AUTHOR NOTE: this chapter is a bit short, only because I want to get straight to the point so I do apologize! I promise longer chapters are soon to come (-:

***

My eyes pop open quickly and I stagger out of bed. I throw my blanket to the ground and hurriedly climb into my closet, thudding around loudly––in the dens, our closets are carved into the wall where our beds sat. Throwing shirt after shirt profusely trying to find the perfect one, I come across an all black dress instead. I really hated dresses but today was a special day and I wanted to look fancier. Maybe I am being dramatic but I'm too excited to care about other werewolves' opinions on me.

I stumble backward out of the closet and stare at the black cloth before throwing it over my head as fast as I can. My heart is thundering in my chest and I could hardly wait to dash out of the den house and into the open to see everyone preparing for the ceremony. I squeal to myself, balling my fists and jogging in place. One last look in the mirror; I am not skinny but not fat either. My curly hair is flowing across my shoulders dryly and I realise I need to get it wet and comb through it before I would be late. The dress fits perfectly around my waist. Near my breasts the dress is made of a type of netting with little flower-like designs. It crawls down to my knees but doesn't move too much as it clings to my tightly packed body. Once I finished observing myself, I was already dashing through the hall and out of the home.

Fresh scent of deer and other meats filled my nostrils with pleasure and it felt as if the beautiful music playing in my head would be appropriate for an exciting time like this. I should get a bite before anything else. I thought, feeling my wolf scratching to be let out.

"Not yet! Wait until the ceremony and you can run to your heart's content." I mutter.

The he-wolf at the concession stand looks me up and down and then a big grin plasters his face, eyes wrinkling on the sides.

"Normally you would need to trade me an offering but you're one of the apprentices becoming a border patrol wolf so today you get let off!" he howls at me excitedly.

It felt kind of nice to see everyone being so happy for me. Normally everyone is snippy and irritated at my existence...not today though, I guess everyone was ready for me to start adulting and putting more duty into the pack. Maybe they are glad that I no longer needed adult werewolves taking care of me or doing things for me.

I politely snatch the meat from his hands––him knowing my favorite already. I thank him distantly with a nod, headed to the lake wanting to wetten my hair. The forest today is quiet and calm. All I hear are birds chirping their early morning songs and breathing the smells of winter, my nose is drying up inside from the stiff air. I hear shuffles in the weeds and bushes from other mammals waking up from their slumbers as well.

"Good Morning other beings, today I finally get to grow up...fully." I say, feeling like a child and knowing none of them would hear or care, well, as far as I can tell. That was fine with me though. We can't talk to other animals and I think it is because animals alone speak a different language than we do as werewolves and humans––only humans can understand us in our human forms.

Bare trees whisper to me while flying past and the fallen leaves crunch beneath my quickening feet, all I see are blurred bushes and dead plants popping beneath the snow, passing my site. I keep sniffing the salty scent to reach my destination. Before long I am skidding to a halt at an edge of the reflective ice, exhausted and heaving for air. Once my lungs had caught up with my breath, I started stomping the thin ice, it revealed a stream that hums liquid droplets echoing in my ears. I knelt down and began splashing the freezing cold water through my curls with my blueing hands; my lips tremble as I inhale harshly and my eyes squeeze shut. Holy fuck it's cold! I think to myself and my body starts shivering uncontrollably.

Cold water is chilling onto my nest, pulling curled strands down and making my head heavier. I groan in frustration and whip my stale stiff hair back, feeling it lengthen as my curls loosen. I felt cleaner and even happier with myself, trying to whirl my hair up and down like ocean waves to hopefully be-rid the burden of wintry weight, listening to the ice crackling and melting as it touched the warmth of my scalp.

I sigh relief when all the ice has faded and what is left of my head are just stale stuck together curls so I rush to comb through it with my short and skimpy fingers, pulling tangles out which wrap around the bottom of my middle and ring finger. Once I was done, I shook my hand loose and jolted back toward camp before I was late, feeling the edge breaking beneath my heels.

The trees yet again fly backward and behind me. My wolf is howling to release her and let her run the way back to camp but I shook my head no. I couldn't waste anymore time trying to change my clothes and tie them around my wrist, it would be a waste of precious time I have to get to my ceremony without being late.

As I kept running, my bare feet sinking into the slippery snow, I could sense someone watching me. It feels as if eyes are burning a hole in my back and I turn my head just a bit to glance behind my shoulder. Anxiety sizzles in my chest and I almost slip. No one was behind me as far as my vision could see. I was probably just being paranoid, being alone and all. I'm running very fast so there was no way I was going to be able to see anyone around the trees without stopping first––I chose not to halt though...I couldn't. Late is what I should call myself. By now Gregin is probably waiting impatiently for me to return so he can guide me to the ceremony. I can bet he's tired of always dealing with my returns being behind schedule.

Every morning when I was one-zero to one-seven, he would constantly have to wake me up earlier in the morning when the sky was still dark just to get me ready for my practice, I would never get up on my own. The memory alone gave me a smile remembering his irritated expression, his arms crossed, leaning on the doorway warning me not to go back to sleep. To be honest, I hate waking up in the morning. Today is a very special day, and since I get to travel outside of our territory right after the formality, I didn't want to waste any of my morning sleeping––normally though, I would roll to the other side of my bed and grunt at whoever was trying to wake me, sometimes even cursing them out of the den room.

Snow sinks beneath my freezing feet as I start to bounce higher, hoping the jumping would get me there faster since the cold white powder was holding me back. The entrance came into view and seconds later I stood in front of the two large trees which lead back inside my den homes' camp. I skidded to a stop and pressed my hands to my knees. I should really get back in shape because I can not stand running for long periods without practically dying.

Catching my breath yet again, wheezing, I trip over my toes and the soft wet mud. I guided myself back home and before the fogged forest disappeared, I looked behind me once more and then continued onward. I straightened my falling dress before anyone could see me.

"Where were you? Gregin is not happy it seems...he's currently stressfully searching the camp to find you." My friend Serenity immediately rushes towards me as I come into hindsight, almost skipping uneasily.

Her eyebrows crinkle giving me a short lengthened hug.

"I was getting my hair ready and since it's snowing my hair began freezing––I couldn't just come to my formality looking like an owl..." I exclaim, palms beginning to sweat nervously.

I really didn't want to deal with Gregin today.

'Just get this done with, he'll get over it eventually.' my she-wolf tries to calm me down feeling my heart hopping out from behind my lungs.

I take deep breaths and thank her silently. She is right, I have got to worry more about what I'll do at the ceremony rather than how angry Gregin is with me. Besides, Gregin is just being a dad. That's what daddy's do; get serious over minor inconveniences. I chuckle at myself and leave Serenity alone, making it a goal to find him before he could find me.

Poking my head through every den house, I notice others are looking at me oddly, an expression I cannot quite grasp. My eyebrows are scrunching in confusion.

"Why is everyone giving me weird looks?" I asked myself in a whisper. I knew my wolf would answer.

'No idea but I have a feeling it can't be anything remotely good.'

My stomach is clenching and my anxiety flares up. I keep going to each den and every time the question of Gregin being there looking for me leaves my lips, I get heads shaking my way and them saying,

"Nope not here."

I sigh in frustration and just as I am about to turn back and try searching outside of camp, I ram myself into someone twice my size. I huff and turn to look, it being Gregin's stale and aging scent. My hands clutch together and lips curving into an awkward smile. He's giving me an uncanny look just like the others, his chest moving up and down like he is worried about something I don't know of.

"Eyyks," he began speaking softly, his caterpillar eyebrows raising. "I–"

"What?" I take a short step toward him and gaze hard. Gregin inhales and exhales, closing his eyes and grabbing me into a tight hug.

"You're not going to like what I am about to tell you..." his answer penetrates my now prickling skin.

'This man is onto something.'

I jerked my head to the side and back to hush her so I could listen to his words closely. I knew it was going to be something bad, but I didn't think it would be as mortifying as it is. My eyes widened and my face felt hot. I could feel myself becoming furious as he stared into my darkening eyes while holding my shoulders with both of his hands.

"You won't be a border patrol werewolf, but you'll instead be a...a Luna..."