The Chosen Pair

Chapter 3: Caiden's POV

Today is my seventeenth birthday. It's not exactly a happy occasion as my parents died a year ago. Sylvia and myself have been on the run ever since. Then again, we were running before my parents died, but at least we were all together. Today was a whirlwind. The day started at the cabin where I found Sylvia on the porch staring at the woods . Spring is usually her favorite time of year. She's always said that winter babies usher in the new year and with it the spring, so even though she was born in the winter, spring feels like her season. It sounds a bit pretentious but that's just Sylv. When we were younger, she was more playful and there was something magnetizing about it. Unfortunately, since that day, she's become more aged in a way. But then again, she had to become more cautious to keep us alive, which leaves much less time to be considering the seasons except for how best to hide our tracks in different weather.

I take more after our parents than she does, but she was closer to them than I was, which I regret now, but at the time I never thought they would be murdered like that. I was always off causing mischief or getting into trouble while they taught her our pack histories and the family stories. It was a lot like homeschooling with some physical fighting skills and self-defense tacked on. I found everything except the training boring, so I would "accidentally get lost" during the rest of the lessons. Sylv and I are both tall, but that's where the resemblance ends. I got our parents' fair complexion with pale, almost white, hair and blue-gray eyes. She has fiery red hair and hazel-green eyes. Objectively, she's one of the most attractive women I've seen, even with her hair tangled in a messy braid, and being entirely covered in dust or dirt, wearing the same outfit for days without washing them. She still turns heads on our rare excursions into town for supplies, which isn't super helpful for blending in, but what can you do? The typical female passersby looks at her with a mixture of awe and jealousy due to what I can only assume is being able to be so dirty and look as attractive as she does. The men just stare, but rarely try to approach her. Over the last year, I've finally started to fill out my frame with muscle that covers my scrawny frame, although our irregular diet doesn't help any. Even while eating poorly, I'm starting to look just like my dad used to. Sylvia has always looked different than us.

She looked worried in the morning, which is unsettling , but then I can't remember the last time we were peaceful and carefree. I reminded her it was time to get on the road, so we both packed up and hopped in our truck. I love the thing even though she hates it. It's considerably older than both of us and beaten up like no other, but the leg room is unparalleled and for two extremely tall individuals that spend most of the time on the road, leg room is imperative, and it's hard to say no to the extra room for our gear. We got on the road and kept heading towards our check point. We follow the list of safe routes and destinations our parents left us, we don't often try to improvise or change it, and today it's time to revisit one of our favorite caves our parents found years ago. When we got in the car, Sylvia made some crack about whether I was ready to be an adult. I know she meant to be funny, but I can't stop from snapping a little bit. It's depressing to think about, but since our parents died we have been adults, whether we like it or not. It's easier since we've never really had a normal life, even with mom and dad, but it wasn't miserable. Until now, anyway.

After being on the road for a few hours driving, Sylvia stops at a gas station and tells me to go in and pick out what I want and hands me some cash so I can pay for the gas while I'm in the shop. She gets out to stretch her legs while I go in to pick out some snacks. I nod to the cashier as I walk in and continue down the aisles, I have a sweet tooth and can't help myself. It's my birthday, so I feel entitled that I should be able to pretend I'm normal for a few minutes at the very least. As I'm walking through the half-built little aisles I was just amazed that some people have no problem reaching the things on the very bottom shelf, which is essentially floor level. I can never reach those without tipping something over and causing a scene. I grab a few bags of mixed candy, a bag of beef jerky and a bag of sour patch kids. I walk up to the register to pay for everything and remember I forgot to grab batteries. I'm the only customer in the store, so I ask the cashier if I can set them on the counter for a minute and he nods his head even though grunts like he's terribly inconvenienced. As I ran back to the aisle and grabbed a pack of AA's and a pack of batteries to fit our flashlights, I noticed the old man seemed too stiff and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look at the bulletin board next to him, where I saw a flyer with a rough drawing of my face on it. Then he reached one hand down under the counter. I slowly walk the two battery packs up to the counter and set them with everything else.

"I wouldn't do what you're about to if I were you." I stated plainly, making sure to square my stance and harden my features.

He was visibly sweating and I watched his face contort as he was thinking of a way to deny whatever it was he thought he could play dumb about, "I have no idea what you're talking about sir---"

I cut him off, "Unless you want my companion to come in here and kill you, then track down your whole family and kill them, I suggest you ring me up and put forty-dollars on pump six." I say calmly.

"They'll kill me if they find out elsewhere you passed through and I didn't report it." He says while visibly shaking and trying not to fidget with his hands.

"I understand, you have to do what you have to do, all I ask is you wait until I'm back in the car. Are there security cameras on the outside facing the road?" I ask him.

He shakes his head, "no, there's only a camera inside the store."

"Then when I'm back in the car you're going to tell them I am headed north on the main highway."

He nods his head, rings up my things without another thought, I pay him and then walk out of the store. When I'm almost back to the car, I discreetly look around and check the outside of the building for cameras. I saw one that someone attempted to hide in the sign, not very well apparently, I thought to myself. I have a feeling since the clerk lied about the number and location of cameras on the property that he probably has no plan to wait until we drive off to call whoever made those posters. That doesn't mean I need to worry Sylvia unnecessarily.

I let Sylvia know she can fill up the tank and I put everything in the car.

"Don't look worried or get upset when I tell you what I'm about to. Act naturally, in the gas station there was a wanted poster with our pictures on it. The clerk recognized me and is I'm sure informing someone we're here right now. There's one security camera inside and one in the sign. I told him once we were driving to make the call and say we're headed north on the main highway. Finish filling up the tank, I'll start mapping out potential routes. I also grab the pack of cigarettes I keep just for this occasion and I walk around to the bed of the truck, I call Sylvia over and ask for a light. She hates that I smoke, but I don't smoke often. I only started after my parents died. While I internally run through the clock in my head of how much of a head start we have, I finish my cigarette and she hops in the driver side. I jump into the passenger side of the truck and she pulls out of the gas station in the direction of the north highway.

"Good thinking." Sylvia said.

"This is what we do."

She had a frown etched on her face, "I wish you had a better life, if it wasn't for me you'd get to be a regular teenager. You'd be able to stay in one place, Mom and Dad wouldn't be dead---"

"You're family, and we can't change what happened. No sense dwelling on it." I say firmly, I can tell something is bothering her, but I'm not in a position to be able to fix it, so I drop it. I signal for her to pull off on the side of the road for a minute when we're a couple blocks from the gas station. Working quickly, I hop out and open the back, shuffling through a few backup license plates and pick out the most inconspicuous plate and pull the old one off, attaching the new one. I throw the old one in what we call our burn bag and hopped back in the front seat. We took off, going north on the highway as fast as we could without drawing attention.

Sylvia mentioned she has a present for me but I have no idea what it could possibly be. I guess I just have to wait it out.

In the meantime, I let her know what backroads are safe to take when we get off the highway in a couple hours and backtrack. Even though I regret that this is our life now, I keep it to myself.

When we finally get to the cave and have everything unpacked, I lay down and have just barely shut my eyes and..., then I remember Sylvia had a present for me. I begrudgingly sit up even though I want nothing more than to lay down for a couple hours of sleep and try to forget the events of the day, I force myself to get all the business handled today.

"So what's this present you told me about?" I peer at her while she's reading through Mom's journals.

She pops her head up and exclaims, "Oh that's right! Come with me, I can't show you in here."

She grabs the journal she was reading and stands up, I follow close behind and she leads me down a twisting path until we come to a lake. It's not bad looking, but it's not much to look at in the dark. Just when I'm about to ask if seeing the waterfall is the present, she sets the journal on top of a boulder in front of us that has the moonlight hitting it. Next, she pulls out a pocket knife, setting it next to the book. Rationally, I know my sister wouldn't do anything to hurt me, but this situation is making me uneasy. As my stomach flips, I try to calm it and keep my face stoic.

"What's going on Sylv?"

"There's a way to help you connect with your wolf early, I know how to help so you would be able to shift if you need to."

Definitely not what I thought would be going on, but I have to admit I'm highly curious.

"Please think about this carefully, there might be risks even though Mom didn't write anything about that." She frowns slightly. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I saw her face unburdened with worry lines.

"I don't need to think about it. I'm a burden, you can't train with your wolf because you're worried about leaving me undefended. Not to mention, if we get into trouble, we would get caught because I would slow you down. It's time that I pull my weight and do what I can." I reply. Even though it stings to think about it's true, I am a burden. I can fight well now, but against of-age wolves? Not a chance. Am I a good runner? Absolutely, but there's no way in hell I could outrun a tracker as a human. Sylvia has put me on her back a few times to carry me but I slow her down considerably and it's come down to the wire a few times. I'm terrified but I owe it to her to suck it up. If I caused her to be captured or killed, our parents will have died for nothing and I can't let that happen.

Sylvia proceeds with the ritual, she cuts her own hand, then my own, before joining them. She proceeds to ask the ancestors to grant my abilities early, and while she talks I'm watching the shadows jump all around us in ways shadows don't move. It's strange, but I feel oddly connected while this is happening. I feel more whole than even before my parents died. But then again, I suppose I've never been part of a true pack before. I agree to protect the memories of the pack and Sylvia, and before I know it, she lets my hand drop and all of a sudden I feel empty even though I feel something snap into place in my head like a rubber band. I start to feel my body crack and bend, and all of a sudden I look down and see two paws.

Then I hear someone say out of nowhere, "My name is River, we weren't supposed to meet for some time but it seems circumstances required it. I will do what I can for you, but this is not how things are supposed to go."

"Well that was cryptic, I wonder what he was talking about." I think to myself.

"You'll find out soon Caiden, unfortunately."

I jump at his response, I guess none of my thoughts are private anymore.

My transition wasn't super painful, odd since I remember my parents telling stories that the first one is always difficult and usually painful. Oh well, perhaps I've already had enough pain in my life that the moon goddess decided to grant me small mercies. I realize I can't talk with words, but I feel Sylv tell me to wait for her while she changes, and then she will come on a run with me.

All of a sudden, I feel my wolf tell her, "Hurry up, my wolf is itching to go for a run." That's weird, why can't I choose what to tell her? Oh well, that's a question for later. She changes and we take off. As soon as we start running, I feel like I'm kicked to the backseat. I try to ask River what's going on but he doesn't respond.

Hmm, maybe this is how it's supposed to go. Just one more thing to ask Sylvia about later.

As Sylvia and I are running, it's like I'm watching a movie. I just try to take everything in as it comes, I can feel what River feels, see what he sees, and smell what he smells. I've seen Sylvia's wolf a few times, but not very often. I'm struck again by how impressive her massive white wolf is. She has a bright red streak running from the tip of her snout to the tip of her tail, with bright green eyes that bore through your soul. I can't tell what color River is entirely, except that I can see gray paws. River is still finding his footing and quite clumsy next to Sylvia's wolf, even though I am a bit faster than her. I go as far as the forest will allow before circling back to the waterfall. River get's back to the spot we left our clothes and gives me back control to change back. The second I switch back to human form I am utterly exhausted. It's been such a long day, I might as well wait for Sylvia instead of leaving her to walk back to the cave on her own, even though I have a sneaking suspicion I might fall asleep while I'm waiting for her.