JUNE 2022 UPDATE: Go read "Lucy", a spinoff of the Masked SheWolf trilogy, now updating on Wattpad, and its "Behind the Scenes" companion book that includes character profiles and a complete recap of the trilogy, as told by the characters in interview format.
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Music has been a part of my life for years. From a very young age, I could play the piano just as well as I could sing. But my passion for music didn't develop until I was fourteen. Since then, music has become the same thing as breathing for me.
What happened was that I watched a live performance at a local café of an amateur musician playing one of my favorite piano pieces on the acoustic guitar. I don't remember his name, but I do remember him saying that he had been teaching himself to play for over a year, and that that was his first performance in front of a crowd. When he played the first note, I was hypnotized.
His fingers moved effortlessly over the strings. From the moment he started playing, he was perfect. His performance was immensely flawed, obviously, but his talent and love for music radiated off him in waves and had the entire crowd, including and especially me, mesmerized. My heart was soaring and my eyes were wide as they followed every gesture of his fingers in complete rapture. His movements were hesitant and somewhat nervous, but they flowed over the strings like velvet rope.
I watched him like a star-struck fan girl. He made me fall in love for the first and only time in my life. I was in love with him, with his music, with his instrument, with his talented fingers, with everything about him and his performance. I couldn't even clap when he was done because I was still soaring with wonder, and I didn't realize he had stopped until he was taking a bow and going offstage.
I lift my pen and bring the tip of it up to my mouth, biting on it as I re-read what I've written under the question "Explain in one page why you chose your major."
All application forms I might send ask the same question in one way or another, and I will write the same answer for all of them. I've been locked in my room since morning filling out application forms, because I don't want my family to catch me, and I've just finished the last one.
I've decided long ago not to tempt fate and will only apply for a couple of universities; NEC and Berklee. Secretly, I'm hoping for Berklee, but I would be lucky to go to either one. They're not far from each other and they're both about three hours away from home. The closeness is basically my strongest argument against my parents. I just hope that when the day comes and I tell them, they'll have an open mind, and possibly even an acceptance letter in their hands to sway them.
When Danny calls me down for lunch, I hastily put everything in two envelopes, one for each college, and tuck them under my bed. I'm going to have to find an excuse to get out of the house later so I can go to the post office and mail them. I can't take the risk of putting them in our mailbox, or else my parents might find out, and it's not the time for that yet.
When Danny mentions SMP's bonfire camp, my excuse practically makes itself up. Two hours later, my applications have been sent, and I've got a new olive-colored tent and matching sleeping bag tucked under my arm as I walk home. Then, we meet up and leave together.
The campsite is big but cozy, and it's filled with families from SMP. When I find the Creeds, I walk over to Sadie and her father building their tents first. They're both concentrating very hard on their task, but they communicate with an ease that I envy a little bit.
Her little brother Zack looks like he might have tried to help, but all he's doing now is wave the sticks around with his mother like they're swords. The two of them are laughing away. I can hear Zack's childish giggle from all the way at the edge of the clearing. Zoey is sitting beside them on a folded chair, watching them wordlessly without her cell phone in hand. There's a nervous energy about her stance, but I can swear I see a smile fighting to break free across her face.
It's almost cruel of me to interrupt this nice moment, but I know my brothers will have started working on our tents and I don't want to have to help them, so I slip away. Zack is the first to see me, and he squeals, "Michael!" and starts running to me.
Oh no, I panic. Is he expecting me to pick him up?
Fortunately, all he does is grab my hand and start dragging me toward them.
"Look, Michael! I'm winning in a sword fight!" he informs me enthusiastically.
"I can see that," I tell him, calmly following him.
"Hello Michael. Nice to see you again," Sadie's mom greets me with a smile.
I return it hesitantly. "Nice to see you guys again too."
"Want to help us with our tents, Dyl?" Sadie asks me.
I chuckle. "I just left my brothers so that they don't ask me that question."
Zoey perks up. "They're here?"
I point them out to her and she immediately stands up to go over there. I watch her greet them awkwardly and try to strike up conversation with my twin, who is too focused on the tent to concentrate on her.
"Hey," I hear and turn around.
Logan and Cade have joined Sadie's family. Cade is helping them, so it must have been Logan who said 'Hey'.
"Uh, hi," I say back.
"Glad you guys could make it."
"Wouldn't miss it."
Silence fills the air. Well, at least, between me and him; the rest of the pack members are abuzz with conversation. The awkwardness is almost palpable.
"Do you want to help start the fire?" he suddenly asks.
Taken aback, I blink a couple of times. "It's not dark yet," I note.
"It will be in less than an hour."
After a moment, I shrug. "Okay."
Logan's camping skills must have been better than mine, because by the time the fire is in full blaze, the sun is starting to disappear behind the trees, and the light is kind of necessary at that point. Next thing I know, people are gathering around the fire, leaning or sitting on the logs laid there. The way that they all come practically at the same time makes me think like I'm missing something. I take a seat next to Sadie to get some answers.
"What's going on?" I whisper. The crackling of the fire and the hum of conversation is enough to cover my voice from strong werewolf hearing.
"It's story time," she whispers back.
My eyebrow shoots up. "Story time?"
"We always tell stories around the campfire when we do this. You know, old legends and ancestors stories, stuff like that."
"Who's telling the first one?"
She nudges her chin towards a middle-aged man with a short black beard, a bald head and a size so big even by werewolf standards. "Logan's uncle Cliff, Reena's father," she tells me.
My jaw drops and I gasp. "Reena is Logan's cousin?!" I hiss.
"Technically, no," she reminds me. "Adopted, remember?"
"But-" I stutter, unable to find words to express my shock. "But that's-"
"It's not as weird as you think," she assures me.
It is, actually.
However this isn't important right now, and it's not my business anyway, so I let it go and pay attention to the man about to tell the story. He waits a bit until it's completely dark and then everyone pays attention. Even the humans seem interested in hearing this.
"Before the pandemic," he begins, "our people lived differently than we do now. In those times, female werewolves were born just like males, and they were just as numerous."
The subject of the story takes me a bit by surprise, and I exchange glances with my brothers. They send me reassuring looks. There's nothing dangerous about campfire stories.
Logan's uncle continues telling the story. "Back then, our ancestors didn't have a choice in who their mate is; it was already predestined. Every male and female had their own other half, a mate in the real sense of the word, a truemate. They would find each other once they laid eyes on the other's wolf. A connection would form between them the closer they got, a connection through which they can sense each other in ways no other can. They could hear each other's thoughts and feel the other's emotions. Sometimes, when it was particularly strong, they would start seeing the world through the other one's eyes. There was nothing stronger than the mate connection as proof that they belong together."
The girls stare at him dreamily, although some have envious expressions on their faces. Even Sadie is listening to the story as if she's on cloud nine. Her hand is wrapped in Cade's, and her head is resting on his shoulder while his arm is draped over hers.
"One of the last pair of mates known to our kind, Simon and Camellia, perhaps have the most inspiring history of all," the man goes on. "The pandemic had already started a dozen years before they found each other. There was panic all around the world among our kind, and packs were desperately searching for any female werewolf they could find to pair her off with her mate and hope they have daughters. When it started taking too long and failed anyways, the females were sought out directly for arranged or forced marriages. Every werewolf wanted to be the one who saved the race and kept his bloodline strong."
He pauses a moment for dramatic effect. I have to admit that I'm no longer uncomfortable. It's actually kind of eye opening to listen to him. He's quite the storyteller.
"It's around that time that Simon and Camellia found each other. They immediately went into hiding, knowing that the mate bond didn't mean anything to those who would want to take Camellia away from Simon. He fought many of his kind off to keep her safe. That's when our kind started to turn on each other. Those who had accepted the pandemic and began to mix among humans would welcome the pair into their homes when they were running. Until the day Camellia was successfully taken. She was moments away from being turned into a slave when Simon gathered whatever followers he could to help him and came to her rescue. Their bond was too strong for her kidnappers, and they conquered against their enemies.
"A few years later, the pair was starting their own family and was recruiting those who helped them into a new pack that they formed. Their bloodline, the bloodline of their children, my ancestors, is the bloodline that started this pack. We are the pack that we are today because of them, because they are always a reminder of how unity is our kind's greatest gift. The mate bond may not exist anymore, but our mates are still just as important to us as ever, and they always will be."
When he said that thing about unity, it kind of felt like he was talking to me, although I know it's not the case. It just reminded me of yesterday, when I asked Logan why he would invite us to join his pack, and how I found it strange that he responded coldly. Maybe it has something to do with unity, in a way, which triggers a sense of duty in Logan that he has toward not just his pack members, but his entire race as well.
I turn to look at him and I find him deep in thought with an expression that I can't even begin to decipher.
The next morning, I'm the first to wake up. The sun isn't even up yet when I open my eyes. Being here is making me restless, because I haven't shifted outdoors in a week. That can't be healthy for my wolf side. All night I kept fidgeting. When I wake up, I'm all tangled in my sleeping bag. Try as I might, I can't fall back asleep now. I won't be able to until I release the pressure building inside me.
Now that I'm awake, there's an itching feeling crawling all over my skin, begging me to shift. My watch says it's five am. If I'm quick and quiet, I can slip far enough away to shift without anyone noticing, and I might enjoy a few minutes to myself in wolf form. I hope I can slip past whoever is patrolling right now.
As slowly as possible, I take a peek outside the tent's entrance. I'm not worried about waking up my twin; Daniel can sleep through an atomic bomb. It's the guy patrolling that I don't want to alert of my presence.
One of Logan's guys is sitting by the fire about twenty feet away, feeding it just enough to keep himself warm and have enough light to see around him. It's extra difficult to sneak past someone whose hearing is ten times better than the average human, but I have had a lot of practice with my brothers, and I am confident I can do this.
My hands are steady as I open the tent just enough for me to crawl out of it. I'm thankful that there are no leaves in the clearing or else the rustling would have made this much more difficult. Once I'm out, I keep my eyes on the guy's back as I push myself up into a crouching position. Then I take my time to retreat to the safety of the trees and bushes. It's amazing that I'm able to keep my focus when I am this edgy to shift. I check that he still isn't aware of my presence before I stand behind a tree.
Just because he can't see me doesn't mean he won't hear me. My steps as I walk away are still careful and swift. Along the way, I keep my ears strained to detect any sound that he's coming after me. It's only when I'm far enough that I can't hear the activity at the campsite anymore that I take off running.
Twenty minutes later, I reach another clearing that's a bit closer to the edge of the forest, on the opposite side of the pack house. I stop to catch my breath and look around. Once my breathing is back to normal, I strain my ears and make sure that no one is close enough to hear me or see me. Then I strip and lay my clothes beneath a tree's roots and close my eyes, wanting to take my time shifting so I can revel in it.
Heat sears through my body from the bottom of my spine to the top of my head, stretching across my limbs and growing a fifth one, a tail. My legs and arms shorten into the same length, as my hands and feet change into paws. I feel the fur growing on my skin, a sensation that is just like relieving an itch. I crouch just as my bones shrink and expand again into a different anatomy. My face feels distorted as my forehead gets pushed up and back. My mouth and nose mold together and grow into a snout, my teeth elongating with them, and my ears pull up and change shape.
When the shift is complete, and the heat has dissipated from my body, I open my eyes. Everything looks sharper, brighter and more detailed. I can smell everything in the air as far as six miles around me; from the trees, to the dirt and even the trail of my own scent leading back to the campsite, which is too far for me to detect. I can also hear everything and see the details of things twice as far as my human eyes can perceive; about two miles. I know what my wolf body looks like without needing a reflection. My fur is pure white and my eyes have a blue-ish silver color.
I let my wolf side take over and do whatever feels right; I run, I chase a couple of rabbits just for the thrill of it, I even chase my tail for a bit. At one point though, I have to stop myself from howling, because I know the others would definitely hear that. After about an hour, I simply lie on my stomach and rest a bit in wolf form, my tongue sticking out of my snout as I pant to catch my breath.
As I'm just resting there, I suddenly detect a scent not very far from where I am. It's a werewolf scent. Alert, I lift my head, ears pointed up and listen. I turn my ears to get a wider hearing range, and wait. That's when I catch the sound of a twig breaking. And then I feel it; I am being watched from a distance.
I don't think twice about it, I just take off running. I go to retrieve my clothes first, because I know I won't be able to get dressed until I'm absolutely sure it's safe to shift back into human form.
I don't know where I'm running, but it doesn't make much of a difference. I'll be able to find my way back easily. I just need to get far enough away and as fast as possible so that I can become a human boy again before I am found. My heart is beating a mile a minute, both from the exertion and the fear.
I'm so stupid!
I shouldn't have gone shifting while a big group of werewolves is so near. It doesn't matter how early in the morning it was when I left. There's still a chance that at least one of them is an early shifter. One is all it takes to expose me and put me in danger. It was a terrible time to make poor decisions.
I run and run until my lungs are about to explode, my four legs are burning and I am panting so hard that I feel like I can't go on anymore. I don't know how much time passes before I do stop, but that's only because I find a spot between a boulder and a tall tree where I can hide and change. In a matter of seconds, I am back in human form and hastily putting on all my clothes.
If I truly wasa guy, this would take ten seconds. A girl would have more clothing items that would be difficult to put on, but my disguise takes even more time. All the while, I still sniff the air and listen for someone approaching. Nobody comes, mercifully, but I don't immediately come out of my hiding place.
When my heart rate has calmed down once again, I look for another werewolf scent nearby, but mine is the only one. There's also no sound that I can detect. If someone did see me, then they didn't follow me, which means they're not onto my secret. There's no point in hiding out here. When I get back to the campsite, if the person who saw me asks, I'll make up an excuse for running.
There's nothing to be afraid of, I tell myself.
Gathering up my courage, I leave the safety of my hiding spot and calmly find my way back. The trail I left behind while walking this morning is still strong, and I follow it back to the campsite.
The guy who was patrolling when I left is now joined by five other people, two of whom are Sadie and Cade and the other three are Cade's brothers and some guy I don't know. They're engaged in quiet conversation. Something tells me they've been here this whole time and that none of them were the one in the forest. I decide to put that incident completely behind me and not even tell my parents about it. There's no point in worrying them when nothing has happened.
I don't bother hiding myself as I walk to join them because it wouldn't matter now anyway. The point in me leaving in secret was not that nobody finds out about it, it was that nobody discovers me while I was there, although I did come pretty close. Besides, I left a pretty strong trail behind me. It's hard to hide that.
The guy who was patrolling notices me first, and his head jerks up to look at me with a confused expression. "Where the hell did you just come from?"
I stick my thumb to point behind my back. "I went for a run."
"Whoa," Sadie laughs. "How did you get past Tyler?"
Ah, so this is the Tyler she told me about, Jared and Sam's friend, I conclude.
Reflexively, I grin at her. "I have awesome ninja skills."
She laughs again as her mate glares at me from behind her back, his arms tightening around her waist possessively. I do a mental eye-roll.
Seriously dude, you've got nothing to worry about, I want to tell him.
"Why didn't you wait for the rest of us?" the guy I don't know asks.
I shrug. "I like to fly solo from time to time." The truth is that it was kind of lonely to shift alone, but I'm not about to admit that.
"Oh, Dylan, this is Tyler by the way," Sadie suddenly remembers, gesturing to the guy on patrol, and then to the last one I don't know. "And that's Blake."
I nod at them respectively. "Nice to meet you."
"You and your brothers still don't like to run with strangers?" Cade retorts as if neither of us has spoken.
His dislike for me is obvious in his voice, even though he's trying to suppress it in front of his girlfriend.
"You can ask my brothers if you want, I just got too restless and had to shift," I calmly reply.
"That'd be nice," Sadie comments before he could say anything and gives him a meaningful stare.
Seeing her expression, he sighs and nods. I wonder what the pack normally does during the day when they're out camping. We spent the whole night sharing stories, I must have lost count how many of them actually told one. There were more histories about mates before the pandemic, some about the pack's ancestors fighting battles, and a very long but interesting story of how they rose to the status they have now.
What can they do on this camping trip during daytime if they don't shift? Obviously, there has to be something or else the human mates wouldn't have stayed. Whatever it is, I wonder if it will be possible for my brothers and me to join them.
Suddenly, I remember that it's Sunday. What am I supposed to do about War Day with all these people around? I had such a good prank planned, which would be even better because of the location of the campsite near a river. I don't want to have to wait until I'm home; the surprise element is the best part of it.
"You okay Dylan?" Sadie asks.
My eyes focus back at my surroundings. "Yeah, I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
I contemplate telling them; it wouldn't be the worst thing if they helped out. Maybe we could have fun together and do some more of that "bonding" Dad keeps demanding we do.
I make up my mind and smirk. "It's Sunday," I remind Sadie, who suddenly beams. I look at the others. "There's this family tradition I'd like to let you in on."
I don't want to lose precious pranking time so I tell them the short version of how War Day works with its rules. Sadie is so excited about it that she talks over me a couple of times to tell the others. They seem to find it hilarious, except Cade, who just sits there stone-faced.
"Who's the target this week?" Blake asks eagerly.
"My eldest brother, Connor," I tell them.
"What do you want to do to him?" Tyler wants to know, and his grin tells me he's in, no matter what my plan is.
They like my idea and they all want in, although Cade has to be convinced to do it by Sadie.
However, before we can really start planning how to do it, Logan and Reena join us from their tent along with a few other SMP members. The alpha and his mate are holding hands, which kind of makes me sick because of what happened with Reena at the party. I honestly cannot understand how these two could be together. I'm not one to judge though, so I just focus on having a normal conversation.
"Morning guys," Sadie is the first to say in her cheery voice. "Want to help us prank Dylan's brother?"
"What are you talking about?" Reena asks with a frown.
"Apparently, they do this every week to one of them," Cade sarcastically announces, which I ignore and explain to the newcomers what I just told the others.
"Sounds like fun," Logan comments. "But I'm going to have to pass. There's something I need to do."
"What? You're bailing on us already?" his beta replies.
"You're coming with me."
An understanding passes between them. "Oh."
"What about me?" Reena complains, looking a little hurt. "You're just going to leave me here?"
Logan stares at her with confusion. "Uh, I don't think you'd like this Ree. Besides, you can stay with your parents. I'm sure that's got to be more interesting."
She rolls her eyes and lets out the most ridiculous sound; something like psh-ah!
"Fine, whatever," she retorts.
Suddenly, the group of people witnessing their interaction, especially me, is very uncomfortable with the direction the conversation is headed.
Logan grabs her wrist when she tries to move away from him. "Hey," he says, surprisingly very softly. "Don't be upset. I do want you with me."
She smiles and looks up at him. "You do?" she asks in a really whiny and annoying voice; like nails on chalkboard. Apparently though, I'm the only one who hears it, because no one else winces.
"Of course I do," he assures her, and there's so much emotion in his voice that can melt even the toughest rocks. "I always want you with me. But you'll get bored on a trip like this."
A silent conversation seems to pass between them, in which Reena sends Logan accusatory looks and he pleads with her not to do this in front of everyone watching. She's being very stubborn, but he doesn't back down either, and it's hard to guess who's going to give in to the other first.
Finally, Reena huffs, although it's more resigned than nagging this time. "Fine," she agrees. "We'll talk about it later."
Then she leans over and kisses him shamelessly in front of everybody, making the level of discomfort rise by at least two hundred per cent.
He slowly pulls away after a moment. "I'll miss you," he smiles.
She smiles back coyly. "I'll miss you more."
Would you just leave already and spare us the PDA?I mentally groan.
As if they heard me, they finally separate. Logan and Cade then leave, and I feel a weight lift off my chest when I can't detect their presence anymore. It's like the tension created by Logan's intimidating presence dissipates when he's not around.
Grinning, I turn to the others. "Alright, let's go humiliate Connor. I'm just going to wake up my other brothers first... I'm sure they have their own pranks planned."
The twins are up almost immediately, but Danny takes a while to be revived from his coma-like sleep. As I expected, they complain about being woken up so early. Then I tell them the reason, and they hop out of their sleeping bags like kids on Christmas morning.
"I need a sharpie," Mason says and starts searching for one in his bag.
That's the lamest and most unoriginal prank I've ever heard of. Then again, it's Mason; loving but sappy and cheesy, be-nice-to-everybody Mason.
"Are there any jars around I can use to trap bugs?" Daniel wants to know.
"I'm sure there must be some," I respond.
Although disturbing and disgusting, Danny's plan is much better than Mason's. He disappears for a minute while the rest of us prepare our stuff. When he comes back, he's carrying a big jar with writhing worms in it.
But Nathan is the one who wins 'best prank' award out of the three of them when he holds up a big balloon. "I've been saving this fart since Thursday," he announces with a proud grin.
My brothers and I stare at him incredulously. "Oh, my God," I grimace, completely repulsed.
"How the hell did you get it inside a balloon?" Danny wants to know, and he sounds unnaturally impressed with the idea.
"It's not mine, obviously," he scoffs. "It's fake... it came in a spray bottle. I just used it to blow the balloon up."
There's a stunned silence, tinted with admiration. This is definitely a first. And here I thought Iam the master prankster.
"Well, to each their own," Mason relents, shaking his head in disbelief at his twin. "Everybody ready?"
"Yup," we all say in unison.
I clap my hands once to get everybody's attention. "Let's do this."
Mason goes into the tent first to draw on Connor's face. Daniel slips in second and lets the worms loose all over Con's sleeping body. Nathan then crouches beside him, a plug covering his nose, and releases the fart from the balloon out of the hole and directly into Connor's nostrils. Jolting awake, our older brother thrashes around in his sleeping bag, scratching his nose repeatedly and letting gusts of air out of it.
"What the f-?" he screams once he registers the worms squirming on top of him.
He swats them away like they might actually bite him. Before he has a chance to recover from the shock, Jared, Sam, Tyler and I rush into the tent and carry his struggling body by his arms and legs.
"Hey! Come on guys! Stop it! It's not funny! Let me go!" he shouts, which wakes up all the sleeping campers.
But we ignore him and carry him all the way to the river, where we proceed to throw him in the cold water. Some come out of their tents to follow us and see what's going on. Everybody starts laughing the minute Connor emerges from beneath the surface and starts sprouting threats randomly at people.
"Now, now big brother," I playfully scold him. "You know you're not allowed to retaliate on War Day this time."
"I should have known," he mutters. "Michael, you are the devil's spawn. I swear, if I had any choice in the matter, you would be dead by now."
"But you don't," I remind him. "Ain't that the beauty of it?"
Laughs resonate through the trees. Sadie steps out of the crowd and stands next to me, grabbing my arm and jumping up and down excitedly. "Who can we prank next?" she cheers.