1
Chapter 1 – London
“No, No, … NO!” I jolted up in bed, heart racing and sweat beading on my forehead. I was a tangled mess in my sheets. I looked around and saw nothing. The room was cloaked in darkness and I could hear the rain pelting the windows.
It was the same dream, always the same dream. I’m running through a burning forest with red eyed creatures chasing after me. My wolf wants to stay and fight but I’m desperately searching for something, as if my life depends on it. Nothing in the dream makes sense as I frantically try to capture an angry raven. Just as I get near enough my outstretched hand trying to clasp its tail feathers, I fall into a black pit.
The soft blue numbers on the digital clock read four o’clock in the morning. I push the blankets away and step over to the glass door that leads out to the small terrace from my bedroom. As I slide the door open, I inhale the clean fragrance of the fresh rain. I love the scent of fresh rain. The rain was calling me, and I stepped out.
With my eyes closed, I lift my face and let the rain caress my skin. I stood for a few long moments trying to forget the peculiar dream I’ve been having for the last three years now. It may be four in the morning in London, but Greece is two hours ahead. I consider calling my grandfather, but I don’t want to worry him.
My grandfather, Alpha Dimitri Theodorus, is one of my favorite people in the world. We’ve always been two peas in a pod. I’ve been in London for a month now, and he’s already visited twice. I graduated high school earlier than most and went on to the university to study music. I’ve been playing the cello for as long as I can remember and when I turned twenty-one, two months ago, my mother let me audition for the London Orchestra, which is one of the finest in the world. I was selected to play and have moved into a flat in London.
While my mother was reluctant to let me leave our pack territory, my grandfather convinced her to let me follow my dreams. He believes no one could stop or alter their destiny. My grandfather, grandmother, and mother, all have a strong belief that I’m destined for something special. Something that has to do with an old family prophecy.
When I moved to London, they all came to help me find a suitable flat. Location, security, and access seemed to be a top priority for them. My grandfather insisted on a beautiful large flat, in the heart of London and paid the lease for the entire year. I would have been perfectly content with a studio or single bedroom, but he wanted to make sure I had plenty of room to practice and bedrooms for guests. I was currently alone in my three-bedroom flat, standing on the small terrace with a side view of the Thames River.
I miss my grandfather most of all. I’m not only his youngest grandchild, but I’m the only female Theodorus grandchild. My father had four older siblings, two brothers and two sisters. They all had sons. Uncle Kyros became Alpha of Olympus Blood Moon after my grandfather, then he passed the pack to his oldest son, my cousin.
I have no known family on my mother’s side. My mother was an only child and so am I. My father was the last known Alpha of Alpha’s, who passed away before I was even born. I am all my mother has left of my father who loved her more than life. They say I look just like him.
I opened my eyes and looked up to the sky. I wish I could see the stars tonight, but the sky was covered with dark and stormy clouds this morning. Most humans have a hard time seeing stars in big cities because of all the light pollution, but I’m not human. My werewolf vision allows me to see things more clearly and at greater distance.
I was named after Queen Cassiopeia, who was turned into a constellation in the stars by Poseidon. My father’s bright star is also found in the Queen’s constellation. Gazing at the stars always makes me feel a little closer to my father. Sometimes on bright beautiful nights, I take my cello and play outside for him.
Feeling the rain soak through my long sleep shirt, I stepped back inside and stripped it off. I felt energized and going back to sleep was not going to happen, so I put on my work out clothes and sneakers. My apartment building has an indoor swimming pool and a full gym on the main floor. I took the lift to the lobby floor, walked to the end of the north hall, and tapped in the code to access the gym.
I had the whole place to myself, which was good. Being a werewolf made me stronger and faster than humans, so even a regular human workout was more of a warmup for me. I stretched a little and quickly made my way to the weights before a human joined me in the gym. I had just finished with my repetitions when I heard footsteps approaching the gym door.
“Hey Cassi. You’re up early.” Conner greeted me.
“Yeah, the rain woke me, and I couldn’t get back to sleep. How about you?”
“I’m always up this early for training.” He told me.
“Training?”
“Weight training.” He smiled and moved towards the weight stations.
“Oh, right. Well, I’m just wrapping it up, have a good work out.” I said as I grabbed my towel and water bottle.
“What are you doing later today?” He asked.
“I have a concert tonight.”
“They’re having pint night and board games at the cafe on the corner. If you’re not doing anything after, stop in tonight.”
“Sounds like fun. Thanks for the invite.” I told him as I left the gym.
Conner lives on the same floor as me and was one of the first friends I made in London. He’s a few years older than me, tall, blonde shaggy hair, dark green eyes, and a muscled body. Conner could easily blend in with a wolf pack, but he’s human. He spends most of his time home, writing computer software programs. Apparently, he’s some computer genius and works with several large tech companies. When he’s not working from home, he’s out riding his Ducati motorcycle.
I took the lift back up to the seventh floor to my flat. It was nearly six now and I wasn’t due at orchestra practice until ten o’clock. It was a hectic week as we continued to practice, hold concerts and work on a side project recording a soundtrack for an upcoming movie. Being one of the world’s greatest and most versatile orchestras made us the go-to for film scores and soundtracks.
Another reason I had fallen in love with the London Symphony Orchestra was because of the community project and program it offered at Saint Luke’s. After the church had undergone restoration, a music discovery, educational program was launched in partnership with the Orchestra. The venue is a beautiful inspirational space that hosts events, concerts, rehearsals and learning throughout the community. Luke was also the name of my father’s wolf who was the most selfless of them all.
I decided to take a shower first and then make breakfast. I stood under the hot water and closed my eyes. I could feel my wolf Cia, stirring. Like my grandfather Dimitri, I got my wolf early in life. Most werewolves get their wolf at full maturity when they turn eighteen, I got Cia at sixteen and shifted.
My elemental gifts are something out of the ordinary as well. At the age of twelve, I received a crescent moon mark on the back of my neck. We discovered I could control water. On my thirteenth birthday, I could control earth. The following year, I was able to control fire and on my sixteenth birthday, I could also control air. With each new element, I trained to control, develop, and strengthen them for years. I trained with my grandfather, who’s the Yoda of elemental training.
All my cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents who have elemental gifts only have one. Except my grandmother, Raven, who has both water and fire. My father had three and now I’ve got all four. When I wasn’t training, I was busy playing cello.
My wolf, Cia, also has a strong Alpha aura and radiates power, because of that, my grandfather has taught me how to suppress her. Not very many werewolves are able to suppress and radiate their aura at will, but I have learned to master it. I’m able to keep her in a dormant state when I’m around others so that we can move without being recognized. My grandfather believed this was important and would give me an advantage. It would allow me to observe others and the environment without being recognized for who or what I was.
I also use a rare Greek herb called evvie that only grows in the northern mountains of Greece. Evvie is dried out and steeped into a tea. If a wolf drinks a cup, it can mask your scent for about three to four days. It tasted terrible but masking your scent also kept others from being able to scent you.
By masking my scent and suppressing my aura, I could pass for human while in the human world. It also helps to keep other unwanted attention from me, especially from rogues. My family had a huge disdain for rogues, but my mother swore that they were not all that bad or feral. She once told me about a time she almost went to live with rogues who had helped her escape her old pack. I could never imagine my mother living as a rogue.
I finished my shower and stepped out to dry off. I towel dried my thick black hair and then used the blow dryer to finish drying it. It didn’t take too long because my hair was only a few inches below my shoulders. I brushed my teeth, applied a coat of mascara around my blue eyes, brushed on some face powder, and dabbed on a bit of lipstick.
With the towel still wrapped around my body, I made my way into the bedroom to get dressed. I selected dark blue jeans and a black sweater with walking boots. After practice, I’d have to come home and change into my concert clothes, then return for this evening’s concert.
The rain was still coming down outside, which is normal this time of year for London. I started frying a few eggs and sausage, then I dropped some bread in the toaster. I reached for my fresh jar of marmalade I picked up last week at the Notting Hill farmers market and waited for my toast. I sipped my tea and devoured my breakfast.
After I loaded the dirty dishes into the dish washer, I also started a load of laundry. I was lucky enough to have a private washer and tumble dryer in my flat. The Barbican Centre where we rehearse and held concerts, was only one and half miles away from my flat. I could usually walk it in about twenty-five minutes, but I didn’t want to arrive soaking wet. I briefly considered altering the weather with my element but had promised my mother I wouldn’t while I was away in the human world. I laced up my boots and called a cab.
After two and half hours of concert practice, we were dismissed until this evenings concert. Rehearsal on concert days were kept short so that we could rest and prepare for the event. The orchestra is scheduled to play over one hundred concerts this season, both at home and abroad.
Two of my orchestra mates have been selected to attend a workshop in Chicago with some of the greatest string’s masters alive today. One of the workshop instructors is Herr Richart, who was one of my father’s instructors many years ago. I had hoped to attend and submitted my application, but unfortunately was not selected.
It was almost one in the afternoon when I left the hall. The rain had stopped, and I decided to walk back to my flat. Everything always smelled so fresh after the rain. I continued my walk south towards Saint Paul’s Cathedral, then headed west towards my flat. I passed by a small take-out restaurant and looked through the window at a cook frying fish fillets.
Nothing is more synonymous with British food than fish and chips. However, I learned quickly that the key is getting it at the right place. I prefer the chip shops that cook it fresh to order instead of the vendors who stack precooked fish behind a glass. My stomach gave grumble and I knew exactly where to go to pick some up for lunch.
There was an excellent chippy near my flat and I stopped in to place my order. With a steamy hot paper bag, I quickly walked the remaining two blocks home. I greeted Henry at the concierge desk, took the lift up and walked down the hall to my door. As I unlocked the door, I could hear my television on. I pushed the door open and entered to see who my visitor was.