Stormriders and the magic within

"Loretta! Get up, you're going to make us late for school!" I hear my brother yell at me from somewhere in the house. It's January 5th, our first day back to school after Christmas break. I mark the day off on my calendar. Just 35 more days until my birthday and I'll be 16. Most people shift by the time they're 16, some don't. sometimes it takes them a few more months. some shift early. My best friend, Ellie, shifted for the first time over Thanksgiving break, even though she won't be 16 until May. My brother Elias shifted at 13. See, once you shift for the first time, you're supposed to be able to find your mate. Elias hasn't found his yet, but he's only 18 and we've never been outside of Fire Bend. It's too dangerous. Although the big war was fought almost 200 years ago, the effects are still widespread. It diminished the Earth's population by more than half. Everything is very different now than it was then. I guess everyone is just trying to survive. I can hear Elias groaning and getting more impatient the longer it takes me to get ready. I head downstairs into the kitchen and start pouring myself some coffee."I can walk myself to school. You don't have to Chaperone. " I say to Elias, without looking up from my coffee. "Do you know what dad would do to me if he found out I let you walk to school by yourself?" he replied. "I'm almost 16 years old, Elias. I can walk myself." I retort "Yeah well, I'd like to live a little longer, so you'll just have to suck it up." he calls back at me as he heads out the door. Once we got to school, I went straight to my locker and started getting the things I would need for my first hour class. I hear the unmistakable squeals of my best friend behind me, and I turned to face her just as she wrapped her arms around me. "You act like you haven't seen me in years" I say with a laugh. "Are you excited about the party tonight? " she asks me. " I guess so. It should be fun, right?" "Oh definitely!" She says with so much excitement. She's definitely more outgoing than I am. She has such a bubbly, happy personality and people seem to gravitate towards her. She's just such a beautiful person. I hear the bell ring and say, "we're gonna be late for class. I'll see you at lunch!" I barely made it in the doorway when the tardy bell rang. That was close. I have math scheduled first thing in the morning, because they said it would be easier if it was the first thing I focused on. They were wrong. Math is just something I can't comprehend. Basic math I get, but once we started learning equations, it was like a barrier was put up and very little gets over it. Honestly if it wasn't for Elias, I'd be failing. For some reason he explains it in a way I can understand it better. After math, I have science, training, and then lunch. When the lunch bell rang at noon today, I grabbed my lunch and found Ellie sitting at our usual table. We sat there eating and talking. That's when I saw her walking through the common area. Her name is Marlowe, but everyone calls her Marley. She's 18, and she has never shifted. It's really rare to be born werewolf but never get your wolf. As far as we know, there have only ever been 6 that never got their wolf. She and Ben dated for like 4 years. When they started getting really serious, Ben found his mate, and left to go live with her in her pack. Marley found out that she was pregnant a few weeks before Ben left. She isn't really showing much, but I know she's around 18 weeks. I feel so sorry for her, it must be so difficult to do this all on her own. I look over at Ellie and notice she was looking as well. She looks back at me and gives me a sad stare. I understand it, I feel the same way. The lunch bell rings and we put our trays up. As we head towards the lockers. Ellie says, "We should invite her to do more things with us. Her friends don't hang out with her anymore and you know her parents aren't talking to her." "You're right. Should we invite her to hangout with us at the party tonight?" I suggest. "Absolutely! I'll go talk to her. See you later!" She calls back to me as she runs ahead to find Marley. I get my stuff and head to history. It is by far my favorite. We're learning about the war right now. It's very tragic and I still don't understand why it happened. Countries just started destroying each other. One man thought he should be in control of everything. Others wanted to be in control of their own country, and some let the man take control. Everything was destroyed. I get lost in thought about how something like this could have happened, and before I knew it, the bell was ringing. I have science next and then English literature. After school we head straight home. there's going to be a celebration for our Alpha's birthday, we do not want to be late. Being his children will not excuse us if we're late. I run to my room to get ready. we're always expected to dress nice for these parties, so I dig in the back of my closet for my party dresses. I have one for each season. A long sleeve red, floor length dress for winter, a flowy, pale yellow, cap sleeve, mid length dress for spring, a short, sleeveless, blue dress for summer, and a knee length, 3/4 sleeve, silver dress for fall. It's not a lot, but it's all I need. I only ever wear them to parties like this. I grab the red dress and lay it on my bed. Then I head to the bathroom to do my makeup and hair. My hair is difficult. It's naturally curly, and jet black,but it's also very frizzy if it isn't handled right. I look in the mirror when I'm finished and I see my mother's big hazel eyes staring back at me. The only thing I got from her was her eyes. I have long black curly hair, she had straight blonde hair. She was tall, almost 6 foot, and I'm only 5'3. She had very light, porcelain, unblemished skin. I have tanned skin, tan lines, scars, and freckles. I don't really look like my dad either though. I don't really look like the rest of my family at all. Noni says I look just like my mother did at my age, but I don't see how she could have. My mother died giving birth to me, and all I have of her are pictures. I put my dress on, and go out into the hall. As I pass my brother's room, I knock on his door. "Are you ready to go?" I ask. The door opens up, but it isn't Elias. It's Luca, his best friend. "Almost, you know he has to look perfect just in case he meets his mate." he says in a teasing tone. It makes me giggle and he smiles at me. "OK, ok, I'm ready. let's go" Elias says as he pushes past us, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. We follow him out and head to the community lot. It's where we hold gatherings like this. it's just a field with a very large pavilion in the center. Right now, there are lights strung up, and it looks beautiful. There are already lots of people out here, but I don't see my dad, so I guess we're not late. I see Ellie sitting next to Marley, so I grab 3 drinks, and take them to the table and sit down with them. I give Ellie her cup, and then Marley. "Thanks Loretta, but I haven't really been feeling well today. I'll probably grab a ginger ale after we start." says Marley. "Is it the baby?" Ellie asks, obviously concerned. " I'm not sure. I've been feeling like this every full moon since I got pregnant. Maybe it is the baby, since he or she will be a werewolf." Marley replied. "Maybe you should see the pack doctor." I added. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I'll call and get an appointment tomorrow." she reassured us. Then we're startled by a loud deep voice coming from the front of the pavilion. "Tonight, we gather to celebrate the life and accomplishments of our fearless leader, Alpha Samuel Balilee. He has an important announcement to make before we start this party, so I'm going to turn it over to him now" that's Maverick, my father's beta. I've always felt like there was something off about him. My father trusts him because he once saved his life in battle, but I always felt like there was more to him than we were seeing. My dad stepped forward and everyone got quiet. "As you all know I have been training my kids for battle since they could walk, knowing that one day, one of them would be taking over the pack and I would be retiring. I felt that my 55th birthday would be an appropriate time to announce that I will be stepping down as Alpha of the Stormrider pack and my son, Elias, will be taking my place. For the first 5 years, I will advise him until he is comfortable, experienced, and confident, enough to make decisions on our behalf without me. I know some of you may be concerned about this decision, especially with the threats we've been getting from the west. I believe this is the right thing to do for our people and I need you to trust my judgment just as you have for the last 37 years. Elias is more than capable of defending us, leading us and making decisions on our behalf." I scanned the pavilion for my brother, and when I found him I mouthed the words, " did you know he was going to do this?" Elias had an almost panicked look on his face when he mouthed back,"no". We definitely need to figure out what's going on, so I get up and start making my way to my father. I meet Elias half way and we continue together. As we approach his table, I say to my father,"Dad, what is going on? Why are you stepping down now? You said you were going to wait until he turns 21. What if he isn't ready yet?" He shoots me a look that means I had better stop talking. Elias moves next to me and says, " Dad I really appreciate the confidence you have in me, but I don't know if I'm ready to lead our people. That's a lot of responsibility and a lot of lives depending on my ability to make good decisions." "You'll do just fine, son. I'll still be around to advise you when you need it. Go enjoy the party, It'll be your last one before you become Alpha." he replied We danced, we ate, we had a great time. With our allied packs here, some of the unmated have found their mates. Elias didn't find his mate, and he's pretty bummed about it. It's getting close to 2 am and Ellie and I decided to head up to the pack house, since she's staying the night. We don't get very far from the party when we hear a scream. It sounded like pain and terror, and it sent a chill down my spine. We froze, afraid of what might be lurking out there in the dark. Then we heard it again. Definitely a woman screaming for her life. We ran back in the direction of the screams. I could tell that not everyone had heard the screaming. "Go find help" Ellie said and then shifted into a beautiful brown wolf and went in search of the trouble. I found my dad at a table pretty intoxicated, so I searched for better help. I spotted Elias and Luca at the edge of the pavilion. I ran as hard as I could to them as I heard a third scream. "Did you hear that?" I asked them as I reached them. "Yeah, stay here." Elias said as they ran towards it. I waited. It seemed like forever when I heard the scream again and Luca calling for help. I ran to find the pack doctor and my father's gamma, Michael. We run to where we can see their silhouettes. Before we make it quite there, Ellie comes to me covered in blood and crying. "You don't want to see that." she says in between sobs, "it's Marley, she shifted." Realization set in, and I panic. "Oh no, the baby!" I yell as I start to run to her." Its too late Retty", I hear Ellie call to me, but I needed to help Marley. I needed to save this innocent baby. When I got to Marley, she had completely shifted. she was laying very still with her head in Elias' lap. He was stroking her head and telling her it was going to be ok. That she was going to be ok. Then I saw all the blood on the ground. Luca was standing there, with fear and heartache in his eyes and blood on his bare chest. Shifting for the first time is really hard on our bodies. our bones break and there's so much pressure, they say it feels like being torn apart. It gets a bit easier every time after, I'm told. The pack doctor and Michael are tending to Marley, though I don't think she'll be ok for some time. I turn and look at Ellie and realize she's wearing nothing but Luca's shirt and she's shivering. "Let's get you inside and cleaned up." I tell her as I lead her toward the pack house. I take her straight to my bathroom and turn on the shower for her. I lay out 2 clean towels, a wash cloth, and clean clothes. She doesn't want to be alone, so I sit on the floor in the doorway. we don't say much. there's not much we could say. It was the most tragic thing we had seen"Loretta! Get up, you're going to make us late for school!" I hear my brother yell at me from somewhere in the house. It's January 5th, our first day back to school after Christmas break. I mark the day off on my calendar. Just 35 more days until my birthday and I'll be 16. Most people shift by the time they're 16, some don't. sometimes it takes them a few more months. some shift early. My best friend, Ellie, shifted for the first time over Thanksgiving break, even though she won't be 16 until May. My brother Elias shifted at 13. See, once you shift for the first time, you're supposed to be able to find your mate. Elias hasn't found his yet, but he's only 18 and we've never been outside of Fire Bend. It's too dangerous. Although the big war was fought almost 200 years ago, the effects are still widespread. It diminished the Earth's population by more than half. Everything is very different now than it was then. I guess everyone is just trying to survive. I can hear Elias groaning and getting more impatient the longer it takes me to get ready. I head downstairs into the kitchen and start pouring myself some coffee."I can walk myself to school. You don't have to Chaperone. " I say to Elias, without looking up from my coffee. "Do you know what dad would do to me if he found out I let you walk to school by yourself?" he replied. "I'm almost 16 years old, Elias. I can walk myself." I retort "Yeah well, I'd like to live a little longer, so you'll just have to suck it up." he calls back at me as he heads out the door. Once we got to school, I went straight to my locker and started getting the things I would need for my first hour class. I hear the unmistakable squeals of my best friend behind me, and I turned to face her just as she wrapped her arms around me. "You act like you haven't seen me in years" I say with a laugh. "Are you excited about the party tonight? " she asks me. " I guess so. It should be fun, right?" "Oh definitely!" She says with so much excitement. She's definitely more outgoing than I am. She has such a bubbly, happy personality and people seem to gravitate towards her. She's just such a beautiful person. I hear the bell ring and say, "we're gonna be late for class. I'll see you at lunch!" I barely made it in the doorway when the tardy bell rang. That was close. I have math scheduled first thing in the morning, because they said it would be easier if it was the first thing I focused on. They were wrong. Math is just something I can't comprehend. Basic math I get, but once we started learning equations, it was like a barrier was put up and very little gets over it. Honestly if it wasn't for Elias, I'd be failing. For some reason he explains it in a way I can understand it better. After math, I have science, training, and then lunch. When the lunch bell rang at noon today, I grabbed my lunch and found Ellie sitting at our usual table. We sat there eating and talking. That's when I saw her walking through the common area. Her name is Marlowe, but everyone calls her Marley. She's 18, and she has never shifted. It's really rare to be born werewolf but never get your wolf. As far as we know, there have only ever been 6 that never got their wolf. She and Ben dated for like 4 years. When they started getting really serious, Ben found his mate, and left to go live with her in her pack. Marley found out that she was pregnant a few weeks before Ben left. She isn't really showing much, but I know she's around 18 weeks. I feel so sorry for her, it must be so difficult to do this all on her own. I look over at Ellie and notice she was looking as well. She looks back at me and gives me a sad stare. I understand it, I feel the same way. The lunch bell rings and we put our trays up. As we head towards the lockers. Ellie says, "We should invite her to do more things with us. Her friends don't hang out with her anymore and you know her parents aren't talking to her." "You're right. Should we invite her to hangout with us at the party tonight?" I suggest. "Absolutely! I'll go talk to her. See you later!" She calls back to me as she runs ahead to find Marley. I get my stuff and head to history. It is by far my favorite. We're learning about the war right now. It's very tragic and I still don't understand why it happened. Countries just started destroying each other. One man thought he should be in control of everything. Others wanted to be in control of their own country, and some let the man take control. Everything was destroyed. I get lost in thought about how something like this could have happened, and before I knew it, the bell was ringing. I have science next and then English literature. After school we head straight home. there's going to be a celebration for our Alpha's birthday, we do not want to be late. Being his children will not excuse us if we're late. I run to my room to get ready. we're always expected to dress nice for these parties, so I dig in the back of my closet for my party dresses. I have one for each season. A long sleeve red, floor length dress for winter, a flowy, pale yellow, cap sleeve, mid length dress for spring, a short, sleeveless, blue dress for summer, and a knee length, 3/4 sleeve, silver dress for fall. It's not a lot, but it's all I need. I only ever wear them to parties like this. I grab the red dress and lay it on my bed. Then I head to the bathroom to do my makeup and hair. My hair is difficult. It's naturally curly, and jet black,but it's also very frizzy if it isn't handled right. I look in the mirror when I'm finished and I see my mother's big hazel eyes staring back at me. The only thing I got from her was her eyes. I have long black curly hair, she had straight blonde hair. She was tall, almost 6 foot, and I'm only 5'3. She had very light, porcelain, unblemished skin. I have tanned skin, tan lines, scars, and freckles. I don't really look like my dad either though. I don't really look like the rest of my family at all. Noni says I look just like my mother did at my age, but I don't see how she could have. My mother died giving birth to me, and all I have of her are pictures. I put my dress on, and go out into the hall. As I pass my brother's room, I knock on his door. "Are you ready to go?" I ask. The door opens up, but it isn't Elias. It's Luca, his best friend. "Almost, you know he has to look perfect just in case he meets his mate." he says in a teasing tone. It makes me giggle and he smiles at me. "OK, ok, I'm ready. let's go" Elias says as he pushes past us, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. We follow him out and head to the community lot. It's where we hold gatherings like this. it's just a field with a very large pavilion in the center. Right now, there are lights strung up, and it looks beautiful. There are already lots of people out here, but I don't see my dad, so I guess we're not late. I see Ellie sitting next to Marley, so I grab 3 drinks, and take them to the table and sit down with them. I give Ellie her cup, and then Marley. "Thanks Loretta, but I haven't really been feeling well today. I'll probably grab a ginger ale after we start." says Marley. "Is it the baby?" Ellie asks, obviously concerned. " I'm not sure. I've been feeling like this every full moon since I got pregnant. Maybe it is the baby, since he or she will be a werewolf." Marley replied. "Maybe you should see the pack doctor." I added. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I'll call and get an appointment tomorrow." she reassured us. Then we're startled by a loud deep voice coming from the front of the pavilion. "Tonight, we gather to celebrate the life and accomplishments of our fearless leader, Alpha Samuel Balilee. He has an important announcement to make before we start this party, so I'm going to turn it over to him now" that's Maverick, my father's beta. I've always felt like there was something off about him. My father trusts him because he once saved his life in battle, but I always felt like there was more to him than we were seeing. My dad stepped forward and everyone got quiet. "As you all know I have been training my kids for battle since they could walk, knowing that one day, one of them would be taking over the pack and I would be retiring. I felt that my 55th birthday would be an appropriate time to announce that I will be stepping down as Alpha of the Stormrider pack and my son, Elias, will be taking my place. For the first 5 years, I will advise him until he is comfortable, experienced, and confident, enough to make decisions on our behalf without me. I know some of you may be concerned about this decision, especially with the threats we've been getting from the west. I believe this is the right thing to do for our people and I need you to trust my judgment just as you have for the last 37 years. Elias is more than capable of defending us, leading us and making decisions on our behalf." I scanned the pavilion for my brother, and when I found him I mouthed the words, " did you know he was going to do this?" Elias had an almost panicked look on his face when he mouthed back,"no". We definitely need to figure out what's going on, so I get up and start making my way to my father. I meet Elias half way and we continue together. As we approach his table, I say to my father,"Dad, what is going on? Why are you stepping down now? You said you were going to wait until he turns 21. What if he isn't ready yet?" He shoots me a look that means I had better stop talking. Elias moves next to me and says, " Dad I really appreciate the confidence you have in me, but I don't know if I'm ready to lead our people. That's a lot of responsibility and a lot of lives depending on my ability to make good decisions." "You'll do just fine, son. I'll still be around to advise you when you need it. Go enjoy the party, It'll be your last one before you become Alpha." he replied We danced, we ate, we had a great time. With our allied packs here, some of the unmated have found their mates. Elias didn't find his mate, and he's pretty bummed about it. It's getting close to 2 am and Ellie and I decided to head up to the pack house, since she's staying the night. We don't get very far from the party when we hear a scream. It sounded like pain and terror, and it sent a chill down my spine. We froze, afraid of what might be lurking out there in the dark. Then we heard it again. Definitely a woman screaming for her life. We ran back in the direction of the screams. I could tell that not everyone had heard the screaming. "Go find help" Ellie said and then shifted into a beautiful brown wolf and went in search of the trouble. I found my dad at a table pretty intoxicated, so I searched for better help. I spotted Elias and Luca at the edge of the pavilion. I ran as hard as I could to them as I heard a third scream. "Did you hear that?" I asked them as I reached them. "Yeah, stay here." Elias said as they ran towards it. I waited. It seemed like forever when I heard the scream again and Luca calling for help. I ran to find the pack doctor and my father's gamma, Michael. We run to where we can see their silhouettes. Before we make it quite there, Ellie comes to me covered in blood and crying. "You don't want to see that." she says in between sobs, "it's Marley, she shifted." Realization set in, and I panic. "Oh no, the baby!" I yell as I start to run to her." Its too late Retty", I hear Ellie call to me, but I needed to help Marley. I needed to save this innocent baby. When I got to Marley, she had completely shifted. she was laying very still with her head in Elias' lap. He was stroking her head and telling her it was going to be ok. That she was going to be ok. Then I saw all the blood on the ground. Luca was standing there, with fear and heartache in his eyes and blood on his bare chest. Shifting for the first time is really hard on our bodies. our bones break and there's so much pressure, they say it feels like being torn apart. It gets a bit easier every time after, I'm told. The pack doctor and Michael are tending to Marley, though I don't think she'll be ok for some time. I turn and look at Ellie and realize she's wearing nothing but Luca's shirt and she's shivering. "Let's get you inside and cleaned up." I tell her as I lead her toward the pack house. I take her straight to my bathroom and turn on the shower for her. I lay out 2 clean towels, a wash cloth, and clean clothes. She doesn't want to be alone, so I sit on the floor in the doorway. we don't say much. there's not much we could say. It was the most tragic thing we had seen in our lives. We don't say much all night. We just lay in bed trying to sleep.