1 Old Skin

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come."

-JOSEPH CAMPBELL

(Freya)

Staring into the full figure mirror in her small, enclosed bedroom, Freya Summers squinted at her reflection, everything looked EXACTLY the same! Pressing her palms to the sides of her face, she squished her cheeks in and moved them up and down. Was not ones eighteenth birthday supposed to indicate some earth shattering, life altering, moment of time? A wolf's eighteenth birthday signified an important milestone, it was when they experienced their first heat, and when the Mating Bond potential formed. That little string in the back of her brain that was always tugging on the far corners of her mind, letting her know that soon the time would come, her mate would be able to scent her out. For some sexist reason it was always the male that could scent out their mates first, for the females it took a little longer. Letting out a huff of breath that fogged up the glass, she deftly drew a heart, smudging the pristine reflection of her awkward face. There was no miraculous transformation of her appearance, no alteration of any sorts that she could see. Glowering back at her were the same dark green eyes as before, still slightly too big for her small heart shaped face. The mouth that was oddly proportioned, a smaller top lip and a full bottom. A scatter of light freckles across the bridge of her button shaped nose. Slumping forward Freya's chocolate colored brown hair fell across her shoulders coming down past her full naked breast. Backing up she inspected her body a little more closely, she was still the petite, gawky kid she had been yesterday.

"Hey loser, your mom-"came her step brothers voice as the door started to open.

In a state of panic, Freya darted for the door, slamming it shut in his face, "How about knocking before just opening my door you pervert!" she yelled.

There was a moment of silence on the other side, then came the dry obnoxious laugh, "Calm down, jeez, not like you have anything worth looking at anyway."

"What are you even doing here Zander?" She asked pressing her forehead to cool smoothness of her wooden door.

"Your mom wanted me here for your surprise breakfast, oops, probably wasn't supposed to tell you that." He said sarcastically.

Freya waited till she heard his retreating footsteps before she let out the breath she had been holding. What a fucking jerk. Zander Pierce had entered her life five years ago when his father had married her mother. Freya's mother Molly Summers had swooned at having affection from the packs Alpha Tom Peirce directed towards her. Even though Tom was not her soul mate, Molly had agreed to mate with him, since her soul mate, Freya's father had passed away. Tom's soul mate had also died, so they were just a little match made in heaven. Freya thought sarcastically to herself. Freya's father had been killed by a rouge wolf who had tried sneaking into pack territory when she was ten years old, three years later her mother had remarried. How does someone remarry and mate another person so soon after their soulmate is killed? It had never sat right with Freya, so she was still bitter about the whole situation, add getting a "brother" to the equation and everything got worse from there.

Opening her closet door, she eyed the brand-new outfit she had bought from the mall. The outfit had just called to her, a new look for a new beginning, but after her little encounter with her bedroom mirror it seemed pointless. Sam, her best friend who had been with her, and gushed over the outfit would probably have a few choice words for her, for not wearing it but it just did not seem right. Ignoring the new outfit, Freya pulled out her favorite faded black hoodie, a pair of whitewash skinny jeans, and her worn out vans. Why dress any different when she did not feel any different? Not like anyone expected her to change overnight, only herself, so who would she really be disappointing?

Heading downstairs to the kitchen, she walked into the room, to see the whole area had been decorated in birthday balloons and a sign that read, "Happy 18th Birthday" on it. How sweet, corny as hell, but that was her mother. "Wow, what a…surprise." Freya said with a shake of her head, taking a seat opposite Tom and Zander.

"Oh, I know you are too old for this stuff now, but I just figured this would be my last chance to do this kind of thing." Her mother gushed as she sat a plate of French toast, eggs, and bacon down in front of Freya.

Taking a bite of her eggs, Freya shook her head, "No really, its nice." She mumbled.

Her mother sat down next to Tom and gave him a chaste kiss, before turning her attention back to her daughter, "Is that what you are wearing?" she asked a little surprised.

Immediate irritation flared at her mother's obvious disapproval, "Yep." Freya stated.

"I mean its fine but honey it is your first day of senior year, I thought you bought a new outfit for today?" she asked, her kind brown eyes giving Freya a pleading please change look.

Freya bit down on the inside of her cheek and counted to five in her head, "I didn't like the way it looked on me."

There was a laugh covered by a cough from Zander, who until that point had been quiet, why couldn't he always be like that? The man was now twenty-three years old but he could act like such a child sometimes.

Tom elbowed his son and smiled in Freya's direction, "Well you look beautiful, as always, happy birthday Freya."

That was the thing with Tom, he was always trying too hard, the I'll kill you with kindness approach. The man was always the first to say something encouraging, to offer a gentle smile, even when trying to discipline her when she would get in trouble. It was kind of hard to take him serious after all the years of him trying to be her buddy. "Thanks," she grumbled. The sound of a honk from outside drew everyone's attention and Freya hopped up out of her seat. "Thanks for the birthday breakfast Mom, that's Sam, see you after school." She rushed to get out of there.

"Freya are you forgetting the pack ceremonial tonight?" Her mother asked quickly.

Letting out a sigh, she turned her head towards her mother, "Um, nope not at all, looking forward to it." She lied.

Her mother raised a brow at her, letting Freya know that she did not believe her at all, "You and Sam need to be there promptly at Seven."

"Yes ma'am!" Freya called over her shoulder, making her escape.