Chapter One: The History of Blood

The next morning was a snowy one, which meant two things. One, there would be no school. And two, since everyone was keeping warm inside, I could meet up with Dante and we could go running without worry.

Excited, I got out of bed quick and hoping to maybe meet the other wolf Dante had mentioned yesterday. When I got downstairs I grabbed a roll from the bowl on the table and almost made it outside when my grandmother stopped me.

"Where do you think you're going, Felicia?" 

"I.. I was gonna see if Dante wanted to go running." I admitted.

"You're not going running today. Today's history day, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

I turned around and took a seat on the couch opposite my grandmother. I didn't really want to do this, as I was sure she knew but, I also knew it was important so I stayed. I could go running with Dante later.

"Well, as you know, I was one of the first women in our family to obtain the lycanthrope gene. It was originally meant to only go to the first born son. After generations however, it became that the first born child, male or female, of every second generation would be able to turn into a wolf. That's why your father can't, but you can." She began.

"I know that already. You told me that my First Night." 

"I know. I'm getting to the new stuff."

For the next few hours she told me all about how, during her youth, she was very independent and strong, and how she didn't think she needed a pack. But one night changed that. She was out running, as usual, when she was ambushed by a small group of Gnarls. Gnarls were lycanthrope who had been so consumed by their abilities that after their First Run, they never changed back into humans. So they were a sort of "demon wolf".

My grandmother, being independent as she was, thought she could take on the group alone. And for a while, she did. But she underestimated the strength of their numbers.  

"I thought I was going to die." She said. She was shaking from the mere memory of the night. "But then he appeared." The 'he' she was referring to was the very first Alpha she had ever met, and Dante's grandfather.

"He and his pack saved my life that night." She explained. "And as I traveled with them, I discovered things about myself. Things that I later found out were unique to my family, your family."

"Your Starlight?" I asked.

"Yes, my Starlight."

My grandmother's Starlight was what she called her special ability that allowed her to completely heal those who were badly injured. In her wolf form, her silver fur glowed a bright white. There was a catch to her power though, it would leave her drained of energy after use. That was why she always had to stay with the pack.

"So, what does this have to do with me?" I asked, wondering what the point of this story was.

 "You're my granddaughter. Like I have my Starlight, you too, have a power." She said.

"Well, what is it?" I asked, eager to try my special ability.

"I don't know, sweetheart. It will reveal itself to you in a time when you need it most."

"Well, how did your Starlight reveal itself to you?"

My grandmother took a deep breath, then began.

She said it all started one night when she was out running with the pack. Hunting and patrolling. The pack had fanned out in small groups to cover more territory and it was quiet for a long while until a battle cry from the Alpha rang out. Everyone ran to his aid. It was a battle with a rival pack. They fought long and hard and it seemed that no one would die, but at the end, they found Ralphen, the Alpha's closest friend, in a very scary pool of blood. His own blood.

"Our Alpha went to his side, along with Ralphen's mate, and both of them started to cry. We all thought he was dead." My grandmother said, fighting back tears. "Then, like magic, the stars started to form a circle in sky above me, and my fur started to glow. Everyone's eyes were one me, and I didn't know what was going on. As you can imagine, I was scared."

"Then the stars came down from the sky and encircled you." I said. I had seen it happen before, so I knew how the process went. 

"Yes. The stars encircled me, and guided me to Ralphen. Then, almost unwillingly, I bowed my head on his body where the injury was and the stars rushed into him and the next thing we knew, his wound was healed, and he woke up."

"But... Then you fainted." I said. "Right?"

"Yes. I slept for two whole days. During the whole time not one member of the pack left my side."

"Wow."

My grandmother went silent then and I sipped my coffee. We sat in silence for a while and around eight o'clock I heard the signal tune that only Draenan and I knew.

"I think that's your friend." My grandmother said. "You should go meet him."

"It is. Are you sure though?"

"Yes, dear. Go. It's dark out. Maybe your power will reveal itself to you tonight, like mine did."

I didn't know what she meant by that exactly, but if I did have a power, I wanted to know about it and how to use it. Maybe something like what had happened to her would happen to me and I would find my power tonight. I wasn't too eager on that though. So, I just went out side and ran to Draenan's side.

Reviews

[Natersby]

Great continuation, I don't think I've read or even heard of a story where werewolves have additional powers. The concept of the Gnarls is really interesting, too. You've obviously put a lot of thought into this. I look forward to reading more! One minor correction out side is usually one word, as far as I know.

[The Butterfly Writer]

Yeah, it is one word and I typed it as one in this part of the story. I'll be posting the next chapter probably this weekend or early next week. I look forward to your thoughts.