Chapter 2

~Flash Forward 15 Years~

          As the Symphony’s 16th birthday rolled around, she had managed to excel in anything she put her mind to.  She rarely saw Alexander anymore, which was weird as far as she was concerned because she used to spend every day with him.  He had made himself scarce for the past few years.  One thing she did remember is that he never seemed to age, maybe it was a Lycan thing.  All she really cared about was the party that she had planned with the help of Sarah, her nanny.  She was able to see Alexander long enough to ask him if she was allowed to have a party since she had started school.  He reluctantly agreed if she only invited her close friends.  He knew she was a popular girl in school because of her kindness and did not want too many people finding out what she actually was.  She had already started showing her abilities and he had to let her teacher know what she was before questions started being asked.  He was able to have her put into different classes that would help control her abilities.  

The day of the party arrived and once again Alexander had made himself scarce.  Gavin was present as always; he went everywhere Symphony went.  She didn’t like the fact that she had a babysitter everywhere she went but when she questioned Alexander, he became incredibly angry with her, and she never said anything about it again.  As Symphony got ready for her party, she heard a knock on her bedroom door and as she opened it there stood Alexander holding a small present.  She let him in and gave him a quizzical look, he wasn’t one for presents.  

“Alexander, I didn’t expect to see you today” Symphony said

“I wanted to give you this before I left on business” Alexander replied handing her the gift.

She slowly opened it, and it was a long box.  She opened the box and inside was a necklace with a wolf howling at the moon.  She squealed and gave Alexander a big hug.

“Can you put it on me?” she asked, and she held up her hair.

Carefully Alexander clasped it around her neck. 

“Be good for Gavin and Sarah and have fun at your party.  I will be gone for a while this time so stay out of trouble.” Alexander said as he turned to leave.

Symphony sighed, Alexander was her guardian and saved her from goddess knows what, but she never could understand why he was so cold.  She had asked around and knew he was not known for his kindness so when he saved her it came as a shock to everyone that knew him.  He was known as being a monster to those that disrespected him.  He was feared everywhere, and he hated wolves.  From what she had heard any wolf that he came across he either killed or tortured.  She figured that's why everyone was so surprised he had saved her; she was a wolf not a Lycan.  His entire kingdom was Lycan.

She shrugged her shoulders and finished getting ready.  She knew that her guests would start arriving shortly and she didn’t want them to have to wait for her.  She had learned that it was never good to have the guests waiting for the host.  With one last look in the mirror, she thought she looked pretty good.  She had chosen a blue summer dress with flats and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail.  She opted to not wear makeup.  She had a smile on her face and made her way down the stairs to the ballroom where her party was being held.  

She smiled when she saw the decorations that she had chosen and thanked Sarah immensely for helping her.  She looked around the room and saw Gavin, her trusted protector, standing against the wall.  She noticed the buffet table and made a mental note to thank the kitchen staff for doing all of this.  Over by the present table sat a beautiful 3-tier cake with the numbers 16 on top, she about cried.  As she surveyed the room again a knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts.  The guests had started to arrive.  She straightened her shoulders and headed toward the door.

As she opened it, she saw her best friend, Fiona, as well as 15 of her other friends and classmates.  She ushered them in and directed them to the ballroom.  Fiona stopped as the rest of the kids went into the room.  She gave Symphony a hug and handed her a small bag.

“Gifts can go on the table, Fi” Symphony said

“I know that, but I wanted you to open this in private” Fiona said with a grin

Symphony opened the bag and there were a few things in there including a small square box.  She looked at Fiona with a questioning look.

“Open it Silly” Fiona said laughing

As Symphony opened it her eyes started to fill with tears.  It was a bracelet that had a locket on it and in that locket was the first picture that Fiona and she had taken together when they became friends.  She gave Fiona a huge hug and said thank you.  The girls then headed into the party before they were missed. 

          The party went off without a hitch and everyone had a wonderful time.  It was close to midnight when Symphony finally got everyone to leave.  She thanked them all for coming and gave Fiona a hug when she left.  She went back to the ballroom and started cleaning up, taking her gifts upstairs.  By the time she was done it was close to 2AM and she was exhausted.  Looking at the pile of presents in her room she decided she would open them and then go to bed.  

          She sat on the floor opening the gifts one by one.  There were soaps, perfumes, scarves, and candy in them.  She smiled as she opened each one, her friends knew what she liked.  As she came upon the last one, she noticed that it was wrapped in plain brown paper and had no name on it to tell her who it was from.  She shrugged and started to open it; it was a box which she thought was weird but opened it anyway.  When she opened it, she screamed, inside was a bloodied note stuck to a picture of a wolf.

The note read: “We know your secret, little wolf.  Your big bad Lycan can’t protect you anymore.  We are coming for you”

As she finished reading the note Gavin burst through her door.  She stared blankly at him, white as a sheet, and he saw the package in her hands.  He grabbed it, looked over the room and took the package and left.  Symphony heard him on the phone with someone she assumed was Alexander.

“We have a problem Boss.  You need to get back here ASAP” 

Gavin came back into the room doing one more sweep.  Once he was satisfied that no one was hiding anywhere he looked at Symphony with sad eyes.

“What does that mean they know what I am. I am just a plain wolf” Symphony sobbed.

“I don’t know but I will find the underlying cause of this.  In the meantime, I am having guards stationed around your room and you are not returning to school until this is resolved” Gavin said sternly.  

          Symphony sighed and headed to her bathroom.  She shut the door and turned the water on in her shower, she got it as hot as she could stand it and got in. After her shower she got ready for bed.  

“Happy Birthday to me” She thought as she climbed in bed

Sleep did not come easily.