Stella Rae

They named her Stella Rae Howard.  She was a beautiful baby with wild red curls, peaches and cream skin with vivid green eyes and a smattering of freckles across her nose and chubby cheeks.  She could hold herself up at two months, and started to crawl at three months.  When she hit six months, she took her first steps, which turned into running to her parents dismay.  She was wild and a handful and, with the help of her best friend Amber, by the time they both were five, they had the whole of the wolf pack wrapped around their little fingers.  They could do no wrong, according to the brothers of the MC and their ol' ladies. It also helped that they were the two of five female babes in the California Red Moon Pack.  It was a phenomenon for all of them. They were all born one right after the other, starting with Amber, and then a few weeks later, Stella and then, for the next three months, a female baby was born.  Before them, it was all male babies.  The pack was ecstatic.  They had to travel far and wide to find other she wolves for mates.  

Stella was smart and got straight A's and excelled at fighting like her father.  He started training her and Amber and all the she wolf pups when they turned five.  They were all pretty inseparable.  When the girls turned twelve, everything started to fall apart for Stella.  Three of the girls said they started to hear their wolf.  Stella and Amber had yet to hear their wolf.  They went running to Stella and Amber's dads. 

"Whoa girls, what's the hurry?" Raf, Amber's dad asked.  

"We can't hear our wolves," Stella said.  

Raf looked at Stella's dad, Ray.  They were both slightly alarmed.  Both Amber and Stella's mothers are she wolves, but Raf was half human and half Warlock and Ray was human. They figured that they would have wolves, but there was the possibility that they wouldn't.  They took the girls to their mothers, and they all sat down and explained to them that they wouldn't be shifters. They were devastated.  For a week they moped and consoled each other. 

One day, the other girls started bullying Amber at school when Stella saw that the three of them were yelling names at Amber and hitting and kicking her. She saw red.  They were on the grass part of the playground, the teachers in their own little corner not paying attention.  Stella had to stay behind to finish a test and Amber went out to start playing to wait for her. When Stella finally got outside and saw Amber huddled in a ball on the ground with the girls kicking her, Stella ran over and started throwing punches.  One girl got a black eye and a bloody nose before she got knocked out with a swift kick to her head.  Another girl was grabbed by her braids and flung ten feet, landing on her head, knocking her out.  The last girl stood stunned, staring at Stella.  

"You think you can beat up my best friend without any payback?" Stella snarled.  

The girl launched herself at Stella, and before she could get one hand on her, Stella round housed kicked, and she went flying into a tree.  The girl slumped to the ground and didn't get back up.  Stella walked over to her and saw she was also knocked out.  Running over to Amber, she rolled her over and saw she had a black eye, a broken nose and a lump on her head.  

"Is it bad?"

"It's not pretty." 

When Stella went to touch the lump, something shocking happened.  A white light glowed in Stella's hand and the lump shrunk and healed.  Then Stella ran her hand over Amber's eye and the surrounding bruise healed.  Lastly, Stella put both hands over Amber's nose and straightened it.  Amber squeaked at the snap that returned her nose to normal.

"Stella, what the heck?"

"I-I don't know," Stella stuttered.  

Before anyone could notice them, they left the other girls to be discovered by someone else and ran back to the school.  All day they waited to be called to the principal's office, but it never happened.  They weren't gonna question why, they were just grateful.  Running home, they ran into the pack house looking for Stella's mom and dad.  The pack house was eerily quiet.  They searched the living room, kitchen, gym, and finally they made their way to the Alpha's office.  They had to share their news.  They knocked and waited and when the Alpha opened his door they saw Amber's dad, Raf, sitting on the Alhpa's couch, utterly devastated.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Amber asked, running to her father.

"Amber baby, your mother," He stopped and started choking on his sobs.  

The Alpha looked at Stella and took her hand.  He took her over to the couch next to Raf, and he sat both Amber and her next to him.

"Girls, your mothers and Stella's dad went on a trip to the next town over. They were picking up some friends to bring to the pack to see if their mates were here.  On the way there, a car veered into their lane and there was an accident.  There was a head-on collision and they all died.  I am so sorry."

Amber started to wail and climbed onto her daddy's lap.  Stella sat there stunned, tears running down her cheeks.  She had no parents anymore. Stella looked at Amber and her dad in their hug, then she looked at the Alpha and saw the sorrow and tears in his eyes. She got up and ran out of the office and out of the pack house.  She kept running and ran into the forest that surrounded their lands.  She didn't stop for what felt like miles.  She finally came to a creek and let out the loudest scream she could muster.  She screamed over and over, falling to her knees.  She sobbed and screamed some more.  The sun started going down when the Alpha came to her.  He knew where she was because his patrol reported to him when they came across her.  He had told them to let her be.  

"Stella darling, I am so sorry baby girl". He picked her up and cradled her head on his shoulder. "You're going to be staying at the pack house with me."

"Okay Grandpa." she sniffled.  She was exhausted.

As time went by for the next two years, Stella and Amber kept to themselves.  They didn't let anyone else into their circle.  It was just the two of them, they even went so far as to call each other sisters.  Stella stayed with her grandfather, The Alpha, for a year, and then she begged to live with Raf and Amber.  They never told anyone what Stella did at school the day she healed Amber.  Raf continued their training with fighting and even taught them to throw knives and axes.  When they turned fifteen, Stella and Amber decided to start sparing with short swords. They got so good, they started including Raf.  Stella was going hard with him and as Raf swung a sword towards her head she ducked and ended up impaling Raf on the right side of his chest.

"No!" Both Amber and her screamed.

Raf fell to his knees gasping for breath.  Stella steadied him, instructed Amber to hold his shoulders.  She pulled the sword out and laid her hands over the gash.  The light glowed, she felt warmth flowing from her into him, and they all watched as the muscle knitted itself together and then the skin on his chest turned flawless.

"Holy Sh!t!" Raf shouted.

"Are you mad?" Stella asked anxiously, wringing her hands together.

"No. Stella, are you part witch and no one told me?"

"I don't think so."

That night they went to her grandfather.  They nicked Raf's hand with a letter opener and showed him her power.  The Alpha's eyes widened and told them to tell no one.  They made plans, and decided Raf had to take the girls and leave.  If people found out, they would want to use her for their own personal gain.  They told the pack that the memories were too much for the girls and Raf, and they wanted a fresh start.  After all the goodbyes, and a long hug from her grandfather, they left the Redmoon Pack and prepared for a new adventure.