The New Wolf

Chapter Two

I barely escaped the hall to my next class without hitting anyone. I had never seen so many people in one place before, let alone in one hallway. I slid past the unfamiliar faces, some unfriendly, while others appeared to be the opposite with a smile. My Spanish teacher turned out to be pretty lenient and to my surprise, I was assigned lunch A with Katy.

"I think he likes you!" Katy raised her eyebrows at me when I told her about this morning with Zack.

I shook my head, but considered it a possibility. "Maybe so."

"Oh, come on, you know you want it to be true, and it is true!" Katy added.

"You know me so well," I couldn't hold back a giggle.

"Hey, that's what best friends are for!"

I ran my hand down my mess of hair and was silent the rest of lunch, wondering what it would be like to have a boyfriend.

Venturing freely in the woods gave me a sense of what it really was like to be a wolf, even before the ability to change into one was given to me. But now that my dream was reality, my life changed. Shadow named me Deputy. Second in command. I was completely honored to be this high in the order of the Pack.

In my wolf form, I approached the territory of my Pack. I was greeted by mixed barks and howls at my return and addressed each face with a friendly lick as I passed them.

"Shadow has asked to speak with you immediately," one of them gestured gravely. "Please meet her in her den now."

"I will," I said with a serious glance at the speaker, a mother-wolf. She had wolf pup twins at her side, one slightly smaller than the other.

I pawed my way through the crowd and tried not to worry about why Shadow needed to speak with me so soon. I stood outside the entrance to her moss-covered den, hesitating for a moment. Then I pushed myself inside where I saw Shadow waiting for me.

"Hello, my deputy," Shadow pointed her nose at a patch of moss. "Please, sit."

I obeyed and sat in front of her, focusing my full attention on Shadow.

"You are probably wondering why I asked you here so quickly," she started and I nodded. "I have found something that gives me reason to believe you are not the only human that was given the power to shape-shift into a wolf, Raven."

"W-what's are you saying? Th-there is someone else like...me?" I stammered.

"There can only be one other."

I almost jumped in the air and flipped, unable to handle the suspense Shadow left me in. "Well, what tells you this?!" I exploded finally.

"I sent out a patrol of four to inspect land beyond the Pack's current territory. They returned with a description of a place where land meets water, and the water would foam and form waves. They reported tracks that belonged to an unfamiliar wolf. The scent was carried off by the winter wind too soon, and the prints soon vanished in the waves. This mystery wolf was not a member of Scar's Pack, nor ours."