Wildwood Academy

This is the day everything will change for me, Rowan thinks as she packs her suitcase. She looks around her room for anything else she wishes to pack into the already full suitcase when her eye lands on the acceptance letter to the prestigious Wildwood Academy. She picks up the crisply folded paper again as a reminder that this isn’t a dream. A full scholarship to one of the best schools in Northern California. It is the kind of school that contacts you if you are acceptable to their institution. Dear Miss Everest, On behalf of Wildwood Academy, I am pleased to congratulate you on acceptance to our program. As you know, Wildwood Academy is the most exclusive program in Northern California and we have only accepted the finest applicants since our founding in the late 1800’s when California became a state. We are very impressed with your skills and abilities and current academic scores. In order to ensure your official enrollment in our fall program, please fill out and return the enclosed forms no later than August 15. Receiving the necessary information as soon as possible will help us facilitate your enrollment. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy your summer. We look forward to hearing from you. We are delighted to accept you into our Fall program and feel confident you will make a great addition. We trust your family will be pleased with the nurturing environment of Wildwood Academy providing a safe place for you to learn and grow. Yours sincerely Zavira Futhall Headmaster Wildwood Academy Rowan smiles to herself as she refolds the paper and puts it back in the pretty cream envelope with the red wax seal, and then puts the letter in her backpack so she can refer to it if someone asks her about it. Closing the suitcase, she struggles with it, eventually sitting on it to snap it shut as her mother comes into the room. “I see you are ready for us to take that to the van. You’ll be able to come home on holidays sweetie, you don’t need to pack your room”, She says as she watches her daughter scan for any last items. “You do remember not to shift unless they tell you to, right? No wolfing out, watch your temper and do as your instructors say” “I know. This is about learning and not about rough housing” Rowan rolls her eyes slightly, then grins and nods. “I mean basically everything I need to know about being a werewolf. I have already learned from you, dad, River and Oak. I am sure I am Alpha material for sure. I’ll raise our pack’s standing and make you proud.” Rowan’s mother smiles and hugs her daughter. “Your brothers are so proud of you. They fought over which one of them would take you to campus in California. It is a long drive from Washington to California, so I told them to split it. One drives during the day and one drives at night and you can relieve them if either of them are too tired to drive.” *She kisses her daughter’s forehead gently. “I am sorry your father and I can’t go with you. It is too close to our moon and it pulls at us strongly. We can’t risk that in public with humans. I promise you we will write to you.” Rowan hugged her mother back gently. “It’s okay, I understand. It will be fun to be just us siblings hanging out together. They say we can’t use cellphones when we are on campus, so if we get any field trips, I’ll be sure to call. I will try to write when I can, I promise” “Okay, go say goodbye to your father. You know this is the hardest for him. Last pup out of the den and all”, Rowan’s mother says as she reaches for the suitcase with ease and shoos Rowan out of the room. Rowan finds her father in the backyard, at their dock, looking out over the water. She came up behind him as silently as she could. He turns as always though and smiles, patting the spot next to him gently. Rowan sits down and leans against her father. “I will miss you, Papa. I will miss running with all of you and hunting. I hope I get some opportunities at my school. I know you don’t want me to form a pack until I have graduated”, she says softly. Her father grunts. The moon, even during the day, has affected him strongly already. She can sense the beast in him, and her own wishes to challenge, but she pushes down the instinct to do so. “I will call, and I will write. I will howl and pretend I can hear you all howling with me.” He eyes her and she quickly adds “I promise to only howl when no one else is around” He turns back to look out over the water. “This is a great opportunity for me, dad. You know what mom said about having a future in the human world. Not only will I learn how to expertly hide signs and traces of what I am, I will be able to spot Hunters and other dangers, and I will learn more about how to best fit into human society and what jobs I can take or pursue with my education that won’t clash with my duties as a werewolf. This place can put me in high places, with connections that no one else can get at normal schools. Even better, you don’t even have to pay for anything. School is covering it all” She rubs his back soothingly as she hears him growl. Something about her leaving has agitated him, but Rowan has yet to figure out what has him upset. “I love you papa. I will be careful, and stay safe”. He relaxes slightly and Rowan perks up as she hears her brothers calling. “It’s time.” She stands brushing off her clothes. Her father stands as well, he looks into her eyes, the same intense silver eyes as her own and he hugs her tightly before he gently pushes her toward her brothers. Rowan lets go of her father and walks over to her brothers at a faster pace, sweating slightly. She is excited, but the feeling of fear creeps up on her. Going into the unknown, on her own, without her family. They have always been there for her to guide and protect her, now she’d be on her own. She lets the fear slip away as she runs into the embrace of Oak, her oldest brother, and he picks her up and swings her around with ease, laughing. “Ready, Little Moonbeam?” He asks, using the nickname the family referred to her by due to her eye color. Rowan laughs, nodding her head as he sets her down. River had caught up by then and he ruffled her hair slightly. “If any male even dares to take a whiff in your direction, you tell us and we’ll be back down there. You’re too young to think about mating yet. Just enjoy school and friends” River says as Rowan turns red and punches his shoulder gently. “What?! I mean it. A date here and there is fine, just don’t go making promises or mating until you have your full growth and control over your yourself, okay?” “God, River. I expected this talk from mom, not from you” She manages to say after she has recovered from the embarrassment of the lecture. She could imagine her brothers roughing up the boys, any boys who looked in her direction. “Duh. Who do you think told me to talk to you about it?” He replies, grinning impishly. “Let’s go, you’re not getting closer to California standing here with us. It should take us ten to twelve hours depending on traffic and weather. We’ll arrive in Crescent City in time for you to change into your uniform and to get to the bus that will be taking you to school.” Rowan climbs into the renovated van her brothers called “Wild Thing”, including a custom paint job. Once she is seated, she buckles herself in and waits. “So what playlist are you two gonna torture me with on the way down there, or do I actually get to choose the music?” They laugh and look at her as they get in and buckle up as well. “When does anyone in the backseat ever get to choose the music?” River says with a laugh, and Oak adds in “Your job, sweet little sister, is to pass the snacks and keep them coming when we get hungry. Oh, also you can have some too.” Rowan shakes her head and waves to her parents. Her father waves, before turning to her mother and they seem to be in some kind of conversation so that her mother doesn’t see her wave as the van leaves their secluded wooden home and heads for the open road. Rowan stares at her shrinking home for a bit, quiet as the music her brothers chose is loud and allows her time to think. She couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong between her parents. After awhile, she concludes it is too close to their moon time. Every wolf is born under a moon phase and that moonphase pulls at them strongest with the full moon, making everyone, regardless of their birth moon, more agitated. It is the Compass moon now, moving to Lumens moon. The fullest of the cycle. He could just be agitated because Rowan was going to be away for the longest time the family had known. Her brothers did not attend a private school. The family is not poor, but they could not afford something like Wildwood Academy. Her brothers had gone to public school, so they were home every day. Rowan lay back in her seat, reclining softly as her mind concluded that must be it. Being singled out of the pack was a vulnerability, and her father didn’t like it. Surely that is why he is so surly about her leaving. Her eyes slowly shut, and before she knows it, she is sleeping soundly. Oak wakes her later, and she realizes that they have switched out driving. “Hey sleepy. You should eat something. We have gotten pretty far, we likely will be in California a little earlier than expected.” Rowan smiles, rubbing sleep crusties out of her eyes. “So what will we do with a few hours to kill?” River turns down the radio slightly. “Oh, we have something in mind. Just for us, a last send off to you sis. You just can’t tell mom and dad that we did this or they will throat us for sure.” “I promise.” Rowan says, eager now to see their destination sooner for her surprise. She loves her brothers. Sometimes, she wishes she had a twin. Oak and River were what people call mirror twins. They look identical but they are a mirror. Oak is right-handed, and River is left-handed. Oak has a cowlick on the right and River on the left. The same with their birthmarks. Rowan is fascinated with the same, yet different, things about her brothers. Oak is more serious than River as well. Their wolf forms were so beautiful. Grey and black and ivory and deep brown eyes, like my mother’s form. Rowan’s form is more like her father’s, black streaked with silver and a white underbelly and socks. Both of us have the same silver eyes, so rare in wolf society. Maybe my moon is like his. Maybe we are similar in that way. I’ll find out soon enough, Rowan thought.