Hurling myself to the ground I miss the attack by inches and throw up a shower of dust in the process, not wasting a second I push myself back to my feet and spin around to face the threat, my brain automatically filing away important information about stance and possible moves all in the hope of a win or just to survive. The large brown wolf in front of me is poised to attack again and I can feel myself getting tired, my stamina is good but his is better and if it comes down to who can out perform the other I will be the one to fall. We circle each other in a stand-off situation teeth bared, ears back, low to the ground, feet parted… just like I had been taught. Neither one of us seem prepared to submit. In one quick motion he throws himself at me with power, speed and precision, his instincts finely tuned from years of practice that I can't even dream of and probably will never obtain, but I am ready for him and roll onto my back catching his belly with my paws and launching him through the air with one strong kick, with inhuman speed I follow his flailing body amd jump on him as he hits the floor, pinning him to the ground and holding my teeth close to his throat, he growls but I don't move a muscle. I keep him there until I get the nod and quickly jump off again skipping backwards so he can right himself and dislodged the dirt and dust from his coat.

"You are getting better and better sweetheart." A voice fills my head.

"Thanks dad, but I think it's more the teacher than the student."

"Don't be silly, it's you and your determination. You'll be able to defend yourself against anyone if you keep up the hard work, there won't be a wolf that can take you on. You're almost as good as some of the security staff." I throw him a wolfly grin as I stretch out my muscles as a sort of warm down, shaking my body so that the dirt attached to my light brown fur falls to the ground; there will be hell to pay if I treck that through the house.

"George, Scarlett time to finish training, get inside and shower off, we have a pack meeting in thirty minutes!" My mum calls from the house, sounding a bit like a drill sergeant not a mum; I look around the back garden that doubles as my training arena and grimace at the mess we have made of her flowers.

"We are so in trouble when she sees this." I say to my dad who has already started trotting over to where my mother's voice had emanated from, him never being one to disobey a direct order from the love of his life.

"Try not to think about it." He laughs inside my head. Easy for him to say he isn't the one that needs to worry, she has a soft spot for him, I'll no doubt take the blame.

As I stand under a steaming jet of hot water and feel the heat sink into my skin, warming my bones and chasing away the aches created from three hours of intensive training, I think about the last week. Five days ago, on the Seventh of May to be precise, I turned eighteen and with that came an added bonus, but also responsibility; everyone knows the saying about what comes with great power right? I inherited the ability to shift into a wolf at will. I had been waiting for the day to come for a long time and had taken to training and learning about my new abilities with a gusto that shocked my mother; she never did understand why I prefered combat training to shopping.

The truth is I had always been jealous of my twin brother Gray who has had his ability since the age of ten. I had watched him transform for the first time and seen the praise he got for being 'such a clever boy', but i also saw what he was now able to do and I wanted it as well. Being twins we have always been treated fairly and when one got a treat so did the other; this was something that I couldn't have and I hated it and partially hated him for it until i was old enough to understand.

Boys get their abilities much earlier than girls so they are able to start protecting and fighting from a young age; it doesn't happen very often but in the past there were boy 'soldiers' giving their lives for their packs security all for the cause of keeping the women and the territory safe. As for women we don't get the ability until our eighteenth birthday when we are fully developed and able to carry children to full term; which once taught about made me feel like a breeding mule, only good for one thing. Sexist if you ask me but you can't fight against evolution; this is probably another reason why training with my dad is so important to me; I won't be defined by my ability to produce offspring. We may be living in a more modern time but in any pack society it is well known fact what we women are truly needed for.

I start to wash the coconut scented conditioner out of my long dark brown hair when there is a bang on my bathroom door, I always manage to get lost in thought whilst in the shower.

"Scarlett Evans you have ten minutes!" My mum shouts through the wood. My mum has a thing for punctuality and to be late for anything would be the ultimate sin. I can almost picture her on the other side of that door checking her watch over and over.

Reluctantly I step out from under the therapeutic fall of hot water, wrapping myself up in one of my fluffy green towels and then my hair in another, I quickly fling open the doors to my wardrobe and throw the hangers across the rail looking for something sensible that my mother would think as appropriate for the upcoming meeting.

A glance out the window tells me that the May sunshine is still out so I turn to my collection of dresses and pick out a white halter neck dress that has intricate flowers sewn into it in different colours; whilst I'm there I grab my white converse and throw them next to the door in preparation.

Dragging a hairbrush through the knots in my damp hair and quickly applying a layer of mascara I'm finally ready and can spare a quick glance in the full length mirror attached to the inside of my wardrobe door. My thick dark brown hair is still wet but has started to dry into waves and my dark brown eyes stare at me as I assess myself.

The dress clings at the top and I spin around looking at it from all angles, it shows off my waist which isn't stick thin but is toned, and ends about mid-thigh following the curvature of my bum.

Giving myself the nod of approval I rush out of my door to join the rest of my family... with only seconds to spare.