Canis sapien

Chapter 1: The Awakening

 Something big is happening, what it is, I can't say yet as I don't know the details, the family vibe is just off. Mom has been trying so hard to get me to not notice, but I do, I always do, I notice everything. Plus, she's a pretty horrid liar. 

Leaving my thoughts behind, I hear Mom and Dad talking in the tent a few feet away from mine. Being nosy has always been a personal fault, but I threw care to the wind as I inched closer to the faded yellow polyester that separated my parents from me, so I could be sure not to miss a single detail of their conversation. 

Looking back, it was a spur of the moment trip that mom and dad sprung onto me. Per the usual, I was curled up in my reading nook with a war romance novel in hand when my parents came in and told me to start packing for a camping trip. I had always loved to go camping so I figured that was my birthday present seeing that my birthday is tomorrow, January 13th. This year it lands on a full moon Friday.

How convenient is that?  Happy twentieth to me...I subtly thought to myself. Without complaint, I set down my book, finished my tea, and went about my way to gather my things. Why I was packing to camp when I would be spending  the weekend in wolf form was beyond me, but I did as I was told.

The first full moon on or after our twentieth birthday is pivotal for us lycans- it's the first time we can shift into our wolf. We are all born with innate canine instincts, some of us with stronger senses than others- just like humans. Shifting between our skin and fur side is a feral process for the first few weeks, our wolf mentality completely overrides our human one. It takes months of dedicated training to maintain the wolf form while also keeping the human thought processing. Typically, the mental state matches the physical state. The first 36-72 hours after the first shift is when a skin shift isn't possible, we stay as our wolves until  our mentalities and physicality's are in sync.

Jumping back to reality, I stood in front of my mom and dad with my arms crossed as they stayed frozen in position trying to leave their tent. My dad was the first one to clear his throat as he stood straight, stonewalling all his emotions behind his hazel eyes. Maintaining the position as the pack's Delta means that he has perfected the art of glazing over, and can tell a lie as easily as he can tell the truth. It comes in handy when he has to de-escalate Rogues and help our Alpha conduct trade and property contracts. Less useful when he hides things from his daughter.

The hurt in my chest caused time to slow, making me notice small details I haven't before. Dad's black goatee has begun to gray, a trait I'm sure my mom is swooning over. When his hair started greying my mom kept comparing him to Mark Sloan from Grey's Anatomy- that's one way to ruin my favorite TV crush.

"Beating around the bush will only make this worse. How much did you hear?" my father blankly asked.

"I heard enough to know that you and Mom have some explaining to do. You might as well start at the part of how I'm not yours."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I was engulfed in a hug and Mom began to sob, mumbling something about how it was all for me or and how sorry she was. I couldn't quite understand her through her crying and the ringing that started in my ears. Dad pulled Mom off me just as soon as I began shaking my head, the ringing was only worsening. A deep rumble started in my chest and all I could feel was sad rage. My heart was in my stomach and I felt as though I was made of ice, but my hands and feet felt like they were on fire. 

I took one last look at my mom and her teary brown eyes before I shook my head and ran into the woods. I did not want to be around them this angry- my shift was coming.