A Chance Meeting

"You're finally here with the rest of us!" My best friend, Kate, moved into her dorm room a whole two days ago and has called me 14 times. Our other three friends, Heather, Sheila and Nora each hug me in turn while Kate continues to whine. "I've missed you, Mary-Cate! We all have!"

My name is Mary Catherine Wrynn. I'm the only child of Michael Sean Wrynn and Meghan Colleen Star. They are both from Ireland. He is from Donegal and a Representative to the Packs of the Northeastern States. She is from Galway and a Council Member. Oh, did I mention? They work for the Council of Magical Creatures for the United States East of the Mississippi River. We are a family of Lycan werewolves.

Lycan werewolves sounds repetitious, but it sets us apart. Lycans were the first merging of wolf and man. It was not done by mating, but a combination of the spirit of a wolf in the body of a man. Through this merging, our human bodies became larger, stronger, and healthier. Also, we can transform our human bodies completely, or in part, to a wolf. We are less likely to become drunk, since our metabolism is so high. However, silver burns our skin and wolfsbane weakens us and can kill us. Our spirit merges with us during our first Transformation, or Shift, which can happen anywhere from the age to 12 to 21. Some spirits are passed down with the passing of one human body. The spirit mourns and usually finds the next human host along the generational line. For instance, a spirit can be passed from dying father to young son before his first shift. Some spirits are from the beginning of the Lycan family. I am what they call lucky, Caille, my wolf, is ancient, even legendary. She was called "the veiled one," and is listed among Celtic Gods for her wisdom.

'I still don't like her,' Caille reminds me for the umpteenth time, talking about Kate. 'She doesn't even say your name right. You were named after two revered and powerful great-grandmothers. She should respect that!'

My parents and I lived on North Madison Street in Arlington, Virginia. Kate lived a street over, on North Manchester Street. We walked together to Swanson Middle School and became fast friends. Heather and Sheila joined our lunch table together in our first week. Nora joined us after our first school play.

Kate is from a powerful werewolf family. Of course, her father is a senator from New York, but she has lived in Arlington for most of her life. She was supposed to meet her mate at 18 and be a Luna to some Alpha somewhere. I'm glad she will be joining me at least for the first semester of college. The girls and I chose some classes together, but I have a knack for languages, so I already have college credits in both Spanish and French. I'm taking it easy with Italian, but taking Psychology as well. Katie, the girls and I take English, Calculus, and Economics together. My schedule is a lot heavier, since I was destined for politics, specifically, my mother's Council seat. The girls were hoping to pledge a sorority. Still, having a social life was essential for my sanity.

"So, let's get you settled. You're with Nora, since you're allergic to my night mask." Kate made up a night mask routine to keep her skin soft. I broke out in hives so bad that my eyes nearly shut. I also could not stand how she tries on all of her clothes before a party and leaves them on her bed until the morning. So, yes, she sleeps on them.

Nora is neat, like me. Not to say that we are completely dust-free, but people won't sit on our essential little black dress, whenever they visit.

'Thank the Goddess we're rooming with the sane one!' Sometimes Caille's comments are quite rude, especially when they are accurate.

Kate, Heather and Sheila had an oversized room at the end of the hall.Nora and I were three rooms down, away from the noise. With all the help, we got my car unloaded in no time. With a promise to see Kate, Heather and Sheila in the morning, Nora and I said goodnight and closed the door. We ordered a pizza and sat back to read.

"Nora, I'm thankful that I'm rooming with you. You and I are the quiet ones in our group." I confided in her.

"Thank the Goddess you said something first!" Nora could no longer contain herself. "I have felt closer to you than the other three, but didn't want to come between you and Kate. We always knew it was Kate and Mary-Cate, friends from birth."

"We know almost everything about each other's families. It's time to find out more about ourselves. Our wolves will help."

A knock interrupts us and we dissolve into laughter. Nora pays for the pizza and we open it. "Who the hell put anchovies on our pizza?!?"

....

"It's about time you got here, brother!" Doug greeted me in the parking lot across from Madison Hall. With my three brothers and myself, we unload onto the sidewalk in five minutes. I find a parking space in the lot three blocks away. Thank the Goddess we paid for monthly parking.Yes, it's coming out of my bank account, I made essential oils from home grown herbs. My sister, Sarah is taking over raising the herbs while I'm in college.She's pregnant with her first child and taking time off from grad school. We've lived on Knollwood Drive in Falls Church, Virginia, near Justice High School. Yeah, I know, Justice Wolves... I went to school with some werewolves, but we didn't associate. We're Druids.

Let me introduce myself. I am Seamas Gilhoughley. I am the seventh child of a seventh child. That means that I am supposed to be the most powerful Druid of my family. I don't see it, yet. I have a knack for plants, but a green thumb does not a Druid make. Besides, as the youngest of the family, I am supposed to take over my Mother's Council seat. She is on the Council of Magical Creatures for the United States East of the Mississippi River.

After getting settled and noticing that this is a co-ed dorm, my brothers and I settle in and order a pizza..... or four.

Everything is fine until Doug pays for the pizza and opens the first one. "Who the hell puts pineapple on a pizza?!?" he roars.

....

"Who the hell puts pineapple on a pizza?!?" the ceiling above us rattles.

Well, we know where our pizza went. "I'll take care of this." I put on my bunny slippers and climb the stairs to the floor above us - a male floor. I find the door to the room directly above my room with Nora. It is wide open with these four brawny, auburn-haired Adonis-quality men with varying shades of blue to their eyes. The least brawny calls out, "Can I help you?"

"You have our pineapple and we have your anchovies." A shiver runs down my spine and my wolf's ears perk up. 'Nononono. Not yet! I have so much to learn!'

He steps forward and picks up the Hawaiian pizza and hands it to me as he takes the anchovy pizza from me. His sapphire eyes and clean-shaven face makes my heart jump in my chest. 'Your a goner.' Caille's unwanted opinion reaches me. "Thank you," I manage to say while my knees start to shake. "I'm Mary Catherine. My roommate, Nora and I are right below you."

"Thank you for trading pizzas, and sorry for the noise. My brothers and I can get rowdy, but we will try and watch the time."

"I appreciate that." I manage to find my legs and walk down the stairs to a waiting Nora.

"Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Nora takes the pizza and sets it down before taking both my hands in hers.

"No. I've found my mate, I think."

"Oh boy." Nora looks as concerned as I feel.

....

"Seamas, bring the damned pizza here. We're hungry!" Shay starts to gripe at me.

"What the hell is wrong with you, boy? You look like you've seen a ghost." Doug's perception is not far off.

"No. I'm just in love." My heart is coming back to me from running away with Mary Catherine.