Hope

Lying in bed, staring out my window I can barely see the tree line of the forest as the sun is almost set. I have music playing softly in the background as I watch the sun paint the sky different shades of orange, yellow, pink and blue. My mind wanders to my plans for tomorrow. I promised Liz I'd go to the mall with her, then a trip to the pack hospital and then a pack meeting in the evening. I hear my brother, Kade, slam the front door and bound up the stairs, stopping at my slightly ajar door.

"Hey, Hope. How was your day?"

"Good, anything exciting happen to you?" I ask him, turning a little so I can speak to him over my shoulder. He grunts in response.

"Unless you count getting my ass kicked by Asher at training as exciting, then no." I giggle and turn all the way towards him.

"I told you not to go out partying last night. You gotta be on your game to protect me. I'm a handful."

He laughs a full belly laugh that makes me smile and comes to sit next to me on my bed. His normally sandy blonde hair looks darker in the fading sunlight, but his crystal blue eyes are still his most prominent feature. His broad shoulders and large biceps nearly tear through his shirt.

"Don't you worry, little sis. I got your back."

"What you need to get are some bigger shirts, Kade, geez. I know you like to impress the ladies, but this is just obnoxious. "

I giggle and pull on his sleeve. He bats my hand away but just smirks at me. He may be three years older than me, but he still does as I say. Being the youngest and the only girl has its perks. Being a gifted wolf also helps me twirl my brother around my finger.

I'm a gifted healer wolf. I have a special power to quickly heal the injuries of my fellow wolves. Wolves naturally heal faster than humans, but even we can be fatally wounded. I have a healing magic within me, gifted to me by the Moon Goddess that lets me prevent wolves from bleeding out, reverses the effects of silver and wolfsbane, unbreaks ribs and sets bones even faster than a wolf can themselves. Other packs frequently call on me when they have had a serious attack, or even sometimes in advance if they know that they are going into battle.

There are very few healers in the world, and we are highly coveted. Many healers in our history have been abducted and kept as slaves of a greedy pack, used to keep the pack strong and never allowed to leave or even be with their goddess chosen mate. Obviously, I heal my own pack members more often than others, but my gift is meant to be shared. As a result of the danger a healer faces, we are often born into a family of fierce warriors. My father is the head warrior of our pack, responsible for most of our security and training of younger wolves.

My brother is late in his own training and, when he's ready, will take over for our father. Until he either takes over for our father or until I find my mate, he is responsible for protecting me. Having my brother as my bodyguard hasn't always been easy, but we have had to work through our sibling differences to make it work and, honestly, he's become my best friend.

"Don't worry. We'll find you some bigger shirts tomorrow when we go to the mall with Liz." I give him my sweet smile and flash him my best puppy dog eyes. He groans and plops his head in his hands.

"Another trip to the mall? Didn't we just go there last week?" I scoff.

"No! That was last month! Please, Kade. I need to get out of this house. I've only left for school and to the hospital to heal. I know it sucks having to follow me around everywhere, but I'm going crazy. I didn't ask for the healing powers and sometimes I just want to feel like a normal person for a little bit." I allow my eyes to brim with tears and pout my lip a little. My brother has yet to find out that I can cry on command, and I plan to keep it that way.

"Ugh. Fine. But you have to wait until after training." I launch myself at him to hug him.

"Deal!"

"Alright, I'm going to bed." He stands from my bed and moves toward the door.

"Ok. Goodni..... Ah!"

All of a sudden, I feel a sharp pain in my right shoulder. At first, it's just a twinge, then it grows into a burn. Then fire envelopes my whole shoulder and starts radiating to the rest of my body. I curl up into myself and begin to writhe across my bed. I can't think or move on my own.

"KADE! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?" I shriek as I rub my shoulder, trying to get the pain to dissipate.

"Hope? What's wrong?" I can tell my brother is trying to remain calm, but the fear in his eyes betrays his smooth exterior.

The pain spreads and intensifies, I don't know what to do, so I focus my healing power onto my shoulder and force as much magic towards it as I can. I've never used my power on myself before, but I'm at a loss and panicking. I scream out in agony as I feel my brother lift me from my bed and begin carrying me down the stairs, shouting for our mother.

"MOM! CALL THE PACK DOCTOR! SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH HOPE!"

My brother's frantic pleas for help are last thing I hear before my world fades to black.