By Her Grace

Chapter 6

As soon as the dance hall doors clicked shut and closed the rest of her 'pack' off from her, her foot steps became less powerful and more frantic as she lifted the hem of her dress and dashed for her room.  When she opened the door and found Elton standing there, sadness on his face, she nearly lost the tight reign she had on her emotions at that moment. "I've been kicked out of the Pack. Finnagin rejected me and I have less than two hours to get off Midnight Hunt territory."

Despite the cracks in her voice, she was proud of the strength she still held onto with it. Elton smiled tightly at the broken she-wolf. "I was told. Let's gather the necessary and be gone. I'll be at your side once we get off pack lands and until we get you to the pure pack tonight. After that we will have lessons on and off like we had been."

She nodded at his words and turned to grab the small bag that she carried when she had to travel in wolf form. It wouldn't fit much, but those things she didn't want to leave behind would fit with out trouble. It would be the clothing she would eventually need that were going to be an issue. A few small trinkets and handcrafted jewelry were easily stored in the fabric of her nice dress and after pulling off the gown she wore to the party, that was stowed away as well. Next a few books that she had collected over the years and the two dolls she had ever received as a child.

While truly not surprising considering the way she had grown up, Kerowyn was surprised that once she packed all the important things away in the bag, she still had enough space to fit her indoor and outdoor shoes and a good chunk of her clothing. She left the pitiful makeup she had and only thought to grab a hair brush and some hair ties from her toiletries. With all of that sealed away in her bag, it was time for her to go. Not bothering to slip more than a nearly falling apart shift on, she quickly made her way out doors where she was greeted by the Alpha and his beta.

"Ahh, Kerowyn. I'm glad you decided to make haste." Chad sneered as he stepped towards her. "It would be a shame if something were to... happen to you."

Blue eyes narrowed at the man she had called Alpha, her respect for him draining to even lower levels. "You must hold to your word Alpha." She sneered the title as she held her ground. "Or She will rain punishment in your pack for you misdeeds."

Chad snarled but backed down, for he knew the truth of those words. "An hour and fifteen minutes. That's all you get, Rouge." He spat the term like it would affect her, expecting a reaction from the child he had called runt all her life and never by her name. No this term was just a new one to add to her ever growing list of names from the pack. "Now begone I don't want your filth on my lands any more."

Tossing the bag she had been carrying over her shoulders, Kero ran towards the group and jumped, shifting mid air as she landed before them. 'I was never the filth here, Chad. It was all you.' With those last muttered words along the pack link, she severed the final cord and left herself alone in her mind with just her wolf.

We must hurry. Elton will join us once we leave the Pack house clearing. She said to her wolf, as she gave her wolf freedom to run as she pleased, knowing that as long as the got off the land it didn't matter where they ended up at this point. He will take us some where safe so we can grieve over our broken heart for the evening.

As her wolf slowly settled into a smooth run, a long sad howl left her lips, calling out to the world and telling it of the lonely wolf that she was now. It was a haunting sound that reminded them both of the happiness they had almost had. At least they knew it wasn't the wolf's decision when it came to the rejection, but the human connected to it, and that was all the comfort her wolf needed to be strong despite the heart break. They would find the mate that She would match them  with and they would be strong until then. The Moon Goddess never wished to let her children live in sorrow when she could help it. The steady rhythm of their feet on the ground had both of them zoning out as they ran through familiar land. As the ground beneath their feet would eventually turn new and unknown. But for now the familiarity let them disappear into their thoughts and plans for the future.

Within the hour, the sienna wolf found herself along the outer edges of the territory. Pausing she looked back at the forests she had called home for so long. It was hard to think that she would never see these forests again in the same way. She'd never be able to run through the underbrush in the rush of a hunt or simply rest in her hidden coves.

We will be fine. Her wolf murmured softly in the back of her mind as they reminisced on their time out of the pack house. We have Her blessing and that enough will be our strength.

I know but I will miss those quiet places and the fields in the summer. The sad part is not that we are leaving, we have been waiting years for freedom, but that we can never return to those happy places that we ran away to when things were too much. With a sigh and a shake of her head, she turned and took the final steps off her home land. Midnight Hunt had marked her a rouge and believed the cursed her to death but Kerowyn had no intention of dying or succumbing to rouge insanity. She had the Goddess' blessing and a strong connection to her wolf. Nothing would take her down with out a fight.

'Welcome to the life of Rouges, little one. It's time to use what we have been learning and prove that you have learned Her teachings.'