Chapter 1: Charlie

High school dances were overrated. Sweaty perfume, crepe paper, and a whole lot of trying too hard all in the same room. What was the point?

I shifted my weight and fidgeted with the lace on my sleeve. Again. Why did I come here? Joey Lusk aside, school dances weren’t my scene. I’d spent more time hiding in the corner than on the dance floor.

But when Joey asked me to come, rumpled brown hair in his eyes, every other word being, “um” and the beginning and ending something like “if you don’t have anything better to do,” how could I have said no? I was futureless, not heartless.

Besides, my mother had been acting so weird lately, any excuse to get away was a good one. She had always been a little high strung, but this was a new level of crazy. On top of shortened curfews and a cell phone with a wide-range GPS tracker, my mom was making me practice shape shifting to my wolf form on a daily basis. We hadn’t practiced that together since elementary school.

Back then, I’d needed all the help I could get controlling the animal side of myself. As a young child, any temper tantrum or missed nap was enough to send me over the edge. I’d once thrown a fit in the grocery store when my mother had told me no over a candy bar and cried so hard, I’d sprouted fur. My mother picked me up and carried me out wrapped in her jacket. We ate canned soup for dinner that night because my mom was too scared to risk going back.

Being a shifter—a werewolf as some would call it nowadays with the whole paranormal craze going on—wasn’t exactly an easy life. Especially when your first and only priority was keeping it a secret. I cringed to think what life would be like if people knew I had the ability to grow paws and a snout at will. I hated the spotlight as it was. Whether that was a product of genetics or a built-in security measure after years of living with my high-strung mother, I wasn’t sure.

The music blaring through the speakers changed to something more like techno and I cringed all over again. Techno was not my thing. Neither were dances. Or any organized social functions. My list of friends was pretty short and none of them were close. It sucked—but not as much as it would suck to find a bestie and leave her again when Mom decided we’d worn out our welcome in this town. I never knew when the end was approaching until it was too late. Last time, she’d already packed the entire house and had the moving truck idling at the curb when I’d returned home from school.

There was no time for goodbyes with an unpredictable life like mine, which meant there was no time for friends, either.

Joey brought me a Styrofoam cup full of punch that tasted like powdered mix and water. Someone had thrown in a cherry to fancy it up, but it was wrinkled and pruned from sitting too long in the juice. “Thanks,” I told him, forcing my words to sound cheerful.

“No problem.” He smiled and stuck his hands into his pockets. “Are you having fun?”

“I am.” My tone wasn’t convincing.

His brows knitted in real concern. Joey was a nice guy. Where most kids had given up and begun to ignore me, he’d always said hello. Always been around. He wasn’t … hot, but he was kind. Way more points for that, in my book.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“It’s nothing. I’m just not feeling very well.” I hated lying, but I couldn’t help it. I needed air. Open space. Somewhere without walls and crowds of people. “I think I should probably get home. It’s getting late anyway.”

“Just let me get the car and I’ll take you,” he said. He looked disappointed, but since it probably didn’t occur to him that I might be dishonest, he seemed more concerned about me than with the date being cut short.

“No, Joey, its fine. I can manage. Besides, Kassie Gordon asked me to make sure you saved her a dance. You can’t leave without dancing with her.” I pointed to where Kassie was sitting on the set of bleachers the staff had left out for the occasion.

It was dotted with a few girls who were unlucky enough to rank below me on the social ladder. Kassie spotted us and waved from her seat, a shy smile on her face that allowed a small peek of the metal lining her teeth. She met Joey’s gaze for a second before getting flustered and busying herself with smoothing out her cream-colored skirt.

“Kassie wants to dance with me?” Joey asked.

“Very much. And it will make me feel better if I know at least one of us gets to have a good time.” This part wasn’t a lie. Joey deserved to have fun and he deserved it with someone like Kassie—someone who he’d have a shot at a romantic future with. Someone who could agree to a second date.

I, on the other hand, was future-less.

I made a quick exit, happy to see Joey returning Kassie’s shy glances before I slipped out the gym door. I paused on the front steps of the school, trying to pick a direction. The pavement was wet from a hard rain earlier in the evening, but the sky was clear now. I breathed in deeply through my nose. One of my favorite things about moving to Kallypso, Oregon had been the myriad of earthy scents. On dry days, it was all dirt and wind, but tonight, after a fresh rain, everything smelled wet and heavy. It would’ve been delicious even if I hadn’t been a wolf—or so I told myself.

I knew I should do the human thing and walk home, like any other kid my age would do. It wasn’t far, a little over a mile. But the forest that edged the parking lot to my left was calling. I couldn’t resist.

I bounded down the steps and darted in among the parked cars, heading straight for the tree line at the edge of the blacktop. I glanced around as I ran, making sure no one witnessed my strange exit—you never knew who’d step out the gym door to sneak a cigarette—but my senses told me the coast was clear.

I sniffed once more to be sure. Yep. I was alone.

The moment I stepped off the pavement and onto the soft soil, my body relaxed. A collective exhale of the stress and anxiety brought on by the dance. My muscles swelled and strained and I gave in eagerly to the shifting.

The change was fast and easy these days, but it wasn’t always that way. It was kind of embarrassing as a kid. Lots of torn clothes and nudity. But there was a trick to it, and my mom and I had practiced enough that everything went much smoother these days. Now, I knew how to shift at will—and still have my clothes on when I shifted back.

I held my breath and focused on keeping everything together as I shifted into my wolf form. Skin and muscles rippled. The air around me shivered. I fell onto all fours, and when my hands landed, it was paws that hit the ground instead of fingers.

Starting out with an easy run, I increased my speed. Faster and faster—until the depressions of my prints were so slight, they barely left a mark. I’d been denying myself this all week. It was too difficult to give in often here, among so many humans. But tonight, with the rain to mask my scent, and all of the nocturnal creatures hiding from the deluge, I could run. I gave in to my stolen minutes of guilty freedom and let everything fall away but my wolf.