War of Shadows

Before we dive in, I just want to take a moment and thank you for choosing to try out my story! I'm new to writing, but the plot came to me in a dream one night and I couldn't wait to put it into words! Please bare with me if there are any inconsistencies or errors, as this will act as a rough draft for my story for the time being. I would love to hear your thoughts/comments as you take this journey with me! ****************** Chapter 1 “I need to pee!” Lauren yells into my ear, her raspy voice barely audible over the deafening music of The Yellow Viper. The club is a hotspot for our community, seemingly the only place where nobody cares if you’re a ware or a human. Of course, this means that The Yellow Viper was seen as trashy to the wares, and a place of comfortable inclusion to humans. I am both. I never knew my father, but I know he was a wolf. My mother spent most of my younger years telling me to be cautious, to not let my peers know that I'm not completely human, and to keep an eye out for the signs that I had inherited some of my father’s wolf traits. We were not a very coexisting pair of species in the slightest. To them we are scum, and to us they are no better than highschool bullies, if highschool bullies were able to turn into monsters and rip you apart with no more than a flick of their wrist. Half Breeds like me are abominations- Unnatural and undesirable. Fortunately, to my mother’s relief, my wolf never came. Eighteen years passed and I never showed the signs, then Twenty years, and then she was gone. I still don’t know what happened to her. It seems as if she had just packed her life into that little carry-on and never looked back, save for the birthday cards and Christmas money she sends me every year. I am now twenty-three years old, with a home in my name and the two most wonderful friends anyone could dream of having. They really held me together when it seemed like I had nowhere to go, just kind of floating stagnant in a world that kept moving on around me. One thing has stayed with me throughout the changes that life has thrown at me; I dream of finding my mate. Mates aren’t exactly uncommon among the Fae and the Shifters, but they aren’t guaranteed. Mates are said to have a sacred and unbendable bond created by the Goddess herself between two people. I’ve spoken with people that have found their mate, but they never seem to come up with the words to best fit their experience into my understanding. I long to find my mate, if only just to understand what it would be like to be cherished in the way I’ve seen other mates be. I’ve had boyfriends, sure, but at the end of the day it was nothing serious. Unfortunately, since my wolf has yet to make an appearance in myself, the odds of me experiencing a bond with anyone is slim to none. Nonetheless, I hold out hope that one day, I will find someone that will want to stay. Until then, I will wait and pray to the Goddess to throw me a bone for a little direction in my life. The base hums through my veins, the drums pounding my heart to the beat of the songs while the heat from the gyrating bodies pressing into me on either side causes a bead of sweat to tickle down the small of my back. The club is busier than it usually is, probably due to the horde of college students that had found their way home for Fall Break. A variety of colognes, perfumes, liquor, and the occasional bitter stench of vomit assaults my nose with every musky breath I take. Lauren looks at me with her glittering crystal blue eyes, the strobing lights making the pale curls of her hair flash between reds, pinks, blues, and greens under the strobe lights of the club. “Come on,” she mouths desperately. Lauren’s very good at breaking the damn, and once it’s broken there’s no turning back. At this point, we might as well just hover outside the bathrooms to save us from the hassle of maneuvering through the sea of drunk, dizzy idiots. Undoubtedly, the most toxic trait of young drinkers was their inability to know their limit. “Just one more” quickly turns into two, and before they know it they’re sloshing around like newbie pirates with an embarrassing case of the sealegs. Of course I can’t say much, considering my drinking habits throughout highschool. But what can I say? “What doesn’t kill you makes you a heavy-weight,” or something like that, right? Putting up a finger for Lauren to wait a second, I turn my head to look for Carter in the crowd. I spot him a few feet away, somehow caught between a tight circle of people dancing on each other. He’s at least half a head taller than everyone else, the crown of wavy dark blond hair serving as a beacon for us to find if we got lost. Carter’s always been a “curious cat” of sorts, meaning he does well with making new friends very fast. How else would he get all the latest gossip? Carter used to be a renowned playboy, and it’s easy to understand why- He could have been hired as an Abercrombie & Fitch model if it were 2008, with his athletic physique and cheek bones sculpted to accentuate his soft jawline. Since his grandfather past last spring though, he’s changed. No longer the certified lover-boy, Carter has become more focused on his career and spending time with the people he cares about most- like me and Lauren. Yeah, he’ll find us later. Nodding my head at Lauren, I grab her hand and let her lead the way to the restrooms while struggling to keep a grip on her as we’re jostled back and forth. Being smaller than me has its benefits. She’s always able to squeeze a gap between people and, in turn, creates a path for me to follow. I giggle as we stumble past, shouting “sorry!” and “excuse me” over and over again until we sound like a broken record. It seems like forever until we finally manage to push ourselves to the restrooms, and I yank down on my Burnt-orange, spaghetti strapped mini-dress until I feel safe that nobody is getting a free peep-show. Lauren swings the door open to show another crowd of women leaning over the sinks to adjust their makeup and waiting in line to use the restroom. No way in hell were we both going to fit in there. On second thought, maybe it’s just time to head home for the night. We’ve been here for the better part of the night and a small part of the morning, and this dress is sticking to places it shouldn’t be sticking to. I tap on Lauren’s shoulder and lean down to her ear. “I’m gonna order an uber, I’ll just be outside for a second. Come get me when you’re done and we’ll find Carter” “You’re ordering what?” Lauren exacerbates, raising a light eyebrow and lifting the corner of her painted lips. She looks funny when she does that, but I think it’s kind of cute. “I’ll be outside!” I yell over the chorus of the crowd and the music as a clearly underaged girl bumps my shoulder. Lauren gives me a thumbs up and nods her head in understanding, her tiny curls bouncing with each animated dip of her head. I twirl around and face the sea of sweating bodies that act as a wall between me and the exit, take a breath to ground myself, and push forward toward the door. Only halfway through do I realize that Lauren probably thinks I’m ordering another drink. Good Goddess, I can’t wait to breathe in some fresh air. An eternity of maneuvering around, I manage to reach the front doors and nearly stumble outside. The crisp spring air fills my lungs, instantly sobering me up and forces a relieved sigh from my lips. The soothing smell of rain and damp earth lingers around me, wrapping my exposed skin in a film of a chilled mist, and the gentle breeze teases my straightened auburn hair, instantly cooling the sheen of sweat painted on the back of my neck. On sore feet, I briskly walk to the side of the building into an alley slightly shadowed from the streetlights and tucked between The Yellow Viper and the dive bar next door to it. The air around me is drastically more still and sobering than the pounding bass of the club, and I find myself feeling oddly alone. I shrug the feeling off and slide my hand up my thigh, where my phone is trapped securely by a running band. Sure it’s not conventional, but who wants to carry around a purse in the club? Nobody, that’s who. The blinding light from my screen lights up and I search through my apps to order a ride home. As I’m about to verify the order, I hear the rushed thumping of shoes smack the pavement, getting closer with every step. Reflexively, I lower my phone as a cold blanket drops over my heart and I widen my eyes in expectation. A large man rounds the building and the second he has me within his sights he….stops? Another second passes between us, my voice caught in my throat as I clench my phone to my chest and take a defensive stance against the man. He gasps a single word, barely audible between the muffled thrum of the clubs around us. “Mate.” The world around me goes still.