Prologue
Rylin POV
The school bell rings and signals my last day as a freshman. I close my locker and practically run to the other side of the building. Junie waits impatiently next to the water fountain.
“C’mon Ry! I’m going to the lake today. I have decided I’m finally gonna climb the rope and jump,” She bounces excitedly next to me.
We’ve been best friends for awhile. I can’t help but want to be near her. I worry what that means but can’t find it in me to stop being around her. She’s thirteen, two years younger than me and an absolute handful.
“Junie, you don’t have to do that. You’re terrified of the deep water.” She rolls her eyes and stomps forward, dragging me along.
“Well, Tanner said I’m a sissy if I don’t and I’m no sissy. I’ll prove you both wrong.”
“Since when do you need to prove anything to anyone?”
“Since he’s the cutest guy in my grade.” She rolls her eyes. I scoff. Something stirs in me and I suddenly dislike this Tanner.
“Well, I’m going too. Winnie will kill me if I let you drown on a stupid dare.”
We burst through the hospital doors and Junie starts shouting for Winnie. I can’t help the laugh that escapes. She grins wickedly.
“Mama!”
“Juniper, please keep it down, my patience wears thin, girl.” Winnie appears from her office.
“Hi Winnie.” I greet her and she hugs me.
“Rylin and I are going to the lake. A bunch of people from school will be there today.”
“Why don’t you try asking?” Winnie eyes her daughter sharply . Juniper’s dark hair shines under the light and she flips it over her shoulder.
“I just did,” She says puzzled. Winnie and I laugh.
“You didn’t phrase it as a question you just told her what you wanted to do.”
“Oh! Sorry,” She grins sheepishly at Winnie.
“Momma, can we go to the lake with the others?”
“Sure, just be careful. I have patient charts to go over and will be late getting home anyway.” She hugs us and shoos us away.
“Rylin, I’m trusting you to keep her in line.” She adds and disappears into her office.
We run home to change and meet each other at the old oak tree. Our spot. Most of the high school kids are already swimming and the lake is full when we arrive.
As Junie talks with some girls hanging out on the dock I run over to my friends and we hang out. But my eyes always stay on her.
“Man, why do you hang with her?” My friend Kyle eyes Junie with disdain.
Junie is loud, always into some kind of mischief, and an undiagnosed case of adhd, for sure. But, she’s important to me.
“Because we are friends,” I shrug.
“Well, I’m just saying, there’s a lot of girls our age that would be your friend. Juniper is too immature for you.”
“She is fine the way she is,” I blow him off.
“I heard Lorraine talking in second period. She’s going to ask you out today. Wouldn’t you rather be with someone like her?” I shake my head.
“I’m not interested in dating,” Is all I say. I think about why I like being with Junie.
Juniper is wild as they come but I like her that way. She’s free spirited, smart, and underneath all that crazy, she’s actually kind of shy. We met a few years ago when her mom was stitching up my dad. He got in a fight with a lone wolf and needed surgery to heal right.
Junie came to visit me every day and made sure I was okay. We began playing video games, then swimming in the shallows of the lake, we even found a secret spot under that tree. She read poems and I listened. She got me through the scariest days of my life. I can’t stop being friends with her just because my other friends don’t approve.
I come out of my thoughts when Lorraine comes up to me. Her dark hair is in a braid and she wears next to nothing. Her tan skin on display. Brown eyes find mine and I force a smile.
“Hey, I was hoping you’d join me in the water.” She says brightly.
“Oh, uh, I don’t really want to swim,” I lie. She pouts at me like I kicked a puppy.
“The girl you babysit is busy. Why don’t we have some fun?” She grabs my arm and I suddenly find myself looking for Juniper again.
She’s tied her long hair into a messy bun and plants a hand on her almost naked hip. Where the heck did her tshirt and shorts go? She’s in the tiniest red bikini I’ve ever seen. Tanner brushes a stray hair from her face and leans in to kiss her. I go into an internal rage.
“Junie!” I yell across the shore. She ignores me and continues to kiss Tanner while virtually everyone else looks up to see who is causing a commotion. I stomp over and part them further than God parted the Red Sea.
“What’s the issue, dude?” Tanner shoves me and I slam him into a nearby tree. Juniper shrieks and people start to stare.
“My issue is you putting your lips where they don’t belong!” I never shout. What is wrong with me?
“Rylin! Stop it you tiny, Native American hulk!” Junie slaps at me and tries to pry my fingers from his throat. It’s no use.
Someone finally shoves me off him and I realize it’s my sister.
“We need to go,” She says angrily. Koda drags me away. My eyes find Junie’s amber ones.
“Wait, where do you think you’re going with him? He’s got some explaining to do!”
“Go home, Juniper. I mean it.” Rhiannon tells her.
“Ry!” She chases after us. Rhiannon sighs and scoops her up. I watch her kick and claw at my sister until they disappear into the trees.
“Rylin, your shifting is beginning. You could’ve killed that boy. I need you to listen as Nikan teaches you how to adjust,” Koda coaches me as he throws me onto the forest floor. I shoot him a dirty look.
“Rylin, the first time hurts, a lot. Your parents are on the way and so is Nik. We will guide you. Don’t do anything stupid.
“Like what?” I ask.
“Like running after the kid you almost killed or going to Junie. You won’t have much restraint until you learn to be one with the wolf.” Rhiannon chimes in as she reappears, arms red and littered with claw marks. Oh, Junie.
I go to tell her to stay out of it but can’t because I feel my mind shatter. I’m lost in the dark as I scream from the blinding pain. My bones break one by one until I collapse from the agony. When I awaken, voices fill my head and I rise onto giant, grey paws.
I have shifted into my wolf for the first time and the only thought I can form is: this freaking sucks!
