• Chapter 1
    "I guess you could say this is not your average story. It's an account about a group of teenagers and their high school drama. First of all, where are my manners? I am Anna Lee. I am not like most high school kids; I’m…different. I’m a werewolf.”

    My friends and I have been together for a while now; we met during different years of school. I met Aiden in the fifth grade after he had complemented my coloring. Years passed as we grew to be great friends.

    In the seventh grade I was throwing a Halloween party and invited all my friends, but Aiden said he would not be able to attend. I didn’t press the matter but I intended on asking him again later. That day, after school, I went to his house to ask if he still didn’t want to come to the party. I rang the doorbell and waited. When no one answered, I tried the door and it was open. Stepping into the hall, I noticed the house was deathly quiet.

    “Aiden?” I called out, waiting for an answer. After none came I tried again. “Hello? Is anyone here?” Aiden appeared at the top of the stairs.

    “Anna Lee? What are you doing here; you shouldn’t be here.” He ran down the stairs and grabbed me by the arm. “Listen, I can’t talk right now, you need to go home.” I was curious. What was he trying to hide? I shook loose of his grasp and ran past him and up the stairs. I opened a door so I could hide away in the room, but was met with something far more interesting and frightening. I gasped at the sight of two strange creatures. They were standing on their hind legs but didn’t have hands or feet; instead they has paws. Their skin shed, like a snake skin, replaced with a grey pelt. I could see the muscles reforming themselves, stretching and contracting under the fur. Bones popped out of sockets, reformed then with a sickening crunch, forced themselves back in. When all the skin had fallen, they were on all fours. I realized the creature had turned itself into a wolf. One of them narrowed its eyes on me and growled with a predatory hunger. “Nico, don’t!” I heard a voice, but I couldn’t tell where it had come from. The wolf paid no attention to its master. Its powerful legs launched it high into the air and all I could do was watch as he sailed through the air. He toppled me over; I could feel my breath leave my body and my head hit the floor. I remember a distinct throbbing in my head and then I fell into a black abyss.

    I awoke in an unfamiliar room with a headache. I sat up and looked around. Noticing I was in a different t-shirt and shorts, I heard a creak from across the room. Aiden stood up from his perch at the desk across the room and sat down at the foot of the bed. The creaking bed was the only sound in the quiet room. We stared at the floor not wanting to break the still mood.

    “Anna Lee,” he began, “I’m not normal.”

    “What do you mean?” Giving him a confused look; I waited for him to continue.

    “I’m a werewolf.” I started laughing.

    “You’re joking right?” I expected him to start laughing too but he just stared at me with an apologetic look. My laughter stopped and I thought maybe Aiden had gone crazy, or maybe he had been crazy all along.

    “I’m not. That’s not all. You’ve been bitten. Look for yourself.” He motioned for me to look at my collar, right above my left breast. I pulled down the top of my shirt a little and saw a bandaged wound. I realized what this meant. Feeling my pulse race, I started to breath faster.

    “So what happens now?” I asked, on the verge of tears.

    “We leave.” He said it as if it happened all the time. I blinked stupidly at him.

    “Leave? I can’t leave. My family is here; I can’t leave them.” I was becoming hysterical. I wasn’t going to leave because of this; I wasn’t going to leave my family.

    “Anna Lee, we have no choice. We can’t let you go home. No one can know. The police will come looking soon; you’ve been unconscious for almost a day now. The police are no longer your friends.” What happened exactly? Was I really unconscious for a day? This was all too much at once; the throbbing in my head only worsened.

    “In case you wanted to know, Nico was the one who bit you. He felt threatened by you because you had discovered us. It was his intention to keep you with us, but not the Alphas and Counsel.”

    “Alphas? Counsel? What are they?”

    “The Alphas are the leaders; they are the strongest of the pack. They have descended from one of the oldest families of werewolves, a royal family. The Counsel is exactly what the name is; they advise the Alphas and deal out punishment. Most of the Counsel is former Alphas who have stepped down or elders.”

    “Oh.” I said softly, nearly a sigh letting this new information sink in. Punishment, I wondered, would this Nico be punished? “What is going to happen to Nico?”

    “I don’t know. But that’s enough questions for now; don’t worry though, all questions will receive an answer in time. Come now, we must leave.” He held his hand out; I hesitated but took it, realizing at the drop of a hat, I was leaving my life behind, forgetting about my family and friends, and going into a whole new world of a secret society. But what choice did I have? I had no clue what would be happening to me; I was a danger to everyone till I knew what would happen.

    ~*~

    We stayed at this really big enormous mansion for a few weeks. I was confined to a few rooms, the garden, and dining hall. A bodyguard was assigned to me, I only knew him as Jacob. He was silent for the most part, only to scold me when I did something wrong or got myself into trouble.

    He kept careful watch over me; sometimes I would catch him looking at me fondly as though I were his own daughter. Food was brought to my room every day along with blessed wine. Every night, I was bathed in sacred water brought from a spring on Mount Olympus to ease the transformations. They say it is the very spring that heralded the transformation of King Lycaon, the first werewolf. He was blessed by the Moon with total control over the beast. Wanting nothing more than to share pass on the power with to his sons, and create his legacy;, he took a wife. She was not so fortunate to be blessed by the Moon. The King drove himself nearly mad with the knowledge of the pain he put her through.

    The thing is, when you’re born with the blessing of the Moon, you’re born with the ability to control the beast. But when you’re turned, it’s like a war between personalities. In the first year, the beast is stronger till you learn to will it away. Transformations are painful; if you don’t go mad from having the beast in your head, then you kill yourself because of the pain. Those who do transform with the beast in control, they kill everything in their path. There is no sense of their human self, only the need to kill and feast on warm flesh.

    One woman who had been bitten on an early rampage of the queen went to Mount Olympus and prayed to the Gods for help with the transformation. When climbing down the mountain, the Moon shone bright and she heard the beast in her head. Stopping at a spring, she drank the water to soothe the headache and the voice left her. Gazing up, the moon was full and bright, majestic in all her ways. The woman went back to her home.

    Every night for two weeks, she returned to the mountain to pray to the Gods, and every night she would drink from the spring. She found the beast no longer reigned. The voice was a mere whisper; the pain was no longer there. Since then, those who have been bitten drink and bath in the water from that same spring for two weeks to regain control. The Counsel had the water shipped to the Main House especially for me. They wanted to ensure that I wouldn’t go on a rampage and destroy everything in my path. They had to protect the Alphas. While the Alphas are the strongest of the pack, they are no match for a beast of pure instinct.

    I never met the Alpha pair, but I did meet the Counsel. Dressed in grey, I fidgeted in front of their stern gazes. Councilman Enntiene was the one that spoke to me. The first point they made clear to me was that I was not a Child of the Moon. I was a special case, not many people are turned, and usually they are killed. I considered myself lucky. They explained to me, I was not an exception to the rules. Rules were enforced by the Counsel, and those who broke them stood trial in front of the Alphas. The Alphas had the final say in everything. Important decisions and events that should be reported directly to the Counsel and Alphas before any actions are taken place. After laying down the rules and where I was allowed to go, Jacob came to get me. Councilman Enntiene wanted to speak with me alone. I was scared, and I’ll admit I was unsure whether I should go or not.
    I chose to meet with the Councilman in the gardens. He spoke with me, and he showed care for me in a way that no others did. Our conversation helped me understand what it meant to live in the house and how to live my new life. I know Councilman Entienne tried to answer all my questions, but many secrets remain. My eyes were opened to a world unknown to most; welcome to my new life. I met with the Councilman in the gardens. He spoke with me. He cared for me in a way that no others did. He helped me understand what it meant to live in the house and how to live my new life. He didn’t answer all my questions, and secrets remained, but things about my new life opened my eyes to a world unknown to most.

    ~*~

    The year was 2006 and the summer had been hot. It was the first day of school and everybody was at my apartment. Currently, the guys were sitting on the couch in front of the TV watching the news while the girls and I were getting ready.

    “I don’t understand. How do guys get dressed and ready so fast?” I asked while stepping into my jeans and walking into the bathroom.
    As I walked through the door frame the lights automatically came on. I studied myself in the mirror, and then I started to apply some light make up. Bella came up next to me and did the same. I finished up and left. The girls and I picked similar outfits. Basically the outfits were plain baby tees and jeans. I wore red with a jean skirt and high heels. Bella wore blue with regular jeans and pumas. Viola wore purple with capris and knee-high boots. I turned around to look at myself in the mirror behind my bedroom door, and was pleased with my appearance. Soon all the girls had their turn in the bathroom and Aiden was hitting my door and yelling at us to, and I quote “Hurry up or be left behind.” He can be such a grouch.

    We filed out of my room and I could feel the impatience rolling off Aiden in waves as he said, “Good, you girls are finally finished, maybe we can make it to third period.”

    “Hold your horses, perfection takes time.” I countered as I started to thrust a binder and pen into my pink backpack.

    “What are you talking about? I don’t see a difference.” he answered glaring at my back. That comment earned him three swift punches to his head; Stephen just sighed and followed.

    “C’mon girls, let’s get going.” I swung my backpack over my shoulder and walked out of the apartment, with the girls trailing after me. We walked down the stairs to the three cars that sat parked outside. Only Stephen and Aiden could drive. The Counsel bought them new cars when they turned 16. Two convertibles, one black and one silver,. Aiden’s was black and Stephen’s was silver. I climbed into the front seat of Aiden’s car and Bella climbed into the back. Viola was in Stephen’s car. Aiden silently slid into the driver seat of the car, closed the top, and drove off. I sank into the cool leather seat, turning on the radio to my favorite station. Not a word was exchanged between him and me but Bella tried to keep the mood light.

    ~*~

    We arrived at the school and Aiden parked the car. I quickly exited the car and rushed up the steps with the girls beside me and they guys behind us, they liked to walk behind us. All of a sudden a whirlwind of pink and blond launched itself onto Aiden, clinging to his neck in a suffocating hug. We all stood and stared. A boy came running up to us. He was tall, almost as tall as Aiden, had blonde hair like the girl and piercing pale blue eyes. He was wearing faded jeans and a jade green tee shirt.

    “Brianna, you shouldn’t do things like that…at least say hello and introduce yourself to everyone!” he said. The girl, Brianna, let go of Aiden.

    “Sorry Gabriel! I’m also sorry for not introducing myself, I’m Brianna and this is my twin brother Gabriel.” she stated. I glared at the girl, not many people act friendly with Aiden, who by the way has not said anything yet. Viola took up the groups’ introductions. I just stared at Aiden as he tried to avoid looking at me. It wasn’t a mystery I like him, everyone knew, except for him. If he did know then he never let on.

    Finally I spoke. “Do you know her?” I looked at Aiden, expecting him to answer.

    Brianna spoke up. “Of course I know him! His whereabouts were hard to track down. Not too many people are supposed to know where he is when he doesn’t live at the House. He’s my fiancé and I’m so glad I’ve finally found him!”

    I sucked in a breath. When did this happen? I didn’t even know what to think or to how to feel. Soon enough my body came up with a solution and my eyes started to water. I looked away and Brianna’s chatter dulled. When I looked back up, I caught Aiden’s steady gaze. I closed my eyes to avoid his and tears started rolling down my cheeks. I left as quickly as I could for the nearest bathroom. I made it in and looked at myself in the mirror. Bella and Viola walked in. I washed my face with cold water and faced them.

    “You didn’t know?” Bella asked. I shook my head no. The only secret Aiden had ever kept from me was the whole werewolf thing, well; I thought that was the only thing he hid from me.

    “I wonder why he never told you. Everyone at the main house knows. The Councilmen must have had a reason not to tell you. We’ve known since he moved away, it’s obvious since he’s the…. Ouch!” Viola just elbowed Bella in the ribs and whispered something in her ear.

    “‘He’s the…’ What?” I asked.

    “It’s not our place to tell you.” Viola said with a sharp look to Bella. “Come on…class is about to start.”

    ~*~

    We began the long trudge to our first period, English. We sat together in a corner of the room. Aiden, of course, had to sit next to me. I glared at him for a second; trying to relay the message I didn’t want him to sit next to me.

    I could see from the corner of my eye he sat stiff in his chair, but class ended without me even acknowledging him. Stephen and I had Pre-cal with the same teacher so we walked together.

    “You ok?” he asked as we walked, his face all concern and worry.

    “I’m not sure. I know everything about Aiden and nothing at all. Why didn’t I know about this? Why didn’t he tell me? Who is this Brianna girl? Do you know her?” I replied.

    “I’m not sure if I can tell you who she is, but I can tell you this isn’t the first time I have seen her. Back when I was at the main house, with my sister, we were charged to be her playmates. Even then she was selfish, wanting everything, all the toys, attention, everything. The sad part was, everything she wanted, she got. My sister and I never knew why she got everything. Our parents only told us she was from an important family and it was very important that we be nice to her. Aiden would kill me if he knew I was talking to you about this.” He answered, giving me a look he continued, “You should really talk to him.,”
    “I don’t understand. You tell me things about her, but you don’t tell me exactly who she is. Why can’t I know? What are you all trying to hide from me? I hate secrets.” I said, frustrated with all my friends.

    ~*~

    I quickened my pace to Pre-cal, not wanting to be late. I reached the room found a seat. Stephen sat down next to me and the teacher started class. During class I tried to not let my mind wander, but I couldn’t help the anger emanating from my entire body. Third period was an event, Stephen, Bella, Aiden and I all have Chemistry together. We had to have lab partners so I was starting to search out Bella, but I saw her already sitting with Stephen. The last people available were Brianna, her brother Gabriel, Aiden and me. Right away I crossed out Brianna; there was no way in hellfire I was going to work with her for the rest of the year, which left Gabriel and Aiden. Since at the present time I was angry at Aiden, my decision was clear. Who knows, maybe I can wriggle some information out of him.

    “Hey, Gabriel! Come be my partner?” I asked flashing him a smile.

    He smiled back and said, “Sure!” I looked at Aiden, giving him a sweet smile, knowing he knew I was still mad at him. He looked pained when Brianna came up to him and shook her off as she tried to loop her arm with his. As I turned back to Gabriel, the teacher gave the lab for the day. The class came alive with students looking through cabinets for the needed instruments.

    “Thanks, after this morning I don’t think I could handle being with Aiden or, no offense, your sister.” I said appreciatively.

    He chuckled softly, “None taken, Brianna can be annoying sometimes, and it’s no problem. You’re doing me a favor as well; I didn’t want to be stuck with my sister as a partner. I really don’t know anybody. We just moved here in pursuit of Aiden. ”

    “Really?” I replied, “So how long have you known Aiden?”

    “We’ve known him since we were kids back at the main house. When he got older, he left the main house with the consent of the Counsel. How long have you known him?”

    “Long enough trust me, his family was the one to take me away when I was turned.”

    His look changed and his face showed all seriousness, “You mean you are not a Child of the Moon? You were turned? ” His gaze never left mine. It felt as though he was searching my soul. Drawn in, I couldn’t answer. “I heard about you as a child. You were the one brought to the main house. The one the Counsel took so much interest in. Yes, Councilman Enntiene speaks highly of you. He thinks you something special.” Snapping himself out of his stupor, he looked to Aiden and muttered to himself. “Interesting choice Aiden.” I was unsure of what he meant with his words. He looked back to me, mouth broadening into a smile. “So how is living with a temperamental, moody, ‘I-have-to-be-Alpha’ male?” I laughed, all tension gone.

    “It can be very interesting at home. We are both so stubborn. Sometimes our friends avoid coming over when the two of us are in an argument; they’ve compared it to a war zone with high count of innocent casualties.” His deep rich laugh joined in with mine. I felt a chill; I turned around and looked over at Aiden. He was looking at Gabriel with a glare that had hate and jealousy all over it. So intent was he on Gabriel, Aiden hardly took notice of the chattering blonde at his side.

    “Don’t look now but someone is jealous of you. I swear, he thinks I belong to him.” I was shaking my head.

    “Huh? Who’s jealous?” Gabriel turned and looked. Aiden stared at him and Gabriel had an amused look on his face.

    “I’m sure in some ways he does think he owns you. It’s just natural to be possessive about such a beautiful person.” He looked at me in a way in which I couldn’t tell if he was joking or serious.

    “Sure.” I replied blushing, sarcasm dripping from one syllable. Then my tone turned playful “My dear Sir, are you flirting with me?”

    “Only if you want me to be.” He winked at me. I just started laughing again at his silly antics. “Now, Madam, what say you to finishing this lab?”

    “A fine idea, Sir. Absolute genius.” We smiled and started working. We cleaned up after we finished the lab and sat, waiting for the bell to ring. When it did, I said goodbye to Gabriel and made to leave, only to find a certain someone had grabbed my wrist. I looked up at Aiden; his face told me he was not a force to be reckoned with, especially with that expression. He wordlessly dragged me out of class and into the hallway. I yanked my hand away from him and stalked down the hallway, leaving him staring after me.

    ~*~
    By the end of the day, Aiden had given up on trying talking to me; instead he stayed really close to me while walking out to the car, almost like a body guard. I was curious, looking back at him I wondered if anything was wrong because Aiden never gives up easily. Then I again started to wonder if Brianna was in any of his classes, just thinking about them made the green monster of jealousy come out. I once again built up my resolve and continued walking. When I arrived home, I wanted nothing but a nice bath to mull things over for a while, make myself a bowl of macaroni and cheese then go to bed.

    As soon as the car stopped I made a break for our apartment. Nearly running into the front door, I finally got it to open and ran to the bathroom, locking myself in. I shed my clothes and turned on the water to fill the tub. As the water poured into the tub, I added a generous amount (a more than suggested amount) of scented? Bubble bath.
    When the tub was full I turned off the water and sank in. I leaned my head against the cool tiles and closed my eyes. Somewhere in the nice side of my mind I decided I should let Aiden explain what was going on instead of hating him without explanation.

    “Anna Lee? Are you in there?” Speak of the devil, guess who it was.

    “What do you want Aiden?” I leaned forward, pulling my legs up. Resting my cheek on my knees, I sighed.

    “To talk to you, can I come in?” He asked as if I had a choice. Like I said once he wanted to do something he does it and there’s no stopping him. I stepped out and wrapped myself in a towel.

    “Are you dressed?” he asked through the door.

    “Yes, more or less.” I unlocked the door and he walked in.

    “So, how are you?” he asked.

    “I don’t know. I just found out my best friend has a fiancée I didn’t know about and he didn’t bother to tell me. How do you think I feel?” I asked, giving him a heated glare. He looked away.

    “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want things to be weird between us. I didn’t know she would follow me and I didn’t think the Counsel would allow her to come. I’m just trying to…I’m just sorry. I know you don’t like secrets, especially my secrets. You must have some of your own, so, I’m asking you to respect the fact that I don’t like my personal facts to be on display at all times. There will be things I won’t tell you about myself.” He was studying the countertop carefully.

    “Aiden, you’re my best friend. I want to know everything about you; you’re my family. Then again, you’re right; everyone has secrets. Keep your secrets, just don’t lie to me. Please?” I crossed my arms and leaned against the sink counter.

    “I can’t promise you that. I will lie to keep you safe and to protect us. You need to trust me.” He stood with his arms crossed.

    “Trust you…You want me to trust you?! How can I? You just told me you would lie to me. How does that inspire confidence in any way?” I too was yelling now.

    He left the room and I closed the door, I sighed. Turning I peered into the mirror. ‘So much for having a relaxing bath’ I thought. I started pacing around the bathroom; thinking about what I should do next. I could go out and face Aiden or I could sit in the bathroom till he left. Either way…I still had to live with him. I took a deep breath, as if I was going to plunge into the icy depth of the Arctic, and walked toward the bathroom door and flung it open.