Who is She?
There is a very loud silence.
It is almost deafening, when all the murmers and whispers stop, after they read out my name.
Each decade, we - which means my werewolf clan Lupinotuum Magna - vote for a new leader of our most precious group. The Warriors. They are very prestigious and everybody would love to join. They enjoy an incredible training and their skills are immense, even werewolves are in awe when they witness what they can do. Nobody really knows how and what skills they are taught, unless you are part of them. There is some major secrecy about this "club" and I never even dreamed about joining them. Why? Because they are only males.
But now I sit here, in this big, round hall, somewhere in fourth row, eating away at my burger, when somebody reads out my name again, loud and clear.
"Haley Michaels"
The voice echoes between the massive stone walls. At first, I believe I'm hearing things. But then, heads start turning around, looking for who's name this is. And the few people who know me by name, look at me in disbelief. I just shrug. This must be a mistake.
Now, it is like this:
Two weeks before every election, nominees are announced. Those nominees aren't just appearing out of nowhere, they are nominated by the committee - a selective circle of 10 members. Mostly old men, but since this cycle, there are also two women and three young men. So at least some progress here. But I know none of those people in person. I have heard of them, but I don't know them. And they certainly don't know of me.
I was best of my class, yes, but this doesn't mean anything. I had just turned 25, I am basically a werewolf baby. Our training is only in human form, because our wolves are only controlled by instinct and our innermost will. We can't reason with them, they do what they want and all we can do is watch them do it. So, to avoid any problems, we don't transform.
Despite public belief, werewolves don't only transform during fullmoons. Well, some do, but not the purebloods. Which sounds kind of racist, but it simply means that your parents were already werewolves as well. We do have some mixed bloods as well, but they are not treated any different. They learn to control the transformation, so after some adjustment, they also don't have to give in to the wolf, at least in normal scenarios.
I snap back to reality, when every single soul in this room looks at me, swallowing my last piece of burger.
"Haley, did you put your name into the bowl?", asks Connor, our current Alpha. He's an old wolf, his hair and fur already turning grey, his ways are outdated and he never liked me. He thinks I'm too rebellious and can't follow orders. He's not too off with that, I don't like to follow orders blindly. When I have a better idea, I do that.
"Of course not, old man", I answer, while hearing so many gasps from the audience. They don't like the disrespect I show, but Connor never seemed to mind that I call him that.
"Then how come your name is in the bowl? Were you nominated?", Kate, his partner, stands up and looks at me concerned.
"If I had known, I would have prepared. At least put on a nice shirt", I point at my Rock'n'Roll band shirt and some of the younger members snicker, "maybe one of you buggers has a secret crush on me and thought I'd make a nice Warrior Chief"
It is an obvious joke, as I'm pointing to the committee, but some don't seem too sure. This is the first time a young female was nominated, let alone a young werewolf. And this is also the first time the young men and women were involved. So it's plausible that it's either due to a crush or to push female involvement.
"This is serious, Haley", Connor reclaims the attention, "it is the law that only experienced wolves join the ranks of a Chief, and being a Warrior Chief is dangerous"
"And supporting this law is stupid", I proclaim, ignoring the gasps from the surrounding people, while standing up and walking towards the centre of the circle, "you are trying to survive in a fast changing world, where the youth dictates how things run. So why put old men in charge, when they can't even call their children on the phone, because they don't know how to facetime"
Many of the young crowdmembers burst out laughing. They know what I'm talking about, those old people just can't adapt.
"And who ever said that only males can be Warrior Chief?", I continue, stretching my chin, "we all know who really runs things in here, don't we, Kate?"
Me, directly addressing the Alpha's mate causes another stir. The old wolves are disgusted, the young ones seem to agree. And Kate? She just smiles, slightly, showing that she knows what I'm talking about.
"So what are you suggesting, welp?", an old member of the committee scoffs, "putting you in charge? Heck, why don't you choose the next Alpha all by yourself?"
"Yeah, why don't I", I provoke, glaring at him, "sure as hell won't be you, pisspott, since we all know that you can't even keep your dick in your pants"
I am referring to the incident that happened half a year ago. This wolf has decided that it was not enough to mate with another werewolf. No, he went to town, got himself a prostitute and slept with her. No big deal, you think? Well, not for humans. But werewolves often turn when they mate. Having sex is really passionate and can get wild, so this is when the wolf takes over. At least if you haven't met your mate yet - and are still together. And this dickhead? He almost turned right in the middle of a brothel.
"Haley, please", Connor raises his hand and asks me to calm down, "no need to keep reliving this"
"Sure, why talking about old folks' mistakes when it's us who can be blamed for everything?", I point to the younger people around, "you know what?", I cock my chin, "I'm accepting the nomination. I have no clue how my name got into that, but it must have been a committee's choice, so I accept"
Connor looks at me puzzled for a moment, until he nods and motions for me to sit down. I keep standing, so he shakes his head, but I catch a glimpse of the corner of his mouth curling up.
"We can't let this welp be nominated! She will ruin our society if...", many people start yelling alongside this man.
"Richard, please", Kate stands up and everybody goes instantly silent, "she is only nominated, not elected. Yet"
This little addition makes a lot of people look around. The questions are obvious in their heads.
Will she vote for me? Is she supporting me? Did she ask one of the members to put in my name?
But why should she do that?
I just shake my head and leave this circus.
I go down these cold halls and my steps echo in an eerie way. Who thought it would be wise for a werewolf pack to live in an abandoned amphitheatre? It is so cold all the time and nobody seems to be bothered.
Wolves like to sleep close to their loved ones, but I prefer my solitude. My room is furthest away from everybody else's bedroom, but this also means my way is the longest.
After I have entered my room, I close the door, lock it and lean against it.
"What have you done!?", I whisper to myself and close my eyes. Just to prove a point, I have accepted the nomination. This might be the stupidest idea of my entire life. Why?
Hm, that's simple.
I have never turned. I never felt the rush, my blood boiling up, my heat taking over. I haven't even heard or felt my wolf. I don't even know if she's there, I can only assume. I must definitely be a werewolf, because I can hear people's hearts, I smell their fear and so many things that a human can't smell, my eyes are way too good for a human. But a werewolf should turn when they are between 16-18. I'm way overdue.
I look into the mirror opposite my bed and sigh. My blond hair is long and sightly wavy, but I don't like to wear it open, so I always wear a braid or a bun. Now that I'm alone, I open it and enjoy the released tension on my scalp. I go through my hair with my fingers, slightly rub to get rid of the feeling, before I look back into the mirror. It's already hip long again. I feel like it's growing so fast.
I unbutton my jeans and let them slide off my legs, before I take off my shirt. I look at myself for a moment. Most werewolf women all have the same kind of body. Slightly muscular, very athletic, tall and lean. I have broad hips, big boobs and more than a handfull of ass to grab. A very feminine figure, which I really like, but werewolves don't look like this, normally. Some are out of the ordinary, we have one who is really small and one who is even bigger than the males. But curves? No, wolves don't have those. I always wondered where I got mine.
I never knew my parents, they died in a wolf war, shortly after I was born. Since then, I was raised here, by the pack. Maybe my mum looked like this?
Right as I'm about to take off my underwear, there's a knock at my door.
I unlock it and open.
"By the wolves, you can't just open like this, Haley", Kate looks at me in disbelief.
"Looks like I just did", I lean against the side of the door and fold my arms, "what's up?"
"What if a male had knocked?! They could hurt you"
"They might as well try. I'm not going to hide myself because some brute can't control himself", I reply and repeat my question, "what's up?"
Kate looks over her shoulder, before she shoves me into the room and closes the door behind her.
"Did you really not put your name in? Bribe a member?"
"No!", appalled, I look at her, "I wouldn't want all that attention and anger from the old bastards"
"Haley..."
"I'm serious, Kate"
"It's Alpha-Mate"
"The name thing is stupid, Kate", I reply and she smirks, "I really, really didn't do anything about this. I barely even recognised that it was this time again. I just finished my last exam and this was what I was focused on, I swear. To be honest... I thought you had something to do with it"
"Hm, so does the Alpha", Kate scratches her chin, "do you have any friends amongst the new members?"
"I don't even have friends amongst the non-members", I jokingly say, Kate gives me a concerned look, but I just wave aside, "I'm a loner and I like it that way. I have a couple of human friends, that's enough"
"You know that we don't like that"
"They don't know, don't worry", I just roll my eyes and Kate nods.
"I will try to find out who nominated you"
"And then? Kill them?", I joke, but Kate looks at me shocked.
"I will find out why. I doubt that you will be elected, so you won't have to worry about that"
"Agreed. I'm officially an engineer at the University now, so I got other things to worry about"
"I never understood why you don't want the Pack's resources to support you", Kate looks at me puzzled, "why do you want to work in the human world?"
"Because they don't judge me for what I am not"
"But they judge you for what you are"
"Right. But most of them don't seem to care that I do not have a penis between my legs"
"Haley, it's not about the fact that you're a she..."
"Woman. I'm a woman, not a shewolf"
"It's not about that. But men are just naturally stronger and have more muscles, so they can protect us and..."
"And they are naturally more stupid and aggressive and have a temper and tend to start wars - just so they are needed. If women ruled this, there would be no need for muscles and protection!"
Kate looks at me for a while, until she sighs.
"You may be right. I don't disagree entirely. But it is not the time and age to discuss this"
"Then when is?"
Kate just turns around and leaves my room. I look back in the mirror and sigh.
Old people. They suck.
