Prologue
I stood in the shade of the trees, looking out into the valley below me. Behind me, the main cave entrance to the den carved into the side of a mountain. With a deep sigh, I walked down the steep slope, down into the gorge for a quick walk through the forest that I knew so well. I took the trail that I hadn't used in so long that twisted on a scenic route to the river. The sun peaked through the branches high above, speckling the ground with the early morning light. Finally, I arrived at the wide river and sat on a rock, enjoying the view. It wasn't more than ten minutes before my advanced hearing picked up a twig snapping and a childish shush. Without turning, I smiled to myself. Though well concealed, my pursuers had made the mistake of standing upwind and allowing me to sniff them out easily.
"Anne Marie, Toby, Hannah and everyone behind that bush better come out and give me a proper welcome," I called out, my voice tinged with amusement. These pups would give me a heart attack when they were older, getting into worse trouble than this. High-pitched laughter and shouts met my demand and five children came running. The oldest was Anne Marie, at ten years old. She was a beautiful little girl, with chestnut curls, light freckles and bright hazel eyes. Next were the twins, Hannah and Toby who were nine. Both had their father's flaxen hair, but their mother's dark eyes and fair skin. Then I saw little Jase who had just turned eight. He was an exact copy of his father with his dark hair and olive skin, but still had the haunting green eyes of his mother and her father before her. Last but not least, my darling Isabeau. My favorite. Her eyes were the color of melted chocolate, and her midnight hair hung in ringlets down to her waist. She was only six, but all the trouble of each of her companions combined.
"Nana, Nana!" Hannah giggled as she ran to me and clung to my leg. She grinned up at me with her adorable dimples. Jase was right behind her, pulling on my hand to get my attention.
"We watched some of the hunters bring down a deer in the woods! Dad said that I could have one of the antlers to keep in my room!" he exclaimed. His face was bright with excitement. It went on like that for a while, each of my grandchildren eagerly telling me the events of their morning in the vivid detail that only young children find important. Isabeau sat on my lap as the children played in the river. Suddenly, she looked up at me with her big eyes.
"Nana, Mum took me to town yesterday and I met a girl named Jane and she was with her nana and her nana was way older than you," she said looking confused.
"Well, Izzy, was this Jane girl human?" I asked patiently. Before he had mated my daughter, Isabeau's father had been a human. It was natural for children Izzy's age to start asking these kinds of questions. Izzy nodded and I sighed, moving her to my other leg.
"Alright. Isabeau, we are not like humans and you know that. We age much, much slower than them. Once we get as old as we need to be, we stop looking older. We look young even though we get old," I told her as she looked up at me solemnly.
