Like Cats and... Wolves? The Werepigeon Apocalypse [FREE and COMPLETED]

Chapter 1

It was raining. The water was pouring down from the dark sky, the drops joining into small streams on the bus window. Perfect weather for his mood, Nick thought, tears welling up in his eyes. If he wasn’t surrounded by over a dozen humans, he would let them fall, the wet trails on his cheeks would mirror the rainy ones on the outside of the glass.

Humans most likely wouldn’t be that agitated by seeing a man cry, they would probably just ignore him. Not like his friends and family, who would scold Nick for not being manly enough. But Nick held the tears back. He was never the one who liked to attract attention, any kind of it, really. Which was ironic, given who he was.

Used to be, he corrected himself. Given who he used to be. Because now he was nothing. An eighteen-year-old boy with no home, no family. No pack. A rogue. What an ugly word. Nick has always imagined rogue wolves as dirty, aggressive hobos, whose only occupation seemed to be attacking the peaceful pack members. Was that what he was supposed to do now? He has never felt the need to attack anyone, especially not now, when he felt absolutely heartbroken and all he wanted to do was to crawl into a quiet corner with a good book.

But the inconvenient truth was impossible to avoid. Rogues were attacked on sight by most packs. If he were to stumble into a pack ground, even by accident, he was as good as dead. How fair was that? He didn’t do anything wrong!

“Stop whining,” the annoying voice in his head scolded him and Nick did his best to ignore it.

But that was impossible as well. The stupid voice was a part of his mind now, his soul, there was no way to get rid of it, no matter how much he would wish to do so. “It’s all your fault,” he growled back at it, trying to imagine closing a heavy door between himself and the voice.

“My fault?!” The voice got angry and Nick felt the wolf stir in his head. “You think I chose to be with a pathetic piece of s**t like you?! I’m seriously filing a complaint against the Moon Goddess the first chance I get.”

“Just shut the f**k up and let me try to figure out what to do.” The wolf sent him a mental image of an eye roll but stayed quiet, for which Nick was eternally grateful.

The bus arrived at the final stop, a huge terminal in a nameless metropolis. Nick hesitantly grabbed his bag and stepped outside, nearly starting to cough as the dirty city air filled his nostrils, aggravating his heightened werewolf senses. The suffocating stench of smog was underlined by the smell of rotting garbage from the overflowing trash cans and of fresh urine coming from the nearby dark corner.

“Amazing place! Can we please stay here?” The wolf was beyond ironic and, for once, Nick agreed. No, this wouldn’t work. He was used to fresh air, the Silverstreak pack grounds were surrounded by miles of forest, with barely any traffic or industry nearby. But he wasn’t welcome there anymore. And all the pretty places and beautiful forests were claimed by one pack or another ages ago.

Since Nick was afraid of running into another pack by accident, he headed away from the woods and mountains, aiming for the vast flat plains in the center of the country. Logic dictated that no wolf would willingly live in an area where the biggest group of trees was a pathetic park in the city center. And while living surrounded by corn and wheat fields didn’t seem very appealing, it was better than being killed off by avid protectors of a random pack.

So, what now? “Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?” Yes, that he was. But his brain seemed to be operating slower now there was a new voice questioning every single decision Nick made. As if he didn’t have his own insecurities and his own voices undermining him! His stupid werewolf genetics had to work their magic and add another one into the mess. And this one was impossible to ignore or even control. It was beyond infuriating.

“Can’t you just crawl into some hole and let me think in peace, please?” He tried negotiating with the wolf. To his surprise, his head got quiet. A tiny blessing in his screwed-up life.

He was a smart kid, the annoying animal was right about that. While he didn’t have any muscles to speak of, couldn’t fight, wasn’t particularly charismatic or attractive, he did have his brain, his logic. Sadly, it made him the weird, awkward nerdy kid who sat in a corner with a book instead of fighting and competing against the others or chasing after girls. A perfect target for bullies even in the human world. In the werewolf world, where everything revolved around aggression, dominance, strength, and power? It was a disaster.

If he came from any other family, Nick might have gotten away with it. He might have even made his peace with living as part of the pack, even though he hated the primitive rules the wolves lived by. But he was Alpha Christopher’s firstborn son, the future Alpha of the Silverstreak pack. His eternal curse.

All his life, everyone kept telling him how he had to be a strong and powerful wolf, since he would take over ruling the pack from his father. But why? Seriously, why should he be the leader of anything just because he was born into a certain family? It was the twenty-first century! Civilized places had democracy. This firstborn son taking over his father and ruling by force bullshit was so f*****g medieval! Nick never wanted any of it. But nobody cared about what he wanted.

They forced him to train relentlessly, even though it was obvious he was never going to be even half as good as his younger brother. The Alpha got Omegas doing Nick's homework just so he could spend more time becoming stronger and learning to be a proper Alpha. Nick would very much prefer to do his own homework and leave the training to someone who actually enjoyed it, like his brother Elliot.

Nick was well aware that all teenagers hated their parents and their lives in general. But he believed that in his case, the hate was more than justified. Books, movies, and video games became his best friends, the only way he could run away from his gruesome reality, if only for a few hours. A way he could forget about his father’s condescending remarks, the constant belittlement, and, worst of all, the disappointment in his eyes every time they landed on Nick. He could never be good enough, no matter how much he tried. Which is why he eventually stopped trying.

The cup of coffee from the coffee shop inside the bus terminal was expensive and disgusting. But it was something hot to warm his stomach. And Nick didn’t exactly have too much money to spare, so since he had already paid for it, he was going to drink it to the last drop. As he watched the rain washing the cigarette butts and small pieces of garbage off the sidewalks, Nick tried to figure out what to do now.

He couldn’t stay here, that much was obvious. While the big city provided the best chance of blending in with the humans, getting a job, living at least a resemblance of normal life, Nick already hated this place with his entire soul. No, he needed something smaller, more rural. His wolf could run in the cornfields just as well as in the forest. But he couldn’t exactly let the animal loose in the city streets. And, as much as he hated it, Nick knew he would have to let the wolf take control over his body from time to time.

The departure board showed several buses leaving within the next hour. Nick glanced at the names, his eyes sliding over the white letters on the screen. One name caught his attention and he pulled out his phone to do a quick Google search. Yes, he nodded, that could work. Silver Falls. A small town in the middle of nothing, with just over fifteen thousand inhabitants. Surely he could get a job there, maybe some cheap accommodation in the outskirts? A shitty life, but better than death, right?

“If you say so.” The wolf didn’t sound thrilled but it didn’t exactly protest when Nick went to buy a bus ticket. “Did you pick the town because the name reminded you of your former pack?”

Yes, he did. “That’s none of your business.”

“Sure,” the wolf growled, “because I’m just an annoying stowaway, right?”

“Exactly.” Nick was exhausted and not really in a mood to argue with a stupid voice in his head. “You have done enough damage. If you could just shut up and disappear to wherever you came from, it would make my life way easier.”

The worst part about having a wolf? You can feel their emotions as if they were your own. That’s how Nick knew he went too far, he felt his wolf’s pain surging through his body, joining with the one that was already present there since his own father kicked him out of the pack the day before.

The bus driver didn’t spare him a second glance as he checked his ticket and Nick found an empty seat in the back, settling there comfortably. He still had a several hours ride in front of him before reaching the town he so expertly picked to be his new home. Neither the e-book reader in his hands nor the music playing into his headphones managed to distract him from his gruesome situation this time. The pain didn’t help either.

The huge empty hole in his chest where his connection to the pack used to reside was sore as if his father reached into Nick’s ribcage and tore his heart out. It was surprising, really, Nick never even liked being a part of the pack and now he missed it. Combined with the pain his wolf was feeling, it was unbearable, and he had to wipe the tears off his cheeks with the back of his hand.

“I’m sorry, wolf.” Now he felt ashamed he didn’t even know the wolf’s name. He spent so much time trying to ignore the voice and never really gave the animal a chance. Hopefully, it was not too late to fix that, he certainly didn’t need to be in a constant war with a part of his soul for the rest of his life. “I know I’ve been acting like a jerk, and I know none of this is your fault. I guess it was just easier to deal with everything when I had someone to blame it on.”

It was quiet for a while and Nick was beginning to get worried he wouldn’t get a response at all but then he felt the wolf sigh. “Could you please turn off that horrible girly music?”

“What’s wrong with Kelly Clarkson?” Nick smirked but played with his phone for a moment until The Imperial March sounded in his ears. “Better?”

“Goddess, you are such a nerd.” The wolf made another eyeroll. “I must have committed some horrible atrocities in my past life if the Moon Goddess has decided to punish me so severely by assigning me to be your wolf.”

“You and me both.” The werewolves believed that the Moon Goddess had a reason for everything she did, but Nick seriously couldn’t see a logical reason behind this.

The wolf returned to Nick’s mind, not in a violent way, just enough so Nick was aware of the animal’s presence. It felt right, like he was complete now. Guess it was stupid of him to try and fight against what was essentially a part of him.

“You are forgiven, Nicolas. I can’t exactly stay mad at you, I feel your pain just as much as you feel mine. And my name is Adira.”

Nick nodded, relieved that he didn’t screw it up completely. “Pleased to meet you, Adira.” His fingers were tapping on the phone screen again. “A good name, it means strong and powerful.”

“I know,” the wolf snickered. “Can’t you people do anything without a phone in your hand these days?” Nick chuckled. Adira was definitely on point. “So… are you still mad at me for being a female? Because I can’t exactly change that.”

A long sigh escaped Nick’s lips. That was the root of the whole issue, the main reason they were both in this mess. Never in the history of the pack had a male werewolf a female wolf counterpart, let alone the future Alpha. Nick winced over the memory of his father yelling at him for being a freak, a monster that should have never been born. That was right before Alpha Christopher disowned him and kicked him out of the pack.

Nick was mad at his father, at the Moon Goddess, at his pack, at the whole world, yes. But at Adira? How could he be mad at a part of his soul? “I don’t think I was truly mad at you and I’m sorry if I made it sound that way. Honestly, you are a much stronger and more beautiful wolf than I ever hoped to get. I don’t care that you are a girl.”

It was true. While Nick was tall and gangly, without any muscles to speak of, Adira was big and strong, ready to bite and tear anyone who would dare to stand in her way to shreds. Her shiny fur was pitch black and her eyes an amazing shade of bright blue.

“Aww, so many compliments. Good thing that wolves don’t blush,” Adira smirked. “And, just for the record, I believe that out of the two of us, you are the more girly one. I mean, seriously, why do you have so many Taylor Swift songs in your playlist?!”

Nick rolled his eyes. “What are you, some damn music critic? Is this better?” He switched to his Two Steps From Hell playlist, hoping the wolf would find the epic battle tunes more appealing than songs about love and heartbreak.

“Oh yes, much better. Maybe you aren’t so hopeless after all, little Nicolas.” Adira curled up in a corner of his mind, purring happily while listening to the thundering music, and Nick could finally relax a bit. His new life might suck, but at least he wouldn’t have to go through it alone.