Adalaide's pov. (5 years old)
"Adaliade, stop running for a moment. I need to catch my breath." My twin brother, Arrow, pants.
His blond hair falling over his eyes as we stop. Leaves and sticks crunch along the ground as I pace along the forest floor.
"Adalaide, it's ok. Ana will find us soon. We've got to be careful where we rest though. Right now we're on a packs territory. We'll have to move very very soon." Arrow shakes his head as a couple of raindrops start to fall.
"We won't be able to find our way anywhere if this storm gets bad." I say as I run my fingertips through my blond curls. Arrow nods with a small sigh.
"You know that Ana is probably freaking out right now. All she's ever done is protect us. Because those dingy rogues attacked, Ana, made us run to safety." I sigh and sit at the base of an old oak tree.
Thunder rumbles overhead and I clamp my hands over my sensitive ears to block out some of the noise.
Rain starts to fall more heavily and Arrow jumps up from the ground.
"Adalaide, do you still have the blanket that Ana bought us a while back?" Arrow asks as rain soaks through his old tee.
I shrug and slung my ratty backpack off of my shoulder.
"Food, water, clothes... Here it is." I exclaim and quickly pull the blanket out of my bag.
Arrow grabs it and carefully unfolds it before wrapping it around the both of our small bodies.
"Arrow? Do you think Ana got badly hurt in that fight?" I question and Arrow looks at me.
"She's tough. Even if she does get a little hurt, she'll bounce back. She always does." Arrow responds and inches closer to me.
A twig breaks a couple of yards away and I jump up.
"Arrow...?" I ask stepping closer to my brother's side.
"Adalaide, it's alright. Just stay quiet and calm." Arrow warns as three adult wolves and a pup walk out of the brush.
Arrow pushes me behind him and does his best attempt of a growl.
The biggest wolf lays down, its giant head in its paws. I look around to see that the pup has disappeared.
Suddenly a boy around our age walks out from behind a couple of trees.
His light brown hair falls over his big brown eyes. He gives us a small smile and I frown.
"Are you guys lost?" He asks. His tone implying that he thinks we are a lot younger than we are.
I shake my head.
"Hey. Don't be afraid. If you follow me and my friends, we can get you cleaned up and look for your family." The boy tries again.
I shake my head again. "No. We're not lost. We've lived in the wilderness for almost three years now. Our older sister told us to run when we got ambushed by wolves." Not giving away the fact that we know they are actually werewolves.
The boy frowns. "Well why don't you come with us? My name is Derek. I know you probably don't trust me, but I give you my word that you will be safe with me and my family." Derek pats one of the wolves flank.
Arrow looks at me. "Addy, Ana would want us to be safe and healthy. Plus, maybe they'll let us go to school." Arrow whispers to me.
I shrug. I lean in so the wolves don't hear me. "Yeah, but what happens when we turn ten? We can't control that."
It's Arrow's turn to shrug. "We'll get there when we get there. But for now we'll have food to eat and a bed to sleep in without the fear of rogues." I nod.
"You're right." Arrow turns back to the group.
"We'll go with you. We don't want to be alone on our birthday anyways." Arrow points out and I .sigh.
"Oh, sweet. When's your birthday?" Derek asks. "Umm... Well, we turn six whenever October twelfth is." Arrow mumbles, trying to count the days.
"That's in four days." Derek mutters, leading one of the wolves to us.
"This is Kesha, you're gonna hop on her back and she's going to take you back to my house where you can get a checkup." Derek says as three fluffy brown wolf lowers herself to the ground.
She rests her head on the forest floor and looks at Arrow and I.
I shift closer to my brother as he looks at the wolf warily.
"Don't worry. She won't bite you." Derek says looking at the wolf in awe.
Arrow still looks uneasy but gently climbs on the wolf's back. He runs his hands over her shoulders and neck as she shivers.
Once he deems her safe, he holds his hand out for me.
I climb onto the she-wolfs back and scooch closer to my brother for warmth.
As Kesha stands, I cling onto her fur so I don't fall off.
She takes off running and it doesn't take long for us to reach a ginormous house.
It's a nine story brick mansion with large fountains in the front. Giant wolf statues line the walk way and I cower away in fear.
"Hey, they're stautes. They won't hurt you." Derek laughs and I glare at him.
"She knows that they're statues, we just haven't had the best experience with wolves in our life." Arrow defends me.
-Thanks- I mind link him and he nods.
Kesha walks through the doors and down multiple hallways. The hallways we're in are a beige colour with doors every few feet.
She paws open one door and inside I see a medical bed and a desk with an expensive looking computer.
Kesha steps in front of the bed and pulls himself on it before helping me up as well.
The sheets on the bed are soft as Arrow pulls them up around us while Kesha leaves the room.
"Arrow, I miss Ana. " I whisper as the blankets start to warm me up.
"I do too. But she'd want us to be safe." Arrow replies as a lady with long, curly brown hair knocks and walks in.
"Hello. I'm Dr. Sutter. Do you mind changing into these gowns?" It's just so I can examine you guys more clearly.
The lady says, handing us some small gowns.
I shrug and carefully take my shirt off, hoping I don't catch the wound on my side.
Arrows facing the other way as he too changes.
When I finish I set my dirty clothes on the ground and turn towards Dr. Stutter.
She looks at us and gasps. "Your sides are bleeding." I nod.
"They've been bleeding on and off for at least a week now. It's a wolf bite. Ana did her best to patch us up but there was only so much she could do. If we went to the hospital they would have taken us from her." Arrow explains, trying to put pressure on his wound.
"We'll let me take a look. I can patch it up but it'll probably leave a very nasty scar." Dr. Stutter days and starts pulling out the equipment.
"That's ok. We already have some. We've been in the woods for a long time." Arrow says with a small smile and I let myself relax.