Chapter 1
"Mai wake up. It's time to get ready for the day." Jason gently nudged his niece as she tightly tucked herself into her blanket cocoon. He sat down the breakfast he made for her and pried the blanket up from under her body. "If you don't get up now you'll lose time to train." He knew just how much she loved it, maybe even more than she loved him. With a quick sigh she sat up in bed. "Okay okay, I'm up. Thanks for the breakfast uncle Jason." Mai saw all of her favorites; buttered croissants, lemon tarts, bacon and orange juice. Today was actually Mai's birthday, but since the passing of her parents six years ago, it's gone uncelebrated.
Her uncle had tried to get her to acknowledge her own birthday since the day he found her running through the woods and brought her back to the Crescent Night Pack. But each attempt came with a bigger refusal. Although she looked like she was doing fine on the outside, Jason could tell just how much she was really suffering. Losing her family broke her heart. The first day Mai asked to train to be a warrior never left his memory. She was only thirteen at the time and it had been the most speaking she had done and the most effort she had ever made. So he knew he had to help her. He saw how she was willing to risk everything just to become a warrior. He couldn't question her decision because most girls her age were interested in doing other things. But he knew Mai couldn't be stopped, because from her perspective, she had nothing to lose.
Mai ate her meal then went on her usual run and early morning training before heading to school. She never wanted to miss a day, but she had to have days where she gave her body time to recover. But through that dedication, she earned the title of head warrior and could even take down the alpha's son Mike. She wasn't very social and her schedule kept her pretty much isolated from the rest of the pack. She was really only known to higher-ranked wolves. She never sought to seek out relationships and the rest of the pack ignored her just as much. Mai preferred being alone since it gave her the opportunity to focus on her goal of being the best warrior. In fact, she wanted to finish her last school year as a loner but she was adopted by an extrovert.
Mai never wanted friends and tried to sway her away, but Zina was like a boa constrictor and her grip on Mai grew tighter and tighter. She refused to leave her side and eventually Mai got tired and decided to just leave her be. Zina made sure they had almost every class together, so minus training and sleeping, they spent all of their time joined at the hip. They walked arm and arm to the cafeteria for lunch when Mai had suddenly stopped moving. There was this incessant ringing in her head that wasn't exactly painful, but it wasn't pleasant either. "Mai are you okay?" Zina was worried seeing her block of ice so bothered. Hello human, my name is Kia. It's so nice to finally be able to meet you. Connecting with her wolf brought a small lift to the corners of her eyes. Maybe it was a small smile.
It's nice to meet you too. I'm Mai. "I'm fine Z. I just got my wolf. Her name is Kia and she's very...bubbly." "Oh my god Mai, that's amazing! You do need another cheerful person in your life. I've been carrying that ship since we met." Mai glared at her but Zina grabbed her arm, brushing it off like it never happened. The cafeteria was full of energy as friends find each other through the sea of student trailing in from different classes."Hey, do you smell that?" Kia was really unsettled and fidgety. "I don't smell anything but the mystery meatloaf." Zina made a disgusted face and pinched her nose. Even as werewolves, some still can't tell the difference between rotten and edible. "No, it's not the meatloaf. It's different...it smells like fresh soil." "Soil? Who brings dirt into a cafeteria?!" Yeah it was a school for werewolves but there had to be some kind of line that wouldn't be crossed.
"It's everywhere and it's making me feel weird." Instead of following Zina, Mai went to the bathroom to throw some water on her face. The feeling just kept getting stronger and heavier. I think something is going to happen Mai. I can feel it. She left the bathroom with the same feeling she went in with. She was suddenly pulled into a corner. She had been so out of it that she couldn't even defend herself.
