Changing for Love, Chapter 1

Changing for Love

Chapter 1

Celeste

Freedom!! Today is my seventeenth birthday and am now allowed to leave the confines of these brick walls and gate. I love my family and friends but I have been looking forward to this day since I knew there was life outside of our community. There are twenty-five families living with in our walls. We keep to ourselves for a reason, a very good reason.

I hear footsteps behind me as I near the gate. There is no mistaking those overly large and loud steps. When I turn he is standing at his full height of 6’6” and looking very stern!

“You are not going with me.” I say as I look up into his black eyes.

Everyone else submits to him, but I will not. This is MY time and MY special day! He has done enough to ruin my life! I cross my arms to let him know I mean what I say.

He gives a low growl, “Celeste you will not be defiant with me young lady! As it so happens I came out to wish you well and remind you of the rules.” He turns and starts walking.

That is my signal to follow and keep up. He will talk now and I will listen if I ever want to get out of these claustrophobic gates. I practically have to jog to keep up with him since I am only 5’7”.

“Come on dad! Slow down so I can hear you talking instead of my own breath.” I slow down and am out of breath. He stops and I run into his back. I bounce back and land on my butt. Dad extends his hand down to help me up. When I look up he is shaking his head and I am blushing a few shades of red from embarrassment.

“Oh Celeste, are you sure you are ready? You have always been…..different than your brothers and sisters.”

“I am not!” I brush his hand to the side and leap to my feet. “Just because I want to go out on my own for a little while before being chained to a marriage does not make me different.” I look up to see his eyes blacken and hear him growl again. Oh Crap!

“Okay maybe that wasn’t the word to use. You are independent and set in your stubborn ways! You will not defy me in this Celeste. Papers were signed upon your arrival into this world. This marriage will happen!” He crosses his arms and puffs his chest out. “You stick to our land today and do not under any circumstances step foot outside of our boundaries. Remember there are others in our coalition out there so if you step one toe out I will know about it. Am I understood?”

“Yes father.” I bow my head in defeat……for the moment.

I run to the gate and look up at the twenty foot iron monstrosity. Will it open? I put my face in my hands and am about to cry, but then I hear the lock unlatch. I look up and see the gate start to open. When I glance back my mom is pressing the button to open the gate with my father standing behind her arms crossed and puffed chest again. She winks at me and I run out of the gate. I feel bad because I know she will receive a tongue lashing for defying him, but if anyone can handle my father it’s her.

There is no stopping me now! When I get to the edge where the flat land meets the Rockies I pause. I look up to freedom and then back to the confines of the past seventeen years. Half of my heart tells me to run and keep running. The other half loves everyone with in those walls and it would hurt them all if I did not return. We have a contract with another coalition in India. If I do not marry the leader’s son my father could be killed for breaking the contract. The Old Laws are so barbaric! My father and I may have our differences, but I love him. I shed my clothes behind a large tree and change. My long black hair turns into short tan fur with black spots and my hazel eyes turn golden. I go from 5’7” to 4’ and from two legs to four. It feels so good to change from human form to cheetah. I could stay like this forever. The strength and speed I have as a cheetah is phenomenal. It beats my human klutzy self by leaps and bounds. Once more I look back to our small community confined by twenty foot brick walls and gate. Then look up to the Rockies and take off as fast as I can, weaving in between trees and jumping over rocks. Before I know it I’m to the other side and looking down to my possible freedom. Can I keep running and sacrifice my father for my happiness? Am I that selfish? I let out a small growl and start running again.

When I get to the other side where the bottom of the mountains meet flat land I sense a presence. I slow down almost to a crawl and smell the air. It’s a musky smell and smells good. I take another deep inhale and feel a sensation in my stomach I have never felt before. That butterfly feeling brings me to dead stop right at the edge of our land. When I look beyond the trees I see him. It’s a human! I back up quietly and hide behind an enormous tree. It completely shields me from sight. I peek around to get another look. He is sitting on the ground with his back resting against a rock. The male isn’t wearing a shirt and has a straw cowboy hat resting over his face. He is very muscular which isn’t new to me. The males in my coalition never wear a shirt this time of the year because of the heat and they are all muscular. There is something different about this male though. I lick my lips, but have no idea why. The sun is shining down on him and I can see trickles of sweat running down his chest. Then there is a glare from a very large belt buckle so I look down further to notice he is wearing blue jeans and boots. He must be a rancher. I creep around the tree a little more and move a little closer. I take one step and my front left paw lands on a very large branch. It snaps loudly and he is now awake staring right at me. My head tells me to run, but my heart tells me to stay.