Chapter one
5 years earlier
Storm's point of view
"Hey, freak. Hide that fucking ugly, fat ass of yours before we beat it numb." I turn to look where the shouting is coming and feel a stinging pain in the corner of my left eye. I notice a rock laying on the ground next to my foot and raise my hand to brush the side of my face. I look at my hand with wide eyes, it's covered in blood and then realise someone threw a rock at me.
"Hey, bitch, I'm talking to you. Get your overweight, stinky ass out of here. No one wants you here." I look at the tall, skinny girl known as Victoria coming towards me and I notice some others following her. She's been my tormentor for as long as I remember. Another rock hits me hard on my left shoulder and I wince from the pain.
"Get that bitch..."
It's the last thing I hear before I rush through the yard and towards the trees as fast as I can. I've had enough and I don't care where I end, I just have to get away from here. I can't take another beating and I'm tired of the constant name calling and humiliation. I don't understand why they can't just leave me alone.
I enter the woods, passing the trees and bushes in a blur as tears burn my eyes, not minding the branches hitting my face and body, leaving red marks and scratches on my skin. After an hour or so, it starts to rain, heavily. And when I say it rains, it actually pours. I'm soaked, cold to the core and exhausted but I push forward as I know I have no other choice. I want to get as far away as possible as fast as possible.
Then I suddenly feel a small snap followed by a loud crack. My leg slips on the wet ground and I fall to my knees, hitting the other on a rock. I scream from the pain and then suddenly there is another crack. I scream again as a whole new level of pain spreads from my spine to my arms and legs and I feel my femur bone snap.
"Nononono, this is not real, this is not happening. It's too soon." It's the last thing I remember saying and then there is nothing but darkness around me.
*********
Present day
Xander's point of view
I park my car in front of the local auto repair shop and hop out. I stop and sniff the air only to catch a strong scent of rain but when I look up, I frown as I see the sky is clear blue and I know it hasn't rained in the past few days. Strange.
The repair shop looks kinda run down and I contemplate on looking for another. The only problem is, it's the only place I came up with in this little town and I don't know how far would I get if I was to continue my journey back home.
I finally walk up to the open doors of the large hall and look around to find someone to help me. The smell of rain is even stronger in here and I contemplate on the possibility of a brain injury.
"Need something?" I turn to look at an old man wearing greasy overalls, wiping his hands on a dirty, grey piece of cloth. His face is wrinkly and his blue eyes look tired. I can smell the wolf scent on him and there is something calming about his whole demeanor, I feel myself relax. I notice he is eyeing me closely and I see a flash of recognition in his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm just passing through and I need someone to check my truck. I think it's leaking oil and don't wanna get stuck on the road in the middle of nowhere." I point my finger towards my black Dodge Challenger and the old man nods.
"Yeah, the kid can handle it. When do you need it?" The man starts to walk further into the large garage hall and I follow him close by.
"As soon as possible, I'd like to continue my journey today if at all possible." I look around and there are at least four cars in the hall under construction. I groan and run my fingers through my hair as I realize this might take a while.
"So you heading back to your pack?" He suddenly asks and turns to look at me. I'm so surprised by his question I just stare at him and finally slowly nod my head. "You ever been here before?" He continues and I shake my head. Apparently I'm not able to talk anymore.
"I don't know if you know this pack, we are a small one and we live among the humans. Most of the humans don't know about us so I'd like to stress out a certain discression in behaviour while you stay here. We do not have an Alpha but we are a tight little community and we manage just fine so we don't want to jeopardize our lives here."
"Well you don't have to worry about me, I respect your way of life and I'm out of here as soon as my car is repaired." I raise my hands up in surrender and he hums and nods his head.
"Hey Storm, get your ass out of there, I got a job for you." The old man suddenly shouts, making me almost jump up and I look around to see who he's talking to.
"Ye, ye, shut it. I'll be out in a sec." I hear someone snap and turn to see a pair of legs showing from under a car a few feet away. The smell of rain is so strong now, it's all I can smell. Maybe I should sit down in case this really is a stroke.
Suddenly I hear a growl and turn to look around only to realize it's coming from my wolf in my head. I feel him in the back of my mind, pacing back and forth. What the hell is wrong with him, he's been calm and quiet all day.
I turn back to look at the old man but he's nowhere to be seen. The person under the car is mumbling something, cursing and trying to reach out for a wrench on the floor next to a tool box. I pick it up and hand it over only to jump back when my finger brushes against the other person's hand and I feel like an electric current runs from my finger through my whole body. I hear a thud and some curse words from under the car and then there is silence.
My wolf is howling now, scratching to get to the surface and I slowly lean down to get a glimpse of the person under the car.
"Hey kid, get your ass moving. We ain't got all day." I almost jump out of my skin and fall as I straighten up so fast the room seems to spin when the old man suddenly shouts from the other end of the hall. What the hell is wrong with me, I'm never like this.
"Fucking hell." I hear a faint mumble from under the car. "Ye, ye, just chill or you're gonna have a stroke." The person shouts and sighs.
I just stare as the person slowly emerges from under the car, then quickly scrambles up to his feet and turns to walk away. I'm so confused, I just stand there and stare at the apparently young, pale boy with a face smudged by oil and dirt, in a way too big hoodie and overalls, black strands of hair sticking from under a grey beanie. He is short, somewhere around 5'7 and for some reason he smells like rain.
"MATE!" My wolf Mars roars and I'm even more confused. "Matematemate..." He continues and jumps up and down in my head. What the hell is going on, that scrawny boy can't possibly be my mate, can he?
"Alf, can you handle this one. I don't feel too good." I snap out of my confusion when I hear the boy shout to the old man before he disappears through a door at the back of the hall. Then I'm moving as fast as I can, not wanting to loose the sight of him. Mars is growling and scratching, trying to surface, agitated that our supposed mate is running away from us. This can't be happening, I need to find out if there is someone else here or if he has a sister or something to explain my wolf's behaviour.
When I get to the door and open it, a small blue car speeds out from the parking lot and turns to the main street and just like that, he is gone.
I stand there for a few seconds before I turn around and walk back inside. I look around and walk up to the old man when I finally see him. He is standing next to the car the kid was just repairing, looking rather confused.
"Well, that was strange. I guess I will take care of your car." He scratches the back of his head and holds out his hand to get the keys from me.
"Is there anyone else here?" I hastily ask and the old man furrows his brows and slowly shakes his head. "Who was that?" I continue to ask the man as he starts to walk to my car and I'm following behind him right on his heels.
"That was Storm, my mechanic. Don't know what that was about though. I can check your truck right away, it'll take just a moment if there's nothing major to repair."
"Ok. Can you tell where I can find him, I'd like a word?" I ask and the old man looks at me, confusion clear on his face.
"The Greyhound." Is all he says and I take my phone out to check what he means by that. Apparently it's a bar, I guess I'm going to stay in town for the night.
