Some of the children didn't listen to the warnings.
A frightened gasp escaped his lips as a bird fled the dense canopy of leaves above. Taking several stumbling steps back, he steadied himself. His tearful eyes flickered back and forth, a racing heart in his chest.
Looking back over his shoulder, he couldn't see the pack any more. Those familiar buildings. He missed the warmth of his bed. Everything was replaced by a seemingly endless expanse of trees and barren scrubland.
"Don't cry," he whispered, holding the fabric of his patchwork coat with small hands. "Don't cry. Please, don't cry."
Nonetheless, tears fell, staining his muddied cheeks, souring his tongue and dripping down onto his trembling hand.
He wanted to go home. He wanted to see Mummy and Daddy. He wanted to hug them both and never let go.
But he couldn't. He was a runt: small, weak and useless. As the child of a pair of omegas, he only brought them sadness and made life harder. How many times had he made Mummy cry? How many times had he seen Daddy sit in front of the fire with his head in his hands? Without him, perhaps they could be happy again.
He knew he was a burden. The other kids always teased him for being small. The adults all looked down at him like he was a bug or something else equally small and ugly.
Signs were nailed to the trees as he marched on with all the determination a child could possess. The words were scrawled in red, but he was only five so the words, 'turn back' and 'danger', meant little to him. Ahead, the wall stood waiting for him. As he walked closer, the taller it grew. Up and up and up. Standing at its base, he couldn't see the top anymore as it leered down at him. It almost reminded him of a stack of broken plates or the teeth of a monster, jutting and with moss springing from every crevice.
At first, he tried to climb it, but he just ended up on the ground again, this time with a grazed hand and a bruised ego. Next, he sat with his back to it, sobbing with knees pulled to his chest. Finally, he wandered its length and eventually came across a little gap that burrowed beneath. Sat in front of the hole, he stared at it for the longest time.
Wind whispered through it. Calling him? Telling him to leave? He didn't know, but he was still terrified.
Any wolf from Dens territory knew of the monster that lurked in the forest past the wall. They told stories of a beast with a mouth of teeth and flames, eyes like the harsh summer rays and a mane of inkiest black. Alpha Lucus had fought off the monster years ago, and they had trapped it inside the wall to protect the nearby packs from harm. He'd never seen it, but knowing what lay past the wall sent shivers down his spine.
Gathering up what little courage he possessed, he started clawing away chunks of earth, widening the hole until it was large enough for him to fit. It took a lot of wiggling, scrambling, and a horrible moment when he thought he was stuck, but eventually he was through.
Here, the air was still. The trees seemed ten times taller, the leaves thicker. Even to his weak senses, everything was silent, unnerving. On edge, he brushed the dirt from his clothes and started to walk. Every step was painfully loud against the soft mosses. Wandering through the trees, he found his path smattered like uneven shadows from the branches overhead.
Time slipped by. Tree after tree. Step after step. As he began to tire, he eventually collapsed in a little clearing, curling into a tight ball beside a decaying log. His stomach rumbled, his feet hurt, and he was thirsty. No tears escaped him this time, none left to spare.
He wanted to go home, but without him his family could be happy. Maybe he should never have been born at all.
A twig snapped from somewhere not too far away.
He froze.
There was something there with him.
Slowly, his raised his head, staring out into the dark foliage. Crouched between two bushes a woman was looking back at him. It was her eyes that made her stand out from the darkness. A burning amber, possessing a haunting glow. They were wild, but calm. Vicious, yet calculating. Those eyes made his heart thunder, and his hands tremble.
Neither moved, caught in an unequal match of resilience. He was the first to crack, a small cry passing his lips as he tried to desperately crawl towards a hiding spot. Before he even had the chance to move a foot, she was upon him. Her hand seized his coat, pinning him down. Loomed over him like a shadow, her matted, black hair fell around her face.
"What are you doing here?" Her voice came out as a soft hiss, white, sharp looking teeth glinting from between cracked lips.
His breaths grew heavier and faster, a cascade of hot, wet tears flooding down his cheeks. "Ple- please. Please, don't eat me," he whispered, the words cracking and splitting.
She moved closer, drawing a deep breath. "A runt," she murmured, almost to herself. "Why would a runt be here without their parents in my forest?"
A slight smile pulled at her lip then. "Oh, I have no intention of eating you. What would I do with so little meat? You'd barely give me breakfast." As his crying grew louder, she lost her smile to a tight frown. "Boy, it's a joke. I don't eat other wolves." Slowly, she released her grip of him, sitting back on her haunches. The way her black cloak hung around her made her look a bit like an over-sized bat. Her hand reached towards her belt, where a blade and a leather pouch sat side by side. Tugging the fastenings, she slipped her fingers into the small bag and withdrew a stick of cured meat. "I mean you no harm." She offered him the peace offering with an unmoving gaze.
His sniffles began to subside, and he looked between the food and her eyes. Those haunting eyes. A noise from his stomach urged him to take it, but he was cautious. Fingers shaking, he grasped it and quickly pulled his arm back. The wolf didn't react, barely moving as he brought it to his lips.
"Thank you," he said. At first, he nibbled, but hunger soon took over and he didn't take long to finish the entire thing.
This time she spoke softly. "Where are your parents?" she asked.
He drew his knees to his chest, his fingers reaching for the loose threads at the bottom of his sleeve. "I ran away. Mummy and Daddy are sad because of me. The other wolves say nasty things. I thought- I thought they would be happier if I wasn't there anymore."
Her frown grew more pronounced, the crease between her brows growing darker. Silently, she sat, crossing her legs beneath her. "Because you're small?"
All the answer she needed was the slight nod of his head, the lowering of his gaze. "Aunty said I was a dishonour to my family. I don't know exactly what that means, but I don't think it's nice. The other kids always make fun of me and called me names. I didn't mean to be small. I- I just am!"
He almost peed himself when the other wolf growled, the edge of her lip curling upwards a little. "Those loathsome dogs," she spat. "This is exactly why I can't stand packs. Those ignorant, foul, little," she said a very rude word that his mother would've fainted over, turning back to him and pointing to his chest. "Listen to me, Kid. Wolves are idiots. They say things because that's what their parents, and their parents before, have told them. It doesn't mean they're right, and it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you being small. One day, when you're all grown up, you can prove them wrong.
"Running away won't solve anything, especially your parents' problems. They're probably really worried about you at the moment. Being a runt doesn't matter; you're just as important as any other mangy canine out there, especially to the people that love you."
For what felt like forever, the boy was silent. He mulled over her words, absently drawing circles on the ground beside his feet. When he looked up, his eyes were red. "I wanna go home."
Standing, the woman offered him her hand. Her expression was resigned, and she released a heavy sigh. "Okay, I'll take you back."
A/N
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. If you feel like it I would appreciate votes or comments, but I'm not fussy.
Have a nice day!
-H