Chapter 1

The moon shone bright and nearly full in the sky, its radiance giving the forest an ethereal glow. These woods were normally dark but the silvery light brought definition to everything, making the winding path through the undergrowth clearly visible.

Truthfully I didn't need the light of the moon to see. Not only had this path been worn down by the paws of many wolves before me, I also had extremely enhanced senses in my wolf state. My paws thudded against the ground in time with my beating heart as I shot through the forest. To a human observer I would just be an large silver blur shooting by, but there were no humans in these parts. Their natural instincts and fear of predators kept them away. Not that I had a particular inclination to feed on human flesh. It was forbidden by werewolf law, after all...or it was supposed to be. But a predator? Indeed, I was at the top of the food chain. The odd stillness of the surrounding forest, devoid of animal life as they crawled away in their holes to hide, was evidence of that.

Grinning a wolf grin, I finally slowed my pace to a quick walk. Now that I moved more slowly, my large paws made almost no noise on the thick bed of leaves below me. Although we looked like wolves, my kind was much larger and moved with an abnormal grace that natural wolves did not possess. All animals in the forest feared us, even the bears. A wolf even bigger than a lion could strike fear into almost anyone.

I stopped my walk as I entered a clearing, sitting back on my haunches and gazing up at the moon. It would be full tomorrow, I could feel it. Everyone in my pack could. The full moon did something to us; it made us stronger, faster, wilder as the blood burned through our veins. Most full moons we ran free in the woods, my entire pack, yipping and chasing each other like pups. Tomorrow, however, was the Meeting.

Thinking about it brought a strange mix of nervousness, fear, and determination. I had never been allowed to go to a Meeting before but I had been needling my father and the Beta for weeks, begging them to let me accompany them. I was pretty sure they were about to cave in at last. I was nineteen years old, after all, and my wolf was getting pretty strong. I should be allowed to go. Almost everyone else had had a chance.

Within my consciousness and my soul, I felt my Wolf's agreement. She was even braver than I and far more stubborn, and she'd been wanting to go for years. I mentally reassured her that we'd find a way this time. The curiosity was nearly killing me.

"SKYLAR!" I heard the voice through my mental link, cringing at my father's tone. He wasn't the Alpha of the pack, but he was well respected, being the Pack Doctor and all. He really could adapt the authoritative tone when he needed to.

"Coming," I replied irritably. "My Wolf and I wanted to run," I sounded a bit petulant, and wrinkled my snout, knowing he wouldn't like that. My father just sent an irritated noise through our mental link before closing it off, and I stood up, shaking out my thick silver coat before turning to head back to the pack.

All of us could communicate telepathically when we were in our wolf forms but direct family members (and the Alpha, of course) could willingly communicate mentally whenever we wanted to, even in human form. Came in quite handy when one of my parents needed to shout at me. Of course, our communication abilities took more effort at a greater distance, and I could always raise my mental barriers to block my parents out...if I wanted to get an even worse lecture once I lowered them again.

Sighing, I trotted again through the undergrowth, mentally apologizing to my Wolf. I knew she liked to stay in this form as long as she could, as she was more constrained when I was in my more "human" state. She grumbled a bit but subsided as we exited the thickest part of the woods and made our way to the set of houses sprawled across the large valley. At this distance, the pack village looked quiet and peaceful, lights winking in the otherwise impenetrable darkness. Every muscle in my body relaxed just looking at the tranquil scene. I was home.

---

"You shouldn't take off like that when you know I might need your help," my father scolded, though his eyes were fixated on the patient he was currently tending to. He was pressing a damp cloth against the small girl's forehead as she tossed and turned in her bed. Meanwhile, I stood in the corner, watching. I loved to watch my father work and I often helped out with the more menial tasks. I narrowed my eyes as I carefully observed. This seemed like a normal healing that my father had no need to use his Affinity for.

Pack Doctor was something a wolf was born into. As they grew up they would notice that they had an Affinity, or a particularly strong connection to the life force of the world all around us. In times of need, they could utilize the earth's energy to help with the healing process. It was a special and magical ability and only one or two wolves in a pack could have the Pack Doctor Affinity at one time, depending on if the Doctor had a child.

The Affinity was usually genetic to the first born child....usually. I winced as I thought about it. The majority of the time the gift would be inherited, but I had not received it. I was completely and utterly ordinary. It had been a source of great embarrassment for me for a long time and I was sure my dad had been disappointed but he never said anything. Others in the pack had made some cruel comments when I was younger before the Alpha put a stop to it. Some vestiges of the insecurity still lingered to this day.

Snapping out of my daze, I realized my father expected some sort of apology. "Sorry. I needed to run," I muttered. Even to me, my apology wasn't very convincing. My father turned to me and sighed, running a hand through his thick hair, which was a shade of color identical to my own dark brown curls.

"I didn't tell your mother," he admitted, and I smiled slightly. My mom freaked out over almost anything; she had always been the high-strung type. Which likely explained why we frequently butted heads. I was laid-back and much less assertive.

"Thanks," I replied, idly drumming my fingers against each other. "So...I, uh, wanted to talk about what we were discussing earlier," I finally said, eyes on the ground. I sounded nervous which I knew he wouldn't like, but I couldn't help that this was a sensitive conversation.

Sighing yet again, my father returned his gaze to the sick patient as he pulled out a few instruments to examine her further. "You've been bugging me for weeks, Skylar. I've been thinking about it. I discussed it with Jack."

I couldn't help my lips from quirking up. Jack was our Beta, one of my father's best friends, and he had always treated me well. This was a good sign.

"We finally decided to let you come to the Meeting tomorrow, and the Alpha gave the all clear after we told him," he finally mumbled, a bit begrudgingly. I could tell Jack had helped convince him. I took a deep breath, resisting the urge to jump up and down. "Thank you! I promise I can handle myself, I'm nineteen. I know it's dangerous but-"

His green eyes snapped to my face then, his countenance hardening as his jaw clenched. I froze, not liking the expression.

"Dangerous?" He asked softly. "Skylar, I know you're excited because you haven't gotten to go yet, but you're underestimating this. Dangerous is an understatement. The Black Mountains Pack is..." he trailed off, an expression of pure hatred flitting across his features. I could tell that my own expression had soured at the mention of our worst enemies.

Unfortunately, while the Black Mountains Pack was our greatest threat, they were the most powerful pack on this continent. They practically owned us and had for the last several years. Through threats (and not idle threats, either), bullying, and fear-instilling tactics, they had already taken over a large amount of our land. We called these twice-a-year reunions with the Black Mountains Pack "Meetings", but really, they were negotiations. Negotiations in which we attempted to prevent them from infringing upon our territory any more. Not that we could stop them if they chose to attack.

We still had miles upon miles of land, of course. It was plenty for our pack, but it was nowhere close to what it used to be. Our territory used to stretch all along the Rockies in Colorado, but now a huge chunk of that had been forcefully taken. Werewolf packs were scarce, so each pack was supposed to have a large swath of land, but the Black Mountain Pack's territory was ridiculously expansive, in my opinion.

Although, with all of those mouths to feed, I begrudgingly admitted to myself that they needed large hunting grounds.

Our pack, the Silver Woods pack, was powerful. We had about sixty wolves running with us. But their pack? They had well over a hundred, trained warriors all of them. They were relentless and cruel. They didn't restrict their hunting grounds to the forest, either. There were many rumors that some of them wandered into nearby towns and preyed on the humans. Completely helpless humans that should not be prey at all, according to werewolf law! The thought made a low growl rumble in my chest.

"Skylar!" I was aware that I had spaced out as my father snapped to get my attention. I shook myself of my dark thoughts and turned back to him, lowering my head. "Sorry. I just got distracted. You're right, I need to take this more seriously. I was just excited about finally getting to go." Although, admitting it to myself, I had been nervous all along.

He nodded, understanding in his eyes. "I know. But..." He trailed off, unsure what to say.

"It just isn't fair," I responded. "I hate them, for taking half of our land and killing those who opposed them. They make us live in fear, in our own territory."

"I hate them too. We all do. But we're no match," my father said sadly.