For those of you who are waiting, there WILL be a love interest. Soon. So sit tight and keep your pants on. Anyway, back to the book.-WW

That night, I couldn't sleep. I thought about my soulmate. Was he cute? If he saw me, would he reject me? I had to know. A longing ache in my chest told me that he was in East Moonshadow, but that had to be wishful thinking. A werewolf mate would complicate everything.

I wanted advice. Badly. At this point, I didn't care that I would wake my mom up at two in the morning. Hurrying to the master bedroom, I almost missed my dad, who sat in the living room reading some boring adult book.

"Hey, dad?"

He snapped his head up, shocked."What are you doing awake at this hour?" He growled.

"I wanted to know how you knew that mom was your soulmate." I told him, silently pleading that he answered the question.

He seemed to light up when I asked that. His eyes flowed like twin fireflies. "I felt a pull to the werecat territory, but I thought it was wishful thinking. After a while, the pull was too strong, so I brought a couple friends and we snuck into West Moonshadow. Your mother was out hunting and she saw us. My friends fled, but I stayed," he responded, eyes still bright. Then he looked suspicious. "Why?"

"I just woke up with that question on my mind," I deadpanned lamely.

"Oh. Well get back to bed," he murmured, turning his attention back to the book he was reading.

"Why are you up?" I asked.

"When I can't sleep, I read," he replied absently.

I left the topic at hand alone, because I had something more important. I had to go to East Moonshadow. I wasn't sure why, but it felt as though it was my destiny. Quickly, I dressed in black jeggings, a black hoodie, a black t-shirt, a black sports bra, black socks, and blue underwear, because I don't have a black pair. As the final touch, I put on some black combat boots.

I crept back downstairs, making sure to leave out the window in the back with the broken hinges. I considered shifting right then and there, but I decided against it, because if I was caught in cat form in East Moonshadow... I shuddered to imagine the consequences. I headed eastward, my head low so the hood of my hoodie covered my face.

Night lay upon the city like a dark blanket, punctured only by the moon, the stars, and the occasional streetlight. I felt invincible out here. It almost felt as though I were a secret agent on a midnight mission.

When I reached the chain-link fence that marked the border between East Moonshadow and Central, I took a deep breath, my heart pounding like a drum.

"Coach me, Arria. What do I do?" I asked, keeping my mind's voice down even though nobody in the outside world would be able to hear me.

"Stay in the shadows and try to keep off of the well-worn paths," she replied, making no effort to be quiet.

"Thanks," I murmured, looking down at the hard ground. Since it looked like a path, I veered slightly to the right and kept going.

"One more thing," Arria hissed. "This one's important."

"Yeah, what is it?" I wondered.

"Don't let ANYONE shine a light at your eyes. If they do, then you must run. As fast as you can."

I was about to reply, but a twig snapped loudly under my foot. Luckily, nobody heard it. That's probably because I could only see a long road stretching out left and right. I looked left. If I decided to head that way, then I would hit a bunch of houses and shops. Translation: I would probably be caught. I looked right. There was only one big building that way.

I trotted down the road, heading toward the building. It was crudely built, lacking of any style, and was surrounded by a chain-link fence. As I approached the building, my eyes widened with horror. I read the name of the building and suddenly understood why it was so far away from civilization. It read: East Moonshadow Prison. I turned and began backing away.

A night watchman appeared around the corner. "Who's there? He bellowed. His flashlight beam raked my face and he gasped.

Suddenly, something heavy hit the back of my head. Pain shot through me and I staggered dizzily, collapsing on the ground. Right before I went under, I heard one word: "Werecat."

The plot is finally in motion! Yay! The next chapter from Cooper Smithlock's point of view. He's a werewolf.

W