A Runaway

Growing up We were told stories of strong werewolf packs up and down the East Coast. We were told about the legendary alphas who led those packs in the Were War. We were told scary stories of what those alphas would do to us if we got out of line. No one in the small pack where we are from grew up ever doubting the validity of Cullen Steiner the alpha of the Good Ole Boys Pack in SouthWest Georgia. He was known for his deed name Baptized by Fire.

The campfire stories told of how he had taken down Alpha Joel Handcock by himself in the Were War. Alpha Handcock had gone insane when his wife and daughter were killed in a fire. No one person can explain how it started, but at some point he turned on the females in his pack and surrounding packs, making them prisoners. He abused, raped, and tortured all he could find. He encouraged other wolves to follow his example. Numerous packs across the United States came under attack and their young daughters and wives were hunted.

It didn't take long for the Good Ole Boys Pack to join with Luna Fenrir Pack and start a war party. The South Mountain Pack and the Blue Mountain Pack along with two smaller packs attacked and destroyed the renegade wolves. Alpha Joel Hancock had been killed by Cullen Steiner, thus ending the Were War, and creating the scary story told to the young.

Life moved on for the recovering packs, and over the next hundred years, peace was established along with an Alpha Council. Alpha Marcus Ryle, Alpha Anthony Rossi, and Alpha Cullen Steiner we're all made official members of the council. The three of them had the largest packs dividing the East Coast. No one defied these packs. They were peaceful unless provoked and then they became deadly.

So life went on for the small packs in and around these three. Ivory Jennings happened to be born in the tiny city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. to a cruel father. He was of the mindset 'Father knows best,' and knowing best often meant ruling with a heavy fist and belt. Ivory's mother, Kaitlyn, had died during childbirth. The young girl was raised by her father and subjected to his cruelty. As Ivory grew up, she was isolated from other teens her age and discouraged to mingle with humans. Her life was hard, and when it came time for her wolf to be celebrated, her father refused to bring her to the circle, locking her away instead.

Ivory was slowly going crazy as her wolf prowled her mind demanding freedom. It was on the first Blood Moon that her wolf finally broke free of the collar that chained her in the basement, preventing her human from shifting. The massive white wolf tore through the house, shredding the side door and escaping into the woods outside of the army base. Roger Jennings had discovered the unruly wolf's departure and gathered his Pack, offering Ivory to whichever wolf found her as a prize.

Ivory ran for two days until she collapsed along a riverbank, too exhausted to care or move. She licked at her raw front paw until her eyes closed. She had fallen into a heavy sleep and missed the sounds of someone approaching.

"There, there, little wolf," Aaron said, kneeling beside the she-wolf. He could see leaves and mud coating her thick white fur. He leaned down and heaved her bulk in his arms, carrying her carefully back to his white 2019 F-250 pickup. After he laid her on the back seat he made a call to Dylan and Oscar asking them to meet him at his home and prepare the white room for a guest.

The white room was used to place feral wolves. Sometimes after losing a mate or being injured in battle, a wolf would turn feral and need a safe place to work through the pain. So the pack had a padded room installed under the packhouse next to the infirmary. Aaron didn't know what caused this she-wolf to collapse, but wolves were not normally seen in daylight on the public banks of the Flint River. Whoever she was, she might need some help.

When he arrived, both Dylan and Oscar met him at the front door. "You might need to call Damien and Carla as well. I have no idea who she is." Aaron said as Oscar opened the door for him to lay the unconscious she-wolf on a blanket in the middle of the floor.

"Did you call Cullen?" Dylan asked, standing to the side of the open door.

"Not yet. I was hoping to get Damien to look her over. And Cullen is at an Alpha Council meeting. I don't think a stray is high on the list to disturb him. I was thinking Carla could speak to her when she wakes if she wakes peacefully." 

Oscar moved his hand over the sleeping wolf's back before joining Dylan at the door.  Oscar walked down the hall with his phone in hand and read a text message. "Damian said he would be here in twenty minutes, and Carla is on a call at the clinic, who knows when she will get here? Do you want to keep the door open?"

Aaron ran a hand through his shoulder-length blonde hair before looking at the pair. "Let's put some water in here and no, lock her in. If she wakes and shifts we can go from there." Aaron blew out a breath before walking down the hall and checking the security center.

Kyle and Charles were on duty. Aaron looked at the monitors before speaking. "I want the den's borders watched. She managed to get in and no one noticed her. I have a bad feeling whatever she was running from is looking for her. Get Jesse and Natalie to set up cameras around the compound as well." Aaron was charged with security for the Pack and he didn't take his job lightly.

"I will get it done. How is she?" Kyle asked after the she-wolf.

"I don't know. Her paws were bloody, she was running hard, and she didn't wake up when I moved her." Aaron said in a concerned voice.

Charles turned his office chair towards Aaron. "Shit. I will keep checking with the surrounding packs and see if any of their newly changed are missing or for reports on any rogues. But if she ran herself bloody it gives me a bad feeling."

"Me too." Aaron's hand moved over his face. "The second you find anything, let me know." The man retreated from the room.

~~~

Ivory slept deep and fitful. Her front paws dug into the thick tile floor numerous times as she appeared to be dreaming. Other than a few growls and whimpers, she didn't appear as though she was going to wake. Then on the third day, her eyes opened. After taking in the room, she quickly got to her feet. Her eyes darted to the camera in the corner of the room and then to a bottle of water next to a bowl of water. Taking the six steps towards the water, she paused. After scenting the air and smelling both wolves and humans, Ivory and her wolf both decided it was safe enough to shift.

Having grown up in a pack, Ivory recognized she was in a white room. Wherever she was, they thought she was a danger to them or herself. So if she was going to get answers to questions quickly forming, she was going to have to speak to them. She shook out her fur before shifting back into her birth form. The change wasn't as instantaneous as it could have been. But she had been denied her wolf for so long and this was her first attempt at shifting in over two years. Her white fur retreated and alabaster flesh appeared. Her blonde hair was so light, she could have passed for albino if it hadn't been for her deep blue eyes.

Ivory was aware she was being watched when the camera lens shifted. But her thirst was greater than her curiosity and she drank the entire bottle with one guzzle. She considered drinking the water from the bowl, but leaned on the wall and sank to the floor instead knowing someone would be joining her. She could smell the three male wolves approaching as well as a female. Her eyes were on the door when it finally opened.

Aaron opened the door, cautiously. He entered with his palms out, showing the young woman he meant her no harm. "Hello." He said tentatively. "My name is Aaron Martin. Can you tell me your name?" He had only taken three steps into the room. Any further and he felt she could take him as a threat.

She brought her knees closer to her chest, making herself smaller. It was a defense mechanism from being abused by her father for so long. She didn't want to talk, but he was male, and males demanded answers. Her father's pack had taught her that females had no rights, they did as they were told. So she looked at the ground and braced herself. "Ivory. My name is Ivory."

Carla slowly walked into the room, standing beside her brother. "Ivory, my name is Carla." She said, setting her hand on Aaron's shoulder. Using her chin, she directed him out of the room. Brother, look at her. She fears you. Let me talk with her. Carla spoke through their family bond.

Aaron gave a single nod and stepped away. I can see someone hurt her. If you think she is stable, I will send her clothes in. If not, I want you out of here and the door locked. Do you understand?

Carla crouched down so she was at eye level with Ivory, but remained in the open doorway. Yes my dear brother, loud and clear. Just go get her some food and more water. And have Damien ready to check her out. Carla had a sixth sense about people, and right now she had a feeling Ivory was no danger to anyone.

"Ivory, can you tell me what happened? My brother here," she looked at the retreating man behind her. "Found you unconscious. Were you attacked?"

Ivory watched the woman and forced several breaths. "I don't remember how I got to wherever here is. I was collared in a basement and then nothing until waking here." She tensed.

The word collared had such a negative connotation in Carla's mind. It normally meant subjugation to a wolf, and that was an outdated barbaric tradition. Suddenly she understood why this she-wolf was in such poor condition. "You are safe now. There are no collars here. No one is going to hurt you." There was a near growl in her tone. Carla smiled at Ivory and extended her hand.

Ivory was scared, but she felt compelled to accept the offered hand. She crossed the room and ended up hugging the older female. Tears welled in her eyes and Ivory cried until she couldn't cry another tear.

Carla helped her get dressed and walked her from the white room down the hall to the infirmary. Damian, the pack healer, gave her a thorough exam. Other than a little malnutrition Ivory seemed in good health. He told Aaron and Carla she needed to eat, rest, and heal for a few days, which she did.

Aaron came to talk to her on the second day. "Hello again, little wolf." He smiled. "I am sure you have questions as do I. So let's get them out of the way, shall we?" When Ivory nodded he started. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank you, sir." She said avoiding looking at him. She still thought it was strange none of them had said an ill word to her or called her names. She was waiting for the insults to start.

Aaron was angry with her lack of eye contact. It spoke of the abuse she had lived through. "Ivory, look at me. No one is going to hurt you here. I don't know where you are from or what you lived through, but we are a free pack. Men do not hurt females here." He sounded impassioned.

Ivory nodded as she looked into his green eyes. She saw the truth. She released a breath and even tried to relax. They spent the next hour talking about her dad and his pack. She told him how he never allowed her to shift, and she never had the ceremony under moon to be embraced as a full-pack member. Aaron assured her that she would be welcomed here and that when his Alpha returned, she would enter the stone circle and become part of the pack.

When Aaron told her that her new alpha would be Cullen Steiner, her eyes got large and then it hit her that she was with the Good Ole Boys Pack. Ivory didn't know whether to be terrified or envious. She decided not to fear this pack. They had been nothing but kind and understanding.

When she was deemed healthy, Carla had a room arranged for her with Cedar and Fern. The sisters were both Betas in the pack and more open to helping educate Ivory on how the pack worked. The three quickly became friends.