Prologue
May 20, 1950
Seventy-Five years ago
A woman with salt and pepper hair and an ethereal glow walks towards a table. Half the men bow down to her as she passes them. The other half stares defiantly at the woman, who is staring at the man sitting at the head table and gives him a slight nod.
“Ah! Selene, have you come to admit defeat and bow down to me as your new ruler?” the man sitting says.
“Not in the way you think, General Edward McGuire. I am here to save the rest of my people. There has been too much bloodshed among my children. I’m here to negotiate a peace treaty.”
“We won’t carry on the archaic ways of finding mates, Selene. We want more say about who we spend our lives with.”
“McGuire, you have always had free will to choose. Were you not able to reject the mate I gave you?”
Edward McGuire nods but then scratches his beard in contemplation. “There are consequences to the rejection. Are there not?”
With a nod, Selene agrees but says, “Aren’t there always consequences for hurting another being?”
McGuire sits up straighter and says, “Enough with the banter, Selene. What do you propose?”
“General McGuire, I’m seeking a truce to end the civil war. Here are my terms. I still get to choose a mate. However, I’ll give you more autonomy by having the mate pull less strongly. My one stipulation is that you court the potential mate for two weeks to get to know the person.”
McGuire laughs before replying, “Then we are free to reject the person without consequences.”
“Or you take two weeks apart to think about the information you gathered while courting. In a ceremony in front of family and friends, you can either reject or accept each other. There will be no ire on my part, which is what I think you mean by consequences. I must warn you that there will always be consequences to hurting another being.”
Again, McGuire sits back, scratching his beard, trying to annoy the goddess more. He glances at his remaining men, who have also dwindled significantly since the start of the war. They nod in favor of the terms. “You got yourself a deal, Selene,” he says, stretching out his hand, which the goddess takes.
“Fetch me some paper so we can write down the terms and have peace at last,” General McGuire orders.
A few minutes later, the table is full of chatter as both sides start writing the treaty. Everyone makes sure to get the wording perfect. By the time they were finished and ready to sign, the sun was beginning to set. Underneath the setting sun, Selene and General McGuire signed the treaty. “My men and I are about to have a feast, dear Selene. It was supposed to celebrate my victory. However, we can instead celebrate the treaty. There is plenty to go around. Would you care to join us?”
The goddess shakes her head but adds, “I have work to do, but if the men who fought bravely to defend me want to join, they may. I hope all my people enjoy the peace and celebrate tonight. May peace prosper and last forever.”
With that, the goddess gets up and starts walking away. Once Selene is a fair distance away, fog surrounds her, and once the fog lifts, she is gone. “Gotta leave it to Selene; she knows how to enter and exit,” McGuire says.
Long into the night and very early next morning, everyone celebrates the treaty and the peace it brought. All hope for a better future fills the air.
May 24, 2007
17 years 11 months and 26 days earlier
A couple sits in the pack doctor’s office while the woman holds their precious newborn. They are looking at the doctor. “Mr. and Mrs. Stone, we got the results from the tests we ran. As you may recall, I ran some blood tests because I noticed Avalon’s hands and feet were puffy along with slight webbing on her neck, toes, and hands which are signs commonly found with patients with Turner syndrome. I’m sorry to tell you this, but the tests have confirmed that Avalon does have Turner syndrome.”
The couple looks at each other, and confusion radiates from their eyes. “What is that?” the woman asks in a whisper.
“It’s a genetic disorder typically found in females and, on rare occasions, males. For females, they are either partially or missing the second X chromosome. It affects one out of every two thousand human women. TS is a spectrum, as it affects each lady differently. Besides having a webbed neck, hands, or feet, ladies with TS tend to be short and overweight. They also lack breast development and a period, along with a host of other health issues that might arise. It leaves most women unable to have children.”
“How did this happen? She is a werewolf, and we aren’t supposed to get sick.” the man asks.
“Even in human cases, they don’t know what causes it. I’ve done research, and Avalon seems to be the first of our kind to have it?”
“What does that mean for her wolf and her?” the woman asks.
“We don’t know how it will affect her wolf until Avalon turns of age. She should live a long and healthy life. I’d love to see her every three months until she turns eighteen. In the meantime, I’ll continue to research the best I can. You are free to raise your otherwise healthy baby girl.”
The couple stand up and leave the office. As they walk to the car, the woman says fearfully, “We need to keep this quiet, or she will become the pack pariah.”
The man nods in agreement, and they drive home in silence. Once they walk through their front door, a young boy and a toddler girl come running up to greet them. “Is sissy okay?” the little boy asks.
“Yes! Your sister is okay,” the parents reassure the little boy. In the back of their minds, they think she will need to be protected from bullying when she is older. The children go running into the playroom. The couple follows and sits on the floor. The woman passes the newborn to the man as they watch their children play. Occasionally, they glance down at the baby swaddled up in her purple blanket. They silently vow to do their best to protect their baby girl.
