Chapter 4: the gifts

She danced around with the ribbons, spinning and flying, as her mother hummed to the song. The aroma of her mother's food covered the kitchen and could be smelt from miles away. If there was one thing her mother knew how to do like a pro, it was cooking. Too bad she decided against being a chef. The little girl was positive her father had quite a good time when he was alive.

Twirling on her feet, she shot her arms out, using the ribbons to grab a cup and a salad knife. Adjusting her body, she spun the ribbon, slicing the knife through the air with a smile on her face. She was getting better at this.

"Mother, I have a question to ask," she spoke, bending her body backwards as she spun the ribbon spirally above her. Her mother hummed. "How do I identify my mate?"

"It's easy," her mother smiled, "when you perceive the most intoxicating and pleasant scent, when the wind blows against you in a way you can't understand when you can't think of anything but that scent, just know that the owner of the scent is the one. And what do you do when you find him?"

She spun her ribbon to a stop. "I reject him."

_____

Another ridiculous day, only worse. Since the news of “The Steel” Alpha's agreement to visit our pack spread, the alpha worked my bones into making the pack perfect. Every one of them knew I was a perfectionist when it came to arrangement, so they had me do most of the work, so the pack would be organised enough to leave a good impression. The only good thing about it was that I was allowed to spend time away as a reward. Though I knew it wasn't. They didn't want the alpha to choose me, just in case none found their mates. “Who would see such a good servant and turn a blind eye?” Alpha Swindells had asked rhetorically.

So, waking up that day was splendid news, actually. I washed up and put on one of the few nice dresses I inherited from my mother. I brushed my hair, braided it and placed the braided tail over my shoulder and wore my only good shoes. It was the black combat boots a distant friend of mine bought for me. If I was lucky, she would swing by, though I doubted.

Her name was Scarlette. I met her a year after my mother died. She had wandered into the forest and found my quiet spot. For a human, she wasn't a bit scared to find a tattered girl in the middle of a forest. Somehow, I felt safe with her. She would tell me stories and jokes, and even if I didn't understand, it was good to listen to her speak.

At first, she would come every day, but when the Luna started noticing the barrier intrusion, Scarlette reduced it gradually until she only came around my birthday period and unpredictably.

I found out she was not as human as I thought she was. Scarlette is a dhampir. She, somehow, was more human than a vampire. Had the speed, strength, telepathy and more she didn't tell, and she only drank blood twice a year or once, if she didn't use her powers too much. Scarlette was also a hunter as she claimed, which I believed was because of how easily she slipped in and out of the pack.

So, with the hope that I would be fortunate enough to meet her and, at least, make my day less boring, I headed to the pond. My mother's short sundress was even shorter on me, but it was okay to wear since no one would be seeing me in it. As I got closer, I got a whiff of her scent. Zinnia whooped with excitement because Scarlette meant me shifting. Yes, Scarlette knew, but I didn't tell her, my wolf did.

It happened two years ago, on my mother's death anniversary. Somehow, depression pushed me to the back of my mind and Zinnia took over. She would have gone on a rampage if Scarlette didn't show up and stopped her. Fortunately, Scarlette promised to keep our secret, and that was when she told me her secret. The secret of her being a dhampir. No one knew, no one except her mother. She was some kind of forbidden dhampir, so keeping her identity secret was the only way to remain alive. We had something in common.

Returning to me being able to shift. Scarlette had far more heightened senses than mine. She could see things from five miles and perceive them as well—though my sense of smell was stronger. So, she could keep a lookout for me. Running into the pond surrounded by trees, I smiled when I saw her there, skipping rocks.

Just like her name, she had a hair colour the exact shade of scarlet, something she said she took from her father. Dark skinned like her father, but more beautiful than all the alpha's daughters put together. Her emerald eyes were the perfect touch to her beautiful features, along with her glamorous body. She was absolutely stunning and extraordinarily nice.

"There you are!" She exclaimed, looking at me over her shoulder. The sunlight reflected on her emerald eyes, a playful smile on her lips. "I've been waiting for ages. Did you know I came here yesterday? And the day before that? And that? And that?" I giggled. She smiled, turning around to face the pond. "It's so boring now I've quit my hunter career." She sighed dramatically. I walked up to her and tapped her, demanding answers to why she quit. "The old geezers got out of hand. Seven months ago, they planned to attack innocent werefoxes—" my gasp interrupted her. She laughed, already knowing why. Her laugh was every bit as beautiful as her soul. Sometimes, I wished I was as beautiful as her. The girls in the pack thought I was a threat, they hadn't even met Scarlette.

"Did I not tell you about werefoxes?" I shook my head frantically. Scarlette was the only means of information about the outside world I had, other than my books. I pulled her to sit down, ready for the long story of how she met werefoxes. "Well, I've met them once. And one time, when I went to Asia, I met a nine-tailed fox," she whispered. I gasped again, my eyes flying wide. Those are real? "Yes, I was surprised too. Anyway, I quit my job when they decided to hunt innocent werefoxes, but they still went on with the plan. My mother ended up reporting to the higher-ups but turns out they were aware. Then the foxes reported to their guardians, the red nine-tailed fox, the white and the three-eyed sun fox. To cut a long story short, most hunters are dead now, my mother too."

My eyes widened. She looked at me unsurely, sadness taking over her usual happiness. "You don't need to feel bad, the hunters killed her, not the foxes. So now, the hunter empire is practically closed. They couldn't even fight the three awesome deity foxes, and they ended things. It's good but bad. Now, I don't have a cover for my identity." She murmured. Not knowing what to do, I wrapped my hands around her shoulders for comfort. She smiled half-heartedly. Now, we had another thing in common: we both don't have a mother.

"You know, your Luna really needs to work on her barrier. It's so easy to pass through, I pity the safety of your pack." She voiced out suddenly.

Werewolves had a strong defence system. According to history, it started thousands of years ago. There were strange shadow beasts or something like that, but shadow creatures. They allied themselves with vampires, back when werewolves and vampires were at war. The werewolves were being slaughtered like meat. The goddess was enraged and made an agreement with some gods to convert them into blessings for the werewolves. The classification goes like this:

 1. Soul warriors. When the mark appeared on their bodies, they became soul warriors. Soul warriors are warriors born to fight and protect their pack and alpha. There are three divisions of soul warriors. The first had their marking located on their left shoulders, gifted with silver claws and bite. They were called Silver Souls. Similar to how silver affects most supernaturals, their claws and bites were deadly. They were strong, really.

The second is Toxic Souls. Toxic Soul Warriors have regular claws and teeth when they shift, but each claw and tooth contain deadly toxins that cause immobility, loss of consciousness and sometimes, even death—depending on the warrior and the opponent. For example, a markless wolf will die from the warrior's toxin, while it will only weaken an alpha, temporarily. But if the warrior is independently stronger, the toxin can paralyse an alpha. Their mark is located under their jaws.

The third is fire souls. They are naturally hot, claws as hot as a blacksmith's iron. Their claws looked normal, but it was strong enough to slice through walls and, sometimes, metal. They were faster than the others, smaller wolves but with stronger senses. They could also inburn their opponent when their claws make contact with flesh. They are immune to a toxic soul warrior's toxin and can ward off the effect of silver by heating their inside to a reasonable degree to push it out. That's what makes them stronger. The fire souls had a strong loyalty towards their alpha, making it almost impossible to get them to betray the alpha. The alpha's words are their life. Their markings are on their right shoulder.

 2. The Warrior Captain. Armed with the ability of the Silver Soul and Toxic Soul or—in rare cases—fire soul. Because they had both strong toxic silver, fire souls weren't immune to their attacks. They also had quicker agility and were faster than a fire soul. Their mark is found on either side of their arms. There can only be one Warrior Captain in a pack, and it wasn't hereditary.

 3. The trackers. They were faster than all except the alpha and Beta Male. They could track by breathing in a spot and exhaling through their snouts, creating a mist of images that replays whatever happened there. They could also see things no other could see, hear further than the Luna and Beta and some, more than the alpha. They weren't much of a fighter, but they were strong. Their marks were either on their feet; ankles or heels.

 4. The Guard-Gifted. The Guard-Gifted were shifters solely dedicated to the luna. They obeyed the alpha, but their full respect was to the Luna. Their ability is intense strength and gravity. They are huge, taller and stronger than all, including most alphas. Their wolves are gigantic. They mostly guard the barrier and the alpha house—if he has a luna. They scared the shit out of me. Their mark is found on the back of their necks.

 5. The healers. You can already tell what their use is. The healing ability is a hereditary trait. There are three types of healers: herbalist, curing and healing aura. They are like doctors but advanced because they add their abilities to their treatment to make it faster and more resultful than human doctors. However, their healing is levelled to intermediate, which means they can't cure cancer or raise one from the dead. They are useful, though, especially aura healers. Their marks are on their forearms.

 6. The Beta. Basically, the Beta is a fire soul and a toxic soul put in the body of a Guard-Gifted—a shorter, less huge version. That's the best way to describe them. Their mark is found on their chest.

 7. The Luna. Once one becomes a Luna, She automatically gains the ability to create stronger barriers for the protection of the pack and empathic healing; to heal the emotional pain of others to a limit. Although an alpha can create a barrier, without a Luna, the barrier is weak and vulnerable. So yes, a Luna is essential to a pack's protection. Their mark appears on the back of either palm or—in rare cases—their hips or breasts.

 8. The Alpha. Now the alphas were given much more power than the others as the head protector of the pack. Especially back then when survival depended on him or her. The alpha has lesser barrier magic, a few had toxic claws stronger than the warrior's and the rest put together; strength, command, speed and kinetic abilities ranging from sound, coal, objects, wood, metal, telekinesis, chains, and plants. Then some alphas were gifted with rare abilities like silver, fire, shadow, thunder, earth, wind, water, and ice. My alpha and his ass of a son had coal at their command. But no alpha had more than two abilities—the least. However, Alpha Ajax had more than two, and most were whole new kind of abilities. That is why he is most feared. Their marks are located on the side of their neck or their backs.

In the world of werewolves, your strength is by your number, your alpha, and his mate. Among all those abilities, all the markings, I had none.