Shifters

Chapter 1

She smiled and nearly began shaking with excitement again. It reminded her that she was 16 now, when the winter solstice was over she would get to explore every aspect of the valley with her father. Then, she would know the valley inside and out, it would become as familiar to her as Raul's singing howl. She would also be given leadership lessons, tips that had been passed down from her great-great-grandfathers would be echoed to her.

What excited her most about 16 though, was that she could now begin her romantic search for someone to spend the rest of her life with. Being the Alpha's daughter and the heir, she had many suitors lined up. Unfortunately for them, she already knew who she wanted for a mate:

Cody.

He was about the same age as her, only 6 weeks older, one grade above her in school, and had wavy blonde hair, side swept above his eyes, tan olive skin, and shiny blue eyes. He was, undeniably, the most handsome and charming youth in the pack. When he was full grown, she couldn't even imagine how hot he would be, thinking of it made the snow melt beneath her. He did not look like he'd been born and raised in Pennsylvania, he looked like a surfer from California. She'd had a crush on him since she was 9 years old, right after she realized males were quite interesting, much to her father's disappoint. She was also pretty positive he liked her too, he had to. Who wouldn't like her, Kayla, the Pelisian heir to the throne? Best of all, he already seemed worthy of leading a pack to her. He was smart, sexy, and smooth, all three of the important S's. And what of the rest of the alphabet? Admirable, Beautiful, Charismatic... Imagine what the children would look like, they would be the most adorable of any!

She caught a glimpse of many cars leaving the valley through the back road that followed a mountain. An almost forgotten street that humans didn't use, they preferred the freeway for escape. That only meant that whoever drove the cars were Lobains, but not of her pack. Her eyes followed the single file line as it winded up the road and out of the valley. The Serius pack was leaving for Bermuda.

"Well, almost all ours", she said not taking her eyes off them.

Raul shook his head and scoffed at the Serius cars as they drove off, "Those damned Serians! I don't see why Uncle Anthony doesn't drive them away!"

Kayla rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Maybe he feels sorry for them?" she suggested.

"Well, at least they're taking off early, that means we've got the valley to ourselves--like it should be." He added as the last car disappeared around a bend.

The Pelisian pack would have to leave soon, too. The Winter Solstice was tomorrow, and the Bermuda Triangle was at least half a day's trip away by car. Kayla didn't necessarily look forward to the annual trip to her people's birthplace, the mother of all supernatural beings, the gathering of the six packs always seem to be so tense. Fights either happened or were a snap and a growl of teeth away from happening.

She did enjoy hearing what had changed between the packs over the year though, and sometimes, it could be fun to visit with a few friends in the Yonaga or Alastar family. She also loved exploring Bermuda when the convention was over. The land was beautiful, clean and pure. This year she hoped to catch Cody alone, maybe they could go to the waterfall and play with the sprites and fairies. She knew it would be fun and most importantly, the fairies were great at setting a romantic mood.

A strong howl took to the air suddenly, Kayla and Raul perked up.

"That's my Dad", Kayla said as the howl faded away, "He wants us to prepare for departure."

"He sounded a little mad, did you tell him we were going to hike?"

She paused, "I think I mentioned it at breakfast." She remembered sitting at the table eating some delicious eggs, pancakes, and bacon with her mother. Her father was there for a few minutes, then he went out to the back porch on a phone call.