"What's your favorite color?" It was an odd question, and Opal's eyes raised from what she was reading. She arched a dark brow, laying low in the tall, soft grass that swayed with the wind.

They hadn't been speaking the majority of the time, but Keifer was always the one to break the silence.

"Why do you want to know?" She teased Keifer who lay in the field right beside her. He always seemed to be by her side.

Keifer shrugged, looking away bashfully while he roamed gentle fingers through the green, poking at a beetle that was climbing its way up his little leg.

"It's an important thing I guess." He explained to her. He just really wanted to know everything he could about Opal. He made it a mission to learn what he could, she fascinated him. When he wasn't around her, he constantly thought about her. They had known each other for 2 years, but he still didn't know everything about the orphaned werewolf.

They were best friends. Friends knew each other's favorite color. It had to be a rule, he was sure of it.

The little werewolf girl chewed on the inside of her cheek in thought.

"Blue." She relented. Keifer perked up at her answer.

"Because of the sky?" He wondered, jumping to conclusions. The sky in Montana was big and blue and never ending, stretching from horizon to horizon. It had to be the reason she loved the color enough to make it her favorite.

Opal pursed her lips with a knowing look, but shook her head adamantly.

"Why then?" He pressed, impatient, and she grinned in response.

"I'll never tell." She turned a page in her book without even looking down. Opal leaned forward on her elbows, becoming interested in the conversation. "What about you?"

Keifer didn't even have to think about it.

"Brown." The word leapt out of his mouth eagerly, and Opal burst out laughing. She hadn't been expecting that. She ruffled his messy blonde hair with a rueful smile.

"Do I get to guess why?" She asked him, and Keifer nodded.

There were a thousand things in the world that were brown, but Keifer knew that she wouldn't be able to guess in a thousand years. Sure enough, his older friend guessed and guessed, quizzing him relentlessly. She guessed mud and chocolate, tree bark, and even poop, which amused him endlessly.

He was having a lot of fun distracting her from her studies.

"Okay, I give up!" She huffed, slamming her forgotten book shut in frustration. "Why is brown your favorite color?"

Keifer smirked in triumph, too sassy for only being 6 years old.

"It reminds me of my Mommy. Her hair and eyes are brown, and she's my favorite person ever." He happily explained, overjoyed. His heart almost exploded when he thought of his Mommy.

But, his excitement at revealing the information was destroyed when Opal flicked her own blue-green eyes away.

It was a quick movement, but Keifer caught the sadness lurking there. He was smart enough to know that what he said had somehow hurt her feelings. His parents always made sure he was sensitive to what he did and said to people, especially girls. His Mommy made sure that he knew to respect girls and take care of them. Making Opal upset was not taking care of her.

But it wasn't his promise to his Mom that made his stomach hurt now, it was the fact that it was Opal that was upset, and it was him that made her look that way.

He felt awful.

"What's wrong?" Keifer wondered in a panic, needing to get to the bottom of it before it drove him crazy.

Opal shook her head, her short hair scattering around her chin.

"It's stupid." She murmured, but Keifer wasn't buying it. He took her hand, realizing his fingers were so much smaller than hers. She was older than him, and bigger than him, but it didn't feel that way.

"If it makes you feel bad, then its not stupid. It matters. You matter." A shy smile grew on her face, and the lycan pup blushed at the attention she was giving him. It made him feel funny.

"I just thought that... I thought that I was your favorite person ever." She muttered pathetically, knowing it was immature of her. Keifer's mouth dropped open.

"Of course you're my favorite person." He demanded.

Opal held back a smile.

"Then why did you say that your Mom is.."

"You are both my favorite person." He said like it was completely obvious. Opal couldn't help but laugh.

Keifer's childish tendencies came out sometimes. It was just a reminder that they were still only kids. They had so much to learn, and they would learn it all together.

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I jolt awake, like I've just touched a live wire. An electric shock is hardly comparable to the voltage I experience as I leap upward. My mind races, and for a moment I can't figure out where I am. I notice my surroundings quickly enough, transported from a green hill in the sun to somewhere cold and dark.

My skin is wet, my clothes are slick and sticking to me. I'm by the lake. The sun has set, and I'm all alone.

It was a dream, no, a distant memory that I don't even remember remembering, but it's there now. It's so fresh, so close and yet so far. It seems like it happened yesterday, and yet over 14 years have gone by since that day.

I run a hand over my drenched hair, pushing the heavy waves out of my eyes and releasing a frustrated breath.

Opal, my sweet mate that I miss so much that I ache. I close my eyes tight as if she'll come back to my mind if I try hard enough. Maybe I can make her appear right here. But no, all I see is the black on the inside of my eyelids. I sigh, wanting to be with her and knowing that I simply can't. I hold true to what my Mom instilled in me.

I have to protect females, especially my mate.

My parents don't know that Opal is my mate, but they always pushed me to make sure that I take good care of my future mate. I always have, at least I've tried. Except for that one day by the cliffs. My teeth clench at the reminder. That day. It's burned into my memory like a brand on the ass of a bull.

My brain seems determined to torture me with what I can't have. Because I can't have her, at least not now or in the foreseeable future.

I realize that I'm laying on the dock, still drenched from head to toe in lake water. The temperatures have dropped, the sun has disappeared and I'm lonelier without it. I hate the dark, I always have.

I get to my feet, running a hand down my neck and then peeling off the offending cotton t-shirt that's soaked with water and sweat. I glance up at the campsite, the tents scattered around the lake populated with people. Some are dark, and others still have lights on inside. Rambunctious laughter and yelling echos off the trees and through the mountains.

Never a dull moment here in Arrowhead.

It's beautiful here in Colorado, but I can't see the draw when I can very easily look past the glamour. When you pay closer attention, you see the shackles tying you down.

Strolling back into the camp is difficult with people still standing around aimlessly. They have nothing better to do. The first half of the day is spent in drills and doing our chores. We have to pass classes, go to therapy, and get yelled at for no reason. I assume that people feel the need to enjoy the rest of the day to undo all of the suffering, they take advantage of their free time in any way that they can.

So, instead of being quiet and minding their own business, they become animals.

"Veiler! Poker! Come on!" Someone yells, and I glance back. A group of miscreants that I call my friends are waiting. There's a few of them, all waiting for me as they shove each other and shout curses. They have beer and weed, they're always trying hard to become intoxicated. I don't blame them for trying. It's basically impossible for a lycan to get drunk. That doesn't stop them.

I smile, feeling friendlier than usual. My mood swings are frequent. Some days are better than others. Maybe I'm suddenly in a good mood because of my dream about Opal. Thinking of her either sends me in a downward spiral or forces joy into my bloodstream. There is no in between.

Luckily today it's the better of the two options.

I join the group of other young, stupid shifters, grabbing a stack of colored chips and taking the cards I'm dealt. I lose myself in the useless conversation and the substances and the laid back environment. I don't know half of their names, or why they're here or where they come from, but when you're this close with people you can almost pretend that they're your friends.

And for a single moment, I forget that I'm alone.

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If you're reading this, you are brave :)