Black Karma by Shawnee Rose (bookstand for reading .TXT) 📕

shook my head. “I’m good. How about we meet in a little?”
Keegan shrugged. “Sounds good to me. How about that diner across the street in two hours?”
I nodded. “Sounds good. See you then.” I watched him run to the entrance where a group of kids about our age sat. I amazed me how quickly Keegan could work his way into a group of kids and befriend them. Shaking my head, I turned away, wondering what I was going to do now that my brother had ditched me.
The town was a cute little place, but I wouldn’t be happy there. There was no space between the houses, no room to run and roam. My nose picked up the strong scent of chocolate, and I found myself wandering down a street in search of it. I smiled, spotting a cute little store. Walking into the warm, sweet smelling shop, I saw all assortments of fudge and chocolate there. Looking around the small place, I saw that they also served hot chocolate and coffee products. I let my nose lead me to the front, attracted to the most mouthwatering smell of fresh fudge being made.
“Hello, there,” A very deep and very male voice said from behind me. I spun on my heel to face the speaker. He sat at one of the few tables, surrounded by others. He was tall, handsome in a dark and brooding way with his black eyes and dark hair. Sitting on his right was a blonde girl with piercing gold eyes, eyes that made me stiffen at the challenge in them. Who does she think she is, I thought angrily as the girl glared at me silently. My eyes moved on to the boy with auburn hair and chocolate colored eyes, an easy grin spread across his face. A boy with light brown hair sat next to him with bright green eyes. I couldn’t help but notice how close he sat to the boy with red-ish brown hair. The next at the table was another girl, this one with beautiful sapphire colored eyes and long brown hair. She looked perfectly at ease, the last girl next to her braiding her hair. The last girl had mocha colored hair and warm brown eyes, a small smile on her lips. The final person at the table was a boy with dark brown hair and slightly gold eyes, much like the hateful blonde’s.
After a few seconds their scent finally registered in my head, and I stiffened. “Hello.” They were the wolves I had smelled in the woods. Were they going to cause a scene here?
“I don’t recognize you,” the braiding girl said, releasing her friend’s hair and sitting back. “Are you the one that moved into the old Smith house?”
I looked her over, carefully evaluating the girl. She didn’t come across as a threat… “The old Smith house?” I questioned. “I just moved here, yes. So I’m assuming so.”
The cinnamon haired boy placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward, grinning. “No one has lived in that house in forever.”
“Well, someone is living there now.” I smiled at him, eyes still studying them.
The boy chuckled. “What’s your name, newbe?”
“I’m Karma Nightshadow,” I said, smiling at the boy. My eyes drifted back to blondie and I felt my blood boil. She was still glaring at me. “Got a problem?” I snapped, surprising myself. I never snapped at someone like that… Keegan excluded. I had no experience with my kind whatsoever and I just about challeneged the wolf.
Her gold eyes widened in surprise at first, but then her lip curled back in a snarl. The others at the table chuckled and laughed, while I stood there blushing furiously. The dark-haired boy that had originally spoken to me placed a hand on the girl’s arm. “Relax,” he said. He turned his dark eyes on me then as the girl leaned back in her chair, her eyes screaming murder. He looked somewhat amused. “Welcome to our little town, Karma. I’m Diablo.”
I couldn’t help my initial feeling of horror at the fact that someone would actually name his or her child diablo. I covered it up as quickly as I could, considering my name wasn’t much better. I chased off an awful lot of superstitious people. “Nice to meet you,” I decided to say, mentally kicking myself for sounding so formal and awkward.
“Most people call me Bo,” Diablo said, arms folding more tightly across his chest. I nodded, acknowledging him.
“I’m Cinnamon,” the cinnamon haired boy spoke up. I wondered whether his name was simply a nickname…
“I’m Tommy,” the boy sitting next to Cinnamon with the bright green eyes introduced himself.
“Mocha,” the girl with mocha colored hair said.
“Shade,” the guy with eyes like the girl that hated me said. “And this is Accallia.” He gestured next to him, to the girl that had her hair braided.
“Namiko,” said another guy with brown hair, sidling up to the table clutching a cup in his hand. He was cute in an adorable round-faced way.
“This is Aislinn,” Diablo said, pointing to the miserable blonde. “And you’ve already seen her as she is.”
“I can tell we’re going to be just wonderful friends,” I said facetiously to her. It was stupid and immature, I know. I was asking to get attacked, but for some reason I just couldn’t help it.
The girl sat up straight. “Looks like there is plenty of room over at that table if you have a problem with me,” her voice was like breaking glass, grating at my nerves. I wanted to strangle the girl as she pointed at an empty table across the room.
“Oh, but I am so comfortable here. I think I can tolerate you for a while,” I mused, sitting down in a chair across from their table so that I could talk to them—their table was much too full.
She scowled but said nothing. The wolf pack watched our interaction with great interest, eyes flicking between the two of us.
Bo turned and faced me fully, his back to the aggravating Aislinn. “Care to share what a lone wolf like you is doing prowling on another pack’s territory?”
I stiffened, eyes flicking around to see if anyone had heard him. I knew this was coming sooner or later. They weren’t talking to me for no reason at all. “I didn’t realize there were others around here,” I said, having trouble voicing allowed that we were all werewolves. “I didn’t mean to intrude in any way.”
Bo’s lips twisted into a small smile of amusement. “I’m sure not.”
My heart was fluttering like a hummingbird’s. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have anywhere to go… I’ll try not to infringe on your territory.”
“That’d be wise of you, but considering you’re living on our territory, we’ve got a problem, huh lone wolf?” Aislinn snapped, her sneer rubbing me the wrong way.
“Aislinn!” Diablo snapped. “Could you shut up and control yourself for once?” I was surprised to see her shrink back and go silent. It became clear to me immediately who was the alpha male in that pack. “I have no problem with you for now, Karma. We’ll work something out with the territory boundaries… I’d just watch yourself, little lone she-wolf. The other packs won’t be as tolerating.”
“I’ll keep your warning in mind,” I responded.
“Plus, I don’t think the other packs will like the dominance you radiate,” Cinnamon chimed in.
I looked at him, confused. I did not radiate any dominance of any sort. I felt it was best if I didn’t comment.
I watched the pack all stand up to leave a couple of seconds later. “Um, wait!” I called, chasing after them like a fool.
Diablo turned to face me, an eyebrow cocked. “Yes?”
“Um… I…” Stupid, I thought. I’m so stupid! Now what was I going to say? “Uh…” Now I just looked like a babbling fool. I sighed. Might as well ask what I wanted to. “Where are these other pack territories located? I’m sorry, but… I’ve never dealt with a wolf pack before. I don’t necessarily know pack etiquette.”
Namiko snorted. “There hardly is such a thing as pack etiquette. You listen to the alpha and get along, that’s about it.”
Mocha gave him a look. “Its hardly that simple,” she said.
“Sure it is!” Namiko argued.
Diablo shot them a look and they both shut up. “Come along, lone wolf. I’ll explain somewhere less open.” I hesitated, unsure whether or not to trust him.
I studied Diablo’s pack as they moved around him. It didn’t take much to figure out who stood where in the rank of things and how they benefited the pack. Namiko was the joker in a sense, skipping around making everyone laugh. Shade seemed to be lost in thought, the quiet one. I watched a deep blush creep along his cheeks when Accallia spoke to him. I had to bite back a smile at that. Did the boy have a crush on her? Cinnamon chatted Tommy’s ear off, while Aislinn kept close to Diablo. Mocha seemed to be at ease talking to Aislinn and Accallia, the one that laughed the most at Namiko.
Reaching the trees, I just about leaped out of my skin in surprise when the entire pack shifted forms just out of sight. Diablo was the one that captured my attention, as he became the beautiful dark wolf from earlier. The sunlight hit his coat, highlighting it in places a deep brown. The tip of his muzzle was a softer brown, and the tip of his tail and ears. He was gorgeous… he was huge! The pack all looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to shift. Namiko, now a gray, white, and brown wolf, pranced around me, snapping playfully. Diablo gave him an unmistakable look of disgust. Namiko didn’t see it.
With a sigh, I shifted. I watched as the pack’s eyes all widened at me.

Bo
My jaw fell slack for a few seconds when the lone wolf changed forms. The platinum blonde was gone, replaced by one of the fiercest black wolves I had ever seen. Most wolves’ fur had their hair color in there somewhere. Karma lost all her paleness, all that white and became darker than the night. It was like watching an angel turn into one of the devil’s kin, an angel becoming one of the fallen. She was gorgeous, a strong looking wolf of one solid black color. It was like the shadows had condensed to create her, nothing but her eyes keeping her light color. She was a beauty.
Come

, I said to her before turning to leave. We should go further into the woods to stay out of sight.

Karma followed me immediately, trotting along slightly behind me a few feet. I felt Aislinn’s displeasure at Karma’s placement. I shot her a warning glare. She had best not harm the she-wolf, or she’d learn real fast what alpha was capable of.
Glancing out the corner of my eye I saw Karma prancing along, oblivious to the fact that she was insulting Aislinn… or not caring. Only the alpha female would dare walk in front of the rest of the pack and the alpha male, which she kept doing. As she walked I couldn’t help but admire the way she was built. She was big compared to the usual female size. Despite her great size, she was lean. Her skinny build reminded me of that of a coyote’s or a racing dog like a Greyhound. She wasn’t nearly as skinny as a greyhound, but the build was similar. Her legs were long and powerful, solid muscle. The wolf was built not only for power and strength, but also for speed. Mocha was our speed demon of the pack