Kelly

Two

The big Alpha of Silverstream gave me a hug before I left the hospital. He said that the Goddess had blessed me that night, and that I was so strong. But I didn't feel strong. I felt scared. I didn't have my Wolfie stuffy. I didn't have my Mama who always kept me safe and sung me lullabies. I didn't have Marky who always tickled me when I was sad. Or Sissy who said I was her best canvas to try new makeup ideas on. But most of all, I didn't have Daddy who always picked me up when I fell, brushed me down and told me how wolves like to play in the dirt and that I only kept falling over because my inner wolf wanted to play in the dirt even though she wasn't here yet. Who would do all these things for me now? Would Aunt Charlotte? Or my cousins?

The next few days passed in a haze of new faces and strange smells. A kind woman with bright red hair and hands that smelled of lavender soap took me to a shop. We walked down aisles so bright they made my eyes water. She bought me new clothes that smelled of the store, not of Mama's laundry. They felt scratchy against my skin. She bought me a toothbrush with sparkles on it and a hairbrush that pulled at my tangles more than Mama's ever did.

"You're a brave little thing, you know that?" she said, her voice too loud in the quiet of the changing room. I just nodded, my fingers tracing the seam of a new pair of jeans. The denim was stiff, not soft and worn like the pair Marky had outgrown and given to me.

That night, I slept in a guest room in the Alpha's house. The bed was too big, the sheets too noisy, and the pillow smelled wrong. I curled into a ball, hugging a pillow to my chest, pretending it was Wolfie. I imagined I could hear the stream the nurse had told me about, but all I could hear was the hum of the house and the distant howl of a wolf that didn't know my name. The howl was lonely. I felt lonely too.

In the morning, the red-haired lady, whose name I learned was Jenna, came to wake me. She brought me pancakes with syrup that tasted too sweet, not like the ones Mama made with berries from our garden. She told me that today was the day I would fly to Mountainside.

Flying was nothing like I imagined. We drove to a big building where metal birds with screaming engines sat waiting. The noise hurt my ears, and I buried my face in Jenna's shoulder. She patted my back and told me it would be okay. When it was our turn, we walked onto the bird. The seats were cramped and smelled of stale air and something plastic-y. As the bird moved faster and faster, my tummy did spins. I squeezed my eyes closed until the spinning feeling stopped and my ears stopped pop-pop-popping, and when I opened them, we were in the sky.

The clouds looked so fluffy, and I wanted to reach out and touch them. For a moment, I forgot about everything. But then I turned to tell Marky and Sissy but only saw Jenna, and the wonder faded. Jenna pointed things out to me—tiny houses, winding rivers, sprawling cities—but I just nodded, my forehead pressed against the cool glass of the window.

We didn't fly to a little airport, but to a big one, and then a man was waiting for us. He had dark hair like Aunt Charlotte and a serious face. He didn't smile as he took my small bag from Jenna. He introduced himself as Beta Joseph, Charlotte's mate and the Beta of Mountainside.

"Let's go, Kelly-Grace," he said, his voice deep and rumbling. He didn't offer a hug. He just turned and started walking.

We drove for a long, long time. The cities fell away, replaced by rolling green hills, and then by huge, tall trees that reached for the sky. The air that came through the car window started to smell different—cleaner, fresher, like dirt and leaves and damp earth. It smelled like the woods behind my old house, but stronger, wilder. It smelled like danger but also like adventure. Like when Marky snuck me out of the packhouse daycare and we went looking for a bear like in my bedtime book. We didn't find a bear that day, but we found a really grumpy Daddy who was sweaty and huffing and held me soo tightly.

Eventually, we turned off the main road onto a bumpy dirt path that wound deeper into the forest. The trees here were so tall they almost blocked out the sun. I saw a flash of a deer dashing by, and my heart gave a little leap. Mama used to take me on walks to find the deer. My chest started to ache again.

Up ahead, I saw houses nestled between the trees. Not houses like in the city, or like houses at home that were red like the clay, but big, sturdy wooden ones with wide porches and chimneys puffing out smoke. I hadn't ever seen smoke coming from a house before and I hoped that everyone was okay. Sissy's best friend's brother once set a trash bin on fire, and it was so hot and there was so much smoke it made us all cough lots. Mama had rolled her eyes when she found us all coughing and said that's what you get for playing with fire. Sissy and I never went near it again.

We drove through the middle of the little town, and people stopped to stare. They were all werewolves, I could feel it, a low hum in my belly that was different from humans. They didn't wave. They just watched our car go by with serious, curious expressions.

Beta Joseph parked in front of one of the biggest houses of all. It was two stories tall, with a big wraparound porch and windows that looked like eyes.

"Home," Beta Joseph grunted, getting out of the car.

My legs felt shaky as I got out. The air here was cool and thin. The front door of the house opened, and Aunt Charlotte came rushing out, a big smile plastered on her face. She was wearing a neat dress, and her dark hair was perfect. But it felt like too much. Like she was too happy to see me.

"Oh, Kelly-Grace! Welcome, welcome!" she cried, swooping down and hugging me. Her hug was tight, her perfume flowery and strong, and it made me feel a little dizzy. She smelled nothing like Mama, who always smelled like sunshine and baking bread. "You're even more beautiful in person! Come, come inside, everyone is so excited to meet you!"

She took my hand, her nails long and painted a shiny red, and pulled me inside. The house was huge and clean and it smelled like lemons and polish. Everything was in its place. There were no muddy boots by the door, no crayon drawings on the fridge, no blanket forts made of chairs and sheets in the living room. The silence in the house felt heavy.

"Boys! Come down and meet your cousin!" Charlotte called up the stairs.

Two sets of footsteps thundered down the stairs. Two boys, one a little older than me and one a little younger, skidded to a halt in the hallway. They had Beta Joseph's dark, serious eyes and Charlotte's dark hair.

"This is Caleb," she said, indicating the older boy. "And this is Noah." She put her hands on their shoulders. "Caleb, Noah, this is your cousin, Kelly-Grace. She's going to be living with us now."

Caleb looked me up and down, his nose wrinkling slightly. "She doesn't smell like us," he said.

Noah just hid behind his mother's leg, peeking out at me with wide, wary eyes that kept darting between his brother and me.

My cheeks felt hot. I didn't smell like me anymore. I didn't have my stuff, only the new stuff Jenna bought which was all packed away in a bag somewhere, maybe lost forever. I didn't have Wolfie that always smelled like Daddy or my jammies that Sissy always sprayed her smelly stuff on so "You always smell like me and they give you back".

When I looked up at Aunt Charlotte again, her smile was gone and in it's play was a grimace. Like she had a million other things she would prefer doing at this moment. And my heart was suddenly beating fast, whispering that I wasn't wanted here like she had said. Was Aunt Charlotte and her family forced to take me? I didn't want to be somewhere I wasn't wanted. The nurse said the Goddess blessed the Silverstream Pack by giving them the silver stream. Maybe the Goddess didn't bless this pack. Maybe she was angry at them.

Beta Joseph cleared his throat, and the grimace vanished, replaced by the wide smile from before. "Of course she doesn't, silly. She's from a different pack. She'll smell like us in no time. Now, why don't you boys show Kelly-Grace her new room? I helped Charlotte finish it just this morning."

Caleb rolled his eyes but started walking up the stairs. "Come on," he mumbled, not looking back. I hesitated, my feet glued to the spotless floor. Charlotte gave me a little nudge. "Go on, sweetheart. You'll love it."

I followed Caleb up the stairs, Noah trailing silently behind me. The hallway was long, with doors lining each side. Caleb stopped at the last door on the left and pushed it open.

"This is it," he said, standing aside.

The room was small with pale pink wall, and a small white bed was pushed up against one wall and a white desk with a bookshelf on top against the opposite wall. There was a white normal pillow and a single round pink pillow. Suddenly Caleb snorted behind me.

"They've given you the smallest room in the house. Even the guests' rooms are triple the size of this. Why don't you take this as a hint and just leave?" He growled before turning and walking away with Noah. I didn't know what to do once Caleb and Noah walked away. I didn't know where my bag from Silverstream was so leave even if I wanted to. Where could I go? I had no one and my home was gone. The Alpha from Silverstream had told me that while I was sleeping the whole pack had burnt down and they were still trying to find who did it.