Chapter 1 — A Challenge

I didn’t ask for a party. Don't get me wrong. I don’t have anything against parties; they’re just not for me. I don't want to sound like one of those 'I'm not that kind of girl' tropes, but what can I say? I'm not that kind of girl. It's my eighteenth birthday, and there's no wild rager planned, no elegant gala, no fancy event. It's perfect.

My parents don't even nag me by saying I should spend my birthday with friends. I do have friends. I'll see them tomorrow at school, and they'll wish me a happy belated birthday and joke about how lame it is that I didn't invite them to my non-existent party. Today I'm with family though. Today we run. 

Mom laid out some clean clothes for the three of us, folded neatly on the front porch for when we get back. She even tried to sneak an entire cake into the refrigerator as if there was any chance I wouldn't notice the giant cake-shaped box on my birthday. 

"Ready to go?" My father asks, standing by the door. 

I've been ready, but my mom just rolls her eyes and points at his face. 

"Jacob dear, glasses," she says, waiting expectantly for him to take them off and put them safely away. 

It's unlike him to be so careless, but I can't blame him. I can't wait to go out the door and into the wild. 

Once we're all set, my dad is the first one to shift into his wolf form and disappear into the forest. Mom smiles at me, and I know it's time to let go. I remember the first time I shifted, and the pain of my entire body being torn apart only to be put back together. I never expected the rearranging of bones and stretching of skin to be particularly pleasant. Still, I hadn't been prepared for how deep the change went, how every individual cell of my body would get re-written. It's been years since that first time, and now the shift feels faster, familiar. I still wouldn't call it comfortable, but there's something almost cathartic about the way it hurts. I now recognize it as the sort of pain you feel when you stretch a sore muscle or scratch an irritating itch. It's a release. 

I'm ecstatic with satisfaction as the transformation washes over me. This is the best birthday gift I could have asked for: a moment of freedom. The second I'm in my wolf form, I feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It's funny to think that I hold my head taller when I'm on all fours. I run into the forest, and somewhere behind me, I can hear my mom shifting as well to join us. I can hear everything. I can smell everything. My senses delight at all the new information they receive in this form. I feel like I've been starving for this. I've been hungry for the smell of moss beneath my paws and the way I can almost taste the fog in the air. I drink in the sounds of the forest around us, my ears twitching. 

As a wolf, I forget about the things that worry me as a human. I don't think about high school or the grades I need to keep up to please my father. There are no expectations, no pressure, no one I need to impress or hide from. It's all just survival instinct. There's no room for my usual overthinking. My body, usually hidden with clothes that my mom calls childish, is covered in reddish-brown and black fur, and I feel the wind gliding over it as I run. Marcel once teased that I look more like a fox than a wolf, but I almost don't care what I look like when I'm in this form. I just get to be. 

We run for a few hours, but it goes by as fast as the forest flying past us. Before I know it, we're heading home. First, I change into my human form, then I change into the clothes Mom set up for me. It's a brand-new black dress she got me as a birthday gift. It's not exactly my kind of fashion, which usually consists of plain jeans and colorful sweaters. Mom once said the inside of my closet looks like a kindergartener's art project. She doesn't understand that wearing small, dark clothes is precisely what gets you noticed in high school. Pastel pink and flower prints are basically camouflage. Still, I wear the black dress without question or complaint. I even pretend to be surprised when she pulls out the birthday cake. 

Later that night, my dad comes into my room to say goodnight. 

"Did you have a good birthday, Valerie?" 

I smile and nod in reply. 

"Good. And hey, it's not over yet, your mom is usually the one that wraps gifts, so I didn't really know how…" he trails off, reaching into his pocket and handing me a dainty necklace. Hanging on the silvery chain is a moonstone. 

My eyes widen in surprise as I take the pendant from him, admiring the sparkle of the gem.

"It's beautiful. Thank you," I say, and he frowns. 

"It's more than that. A moonstone is no ordinary piece of jewelry. It's powerful, just like you are. I hope it gives you strength. That's my wish for you on your birthday." 

I sit there in silence, unsure of what to say. He watches me with weary eyes as I put on the necklace before he speaks again. 

"I need you to be strong for me, now more than ever. I have to go, but I wanted to give you that and wish you happy birthday one more time before I left."

This time I'm the one that frowns. Dad seems even more serious than usual, and something about the look in his eyes makes me nervous. I don't understand what's happening, but it feels important, so I wait for him to explain what's happening and where he's going. 

"I'm challenging Anthony Ernouf."

I open my mouth to speak and tell him that this is crazy, to say that he can't challenge the Alpha of our pack. No sound comes out, and my lips fall closed again. The words technically make sense, but my brain can't seem to understand them. Anthony isn't just the head of the Lobo Pack; he's a family friend. His family and ours used to celebrate Thanksgiving together. His son, Marcel, isn't just my childhood sweetheart; he's my betrothed. We grew up together. I feel my stomach twist into a nervous knot when I think of him. 

When the Pack Elder, Angelica, had a vision of Marcel and me getting married, no one was surprised. A few years ago, she went into a trance under the full moon, and she drew a picture of Marcel and me becoming the new Alpha and Luna of the Lobo Pack. It was a vision from the Moon Goddess, and ever since then, our families have become even closer. Marcel and the Ernouf family are my destiny. And now, my dad wants to challenge his father.

"I'm sorry, you're going to…what?" Although my shock is massive, my voice feels small.

"I know you must be confused," he says, and it's such an understatement that I almost laugh. "It's difficult to explain, but I need you to be strong. I need you to trust me and stay here with your mom. This will all make sense later. I just have to make things right first." 

He gets up from the edge of my bed, and I only shrink against my pillows, wishing I could disappear under the covers. How can any of this ever make sense? Challenging an Alpha is one of the most dangerous things a wolf can do; it can change the future of the entire pack. Our law is as savage as nature. It’s kill or be killed, but in a battle to the death, there can be no real winner. Either my dad will have to murder his friend, the leader of our pack and father of my future mate, or he is going to die.

"Dad, you can't—” I try to think of the right thing to words. My mind searches for a way to make him understand how impossible this is, but there is nothing I can say that he doesn't already know. 

"Valerie, listen to me. This is the right thing to do. Promise me you'll stay here until it's over," he says. I immediately shake my head no, but he's already walking away.

"This is insane. Don't—”

"Please, Valerie. I have to do this. One day you'll understand, but right now, I need you to stay home. Stay safe, stay strong. Do you trust me?" 

"That's not fair."

"Life is not fair," he says, and his tone is so sharp that I feel the fight drain out of me. I won't argue with him. I can't. 

"I trust you, Dad. I promise," I finally reply, and I can see him relax slightly. "Just please be careful."

He gives me a bitter smile. 

"You too, pumpkin."

He hasn't called me that nickname since I was a little girl, but before I can even process that, the door slams shut. 

He's gone.