Chapter 3

 10 years later

Danica’s POV

     I woke up early that morning to get dressed for school. I am now a Senior in High School. I stretch and yawn trying to get myself awake so that I can start my day. I take a quick shower and pull up my raven black hair into a messy bun on top of my head. I look in my closet and try to decide what I want to wear today? I decide on a Metallica t-shirt, a black pair of jeans and my biker boot. I can feel Morgana awaken and stretch out her long lean muscles inside of my mind. 

“Good morning sleepy head! How did you sleep?” I ask her.

“ I would have slept a lot better if you hadn’t tossed and turned all night!” She replied sarcastically.

“ Well, I’m sorry but I have had a lot on my mind lately! My 17th birthday is today, ya know? Maybe we’ll find our mate?” I retorted angrily back at her.

“ Yes, I know that! We have been here all along too, ya know?” She replies back with a snide attitude.

“ And what makes you think that we might find our mate today?

Who would want this train wreck that’s ready to happen?” She says sarcastically.

“ Don’t get a bitchy attitude with me! It’s too damn early for that.” I shoot back at her angrily.

She begins to sulk and wanders to the back of my mind,  while mumbling something to herself. I bound down the stairs and out the front door to my motorcycle grabbing my helmet . My Mother walks out onto the front porch to say something but I hastily speed away from the house before I could hear what she said. My mind was racing with what Morgana had said this morning. What if she’s right? What if my mate doesn’t love who I am? I am so much different from other wolves. I try to push these thoughts to the back of my mind and just focus on the fact that today is my 17th birthday.

I park my motorcycle in my usual spot just as my two best friends in the world walk up to me.

“ Happy Birthday m’lady!” Sam says cheerfully, bowing in front of me.

Sam and I have been best friends since the 2nd grade. He is always the one to make me laugh whenever I am down or depressed.  

“ Sam, you are always such a goofball!” I look back at him laughing.

“ I might be but you’ll never find anyone else like me!” He replies with a big grin on his freckled face.

“Happy Birthday Danni!” Nikki says while giving me a big hug. 

“Thanks guys. I know that I can always count on you two to make me feel special.” I reply happily.

We all start to walk into the school building together.

     It seemed like it was going to be just another ordinary, humdrum day with the usual endless classes and homework. No one else seemed to notice that today was my birthday and that was alright with me. After school, the three of us were planning to go out for pizza and ice cream to celebrate.

Just as we were about to leave for the day, we heard someone scream!

“The Alpha and Luna are dead and the pack house is on fire!” I heard her scream above all of the panic.

“Nooo!! It’s a lie!” I screamed as I took off running, shredding my clothes and shifting into my wolf form. I had not noticed that it was Morgana that came to the front in my time of panic. I ran at super speed towards our packhouse where I just hoped that I would find my parents safe and sound. I kept trying to mind link them on the way to there  but I received nothing but dead silence in return which made me start to panic even more. When I finally reached the pack house I could clearly see that it was true. The entire pack house was ablaze. I headed towards the front doors to rush in and check on my parents when a strong pair of arms reached out and grabbed me by my waist to stop me from entering the burning building.

“Noo!! Let go of me!! I must save my parents! They cannot be dead!” I kept screaming but I knew in my heart that there was no saving them now. Then I turned around as the strong arms finally released me of their tight hold on my waist to see that it was Jessie, the pack warrior trainer. Someone handed him a soft blanket that he placed around my shoulders because I was standing there naked and shivering with fear. I grasped the blanket and pulled it around me tightly. And then another horrifying realization hit me.

“OMG! Where is Rebecca? Where is my little sister?” I screamed but everyone around me just looked at me with sympathy.

“Why is everyone looking at me like that? Tell me where my sister is, NOW!” As I began to cry. Jessie grasped my shoulders and turned me around and gently placed his arms around my shoulder to hold me tightly as I shook uncontrollably.

“ I hate to be the one to have to tell you this Danni, but the firemen found four bodies in the pack house. All four of them had a single gunshot wound to the head. More than likely with a silver bullet.” He said holding on to me even tighter.

“Wait, Did you just say that all FOUR of them?” I looked at him questionably.

“Our Alpha, Luna and our Princess. All three have been identified by your Father’s Beta. And there seems to be a fourth body that he first thought to be you but they eventually found out  that you were in school today.” He exclaimed.

“I don’t understand any of this!” I tried to say through my sobbing. I cannot believe that someone murdered my entire family and one innocent femme probably thinking that she was me. 

“How the hell could this have happened?” I screamed.

It was like all of my strength just left me as I felt my legs give out from underneath me all at once. My whole family is now gone. Taken from me for some unknown reason that no one can explain. I pushed away from Jessie and just walked away with a scattered mind and a heavy heart. I sat down beneath a large Oak tree and just buried my face in my hands, and relentlessly sobbed.

“Hey Danni! You can come and stay with me and my family for as long as you need too. Please, come home with me?” I heard Nikki say sympathetically.

“” Thank you Nikki. I really appreciate that. I don’t have anywhere else to go!” I replied trying to stifle a sob. 

I stood up and just watched as the embers of our pack house died down but still held an eerie glow against the dim light of dusk. The sky was painted in dark hues of orange, purple and black. When out of the corner of my eye, towards the tree line, I caught a glimpse of three wolves that I did not recognize, slinking back into the camoflauge of the trees eerily. One almost looked like he licked his lips at me as they disappeared out of sight. Then and there I made a solemn vow that someday I would avenge the deaths of my family no matter the cost. This unknown femme will not have died in vain.

There have been many changes in my life over the past ten years since I first shifted into my wolf. I have grown accustomed  to the two separate entities that live inside my head. And my shifting is becoming more regular. I have noticed that when I shift, my state of mind at that time really determines which wolf form that I take on. And since losing my entire family to murder, that state of mind has become darker and darker as the days pass me by. Morgana, being my dark wolf, seems to be gaining strength. And Michael is strong but we both keep him busy trying to keep us both out of trouble.