Chapter 2

Some kids ran around playing in the sand pit. Their voices rang cheerfully. A lone girl sat on a bench. She appeared very sad and not moved by the excitement of her peers at all. A fat tear rolled down her cheek.

“What’s your name?” a boy asked her as he sat next to her.

She turned to give him a proper look and recognised him. She was the pack alpha’s son. He smiled at her showing off a missing tooth.

“I’m Lily.” She said very quietly. If not being a werewolf the boy wouldn’t have caught it.

“I’m Jackson. Everyone calls me Jack though.” He said before stretching his hand and wiping her tears.

Lily stared at him in surprise. Most kids don’t want to play with her. They call her a freak when the adults aren’t watching. This was the first time someone was being nice to her. More tears rolled out.

“Why are you crying?” he asks.

Lily remembered why she was crying. Today was her mum’s birthday but she wasn’t around to celebrate it with her.

“My mummy isn’t around.” Lily says instead.

Jackson nods. There’s comfortable silence between them.

“Do you wanna build a sand castle?” Jackson says after the silence already standing up and dragging her along.

Little did they know that their interaction would blossom into a wonderful friendship.

9 years later

A young wolf sprinted through the forest as if searching for something incredibly important. He paused at the backyard of a lone house and dropped the clothes he was holding in his mouth. The wolf looked around before bones could be head cracking and popping back in place. A teenage boy stood probably 15 or freshly turned 16. He threw some stones at the window of the house hoping to hear an answer. No answer called back.

He decided to climb in by using the tree right next to the window. It didn’t take him anytime and he landed on his feet inside the room. It was a definitely a girls room.

He was to be the next alpha of Greenhill pack. Every alpha goes for training around the ages of 15 or 16. They will stay for 2-3 years and interact with each other as they learn to be the future leaders. He is sad to go which is why he wants to see his friend one last time before he goes.

“Lily… Lily.” He called out softly.

He didn’t want to be caught by her dad. A book on her reading table caught his eye. It was bounded with alligator skin leather and had strange unreadable language written on the cover. In general it looked weird. The boy in curiosity reached out and touched it. The unexpected happened. It caught up in flames. A scream left his mouth.

Feet came running into his direction and the room door was thrown open. Lily stood staring wide eyed at the burning book and pushed the boy aside as she tried to put the fire out. After a few seconds the fire went out.

“What’s your problem Jackson?” Lily yelled. Jackson stared at her in dumfounding silence. When Lily calls him by Jackson and not Jack it meant that she was really pissed.

“I can explain.” He started to say but she cut him off with a scream.

“You just destroyed the one thing I had left of my mum.”

Lily’s mum ‘left’ her and her dad when she was six. She thinks about her every day and nothing could make her hate her mother. She happy that the one thing her mother left behind was proof that she real.

Jackson stared at the book. Only half of it was remaining but he wasn’t going to mention that.

“I didn’t destroy it. It burst up in flames by itself.” He said defending himself.

The book has a writing that can only be read by a witch. When a non-witch touches comes in contact it defends itself by bursting into flames.

“Well I don’t believe you.” Lily said tapping her foot in impatience.

Jackson held a growl and sighed. He wanted to tell her that he was leaving for some years and didn’t want their friendship to end on a bad note since they have been friends for years.

“Why would I destroy your book on purpose?” Jackson gritted out.

“My mother’s book.” She corrected.

“It’s just a book.” He yelled out.

The silence stretched.

“Just a book? JUST A BOOK?” Lily yelled her eyes flashed purple but Jackson believed it to be a trick of the light.

Lily felt completely helpless. The book was the only anchor she had that kept her from going crazy. It made her understand that she wasn’t a freak only just a witch. Now that almost the entire book is gone what would she do? She doesn’t know any other witches and Jackson doesn’t even know what he has done.

Tears spilled down her cheeks as she pointed to the door.

“Leave.”

Jackson looked at her in shock. He didn’t want to believe that she was ready to end their friendship.

“Lily.” He called her name softly.

“Now!”

Jackson had no choice than to respect her wishes. He headed to the window but just before he jumps he turns to look at her one more.

“I’ll see you later.” He says. Then jumps while shifting to his wolf. He howls into the moon and disappears into the forest. Lily watches him as he goes before breaking down in tears.

Her father came to her room surprised that she was crying and comforted her. Lily cried more with the knowledge that she has lost a friend and a part of her mother that night.

Lily awoke the next day with puffy eyes from her tears. She checked her messages hoping that she would she a message from Jackson. There was a message from Hannah though her best friend.

‘Why did you tell me that Jackson is going for his alpha training? He left last night.’

Lily stared at the message in shock. She realised that was the reason Jackson came the previous night. The alpha program takes years meaning they weren’t going to see each other again. Or even apologise. Tears stung Lily’s eyes.

She wondered if their friendship could ever be fixed again.