Fresh Blood (Book 1)

4. She's Dead

“Could you be any louder?!” Olivia hissed at Dean. It was almost like he had forgotten that the people they were trying to sneak up on were werewolves.

“I could.” He forcibly smashed a twig beneath his foot.

“Listen,” she whispered at him angrily, “I’m not going to get caught so you can live out some crazy fantasy.” He raised an eyebrow and took a step back. He could feel his muscles tensing in anger. All of his emotions were out of whack since he kissed her the day before. He was two days away from his change, and nearly a month away from his first run with the pack.

“I like to be prepared,” he told her as he let the anger roll from his body, the way his father taught him. He didn’t know why he wouldn’t just tell her he was scared of what was going to happen. She still had over a year before she had to worry about all this.

“Whatever. Come on.” She began leading him again. He had no idea how she knew where she was going. Didn’t care either. It seemed like they had been walking for ages when they were stopped in their tracks by a voice.

"Silence!” Kaleb’s strong voice rang out. Olivia dropped to her knees and army crawled to the nearest bush. Dean followed her silently. His father’s order had hit him right in the gut, twisting.

“You all know the rules I assume,” Virginia said as she stood at Kaleb’s side. Everyone was already naked, Dean saw Olivia’s skin flush, but she didn’t take her eyes off the scene.

“But just in case you’ve developed a case of amnesia,” Kaleb started, “We do not harm innocents. If a human crosses your path, you turn the other way and hightail it. I will not have ‘Local Werewolf Kills Human’ as a headline. If you come across another Supe, if it’s friendly leave it. If it’s not, call for assistance. No one runs alone. Two or three wolves at least. If I pull on your pack bond and you don’t pull back, I’ll assume you’ve been attacked and need help. If you don’t respond and I find you lost in dry humping a branch I’ll rip you apart. We’re a pack. We run together to keep our bond strong.” Olivia could feel herself quivering, not from the cold, but from excitement. She would never admit to her mother, but she wanted this world, wanted to be a part of it now more than ever.

“Okay, shift in groups, like always. Youngest first. Come back when you’re in control and ready.” With a head nod Virginia dismissed them. The youngest peeled away into the woods while the older wolves stood around and talked. Olivia jumped so hard at the first scream that she nearly gave their hiding place away. Dean touched her lower back, reassuring her. Dean knew younger wolves often screamed a lot during their first two years of transformations. It hurt, a lot. Twenty minutes passed and wolves slowly began appearing back amongst the group. They all looked wobbly. As a wolf would appear, a human would slink into the woods. Wolves of all sizes and shades stood in the small opening. Olivia noticed that gray was a dominant color among the wolves. She counted at least twenty wolves toward the end. She hadn’t known exactly how big the pack was. Virginia, Kaleb, Samuel, and a man Olivia didn’t recognize stood as the only humans. A sandy colored wolf with dark eyes entered the field and leaned heavily against Samuel.

Kiron, Olivia thought to herself. She was trying to memorize who was who. Samuel moved towards the woods with a nod from Kaleb. Some of the younger wolves began wrestling, throwing each other to the ground. A dark brown wolf walked into the field and brushed against Virginia. Kaleb looked from Virginia to the man Olivia didn’t know.

“Go, I’ll watch over them.” Virginia gave his hand a squeeze. Without another word, he disappeared into the woods. Samuel stepped into the clearing and nuzzled the sandy wolf. Olivia was surprised that the other man standing with her mother hadn’t gone into the woods. She wondered whether or not he was actually a wolf. Olivia wished she could ask Dean who he was. He was someone important. He smiled as he talked to her mother. He had a smile that went from ear to ear and was contagious. He was full of toned muscle, nothing compared to Kaleb.