In Heat

In Heat: Chapter One

Chapter one

     The air was buzzing with excitement and energy, an energy that left me restless. Tonight was a night like no other, tonight was the night that had every wolf itching to break loose and run free. A night to celebrate, dance and rejoice, for us all to gather together and be one. Tonight was a full moon but not just any moon it was the Harvest moon. Every year all the wolves from all the surrounding packs would gather on our pack's land and let the cares fade away. I sat at my window seat and stared out the window, watching the sunset waiting for the moon to rise. The cool September breeze brushed my skin, sending tingles all over me. I watched as our visitors started to arrive, they like me seemed restless. I could see my mother and father stood in front of the pack, greeting everyone as they arrived. My father was tall, around 6ft 10 with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. His body was muscular and tanned, his strong face was kind but powerful and his strong jaw was cover with a five o'clock shadow. His black linen trousers clung to his hips and his open black shirt revealed his chiselled chest. Looking at him you would think he was about twenty five, not the forty six he really was. My mother, on the other hand, was small and delicate, she was about 5ft 6. She had pale skin and long golden wavy hair and her eyes were pale blue. She looked like a goddess in her long white linen dress. The bodice clung to her chest and skirt flowed freely. Like my father she looked younger than she really was, people who didn't know us would think she was my sister rather than my forty two year old mother. I looked down and smiled as I saw them share a loving glance at one another, I had never seen a couple more in love. I could only hope that one day I would be just as lucky. As I glanced at the visitors, they too looked just as stunning as my parents. All the men in black and the women in white, some wore their masks while others held them in their hand. They were ranging from seventeen to sixty years old, although though you wouldn't have been able to guess that. The peace and quiet that I was enjoying was suddenly broken when two of my sisters, Amethyst and Amber, came bursting through my bedroom door. They are Thirteen year old twins, and a bundle of endless energy. Amethyst and Amber were tall and slender, taller than me in fact even though they were two years younger than me. They had long, straight dark brown hair that reached just below their shoulders, the same shade as my father's and they his tanned skin but both had my mother's pale blue eyes. They were beautiful like my mother, just like all my other sisters. I couldn't help but smile as I watched them laughing and smiling at each other.

     "So double trouble, what do you want?" I asked them.

They shared an evil smile at each other, which could only mean they had been up to mischief.

     "Hey, where not trouble!" Amethyst said, crossing her arms over her chest and giving me an unconvincing pout.

     "Sapphire and Ruby told us to come and see you.," Amber said trying not laugh.

I swung my legs off of the window seat and turned to face them completely.

     "Ok, what have you done?" I said shaking my head.

Since this year was the first year that Sapphire and Ruby were allowed to attend the Harvest moon celebrations, they had been getting themselves flustered and overexcited. They were both hoping, like all the other unmated wolfs of the packs, that tonight they would find their mates. So because of this, everything had to be perfect. They had to have the perfect outfits and the perfect masks. They wanted to stand out from the crowd and have all eyes on them.

     "We haven't done anything," Amber replied, shrugging her shoulders as she jumped on my bed.

     "We were only trying to help," Amethyst said smiling at her twin before joining her.

      "That may be but I know what you two helping entails," I said turning back to the window.

I could hear the two of them giggling on my bed as they turned on my TV and put on a film. I wasn't really paying much attention to what it was they were watching, I was more interested in the gathering crowd outside. The Harvest moon celebrations never really meant much to me, I was too young for it to really affect me. It was just a night, where all the adults and older kids would stay out late and we'd stay home, watching movies and eating popcorn. This year though was different. For one, with amethyst and Amber attending the celebrations, I would now be in charge of the twins and all my nieces and nephews, which with four grown up, fully mated siblings, there were a lot of kids. Also as it was getting closer to my sixteenth birthday my wolf was becoming more prominent. I could feel her more, I could feel things I had never felt before. Even though I hadn't shifted yet, I could feel the energy of the Harvest moon calling to me. Every inch of my skin tingled; I wanted nothing more than to be out there with all the others. Unfortunately, due to my age, I would have a wait another two years to experience the rush of the Harvest moon. A noise from down stairs grabbed my attention. I got up from the window seat and went to investigate. As I walked past Sapphire's bedroom, her door was wide open; I could see her and Ruby admiring themselves in the full-length mirror. Out of all my sister's they were by far the most stunning, the only problem was they knew it. If they could they would spend all day staring at their flawless faces. I rolled my eyes at them but unfortunately they saw me in the mirror.