From Alpha to Outcast

Chapter 1

"Anyways, I'm tired from traveling, can't we go any faster?" she whined like a true pup, making me chuckle as the eight-year-old drooped over my head. "You can shift and get there quicker, right?" She begged.

Rolling my eyes, I gently pushed her back upright, forcing myself to climb the hill ahead of us. "I would if I could, little one. But shifting right now involves far too many risks."

Her legs stilled, fingers petting through my hair for a moment longer before she quietly asked, "Why would it be dangerous?"

I sighed, knowing that we were going to touch a sensitive and possibly dangerous topic. But I needed to sit down with Emilia before we crossed into pack territory.

"Do you remember what I told you earlier?" I spoke calmly, pausing for a moment to scan our surroundings. "Why I was a wolf only the first part of the journey and shifted back yesterday?"

Emilia hummed thoughtfully before replying, "Yeah... you said you couldn't be a wolf so close to the pack..." Her weight shifted as she leaned over so Emilia could look at me. "Is this because you aren't pack?"

"Yes," I sighed tiredly, cursing the fact that, even though her parents had all the time in the world, they hadn't thought to explain her anything of a life outside of the pack.

Dried leaves crackled underneath my feet as I slowly trudged further up the slope, sighing as I could finally start to see the top of the hill.

"There are several wolves that live outside of pack rule. Nomadic wolves follow pack law but prefer to roam around the world instead of being forced to remain within a territory."

A shiver ran over my spine as I continued, "Then there are Outcasts, wolves who have been banished from their packs for a variety of reasons. Some of them may be evil, some of them may be good." I shook my head before snorting.

"And then there's the rogues. Wolves that have desecrated Pack Law, who have turned their backs on their humanity. They are the reason why packs are so wary of outsiders because they attack packs at random, mauling and often killing innocent people who were at the wrong place, at the wrong time."

Emilia remained silent as I took a deep breath before continuing, "If I were to shift and charge into the Black Ridge territory, running into their pack instead of away from them will make any pack wolf believe I'm running in with the intent of to kill."

"The Border patrol will react instantly and will see me as nothing more than a savage rogue." I slowly explained, reaching up to remove Emilia from my shoulders and placed her on the floor as we reached the top of the hill.

Sad brown eyes looked up at me, fingers clutching at the hem of my shirt. "But, you aren't like those rogues! Not like the stories papa told me... You can explain to the pack that you're a good outsider, a Nomad, right?"

Rubbing a hand over my face before scratching at my nose, I avoided looking her in the eye. I didn't want to scare the poor pup with the truth of this delicate situation.

But leaving her in the dark would only make things worse. The truth was that things could turn lethal within the blink of an eye. And she deserved to know what the future might hold for me or worse, for both of us if the border patrol stumbled upon us and drew the wrong conclusions.

"Things are... not so easy." I hesitated, patting her hair as I struggled to find the correct way to explain this. "There are many possibilities, all depending on how the Black Ridge pack has dealt with outsiders in the past."

Crouching down so I was at eyelevel with the child, I gave her a calm smile. "Most of the scenarios will boil down to three options." I licked my drying lips as I held up three fingers, tapping them one by one.