The Hunt - first draft, be kind... - One. God, this Pack meeting was boring. Letting my eyes roam the group of men, women and children sat in a circle in the small clearing, I quickly made eye contact with my best friend, Greta, who sent her usual understanding eyebrow waggle. Sometimes it rocked having a best friend who just seemed to get you. "Now, as you all know, Hunting Season is approaching again-" A collective groan ran around the circle at my Father's words. "-Yes, I know, but this must be stressed again. Under no circumstances should any of you Shift during that time. Are we clear?" He had put the full force of hid Alpha command behind the words making even me unable to disobey him. Not that I would... "Don't worry. You still have the next week to play." He chuckled, lightening the mood. "Now, all of you head home and rest up." That was his polite way of telling them to get lost. The group began to disband, walking away in pairs and chattering amongst themselves whilst others quickly Shifted and bounded off into the trees that surrounded our house. From the corner of my eye I watched my brother, Donny, pass by talking with Adam and Vinny, two Pack members who were around our age. I ignored them and hung back, pretending not notice them in the hope that I'd catch Adam's attention with my indifference (I didn't), until Greta reached my side, hooking her arm through mine and warranted my full attention. Sisters before misters and all that. "Oh my God! I thought that would never end!" She whispered lowly in my ear, aware of the others a little ahead of us - and not forgetting my Father behind us, who had stopped back to talk to his Second in Command, Ansel - Greta's father. "I know! Hey, have you done your Calc essay?" I asked hopefully, before my heart dropped as she gave me a look that clearly said 'Are you kidding me?' Of course not.' "Mr KillJoy's gonna kill me!" I groaned, talking about our Calculus teacher, Mr Howard. We'd had all break to do our homework, but as usual, I'd spent my time with Greta and some of the other Pack members, genuinely Wolf-ing around and having fun. I pouted as we headed towards the back of my house. "Yeah, he probably will - along with me!" Greta agreed sadly, before finally waving goodbye as she left with her mum, leaving me waving at the back of our house. Not wanting to head inside (and no doubt be roped into clean-up duty), I waited outside for my dad to catch up. When he did he looped his arm around my shoulder and led me into the kitchen, where my mum was currently cleaning up the 30 or so glasses from the meeting, scrubbing them frantically in the sink with a scowl. "Next time, we're getting paper cups." She hissed as we passed, causing my dad to lift his brows in mock fright and rush me into the living room, where my brother, Donny, was already sprawled across the couch digging into a bag of Chips messily and watching MTV's Pimp My Ride. I rolled my eyes. We might be twins, but we were nothing alike - not even physically. I thanked God for this every day. "Move over lad." My dad growled, causing Donny to scowl and slide his feet off the couch reluctantly. I slid into the spot provided and gave my dad a thankful grin as he flopped into his armchair, he eyes frowning at the TV screen. The only shows my dad could stand watching was NCIS, Prison Break and a little Scrubs whenever I had control of the remote. Shows like MTV baffled him. "Hey Dad, how's the negotiations with the Houston lot going?" Donny asked, his mouth still full of chips. I shot him a disgusted look as he sprayed crumbs on my legs, which he ignored. I brushed them away, my eyes narrowing in his direction. "Not good, Son, John still won't accept our help." I frowned at this and opened my mouth to ask what his intentions were when Donny beat me too it. "What's he playing at! He knows we're his best option!" "He's hoping this will all just blow over, but i can't see the Council letting this go unnoticed." My dad sighed, his face troubled. I agreed with him, there was no way the council would just drop this. John Houston was the Alpha of the other, slightly smaller pack in Houston, Alaska. Lately there had been several girl's going missing in the area who had been found days later ripped apart - mauled to death. All evidence indicated one of John's Pack members, but John was unwilling to believe it's one of his own, nor willing to let us help find whoever it is. The Shifter Council would no doubt be arriving soon and holding their own investigation, which made us all jittery. The Council weren't exactly known for their leniency, and if John didn't find and punish whoever had done it before they arrived, then they would punish him and the entire Pack, too. Just as Donny opened his mouth to ask more questions our mother burst into the room and flopped on my dad's lap with a tired sigh. "I don't think i can wash another pot." She muttered, causing all of us to squirm nervously at the thought of us having to do the dishes in her place. Seeing our reaction her eyes narrowed and she elbowed my dad who held up his hands in surrender. Seeing them banter so easily i felt a pang of longing myself. Every Shifter has a mate somewhere in the world that is meant for them, though the odds of finding your mate are pretty slim. My mum had been married to another shifter before my dad, but as soon as she had met him, everything had fallen into place and she knew she'd never love anybody but him. She had swapped Packs to be with him, having originally been from the Dallas Pack. Originally our Pack hadn't accepted her and had even been downright mean, as Pack's were known to do with 'outsiders', but she'd soon won them over with her fierce personality and no-nonsense attitude. She was one tough cookie. I'd had heard the story so many times from her and though i understood the concept - that she knew she'd always want my dad and had known in that the instant she met him he was the one, i also knew it wasn't the same for everyone. Some people could know their mate their entire #life until one moment, one catalyst, actually made them aware of the deep connection. It made me wonder if i already knew my mate. It made me hope it was Adam. He was the hottest (if i do say so myself...) Were in our Pack and was one of Donny's best friends. He also never so much as looked at me, considering I wasn't the most social Pack member, despite being the daughter of the Alpha. I tended to keep to myself (or hang with Greta) and that suited me fine. But sometimes I wished I'd made an initial effort to attend their late-night Hunts and score some ground with them. I sighed wistfully, suddenly in La La Land imagining Adam looking to my eyes and knowing i was the one for him. It could happen... Watching my parents get gooey eyed at one another wasn't exactly what I'd call 'entertaining', nor was it for my brother. Rolling his eyes in their direction and making a gagging motions, he gave me a challenging look and i knew whatever he intended was trouble. "Wanna race?" He asked, causing my dad to laugh across the room as he nuzzled his head into Mums neck. "She's faster than you boy." He muttered, pride in his eyes. I knew he loved the fact that out of all the Wolfs my age - and some even older - i was the fastest. Donny just scowled. "She barely beat me last time! I've been training, anyway." He huffed, and i didn't doubt him. Donny loved his Wolf skin - running, hunting and just genuinely wolfing out in his spare time, where as i preferred to sit at home curled up with a book. The fact that, despite my lack of trying, i was faster than him aggravated him to no end. It also made me a little bigheaded. "Yeah right Don, no amount of training will help you win me." I goaded, grinning at the angry flush of his cheeks. Standing up from the couch and slamming the packet of chips on the coffee table (crushing them), he pointed towards the kitchen and managed to spit out his next words through his Shifter fangs, the sound more animal that Human. "Out back - Now." Then he took off, his body quivering. I cocked an eyebrow towards my dad who shrugged. "Go put him in his place Anny." He smiled, causing me to smile in return. Only my dad called me Anny - shortened from Arianne (pronounced Ah-ri-an-ee, rather than ah-ree-anne). Everyone else just called me 'Ari'. Standing from the couch i stretched my muscles slowly, letting them 'pop' soothingly before i followed Donny outback casually, my body shaking slightly as it anticipated the change that was to come. As soon as i stepped outside i could see him, kneeling in the shade of the trees that surrounded our house and shivering violently. He was completely naked and was knelt in the snow, yet i knew he wasn't cold and nor was i as i began to strip my own clothes off, folding them next to the pile he'd made by the backdoor on the little shelf my dad had built for this very purpose. I could barely walk by the time I joined him kneeling in the snow, his jaw already stretched and his back convulsing. I took a few steady deep breaths and moaned as my fingers lengthened and my insides began to rearrange. Steam rose around us, the snow long since having turned to puddles at our feet. As soon as our bodies began preparing for the Shift, our body temperatures sky rocketed, making the frosty Alaskan air like a slight cool breeze, if that. Our temperatures could often rise so high that we could - like now - melt any liquid on our skin. It was a strange ability and one that took the most effort to retrain, considering whenever we even thought about Shifting our skin would heat. Next to me I heard the howl as Donny completed his Shift and clenched my jaw, urging mine to come quicker. Pain wracked my whole body and I welcomed it eagerly. Squeezing my eyes closed, i let myself Change.