Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Carpe Diem ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Note: Since this is an unfinished and working story, titles, characters, and events may be subject to change later on.*

*All the characters in Carpe Diem are copyright to me. Any similarities to any person, alive or dead, real or implied, are coincidence. Thank you.*
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The legends said that when one of the wolfs met his to-be-mate, their union would be unstoppable, inevitable. The strange pull that would inform you when you met your mate was rumored, then confirmed by Seth, to be an entirely painful thing if resisted. It took over your body, your senses, until you could think of nothing else but being with that person. And if you resisted further?

Well, you died.

Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Mystery | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.25.2008 | Updated On: 01.25.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.6K | Visits: 244 | Status: Work In Progress

Prologue

The car flew down the street smoothly, humming beneath Lance as he expertly swerved around the slower vehicles, who's occupants all cast his car either admiring or annoyed glances. His Brothers' chattering became background noise as he tuned them out; they weren't saying anything he hadn't already heard before anyway. Silently, he watched the scenery running past them in blurs with a wistful expression.

Not long after, that wistful expression morphed into a scowl.

It wasn't enough was it? Though his car was one of the fastest around it still wasn't enough to alleviate the ache. The awful, nagging pull that was so sinfully tempting. Because, even though his car helped to alleviate some of his thirst for speed, for control, it could never compare to the thrilling feeling of Shifting into his other form. He smiled bitterly. That was probably the only part of being a werewolf that he enjoyed.

The conversation going on in the back seats rose suddenly, intruding into Lance's thoughts. He glanced irately into the rearview mirror. Jake and Cain were snarling in each other's faces, the only thing keeping them from going at each other probably being the fact that they both knew that if they did, it would only irritate him further, and they were at least wise enough to fear his anger. Beside him, in the passenger seat, Seth was staring out the window indifferently.

“I suggest you shut your trap Jake, before I shut it for you,” snarled Cain, his dark brown eyes almost glowing red with rage. Considering that Cain hardly ever became that angry, Lance guessed that Jake must have made some slight against Cain's new mate. He groaned, suddenly understanding clearly just what the yelling was about.

“What's wrong Cain?” Jake retorted nastily. “Can't take a little helpful criticism?”

“Nothing that comes out of your mouth is ever helpful Jake,” Seth murmured. Jake turned his fiery glare to the back of Seth's seat, since he'd have to be insane to purposely glare into the eyes of his pack's Beta.

“You're one to talk. You haven't been any help either, ever since you…Marked,” Jake spat out the word as though it were a vile thing on his tongue “, there hasn't been order in the pack ever since this `mate' crap started!”

Lance sighed and resisted the urge to rub his aching temples. “That's enough Jake.”

Jake's angry stare flashed to the rearview mirror, but when Lance moved his eyes to meet his Jake looked away. “You know I'm right Lance, it doesn't matter whether I say it out loud or not. We all know I'm right.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Lance saw Seth's hand fist the material of his khaki pants. He turned his eyes back to the road as the car slowed slightly.

He was right.

They all knew it. Him, Seth, Cain, Jake, the rest of the pack, the whole tribe for god's sake. They all knew Jake was right.

It had all started when Seth had met her. His mate, his promised one, his other half. Something that none of the pack had ever known existed. Sure, there were legends, but the thing about legends is they're tricky. You never know whether the legend that you've heard is all truth and no lies, or half truth and half lies. You never know if they're actually not legends at all, but real facts. Lance hated not knowing.

The legends said that when one of the wolfs met his to-be-mate, their union would be unstoppable, inevitable. The strange pull that would inform you when you met your mate was rumored, then confirmed by Seth, to be an entirely painful thing if resisted. It took over your body, your senses, until you could think of nothing else but being with that person. And if you resisted further?

Well, you died.

Yet, still, though Seth obviously could not be blamed, Lance hated the fact that he had not known how this meeting would affect the pack. Seth had been completely drawn to the girl, so much so that he put her above everything else, above even the pack. Some of the pack members grew bitter at this reaction to a simple human girl, some lost their trust in Seth as their Beta. Others even challenged him for the right.

It was a disaster.

But they learned to work with it. Eventually, Seth's female was exposed to the truth of what they were and after a rocky start things slowly improved and order once again returned to the pack. But it was a vicious cycle, this mate business. Because soon after things had finally calmed, Cain, one of the youngest of the pack so far and one of the most inexperienced, saved a girl from drowning in the river. Amanda Connors…. His mate.

The pack, who had hoped that the strange event with Seth was one of a kind and would never happen again, was once again forced to deal with it when Cain met his mate. The peace that had started to return was broken, replaced once again by tension and stress. But this time, the peace didn't return. Jake was one of the ones who seemed to take it the worst. He had always admired Seth, as their Beta, and so had taken it a bit harshly when Seth had put his mate as first priority.

It was taking all Lance had just to keep the pack together.

Their lack of unity was becoming a problem during their hunts for the strange things that had been causing havoc around town. Fights sometimes broke out between pack members over the mate disputes as they chose sides, and that was affecting how well they worked together.

Lance let out a frustrated sigh, and absently stared out the window. Though the car had slowed they were still going pretty fast, making the things they passed appear as blobs and blurs of color. Not that that affected any of them. Their heightened vision was sharp enough to focus on the objects passing by them and capture most details in only a few seconds.

Lance didn't bother to look at the street much- there weren't many cars out and even then his instincts would tell him if they neared any danger- instead focusing on the park they were passing by.

Two families having a picnic, three children playing a game of hide and seek behind the trees, another child, smaller, playing on a swing, a couple sitting on a bench, asleep. In less than two minutes his eyes captured it all, and in even less than that the images flashed through his brain. But none of them caught his attention, nor proved important, so he let them fade away.

Lance watched for a bit longer, until he grew bored, then started turn away. It was then that it happened. In that moment, though it happened in barely a few seconds, it felt like a lifetime.

A wave of dizziness struck him and he blinked when his vision blurred. He felt a pull inside of him, an ache that demanded that he obey immediately. But it wasn't the urge to shift. So then what? What did he suddenly feel the need to do? The sound of Seth calling his name sounded muted, as though he were underwater. Lance frowned in confusion. Actually, everything felt muted. His eyes barely registered the colors they saw, though usually they saw everything even brighter than a human's eyes. His palms, which were now gripping the steering wheel, hardly felt the contact.

Then, suddenly, his head wrenched to the side. But not towards Seth, though he had been trying to turn to look at him. His head had turned towards the window, his eyes scanning the park. Startled at his lack of control over his own body, Lance tried to turn his head back. All it did was send a sharp shooting pain through him, like a mother scolding an errant child. Lance tried again, and again received the same sharp jolt. Finally, he focused on the view of the passing park.

At first all he saw were passing trees and benches, and he scowled, but just when he was about to try to turn away again his senses went on alert.

He saw her.

Dark hazel green irises, round childlike eyes, long lashes sparkling wet with tears. A lovely, but pale, heart shaped face framed by choppy, messy hair of rich brown. Her eyes squeezed shut as two tears sparkled in the midday sun and slipped down the sides of her cheeks. Slim fingers peeked out of sweater sleeve to press against her mouth, to muffle a sob. Shaking her head she took a deep, shaky breath, and opened her eyes. When her eyes finally focused she looked up, and over the distance from where she sat on a bench and his car drove by her startled eyes met his.

But the car was still moving and a tree abruptly blocked her from Lance's view soon followed by a second, and when he had finally past them the girl had disappeared from sight.

The spell was broken.

Lance let out such a fierce snarl that it drowned out even the sound of the car screeching to a stop, and the sound of his Brothers' curses in the background. Incoherent, confused and strangely desperate Lance tore out of the car and broke into a sprint towards the park. The vague thought, feel, of Seth placing his hand on his arm to stop him hardly registered in Lance's mind, because the next second the Beta's hand was no longer on him, and Lance was full out running through the park to where he had seen the girl crying.

My mate.

The thought made him stumble, almost fall, but he didn't stop running. He cursed the irony of it all, cursed the awful timing of the situation, yet still he sprinted, desperate to see her again. To talk to her.

But when he stopped in front of the bench she had been sitting there was nothing, no traces to show that she had ever even been sitting there, crying, in the first place. Not even the barest traces of her scent on the wind.

She was nowhere to be found.