The Cursed Shifters - Mateless

The Training Fields

After everyone had left her Shiloh walked over to her dresser intending to get her workout clothes and head to the training field. She pulled out her fitness leggings and sports bra and a loose crop top but as she straightened herself, she saw the photo of her and her mother on the dresser, their smiling faces beamed at the camera. The photo was taken after Shiloh’s first shift at fourteen, your first shift doesn’t take place until after the onset of puberty and with her lifestyle she was a late bloomer. Her mother had been so excited to see Shiloh’s russet wolf for the first time but even as a pup it was obvious that Fayrah was larger than most other wolves. Her mother had known then that her daughter was an Alpha and told her not to let anyone else see her wolf. The old Alpha was cruel even before he went mad and would have seen Shiloh as a threat to both him and any heirs, he wished to have so to protect her strict rules were put in place. Shiloh was not allowed to display any alpha behavior, she could not excel publicly in training, she could not use a commanding tone, she had to make sure she submitted to anyone who should be a higher rank then her, and the most brutal rule, no one could ever see Fayrah.

              Due to her mother’s strict rules Shiloh had few friends, Bex was her only companion until Michael was thrown out of his aunt’s house and the alpha ordered Shiloh’s mom to take him in. Michael taunted and teased her like any big brother would, he felt entitled to do so because he was two years older than her. Then one day, in the beginning of her freshman year, Shiloh came home from a day full of bullying by the school barbies. Michael started his teasing and she snapped, Shiloh lunged for Michael who laughed it off until she had him flat on his back with her still very human, pointed black nails at his throat. Michael had never been cruel to her, he just teased like a brother, but in that moment she had been pushed too far and she snapped. Regaining control of herself she looked at his shocked face, apologized, and removed herself from his torso. Michael yelled ‘I knew it!’ before he was even completely upright, and her mother came running in to find out what was going on. Then they both got a lecture on keeping it a secret.

              Shiloh’s mom was murdered a couple of weeks later by rogues while she was out on patrol. Grief locked around Shiloh like a vice and as hard as Bex and Michael tried they could not bring her out of it, she sat in her room and did not eat, she would not attend school or training. During this time Dre and Lennon entered her life, the entire pack knew of her mother’s death, after a week of her absence from the training fields Dre and Lennon took notice and found out where she lived. It turned out that the two of them were far more observant than the other pack members and had realized that she held back at every session, her absence had them concerned because they saw her as strong, immovable and unbreakable. When they beat on the door Michael tried to stop them from coming in but Dre shoved past him and started wondering through the house looking for her. What they found was Shiloh sitting in her floor with her legs pulled close, chin on her knees, looking gaunt and haunted. Dre had crouched down and softly told her how strong she was, how she could fight through the pain and loss, the words did not touch her but then Lennon spoke up. His voice was strong and demanding he spoke of revenge, of tearing the rouges who killed her mother apart, and Shiloh looked up at him as he spoke. When he finished she stood and their family was born. Their first mission had been unsanctioned by the Alpha, they had tracked the rogues and the five teens tore them apart.

              The memories flooded her as she looked at the photo and once they were done, she did something she had done a thousand times, she dissected her face. Her mother had brown hair, keeping with the tones common among shifters, Shiloh’s was a deep red, her mother’s eyes were chocolate brown, but Shiloh’s were blue and the only other shifter with blue eyes was Lennon. Lennon’s eyes were icy blue while hers were sapphire. Her high cheekbones and full lips were her mother’s, but she was short for a shifter and too curvy, it was all muscle, but she was not as lean as the other females. Her skin was too light as well, Bex was one of the palest shifters she had ever seen, and she was still several shades darker than Shiloh. Shiloh wondered for the first time in a long time who and what her father had been. Fayrah chimed into Shiloh’s thoughts “You are beautiful in your differences, bringing spice to a bland species. When all is set right our mate will look upon you and be awed that he was gifted such a rare gem.” Shiloh rolled her eyes, Fayrah was always poetic and dramatic. She kept her thoughts to herself, her doubt at how a half breed like her could actually have a mate and her hope that she did.

              Shiloh needed a mate; she knew that she did. All anyone ever saw from her was unwavering strength but on the inside, she was still that broken grieving child that needed someone to hold her. Making life and death decisions for her team and running the pack from the shadows was a weight she was meant to share. For the males a mate kept the wolf from raging, calmed the storm, and brought peace. Females needed a mate to be their strength and shield, they would not go mad without them like the males, but their existence lacked joy as everything weighed down upon them. Yes, Shiloh needed her mate as badly as Fayrah, especially if she ever did assume her position as alpha of the pack.

              The training fields were full of shifters, men, women, and children all in different stages of training. Not one waved as Shiloh passed, no one knew much about her or her team, they didn’t command any attention or extra respect. Everything they did was kept quiet and generally no trace was left to point back to the pack let alone to the individuals. Accidents happen now and then, even to the best warriors, a knife is dropped, a strand of hair escapes, but nothing ever surfaced beyond rumors. Some of the children spotted her as she walked through the field and stopped training to run after her, Shiloh paused and let the three little wolves tackle her to the ground giggling like it was the most fun they had ever had. The children of the pack did not inherit their parents bias, while the bullying had stopped once Shiloh stopped holding back on the fields and it was made evident, she could win any fight her tormenters brought her, the whispers never ceased. She was still the freak half breed with weird hair and eyes, Lennon never dealt with much backlash being a guy, but girls are mean and petty. The children of the pack loved Shi, she would let the girls dress her up and play with her hair no matter how many knots they tied it in and wrestled with the boys any time they wanted. Some of the more mature parents took note of how much their kids loved her and would even let her babysit and had become pleasant acquaintances.

              Rolling around giggling with the three girls Shiloh spotted her team on the far field near the woods, Bex was sparing with Lennon, pitting her agility and flexibility against his increased speed. Michael and Dre faced off brawn against careful thought-out action. Shiloh shook stood up and shook the girls off sending them back to their instructor who looked incredibly annoyed at the interruption and headed for her team.

Right as Shiloh closed in on her team Bex charged Lennon who was looking at Shiloh, launching herself at him she wrapped her legs around his head and threw herself back. The entire move was fluid and perfect with little to no time for Lennon to react. Bex had her arms out as she flipped backwards throwing Lennon with her legs as she went, he went down flat on the ground, the wind knocked out of him, and Bex finished the back handspring she started by landing with her feet on either side of his head. A flawless move and one of Shiloh’s favorites.

              Dre and Michael were still at it, neither one had been distracted by Shiloh’s appearance so neither gained an advantage to end the match. Shiloh, Bex, and Lennon stood together watching as the two males traded blows, Michael was landing more but Dre’s held a lot more force. It was too hard to tell who was going to win as Michael predicted and evaded almost every attack Dre implemented, but he was beginning to slow as large bruises spread where Dre had landed punches and kicks. Dre lunged fist first for Michael’s chest, a blow that would surely c***k his sternum, as he closed in Michael leapt out of the way. His leap turned into a tumble, and he kicked his right foot out sweeping Dre’s feet from beneath him. Dre landed on his back almost as hard as Lennon had, before he gathered his wits to spring to his feet or roll to the side Michael was crouched over him, claws hovering above his throat. The match was done. Bex went over to high five Michael while Lennon pulled Dre back up on his feet, grunting at the weight.

              Shiloh looked at the four of them sweaty, dirty, and heaving and pride swelled in her chest, this was her family, and they were amazing. Choaking down the sentimental mush she c****d an eyebrow, smirked, and said, “Now whose fighting me?” All four of Shiloh’s siblings exchanged glances and as one they charged at her. Shiloh leapt straight into the air at the last second laughing as she fell in behind them and kicked Lennon in the back throwing him face first into the grassy field. Bex, Michael, and Dre whirled around to face her as she tried to stifle her laughter and look serious. Michael was the first to act, sweeping out a kick for her ankles like he had done to Dre but Shiloh looked like she was skipping rope as she hopped over his extended leg and kneed him squarely in the face. Bex and Dre exchanged a look and came together, a whirl of fists and feet flying as Shiloh twirled and danced like a ballerina dodging them, Dre punched for her face with enough force that his entire weight was in it, propelling his torso forward with his fist, Shiloh leaned back into a back bend to dodge the attack and promptly kicked her right foot straight up into Dre’s most important bits, he crumbled to the ground. Lennon and Michael had gathered themselves but did not attack again, just watching how everyone moved, taking mental notes of effective attacks or evasions. Bex continued her assault, looking as if she was having as much fun as Shiloh, to everyone watching it did not look like the two women were fighting but dancing as they spun and bent and leaped around each other. Dre finally got himself together and righted himself moving over to the other men to watch the women fight.

              “I know I am big and it slows me down but how is it that those two are so much more agile then us? Lennon you are the only one that can compete on speed and that is due to the vampire blood in you. I don’t get it.” Dre legitimately looked confused.

              “Do you see the way they move? They’re dancing, they’re doing acrobatics, and they’re watching. They know us and know what we are about to do as soon as we do by muscle twitches and eye movements, they’re ready to dodge before we attack, and they can time it just right because they know precisely how fast we are.” Michael explained how the girls fought like he was giving a lecture on a predatory animal.

              “Not to mention that females are generally more agile and graceful by nature, not faster necessarily but agile.” Lennon summed up his response as per usual.

The girls had attracted a small crowd yet again. Shiloh still held on to a bit of what her mother had told her, even though the crazed alpha was dead she still didn’t show her full strength to anyone but her little family. The pack only ever saw enough to get them to leave her alone. She jumped up into a forward handspring, palms landing on Bex’s shoulders and curved her body so her feet would land not on the ground but in Bex’s knees. When her feet hit Bex dropped to a kneeling position, but she wasn’t done, she twisted at her hips throwing her left elbow back and into Shiloh’s face. Neither won the match but with the crowd they were both happy to call and end there and get to their feet. The guys clapped, the crowd was a mix of reactions, shock at what the women could do, disappointment at the lack of a victor, elated clapping from tiny hands, and sneers from females that hated Shiloh and Bex.

One of the little girls from earlier ran up to Shi, “I wanna be just like you when I’m big!” she squealed. Shiloh smiled at her and ruffled her hair then walked over to her group.

“I’m starving, lets go eat.”