Redemption

A/N - This chapter mainly gives background information and describes the beginning main characters. The idea for this story has been swimming around in my head for a while now, so I'm glad I can finally get started on it. Please, feel free to review, it will motivate me to update sooner.


There are several ways that we could define ourselves as different than the average high school students, the least significant being the way we are treated. Humans have a history of turning a blind eye to the truth, but deep in their subconscious, they're aware that there is something different about us. You can see it, when we walk through the halls, the way they all stop momentarily to look and step instinctively back. Even if they can't place their finger on it, the humans know there is something about us that triggers a warning in their mind. 'Beware.'

Of course, we have made sure that the humans are all perfectly safe around us. Our instincts have been honed to be controllable. No, we are confident that the humans are in no danger with us. In fact, we sometimes even find ourselves acting as guardians. Humans, who are so fragile and prone to mistakes, often need to be lifted from their own messes, and if we feel we have no other choice, we sometimes step in to make sure that a balance is maintained. We may not be accepted by them, but we can't blame their generation for what generations before have instilled in them.

The five of us, my pack and I, we are a breed outside of any high school clique, or human stereotype in general. Half wolf, half human. We are the lycanthropes, or as human like to refer to us as, 'werewolves'. I've never had much taste for the term 'werewolves'. I find it conjures up the wrong image of us frankly. We don't turn into those horrible looking beasts one often sees in the movies. Once transformed, we're indistinguishable from any regular wolf, except for our larger size. There's also none of this full moon nonsense. We change on our own, but due to our circumstances, we mostly remain in human form unless we're hunting or fighting. Yes, many myths about us have been misleading, but we are who we are, and we live with pride. There is no cure for lycanthropy.

My pack consists of four others. Together we travel, attending high schools for a few years before leaving, fleaing to prevent people from noticing the way we don't grow old. We're a relatively young pack, having all been changed in the last hundred years. The man who changed us, Viktor, stays close to us, but only makes direct contact occasionally, choosing to remain seperate from our pack. None of us is sure exactly how old he is. He taught us, when we were first changed, how to hunt, and resist the flesh of humans. Once we were able to fend on our own, he vanished, leaving us with questions about him that may never be answered.

In our travels we sometimes run into other packs. Five is generally the standard number for a pack, the ratio of males to females varying unimportantly. Our pack consists of myself, another female, and three males. The other female is named Cicily. She can be difficult to live with, but is my closest friend nonetheless. After one hundred years of practice, we've developed quite a comfortable set of group dynamics. Cicily is undoubtedly the alpha female, and our steadfast leader. She is tall, with the strong features of almost every great leader in history. Her beauty keeps most humans at bay with intimidation, thanks mostly in part to her breathtaking hair, like long sheets of white gold. Her presence is massive, yet she manages to seem so elegant. She can be harsh, but she is always fair, and my loyalty to her has never wavered. Her wolf form is snow white, and considerably larger than the rest of ours.

The boys all hold special places in my heart. Adrian is the charmer. His boyish grin and dark hair that manages to stick up no matter how much he tries to flatten it down is endearing, and he is often thought of as the baby of the group, transforming into a jet black wolf. His older, but shyer brother, is Thomas. Oh, quiet and sweet Thomas. Sometimes my heart aches for him. After he was transformed, he lost his lover. He no longer speaks much, but carries a quiet sadness in his eyes. He is fairer than his brother, with light brown hair, transforming into a moose brown wolf. Last, but not least is Benjamin. The smart-mouthed redhead dances along a fine line with Cicily, but always manages to remain in her good graces for the most part. His wolf form is a deep rust color.

And then there is me. What to say about myself? I know what the others would say. "Helena is our sweetheart. She wouldn't harm a fly." And for the most part it's true. I'm not as aggressive as the others. I'm not as tall as Cicily, nor as overpowering. My hair is the opposite of her's, hanging to my shoulders in loose black curls. My skin is not nicely tanned like Adrian's, but pale and freckled. My eyes aren't brilliant green like Benjamin's, but a stormy grey. And my beloved wolf form, is small and silver. I am not the pride of the pack, but I have never felt unloved. I have always lived for my pack, the well being of all surpassing everything else. I would never have imagined that anything would ever change that. I would never have imagined what would change everything.