Rejection, Refuge, Revere

Chapter 10

I’ve been running for a week. I don’t know how far I am from the Blood Moon pack, but I hope that the rest of my trip is like this past week.

I have run through the food Elise packed me, but have been able to find some wild fruit and herbs to eat. Hunting isn’t the best because I am tired and unable to keep quiet. I keep scaring away any animals in my vicinity.

I haven’t encountered any feral lone wolves, or rogues as most call them, and I hope it stays that way.

It started raining a few hours ago and it’s beginning to turn dark. I find myself a tree to rest under and close my eyes. Half sleep and half awake to be alert enough that I won’t be taken surprised by an attack. That's how I’ve slept the past 7 nights.

My stomach cramps and the wet chill has seeped into my bones. I pull out a jacket from my leather suitcase and wrap it around my curled body. Not that it is helping much, but it’s better than nothing.

My sleep is even more fretful than before and soon enough I am jumping to my feet when I hear a branch snap and a thud somewhere ahead of me. The sun is just starting to rise creating a gray atmosphere.

“Shh. Buddy. It’s okay. Come on.” I hear in the distance. Quickly grabbing the dagger from my bag I climbed the tree I slept under. My muscles burn from the extra workout and breathing stutters. My fatigue is getting to me, but adrenaline is starting to pump as I think of what or who is coming towards me.

I calm my breathing and try to look through the forest. There is movement a little further ahead coming in my direction. I glance down and notice my blue leather suitcase at the bottom of the tree. Sh*t. I don’t have time to move it.

I keep track of the movement and soon enough a ragged man appears with a hand carved bow in his hands.

I see it when he spots my bag and halts in his tracks, putting a hand behind him.

“Stay there.” He whispers and I hear a small whimper.

The man has light brown hair that is tied messily back. He eyes the surroundings then creeps up to my bag, looking around and reaches towards it.

There is movement from a tree in the direction the man came from and I see a small form peak around the bark. My heart stops. This man has a child. What if he has taken them?

My wolf growls and I jump from the tree, startling the man. I press the dagger to his throat and growl.

“What are you doing with the child?” I growl. The man holds a natural oder of BO and being outside, but none of the stench of a rogue. His wolf pushes forward and I feel the shock of his alpha power. Catching me off guard he kicks back, catching my knee and I buckle. As I fall my blade catches his throat and he grunts.

When I look up the man is pointing an arrow straight at me and I freeze. He has hard gray eyes that are almost blue. A light brown shaggy beard with silver and blond peaking through. Blood trickles down his neck from my knife, but he pays it no mind.

“Papa?” The child calls from the tree and steps out cautiously. It’s a small boy.

“Papa.” I mutter in confusion, then turn my eyes to the man.

“Who are you?” The man asks. His voice is gruff and hard.

“I. I’m sorry. I thought you stole the boy. I. I didn’t realize. I’m sorry.” I whisper as I glance at the boy again, then back. The man has lowered his bow slightly and is studying me.

“I asked you a question.” He says, jaw clenching.

“M. My name is Amona.”

“And what are you doing out here?”

“I was kicked out of my pack.” He eyes me, then lowers the bow.

“For what reason?” He asks, not taking his eyes off me.

“Th. They said that I disrespected the pack leaders and attacked the beta’s son.” I look at the ground as my heart squeezes. It still hurts.

“Did you?”

“No.” I whisper. He sighs then slings his bow over his shoulder. I look up to see the pity in his eyes.

“Come. You look like you haven’t eaten in days.” He says and turns, walking towards the boy. I scramble to stand, my ankle twitching in pain, but I ignore it. Grabbing my bag, I limp, following him.

The thought briefly crosses my mind that he is going to kill me or worse, but I quickly toss it out. If he does anything off, I’ll kill him and run with the boy.

After about five minutes of walking we reached a small camp area. There is shelter built from branches and brush, and a small fire pit with two logs around it.

It’s only now I realize the boy was carrying a squirrel.

I sit on the ground next to the fire pit as the boy starts throwing in twigs. His shirt is too big, while the long shorts look too small. He has socks on, but no shoes.

The man sits on the log opposite of me and begins skinning the animal. His neck wound is still bleeding and I wince.

I open my suitcase and begin ruffling through the contents. I started collecting herbs on the 3rd day. Some for hunger others for medicine in case I got hurt.

I grab what I am looking for and pull it out. Looking up I realize the boy moved to stand behind his father and they are eyeing my warily.

“I collected some yarrow in case I got hurt.” I stand up slowly and make my way to them, crushing the herb in my hand and reaching out.

“It will help staunch the bleeding. I’m sorry I hurt you.” I say. The man nods and holds out his hand. I drop the crushed herbs in it and move back to sit, my ankle throbs and I sigh. Turning back to my suitcase I get the herbs I collected to help with inflammation and wrap them around my ankle, putting on a new, dirty sock to hold it in place.

I look up to see that the man has gone back to skinning the squirrel and the boy throwing in twigs.

“What are your names?” I ask the man.

“Issac and little man is Everett.” Issac answers and I nod smiling a little.

No other conversation is made as Issac starts the fire and begins roasting the squirrel. Once it’s done he cuts off a piece and hands it to me.

“Thank you.” I answer and eat it slowly, watching the two. The boy shares his father's light brown hair, but has more blue in his eyes than gray.

“How old are you Everett?” I ask after I finish the meat. He looks at his father.

“He’s 3.” Issac answers and I nod. We sit there for a while longer and Everett goes into the shelter.

“How long have you been out here?” I ask and Issac sighs, running a hand down his face. I can’t tell if he likes me or is just being polite, but I’ll probably find out soon enough.

“Almost 4 years now, i believe.” My eyes widen.

“4 years? That’s a long time.” I note and he nods, eyeing me.

“When Everett was born his mother had birth complications and passed away shortly after. My wolf went crazy with the loss of his mate and started tearing through the pack. We killed one man and injured 9 others before they subdued us. When I woke they gave me my baby and kicked me out. Been lone ever since.” He explains and my brain almost short-circuits.

“They turned a new born into a lone wolf?” I ask and he nods.

“It wasn’t the best pack. They don’t really care about their people. Obviously.” He says and I shake my head.

“I can’t shift. My pack considered me lower than an omega. They’ve been wanting to kick me out for a while, but I never really gave them a reason. Until recently, apparently. At the ball I found my mate, our future beta. He rejected me then told the Alpha that I attacked and disrespected him to get me kicked out.” I explain and a low growl comes from Issac.

“That is disgraceful. They shouldn’t have done that.”

“No. They shouldn’t have, and neither should your's. You were grieving and your pack should have known to subdue an alpha ranked shifter after the loss of their mate.” He shrugs at this and studies me.

“I’m curious. Where did you get clothes?” I ask and he laughs.

“There are lone packs that we come across. They gave them to us.” He answers and I file the fact away that there are packs of lone wolves. It makes sense, but isn’t known. Or maybe it is, I just didn’t have the knowledge.

“That was nice of them. You said Everett is three?”

“What is today?” He asks, confusing me.

“Um.. June tenth. Or 11th. I can’t remember exactly.”

“He’ll be four on June 19th. Being lone doesn’t exactly give him room for growth. He doesn’t speak much, as you might have noticed, and he is small for his age. I have done my best with him though, it isn’t enough. This life isn’t for a child.”

“What about the lone packs?” I ask and he shakes his head.

“They’re no better. Some are just nasty a*sholes while others only have a few people and don’t want to expand permanently. More people to take care of, I guess.” He explains.

“I’m heading to the Blood Moon pack. My brother’s mate is from there and explained that they accept lone wolves. Would you want to join me?” I ask and surprise flickers in his eyes.

“Blood Moon? No, I think I’ll take my chances out here.”

“I thought so too, but my brother's mate swears it’s a good pack. Even better than my old one. She said that the last Alpha was making big changes and the new one is just continuing.”

“Maybe. I’ll think about it.” He says and we sit for a few minutes. Then he glances back at the tent.

“Would you mind watching him while I go hunting? It’s hard to hunt while having a toddler follow you around.”

“Of course.” I answer and he nods, glancing back at the tent and sighs, taking off through the woods.