Her hair lies on the muddy ground, soaked and somber. Blood crawling towards the water, blending with it. I scanned the faces of the fallen fighters but my eyes landed on the unfamiliar wolf. His neck was slashed open and his leg was pulled off of his body. I walked closer to it and saw how black their eyes are even when they are dead. I assume that even in their dreams and in the afterlife, these feral wolves are still savages.
“We should get going, Runt.”
I was surprised as I didn’t sense the man who called me. I quickly stood and stepped away from the dead feral wolf.
“Don’t call her that.”
I lifted my eyes but my head is still lowered and humbled. I gazed upon the two men bickering until the one who called me ‘Runt’ threw his hands and walked away. But he left me a glance. A glance that says how much he dislikes my presence. Although this group of wolves, group of rogues to be exact, isn’t a pack. These men are lone wolves. They can detach themselves from the group and run free.
But in my case, I can’t be a lone wolf. I can never be alone. I need my parents and a home. But that home was already burnt down by the feral wolves. They have chewed on my father’s limbs and bit off my mother’s head. And I hate how I did nothing to help them. To help the pack. All because I am a runt!
I turned to look at the man who defended me, tears are welling in my eyes.
“You need to stop crying over your mother’s head. Your pack is gone.” He threw the seed of his apple into the water. It splashed and hit my face. “None of us can defend you. Pray to your damned Moon Goddess and hope to find a pack that could accept you.”
He shifted to his wolf form and trotted towards the men collecting weapons and coins from the corpses. I lowered my gaze and watched my reflection swirl in the muddy waters.
“The wasp has lost its sting!” Someone behind me said out loud, attracting all the rogues’ attention. “The Alpha.” He threw the wolf body to my feet. “Your Alpha.”
I swallowed so hard that it pushed the tears to slide down to my cheek. I looked up to the man who carried the Alpha’s wolf body and he sighed. “You should get something that could protect you, Etheral.”
“I don’t know…” I pulled my shawl closer to my chest then squeezed my forearm.
He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I saw some daggers, bows, and knives on the Alpha’s weapon vault. You’re a twelve-year-old runt and you’re weak. At least find something, we’ll be heading out soon.”
And to his commands, I nodded and watched him walk past me. I looked back to where he came from and began to trudge towards the Alpha’s mansion.
I tried to mindlink any pack member that could possibly be alive and has recovered right now but there is still no response. And that’s when I accepted the truth that everyone was slaughtered.
I am the only one left. A runt and now, a rogue.
***
Two years since my original pack was slaughtered. I have been traveling with these rogues for a long time, learning how the rogues work in no man’s land while looking for a pack to take an orphan runt. But no one dares to accept me. Sighs, and I think I must detach myself from the group, just like the other rogues did. The only person who accompanied me throughout my search for a home was Raphal.
“Do you think they will accept me?” I asked in a low voice, trying not to attract a wild animal around. In those months of traveling with rogues, I experience at least three to four tail-chasing incidents. We were mostly chased by wild animals and I mostly hid in rabbit burrows or bushes.
“I don’t know, do you?” he said, a little bit harsh. But that’s Raphal, he always sounds mad. “If not, you got to continue learning and surviving alone.”
I heaved out a worried sigh for I know what he means. We are currently heading towards the west for the possibility of joining a pack. And I know that this pack, just like the other packs I encountered, won’t look me in the eye and straight away reject me. It’s a sickening thought but I got to stomach that.
“It’s the Highland pack, I remembered their Alpha… he was kind. But if they won’t accept you. You can stay near their borders.”
Raphal will be leaving me regardless if I have a pack or not. I am someone else’s weakness if they attach themselves to me longer than they should. Raphal should’ve left me before but he said something that I didn’t understand. But I knew that he simply felt sorry for my situation.
“Where will you go?” I questioned, not looking him in the eye. Even though he is harsh on me, I look up to him as my older brother.
“Someplace where I can’t bring you.”
Short and cold response but it almost made me cry. I don’t know if I am ready to live by myself. Raphal has taught me everything, it is up to me to make it work now.
“We are close, this is as far as I can go, Etheral.”
I gulped and looked straight ahead. Then I turned to look at him, he shifted to his human form and I, too, shifted. I inhaled, holding back my tears from falling.
“Stay alive, Etheral.” Then Raphal did something that truly melted my heart. A brotherly hug. Raphal was the first one to break the hug and stood a step away from me.
“Thank you for helping me,” I whispered and he nodded with a flat smile before shifting to his wolf form. He made a low growl at me, that was his goodbye and I responded, “Bye, Raphal. Take care.”
Once his wolf ran in the opposite direction and fade in with the forest, I mumbled to myself, “Happy birthday, Etheral.”
I have received so many worst gifts, today is no different.
Seven years later,Somewhere in no man's land. I was eating my last bread on the top part of a thick tree when I caught a glimpse of the unfamiliar fur prints moving carefully across the large swath of no man’s land. They didn’t have any wolf scent just like in the stories of our elders. Images of when I first saw the painted wolves flashed back to my mind, dreaming of their voyage on a huge ship. I slowly awoke when I realized all was just a memory. Painted wolves only wander on land to trade, hence, making their existence almost a smudge on the history books. But from what I have heard, the rest of their lives were spent in the vast ocean. They are the rarest yet strongest type of wolves. No one can simply become a painted wolf, only to be born within their pack is the way to be part of their tribe. It was a pleasure to see them walk past me two years ago. In the cramped confines of the old rabbit burrow, I uncurled and s
A morning of picking up whatever edible and valuable I could find didn’t exhaust me and my basket was already full of mushrooms. I headed east, keeping an eye out for more mushrooms to pick up throughout my journey. Rogues and packs occasionally traded along pack borders to keep the territory safe but, because I was a runt, this pack allowed me to cross their border if only I am heading to their market and leaving as soon as possible. Runts were rarely thought to be dangerous. It worked out in my favor in some ways. In other, unfavorable ways, runts were regarded as a burden and annoyance, which caused me nothing but trouble and discrimination.I walked slowly through the market. When I had to enter a pack's territory, my heart always pounds and my nerves are tensed. If someone decided to attack me as a rogue, I had no protection from the guards or fighters. The members of the pack mostly ignored me, as if I were a clump of dirt rolling past them. I'd been living near t
I checked my bag and I had caught two rabbits, mutton for today’s meal, and was thankful for it because I hadn't seen any rabbits on the way back in no man’s land. I headed south to a small and well-hidden smokehouse I had built to smoke the meats I caught. If I ate in one form – human form or wolf form – then I am full in my other form as well. Because my wolf shape was so small, I usually ate in my wolf because I’d get full quickly and it allowed me to stretch my food supply much further, saving the extra meat for the next days.Eating raw meat is not a problem in my wolf form but I prefer it cooked and clean at least. As I wait for the food to cook, I sharpened the tip of my arrows and took big feathers out of my bag. Bow and arrow, quite good with this weapon actually than melee combat. As I said, I wasn’t built to be strong and big compared to other normal wolves, I had to use different tactics and weapons to survive in no man’s
As the birds began to sing in the new day, I awoke. It sounded like a lovely and nice way to wake up in novels and fairytale books, but birds start singing at an alarmingly early hour, snapping me awake in exasperation. The sun had not yet risen. This was one of the reasons I preferred the rabbit burrow; I could sleep until daybreak if I wanted to – no bird sound to wake me up. I shook my head and yawned. I scratched my ear before jumping down and moving in a stealthy manner towards the smoker. Before I could nibble daintily on a piece of smoked mutton, I smelled the surroundings for any traces of the feral wolves. After finishing the cooked mutton, I returned to the tree, followed the forest highway through the branches, and waited for the sun to fully rise.Hours later, I didn't see any movement at this time of day, but I couldn't trust scents this high in the trees because the light breeze was whisking away the smells of anything below. I shifted to my human form and
As I listened and used my Omega senses to figure out what was going on above, I tried to keep my panting quiet and slow it down a bit. My Omega abilities have been put to sleep for a while because I hadn’t seen many wolves roaming in no man's land – and I always avoid the place where they train and practice hunting – I’d gotten out of the habit of constantly using my Omega senses. These senses were likely to be rusty from disuse, like stiff muscles that needed to be limbered up, but I could still tell and sense that all four had gathered around the small bush and were inspecting it. The bramble bush wasn't much bigger than the average wolf, so I wasn't sure how effective it would be as a deterrent for them. They were aware that I was present, and their attention was still drawn to me and the burrow underneath the bushes.I noticed one of the wolves shift into a human form. Not long after that, I noticed a rope pass through the burrow entrance. As I hea
The three men took a little step back and averted their gazes from me. Except for the one guy who pinned me to his chest. He was gaping at me, clearly surprised. "You're… You’re a girl!”The guy beside him coughed while I blinked slowly at his sudden realization. They probably assumed that I was a male like most rogues in no man’s land. He looked away in embarrassment when he realized that his surprised expression was too obvious and his statement sounded a lot more frantic than shocked. He looked to be in his early twenties and was a bit slimmer than the other three guys.He rubbed the back of his hair as he mumbled, "Uh, sorry about that... Didn’t know you are a girl."I nodded slowly in acceptance of his apology; my senses told me that it had been sincere – my Omega senses are still open, just in case they are planning something dubious. The fourth guy stepped forward, and I shifted my weight uneasily to turn and face him.
The basket, well, similar to the burrows I slept, it matched my size and unlike the burrows, there are tiny holes where light and air could peek in. Luigi is currently carrying the basket in his jaws and they all took turns carrying the basket with me in it. They covered more ground in a day than I could in a week on foot. I bet we are almost halfway to their territory.It was a silent run and quite relaxing in my case. Now I felt bad for letting them carry me in a basket. They were probably mindlinking each other and their pack, but I wouldn't be a part of the pack link until the Alpha bound me to the pack in a ceremony of acceptance.When it was already dark, they made me sleep in the basket while they curled up around it in case wild animals ambush us. It was unsettling to sleep, but I trusted them to keep any predators away. Most animals wouldn't mess and challenge four full-grown werewolves.I was surprised that they didn't pick up on the scents of rogues w
We crossed the street and began walking up the main walkway to the pack house's entrance. Although I was nervous about meeting the Luna, the large double doors ahead, draped with vines and flowers, looked truly inviting and kind in my eyes.Sighs, I was a rogue, as well as a runt. Those two words kept bothering me and trampling my confidence. I was afraid of being turned away again once she sees me up close. And if the Luna rejects me, I would be in unfamiliar territory with no real resources or supplies that I had accumulated at my previous location.The gentle breeze carried the scents of lilacs and jasmine to my nose, but with an odd undertone. I took a deeper breath; I'd never smelled anything like this scent before. I was curious as to what kind of tree or plant it was. On cool nights, it reminded me of the rich smell of the deepest parts of the forest. The scent practically demanded that I pay attention to it.I was a runt, but not a slow thinker. Sc
Nix and I have been keeping an eye on the kids while we are traveling. They are inside a basket so they won’t have to run along in their wolf forms. Nix was the one who carried Garox in the other basket while Mua offered to carry Etheal. Etheal was scared of Mua but overcame her doubt when Mua handled her with care.As a previous rogue and Omega, all of my passive senses were open and sharp. With painted wolves running with us, I doubt that any wild animal or wolf would come closer. I looked to my right and felt Alpha Kalil’s overpowering aura. Even if you are meters away from him, you would instantly back off and avoid confronting him. The Betas and fighters stayed in our pack with reinforcements from Alpha Trevor and Beta Mike in case an ambush would erupt.Nix has been having those darkened eyes from time to time whenever he senses something dubious from afar or a rustling sound within the forest. It’s always like this whenever we travel. And I am starting to regret taking the kids
Nix and I tried to smell the air once more; testing if there was an odd scent closing to us. But then the scent was gone. I mindlinked Nix and he said that maybe it’s nothing. I believed him and was about to take a seat with our kids around the table until we heard a sudden knock. It was a heavy one knock like throwing a stone onto the door.“Mom? Dad?” Garox called over our mindlink. “Someone’s at the door…”Etheal blinked, puzzled by our reaction. “Should I open it?” Etheal asked, unaware that we couldn’t smell that person knocking.“No, don’t…” Nix warned.As I slowly stood up, Nix held my hand. Nix mindlinked me privately that he’ll open it with me. I smiled and nodded. Nix and I walked carefully towards the door and once we reached the knob, we slightly opened it and crane our necks to see who it was.The person who knocked furrowed her brows at us and crossed her arms in annoyance.“Mua!?” I exclaimed. “Goodness, welcome back!”Nix let out a chuckle, relieved to know that the od
5 years later.“Nix… Nix! NIX!” I hollered his name, trying to wake him up. “I can’t find Garox and Etheal in their room...”Nix faced the other side of the bed and groaned. “Love… it’s the middle of the night.”I scoffed. “Did you hear me? Garox and Etheal are gone!”Even if I yell close to his ears, he wouldn’t wake up so I had to pinch his nose. Seconds later, he felt like drowning in his dream and had to jump awake at me. We hit each other’s forehead and Nix quickly apologize and kiss the spot where it got hurt.“I am fine, Nix, but the kids are not in their room. I knew I heard something come out the door so I had to check them. When I got there, I saw pillows arranged to guise their absence.”Nix groaned because he is still half-awake and gave me squishy hug. He stood and yawned, stretching his body before he says, “Come on.” He then extended his hand to reach mine. “Let’s look for those two.”We started looking for Garox and Etheal inside the house until we decided to go out an
Eventually, Luna Mary told us that the banquet is ready and we should head to the dining hall and continue the conversation with the other pack and tribe members.Nix and I walked behind them when Nix suddenly mindlinked me. “How about we skip the celebration and dine inside our room instead? I am certain that you won’t like the noise and strong smell of beer.”I had to give him a skeptical look. “And why would we skip this? They will be leaving early tomorrow. And I will never miss this chance to witness the painted wolves celebrate with our pack.” I raised a brow at him. “Besides, who said that I will hate the noise and smell of beer? You are out of excuses, aren’t you?”Nix grinned and shook in disbelief. “Alright, you win.”That made me smirk and then give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Don’t frown, love, it’s a jovial celebration.”***We enjoyed the stories and how open the painted wolves have become. Two of them are in their wolf form since they have just arrived here and not
Nix mindlinked me that the ambush of feral wolves failed. They weren’t able to infiltrate the pack borders because painted wolves have killed the feral wolves before they got close. He also told me that one painted wolf was injured but his wound quickly healed on its own since it’s just a wolf scratch.Later on, Evan announced over the pack wide mindlink that we can go back to the town and respective houses as they have confirmed that we are safe. After a while, Luna Mary has called all the cooks to go back to the kitchen and prepare for the welcome feast and victory celebration.Nix told me that I must go back to our room and wait for him. He emphasized that I shouldn’t stray or leave the room unless I am with him. But I am also a cook, I have a duty to fulfill. So, I followed the cooks to the large kitchen and helped them.“I am glad that we were able to survive this night,” Sylvia said out loud so the other cooks would hear it while grabbing the clean plates out of the cabinet. Eve
Nix’s POVAlpha Kalil sent a messenger to Alpha Trevor and Beta Mike, requesting for reinforcements. We have sent fighters on every side of our pack borders. There are fighters guarding the town and the safe houses. Ruby was designated to guard the town but I had to mindlink her to guard the first safe house to ensure that Etheral stayed inside. Ruby was kind enough to obey my order since I already sent a fighter to replace her spot.“Etheral?” I mindlinked her since I can feel her apprehension flowing through the mate bond. “How are you?”“Ruby is with me right now; some pack members will be sleeping in their own house as it is close to the safe house. Majority are cramping here on the first safe house. The other safe houses are fully occupied as well.”I heaved out a relieved sigh. “And you? Are you safe?”“Nix, I am. I am going to send you an image of Ruby.” Etheral sent an image of Ruby’s cold and stone face. “I am safe.”“Good. These feral wolves aren’t coming out yet. It’s getti
Once I woke up, Nix wasn’t on my side. He must’ve gone to patrol the pack borders or help Alpha Kalil. Since I reek of Nix’s scent, although his smell is quite comforting, I still need to go to the bathroom and take a shower before going downstairs. I went to find Ruby but she was on duty while Tiffany is nowhere to be found, she must be shopping right now.After a while, I decided to look for something to eat in the dining hall. And there I saw some of the painted wolves. I was about to sense their inner emotions out of habit but decided to withdraw my senses from touching their minds or else, they might take it as a provocative action. Talking to them might be the easiest and only way to understand them.One of the painted wolves I can name is Mua; she is currently busy grabbing food. “Hi,” I said, approaching a little closer. “Mua, right?”Mua gave me a quick glance before returning to her silver tray. “Aye. Good day to you,” she replied.“Thank you. Good day to you as well. I am E
Nix was surprisingly early today and quickly dragged me out of the room. Tiffany greeted us once we went downstairs and handed me a handkerchief. I said I don’t want to wear a blindfold but Nix insisted that it wouldn’t be a surprise without it.Obviously, I couldn’t see where we are going, but I used my senses to smell the surroundings. Cheating but I dislike the suspense I am feeling. In the first few minutes of our walk, I smelled the scent of some pack members busy in town and heard a lot of noise. Then that noise faded and the smell was replaced with forest and mushrooms. Nix and Tiffany weren’t answering my questions and they simply guided me on what I am stepping on. I tried to reach Nix’s surface emotions and I can sense his excitement with a tone of protectiveness still. I didn’t want to ruin his mood so I try to act as unaware as possible.Slowly, I can smell the faint scent of Ruby, next to her are Raphal and Nathan.“We are here,” Tiffany said, holding back her anticipatio
Mua and Ren stayed beside Alpha Arva’s side while Kyi, Pau, Koe, and Lea dine with us. Koe and Kyi are basically twins and Lea and Pau are mated with each other. Everyone in the dining hall seems surprised to see the tribe staying in our pack territory for a while. My Omega senses are open and have been receiving positive emotions from the pack, some are in doubt and fear but most were fascinated by their human form. This is the first time I have seen them in their human form too. When in human form, they seem approachable and innocuous. Painted wolves rarely shift forms on land, only when sailing that their human forms took over. That is to keep the enemies at bay.I had a dream of joining their expedition once when I was young and fond of reading history books but history says that only their tribe member could accompany them in voyaging the vast ocean. I even believed that they own the ocean.“I assume that Ren is the Alpha’s mate?” Nix asked, still irritated by the presence of pai