Please R&R!! This is my first, so constructive criticism is appreciated! Thanks!

Chapter 1

A giant dark brown wolf stepped carefully through the bare underbrush and into a clearing that was the backyard to a lakefront house.

A piercing scream caused the surrounding birds to burst out of their trees. The wolf swung his head around to look at the source of the disturbance. A man was keeping a woman behind him, as if to protect her from the wolf. The woman was in hysterics and the man was too shocked at seeing the enormous beast to emit any sort of sound. The wolf ignored them and padded heavily up towards the house, the snow crunching as his paws broke through the thin ice, and leaving plate-sized holes. He could still hear the woman whimpering as he drew nearer and nearer to the house.

He stepped around the slight mound of snow that covered the decorated fire pit and made his way up the steps to the deck. A curious face appeared between the blinds. The boy’s face quickly disappeared.

The wolf reached the top of the wooden deck and turned towards the sliding screen doors that opened to the back of the house.

A teenage girl appeared at the doors. She was dressed in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, her dark blonde hair pulled back in a messy bun.

The two stared at each other for a moment. Then, unable to contain herself, the girl slid the doors apart and closed the distance between them in three steps. Her face broke into a wide smile. She knelt down and hugged the giant, shaggy wolf. A strangled cry reached them from the couple in the yard.

“Toya,” she said to the wolf. “Are you trying to give my parents a heart attack?” She scratched him behind the ears. The wolf closed his eyes lazily, content to sit here and be scratched.

The scratching stopped. He opened his eyes reluctantly.

“Go shift, you silly creature.” The girl pushed him gently away. “I’ll wait here.”

The wolf turned around and leapt lightly off the deck and bounded into the woods. The girl hugged herself in the cold morning air, watching the spot where the wolf disappeared.

“Ana! Anabelle!” Her mother came tearing up to the house, her father a step behind. “What did you think you were doing?! That monster could have attacked you – killed you!”

“And yet, he didn’t,” Ana muttered, wanting to get this over with. But it wouldn’t be quick, not with her parents so worked up. She stepped back inside before her feet froze off.

“What were you thinking?!” her father thundered, shutting the door behind him.

Ana exhaled explosively. She tried to get her temper under control. It was quite a battle. “Do you see any marks on me? No. He would have never hurt me.” She stopped; that might have been too much.

It was.

“How would you know what that thing was thinking? Are you the wolf-whisperer?” Her father was having a bit more difficulty keeping his temper reined in.

“Whatever, never mind. I’m going for a walk.”

Her dad grabbed her arm as she turned towards the door to leave.

“Not with that thing out there,” her mother said with a note of finality in her voice.

“If he wanted to hurt me – which he didn’t – he would’ve.” Ana adopted a gentler tone, “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” She carefully pried her father’s fingers from her forearm. She put on her boots and a hat, and walked out the door.

As she walked down the long, curvy driveway, she heard a loud rustle of dead leaves in the woods to her right. She slowed to a stop and waited.

The rustling stopped as well.

“Randy Montoya,” Ana called out, “you are a dead man.”

“Aw, really?” said a voice right behind her. “’Cause I feel pretty good.”

Ana began to walk again. She glanced to her right and saw that Toya was keeping pace next to her. He saw her glance, and grinned.

“Not even a twitch. Does anything scare you?” he teased, playfully punching her in the shoulder.

Ana staggered a bit; Toya had more strength than he remembered. “The storm I’m going to get when I go back scares me. Couldn’t have picked a better time there, Toya.”

“Sorry,” said Toya sheepishly. He peered at her face uncertainly when she didn’t respond. “I really am sorry, don’t hate me.”

Ana gave him a quick one-armed hug. “I don’t think it’s possible to hate you, Toya. I mean, you’re one of my best friends!”

“Good,” he grinned.

Ana couldn’t help but smile back; they were infectious. Toya was a very easy person to be around. His warm, well-muscled six-foot-six frame was definitely a plus on cold winter days. He was dressed in a long-sleeved t-shirt and sweatpants. Toya was different from all the other boys.

Randy Montoya was a werewolf, and Ana’s number one person to confide in.

“I’ll be there with you,” Toya said loyally.

“I think it might be a bit hard to explain how you magically turned up at the right house in the middle of the woods. But thanks for offering.”

They walked a ways in silence, listening to the chilly wind rustle the autumn leaves and their footsteps crunching on the broken ice that covered the unpaved road.

Ana broke the silence. “So, why did you come here Toya? Not that I’m opposed,” she added.

“Werewolf radio frequency picked up a distress call.” Ana smiled. Toya often referred to his ability to hear the thoughts of other werewolves as the ‘werewolf radio’.

“Who else is here?” she asked, wondering if she would get to see another one of Toya’s wolf buddies.

“No one.”

“But… I thought…” Ana trailed off, confused.

Toya chuckled. “Okay, this is going to sound weird, but I can kinda… tune in to your… frequency. But it doesn’t work all the time. My theory is that we can’t be together.

Ana made a face as she tried to comprehend what he said. “So, you can hear what I’m thinking now?”

“No. For some reason, it only works when we’re apart.”

Ana nodded. She decided to think about it later.

They had made it to the highway and stopped at the intersection.

“I don’t remember broadcasting an SOS,” Ana said. She instinctively huddled closer to Toya; the wind was picking up.

Toya grinned and wrapped his warm arms around her. “It wasn’t so much a help call as a weird feeling I got. I came to see what I could do.”

“Aw, Toya, you’re way more than I deserve.”

Toya hugged her closer to him. “No. You’re way more than I deserve,” he said into her hair.

Ana pressed her face into his chest. A sudden wave of emotions, seemingly out of nowhere, threatened to engulf her. She shuddered, and felt the tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

Toya sensed the change. “Ana? Are you alright?” He brought a hand to her chin and lifted her head up so she would look at him. He saw her reddening, wet eyes. “Oh, honey, what’s wrong?” He moved both his hands to her cheeks and wiped the tears, which were now running unchecked, away with his thumbs.

Ana sniffed. “Lots of stuff,” she choked out.

“D’you wanna talk?”

“Not yet,” she whispered.

“Not a problem. I’m here when you need me.”

Ana sniffed again. “Thanks,” she sighed, getting everything back under control. She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I guess we should head back.”

“Okay,” Toya agreed. He released all of her but one of her hands, and they turned back the way they came.

For the most part, it was a quiet walk back. From time to time, Toya would whistle a tune that was in his head. When they arrived at the driveway, they slowed their pace.

“Hey Toya,” Ana said quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Will you still be here tomorrow?”

“Of course, if you need me, I’ll be here,” he reminded her.

“I think I may want to talk.”

“Say my name.”

Ana stopped behind the garage. She motioned for Toya to come closer. He stepped up, and she wrapped her arms around him once more.

“What would I do without you, Toya?”

“Wallow in self-pity,” he said right on cue.

“Right. I also wouldn’t have someone to do all the girly talk with.” Ana smirked.

Toya sighed and rubbed her back soothingly before he let her go. “I’ll see you soon,” he promised.

“Okay.” Ana gave him a final squeeze and steeled herself for the storm that would surely be unleashed as soon as she stepped inside. She turned around just in time to see a tail silently vanish between the trees. She stepped up to the house and let herself in.

Her mother and father were sitting on the couch, while her brother sat in front of the chair on the floor. No one looked at her; their eyes stayed on the television screen where two men fought on a roof top.

Ana kicked off her shoes and headed quickly and silently up the stairs. She reached the landing and turned into her room. She shut the door and sank to the floor.

Seeing Toya was like a breath of fresh air. Ana’s relationship with her unsteady boyfriend was seeing some rocky times. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Nate anymore; the exact opposite in fact. She couldn’t seem to get him out of her head. He was always there. The unfortunate part was that he was never with her physically. Work and school seemed to dominate his life, and they barely had time to see each other anymore. She wished every day that they could just have one day together a week; that was generous right?

But it never worked out that way. Either he never answered his phone, or, when he did, he seemed to always have something else he was doing. Ana was getting tired of being the one that always had to call; he never did anymore. Ana was beginning to think that maybe Nate didn’t want to keep up the relationship, and that thought depressed her. She really liked him. Apparently more than was good for her.

But Toya, he was a real friend. Ana didn’t know what she did to deserve such a caring guy, but she wasn’t one to question the good things in life.

Ana heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She threw a quick glance at the clock. It was almost eleven. Where did the time go? she wondered. She heard the door to her parent’s room shut softly.

The fact that there were no TV channels made her decision to go to bed easy. Ana stripped off her clothes and tossed them carelessly into a pile near her bag of clothes. She pulled on her blue striped pajama bottoms and a tank top and climbed into her sleeping bag after she shut off the light.

Tomorrow would be a better day, she could tell.