A New Dawn

Chapter 7

Misty stormed through the woods in disbelief; she couldn’t believe this guy had to keep second-guessing everything she did. Even though she had saved his life, he still didn’t care enough to trust her to know she wouldn’t kill him. She released a loud growl in anger and knew she had to find a way to calm herself down before she returned and killed this ungrateful Alpha. She stripped her clothes off, tied them to her leg, and transformed into her wolf. Her wolf's form sprinted through the forest as fast as her legs could. The stress and anger she felt at her ungrateful guest slowly melted away as she ran further and further from the cave. Finally, she ended up at the stream where she found the Alpha. She lay down, cradled her head in her paws, and stared at the crescent moon. The longer she lay there, the more she felt her eyes closing. The sounds of the crickets and frogs that sang their conversation to each other lulled her into a sense of comfort. Eventually, she surrendered to the darkness.

The following morning, she woke to the sun shining its rays on her face, slowly stood on her paws, then took the time to yawn and stretch. Nearby, the rippling stream looked inviting as she walked up to it and took a drink. The more she thought about the previous night’s events, the more she couldn’t help but feel bad for kicking the Alpha out of her cave. After all, she knew he didn’t have his wolf, or it wouldn’t have taken him three weeks to wake up from his prior injuries. Whatever he had been through was rough, and she admired his stubbornness for actually surviving it. She broke out of her thoughts and looked around for a few more minutes. Finally, she decided to head back and tell him he could stay until his wolf was back.

When her cave came into view, she quickly shifted back into her human form and threw on her clothes. Entering the cave, she looked around and realized that the Alpha was not around. “This is probably for the best,” she said out loud to no one as she looked over to his makeshift bed. The blankets and pillows were folded and set up neatly in a pile, and he even used some water to clean up the mess he made with dinner. Guilt instantly overwhelmed her as she looked toward the cave entrance.

Nothing’s going to happen to him... Right?

Aiden opened his eyes and realized that morning had come. He sat up and looked around the cave to see if Misty had returned that night; however, he was alone. Sighing deeply, he knew that her smell was old. She had not come back to her cave. He felt terrible for how he treated her, and he knew it would be for the best if he packed up and moved on, so he shakily stood to his feet. “She has been a good enough host. I can’t leave her stuff on the ground,” he said to no one in particular as he grabbed the blanket and began folding it. Placing it neatly on the makeshift bed, he placed the pillow on top of it and then grabbed his plate from the previous evening. The darkness in the cave made it a bit difficult to locate things, but after a while, he finally found a bucket of water sitting next to a washcloth and some dish soap. Washing his plate, he dried it and put it on the rock next to the bucket so she could quickly find it. He then turned and headed towards the mouth of the cave, unsure as to what his next destination would be.

The sun burned its rays into his eyes, which caused him to stop at the entrance to the cave and place his hand over his eyes to help shield them from the sun’s rays. Once he became adjusted to seeing sunlight again, he pulled the courage from somewhere deep inside and began to put one foot in front of the other. However, the further away he walked from the cave, the more he realized he had no destination. He had nowhere to go, and for the first time in his life, he was scared of what the future held for him.

As he continued through the woods, Aiden crammed his senses to listen for anyone who may be walking around him. The wind kept a steady pace, and the leaves were blowing in the trees. The wind carried a lovely melody from the leaves and the smell of smoke. Curiosity overwhelmed him, and he followed the smell to its source. In the distance, he could make out sounds of what could have been crying, so he picked up the pace a little. Finally, the sound started to become closer, and he knew someone was in trouble. Steeling his nerves, he continued following the crying sound until he found the source. A small child was curled in a ball next to a lifeless woman. As he stepped closer to her, the panic and confusion in her eyes caused him to stop, and she began to scream.

“I am not going to hurt you! I want to help you. Please stop screaming,” he pleaded as his heart broke, watching the little girl grip the woman he assumed to be her mother. “My name is Aiden. What’s yours?” His heart dropped when she said nothing in return and stared at him through the tiny tears that fell through her swollen cheeks. Then, taking a deep breath, he fell to his knees and crawled across the ground until he was kneeling in front of her. “I know you are petrified, and I know you are upset, but please understand that I will not hurt you.”

The little girl stared at him a few minutes more, then jumped into his arms and pulled him into a tight hug as she cried on his shoulder. Then, finally, she managed to stop crying enough for him to look at her. She was a cute kid; her curly red hair accented her pale features and her little nose freckles. Her blue-green eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her lips were cracked and dry. “I want to walk towards the smoke to see if I can help anyone else. Will you go with me?”

She was emotional and ran back to the woman on the ground after breaking free from his hug. “There are mean men that way; please don’t make me go,” she whispered.

He looked at the girl's expression, and his heart melted at her fear. Nodding in acknowledgment, he looked around, grabbed a sharp stick, and carved a large X into the tree. “I am going to go and see if I can help. I want you to make sure you stay here and hide. Do not go anywhere where you cannot see this X, OK? This way, you will still be safe when I return.”

The little girl nodded in agreement, moved behind a fallen tree, and lay down in the grass. Aiden smiled because he couldn’t easily spot her, and she would be difficult to find unless they were looking. Add that to her age, making her a little harder to smell; she was relatively well-protected long enough for him to check on the smoke. So he continued his journey and looked over the tree line to see a large cloud of smoke rising into the sky. Reaching a clearing, he looked around and instantly recognized the place as a Werewolf pack house. Although it was not one he had ever visited, it looked like a recent war had happened here. Cabins were burning around the property.

Aiden continued to walk toward the burning cabin. When, suddenly, the sound of a screaming woman running out of the pack house instantly drew his attention as three prominent men were chasing her. One finally caught her and threw her to the ground. Pulling out a knife, he straddled her and held the knife to her throat. “Alpha said you broke the rules, and you know what the consequences of breaking the rules are," he said as he pushed the knife close enough to her neck to draw blood.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Turning to face the flabbergasted Aiden, the three men stared at him angrily and walked toward him. “I don’t know who you think you are, but you, Rogue, do not belong here,” one man stated as he pulled a knife.