Lunar Zenith

Chapter Eleven

Cassandra

If I was uncomfortable before, then this was the epiphany of awkwardness. I stood in the center of the gorge, right below the rock ledge. I was in the center of the spotlight. All activities in the gorge had paused just to marvel at me, the newcomer. I shifted, their attention suddenly bringing consciousness to my own appearance. Was I a mess? Were there twigs in my fur? Did I hold myself upright as a real wolf would? Or did I stand funky? These uncertainties only made me feel more out of place. But worst of all, all three of the wolves up on the ledge had noticed my presence. Each of their gazes held some level of judgmental scrutiny, and it made me squirm even more.

"Those are the Betas," Arabella whispered beside me. "The scary looking one on the left"—she gestured to the grey and black wolf—"is Jaxton. The one in the middle"—the silver wolf—"is Raisa. She may look intimidating, but I promise you she's really nice. Oh, and the one over there on the right is Hayden. He's nice too."

Ah, so Hayden was his name. I snuck a quick glance at him, and he returned the look, tilting his head with a smirk, eyes twinkling.

"The Betas," I said to Arabella, "are they the leaders?"

"Oh, not at all," she replied. "The Alpha is our leader, and the Betas hold the rank below him. They're like vice leaders."

"Oh, I see."

But from the way they held themselves, those three wolves certainly gave off the confident, 'I'm in charge' air. They almost demanded respect, and I felt obligated to give it to them.

Raisa stepped forward. "As Hayden had mentioned," she began, "we have a newcomer in our midst." She rested her gaze on me. "What is your name?"

"I'm Cassandra," I said, raising my eyes to hers, "Cassandra Anne."

"Where do you come from, Cassandra?"

I paused. Should I tell them where I came from? But what if they turned me away? Our village didn't have the nicest relationship with carnivorous wildlife. I could play it off as one of the rogues Arabella had mentioned. Oh, but I had already told her that I was human. She could call me out for lying. I'd just make everything worse trying to cover things up.

I sucked in a breath. "I come from the village."

As if the word was forbidden or cursed, the pack immediately burst into whispers and mumbles, gossip and rumors about me already being birthed so soon upon my arrival.

"The human village?" Jaxton asked.

"Yes...?"

He let out a boisterous laugh. "That's preposterous. The village kills on sight. You didn't come from that hateful place. That or you're a walking corpse."

"No, it's true," Arabella said. "Cassandra was once human."

Like the word village, human had the same effect on the wolves, but instead it gave rise to hopeful murmurs as if it were a long time dream or fantasy.

"You were human?" Raisa asked.

"Yes. I had a mother and father and four, annoying brothers. We lived in a small house just beyond your woods, and oftentimes I would run up and down the glade for mere enjoyment. My best friend's name was Claire, but she lived closer to the center of the town because her father is a leatherworker. We hang out all the time, and her brother, Peter..." My words trailed off as an aching twinge squeezed my heart. "Never mind," I said, "I'd rather not talk about Peter."

"And how did you get to be this way, Cassandra?"

"I don't know." It was the truth. Though my blood was special, it only forced Lune to shift. It shouldn't have affected me at all—I wasn't of magic descent. Therefore, this wolf body was the result of other means, means that I can't remember. "The night before the transformation," I said, "I was with Lune, and we—"