6. The Wolf Next Door
1628 Words
COLTON
I walked in late.
All eyes fell on me as I slowly but proudly made my way over to where my family was seated towards the end of the table. It was that time of the week again...our pack meal. The older females usually spent all day preparing a giant feast for everyone. It was a time for us all to catch up since we hardly had time during the week.
I didn't usually hate having dinner with everyone else, but tonight I just wasn't feeling it.
As I put my hands on the back of the chair, ready to pull it out, my dad shot me a glare, telling me to stop right where I was and so I did. Shame on me for thinking I could just walk right in without having to explain myself in front of everyone. "Colt."
This is why no one was ever late to such events. My dad would call them out and embarrass them. I guess it worked though, because no one was ever late a second time.
"Yes?" I said, dropping my hands back to my sides. I was going to be standing here for a minute.
"Where were you?" He asked quietly, as if he was embarrassed that he had to be having this talk with me. How dare I, an Alpha's son, embarrass him like this?
I didn't have an answer that he was going to like very much, so I gave myself a minute and tried to think of something a little more acceptable. Then I realized that lying never got anyone here anywhere ever.
"You look as if you've been in a fight," my dad said just as I was about to come clean...sort of. "Did you at least win?"
A smug smile formed on my lips, one that I had absolutely no control over, "Of course I won. The only person I lose to is you."
Everyone but my dad started laughing.
"Who's the sorry loser than?" He asked.
This was where I was going to lose my life. What I did could get our pack in a lot of trouble with Feral Moon, probably the biggest competition we had.
We always managed to stay number one though.
"Colt," dad's voice was shallow, I knew I didn't have much time to answer his question now.
"Connor..." The words had barely left my mouth before everyone at the table gasped and then turned to the person next to them to whisper. "Blaine," I finished, knowing that I would have been asked for clarification anyways.
My dad's almost stone like posture broke down and he dropped the fork he had been holding onto his plate loudly before sitting back in his chair. He looked straight ahead, avoiding all eye contact with me.
Everything went silent and that was the worst part. The females looked at me like they were scared, knowing that tonight might be my last day here. Nobody got to jeopardize the safety of the pack and that's exactly what I did.
Connor was also the son of an Alpha. Alpha Sam of the Feral Moon Pack. Like I said before, we were rivals, but we tried to keep the peace as well as we could. We had a few minor slip ups here and there, but nothing ever this serious.
Dad ran his hand down his face slowly as his attention switched back to me, "Everyone out. Colt, stay." He said calmly, and that was the scariest part!
It didn't take long for everyone to scramble to their feet and leave the building like their lives depended on it. "Sit," he instructed and I did just that, without wasting any time. "You know what I have to do to everyone who breaks our rules, Colt."
They got kicked out. Forced to be without the safety of their pack. I understood that.
I nodded.
"Those people don't get to come back," he added, really drilling in the whole thing to me as if I didn't already completely get it.
"I know, dad."
"How bad did you hurt him?"
I sat back in my chair, "My wolf got a little carried away."
"Did you kill him?"
"...Almost."
"Did you ever think about how bad this was going to look for us?" He raised his voice, but I made it look like it didn't bother me. "We aren't in good standing with anyone over there anymore, Colton! They're just looking for any excuse to rip out our throats. I don't want to keep going to war with them."
"So kick me out. I'll leave," I said. I wasn't going to be treated any differently than everyone else here.
"Just for a little while," he said, the words taking me by surprise. I either thought he was going to make me leave for good or have me stay. "This pack is going to need you one day. I'm not going to throw my son out in the world but you have to understand that your actions have consequences."
I was confused, I really was and he could probably see that on my face, "But I do have to go?"
"Just until I can talk about this with Sam. He'll probably try to kill you if he knows you're here."
I nodded.
~~~~
It had to have been late by now, but I wasn't quite sure because I was never good at reading the moon.
I knew I had been wandering for hours because I was finally starting to get tired of all the walking and my wolf never got tired of that.
I found myself in the suburbs with expensive looking houses lining the entire place.
There must have been a reason my wolf brought us here, but that reason wasn't completely revealed to me yet.
I hopped the wooden fence with ease, landing in someone's backyard on all four feet gracefully.
Every single light in the house was off, so I went to the sliding back door to see if I could see anything inside.
Nothing but a dark, empty kitchen.
I sat down and pawed at the glass a couple of times. After realizing that that wasn't going to work, I thought up something more mischievous.
I spotted a garbage can a couple feet away from me and pounced on it, causing it to crash on the cement path with one loud thud. A couple seconds later, I noticed a light flick on so I ran back to my spot by the door and sat down.
Someone walked into the kitchen, but the lights were off so I couldn't make anything out other than the fact that the person was a girl.
Within moments the kitchen light turned on and I could see everything as clear as day.
Kat.
I had woken her up, that much was obvious. Her shoulder length ashy brown hair was in a mess, her eyes fighting to stay open.
She looked at me and for a moment I thought I saw fear flash across her face. She stepped as close to the glass door as she possible could have though so I couldn't have been that scary.
I smiled with my eyes and started wagging my tail to show that I was friendly.
I whimpered and pawed at the door again.
"I don't like dogs," I could hear her say quietly. "But you look...nice," she sounded hopeless, torn between leaving a poor animal to fend for himself or keeping herself safe.
I pawed at the door again and wagged my tail as hard as I could.
Slowly her hand undid the lock on the door and she slid it open, "Now, please, don't kill me."
I walked in and brushed myself up against her leg. She had to trust me.
Kat put her hands on either side of my face and held it steady as she looked at me, "I've seen you before," she said, her eyes staring deeply into my own.
Fuck.
"On the summit. Are you homeless, little guy?" She scratched behind my ears and I almost fell off my guard and succumbed to the feeling, but her words got to me instead.
Little guy?
That was degrading.
I broke away from her hold and started to scope the place out. I rounded the corner and must have found her room because it was the only one with the light on.
I wasted no time in walking in and checking the place out. It wasn't really what I expected from her but then again, I also wasn't very surprised because she was a teenage girl.
Boy band posters covered most of the wall her bed was on, an ugly hot pick color covering the rest of the walls. She had a twin sized bed with a leopard print comforter and and ugly white shag rug sat in the very middle of the room.
Very early 2000's, Kat.
I jumped up on her bed and laid down just as soon as she walked into the room and saw me.
"Bad! Get down!"
My ears perked up. She was ruthless.
She grabbed ahold of the fur behind my neck and tried to pull me off, but I was having none of it. I growled loudly and that's when she jumped back, terrified.
I quickly retracted and jumped off the bed, hoping that would make her happy but she still looked at me like I was going to tear her throat out.
Kat slowly walked to her closet door and slid it open, "Get in," she said each word slowly.
Sleeping in a closet was beneath me, but it was better than sleeping outside in the open where anyone could catch me off guard.
I walked past her slowly and into my closet of doom.
- Writer
