll unpack now and sort through my stacks of clothes to find a good outfit for tonight, wouldn't want to make a bad second - first impression. And I'm sure you guys don't want to stick around for an endless amount of playing dress up."
They didn't even answer me as they quickly scurried out. I smiled, glad that they still seemed to be the same, shying away from anything girly. I closed the door after them and threw my bags on the bed with some effort, zipped them open and started to unpack.

It didn't take me long to put away my stuff and when I was ready, I stuffed the bags underneath the bed so they wouldn't take up space. After that, I decided to lie down a little as I hadn't been able to sleep on the way here. The anticipation of visiting home had been too much for sleep to take over, but now, I felt at peace and felt like dozing of a couple of times before. I didn't want my cousins to have to take me home tonight, simply because I was too tired and I didn't know what else I could do to keep me entertained until tonight, so it was honestly my best option.

It didn't take long for sleep to win the battle when I had gotten comfortable on the bed. Soon I was dreaming about my first shift, imagining all about it. I dreamed about the color of my fur, and how it would feel if the wind rustled through it, I dreamed about running through the woods, the heightened senses, and meeting my mate.