Chapter 1 Jenny was a friend of mine
Five years earlier
“Move your ass, Jenny.”
Feather Wishner, Jenny Monroe’s best
friend since they’d found each other gathering flowers in a pasture, tugged on
her arm. Feather had always been more adventurous, but Jenny had to wonder if
she’d finally gone too far.
“I don’t think this is a good idea. You
know they won’t want us here.”
The bonfire rose high into the air as the
loud music boomed around them. At least two dozen teenage shifters danced
around the fire, most of them drinking beer. Their cheers and laughter rang
out, at once exhilarating and nerve-wracking.
“Don’t go all chicken on me now, Nic. We
said we were going to do this so we’re going to do
this.”
“But they’re werewolves.”
“Yeah? So? That’s not new information, you
know.”
Jenny bit her lower lip. “And I’m a
werebear. The two don’t get along.” “And I’m human. We humans get along with
everyone.”
Feather tugged on her arm, and again, she
held back. She laughed, but the sound was frayed
around the edges. “Oh, yeah. Just watch
the evening news and you’ll see how well humans get along.” Feather rolled her
eyes. “You think I don’t know it?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
As an African American, Feather had a
rougher time than most kids in those parts. She was definitely a minority both
as a black girl, but also as a human surrounded by shifters, lycans, fairies,
and other supernatural beings living in the small towns of Forever and
Shatland. But Feather was tough. Most likely by birth and, from what she’d
seen, by necessity. Whatever the reason, all that mattered was that Feather was
a great friend.
“Come on.”
Taking her by both arms, Feather pulled
her out of the bushes and into the clearing. The werewolves had built the
bonfire on a wide space of dirt, keeping the fire from spreading to the
surrounding pasture and trees. She could already feel the heat turning her skin
warm.
“Try to blend in, will ya?”
Blend in? How did a werebear blend in with
werewolves? Were there any lycans around? Any supernatural beings other than
werewolves? If so, maybe the other teens would be more open to having her
around.
As a human, Feather was friends with both
werewolves and werebears. She’d even tried to get one shifter or another to
turn her, but they’d always said no, telling her she wasn’t old enough. Once
Feather celebrated her eighteenth birthday in another two years, she’d have a
better chance of getting a shifter to transform her.
Jenny hesitated again, still unsure about
crashing a werewolf party. If her father found out, he’d skin her alive.
Provided the werewolves didn’t do it first.
Still, maybe they were like her. Maybe
they thought it was stupid for werewolves and werebears to hate each other.
After all, they were both shape-shifters. What did it matter if one
changed into a wolf and the other into a
bear? Didn’t they both have fur? Didn’t they both have long, vicious teeth?
Weren’t they still human, too?
“Nic, come on.” Feather spun around, then
started dancing along with the first free guy she ran into. In a matter of
moments, she was swallowed up by the throng of partiers.
Shit.
She should’ve kept up with Feather.
Standing alone, surrounded by a large group of werewolves, didn’t make her feel
safe at all.
Should I leave? But what about Feather?
Indecision hit her, keeping her rooted to
the spot. Her father’s deep voice boomed in her head, spouting warnings to stay
away from werewolves.
“Werewolves are no-good animals. They’re
dirty and sneaky bastards, every single one of them.”
She’d only asked her father once why he
thought that way. When he’d roared at her, his animal close to the surface,
she’d backed off and listened to her mother admonish her for making her dad
angry.
“Don’t you ever go near a werewolf. And
stay the hell away from Forever. You set foot in their sorry excuse for a town
and you’re going to get your tail bit off.”
She’d never be able to change her parents’
minds. Looking around her, she wasn’t even sure she should. Maybe they were
right. And if they were, she’d just stepped into a pack of wild animals.
A tall skinny boy bumped into her, his
beer can held above his head. He leered at her with alcohol-blurred eyes, then
continued to gyrate around her. She remained as quiet as she could be, suddenly
afraid he’d realize what she was. But he was too caught up in the music.
Chugging his beer, he tossed the can aside, belched, then danced away.
She let out a ragged breath. Although she
probably hadn’t been in any kind of danger, it was still too close of an
encounter. She had to find Feather and get out of there while she could.
But where was she?
It was difficult enough to try to see into
the mass of bodies, but being shorter than most of the guys didn’t help. Either
she had to push her way through them and hope she ran into her friend or she
had to get up higher for a better view.
She looked around and found exactly what
she needed. Three beer kegs rested off to the side. If they’d been full
earlier, she doubted they were any longer. No one was standing around them.
Pushing her way past several dancers, she
tested the barrels to see how steady they were, then carefully climbed on top
of them. Taking her time as her makeshift platform wobbled underneath her, she
finally got to her feet, balancing on two of them. At that height, she towered
over everyone else, giving her a good view of the crowd.
Starting at the far end, she began
searching for Feather. With her friend wearing her favorite red-and-white
shirt, spotting her should’ve been easy. If she called out, her voice probably
wouldn’t be heard anyway, so she just kept looking, narrowing her search area
down little by little.
“Damn it. Where are you?”
Even after getting Feather to promise
they’d stick together, she wouldn’t be surprised to find out that she’d taken
off with one of the boys. Once the headstrong girl got an idea in her head, it
was there to stay.
As much as she loved her friend, she
realized Feather was too hard-headed and too reckless.