Wynter's Bane (On Hiatus)

Chapter 1

Edited with Grammarly: 4/26/2020

You'd think I'd be used to this by now, but it still hurts getting snubbed by my own 'loved ones'. Turning away from my sister's door that had just been slammed in my face, I don't even try my brother, opting to just go back to my room. We'd just moved to a new town, our family of five the last of the Lunar Soul Pack to get moved to a new location.

Our Pack numbers into the thirties, with a few other families, singles, and an Alpha and Beta couple. Even the Omega got moved before we did, but it wasn't due to Pack order. My parents aren't at the top of the litter pile, if anything, they're like, advisers of a sort. They deal with all the political woo-woo between all the Packs of an area, like treaties, finances, and such.

Leaning against the door as I close it, I look around my small room, to the few remaining unpacked boxes stacked on the far side of my bed. I'm bored. All I'd asked is if my sister, Mythine, would like to go on a run with me - but my answer was pretty clear.

Sighing, I catch a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror hanging on the open closet door. Have to wonder if my mother knew what I'd look like when she named me because it's kind of eerie. My hair is long and so pale a blond it's virtually white, and eyes a blue so dark they look black. My name is Wynter, and I'm the runt of my litter.

But for the grace of the Moon I wasn't smothered in my sleep when young, but growing up wasn't easy, still isn't. I'll be eighteen soon, but I don't look it. I barely look over seventeen. Next to my hair shade, my skin looks like a milky-cream, which trust me, isn't a good thing when everyone else around you is several shades darker. 'Albino' is a term I'm pretty common with.

I'm also the shortest in my family at five-foot-three. The next shortest is my sister at five-foot-seven, so yeah, let the jokes fly even more. Just about everything you can think of, I've been called, by both human and Werewolf. That's right, Werewolf. Poke me, I'm real.

I'll be finishing my last year of school here, in a brand new place, where I know absolutely nobody, other than my packmates, who would much rather ignore me. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I strip down till I'm completely nude. Short, yes, thin, yes, but curvy where it counts.

Werewolves see nudity differently than humans do, we aren't quite as shy, some not at all. It's not uncommon to find Packs that humans call nudist colonies. Since I'd hung out more with humans than my siblings and Pack, I'm a bit shyer.

I'm on the second floor, but there's a section of the roof right outside my window that's big enough I can lounge on if I wanted to. Opening it to get a breeze, the smell of the summer air calls to the animal within me. Unlike what some may think, it's not a separate entity within me, it is me.

Climbing out into the night air, I crouch low even as my nose goes up, breathing deeply. The house my father had picked out is set back from the road, closer to the stretch of woods that border the lake. Probably a good thing since I'm buck naked and within sight if someone were to look.

Moving towards the back of the house, I sit at the very edge of the roof to do my shifting. It's not instantaneous but does take about ten seconds or so. Werewolves as a general rule are a lot larger than our natural brethren, but I'm still young, so I'm about the size of a normal wolf. Seeing as how I was born small, I might not get much bigger than what I am now, period, which really doesn't bother me at all.

Once my shift is complete, I jump down, landing easily on four paws. If it's found out I'm outside by myself un-escorted, I'd be in a heap of trouble, but I have an invisibility pass. I don't even look back as I take off into the woods, stretching my legs full out and testing my limits.

I haven't bothered to look up the name of this lake, but I take up a course running the length of one side, or what I assume as one. I catch the smell markers my Pack has already left in claim. Border markers and fence lines basically. Since I don't know who all lives in this area, I don't traverse any further, but I yearn to.

I've been able to do many things being as invisible as I am. Not just to my family but pretty much my whole Pack. I can get away with things that others can't. The Alpha's son, for example, I'd hate to be him, he always looks so miserable; training to take his place as the successor or to fight for a Pack of his own.

About a year older than me, I've slipped him help when I could and when I knew he wouldn't get caught with it. Basically food during his training and mountain survival tests. I know I shouldn't have, and I doubt he knew who it was, but I'm glad I could help.

The mountain survival tests are something all wolves have to do once they hit a certain age, no matter their station. No one thought I'd survive mine, imagine their surprise when I not only came back but came back just as healthy as the day I left. Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm an idiot, helpless, or weak, but these wolves are mostly old school, and coming back didn't earn me anything from them.

I run for hours, till my heart pounds and I can't run anymore. Getting a drink now is a bad idea, as it's going to give an instant headache, but I'm parched, and the lake is right there. Practically dragging myself over to it, I end up half in and half out, but I get my drink. I also get a fish bath.

Don't know who's more startled; me, the fish, or the wolf I back in to.