Crossing Boundaries

Chapter 1 - Bucket List

I jumped to the next branch, feeling like a flying squirrel rather than an actual werewolf. When my fingers clasped onto the rough bark, my heart calmed down once again. Adrenaline always flooded my body, even though I’d been doing this for as long as I could remember. I really needed to get control of that.

Add that to the long list of things to do. At the top of that list was getting my powers to work. I knew I had them — I was born while my mom was in her wolf form — but lately, I’d been dormant. It was definitely not normal to still be dormant at twenty, but what could I do? Beneath me, my pack ran through the woods, their pelts shining beautifully in the moonlight.

Was I jealous? Of course I was jealous.

I was the flying squirrel, while my friends, family, and… well, people I disliked, got to be vicious, beautiful wolves. I jumped to the next branch, trying to keep my balance. I was far more comfortable in the trees than on the ground. That was another item on my bucket list: becoming less clumsy. That would happen, if my stupid hands could turn into claws and I could sprout fur.

A howl erupted nearby. I looked down and saw the pack halt; my dad was the one who’d howled. He and Mom stared up at me, standing so close you’d know instantly they were mates. Third thing on the list, by the way — finding a mate.

Like all the old myths and lycanthrope rules, we have mates. You’re supposed to meet your mate (supposed to, since it’s not an actual law) anywhere from sixteen up to twenty-one. I still had time, but I was terrified because of the whole not-shifting thing. You couldn’t bond as mates with someone who wasn’t a shifter. That was just how it worked.

I jumped down from the branch, angling my fall so I wouldn’t catch sight of anyone shifting naked. My pack liked to shift back to human during breaks. If I were a wolf, I’d never shift back. Being a wolf sounded so much better… or so I’d heard. People loved to make you feel even worse for not being able to shift when they got the chance.

“Hey, sweetie,” I heard Mom say, pulling me into a hug. I turned to her, seeing she still wore that white dress from earlier. Only now it looked more beige, dragged through dirt after being strapped to her leg. Some things never changed. Dad stepped beside her and slipped an arm around her shoulders.

“You okay, my flower?” he smiled at me, glancing at the scrape I’d gotten on one of those stupid branches.

“Dad, I’ve got a million scrapes like this. I’m fine,” I smiled, rolling my eyes. He laughed and pulled me into a tight, over-the-top dad hug. You know those people who’re twice your size? My whole pack is like that. The women are all about a foot taller than me, and the men are like skyscrapers.

“Let go!” I laughed, actually enjoying the hug. For a second, it made me forget my troubles. My parents cuddled me when they were wolves, but it wasn’t the same — nothing like a human hug.

When Dad let me go, the alpha had decided it was time to move again.

“See you soon, sweetie. Stay safe,” Mom smiled, kissing the top of my head. I nodded and scrambled back up the tree.

“Hey! Squirrel girl!” someone shouted. I looked down and shot a glare at Felix. Felix was the biggest asshole alive. He was one of those who’d shifted since infancy, even born as a wolf. Plenty in the pack were like that, but since he was also the future alpha, everyone praised him extra for a trait that had nothing to do with who he was as a person.

“What!?” I said, rolling my eyes.

“You shifted yet?” he asked, already knowing I hadn’t.

“Have you gotten smarter yet? The answer’s still no,” I smirked, settling down on one of the branches.

Felix rolled his eyes but kept his grin. “I’ll get you back for that, squirrel girl.”

“In your dreams.”

“We’re splitting up, squirrel. The adults are going their own way.”

My stomach dropped. I hated when we split up. It gave the other wolves a chance to mess with me. And after basically calling their leader an i***t, I knew I was screwed. His friends snickered behind him, and that feeling only got worse. Maybe I could head home? Or follow the adults? I glanced down for my parents, but they were gone.

Ah, damn…

I started leaping through the trees, following those idiots wherever they planned to harass me. The woods grew denser and stranger, and I kept glancing up at the sky.

“Felix!” I yelled, stopping dead on a branch.

The wolf ahead kept running, probably too full of himself to hear me. I stared at the gap ahead. It wasn’t that dangerous, was it? I wasn’t a shifter, and I could easily pass for just a regular human… who jumps around in treetops.

It was me against the pack… me against the pack. I took a deep breath and jumped to the next branch. I kept moving, the wind becoming the only sound I could hear. The trees and branches ahead filled my vision, my goal sharp and clear: get ahead of Felix and stop them from making a catastrophic mistake.

Who the hell doesn’t notice they’re wandering into another pack’s territory? The Hellwood pack, of all packs? The Hellwood pack was like a gang. Step into their land, and you die. They were fierce, brutal, completely unhinged.

I skidded to a stop and stared down at the pack. Felix was still several trees away. I whistled, and this time he noticed me. He slowed but kept running.

“Hey, i***t! You’re heading into Hellwood territory!” I yelled, cupping my hands around my mouth like a megaphone.

Felix finally stopped and barked for the rest of the pack to halt too. Felix’s wolf nodded and let out a howl — I had no idea why.

“Do you want them to hear you this close, you i***t!?” I shouted, glaring at him. Felix barked back, a cruel glint in his eyes. Wow. So scary…

With another howl, he began to turn around… slowly. I rolled my eyes and got ready to follow.

But then… then I heard another howl. An unfamiliar one that sent shivers racing down my spine. I watched Felix’s wolf break into a sprint, the pack rushing after him. I gulped and tensed to jump, but as I shifted my weight, the branch beneath me splintered and gave way.

Shit, s**t, s**t!

I lunged for another branch, but my hands grabbed nothing but air. My scream could’ve reached the man in the moon as I plummeted toward the ground. I was going to die. I didn’t know how far you had to fall for a landing to kill you, but I guessed four or five stories was more than enough.

I closed my eyes, bracing for impact.