the golden wolf

The sound of screeching tires followed by the smell of burning rubber filled the air. I jolted awake but stayed laying down. My heart and mind were racing, how could they have caught up with us so fast? We left before they even caught up to us at the last pack I thought. My family has been on the run as long as I can remember, this wasn’t something new to me sadly. We would leave a pack during the witching hours between 3 and 4 am when no one was really on the roads. Most of the time it was a peaceful drive and we would stop at a pack for a couple of days and I could meet some new friends, but it never lasted long. Now we were on the way to my uncle’s pack to surprise him and mom said hopefully we can stop running. But this wasn’t one of those peaceful trips like we hoped for, so when my father said our code phrase I knew it wasn’t safe.   “Romeo November” my father said frantically looking around as he turned up the radio.   I hurried up and opened the center console that led to the trunk of our car, I unbuckled my seatbelt, so I could crawl in and hide. I quickly grabbed the spray to help hide my scent and sprayed it all over me, as well as the back seat and shut the consol. I was tossed back and forth in the trunk as my dad tried to shake whoever was following us. I wasn’t hidden long when the car came to a stop, my heart was racing as I heard the radio still blaring in the car. I willed my heart rate to slow as my father had taught me to help me blend in with the background, so no one would sense my heartbeat. There were two gunshots, then all I could hear was the radio again. I covered my mouth so I wouldn’t scream and alert them to me being in the trunk. I laid there hoping that my parents were ok and would open the trunk to tell me it was safe to come out now. But after what felt like hours the car was turned off and the trunk opened, sadly it wasn’t my parents.   Two men in uniform stood there looking down at me. Dad's training kicked in and I quickly jumped out of the trunk and took off running. They yelled at me to stop but I didn’t listen for all I knew they were the men that killed my parents, there was no way they were still alive and left me in the trunk. And I didn’t hear any doors open so I know whoever was chasing us didn’t take mom and dad with them. We don’t shift and get our wolf until we are 16 so I didn’t have my wolf yet, but oddly I did have some of my senses early. I had exceptional eyesight and with this time of night it was going to come in handy. I was trained to protect myself and stay hidden by my parents and if I let them catch me then all that training and my parents giving their life for me would be for nothing.   While running through the woods I stopped and took a few seconds to listen to my surroundings. I couldn’t hear any footsteps, but I could hear running water to the north of me. We were heading in that direction since that is where my uncles pack is, no one knew we were coming since we were seeking sanctuary only for a short amount of time if we weren’t lucky to have my uncles help convincing  his Alpha to aid in my long-term protection. I wish I was listening more to what they said. I don’t even know his name or the name of the pack. When I finally reached the small river, I got into the water, cleaned up, and followed it hoping it would lead to a town.   It didn’t take long before I could hear traffic in the distance, so I got out of the water trying to get dry before I came across anyone. I kept walking and sniffing the air every so often, so I wouldn’t gain any unwanted attention, but I needed to try to locate a wolf. Soon Cassie’s Diner came into view and by the smell I could tell this was where a lot of wolves came. My clothes were still a little damp, but I was for the most part dry.   I walk inside and go straight to the counter. I climb up on the stool and look around. A lot of times wolves have something on them to help stand them out to another wolf, but it's inconspicuous so a human wouldn’t notice it. While I was looking around I could see a man was watching me and he didn’t look too happy I was there. He got up and came over and took a seat beside me, I could smell that he was a wolf.   “We don’t serve your kind here, child or not. If you know what’s good for you, you will leave rogue” he gritted out.   I thought with me being on neutral ground I would be treated a little better. But no pack likes packless wolves close to their homes. This is because they are normally kicked out for doing something unspeakable, and if they have children it is passed on to them. Not wanting to overstay my unwanted welcome I was getting ready to jump down and look for another location for help or at least somewhere to sleep for the night. But before I could jump down a woman came from the back.   “Ignore him sweetie and tell me what you are doing here all by yourself, this is my establishment and I say who is and who is not welcomed” she smiled at me and then glared at the man.   I tell her the events of the night in vague details, just saying my parents were killed while we were passing through on our way to my uncle's pack. Nothing about the cops that found me or about how we have been on the run from someone. I tell her I made my way here hoping to find someone to help me. She gave me a questioning look, so I told her what my father always said before a pack would hide us for a week or two before we were on our way again.   “The forever moon shines bright even when there are clouds in the sky.”   She instantly tells me to stay put and goes to the phone to call someone. She comes back over to me with a plate full of food and tells me that someone is on their way to get me. The food smelt amazing and I couldn’t help but dig in. The man that stated I wasn’t welcomed just kept watching me like I was going to attack them. When my plate was almost finished I heard the bell at the door ring.   “Cassie, where is she?” a man called.   Cassie pointed over to me and I could hear them walking up behind me, I recognized their scent and quickly turned around. Sure, enough it was the two men in uniform that I took off from.   “What’s your name sweetheart?” He asked.   “N-N-Nevaeh” I stuttered.   Now that I wasn’t in a full blown panic mood I noticed the pin on his shirt looked exactly like my fathers. It was a wolf howling with an aquamarine stone for its eye. No wonder they knew I was in the trunk when they turned the car off, they could hear my racing heartbeat since I was still learning how to keep it steady. He pulled me back out of my thoughts asking another question.   “Can you tell me why you were in the trunk Nevaeh?” He asked, looking concerned.   I shook my head yes and said, “My father said our code phrase meaning it wasn’t safe and I needed to hide from the people that were chasing us.”   “Who’s chasing you?” He asked.   I just got quiet, who was after us after all these years of running I never knew who or why we were running. I was too little to understand and I think my parents didn’t want to scare me. I shrugged my shoulders, since I didn’t want to say I had no clue. He paid for my food and took my hand leading me to their squad car. We all got in and the man that was asking all the questions told me his name was Steven and his partner was Jim. Once he was sure I was buckled we left Cassie’s Diner, and started to go further into town. There weren’t many people out and about but then again it is still early in the morning I think. The town started to fade and become just trees.   “Where are we going?” I asked.   “We are taking you to our pack, you will be safe there” Steven replied.   I don’t know why but I felt safe with him and his reassurance that I would be safe where we were going made my little mind more at ease, so I decided it was safe to open up to him. After all he was taking me to his pack and I would be putting them in danger if they didn’t know.   “I guess you guys are going to want to know all that I can tell” I stated. “That would be helpful, so we know how to handle this situation” Steven replied back.   “Ok my name is Nevaeh which you already know, and I am 6 years old, my parents have always told me it wasn’t safe for me that people were after me but never told me who or why. I just know its several factions I think was what they called it. I have been training to defend myself since I was 3. Dad wanted to be sure if I had to run and was alone I would be safe until they found me, or if I lost them like I did tonight I could survive.”   I stopped talking when I felt my tears start to run down my face, I sat there thinking of my parents. I missed them so much. Steven pulled me out of my thoughts again.   “Nevaeh what was the code phrase your father said?” He asked.   “Romeo November, dad wanted a phrase where I knew it wasn’t safe, but no one would understand what he said and I could sneak off if they hadn’t seen me. Romeo stood for the word run and November stood for my name Nevaeh. So, whenever I would hear him, or my mother say Romeo November they were saying Run Nevaeh and if I couldn’t run I was to hide.” I replied staring out the window.   “Well if you want we will continue with that if it is not safe I will say that, so you know, and you can hide. Will that make you feel a little safer with us?” Steven replied.   “Yes” was all I could whisper.   While staring out the window I started to see movement in the woods. The more I stared the more I noticed something out there following us. More and more movement could be seen.   “Where almost there,” Steven said.   “Something is following us” I said in a low voice, never looking away from the woods.   “Those shadows are our Warriors; they watch out for intruders. I told you, you will be safe here. We added extra security when we found out you were coming with us.” Steven replied.   I continued to stare out the window with so many questions running through my mind. Did they know what my parents never told me? Did they set up more security because of what happened to my parents worried they might be coming and look for me here? Why are they being so nice to me when I’m considered a rogue?   I started to feel calm like I was supposed to be where we were going. It felt like I was going home which was strange. I never had a home with us moving so much but going down this road surrounded by trees felt right.   “We’re here” Steven smiled looking back at me.