(Picture of Athena)
--Now--
*Emma*
A few rays of golden sunlight peeked through the green leaves of my home, otherwise known as a random oak tree near a beautiful river that I sleep in to avoid ambushes and keep camouflaged. I yawned then swiftly climbed down the massive tree from the very top branch right down to the moist green grass beneath my bare feet in a few seconds. I walked over to the beautiful river beside my tree and washed my face, feet and hands in the freezing cold water.
Since I have been a rouge for about 12 years now, I have gotten used to the freezing cold water because as long as I have water... I don't care what temperature it may be. I finished giving myself a small wash and decide to go for a very early run, VERY early. It was the crack of dawn and the sun was only starting to rise, as well as all the beautiful colours with it... oranges, pinks, purples and blues. When you haven't lived out your innocent childhood completely and you have been a rouge for 12 years, everything seems more beautiful than a stuck up pack member would see it.
"HEY! Not all pack members are stuck up... I would personally like to be in pack, you know-" I scoffed at my wolf Athena.
"How many times have I told you Athena... we are rouges now and we will forever be rouges," Athena whimpers at my words but I ignore it, "come on, lets go for a run..." I sigh and I start to feel Athena wagging her tail like a massive puppy dog when their owner says the word 'treat.'
I strip and put my clothes in a hollow in the base of my oak tree and shift into my light brown wolf. Athena wasn't coloured like any typical Luna's daughter, who is normally white... she is light and dark brown with the same baby blue eyes as I have.
Athena takes the lead and starts to jog into the safer parts of the woods where she knows that no other rouges have marked their territory or have any need to fight her or her wolf. This was also the path between two minor territories that I read about in the files who happen to have an alliance with the Grey Oak pack which was to the north of the oak forest... where I live at the moment. I might have read those files and documents one or twice... who am I kidding I have read those nine files at least once a day for the past 12 years.
I laughed at my own thoughts when the wind started to pick up and I pumped legs faster and faster, the wind running through my fur at rapid speeds. I let out a wolfy grin, closed my eyes and let my tongue hang loose as the wind flowed past me.
Athena stopped to a hault extremely quickly, fast enough to send her flying off her feet a good 10 metres if it weren't for our amazing werewolf speed and senses. I was shocked to say the least... she has never stopped me like that before.
I could hear faint whimpering at the back of my head and I knew this meant that something was off. I swiftly turned around and sprinted at full speed back home to the oak tree. Athena was forcefully urging me and pushing me and go quicker than I was meant to so I did as she pleased... still confused as to why she made me turn around.
I got back to the oak tree and it was silent... too silent. A twig snapped to the left of me and I swung my head around, just to see nothing. I reeled my hind legs back and went into a crouching position then lunged forward at the where I heard the sound of the snapping twig. A loud squeak was heard and to both my confusion and Athena's, a rabbit was laying dead on the floor instead of the suspected intruder.
I tilted my head slightly in confusion then came to a massive realisation. I quickly turned around, just in time to see the massive, dirty brown rouge with blood red eyes lunging at me. I snarled and watched in amusement as the poor rouge that I knew so well noticed my smug look and tried to land his lunge early but it was too late.
The rouge intruder landed straight in front of me with a thud and a crack. He howled and whimpered, sending me a look of a thousand regrets... he could tell he was going to die, all wolves that betray me do.
This wasn't any normal rouge, his name is Louis and I worked with him a while ago to help him find territory in exchange for permission from a friend of his to settle in such a lush area that I call home. Now, it looks as if he has broken the contract and betrayed me... and we both know what that means.
I give him an apologetic look, he knows the rules of being a rouge. Betrayal means death, no exceptions. I let Athena take over because after all these years, I still hated killing other rouges. Athena snarls at Louis and I block our connection off so I can't hear what's happening.
I still hear feint screams of agonising pain but I have gotten used to it by now, since I have the most beautiful part of unclaimed pack territory that has to be protected by me... I'm meant to be tough. I am tough.
"All done! You can bring the connection back now he's dead..." Athena purrs with delight and I nod my head in appreciation of her works.
I bring the connection back and looks around. I sigh in frustration, watching the dark brown wolf's head about 20 metres away from its torn and tattered body and blood stains in the lush green grass... as always I have to clean that up!
I shift back into my human form and jog over the hole in the base of my oak tree where I pull out my old, tattered clothes that I stole off a male intruder a few years back. I'm stuck with male clothes because I'm the only female rouge alive in the werewolf world... I read in the files that there is not one female rouge in the world because the females are so highly regarded by all packs literally EVERYWHERE, no matter the condition. It kind of sucks to have not talk to at least one other girl in the past 12 years because the the only communication I have had is with my wolf and some other male rouges that betrayed me because they thought I am weak. Also even if they didn't betray me... I still killed them because it sends a message to those snobby males that women aren't as weak as they seem.
By the time I had finished my small little lecture in my head, I had finished cleaning the blood stains off the grass by rinsing his intestines out and using them as a sponge... but nobody wants to know that. It sucks to be a rouge sometimes.
"You are disgusting... you know I can hear your thoughts right? I'm going to throw up!" Athena whines in my head.
"Hey! I'm not the reason why Louis' head is 20 metres away from his body!" I playfully snap back her. She has a good laugh and I join along with her.
"Oh by the way... why did you stop back there if you knew that Louis was going to attack us if we ran back?" I asked her politely since we were actually talking now.
"The thing is, I didn't..." I could feel her starting to stir uncomfortably in the back of my head. I furrow my eyebrows and squint one eye in curiosity.
"Then... why did you stop?" I asked her slowly.
She took a deep breath and stopped her stirring. "That was the border of the Blood Moon Pack... the deadliest pack in the world. Emma... we need to move our territory as soon as possible. Their alpha hates rouges more than anything and if he catches us... he'll---" I cut her off.
I already knew all about that ruthless, uncaring pack. I read all about them in the files. This is bad, REALLY BAD! Athena was right about having to leave but I worked so hard to get this place and now I know why not many rouges wanted it and why Louis' friend gave it to me so easily.
For some reason, I couldn't even say their alpha's name without a strange chill running up my spine but that probably happens to everybody who thinks about him or says his name. I don't know what he looks like but I know what he is cable of.
He once hung 3 rouges that he found a few inches past his border looking for food by their feet, upside-down, and let the juveniles of his pack slash their guts open with samurai swords. I also heard that he still has his first 5 rouges that he caught locked up in his cell... I heard they were very nice people with very nice wolves trying to find a place to stay but they are now at the age of 50-60 years old, still in that cell... three of the 8 died and now he has 5 left and no intention of letting them go.
He is a ruthless man. Uncaring. Unthankful. In other words... he's a monster. His name is Alpha Lucas Storm.
A massive chill ran up my spine and I stood up a bit straighter. The scariest thing about him is that I read about him in the files and.... he doesn't have a weakness and he likes to keep it that way.
Athena whimpered so I shook the thought from my mind and started to climb up my oak tree. I swung up from the bark to the branches then continued to leap from branch to branch and pull myself up until I was at the top branch. I sighed and settled down on my favourite branch.
My light brown, tangled hair rested on my shoulders and my blue eyes shimmered in golden sunlight. The sun was starting to set and another day has pasted being a lonely rouge. I could hear Athena scoffing in my head so I corrected myself. I am a lonely rouge with an amazing wolf. I felt Athena smiling then she sunk into the back of my mind to fall asleep.
I had one more look at the beautiful sky and surroundings around me before I started to drift asleep because you never know when all the beautiful things around you could disappear right under your feet.