INTRODUCTION

HAZEL

It's a Friday afternoon and I'm bored at home, with nothing much to do.

My mother is left all alone at home as I take a walk around the Pack, something I haven't done in a long time.

The afternoon sun scorch my head as I stand near the edge of the pack border line. Looking beyond the invisible line, marked off only by the scents of Pack Members and land marks to help remember when the edges end. The terrain visible to my eye has been used repeatedly over time. Only adult males, and training males are allowed past the border. That's only with the permission of the Alpha and sometimes the Beta. It's a law to make sure that no one in the pack gets hurt.

I see a deer a few yards up ahead across the border line. I blink and wonder why it would be this close to civilization and not deeper in the woods. It's quiet but no where close to calm. The wind is blowing my scent directly to the deer. As soon as it hits him, he runs. I'm not too sure if it's a male or female deer, the males have started shedding their antlers for the year.

“What are you doing over here, Hazel?” A voice takes me out of my trance, and a large body now stands in front of me with their arms crossed. I look up and shrug my shoulders. It's Trevor who happens to be my step-father and has been since two years ago. I like him, in a father's sense. Sometimes he gets a little too over protective of me and my mother, but usually he is a great guy.

He's a warrior, and is usually patrolling the borders when he's not away for pack business. "I just wanted to look at what's out there. I've been everywhere in the pack and I'm just a little curious." It was more like an obsession than anything to cross the border and see what's out there. I can only imagine.

"Curiosity kills the cat, you know." Trevor says giving me a soft grin. I roll my eyes at the old saying but nod my head anyways. "You shouldn't be this close to the border, Hazel. As strong as our pack is a rouge can still sneak his way through the borders. I don't want you getting hurt." He says softly, he presses a hand on my shoulder and begins to walk me away from the border. "You're mom would hang me for that." He jokes. I give him a little laugh.

I guess he's right. Rogues and stray wolves are still a threat to the pack, and the pack doesn't have super powers to keep them out. They can only try their best to. He makes a great point.

I pause, and turn back to look at the woods. It's quiet, and I feel as if something is coming. "What's wrong?" Trevor asks, looking back at the woods.

"Nothing, sorry. I just got this sudden pull to the woods. It might just be the fact I'm still interested in them." I mumble. The pull fades away as we keep walking. I don't think much about it think much about it, because it doesn't concern me.

"Go home, Hazel. Your mom is cooking Mac and cheese for dinner, and she's probably worried about you." He says and I nod my head then he starts walking, heading back towards the borders. My mom is a worry wart. She's always afraid that something bad is going to happen to me. I just decide to head towards the direction of my home.

When I get home, my mother greets me as I walk into the house. Her hair falls down to her shoulders. Her stomach is swelled and she's going to pop any time soon. It's a little strange knowing that my mom is going to be having a baby and I'm barely seventeen but I'm happy for her. Ever since my dad passed away she hadn't even tried a blind date. Then she met Trevor, and it was like he was her second chance mate as she called it. They always look at each other with so much love. I only dream of my mate looking at me the way Trevor does my mom.

"Do you need any help?" I offer. I've taken a nursing course in high school and learned a few things about pregnant women. They're not only carrying their own weight but the baby's too. That puts some pressure on your feet.

"Can you put the pan in the oven?" She asks. I nod my head and do what she says. If it's not obvious that a belly is in the way of bending over, than I don't know what is.

I take in a deep breath and catch a smell so delicious it makes this lasagna seem like nothing. "What's that smell?" I ask mom, wondering if she had bought some new ferbreeze or perfume. Mom furrows her eyebrows. "The Mac and cheese?" Confusion laces her words but she let's out a laugh as if she were joking. "No," I smile and roll my eyes at my mother.

I breath in again. It's not as strong now, but it lingers in my senses. It's something that I can't really get enough of. "What's it smell like?" Mom questions. I take in a deep breath and try to make out what it smells like.

"I don't really know," I take in a deep breath, "peppermint mostly, but there's other stuff too. I just can't think of what the smells related to." I explain to her. Mom nods her head and chews on her bottom lip.

"I think my nose is stuffy from the cooler weather." Mom says. I nod my head. She's only half werewolf. Yes, she has shifted but the bond between her and her wolf isn't as good as a full blooded wolf's would be. My father was a pure blooded wolf, so the chances of me shifting are very high. His ancestors were very picky about blood lines.

I check on the food and turn back to my mother. She's now sitting at the barstool sipping on a glass of water. Even while she's pregnant she still moves faster than I can say peanut butter. Mom let's out a exaggerated breath and runs her fingers through her hair.

"Looks like it's just you and me eating dinner together tonight." Mom mutters. I furrow my eyebrows. "Why?" I'm appalled by that. Trevor was excited to sit down and finally have a day off in a long time.

"The King is here and is calling a meeting to see how the pack is running. He says he doesn't know how long it will take, so to just eat without him." She explains it to me. I frown. Mom always seemed so much happier and cheerful when he's around. I mean, he's around in the morning but because he has night shift if means they never really get to go out and have fun which is disappointing. I want mom to be happy. She's made me happy, she deserves it.

"We can catch up on American horror story?" I offer, giving mom a cheeky grin." I offer, giving mom a cheeky grin. Her expression lifts into a happier one. I smile, turn to the over when it dings and pull the Mac and cheese out. I guess that there is always a plus side to Trevor being gone. He hates American horror story. They're weird sometimes, but they're good.

****

I remember when I was young, I was quite an inquisitive kid and there's this particular day I couldn't stop asking mom several questions.

"Mummy?" I asked her while resting my head against my her chest. Her hands ran through my hair, soothing me to sleep. Back then, she was a single mother. She was young and she had me when she was only seventeen.

I was seven years old back then. My hair was light and my eyes were a shade of green like a blade of grass. People said I looked almost exactly like my mother. She was humming softly to an imaginary tune and I listened to the sounds around us as we lay on a blanket looking up at the stars.

"Why do wolves howl mama?" I murmured curiously and she dwelled on the question for a while herself. She understood what the wolves were saying, but there's no way she could explain something so disappointing to a seven year old.

"They tell stories to other wolves." She said softly. Her voice was low, like if she were to raise it any louders it would wake up nonexistent neighbors.

"This one sounds sad, what's it about?" I asked. My mother blinked at the question and let out a soft breath.

"He's telling about how he feels, Hazel honey. He lost someone very dear to him, and he is mourning her loss." I understood the word mourning. I knew that meant that someone had died. My bottom lip poked out and tears welled up in my eyes.

"It's okay, Haze. It's only a story." Mum fondly called me and said softly, holding me close to her chest. I nodded my head in response and then let soft whimpers out, because it reminded me of how it felt when I lost my dad.