Trophy (L.S)

One

"Louis, be careful!" Jay warned as she used her paws to block the exit to her nest, not wanting the boy to fall.

He rolled his eyes however. "Mum, I know about the jump already! I've watched Auntie Raven countless of times before."

As if she heard her name, Raven's black snout appeared in the doorway, and she faked a gasp as she sneered teasingly. "Nuh-uh little one, you can't blame me this time."

Louis pouted as he sat back on his haunches, his nose twitching. "But I just wanted to see more of the den; the things Niall tell me don't count because it isn't the same as seeing it with your own eyes."

Jay snorted disapprovingly. "Hun, you know that you shouldn't really hang out with Niall; he's a bad influence."

Raven looked at her mother pointedly, knowing that it was a miracle that the young, blond beta was still around and alive. But she did agree that he was a bad influence, using his bubbly and charming personality to lure some of the other wolves out into the open so that he could hide behind them during the hunting season.

Jay nuzzled Louis' brown fur, taking in his comforting scent as she hummed. "Just because Niall seems nice doesn't mean he actually is. He's a bad wolf Louis, and I don't want you hanging out with him, ever."

Louis sighed but nodded anyways, because he knew not to argue with the pack mother. "Yes mum," he agreed, but started to squirm uncomfortably as Jay started to groom him without a warning; and he was quite ticklish.

Laughing, Louis playfully swatted at the white wolf's muzzle until his mum finally pulled away with a warm, tender smile on her face.

Raven could sense that the growing pup was getting restless each and every day, and she knew that Jay would snap at him eventually, so she took it upon herself to speak up. "How about I take you outside of the den for a while, Lou? I can show you the pond, and then I can take you to the fence line."

Jay looked up at her in gratitude, nodding her head when Louis glanced in her direction for permission. She knew Raven would watch over him, and she figured that now would be a good time to get a nap in.

The small, brown pup bounced in glee, an excited yip escaping his lungs as he padded over to the doorway of his shared nest.

Raven was there to grab a hold of his scruff before he fell, the jump a bit too big for his size yet, but they knew that he'd grow into it eventually; hell, it's only been a few months, and he grew up to be half of her height already.

The black wolf set him onto the ground, letting Louis shake out his fur real quick as she guided him towards the den entrance.

"Hey, Rav?" He eyed her curiously as he clambered up onto the rock just outside of the den to observe the surrounding fence. Once the small wolf got her attention, he proceeded to ask.

"Who is that?" Louis pointed his snout towards the fencing that was right next to them. Someone was watching, and that made his pelt prickle.

Raven turned her body to look as well, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust at the human there, accompanied by a couple alphas.

"To put it lightly, that's the human who owns the place," she shrugged as she gestured for him to jump down. "He's the man who feeds us and makes our nests."

Louis tilted his head to the side as he pondered for a moment, his blue gaze locking with the green eyes of the boy smiling at him. "And the others?"

His aunt sighed, clearly unamused with his questions as she pushed him off the rock and forward to keep walking. "The other man is a powerful alpha who is well known around here, and the little boy is his son- he too an alpha."

Louis wrinkled his nose, as if he was about to sneeze, but then it settled. "But why are they on the outside while we're in here?"

Raven paused in her steps as she debated on what to say. Finally, she went with the truth, because letting the pup know at a young age will let him prepare for the future.

She laid down on the hard ground, the grass dry from the lack of recent rain. "Well, to be honest little one, they are superior to us. We're in here for humans to kill during the fall, and alphas to catch during spring. Luckily for you, you're too young yet to be put on the list."

The pup looked appalled, offended, and he puffed out his chest as if to show that he was big enough. "That's wrong! Us betas are the peace between alphas and omegas, why can't they see that?"

Raven licked between his ears to help soothe him, calm him down. "I don't know Lou, but it's been like this for as long as I can remember. Just realize that we're not the only field, okay? Other betas don't have it as great as we do; they don't get food or nests to sleep in."