[ Life was complicated, but there was no complication that people couldn't work through if they cared about each other.
Brianna remembered her father telling her that the day he and her mother sat her down and told her a dangerous truth about their lives and hers, which made some points of confusion suddenly clear. That she was a werewolf, like her mother. But not her father, who was born human and remained human by choice. There was no choice for her though; while her parents hadn't been certain, it was practically unheard of for any children of a female werewolf not to take the mother's species. Had the roles been reversed it would have been closer to 50/50 odds.
It had been a lot for her to take in, even before she ever saw a wolf in the flesh, before she ever changed herself. Learning how very not simple the world truly was, how much judgment could be passed on her kind, both from humans and other werewolves. Learning that the wolves were no more united than the humans were. How some almost preferred to act like they were human, like they were ashamed of being different. And how some harshly judged mixed households, mixed relationships like her parents had.
After years of conflict, both internal and external, she dropped out of school and ran away from home, in part drawn away by a friend she'd made. An older wolf that was part of a pack in another territory, one that didn't believe in hiding what they were or allowing others to shame them for their beliefs. The sort of thing that sounded highly appealing to a youth desperate for acceptance and to feel comfortable in their own skin.
She hadn't known it was a rival pack with a deep-seeded conflict that went back generations. She hadn't known part of the "judgment" they bemoaned was because they had been accused of killing humans for sport, and worse, at various times across decades. Those kind of people weren't the kind of people you could just leave if you got cold feet. She'd made a decision — albeit a misguided, dangerous one — and she had to figure out how to make the best of it. At least until a different opportunity presented itself, if one ever would.
***
She'd been out on a run when all the excitement happened. The past week had been a rough one, with several fights in the No Man's Land that ran in a wide swath between the Order's current territory and the Republic's. While she had taken part in one of the fights early in the week, only because she was obligated to as one of the better fighters in the pack, her absence from others despite no injuries caused a flare up of tensions and she'd been chastised by the pack leader in front of some of the other more senior members of the pack. It wasn't the first time as she'd become more independent over the years, though she stopped short of open defiance if only because she had no desire to lead, and secretly feared being kicked out and a target put on her back.
When a group of the more loyal members organized a strike that day Brianna felt no desire to be around for the hostility, opting instead to 'patrol' which was really more just an opportunity for her to run off her aggravation and discontent for a couple hours. Her hope had been that things would be calmer when she returned, and she could pretend to care about whatever happened during the fighting while she was away.
A strange new scent among familiar ones has her equal parts weary and curious as she makes her way from the outskirts of town toward the square. She's not certain what she's going to find but somehow she knows she's not going to like it. It's the same sort of instinctive unease she felt years ago when she thought about leaving and the pack leader had flashed sharpened teeth in a smile that wasn't remotely kind.
The gathered crowd has mostly the faces she would expect but there's a buzz, an energy that's almost peculiar. Celebratory but there's something off about it she can't place. So, a victory in battle today, then? Not exactly unique or rare. When she finally gets close enough, though, she knows why.
There's a human, the scent standing out sharply now among all the wolves. Someone from the other side? Oh gods, they captured a human. Well that certainly wouldn't calm the recent increases in fighting.
Brianna tries to keep a low profile, mingling only to overhear what she's missed, but all too soon a heavy arm drapes over her shoulder and the pack leader's toothy grin is directed her way. They all missed her in the battle that day but it's okay, they've made sure she won't be left out. The task of the final victory had been 'gifted' to her. While the Republic was likely to try to negotiate the release of the hostage, there was no intent of giving the man back. They were going to prove their superiority by turning him. As she meets the leader's icy gaze, she knows this isn't just about sending a message to the other side. She'd been argumentative, rebellious even, and now she was being forced to prove her loyalty to the pack.
Briefly, as she makes her way toward where the unlucky mortal is being held, Brianna considers whether simply having to kill the human would sit better with her, though in this instance she's not entirely sure she wouldn't be punished for doing so. ]
wherein i try to convert space wars to werewolves and give you a new novel for the collection
Brianna remembered her father telling her that the day he and her mother sat her down and told her a dangerous truth about their lives and hers, which made some points of confusion suddenly clear. That she was a werewolf, like her mother. But not her father, who was born human and remained human by choice. There was no choice for her though; while her parents hadn't been certain, it was practically unheard of for any children of a female werewolf not to take the mother's species. Had the roles been reversed it would have been closer to 50/50 odds.
It had been a lot for her to take in, even before she ever saw a wolf in the flesh, before she ever changed herself. Learning how very not simple the world truly was, how much judgment could be passed on her kind, both from humans and other werewolves. Learning that the wolves were no more united than the humans were. How some almost preferred to act like they were human, like they were ashamed of being different. And how some harshly judged mixed households, mixed relationships like her parents had.
After years of conflict, both internal and external, she dropped out of school and ran away from home, in part drawn away by a friend she'd made. An older wolf that was part of a pack in another territory, one that didn't believe in hiding what they were or allowing others to shame them for their beliefs. The sort of thing that sounded highly appealing to a youth desperate for acceptance and to feel comfortable in their own skin.
She hadn't known it was a rival pack with a deep-seeded conflict that went back generations. She hadn't known part of the "judgment" they bemoaned was because they had been accused of killing humans for sport, and worse, at various times across decades. Those kind of people weren't the kind of people you could just leave if you got cold feet. She'd made a decision — albeit a misguided, dangerous one — and she had to figure out how to make the best of it. At least until a different opportunity presented itself, if one ever would.
***
She'd been out on a run when all the excitement happened. The past week had been a rough one, with several fights in the No Man's Land that ran in a wide swath between the Order's current territory and the Republic's. While she had taken part in one of the fights early in the week, only because she was obligated to as one of the better fighters in the pack, her absence from others despite no injuries caused a flare up of tensions and she'd been chastised by the pack leader in front of some of the other more senior members of the pack. It wasn't the first time as she'd become more independent over the years, though she stopped short of open defiance if only because she had no desire to lead, and secretly feared being kicked out and a target put on her back.
When a group of the more loyal members organized a strike that day Brianna felt no desire to be around for the hostility, opting instead to 'patrol' which was really more just an opportunity for her to run off her aggravation and discontent for a couple hours. Her hope had been that things would be calmer when she returned, and she could pretend to care about whatever happened during the fighting while she was away.
A strange new scent among familiar ones has her equal parts weary and curious as she makes her way from the outskirts of town toward the square. She's not certain what she's going to find but somehow she knows she's not going to like it. It's the same sort of instinctive unease she felt years ago when she thought about leaving and the pack leader had flashed sharpened teeth in a smile that wasn't remotely kind.
The gathered crowd has mostly the faces she would expect but there's a buzz, an energy that's almost peculiar. Celebratory but there's something off about it she can't place. So, a victory in battle today, then? Not exactly unique or rare. When she finally gets close enough, though, she knows why.
There's a human, the scent standing out sharply now among all the wolves. Someone from the other side? Oh gods, they captured a human. Well that certainly wouldn't calm the recent increases in fighting.
Brianna tries to keep a low profile, mingling only to overhear what she's missed, but all too soon a heavy arm drapes over her shoulder and the pack leader's toothy grin is directed her way. They all missed her in the battle that day but it's okay, they've made sure she won't be left out. The task of the final victory had been 'gifted' to her. While the Republic was likely to try to negotiate the release of the hostage, there was no intent of giving the man back. They were going to prove their superiority by turning him. As she meets the leader's icy gaze, she knows this isn't just about sending a message to the other side. She'd been argumentative, rebellious even, and now she was being forced to prove her loyalty to the pack.
Briefly, as she makes her way toward where the unlucky mortal is being held, Brianna considers whether simply having to kill the human would sit better with her, though in this instance she's not entirely sure she wouldn't be punished for doing so. ]