{PART ONE- Danyel Maynard}

::CHAPTER 1::

I sat at my window listening to the howls of the Pack. Tonight the younglings were going out for a run together. It was all they'd been talking about for a week.

The run was a silent thing, but it was how they bonded. It calmed and strengthened them. Made them closer as a Pack. Made them closer to their Alpha. No one going on the run was in their second form. Only human bodies could be seen running into the forest. Changing season wasn't here yet. There was no full moon, but the time was approaching. Everyone could sense that. Full humans like myself included.

Only Pack members knew what a group run was like. The rest of us weren't allowed in the woods alone, far less when the Pack's wolves were so close to the edge that they were dangerous.  

Even if I was a Packmate, I would be too little to go. I wouldn't even be old enough to be called a youngling. That didn't matter. I wanted to go with the teenagers who were cutting through the forest at top speed. It was for the best that I stayed behind. I knew that. But that didn't make me want to stay any more.

I didn't have any abilities like the Chosen. I wouldn't be able to keep up with them during the run and I couldn't see in the dark like they could. Most of all I had no bonding rights. But I had to admit, watching them made my own energy buzz. I need to be out there too. Just to see what it's like.

"Who's my favorite eight year old in the world?" someone called from outside my room breaking through my thoughts.

I turned in time to see the door swing open. "Richie!" I yelled. He crossed the room in four large strides and pulled me to his chest. The simple hug dulled the buzz of energy that had been nagging me moments before. Who could think about a group run when Richie was back? He was my Pack even if it was a fake one. I might not be allowed to go on the run, but if I'd been out there with the others I wouldn't have been home for this.

"I missed you, dude!"

"Same here, pup," he grinned and released me, "It's been a while. Look at you. Have you grown? Are you getting stubble? Is that...I think I spot a grey hair." He was tugging on strands of my hair like a mother monkey.

"It's only been a month," I giggled smacking his hand.

"I'm just playing," he winked and I ruffled his hair.

It was a messy, dark mass that seemed to stick out in just under a billion directions. It was sort of calming to feel the locks running through my fingers. It was familiar. It had been too long since I had last done that.

He ducked away from me. "Fix it back," he said. I smoothed out the locks with a roll of my eyes. It would take a two whirlwinds and God himself to accomplish making his hair messier than it was already. Keeping my thoughts to myself, I let him live in his fairy world and pretended to fix it. "Thanks," he said and walked over to my bed, "I'm so exhausted."

My eyes fell on the bags near my bedroom door. I guessed that he had come straight to my house after his last day of camp. Richie never seemed to spend a lot of time in his own house so I wasn't too surprised. He was almost always here. My aunt and uncle never minded though. They knew that Richie and I were close. Everyone knew that.

He had known me back when I was the adorable new toddler next door. Now at eight and thirteen we were still inseparable. He had only been my babysitter for a little while now but he knew the inside of our house almost better than we did.

Both my aunty and uncle were of the Chosen. When they Changed, Richie usually spent the night to keep an eye on me. I knew it was too dangerous to be around them while their beasts were ready to claw. Human bones were way more fragile than theirs and mine were pretty human.

My aunt said that when I was tested in the hospital, the doctors had cleared me. She was happy about that and some of the elders seemed jealous. I personally didn't get it. They get to turn into cool wolves and I didn't? That sucked. I wanted to go running with the younglings and hunt with them. It seemed like I was the only one who didn't see it as a curse the way everyone else seemed to around here.

Our village was in a clearing in the heavily forested part of Rondesdale. Outsiders never ventured in and we rarely went out. The only pure humans in the village were the Crowley family, namely Richie and his parents, whose bloodline had never been 'tainted'; there was not a single Chosen in their family tree. All the other humans who lived here were those who weren't affected by the mutated genes of the Chosen. Like me. Those humans might have family in the Pack, but they didn't have the ability to shift.

"Are you staying for dinner?" I asked.

"Hell yeah I'm staying. I called my parents and everything," he replied, "Your aunt is making corn soup and dumplings. You should smell the kitchen."

My own stomach growled. Aunty hadn't made that in months and it was a village favorite. Ignoring my hunger, I climbed onto the bed. "Wow!" I reeled back. That smell. I knew that smell. I had almost forgotten it. It was sweet and unpleasant. It was one that lingered and stuck on clothes for days at a time. Eliza.

Richie was popular in the village but he didn't make friends as easily at his own school. One of his only friends happened to be a rosy faced blonde with a signature perfume that made me want to gag. I begged her more than once to stop wearing it, but it was her 'favorite in like the whole world'. I could always tell when she had been around.

"You've been with her," I said fanning the air around my face.

"Who?" Richie asked.

"Eliza."

"Oh. Yeah I sat with her on the bus. We spent most of music camp together."

"Take a shower."

"I alrea—."

"Now."

Covering my nose and mouth I left the room. It was a wonder that Richie could stand it. Her smell was horrible. Too strong. Forced. What did she do, soak in a bottle of that stuff?

As I reached the landing, the smell of hot soup filled my senses and my nose thanked Aunty for that. The Eliza-stink was all over Richie and, after our hug, my shirt.

I looked into the living room as a howl ripped through the air. Uncle was peering out of the open window at teenagers running across the land. I made my way over to him and sat at the window seat. The night was dark but the smell of damp grass and dewy trees gave me an idea of what it must be like to join the flanks of the others. There were humanish howls and thudding paws on the ground. Those with the ability to shift outside of Changing season had gone into their second form it seemed. It was all wild and untamed. Scowling, I noticed a figure standing near the trees.

It was dark but I could make out the small frame and shock of white-blonde hair. He was walking with a tall, muscular man with equally pale locks. Locks that would match the pelt of his second form perfectly. I had seen the Alpha's coat when he Changed once. It was the most magnificent thing a person could see. It was like snow tipped with silver and stretched into individual hairs. I could expect that his son's coat would be just as eye catching.

What annoyed me about the pair was how the Alpha's son, Orion, was allowed to go with the younglings. He wasn't a teenager yet. He was only a year older than I was. It shouldn't have bothered me though. Even if I was of age I wouldn't be allowed, but it still pissed me off.

The Alpha flicked on a bright light attached to a tree. It flooded the floor and the surrounding area with light. It was a sign to the humans that the curfew was officially in effect and no one was allowed to be outside until the light was off. Lower down more lights flickered on. The man and his son shifted into their second forms. I blinked at the pair. Beautiful. Their wolves were beautiful. The much taller wolf lowered his head to the cub and rubbed a muzzle to his. It was hard not to be bitter about it.

Moving from the window, I helped to set the table and took my seat. Richie walked in with his hair still slightly damp and sticking to his forehead. He never dried his hair properly.

"And you wonder why you always catch a cold," I strolled past his chair and curled a damp lock around my finger, "Your hair is dripping wet."

"I takes too long to towel off. Maybe I should go wolf and shake myself dry," he winked at my aunt who gave a chuckle.

"Oh Richard," she chuckled, "Such a silly boy. Don't encourage Danyel. He's enchanted with anything having to do with the Chosen."

"Always has been. He'd make an adorable wolf cub though wouldn't you, pup?"

"Awooooooooooo!" I threw back my head.

"See? How cute was that?" he jabbed a thumb in my direction and I beamed up at him.

If I had fur it would probably ruffle with pride. He was right. I would have made a good cub if I was one of the Chosen. The test that every baby in the village went through was simple and never wrong. My birth certificate said that my status was Unmutated. I'd never be one of the Chosen and it wasn't a situation where I had to grow into it. Once the test was passed, there was no changing that. Tough luck there.

It was probably for the best though. I was already picked on in all my classes for being nerdy. The Chosen were known for their higher intelligence but I was as smart as a few of their younger children. I had to study extra hard to keep up when it just came naturally for them, but they didn't care. A human wasn't supposed to show them up.

Richie was my single, constant friend. He was pretty nice for one of the big boys. He actually played with me and kept me company even if it meant dressing up as a knight and playing embarrassing child games. If he minded, it never showed. He was my Richie after all. He never complained or made excuses and was usually the one having a better time than me. The boy was a kid at heart.

The big boys in the village usually ignored the younger ones for friends their own age and girls when they turned into teenager. That was when they got cold and cruel. I figured it was only a matter of time for Richie. I always wondered when he would do the same, but as the time went on he stayed by me. For now.

"You came back from camp just in time for the Tabitha J. White Day celebrations. Good timing," my uncle nudged Richie.

"Yes, Richard. You almost missed it," Aunty chimed in, "I would be such a shame if you didn't get a chance to make it."

"I know. All the food and fireworks. Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"And?" I pressed.

"And the live bands. How did I forget that?"

"That's not what I meant," I punched him on the arm, but I was sure that he didn't feel a thing, "And?"

"And I promised Nye that I'd be back in time to spend White Day with him," he chuckled, "Don't have a cow, pup."

I shot him a glare and shook my head. So immature. We all grabbed our bowls and stuffed our bellies. My aunt and uncle were staying home tonight so usually Richie would go home instead of sleeping over. But because of the curfew, he had to stay.

Tired from camp and full of hot soup, Richie disappeared upstairs soon after dinner. I crawled into bed not long after he fell asleep. We had to head in early because tomorrow we'd be spending the entire day decorating the village square for White Day.

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Concentration blazed in my eyes. With one big leap I should be able to get to the top. Balancing on the wobbling stool, I took a breath and dove toward the kitchen counter. I fell short by two inches but managed to cling to the edge with my fingertips. Curse my height. With a huff I hoisted my body up and crawled on top with a triumphant glare at the tottering stool below.

As I settled, I rubbed the red marks on my palms until they stopped burning. My mouth watered when the smell of bar-b-queue pork wafted toward me. Aunty was the best cook in the village and I was lucky enough to be living with her. As I reached out with a hungry grin, another hand smacked mine. Yelping in shock, I turned to see Richie giving me a disapproving look. Darn, here it comes.

 "Danyel, didn't I tell you not to touch the food?" he asked, "I told you twice before I left to go set up. Why do you always get yourself into trouble?"

I frowned and looked down at my feet. He called me by my full name. He's really pissed. "I'm sorry," I mumbled into my chest. He sighed as he moved the food out of my reach and onto another, even higher counter top.

"You are the most mischievous eight year old boy that I have ever met, do you know that?" he said though the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Sorry."

"Come on," he sighed and picked me up. He tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

"I'm supposed to give you trouble, you know," I called back to him, "It's why 'Nye' rhymes with 'sigh'."

"You are just a pain in the ass," he grumbled.

He took me outside where it was still bright. There were tents and tables surrounding the square and some families were already preparing their stalls for us to play games. It was like the village fair and everyone looked forward to it. Especially the children.

My hand rose up to tousle Richie's dark chocolate hair. "What are you doing, Nye?" he laughed and tried to dodge out of the way. He was used to me doing it so I didn't bother to answer him. He looked back at me, brown eyes dancing. "Behave yourself," he chided and I stopped messing up his hair. "Fix it," he ordered as usual, and I did what I was told.

"Richard, can you come help us lay out the food?" Aunty asked, "Eliza is already waiting for you."

"Sure. I'll be right there," he nodded and lowered me to the ground, "Nye, please behave. I'll be back in a little while."

I watched as he left, not promising him anything. I stared after him. Eliza was that human friend of his who always came to hang out with him in the village. We accepted her because the Crowley family did. It was no secret that I didn't like her. I never bothered to hide it.

Eliza knew that Richie cared about me and that I was his favorite so she tried her best to be nice to me. I saw through it though. She couldn't care less if I liked her or not. She was just trying to get together with Richie and was trying to use me to do it. She thought that I didn't know because I was 'just a child', but I was a lot smarter than the human children that she knew. I didn't go to their schools.

I glared at her and she turned to me, clearly feeling my gaze. Richie always said that I was brilliant for an eight year old, but even a two year old would see through her. It was a wonder why Richie didn't. Maybe he did. He never agreed to date her after all. I know she offered. Eliza flipped her hair over her shoulder and giggled at something that he had said. I swear the sight of that girl makes me sick.

"Hey Danyel! Do you want to go see the fire eater? He's practicing in the back," Kevin said as he played with a bright yellow ball. I scowled and glared at Eliza as I shook my head. I could play with him at school on Monday. Now I was busy.

"Come on, dude. You can't shoot daggers at Eliza all evening," he whined and tugged me by the arm. Would this kid leave me alone? He was annoying enough at school. Now he wants to bug me during the vacation too?

With a grumble, I followed him. We watched all the people getting ready; some wearing costumes and others in their best outfits. It was all bright and colorful and loud. Music blared from hidden speakers and people shouted at each other to talk. Nightfall came and some of the elders were already drunk. They danced with the younger ladies and sloshed their drinks over their clothes.

Twinkling lights were strung all over and almost rivaled the bright stars above. It was nice out tonight and I smiled to myself. Grabbing a can of soda from a tub, I danced with the younger girls. Their satin bows shined in the dim light and flapped around as we skipped and danced near the roaring fire.

Eliza was dancing on Richie like a lot of the teens on the other end of the square. They were near the tables with the food and both were laughing. I stopped. Calm down, Danyel. Richie is just having fun. I couldn't help but feel irritated. My aunt would probably tease me about being jealous but I wasn't. It wasn't jealousy. It was worse than that. It was worry.

I saw it with all the other teenage boys.

It started with a girl. It always started with a girl. Once that girl was in the picture, it morphed into interest in other girls and then from there it turned into an obsession with the rest of bloody womankind. Puberty they called it.