Aiden stalked across the forest floor as stealthily as he was able, amber irises sharp in their mission for which they were highly skilled and thoroughly trained. On the lookout with his honed visual prowess, he allowed another sense to join in his intense surveillance of the surrounding woods. His pointed ears twitched as he listened for his stalker, flickering in each direction as he waited for a sign.
He rounded the bark of a frost-covered oak tree and made his way deeper into the condensed woodland, hackles on his back and neck raised in anticipation. Aiden knew he was being followed and it set him on edge as he made his way through the darkness that was his home, but the lack of light did not bother him in the slightest.
With his special abilities came night vision which made him a skilled hunter, which is what made what was stalking him a skilled hunter too, and it sent a tingle of thrill down his spine. His heart beating wildly against his thoracic cage like a drummer on a pair of bongo drums. It was so loud it almost deafened his ears to the snapping of a twig behind him but lucky for him and his advanced hearing he heard it. He had many, many years to perfect his hunting but his opponent had centuries on him, and that made him more experienced and more dangerous.
His heart skipped a beat, and he knew they were closing in, with a gulp of air he took off sprinting in between the trees dogging roots and low-hanging branches as he sped off. His keen hearing picked up the sound of paws racing behind him, and he knew his stalker had taken off after him. They raced like this for a while before he made a sharp turn and seemed to lose his stalker.
Feeling cocky about his evasive manoeuvres he slowed to a halt next to a small river that ran through his land until it joined up with the larger river in his territory. He bent his neck as if he were about to take a drink, holding his breath he listened until he heard the wind change. He bounded to the left in his escape and heard s great big splash as he danced out of harm’s way.
heart still thundering in his chest he glanced back at his attacker and couldn’t help the laughter that rippled through him at the sight. For there where he had stood not moments before stood a drenched giant wolf who was glaring in his direction. His laughter came out more as huffs than actual laughter through his snout, but it rang loud and clear through their bond.
This seemed to make the soaked wolf even angrier as his russet-colored pelt turned a darker shade of red mixed with brown and hung down his face like a drowned cat. Aiden chuckled even louder in his head, which naturally escaped as chuffs in his current form, if he had been human, he would have thrown his head back and bellowed out his enjoyment.
The dripping wolf found this as an insult and lept out of the river racing toward the ash-colored wolf who was too dry in his opinion. Aiden felt the echoes of his laughter ring through his mind as he took off away from the dripping werewolf racing across the forest floor. Padded feet pounded and crunched on the white powder that was snow. Puffs of air escaped from in between sharp canines as he huffed in his excitement sucking in the air he lost greedily.
He could hear his friend bounding after him, could hear his anger and his shouts through their pack bond and his heart felt such joy at that moment. He was so distracted by the wet werewolf behind him that he paid no attention to his surroundings and was surprised when the air he so hungrily consumed was knocked out of him.
It took him a second to realize that he was lying on his side a root painfully digging into his ashen fur and a small weight sat triumphantly atop his fallen body. He heard her victory shouts chirping in his head as she celebrated her moment of glory. Amber eyes peered up at the tiny but beautiful snowy frame.
He felt pride bloom in his chest even as he heard the deep chuckle resound from the pack bond, a baritone that he knew belonged to his best friend Griffon.
“I got you, big brother!” The airy voice that belonged to his younger sister Jessabelle who was only eleven years old made him smile, or he would have had he been in his human form. She had been an unforeseen blessing in his family as he had already lived nearly a century before his mother had unexpectedly fallen pregnant with the girl.
“You certainly did Jessie, great job,” he praised.
“Man, you should have seen that tackle it was epic,” Griffon thought through the pack bond in his baritone voice rumbling smoothly as it normally did.
“Like you’re one to talk Griff, I recall you didn’t have a picture-perfect landing either,” Aiden teased the still wet, but not as wet, russet-pelted wolf. The wolf in question huffed in annoyance, the emotion ringing loud and clear through their shared bond. Then as if underneath the annoyance, a flush of mischievousness came through.
Aiden had no chance to bolt out of the way or to warn his little sister before the damp werewolf started vigorously shaking his fur in a very dog-like manner. Jessabelle laughed as she was hit with the droplets from the older werewolf’s fur completely unbothered by the tiny rain even in the snow. Aiden grumbled as he was hit with the tiny droplets not enough to dampen his own thick ashen fur.
With a shake of his head, the werewolf pulled himself up, bringing himself next to the much smaller white wolf. At this age, she looked like any normal werewolf with the exception of her beautiful amber eyes. He rubbed his snout and his head against her own, nuzzling her in affection and praise for her glorious victory.
“You did well Jessie, using the snow to blend in with your fur. You’ll make a strong and unstoppable huntress one day,” he glanced down lovingly at his wonderfully airy sister. She gave a tinkling laugh, and it was as if little bells rang through their shared bond. It was days like these that Aiden cherished most, laughing without a care in the world.
Soon Aiden would not be able to be so carefree as the real world would call him back into reality. And it would happen sooner than he would like causing his world would be turned upside down and right side up by the mere appearance of another person. Part of him would be terrified but another would finally be complete.
At the same time in a quaint brick house just beyond the borders of that very same forest, home to all kinds of species including the supernatural kind, a girl and her cousin were bonding after a long separation. “I have missed you so much Jay, I can’t tell you how much I wished to see you these past two years.” Alexa expressed. “Me too, my dear cousin. I regret that I didn’t come to visit, I wish I had.” Jayden replied. They had not seen each other since the day they had to say goodbye, due to Alexa and her family moving to a small town in South Dakota. They had lived together when Alexa’s family had taken Jayden in after an accident stole her family, this was the farthest and longest that they had been apart and still, they were closer than ever before. “Look at you, you look great for someone your age,” Alexa teased her cousin halfheartedly as she walked back across the room, her feet brushing along her silver plush carpet, to where she had dropped her hairbrush. “You make me s
“So, what’s a fun thing to do around here?” The brunette asked her cousin, as she placed a photo of herself and Alexa on her nightstand. “Well, there are tons of places we could go to, we could go anywhere, except shopping,” Alexa stated as she laid down on her stomach on her cousin’s queen-sized bed. “You never could stand the mall; you know you’re not normal right?” “Yup.” Alexa stated happily, making a popping noise on the ‘p’. “Not that it would help anyhow, we don’t have a mall here in Black Pines,” she stated smugly. “No mall?! How could there be no mall?! Just what kind of backward town did I move to?” She exclaimed with exaggerated horror, face twisting in emphasis. Alexa giggled which caused the twisted expression to fall from the older woman’s face as she smiled and shrugged. “Oh well, guess there has to be something else to do here. Hey, how about you take me on a tour of the town, and maybe pop into a bookstore while we’re there?” Jayden asked as she placed the last of
Slender fingers brushed across the spines of the books like a long-lost lover as she passed them, picking out the ones that she found interesting and skipping over books that weren’t. But all good things must come to an end and after what felt like mere minutes of being lost in the world of books, Alexa finally left the fictional world to find her equally book-loving cousin so that they could pick up Gabriella from her dance class. She had to almost literally pull Jayden away from the shelves so engrossed by the magic of the words. The old lady who owned and ran the bookstore was not behind the desk as she normally was, so Alexa had to ring the cute silver bell that sat on the desk. “I’ll be with you in a minute dear,” she called from somewhere in the back, and if you listened carefully enough you could hear her humming a soft melody. Eventually, she popped her head out to look at her two awaiting customers, she smiled warmly, her wrinkled face scrunched up due to her smile, showing
The two girls looked at each other mirroring the confusion on their faces before Jayden just shrugged, what a strange little town her aunt had moved them to. Alexa shook her head and walked back to her car, quick to open the convertible’s trunk and place their packages inside. Suddenly she shivered as if a ghost had walked right through her setting her internal alarms off. Alexa whipped her head around as she scanned the area but found no wrong upon her sweep. She couldn’t place her finger on it but she was certain that someone had been looking at her, the back of her neck still tingling at the feel of the sinister gaze. Shaking it off when she spotted no one out of the ordinary she quickly joined her cousin, who had gotten into the car whilst Alexa had put their things away. The eighteen-year-old then pulled out of the parking spot and made her way toward the dance school, where her sister was just beginning to finish her lesson. Dull brown eyes shrunk back into the darkness of a t
Her heart jumped into her throat, and her insides twisted in fear as the world seemed to spin out of control swerving the convertible from their lane to the other in an attempt to avoid colliding with the oncoming vehicle, Alexa was almost sure her car would flip putting not only her life but the lives of her passengers at stake. The screeching tires woke the sleeping driver who jumped in his seat and jerked the steering wheel until he was once again back in his own lane. He hadn’t even slowed down as he sped away from the convertible, sitting awkwardly on the shoulder of the road facing the wrong direction. Alexa sighed in relief as she watched the car disappear in the horizon, her muscles finally relaxing as the adrenaline wore off. She twisted in her seat to look back at the frazzled six-year-old just to make sure she was okay. “Everyone Okay?” The redhead asked, and after receiving a nod from the little girl turned back to face the road. “Yeah.” Jayden shakily confirmed, her ow
Morning came much too soon for those who went to bed far too late. And it wasn’t long before the Winters family were piled into the maroon SUV and were off on a three-day journey to attend a carnival in the next town over. And just as they were leaving after a fun-filled time, in that very town someone else was arriving. Aiden who had spent a lot of time wandering from place to place, traveling the world stepped into the human town set on completing the orders given to him. There had once been a time in his youth many, many years ago when he had ventured out to broaden his horizons, against the wishes of his father, a rebellious son as all those who had come of age before him had been. He had stayed away for ten years learning to cope with the disappearance of his mother before finding his way home and back amongst his pack mates, now he just ran errands for his father. This was one of those times when he found himself in the neighboring town to attend a meeting with another pack.
Two weeks had passed since Alexa and Isaac’s birthday. The new year had come and gone with a bang, quite literally, as Isaac had accidentally set a tree on fire with a failed attempt to set off his own fireworks. Poor Jean had to explain to her friend the Sheriff and the small fire brigade that manned the town. But the family had enjoyed every minute of it. The small family had gone and had enjoyed the carnival. It had been their last day at the carnival and Alexa had somehow gotten tricked into volunteering for the dunking station, and it was surprisingly Gabriella who had landed the lucky shot, soaking the teen from head to toe. Alexa was now helping her mother pack for their camping trip. The gear had already been packed into the maroon SUV. The family was saying goodbye to electricity, proper beds, cell phones, or in Isaac’s case his sound and gaming systems. Ever since their birthday Alexa noticed how different Isaac was acting. He had distanced himself even more from her and
The redhead turned back toward the car, finally registering the sounds of her mother yelling at the stubborn eighteen-year-old boy, who was still sitting in the maroon car. She watched on at the scene before something else caught her gaze. Gabriella felt giddy at being outside, and the six-year-old ran around the clearing, laughing to her heart’s content. She spread her tiny arms out wide as if she were flying like a pretty bird. Her feet kicked up the thin layer of snow blanketing the floor. Alexa smiled at the carefree spirit that her sister was. She continued to watch the little tycoon who was undeterred from her task, even when Jayden came to stand next to her. Jayden’s honey-colored eyes stared at the commotion going on between mother and son. Feeling unsure at how the man refused to enjoy this precious time with his family. “Isaac Charles Winters, get out of that car this instant or so help me I will ground you for a month!” Jean had, had enough. She couldn’t take the treatme