I was close, I could feel it, like a natural compass pointing exactly where I needed to go, it was like electricity thrumming through my paws. Every inch of me was trembling, not from the cold or the thrumming.

And the closer i got the more my body hummed.

Something familiar, like a dream. The winding river led me deep into the reserve and soon enough my mind was telling me I had to cross the it, to the valley on the otherside, the one filled with towering green trees and ferns.

That was the way. It was like a magnet pulling me. I'm arriving and it feels like home, like this was were I was meant to be. Even the soil was feeling warm and cozy, like it was a part of me. Like I could melt into it and be home.

I had been running for two days to reach the valley. I had fallen into the icy waters, slipped on the cliff faces. But I couldn't give up, not now, not when I'm so close.

I looked up to see the sun starting to set.

I scaled down the canyon wall, then plunged into the freezing water. I managed to cross it just before twilight. Venturing into the woods I ran for a few miles.

I got to a small clearing.

My ears twitched as I heard the sound of fire crackling, but also music. Wind chimes, I don't know what it was but the melody called me.

"Praise for the sun at high noon... praise the father son and sister moon"

The singing was of a woman and it got stronger the closer I got to it. The sound filling my soul, I was here for a reason. Was this the reason I was born?

"Grass that we walk upon"

My paws hit the ground, throwing dirt and pebbles up behind me, through tall, lushes pines. The entire area smelled so wild, so fresh and clean, home.

I've come so far; this is the answer I've waited for.

"Praise for the earth mother, praise the father sun and sister moon"

Deep in the woods I could see a small meadow, it held a few homes. Or rather wooden teepees, they were hidden in the tree line, and huge, all surrounding the fire.

By a fire were two people, a man and woman. Both were old but the woman singing was significantly older. She had graying hair, while the man still had dark hair. The man was probably in his 50's, the woman was about 70 maybe older.

Normally I would be cautious around humans, but something about these two told me they weren't normal humans. I got the scent of rosemary, lavender, and Amaranth-flower, all scents that were calming.

I gently stepped out into the sight of the two. The music trailed off and the two turned towards me. The older woman smiled.

"Alexandra... I've been wondering when you'd show up" she looked at me with matching eyes and a warm smile. She felt familiar but I couldn't place it. "please join us"

I nodded my head before hiding behind a tree to phase. I pulled on some shorts, sports bra, jacket and shoes before heading towards the fire. I wasn't cold but the air here held a chill to it.

"how'd you know my name?" I asked the woman as I sat down across from them. The smile didn't fade from her face as she looked at me.

"i have been waiting for you to show up for years, since the day you were born I knew you would show up here"

I furrowed my brows "how did you-"

"we can discuss that later, but first introductions. This is Hector, he will be your teacher" the woman point to the man who like her had a kind smile, he reminded me of Billy or Harry a little bit. Not much but he had a fatherly aura around him. "And I am Korinna, the Shaman. Together we have held on to our home waiting until one arrives that we can rely on to carry the heritage of the Amarok. We will train you as we have the others"

I perked up "there are more like me? Us?" I gestured to the other two.

"there used to be more than a hundred of us. We were the last of our kind to be born here. It has been 84 years since our kind lived in these hills."

"why?"

"you've seen it, the red eyes they hunt our kind outside of the barrier of the valley and the yellow eyes hunt us in the valley. We were spread thin and weak. We had no choice but to flee, some are far as South America" he gestured towards Hector "and some us to the Quileute's. Several of us fled to the Quileute's, myself included."

I furrowed my brows unsure what this meant. If she lived with the Quileutes so long ago then she knew my grandparents, and why did she leave.

"you asked me how I knew your name. It is because only one of our kind has ever presented with black fur. Only one family carried that gene."

I looked on waiting for the answer.

"I knew your grandmother and grandfathers. I met a young man in my youth, a man named Ephraim. I loved him but I lost him. Not before I had my own child, Anastasia Black. You look a lot like her"

I paused looking at the woman, the one who was claiming to be my great-grandmother. We didn't really talk about her, or my grandmother but we all knew that Ephraim didn't marry my great-grandmother. That my grandmother was the illegitimate child of Ephraim Black.

"are you saying that you're..."

"Great grandmother. Yes" her smile remained the entire time, Hector watched on approvingly. "I moved to La Push when I was young, with my mother and a few other members of the tribe. A few of us had already joined the tribe and had children, though the gene is long diluted in those families. Long enough that the children wont automatically phase. You other Great-Grandmother, Myrrine, she married Levi Uley, she was the family to carry the gene of the Black wolf. She was of the Amarok family. The family you are descended from."

"and the other families? The ones who didn't go to La Push?"

Hector started this time "we've trained a few, it has been generations. Your father was the last one. Maybe they died due to the illness or discovered and hunted. Or on a happier note, maybe they're in hiding, being trained by their families. Our tribe could be hidden in another country, safe and plentiful."

Korinna looked at me with sympathy "As it would be we are the last known descendants of our kind. The Amarok were a tribe, but we also had a secret to protect. The secret of the wolf."

Hector started gathering supplies I couldn't see what it was as I was watching Korinna. "It is time for your coming-of-age rights. We must start with the engraving of the tribal mark. For this you must lay on your stomach and remove your shirt"

My eyes widened "what?"

"the tattoo, is the first mark of the Amarok, it signals the beginning of your ritual. A long journey to discovery, are you ready to partake in this?" she asked, her eyes gentle.

"my father did this?"

"Yes." I nodded and swallowed the lump in my throat before doing as she said. With my bare skin touching the ground I stretched my arms out like wings before breathing out slowly. I could feel a stencil of sorts placed on my back.

"the tribal tattoo, is the first phase. When one reaches the age of maturity, phasing, they will receive the tattoo. This signifies to our people and other tribes that they belong to our people. That we are responsible for everything they do, good or bad."

"what happens if they are bad?" I asked.

"the other marks are signs of honor; you can only gain them if approved. But if one should obtain the other marks and should dishonor our people the marks shall be removed."

"do I want to know how?"

"not really, no"

"this is going to require you to sit still. The completion of the tattoo will signify your patience and willingness to receive pain in honor of the tribe. These are valuable skills if you are to survive." Hector replied as he sat down next to Korinna.

I nodded, my eyes closing as I felt the first piercing. The first dig into my skin. It was painful, extremely but then I remembered the pain I felt from phasing and realized this too would be over. I just had to breath.

My dad did it, I could too.

After a few minutes Hector spoke again "The Tribal tattoo is a thunder bird, stretched across our shoulder blades. The body of the bird is a wolf, moon and raven. All of which connects to our creation."

I closed my eyes and focused on Korinna's voice as she explained the story, one I had never heard before. "Many years ago, before there were animals or humans, there were spirits. They lived in peace for many years, but Moon, Aniu, changed that. You see Aniu wanted more, mother earth was too bountiful and beautiful to exist without those to worship it. So, she created Thunderbird, Nava. Nava flew around watching the spirits wander, he would create storms and rain that grew the plants and food, he created the stars that filled the night sky hoping to please Aniu, but it wasn't enough.

Nava then created Raven, Muk.

Muk was wily and mischievous, he too saw sister Moons predicament and he sought to fix it. He pulled humans and animals from the soil, from the vegetation Nava created. The humans and animals wandered peacefully under the plentiful sun's rays, until Niju appeared."

It was like the air around us grew dark, menacing.

"Niju was once a human too, but darkness overcame him, and he sought destroy the creatures that called earth home. He captured Aniu, Nava and father sun, hiding them away in a locked box.

With no one protecting the earth he killed freely.

Wily Muk was the only one left, he didn't know how to save his family, but he was patient and calculating. He waited until Niju went to hunt, then made his move. Freeing his family, the great spirits.

But from the box another creature emerged.

The Amarok, or the Wolf.

Aniu created them to fight Niju, to protect the earth when she could not. Thunderbird gave us another gift, the ability to change from wolf to man and from man to wolf. Only a few of us were gifted this ability, but the wolf remains our brothers.

Aniucould rest easily knowing that we were alive to protect her children. Manyyears past and the spirits of Aniu and Nava exist only in our hearts and mind.Niju still exists in many forms, in many creatures and we must protect theearth and our home from their reign."

"this is the honor of our people" Hector finished, before gesturing me to sit up. I wasn't sure how long it took but I assumed a while as the fire was dying. Korinna finished up the tattoo, the top of the wings along the top of my shoulder.

"The placement of the tattoo holds significance. The spine, the backbone of our people is within this tattoo, within this mark. The pain you withstood is a constant reminder of what we must do to protect our home, our land"