Whispers of the Wolf

Let me introduce myself. I am Katia Lane, and I am almost 18 years old. You would think I would be out enjoying life with my friends, attending parties, and hanging out. Nope, not me. What friends? I have none and stopped trying long ago to make any.

I was found when I was very young and brought here to the Night Shade pack.

I am different-looking compared to most shifters. Most are muscular and very good-looking. No one can tell we aren’t entirely human when not in wolf form. Then there’s me. I am tiny, which is what is referred to as the runt—the smallest and weakest. However, I don’t know how weak I truly am. I have never been allowed to train with any pack members. So anyway, besides being a runt, I am weird-looking too.

I don’t think I am that bad. I look different from most girls in the Night Shade pack. I am very small-boned and barely five feet tall. I don’t eat much, so I am thin. My hair is long and black, and I have dark purple eyes. I think my eyes are gorgeous, but no one else does. Everybody says my eyes are so dark that you can't see the irises, and I look evil.

Evil is not a good look, and people shy away from me. I am used to the reaction I get from others. Even the couple who took me in has done their part to keep evil from taking root in me. Nice of them, huh?

I mean, they are only doing their part as the beta couple of the pack to protect it. They made sure I understood my place in the pack and their lives. They ensured I was well-behaved and quiet around the alpha couple or council members. I was taught how to cook and serve anyone who visited the beta family.

So yeah, the Beta family did their best to teach me right and then sent me to live with a new pack. This is why I live in a cabin at the edge of pack territory that I don’t belong in, which makes the Alpha believe longer exist.

But I get ahead of myself.

On my sixteenth birthday, my mom woke me by saying, "Hurry, get dressed. We have a birthday surprise for you." She said there was a unique birthday dress in my closet for me to wear. I jumped from my bed, ran to my closet, and there hung the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. It was the prettiest thing I have ever owned. Most of my clothes were no better than rags. I had a few things I was only allowed to wear when attending a function at the pack house. Just as my room was for show. Sure, I slept there, but that was it.

The dress was so pretty. It was made of white silk with little pink and red ribbons interwoven up the back of the bodice. I stood staring at it, wondering why suddenly my mom had bought me this dress and why she was so happy. I never make her happy. She never bought me something this expensive. Was it some trick? Once I put the dress on, would she rip it off me, telling me I was too ugly to wear it?

I grabbed the dress and went into the bathroom. Since mom wanted me to wear the dress, I guessed she would allow me to bathe today, which meant she wouldn’t want me to wear such a beautiful dress overall this filth, right? I turned on the shower and adjusted it so it was barely warm if someone came to check and make sure I wasn't using hot water. If I heard them coming, I could knock the knob slightly, and the water would be freezing. If I didn't listen to them, it would seem like I had not moved the knob quite far enough to keep the hot water completely off. However, I couldn't help hoping that somehow my parents had realized I was their child too and that I wasn't that ugly or stupid. Maybe 16 was a magic number for the girls in our family. Perhaps they can't be loved until they turn 16. I have heard strange stories about other families and what they call traditions. Maybe this is a family tradition for girls. My brain had grasped this idea, and it was all I could think of. My mom, dad, brothers, and the rest of the pack would love me now. I bet that is the rest of the birthday surprise. The dress is for a ceremony to let me know they love me now.