True Nature

1

"Argh!" Falling forward, my hands burrowed wrist deep into thick mud which splattered its way up all the way past my elbows and into the ends of my long, auburn hair tumbling over my shoulders. "Typical" I grumbled, pushing myself up out of the slippery mess and trying to scrape strands of hair away from my face with soiled fingers. I knew these god-awful heavy boots would be my downfall. Wiping my palms off on the nearest cluster of leaves, I rubbed the patches of dirt away grimacing at the fresh grass stains on my jeans and glared at the log responsible. It was entirely unwarranted to blame the log of course. If I had been paying proper attention to navigating the wild, uneven terrain under my feet then I probably would have spotted said log from afar. Instead I had been thoroughly preoccupied daydreaming about the hot cup of tea, warm bed and long-awaited romance novel I knew were waiting for me at home.

Peering down at my sorry state of an appearance I sighed, exasperated. If my aunt could see me now, she would no doubt have a thing or two to say about my clumsiness. After picking myself up and dusting off my clothes, I forced myself to continue along the nearly invisible trail, half-hidden beneath overgrown foliage and the tall shadows of birch trees. Little use dragging my feet and trying to prolong the inevitable, I huffed to myself silently resigned. My two best friends, unaware of my slight mishap, were walking a short distance ahead having left me to grumble under my breath and wallow in my little bubble of self-pity. I was usually a glass half full kind of girl but today was the exception. The prospect of an evening among outgoing, jovial strangers whilst I made every effort to blend in with the decor was a definite damper on my mood. Yet even I had to reluctantly admit as the wind whistled gently through the trees that the clear, dark blue sky and warm summer breeze were an unexpected but very welcome surprise. Be it mid-August or not, this was certainly not typical Scottish weather, especially this far north.

We hadn't been walking that long, but my body was beginning to ache with fatigue, my head with nerves. Tree branches gently swayed in the breeze and strands of my long hair which had fallen from my hastily tied ponytail kept sticking to my cheeks and neck damp with cold sweat. Other than the quiet sound of water trickling over the rocks of a nearby stream, the only other sound was the brush of leaves and muck underfoot, the whistling of the wind and the occasional chattering of creatures hidden within the bushes. The closer we made it to the clearing the more my stomach felt weighed down with feelings of foreboding and trepidation. I hated the gatherings. Held once every month, I was usually able to avoid going to them altogether. Today, however, was the only annual gathering where all the packs across Scotland congregate and attendance was compulsory.

Just as the continued silence was beginning to get on my nerves, one of my friends Tessa, interrupted it in her usual spirited fashion. "Well. Nobody has spoken for a least 20 minutes now which is just ridiculous. Cheer up guys! It won't be that bad. You must be a little excited to meet the other packs?" Her voice rose even higher if that was possible, practically overflowing with enthusiasm. "I hear this year will be the biggest gathering in 20 years! And you-know-who will be there too..."

"What, Voldemort's coming to the pack meeting?" I rolled my eyes at my other friend Josh's snickered remark. Tessa was grinning widely, anticipation clear on her face as she walked with a skip in her step. Making eye contact with Josh, we exchanged knowing grimaces. Of course, it would be awful. We were among the lowest ranking wolves in our pack which meant gatherings never fell under the enjoyable category. Though we were supposed to get along with everyone to encourage 'pack harmony' and all that, we were hardly treated equal. Most of the time submissive wolves were ignored, if not outright looked down upon.

Josh, though equally low ranking as Tessa and I, belonged to a family who came from a long line of wolves that had set up camp in this neck of the woods a long time ago. His was one of the first families in the area and as his ancestors were founding members of the pack, he was treated with a greater amount of respect than the rest of us. Playful and easy-going, it also helped that he was shamelessly confident and got a long effortlessly with nearly everyone regardless of rank. In other words, he was the complete opposite of me. 5 foot 4, my small stature and slim build were a clear reflection of my rank. My personality too had been carefully crafted to meet pack expectations. I was known to be quiet and meek, rarely speaking out at social gatherings and always sticking close to my friends. It was an unavoidable evil though. Despite trying to keep minimum contact with other wolves, the few inevitable interactions were always tinged with a hint of peculiar awkwardness. Unfortunately, it just so happened that the higher ranking the wolf, the worse the feeling was. They could likely tell something wasn't entirely right with me and it didn't sit well with them, though I doubt they had any clue as to what made them feel quite so uneasy.

Tessa coughed, interrupting my internal musings. "Oh, you two, stop being so gloomy! Live a little! What if we meet our future mates tonight hmm? I sure do hope mine is a higher-ranking wolf." she murmured breathlessly.

I glanced at her incredulously. "Is that what you're hoping for? A dominant, arrogant, no doubt controlling Alpha wolf who expects a meek, obedient mate to do his bidding? Good luck trying to charm your way out of that trap."

"Oh please, I could charm anyone" she grinned suggestively. "and so could you if you put yourself out there a little. Who knows... You might even catch a his eye tonight hmm." she did that annoying thing, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Ha! Can you imagine. She'd run a mile if she thought Mr Alpha of the Alphas was interested." Josh laughed.

"As if." I scoffed, not entirely sure who they were referring to but deciding I didn't care enough to ask. "I'll just need to make sure I don't catch any alpha's attention tonight so that running won't be necessary. Shouldn't be a problem as I am a master in the art of being invisible you know" I smiled, jokingly playing along. Tessa was one of the few people dear to me. We were similar in so many ways, both having lost our parents when we were young, and both left with nowhere to go. One year younger than me, she had moved into Annie's house when she was 8 and since then we had slept side by side in the same narrow, cluttered bedroom. At 5 foot 7 inches, she was gracefully tall with an enviable modelesque figure, and I was almost certain that her beauty and bubbly personality would ensure she had plenty of offers to mate with both low- and high-ranking wolves. Which was just as well really, I thought amused, as she was outrageously picky.

"Only because you hide away and deliberately make yourself invisible." Tessa grumbled under her breath loud enough for me to hear.

"Well, I'm sure we won't have to worry about you being whisked away any time soon thanks to your little mud bath back there." a smirking Josh said picking at the dried muck still stuck to the ends of my hair. A small laugh slipped from my lips as I punched him lightly on the shoulder.

Voices became distinguishable as we reached the forest edge and approached the pack house across from the clearing. The rustic mansion looked beautiful in the dusk lighting, somehow both imposing in its largeness yet camouflaged and blending in smoothly with the surrounding nature. Although pack members had their own separate homes, many chose to frequent the shared house instead and spend their evenings with pack members. Being very social animals we often preferred company to being by ourselves and the large space was always lively and full of laughter - or so I remembered it to be. I took a deep breath as we made our way to the front gate following slightly behind Josh and Tessa. It wasn't cowardice exactly but simply self-preservation and dread at facing the taxing ordeal of staying constantly on guard the whole evening. I could not afford to be caught unawares, especially considering there were more packs here tonight than usual and that meant more wolves with their questioning gazes to be wary off. I just need to get through tonight and then I can go back to being a hermit, I surmised hopefully. With that cheerful thought in mind, I hardened my resolve and trailed after my friends into the lively throng of shifters.