Chapter 1

Isadora POV

The grass was cool under my bare feet and the breeze was sweet smelling.  I tipped my head up into the wind and sniffed, appreciating the whirl of scents that it brought me.  The season was changing from spring to summer and berries were beginning to ripen.  I could smell rain in the distance and the yeasty scent of fresh baked bread wafted from town. 

I frowned.  I could smell something else, something rotten and dirty.  I looked towards the woods and could see two men and a woman approaching me.  I wrinkled my nose but put a smile on my face.  They were probably lost and needed help.  They couldn’t help how they smelled.

Before my eyes, they turned into wolves.  The largest of the wolves bared his teeth at me and growled.   I could see the sharpness of his teeth and I could feel the hatred radiating off from him.  I cried out and took a step back and bumped into something warm and soft.

I turned to see a wolf, the largest and most beautiful wolf that I have ever seen.  She was snow white with icy blue eyes and a little silver streak down the middle of her forehead.  Her fur was longer and softer than the fur on the wolves from the forest.  Somehow, I knew her name was Heka, and she was there to help me, not hurt me.  Behind her, three more wolves stood, identical.  They were a chocolate brown color with black markings on their faces.  I could sense that they were just like Heka, and they wouldn’t hurt me, either.

I turned back to the wolves that had come from the forest and was alarmed to see that they were close to me.  Too close.  I tried to back up, but Heka was right behind me, her warm body a solid presence behind me.  I watched in terror as the wolves came closer and then the leader leaped at me.  I screamed.

I continued to scream, thrashing around until I felt a cool hand on my forehead. 

“Isadora!” my mother said, urgently.  “Izzy, wake up.  It was a bad dream.”

I forced my eyes open and saw her sitting on the side of the bed, concerned, frown lines between her eyes.  “Same dream?”

I shook my head.  “No.  Well, kind of.  Heka was there again.  And there were werewolves.  But this time they came from the forest, and they smelled bad.”

I took the glass of water she offered me and tossed back the blankets.  I was hot and sweaty and desperately needed to cool off.  I drained the glass and put the empty cup on the nightstand, trying to avoid my mom’s concerned look.

“What happened?” she finally asked.  I shrugged.

“I tried to leave but Heka was blocking me, even though the wolves wanted to attack me.  I felt like she wanted me to stay and fight.”

“Did you?” she asked, her voice funny.  I shook my head no. 

“I woke up before anything happened.”  I flopped back onto my pillow.  “Why is it so hot in here?” I complained.  My mom didn’t say anything, just stood up and opened the window next to my bed.  Cold night air poured in, drying the sweat on my body. 

“There were more good wolves there, this time,” I said, remembering.  Mom stilled. 

“How many?” she asked, her voice still funny. 

“Three,” I answered.  “They were beautiful.  Dark brown with black markings on their face.”  I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the cool air blowing across my face.

“Better?” she asked with a smile.  I nodded, lying.  I was still too hot, and I felt like I was burning up from the inside out.  It was painful and it made me feel weak.

She studied me for a minute, fussing with the sheets and brushing her cool hand against my face again.  I thought she was going to ask me more questions, but she didn’t.  “Good,” was all she said.  “Try to go back to sleep.  You have school in a few hours.”

I stifled a groan and rolled my eyes.  In my dream summer was almost here.  In reality, school had just started, and I was beginning my senior year.  I would be eighteen in a few months, and I was looking forward to graduating early and getting out of this stupid town.

Mom left, shutting the door firmly behind her and I lay back, closing my eyes.  I hated how she looked at me.  I knew she was worried about me but, quite frankly, I was worried about her.

She and I were super close, but I knew she had secrets.  And they all had to do with her past.  She was beautiful, tall and fit with gorgeous auburn curls that always stayed in place.  She was a personal trainer to the rich and famous and she had so many clients she had a waiting list.  She told me I look exactly the way she did when she was my age.  I hope so, because now doesn’t look so great.  My auburn curls are always a mess, and my arms and legs are too long for my body.  With my glasses on, I thought I looked like an oversized bug.

Mom never talked about her past.  I don’t remember my dad and when I ask her about him all she says is that he abandoned us.  I think things were hard for mom in the beginning, but I don’t remember those parts.  All I remember is loads of people loving my mom.  She never dated but she always had tons of guys hanging around, buying her presents and taking us out to dinner.   Most of the guys were good guys and would buy me things, too.  It was usually some cheesy present I thanked them nicely for and then went down to the pawn and sold later.

Not everyone in town loved us.  There were a lot of people who seemed to think my mom was a gold digger and they didn’t like that all the eligible guys were hanging around, trying to earn her favor.  It made for a rough high school experience.  I don’t care what they say about me, but no one talks crap about my mom.  I was constantly getting punished for fighting in school.  It’s been so often, lately, that my mom has quit talking to me about it.  She just gives me a funny look and changes the subject.

Speaking of school.  I sighed and sat up.  I wasn’t going back to sleep so I might as well get ready.  I had an early morning detention I had to serve for fighting last week.

I got dressed and went into the kitchen, grabbing the smoothie mom had left for me off the kitchen table.  I locked the door to our apartment behind me and began walking to the bus stop.

Three people turned on to my street and came into view; Bryce, captain of the football team, and two of his buddies, Danny and Julian, were sauntering down the street.  They must have had an early practice and then come into town to grab some breakfast before school.

Squaring my shoulders, I kept walking towards them. 

Bryce caught sight of me.  “Hey, freak,” Bryce called, tauntingly.  “What are you doing out here?”

“Move out of my way,” I said, trying to get around him, ignoring his question. 

“What did the little freak say?” Danny asked Bryce, his eyes narrowing. 

“She told me to move,” Bryce said, hands on hips, blocking my way. 

“That’s not very respectful,” Danny said, looking me up and down.  I glared at him.

“Where’s your wh0re mom?” Bryce asked, looking around.  “I hear she’s real good at her job.  I’ve got twenty bucks.  How much time do you think that will buy me?” He guffawed and the other boys laughed with him.

That’s it.  You could say what you wanted about me but not about my mom.  I took my fist and pulled it back, slamming it into Danny’s face while looking straight at Bryce.  Danny never saw it coming.  I could feel cartilage crunch under my fist.  I stepped forward and hooked my foot behind his leg and yanked, knocking him on his back with a satisfying crash.  I grinned at him, pleased that move worked.

“Teach her a lesson!” Danny’s muffled voice came from the ground.  I sensed, rather than saw, him roll to the side and get up on his knees.  I lowered myself into a fighting stance, ignoring the jeers and hoots from the boys, ready for them.

Bryce and Julian split up, each of them coming towards me but from a different side.  I chose to go after Bryce first, mostly because I was sick and tired of how much he picked on me.

I let out a shriek of rage and rushed towards Bryce, meeting him.  I didn’t stop, crashing into him and causing him to stumble backwards.  I used the same trick I used on Danny and used my foot to hook behind his ankle, effectively sending him crashing backwards to the ground, me on top of him.  While he was still stunned, I raised up on my knees and began using my fists to pummel him, getting in my blows where I could.

I felt my body being grabbed and dragged back by the other two boys.  They threw me to the dirt, hard and my glasses bounced off my face.  I rolled over to get up and was hit was a wave of fever, weakening me.  I tried moving, but I wasn’t fast enough, and Danny was on top of me, pinning me.  I could hear Bryce getting to his feet making painful noises.

“Get her up,” he said, harshly.  His eye was already beginning to swell shut and I grinned a lopsided grin, proud of myself.

Danny and Julian both grabbed me, pulling me to my feet despite my struggles.  Bryce looked at me, pure hatred in his eyes.

“You b*tch.  You crazy, freak b*tch,” he said.  He then spit a mouthful of blood at my face.  “What makes you think you can lay a hand on me?”

I gave him a cocky grin.  “It’s pretty easy, actually.  You’re kind of a wimp.”

Bryce’s face hardened and then he pulled his fist back and slammed it into my stomach with all his force.  I doubled over, seeing black spots in front of my eyes.  I’ve taken some punches in training with my mom before, but nothing hurt like this.  I refused to cry.  The wave of heat washed over me again, and my knees sagged.  What was happening to me?

I felt my hair being grabbed and they pulled me upright again.  I tried to focus my eyes and I saw Bryce’s fist coming right at my face, landing on my cheekbone.  I dropped to the ground.

“Hey, what’s going on back here?”  Our nosy neighbor, Frieda, poked her head out the window and yelled down at us from her second-floor apartment.  “Are you getting into mischief?”

“Mind your business, old lady,” Bryce shouted up at her.  Even in my dazed state I knew that it wasn’t a good idea to sass Mrs. Frode.  She could be very nice, but she had a mean streak when she was crossed.

“What did you say to me?” she shrieked down.

“I said, mind your business,” Bryce growled, his eyes never leaving my face.

We were suddenly drenched with ice cold water.  Mrs. Frode had used her showerhead to spray down a deluge on top of us.   The boys let go of me and danced backwards, trying to get out of the spray.  I fell to my knees, exhausted and feeling like I was boiling inside.  The cold water felt amazing.

“I’ve called the police,” she shouted down at the boys.  “You better get out of here.  You’ll lose your position on the team if the cops take you in.” 

Bryce exchanged alarmed looks with his friends.  “Oh, yes, I know who you are, young man,” Mrs. Frode said.  “Get out of here or I’ll call the school and report you.”

Bryce looked at me.  “Until next time, freak,” he promised.  I didn’t look up, the water still coming down over the top of me cooling my impossibly hot body.  He kicked some dirt in my direction and ran off, Julian and Danny following him.

The water stopped and I heard Mrs. Frode running down the stairs and opening her back door.  “Izzy, are you okay?” she asked, helping me to my feet. 

I nodded, my wet hair streaming water into my face and the knees of my jeans muddy from the ground.  “Yeah, thanks,” I admitted, pushing my hair back.

“Is your mom still home?” she asked, concerned.  I nodded my head.

“Yeah.  I’ll be okay,” I promised.  I looked around for my glasses and found them, thankfully unharmed, and shoved them in my jeans pocket.  I gave Mrs. Frode a wave before I shut the door to our apartment behind me and sneaked back in, trying to avoid waking my mom.

I headed straight to the bathroom and turned on the water to cold, needing the relief.  I was so hot it was almost unbearable.  I stood under the water for twenty minutes, just letting it cool my body, before finally turning it off and leaving the bathroom.  Mom was waiting in the hall.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, her eyes looking over the exposed parts of my body.  “Mrs. Frode said you took quite a beating.”

I shook my head.  “No, I’m already healing.  See?”  I showed her my arm where a cut had almost completely knit shut.  I would probably have a light silver scar but that would be the only indication anything had ever happened.

My mom looked me in the face, urgently studying it.  I kept my expression neutral, and she finally seemed satisfied.  She gave me a smirk.

“Mrs. Frode said it looked like you broke one of the boy’s noses.” 

I shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.  “He deserved it.”

Mom’s smirk faded.  She pointed to my bedroom door.  “Go get dressed.  We need to talk.”  I must have had a look on my face.  “Don’t worry.  You’re not in trouble.  It’s just that things here aren’t working.  I’ve known it for a while and I’ve been ignoring it.  Last week I finally accepted it.  I’ve made some plans and things are going to change.  I’m sorry it’s taken me so long.”