A New World (Short Stories)

III

She had grown in immensely in the time she had left home. Managed to survive to become a wolf in a year and a half. However in all that time she hated being alone.

No matter how many times she watched her mother from a distance, or her brother finally training with others. She could no longer come back, and find her own family .

She no longer shifted back to human form, she liked living like a wolf. Since she never meet her mate, she didn't go through heat like many other werewolves her age would have.

She had started looking for packs to join but not werewolf packs. Wolf packs because she no longer felt ready to be human again.

The first wolf pack she tried to join, they were aggressive. She was bitten badly and left a few days later. It took her weeks to heal but now she was determined to find the right wolf pack.

The second wolf pack she seen, she watched them. Tried to see how she would fit in with them, most of them were males and it wouldn't go down well. They would try to mate with her and she would kill herself before they breath to close for her liking.

The third wolf pack, she joined. It was a mix of females and males. The Alpha was an older wolf, he knew what she was but he still allowed her to join.

It took her 8 months to fully integrate into the pack. In the beginning, she was viewed as an outsider. She was at the bottom, but she figured out quickly how to advance in the pack hierarchy.

She became 4th, the females finally liked her and the males respected her. She would watch over the litters that were born every year. She even managed to become friends with a mated pair.

The Alpha and Luna liked her, she thought it was because at the end of the day she would make sure all the females was fed before she would eat. However for them, she was the daughter they wished who survive to adulthood.

The males all like to fight her, in the beginning she took all the hits. Never being able to defend herself because she didn't know how to fight as a wolf. She would go to her cave, bruised, bleeding but healed the next day.

The cycle repeated until she finally clawed one of the males. They stepped back but came at her even worse than before. She started picking up their strengths and weaknesses. She managed to hold her own but she still couldn't fight back.

The Alpha finally stepped in and started to train her. He didn't go easy at all no matter how badly she bleed. She was grateful for it. She had finally found a home, a Pack that wanted her.

It took a year but she could fight the males on her own. She had gained respect from the females because she would watch over the Pack when the males would hunt.

She loved all the pups, made sure the runts were taken care of. Which was why it always broke her heart when some of them didn't survive.

Those were the times she would shift back to human and bury them. She would plant flowers on top of their graves. She stayed close to the mothers, until she no longer felt needed.

Some of the pups left to join other packs. Her Pack lost a few of the males since the Alpha was getting older and hadn't decided who his successor was yet. The females stayed since they wouldn't be able to survive out there on their own.

The mated pair she called her friends, were chosen to lead the Pack after Alpha died. She had moved in with the wolves, helping them with everything. She had become a second mother to the females pups.

She would hunt with the male, to find food for the Pack and his family. She started shifting back to human form more often than before. She started skinning the animals before eating. So that she can have clothes that kept her warm when she finally decided to leave.

It had been 6 years all together since she left her family. 3 and half years being with her Pack. She had learned so much and was ready for her future in the Pack but fate had other things in store.

It was winter, the snow wasn't falling as much as the previous days. The Pack needed food. So she and the remaining males went to hunt. They searched hours for food, they caught a few rabbits and sent them back to the Pack.

They were tired and hungry when they heard it. A moose, big fat adult moose. That could feed them for days. Her friend and her decided to circle it and whatever direction it runs they would attack and the second one would follow.

The moose was a fighter but they were hungry. The moose had run in her friend direction and she jumped on its back. They had taken down the moose, the rest of the Pack to see their achievement.

They all bought it back to the Pack. Everyone ate and pet her, she loved every second of it. Her friend had went back to the cave, she had grabbed a piece of meat for the both of them.

When she reached the cave, she saw that he was hurt badly. She shifted back in front of him. She started cleaning his coat. Finding were the bleeding was coming from.

He had started licking her hands, as she worked. Tears falling down her face, she started sewing the hole. But deep down she knew the male wasn't going to make it.

She heard the female come in, and run to her mate. She started licking him and the wound. The male licked back but he could barely keep his head up. She started howling for her mate.

Alpha came in and assessed the situation before licking the male and sitting next to Rose. She started sobbing louder using the Alpha as support. The female laid down in front of her mate.

They all waited until he took his last breath. The Alpha called the rest of the Pack outside. Rose didn't want to leave the female but she needed to make sure her friend was buried right. She put on her clothes, looking back one last time.

She dropped on her knees in front of her Pack. Her eyes never leaving her friend, the Alpha told everyone to go back to their caves. He watched me as Rose started cleaning the coat. Making his presentable when she buried him. She kept a lock of his fur, for herself.

The female had come to say her finally goodbyes, the Alpha helped as Rose buried him near a beautiful string tree. It was the spot that Rose first met the pair. She felt the female stand besides her, she pulled her in for a hug. The female had fallen asleep as Rose combed through her coat.

"I know you understand me" she said to the Alpha who was near her.

"I'm leaving, and I'm taking her with me" She said to Alpha. In all her time in the Pack, she never looked in his eye.

Today she needed him to know. He looked at her, she could see herelf in his eyes. She looked different from the girl she was when she left her family. She looked hard and strong. There were small scars on her face but it framed her face perfectly.

She looked like a survivor because that's what she was. She survived in the past and she would survive this as well.