"I won't hurt you. All I want to do is talk," he says, his voice calm and not seeming to hold a lie. I snicker, though. I've learned not to trust anyone, so I don't.
"Shift back," he orders. This is when I realize he's probably in a much higher place than I ever was. Maybe third in command or beta? Either way, I am at the bottom of the pack, so he immediately outdoes me. I'm no longer in his territory though, so why should I listen? I can sprint off any moment and he can do nothing about it.
I shake my oversized wolf head at him and growls erupt from the defense line. Well, they obviously don't like people disobeying their superiors.
Another wolf steps forward and I cower away in fear. The guy looks him straight in the eye, and the wolf obediently backs down. I relax a little, but still stay tensed.
'Can't we just run? They can't follow us, we're not on their territory,' I ask my wolf desperately.
'We could, but they would still send others after us. Plus, you're only new to this and don't know how to harness all your power yet,' she answers back. Power? What power?
Before I can ask, the guy speaks up again. "My name's Callum. I'm the beta of the Nightfall Pack."
Well, that answers my earlier assumptions. I make no move to shift and he doesn't make a move to, well, move.
Hold on a second... Nightfall Pack? I've never heard of them. Maybe Damon kept that little bit of information from me like he's done for other packs I've asked about. I only know the Greenwood and Fire pack. That's all I've learned.
It's silent for a few minutes. I guess he is waiting if I'll shift. Callum's face falls for a second before he puts on a blank face.
"It's either shift or see our alpha. Your choice," he says and my eyes widen.
I back up behind a tree and shift. I yank on the same clothes as before, but make no move to come out.
"You done?" Callum calls from his earlier spot. I nod before mentally hitting myself. He can't see you, Celina...
"Yes," I say quietly, but I know he and everyone else hear me. I can't help it, I just can't talk loud to someone I haven't met.
"I'm not coming out though," I state a bit more firmly. I hear a chuckle and a few snickers at my statement.
"Why would that be?" he asks me with amusement in his voice.
I take a deep breath and answer him, "I'm no longer on your territory and you have no rights to a rogue."
My wolf growls at the word ‘rouge’ but it gets everyone to shut up.
"You ran through our territory and any rogue who trespasses must be punished. There is no exception to that rule," he answers in a business like tone.
I sighed before answering one last time, "You're right, there isn't, but according to werewolf law, there is. If a rogue is to trespass through a territory and is captured, they will be punished. If they trespass and make it through without being captured, they are free to leave without any questions. The only exception to the rule, is if the rogue is a criminal, wanted, or psycho that needs to be locked away and captured. I am neither of those three. I have never committed a crime in my life, I am not wanted for any sort of reason, and by no means am I a psycho. If you don't believe me, look up section D, paragraph 14.5.2, to see if I'm wrong, in the werewolf laws."
I take a breath once I finish and wait for an answer. Silence. That's what I'm met with.
I sigh once again and strip, turning back into my wolf. I make sure I'm still covered in mud and step out into the open. I'm met with the shocked faces of wolves and Callum. I nod my head in a sign of respect and trot away. Surely, they can't stop me now.
"Wait!" someone suddenly shouts when I am about fifty meters away from the border. I come to an abrupt stop and slowly turn to see a young teenager with brown hair and dark, almost black, eyes staring at me. He also has shorts on, thankfully. He's a bit lean, but has muscle as well.
He slowly approaches me, and as he gets closer, I can see he's about my age. What is he doing protecting the borders and hunting down rogues at such a young age? That should be illegal.
He stops about two meters away from me and kneels down, staring into my eyes.
"Comrade! What do you think you're doing?" An angry and distress-looking Callum calls. He doesn't move though, and neither does the boy. Comrade, I guess that is his name.
"You're a long way from home, aren't you?" he asks, voice soft and quiet, soothing almost. Flashes of my old pack run through my head, and I feel a single tear run from my eye and into my fur. I slowly nod my head, my eyes filled with sorrow and pain.
"Do you miss it?" he asks again, voice still the same as before. I shake my head this time and surprise flitters through his eyes. He obviously isn't expecting that answer. His eyes turn sorrowful.
"I think all you need is a friend. Someone who will listen to you and make you feel happy. Am I right?" he asks gently as he moves forward and strokes my mud covered fur. My wolf purrs with delight at the touch. I must admit, it feels nice.
I flop down onto my belly and lay my head in my paws, half closing my eyes.
"You want a home, a place you can be safe and comfortable. Not somewhere where you're constantly stressed and afraid. Tell me, am I right?" Comrade asks again, seeming to know everything about me without even knowing me. Another tear slips down my fur as I nod.
"Why don't you come with us?" he suggests. My head snaps up and I stare at him with wide eyes. Stay?
"You'll have a home, you'll be happy. All those wolves standing along the border will be your family and will care for you. Just like they did to me," he whispers the last part and a smile takes over his face.
I stare at him, contemplating. Sooner or later I'm gonna be killed or captured, and I have a feeling it's gonna be sooner rather than later. I slowly stand up and make my way to a tree, shifting and pulling on some clothes. I take my time, and ask myself a question.
Do I really want this?
A home. A family. Love. Care. Everything I've always wanted. I guess the question shouldn't be hard to answer, but it is. I've been beaten, bashed, cut, whipped, spat on, pushed down stairs, the list is endless. Will this pack really show me kindness and compassion? Or will they be just like my old pack? Now understand this, why would I just give myself to a pack... when I just became free?
On the other hand, this pack seems nice. The beta seems to be a kind man, Comrade seems to have taken a friendly liking to me and every one of those wolves on the border will protect their pack no matter what. You could tell by their worried faces when Comrade came up to me, and by the fierce expression that took over them when I questioned their beta.
Two valuable points. Only one answer.
Taking risks is what builds character and never in my life have I taken a risk. I've never stood up to anyone. Never questioned anyone. Never put my trust in anyone who's not my parents.
Taking a risk for once won’t kill me.
I take a deep breath and step out from behind the tree. My hair is matted with mud, my clothes are old and worn; my face and body are bruised and scarred, yet... Comrade smiles at me. A full blown smile crosses his face and I can't help the ghost of mine to cross my face.
Then I do something unexpected. I launch myself at him and hug him. I haven't hugged someone since I was seven. It's a nice feeling. He gladly hugs me back as I whisper in his ear, "Thank you."
I release him and back away, suddenly realizing what I've done. I drop my head and chew my lip nervously.
"Sorry," I apologize quietly. My old pack would've hit me and beaten me for touching them, so I brace myself for the hit. It never comes though. Instead, I hear a small and quiet chuckle.
I look through my lashes to see Comrade smiling at me and shaking his head.
"No need to apologize. I take that as a yes then?" he asks hopefully, eyes shining with happiness. I don't know why, but I feel like I can trust Comrade and that's the reason why I'm doing this.
I nod my head slightly and his fist pumps the air while screaming, "Yes!"
I giggle at his
dramatics and shake my head. He's certainly childish...
"May I have the honor, my lady?" he asks in a horrible British accent while bowing. I giggle again and nod my head, putting my hand in his outstretched one. He takes a firm hold of it and leads me back to the border where a grinning Callum and all the wolves are waiting.
I look back down and let my hair cover my face, nervousness suddenly overtaking me.
"They won't hurt you, you know? They're quite friendly," Comrade mentions with a chuckle and a shake of his head. I give him a small smile, but look down again as we approach Callum and the others.
"Beta," Comrade addresses with great respect and loyalty, that it surprises me a little. Nobody even spoke to my alpha like that. Well, old alpha.
"I believe this little lady here would like to join the pack and, if I'm not mistaken, that needs the alpha's and beta's consent," Comrade says, still with a slight joking manner.
At the word alpha, I tense up. Comrade seems to notice and shoots me a worried look before turning back to a grinning Callum.
"It would be an honor to have such a lovely lady join the pack. All we need to do now is convince the alpha," he says with a shrug. I blink. I guess their alpha is pretty laid back, if he has that kind of reaction to his pack mates.
A large number of the wolves spread back out along the border of their territory and only a selected few stay behind.
"Right! Let's get you to the alpha, shall we?" Callum exclaims while clapping his hands together and grinning wickedly, making me a bit nervous.
As he walks off, Comrade and I trail behind, as the last wolves form a protective circle around us. Now is when I realize that Comrade still has a hold of my hand. I hurriedly drop it and cup my elbows instead. Comrade shoots me a questioning look, but I just hide behind my hair.
The trip is silent as we make our way through the territory. I didn't realize when I was running, but wow! This place is huge!
It has to be the largest territory I've come across!
After a very, very long walk and I almost collapsed multiple times from feeling faint, we arrive at the pack house. All I'm gonna say is that, I'm glad I don't have to clean it.
It's huge! At least three times the size of my old pack's.
The whole of the outside is painted dark brown and there's a patio going all around the house. Dark columns hold up the balcony that also runs around the whole second floor. In total, it appears to have about three floors in it and a very large backyard.
I hear Callum and Comrade chuckle at me, but I'm not sure why. That's until Comrade gently closes my jaw that is hanging wide open. I readjust myself and quickly put up my hair as a shield once again. They both chuckle and lead me inside. The wolves that were in a circle around us break off and disperse back into the shadows of the trees.
I gulp as I look at the large wooden door. Comrade slightly bumps me and whispers in my ear, "Relax. No one here will hurt you."
I nod my head, but don't relax. Not even a little. I don't know these people and I'm willingly walking into their very intimidating home. Now that I think about it, the dark colors really support that assumption.
As Callum opens and enters through the door, I take one more deep breath and trail inside with Comrade behind me.
The inside is just as magnificent as the outside. Instead of dark, intimidating colors, though, the walls are a cream color and the floor tiles are a midnight black with white spots here and there. It's a beautiful contrast.
The first room you enter through the door is the foyer. It has a large, diamond chandelier that provides light in the room. Judging by the darkness from the outside by now, I would say it's about five or six o'clock.
As we walk through the rest of the house, the living room and dining room come into view, which are connected, the games room, which have a few younger pack members in it, and the cinema room. A cinema room!
The living room has a red, fluffy carpet spread across the whole floor and all the furniture is black leather. There is a massive flat screen TV spread across pretty much a whole wall and a fairly large cabinet underneath holding massive amounts of DVDs.
The dining room has the same tiles as the foyer and I've realized that the tiles go right through the house, unless the room needs to be carpeted. It has a large dining table, which is much bigger than my old pack's that is placed as a kind of divider between the dining and living room. The countertops are all white granite with black spots here and there where an industrial-sized fridge and stove top are placed.
The games room is pretty much a room packed to the rim with game consoles, Wiis, controls, and about five TVs for all of the games to be viewed on. That room also has a carpet which is black. A good choice, in my opinion, because black carpet can hide stains and other things you don't want to know about.
The cinema room is basically like the games room, but with one massive flat screen and theatre seats instead of couches.
Callum and Comrade lead me down a long hallway and to a door with wooden carvings engraved into it. The carvings show two wolves, one black, one white. They are standing proudly next to each other with a whole army of black and white wolves behind them. There must be thousands! On the black wolf’s left shoulder, there's half a yin and yang symbol. The half that's white. The white wolf bears the other half of the symbol. The black side. The way they're standing next to each other, it looks as though the symbol is one. It's the exact same symbol in my necklace.
I run my hand over the carvings of the symbol and I'm suddenly knocked back onto the opposite wall with an invisible bolt of energy. It courses straight through me as I shake against the wall.
I see Comrade and Callum yelling at me, but I can't hear them. I'm sucked into a vision of black and white and I'm suddenly on a full blown battle field.
Standing on the outskirts of the battlefield, I watch as blacks, whites, browns and blondes muse together. It's clear to see that the blacks and whites are going against the browns and blondes.
Wolf after wolf drops down dead or injured, howling in pain. I want to look away, but I just can't. It captivates and intrigues me to see what's going on. I've never experienced this before and it's reeling me in.
Two particular wolves catch my attention. One black. One white. Both working together to fight off oncoming wolves. They both have the yin and yang symbol that seems to join together even while they're apart.
Without thinking, I walk straight through the battlefield. Not caring if I got hit or attacked, all I want is to get to these wolves.
A wolf comes barreling at me, baring its teeth and getting ready to rip me apart, but it goes straight through me and attacks another wolf. Like I'm a puff of smoke. I don't pay much mind to it as I continue walking.
The wolves are smack bang in the middle of the fight and when I reach them, everything seems to go into slow mo. The wolves turn around to face me at a normal speed and as soon as their eyes land on me, recognition, disbelief and love shine in them.
I stare into their eyes, both gold like mine. The only difference is that theirs are shining an alluring gold while mine look like gold that's getting old.
They approach me and I don't flinch or step back, which I'm guessing I probably should if I enter a full on battle field.
The white one bumps my hand with her snout. I rest my smoke like hand on top of her head and pet it. The black one nuzzles its nose in the crook of my neck, having to bend down a little. Yes, werewolves are about as tall as a fully grown human male.
Time seems to speed up too quickly as the white wolf's snout and the black wolf's nuzzle go straight through me. I try to scream at them to come back when they jump back into the fight, but it's like my voice is taken from me.
I can't move. I can't speak.
I feel myself getting a bit lightheaded and fall to the ground. I grip my head as voices start to fill it and I'm swept out of the battle.
3
CELINA
I drop to the floor in agony, gripping m
y head and holding back tears. What the hell? What just happened? One second I'm looking at the carvings in the door and the next I'm in a battle field! What is this crazy and harsh world coming to? I don't even want to think about it right now...
"Hey, are you alright? We lost you for a sec there."
I can't tell who said it, but I look up to see Comrade and Callum staring at me with worried and confused expressions. I blink a few times and shake my head.
"Um, yeah. I have a bit of a headache though," I tell them, grimacing. Relief take over their expressions and Comrade pulls me up into a standing position. I wobble a bit and grip the wall for support.
"You sure you're ok?" Callum asks me. I close my eyes tightly and wait for the sensation to leave my body. I open them to find Callum in front of me and staring at me with an unknown expression. I take a deep breath and nod.
"Good. Let's get you to see the alpha then, shall we?" he asks and cheekiness takes over his voice.
I stiffen once again when he says alpha and gulp. Comrade looks at me and smiles reassuringly. I take calming breaths as Callum opens the door and we walk in. I notice Comrade doesn't move and shoot him a questioning look.
"I can't come in unless summoned. Only alphas and betas are allowed in there," he explains. All my calmness washes away when he said that. I nod stiffly and bite my lip. Here we go.
As soon as we enter the office, I'm engulfed by the most amazing scent. I breathe in deeply, closing my eyes for a moment. It's a mix of the forest and flowers and my god! It's so amazing that's its making my knees go weak!
What's with the crazy occurrences today?
I quickly control myself, having no idea what's going on. I duck my head and put my hands behind my back, still standing near the doorway uncomfortably and not knowing what to do.
"Alpha, this here is... Um, what's your name again? I don't think I've asked you yet," Callum starts, looking a bit nervous. Why is he nervous? I thought the alpha is laid back, isn't he? Getting back to Callum's question, I don't even realize I haven't given him my name.