Nate and Ben hiked along the narrow dirt trail that started at the cusp of where the woods met his yard. They hiked mostly in silence for a bit. Nate looked around in the darkness for any sign of life in the woods. He could hear the rustling of leaves. and some thing, or more accurately, somethings running around. He couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. This was easily one of the most exciting things to happen to him.
"Don't worry, I know these woods like the back of my hand." Ben was trying his best to be reassuring. Suddenly, a werewolf jumped from the foliage and landed right in the middle of the path. He let out a low growl while staring directly at both Nate and Ben. Nate was shocked but Ben seemed unfazed.
"Knock it off Caleb." Ben gave him a dirty look. "Meet my new friend Nate. He just moved here with his family. He's a normal, but hopefully not for much longer.
Caleb stood up and Nate and Ben watched as he slowly shifted from wolf man to human. Nate in particular marveled as the fur dropped away to the forest floor and his face shifted from lupine to human. Pretty soon it was just an average, if naked, teenage boy with dirty blond hair standing there.
"That was amazing," replied Nate, offering his hand to shake.
"Apparently we have a fan," said Caleb to Ben. He took Nate's hand and gave it a firm shake. "Thank you. You thinking about joining?"
"Um, yeah, maybe. I'm not sure. This is all really new to me as of oh roughly thirty minutes ago."
"Ah, I got it. But you gotta join us. We're the coolest pack in Moon Lake!" replied Caleb.
"Pack?" asked Nate. "Really?"
"Well, technically yes. Although we don't follow the whole Alpha, Beta, Omega hierarchy in favor of a more democratic principle. Although in practice it's more of a chaotic collective," replied Ben. He then turned to Ben. "Who all do we have out here?"
"I saw Nikki and Charlie, but they're probably hiding somewhere...you know. Brandon and Will are hunting and Carli and Sam are around somewhere too..." replied Caleb, scanning the forest.
"Ah, ok. I see where the chaotic part comes in," replied Nate.
"Okay, I apologize for this," said Ben. He then threw his head back and let out a lengthy howl. Several howls echoed through the woods in return. Nate watched as several others walked out of the woods. Nate watched as the bipedal werewolves each walked out of the woods, taken in by their mixture of beauty and fierceness.
"Oh wow..." whispered Nate.
"Everyone, this is my new friend Nate. He just moved here from Minnesota and he might be joining our pack," replied Charlie. All the werewolves waved hello. Charlie in turn introduced Nate to each one of the werewolves.
"Well, if you want I'll bite you right now and we can be done with it," said Caleb.
"No, Caleb. It has to be done at the turning ceremony, after he has had a chance to make his choice," stated Ben.
"Yeah," Nate let out a deep sigh.
"Still feeling overwhelmed?" asked Ben.
"Yup. I have a lot to decide," replied Nate, even though he had a feeling he already knew what the decision would be.
"Come on, I'll take you home," replied Ben.
Nate waved goodbye to the other werewolves as Ben and Nate turned to make their way back the way they came.