Chapter 1
j u n e
Ever since I was little, I have had a tremendous fear of the dark. Fear of the shadows and shapes of the night. Fear of what I couldn’t see or predict.
This fear got particularly bad after my parents died and my sister and I were sent to an orphanage. Lilly was almost five years older than me, so she had to stay in a different dormitory than me. So I wasn’t there when the darkness took her away from me, like the other girls. I hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye.
The darkness was a mystery to all of us, but it was clear to me that I must also be a part of the victim list. It was in the air, like imminent rainy weather. I felt like I was walking around with a gigantic target on my back, just waiting for the shot with a bow and arrow.
Shadows danced along the ceiling and practiced their shadow play. The blanket was lifted from my body and a petite figure squeezed into the bed next to me. “Damn Zoe.” I hissed, slapping her shoulder. “You scared me.”
She giggled softly and stroked her thick black hair. “I just wanted to make sure you were still here.” She said it like it was the most natural thing in the world and shrugged. I sighed. “I’m just saying. Only a week until your eighteenth birthday.” Jenny rolled over in her bed and turned to us. “She’s right June, all the girls that disappeared were taken on their birthday, aren’t you scared?”
I watched as more girls leaned over to us curiously. “Stop it. Summer just turned eighteen two months ago and she’s doing great.” My bare feet touched the cold stone floor and walked towards our bathroom. “Summer Rodgers isn’t pretty or bright. She probably can’t even tell brown bread from white bread,” growled Zoe annoyed with me.
“Don’t be so mean,” I yelled, combing my long light brown hair. “What? I’m right. What would the werewolves want from a girl like Summer?” I heard Zoe say and I winced.
I stuck my head out the door in shock. “Werewolves?”
“But of course June, who else would be able to do something this cruel?” Miranda’s answer was a surprise as we all thought she was asleep when she had been listening to our conversation the whole time. Her pale face turned towards us for a moment before she snuggled back into her pillow.
“That’s a very strong accusation Zoe.” She just shrugged dismissively. Her slim body was tucked into a beige nightgown that contrasted nicely with her dark skin. "Who else would have benefited from eighteen-year-old girls when not werewolves find their soulmates at that age? They’ll probably drag the poor brats into their lairs and mate them before ripping them to a thousand shreds.” Jenny had put on her narrator’s voice and was gesturing wildly with her hands. The image of my sister danced in my mind and I squeezed my lids shut to get rid of the horrible thoughts.
I felt hands on my shoulders. “June, we all love you to death, which is why we don’t want you to face the same fate as the others. You have family in the west, don’t you? Go to them and stay safe.” Zoe whispered, stroking my chin with her delicate fingers. “It’s a three-day walk.”
“Then you’d better hurry before the wolves get the idea to get to you early.” I bit my lower lip and nodded. The other girls hugged me and we stood like that for a few minutes and enjoyed the rare silence.
