Hey everybody! This is chapter one of my first fanfic, I hope you like it, though comments are always welcome. Bit short, but I have a few other chapters to add that I just have to look over first. Thnx for reading!

I laid down upon a rather attractive and soft bed of moss, ready to begin another night without sleep. I knew of sleep, a time when the body could relax, the mind cleanse and the thoughts aimlessly wander. In my memory, however, I've never slept. I lie awake and ponder, think, wonder. Something my family does not have the luxury of doing. My family, as I have come to call them, consists of a pack of wolves. Six wolves, actually. There is the alpha male, alpha female, her two pups, and two more females and an omega male. Oh, and me too. Other members have come and gone, but this is my family at the moment. Around me, they were getting ready to sleep for the night. The light of the crescent moon was enough for me to see as the alpha female, I called her Autumn as she was a reddish brown color, put her pups to bed and curled around them. The alpha male, whom I had nicknamed Birch because of his silvery color, was standing guard. Tall and erect, I considered him to be the epitome of the stately ruler. He had accepted me into the pack, I can't say why, but I was tolerated. I was a good addition to the pack, a skilled hunter, strong and fast. Once I had brought down a lone bull moose. I think that was when I had proven myself as a worthy member, besides the species barrier. At any rate, it didn't matter to me why they tolerated my presence, only that it was nice to be apart of something. The wolves were not particularly affectionate or anything like that, but I had blood, company and moss to rest on. In fact, I was usually rather content, except at the moment I was very, very thirsty. The pack had caught little food recently, nothing big enough for me to drink from. As the wolves, my family, went through their evening ritual, I could smell the blood as it meandered through their veins. My throat burned, having been denied it's desire for weeks.

I went for a walk as the pack slept. I had little else to do. After a quite a few minutes, or perhaps a couple hours, I found a small pond. Looking into it's unbroken surface at the silvery reflection of the moon, I saw myself for the first time in, well, awhile. My auburn waves had become twisted and unruly, my face was brownish with dirt, soft golden eyes stared curiously out, surrounded by grime. I was thin, maybe too thin, but somewhat muscular. I could not see it, but I knew ribs gave texture to the sides of my chest. My once new sweatshirt and jeans were disgusting and torn, but still useable. As I stared, something occurred to me. Nothing has changed. The golden mirror I once stared into had become a silvery pool, but nothing about the reflection, save hygiene, differed. After ten years, I had not aged. I still looked somewhere from 15 to 17 or so, my face untouched by a single blemish. But no, something had changed, my eyes. I could not remember how though. As I pondered, a frog hopped into the pool, breaking the mirror. I decided to head back. On my way, I let my tongue caress the sharp triangles of my canines.

As I came back into the small clearing, silently as always, the wolves stirred little. Sitting cross-legged upon my mossy bed, I began to meditate, as I once had upon a silken pillow. As I calmed, I was surprised by the sound of many sticks breaking. There was something big, about 200 feet away, coming to where my family slumbered. I didn't worry though. Most likely, it was a coyote, or some deer, nothing I could not handle. Unfortunately, I was very soon proved wrong.

Minutes later, as the noises approached, my family began to wake. As they stretched and yawned, my world seemed to explode. Something happened, I bit and clawed, desperate to protect myself and my companions. I remember taking a deep breath, reveling in the coppery blood smell. Then, there's nothing to remember at all.