The Race

"Dani, wait!"

My tears blur my vision as I pump my tiny legs faster. I want to be as far away from my big brother Tommy as possible. I am so tired of him bossing me around. I am six now! I can walk home from school on my own without holding his hand!

"Dani stop! Please! I'm sorry ok?" Tommy yells. His voice is getting farther and farther away.

I will never forgive him for calling me weak and fragile. Who does he think he's talking to?! I gave him the slip when some of his friends started joining in on his mocking of me.

I reach the edge of a cluster of woods that border our pack. I dart through the trees, light on my feet until I come to a creek. I stop, hands on my knees trying to catch my breath. It is foggy out, with a mist in the air. I shiver, slipping the hood of my yellow raincoat over my silver hair. I wipe my nose with a sniffle.

"I'm not weak," I grumble, speaking to the trees.

"Never said you were."

My eyes snap up immediately. There is a boy with jet black hair and the greenest eyes I have ever seen staring at me from across the creek. He is hanging from a branch by his knees, looking at me upside down.

I can't help but giggle at the sight, "Sorry, I was talking about my brother."

He hops down, landing gracefully on his feet. He balances on a rock in the creek. I notice his light complexion. When he smiles, he has baby teeth missing but I see the beginnings of fangs growing.

Vampire

My wolf, Raven stirs, her attention focusing on the boy in front of me. I slowly get to my feet.

"My big brother is a pain too," he says, grinning. "That's why I like it out here. He's too lazy to come all the way out here to drag me back home."

I giggle, my apprehension melting, although Raven is not as convinced.

"Want to play?" he asks, hopping closer to me without looking down. He is very agile. I like his smile and how friendly he is. I like him immediately.

Careful, Dani, Raven says gently. Just because he has a sweet smile doesn't mean he's safe. He is still a vampire.

I roll my eyes, ignoring her.

I jump onto the nearest stone, looking down at the steady stream of water by my feet.

"I'm Luca."

I look up to see the boy has moved to the rock right in front of me. How did he do that so silently? He has his hand extended to me.

"Dani" I reply, shaking his hand. It is cold as ice in my warm palm. Luca tilts his head curiously at our hands before we separate.

"I've never officially met a wolf before," he says with an eager grin. A challenge crosses his eyes, "Wanna race?"

I raise my brows at him, my fists on my hips, "You want to race a wolf?" I taunt.

His grin widens, "Definitely."

I shrug off my rain coat revealing the girly ruffle sleeve dress my mama made me wear. At least it's peach and not bright pink. I push my long hair off my shoulders and turn to Luca. He is eyeing my outfit, shaking his head.

"You're going to race in that?" he says incredulously.

"Who cares what I wear? What you afraid to lose to a girl in a dress?" I hiss.

Luca scrunches up his nose and rolls his eyes, "I could care about your dress! I'm talking about those!" he says, pointing at my saddle shoes with lace socks. He then wiggles the toes on his bare feet. "Better grip."

I nod approvingly, then bend down to untie the uncomfortable shoes. I toss them to the grass then pull off my frilly socks, stuffing them in my pocket. At least this dress has pockets, one of the only reasons I tolerate mama insisting I wear it.

Luca smiles at me, his body energized as he hops from foot to foot, "First one to the big Willow tree wins. You can use rocks but you can't go to the grass, since our territories aren't the same."

I nod in agreement with his rules.

"Count of 3," I say. "1, 2, 3!"

Luca takes off, the cold water splashing as he bounces from rock to rock and runs through the water. I splash through the creek, shivering from the icy temperature. I watch how Luca jumps effortlessly from rock to rock and attempt to mimic him. I'm gaining on him when my wet feet slip on a moss covered rock, tossing me forward into the creek bed. I let out a surprised yelp as I feel my knee scrape the jagged edge of a stone. I hiss from the sudden pain, the bottom of my dress dipping into the water.

I hear splashing and look up to find Luca right at my side. His emerald eyes shine with his concern, "You ok?" he asks.

I nod, accepting his helping hand, "Thanks," I say, "It's just a scrape." I glance down at the trickle of blood running down my leg.

Luca suddenly let's go of me, taking a few steps back. I glance up at him and my heart races. His baby fangs have now extended, his pupils dilate.

"Dani! Get away from him!"

My head jerks up to see Tommy racing toward the creek, his eyes golden which means his wolf is starting to surface. At 11, his wolf Shadow, is much stronger than mine.

Luca whimpers, backing up in fear. I growl, grabbing his hand and pushing him behind me.

"Stop it Tommy! You're scaring him!" I yell. I feel Luca squeeze my hand tightly. I glance back at him and his green eyes meet mine, trust passing between us.

Tommy growls but slows down, standing beside the creek, his eyes fixate on Luca.

"Dani....I gotta go," Luca says, pulling his hand from mine. I turn to see he has already made it back to his side of the creek, near the tree he had climbed. My shoulders sag. Leave it to my brother to ruin my new friendship. I start to turn toward my pack when Luca said, "See you tomorrow?"

I whip back around, grinning, "Yes! After school?"

"Deal," Luca says nodding. His eyes snap up and I realize he is looking at Tommy, with a gleam in his eye. "Hey Tommy! You're an i***t if you think Dani is weak!" Then he darts back to his coven.

"What a little punk!" Tommy growls. Fits of giggles make my tummy hurt seeing Tommy so upset, at a little vampire at that. Tommy glares at me, his blue eyes back to normal. "You can't play with him ever." He glances at my bare feet and groans. "Mama is going to be so mad at me."

I shake my head as I slip my socks back on then my shoes. Tommy holds my raincoat open for me to slip on. He tugs my hood on as the clouds finally release the rain.

"Come on, trouble," my brother says, a smirk on his dimpled face.

"I'm not holding your hand," I tell him firmly. "I'm not a baby!"

"So I've been told," he says, motioning for me to start walking ahead of him.

A grin of satisfaction teases my lips thinking of how Luca stuck up for me. I can't wait to challenge Luca to a rematch tomorrow... and smoke him.