Excerpt - The Bones of the Pack

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Chapter One

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I was starting to forget myself.

At first I supposed it was all a part of the changes, such as moving to Harbor Village and becoming a Pack Leader to the Garou. But slowly, over the past few weeks, I had begun to realize that it was none of those things. I was doing it because I enjoyed it. Forgetting myself meant that I could focus entirely on others and their needs. I didn’t have to worry about my feelings or what it was that I was missing. In forgetting myself, I could forget the guilt that I had over Claire Briton’s death, that I was still lacking in the answers to my father’s demise, that I had been born into a family that seemed cursed from their beginning, and the fact that I hadn’t heard from Tidus Romaine in weeks. And these disappointments (temporarily) became insignificant, so that in the meantime, I could worry about other things.

Like running.

Branches slapped at my legs and thighs as I charged past them, leaving scratches and cold dew on my skin in their wake. In vain, I wished that I had opted for sweatpants that morning instead of shorts. But I knew that there were more important things to focus on, such as my breathing, or the sounds of my aggressor’s pursuit behind me.

I was slowing down and he was catching up...